Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated How to Knit a Wild Bikini in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Nikki's bad knee has ended her career as a chef, and she has switched to being a personal cook for a journalist of a very popular men's magazine. Jay Buchanan needs a cook for one month, and no more. He has sworn off women for the rest of the year (due to women being so darn complicated) and is hesitant to hire a female cook. Desperate to get the job and pay the bills, Nikki claims to be a lesbian so he'll hire her and not be worried about his "year-without-women" coming to an end. Jay agrees, as long as she pretends to be his girlfriend… to get the clingy girl-next-door to give him some space. Nikki is now a girlfriend-fake-lesbian-chef-with-some-benefits. Emphasis on the some.
Nikki is pretty sure she can handle one month of cooking for a rich, stuck-up, spoiled, gorgeous man, as long as she keeps their relationship strictly professional, and keeps up her facades. But she doesn't take into account the idea of Jay falling in love with her… and her falling right back. But Nikki has some ghosts in her closet. Can she let go of them and learn to love Jay?
How to Knit a Wild Bikini was a cute, slightly sappy, yet enjoyable read. The characters were likeable—definitely likeable, in Jay's case—and the pacing was good. The writing wasn't horrible but it wasn't anything spectacular.
I gave it an extra half a star because it was addicting! I couldn't put it down. The title and cover could have been better, since there was no knit bikini, only the mention of one. I wouldn't read the sequel, but I did enjoy this one.
It was, in some ways, unrealistic. Nikki had a lot of stuff in her past, and her reactions weren't always in line with them. It surprised me how much the author was able to put into this story. There were a lot of little "mini-stories" woven into it… it almost felt ridiculous, but then again it was still fun to read. Sometimes, for a summer read, you just need a book that let's you goof off. This is one of them.
There was a fun combination of an untouchable free spirited woman, a stuck-up but slightly desperate sexy man, and hand-painted knitting needles. This one is perfect for an afternoon on a couch with a pair of knitting needles (If you're talented enough to knit and read at the same time. It does take skill.)
Content/Recommendation: Some language and sex. Ages 18+
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Dirty Girls Social Club (Dirty Girls, #1) in Books
Jun 8, 2018
The Dirty Girls Social Club is the story of six college friends who decide to meet every six months for the rest of their lives, no matter what. The book covers one six month period, from one meeting to the next. It took me a few chapters to sort out who was who, and throughout the book I occasionally had to flip back to the first chapter, where Lauren gives a rundown of names and professions. All six are Hispanic of some flavor, whether that's Dominican, Puerto Rican, Colombian, Spanish, or Southwestern Native American. That's why they banded together in college. Each one has her own storyline - dealing with an abusive marriage, leaving a loveless marriage, being forcibly outed as a lesbian and learning to adjust to her new visibility, or becoming a rock star. I enjoyed how each of the six had a very individual story; they have interesting jobs and complicated love lives and unique problems.
Each of the women reflects on her Hispanic heritage in some form, whether that's taking lessons in how to love from their parents, or fighting for recognition for their minority, or writing columns about their lives for the local newspaper. The book both shows and tells us about the differences in various Hispanic cultures.
I especially enjoyed Amber/Cuicatl (the rock star) and Elizabeth (the lesbian). The rest of the book was a little slow going at times, but I think that's largely because I'm not a fan of contemporary fiction. I did enjoy it, though, and I'll probably check out more of the author's books.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Darkness Falls
9.0
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The War of the Worlds in TV
Dec 2, 2019
Part of a grim tradition where BBC attempts to adapt SF, fantasy and horror classics operate to different standards than when they are tackling Austen or Dickens. If the team who perpetrated War of the Worlds got their hands on Pride and Prejudice, it would end up being a lesbian romance between the Bennets' maid and one of the minor daughters, performed on ice, with a frame story concerning the Boer war. It's not just that it does the book badly, it genuinely doesn't seem interested in it at all. Someone gets a leaden, clumsy speech articulating the subtext of the novel (how to adapt a great book for the hard-of-thinking) but as to what this version of the story is supposed to be about or why we should care at all... It takes real skill and determination to screw up a classic piece of literature quite this badly.
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IN 1967, Sex between consenting men in England and Wales was fi nally decriminalised an entire...
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Drama Girls
10.0
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The church girl and the drama geek. Two wildly different worlds come together as two girls fight for...
Coming Out Lesbian
Masculinity and the Trials of Modern Fiction
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