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Healing Kiss
Healing Kiss
Amanda Uhl | 2023 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
HEALING KISS is a contemporary romance with paranormal elements. Lilian is able to store energy and use it to heal others, especially those who are quite literally on the same wavelength as her. It is not a finite source though and does have an impact. She returns to Cleveland to save her sister from dying. She has been on the run for the past two years from a dodgy company that wants to use her talents against her will. Tristan is a billionaire with trust issues and a mother who is dying. When these two bump into each other, it sets off events that neither of them could have foreseen.

This was a slow starter for me but once I got into the groove, the rest of the book flew by. There is quite a bit of angst, both in general and between our two main characters. Angelina was made into too big a deal for my liking and I found myself skipping over the scenes with her in them, which is a shame as they help to move the story forwards, but I just found I couldn't help myself!

The build-up to the end and the epilogue were fantastic and I really hope to read Hannah's story. This was a thoroughly enjoyable story with a fresh look at talents and how they work. Definitely recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 5, 2023
  
Fallen Angel
Fallen Angel
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Genre: Contemporary Adult

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.27

My Rating: 2.5

“What do you see when you look into my eyes?” I asked breathlessly and not entirely sure where the question had come from.

“All there is to know,” was his reply. “What do you see when you look into my eyes, Brooke?” he whispered, there was a slight anger to his voice.

I trembled. “An abyss and danger,” was all I could say.


I found Fallen Angel when I was looking for angel/mortal romance novels. Even though Fallen Angel was listed as a mafia romance and not not the supernatural romance I was looking for, I picked it up anyway. And at first it was great.

It immediately started out with a strong love story. Brooke is in the midst of an existential crisis after breaking up with her long-time boyfriend. When she visits her best friend Sam in New York, she ends up meeting billionaire Robert Stone, a handsome CEO who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. To the point of being a jerk about it. But at least he’s self aware about that.

“I’m worried that I might hurt you. I have a knack of doing that when people get too close to me, a defense mechanism, I guess.”

No one pretends Robert is a great boyfriend, which I love. There are too many alpha billionaires out there that are disturbingly abusive while everyone pretends it’s a normal relationship. Not here. Robert’s actually one of the first to admit that he’s not a good boyfriend and he’s never had a real relationship. Which is great. I love flawed heroes. And when Robert does get better at communicating his feelings, it’s worth it.

“I love you, Brooke. You’ll never know just how much because there are no words.”

 

And Brooke is strong enough to handle him. She stands up to Robert when he disses Sam for being gay (which, by the way, I hated a lot. You can be a flawed badass without being a homophobe. Ugh. Major turn-off for me) and when he makes a big deal about her wearing a revealing dress.

“I wore it for you and not for anyone else. If people can see my body, so what? You’re the only one touching it,” I told him.

Brooke’s even a trained kick boxer. She’s incredibly strong and perfect to help Robert get over his past.

Then the story falls flat.

tired-and-bored-boy-sleep-014

After their second fight and make up, the story gets monotonous real fast. A lot of sex scenes– which, to be fair, were actually hot and well-written– and a lot of the mundane stuff. Brooke hanging out with Sam and Scott, Brooke working, Brooke attending one event or another with Robert. The story just dragged. And with the actual story dragging, the amount of comma splices and run-on sentences became more noticeable to me and book was practically unreadable. I had to make myself finish because I had already invested so much time into it.

It’s not like there wasn’t potential for more plot. There’s a jealous ex girlfriend out to steal Robert back and Brooke’s ex boyfriend can’t accept their break up. Brooke takes a troubled teen under her wing and isn’t this supposed to be a mafia romance?

And yet the majority of the middle of the book is sex, clothes, work days, and how great Brooke is for Robert. On top of that, Brooke loses a lot of the strength and independence I saw earlier in the book. In fact, she turned into a love sick teen.

Our souls, so entwined, were part of each other, true soul mates. Not even death would separate us.

marrypoppinsareyouill

To make matters worse, Robert’s criminal background isn’t revealed until three quarters of the way through the story! And since he got out of illegal activities years before he met Brooke, it’s really anticlimactic. Brooke makes a huge deal out of it and almost leaves him because of his past, which makes me dislike her even more. The criminal element actually seems more like an after thought to this so-called mafia romance. I’m really surprised it has such a high rating on Goodreads because I found it pretty disappointing. My rating is 2.5 stars because of the strong beginning, but I definitely won’t be reading any more of the Fallen Angel series.
  
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Merissa (14020 KP) rated Paper Cranes in Books

Jun 19, 2017  
Paper Cranes
Paper Cranes
Jordan Ford | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Paper Cranes by Jordan Ford
Paper Cranes is a fairy tale retelling, taking you away from the contemporary romance/suspense that Jordan Ford has previously published. It starts with a sullen Tristan, who has had his life disrupted due to his parents' divorce. He moves away from his mum and her new boyfriend to stay with his dad, but didn't realise that he would end up looking after him. All seems lost as he sinks deeper into bitterness and sadness. However, when he goes to rescue a lost baseball, he finds more than a ball. He finds the light of his life, and so the adventures begin.

As bad as this may sound, each time I start a new Jordan Ford book I think to myself that I can't possible enjoy it as much as I did "...", and yet each time Jordan Ford proves me wrong. I LOVED this fairy tale retelling, mainly because of the tongue in cheek references to Rapunzel that the characters themselves tease each other with. Seeing the rises and falls that Tristan goes through, the calm acceptance of Helena, the joy, love, and laughter that these two share... it's just wonderful. I also have a re-appreciation for Shakespeare and poetry! Now, this book isn't all sweetness and light, so don't think it is, BUT it does show what can happen if you keep the faith in love, hope, happiness, and fairy tale endings.

Exceptionally written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have no hesitation in recommending it.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!