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Debbiereadsbook (1440 KP) rated Unrivaled (Hockey Ever After #3) in Books

Mar 24, 2024 (Updated Mar 24, 2024)  
Unrivaled (Hockey Ever After #3)
Unrivaled (Hockey Ever After #3)
Morgan James, Ashlyn Kane | 2023 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
so bloody good!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 3 in the Hockey Ever After series, and I am reading it after I read book 4. They can all read as a stand alone, the characters from previous books do pop up, but you don't need to haveread those to fully enjoy this book.

And I bloody LOVED this book! It is absolutely on a par with book 2, that got 5 stars from me, but for a very different reason. That book was very emotional, heavy on the angst scale. THIS one? Opposite end of the scale, low on the angst. Emotional, still, but different.

Max and Grady has chemistry on the ice, just the sort that the media have billed it as hatred. Grady doesn't hate Max, Max breaking Grady's arm years previously really was an accident. But when a hookup who Max thinks is a catfish usingGrady's picture turns out to be Grady, that attraction goes into overdrive. And from that very first time, both men were hooked. But they play for rival teams, can it really work when one or both could be traded and moved at a moments notice?

I loved this, I really did!

Max and Grady are perfect for each other, each with their quirks and faults that compliment the others and I fell in love with these guys right from the start.

The chemistry is powerful, and plays a huge part all the way through the book. But I found this one was a bit more fade to grey, than full on page smexy times, and I think for THESE two, it was perfect.

The hockey match descriptions, while a lot, I found I enjoyed then more because of the interaction between Max and Grady when they were on ice together. Even when they played other teams, I didn't feel overwhelmed by the technical stuff. I still have no clue how it works, but having been to an ice hockey match here in the UK, I can appreciate the SPEED these matches are played at!

The only real angst, I think, was when Grady got traded. He reacted badly to something someone said, and instead of reaching out to Max, Max bore the brunt of Grady's anger...? No, he wasn't angry, he was HURT. But Grady does redeem himself, quite wonderfully.

I have already read the short that comes after this, and I'm finding it really REALLY hard not to write in here, what happens there. So I will leave this one as this:

5 full and shiny stars!

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Mr April (Calendar Men #4)
Mr April (Calendar Men #4)
Bailey Bradford | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
good, but not as good as March
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Will thought the charity shoot was a good thing, til his boyfriend, Geoffrey got all jealous of nothing. So Will dumps him and takes himself out to dinner. And has an instant and powerful reaction to Baz, his server. Baz is a swan shifter, and they mate for life so Baz needs to be careful with Will. Then Geoffrey turns up dead and both men are prime suspects.

Book 4 in the Calendar Men series, but you don't need to have read the other first. It will give you a better picture of what has happened on the photo shoot, but very little of the shoot appears here.

I liked this, a lot. Not as much as March, but I did like it. I just didn't love it and *insert whiny voice* I don't know why!

It carries drama of a different nature to the other books, but I liked that here. It also has shifters of a different breed: swans and coyotes. I did not see whodunnit until it was revealed in the book!

The heat level between Baz and Will is hot and steamy, but also deep and emotional, especially when Baz is talking about life mates and things.

I just LIKED it, but I didn't love it.

BUT!! Still a four star read and I'm interested how the rest of the year will play out.

4 GOOD solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Idaho in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
Idaho
Idaho
Emily Ruskovich | 2017 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Read me review here: https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/review-idaho-by-emily-ruskovich/

<i><b>Take your picture off the wall
So I won’t have to see your eyes
And maybe soon I won’t recall
The painful things that once were nice</i></b>

This is one of those pieces of literature that is so beautiful and so emotional that it’s hard to get your words out. I’m stuck on how to convey the beauty and excellence of this book.

Told through several different perspectives over several different years, this novel is a character study of how one event can affect so many different people. If you’re into slow paced, character focused novels with little mystery and action, then this novel is going to become one of your favourites.

Without going through every single character and scene, I feel like it’s not easy to comment on this novel, but I don’t really want to give anything away because I think this is a book you should start off with, not knowing much about it. If Ruskovich wanted you to know more about this piece of work, she’d have written a different synopsis.

All I can say about this book is that it’s a <b>must read</b> debut for 2017. I’m looking forward to more of Ruskovich’s work.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Random House, Vintage Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
  
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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Bird Therapy in Books

Apr 17, 2020  
Bird Therapy
Bird Therapy
Joe Harkness | 2020 | Health & Fitness, Natural World
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Bird Therapy tells us how important nature is for our mental wellbeing. Joe Harkness has struggled with his own mental health for many years, and after reaching crisis point, he decided to get out into his own local natural environment. He began birdwatching, and soon realised that the combination of getting out in to the countryside and having a purpose to do so (birdwatching), helped him to find calm in an otherwise anxious and depressed mind.

This book not only looks at the medical evidence, proving the worth of getting out into our green spaces, but also looks at how birdwatching could work for the reader too. There are loads of helpful tips at the end of each chapter as well. For me though, the real beauty of this book is in the writing itself. The descriptions of the places where Joe goes to find birds, the times of year and the birds themselves are really inspirational. They make me want to go to these places and find these birds myself (I’m now obsessed with the idea of seeing a Shrike, after I googled it and found a picture of one sat on a fence, with what looks like a toad hanging out of its mouth!). I will enjoy my garden for now, in this time of Covid 19 isolation, but when we’re allowed back out, I’ll certainly be getting out into the countryside near where I live.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Joe Harkness for so actively participating in the process.