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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Bunny Finds a Friend in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Cara Jong is working as a process server when she delivers a summons to a Santa. Except this Santa is a gorgeous woman, who immediately strikes a chord with Cara. The two share a "moment," which stays with Cara for some time. She eventually tracks down said Santa, who turns out to be Jude Donovan, a well-known children's book author. The two "meet cute," so to speak, at a reading of Jude's and sparks fly. They begin dating, but it seems like things just aren't meant to be. Will Cara's flighty nature and lack of commitment (all well-documented by her older sisters) doom the relationship? What about Jude's ex and her young daughter Zoe, who doesn't seem happy to have her Mom dating again? Can Cara and Jude overcome these obstacles and find happiness?
This was a cute book, with fairly realistic characters leading a fairly realistic life--something that's harder to find than one would think in lesbian literature. Cara's a regular gal, with a typical lack of commitment found in a myriad characters in literature, gay and straight. Perhaps the biggest issue with this book is that it sort of seems like a sketch of what could have been an even more fully-developed and even more enjoyable novel. We don't get to see a lot of Cara and Jude's actual relationship development, for instance. Their courtship and issues are quickly glossed over. I would have liked to have seen more of what led them to fall for each other--and fall apart. After all, those sorts of things (falling in love, struggling to maintain a relationship while juggling exes and children and jobs) are what we all have in common.
Cara's sisters are also supposed to add a bit of comic relief, perhaps, to the novel, but they sometimes come across as harpy and annoying. While several of them are dealing with complex issues, they don't get the full attention they truly deserve.
Still, this was a fun, quick read. It's always refreshing to read lesbian fiction with normal characters navigating life. I liked Cara, sympathized with her on a multitude of levels, and did enjoy reading about her journey. Overall, 3.5 stars.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley - thank you!
This was a cute book, with fairly realistic characters leading a fairly realistic life--something that's harder to find than one would think in lesbian literature. Cara's a regular gal, with a typical lack of commitment found in a myriad characters in literature, gay and straight. Perhaps the biggest issue with this book is that it sort of seems like a sketch of what could have been an even more fully-developed and even more enjoyable novel. We don't get to see a lot of Cara and Jude's actual relationship development, for instance. Their courtship and issues are quickly glossed over. I would have liked to have seen more of what led them to fall for each other--and fall apart. After all, those sorts of things (falling in love, struggling to maintain a relationship while juggling exes and children and jobs) are what we all have in common.
Cara's sisters are also supposed to add a bit of comic relief, perhaps, to the novel, but they sometimes come across as harpy and annoying. While several of them are dealing with complex issues, they don't get the full attention they truly deserve.
Still, this was a fun, quick read. It's always refreshing to read lesbian fiction with normal characters navigating life. I liked Cara, sympathized with her on a multitude of levels, and did enjoy reading about her journey. Overall, 3.5 stars.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley - thank you!
Merissa (13100 KP) rated Wheels Up (Out of Uniform #4) in Books
Jun 18, 2018
Wheels Up (Out of Uniform #4) by Annabeth Albert
Wheels Up is the fourth book in the Out of Uniform series, and spend some time with Dustin, Dylan's big brother.
Dustin is bisexual, but his family doesn't know. Just as he is about to come out to his family, Dylan beats him to the punchline. Dustin then gets a whole heap of family pressure dumped on his shoulders. His dad wants grand-kids, after all! Plus being a SEAL hasn't always been the best situation to be in if you're gay or bi, so Dustin has stayed firmly in the closet. He has his 'special' time with an online friend though, and that is more than enough for him... or maybe not.
Now, I'm not American, and I'm not in the Forces, nor do I know of anyone who is, so the whole fraternisation rules are new to me. That being said, wow! After seeing how distracted Dustin became, I can sort of understand the no relationship part, but to have that enforced to such a degree you can't even be friends??? And I didn't get the enlisted part of it - sorry! However, that didn't stop my enjoyment of this story one iota.
I think my heart broke so many times reading this one. The need to be with each other, the wanting to show people, the absolute necessity of keeping it quiet. Dustin and Wes put paid to so many preconceptions - why is it always the big guy who is the bossy top? Big guys need cuddles too! And to be fair, I can see them needing someone else to take charge of them, after being in charge of others for so much of the time.
So much steam, so much heartbreak, so much worry, and so much hope. You get a HFN, which I just hope will be enough. Can't wait to read more and find out. There were no editing or grammatical errors that interrupted my reading flow, and I was thoroughly engrossed from start to finish. Absolutely recommended.
* 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!
Dustin is bisexual, but his family doesn't know. Just as he is about to come out to his family, Dylan beats him to the punchline. Dustin then gets a whole heap of family pressure dumped on his shoulders. His dad wants grand-kids, after all! Plus being a SEAL hasn't always been the best situation to be in if you're gay or bi, so Dustin has stayed firmly in the closet. He has his 'special' time with an online friend though, and that is more than enough for him... or maybe not.
Now, I'm not American, and I'm not in the Forces, nor do I know of anyone who is, so the whole fraternisation rules are new to me. That being said, wow! After seeing how distracted Dustin became, I can sort of understand the no relationship part, but to have that enforced to such a degree you can't even be friends??? And I didn't get the enlisted part of it - sorry! However, that didn't stop my enjoyment of this story one iota.
I think my heart broke so many times reading this one. The need to be with each other, the wanting to show people, the absolute necessity of keeping it quiet. Dustin and Wes put paid to so many preconceptions - why is it always the big guy who is the bossy top? Big guys need cuddles too! And to be fair, I can see them needing someone else to take charge of them, after being in charge of others for so much of the time.
So much steam, so much heartbreak, so much worry, and so much hope. You get a HFN, which I just hope will be enough. Can't wait to read more and find out. There were no editing or grammatical errors that interrupted my reading flow, and I was thoroughly engrossed from start to finish. Absolutely recommended.
* 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!
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Book of Essie in Books
Dec 25, 2018
It's so hard to decide where to start with this book. First: it's amazing. Second: Content Warning. For a number of reasons. Rape. Incest. Gay Conversion Therapy. Suicide. Nothing extremely graphic; the most graphic concerns the conversion therapy, which is where the suicide occurs. That section was hard to read. A lot of sections were hard to read. But the book was SO GOOD. It's about Essie and Roarke's escape from all that, so ultimately it focuses on the future, and it's a hopeful, light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel kind of book. But daaaaang these topics.
I loved so many of the characters here. Essie and Roarke, Roarke's best friend Blake, Liberty, the reporter, her boyfriend and her camerawoman. They're all amazing. Essie's determination, Roarke's courage, Blake's understanding - every character has something to offer in this book. The way Liberty's history entwines with Essie's, so she knows where she's coming from and can offer advice from experience, and how Liberty flashes back to her childhood so the reader understands her conflicts - it's all just so amazing.
I identify pretty closely with a lot of this book myself; I was raised very conservative Christian, though at least not in a crazy cult like Liberty was. But the way Liberty talks about her boyfriend challenging her beliefs and waking her up from them hit very close to home. It was weird to see it on the page.
"I had been home as well, a painful few months during which I began to see my parents, our family, and our church as Mike might see them, as anyone who was not us would see them. I still loved my parents, very much, but I was also deeply ashamed. I began to wonder what would have happened if I'd seen it earlier....I decided that I would not go home again."
I was cheering for Essie as she broke free of her bigoted family. Every step of the way. And Roarke - oh, Roarke, who my heart broke for, who stepped up to the plate and loved Essie in his own way, and gave Essie what she needed. It helped that Essie offered him precisely what he needed, too, but I didn't expect how their relationship evolved.
I loved this book, start to finish. This is definitely one of my favorites of 2018.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
I loved so many of the characters here. Essie and Roarke, Roarke's best friend Blake, Liberty, the reporter, her boyfriend and her camerawoman. They're all amazing. Essie's determination, Roarke's courage, Blake's understanding - every character has something to offer in this book. The way Liberty's history entwines with Essie's, so she knows where she's coming from and can offer advice from experience, and how Liberty flashes back to her childhood so the reader understands her conflicts - it's all just so amazing.
I identify pretty closely with a lot of this book myself; I was raised very conservative Christian, though at least not in a crazy cult like Liberty was. But the way Liberty talks about her boyfriend challenging her beliefs and waking her up from them hit very close to home. It was weird to see it on the page.
"I had been home as well, a painful few months during which I began to see my parents, our family, and our church as Mike might see them, as anyone who was not us would see them. I still loved my parents, very much, but I was also deeply ashamed. I began to wonder what would have happened if I'd seen it earlier....I decided that I would not go home again."
I was cheering for Essie as she broke free of her bigoted family. Every step of the way. And Roarke - oh, Roarke, who my heart broke for, who stepped up to the plate and loved Essie in his own way, and gave Essie what she needed. It helped that Essie offered him precisely what he needed, too, but I didn't expect how their relationship evolved.
I loved this book, start to finish. This is definitely one of my favorites of 2018.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
My Night with Reg
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Freedom Highway by Rhiannon Giddens
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A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful
Gideon Lewis-Kraus and Jon Gray
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A young secular writer's journey along ancient religious pilgrimage routes in Spain, Japan and...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Under Currents in Books
Apr 1, 2021
A tense yet romantic read
This is the twenty-first book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!
To an outsider, the Bigelows look like a perfect family: loving parents, two kids, beautiful home. But elder son Zane knows better, as he suffers verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his father, a surgeon. The family keeps their secrets close until one evening when everything comes out in the open and all changes. Years later, Zane returns to his hometown, determined to put the past behind him. He meets a landscape artist, Darby McCray, who has her own dark past. Together, the two must figure out if they are able to leave their secrets and horrible memories behind and forge a life together.
I'm honestly not sure if I've read a Nora Roberts book before, but picked this off my shelves for my A to Z challenge. It was one of those slightly over-the-top yet engaging books that sucks you in quickly with its story. It begins when Zane and his sister, Britt, are kids and moves on from there. It's a bit long--as it moved from section to section I was surprised there was more to keep going. A lot of that is due to descriptions of the North Carolina town, pontificating about landscaping, etc.
But it's still a book that held my interest. There's a crackling tension in the early piece, when Zane is merciless at the hands of his horrible, abusive father. As he ages, the tension recedes somewhat, but the book is still full of violent episodes. In fact, I would wonder if the town was cursed, based on how much brutality occurs in such a short period of time, but perhaps that's just me. Still, you can't help but be swept up in the various dramas, as well as Zane and Darby's relationship. The supporting cast is excellent as well, especially Zane's aunt, Emily; the local police chief; and some of Zane's friends.
Overall, a heartbreaking yet powerful read. It ended a bit abruptly for my taste, but I liked the characters and intensity of the story. (Please note: trigger warnings for sexual assault, spousal abuse/familial abuse, gay slurs.)
To an outsider, the Bigelows look like a perfect family: loving parents, two kids, beautiful home. But elder son Zane knows better, as he suffers verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his father, a surgeon. The family keeps their secrets close until one evening when everything comes out in the open and all changes. Years later, Zane returns to his hometown, determined to put the past behind him. He meets a landscape artist, Darby McCray, who has her own dark past. Together, the two must figure out if they are able to leave their secrets and horrible memories behind and forge a life together.
I'm honestly not sure if I've read a Nora Roberts book before, but picked this off my shelves for my A to Z challenge. It was one of those slightly over-the-top yet engaging books that sucks you in quickly with its story. It begins when Zane and his sister, Britt, are kids and moves on from there. It's a bit long--as it moved from section to section I was surprised there was more to keep going. A lot of that is due to descriptions of the North Carolina town, pontificating about landscaping, etc.
But it's still a book that held my interest. There's a crackling tension in the early piece, when Zane is merciless at the hands of his horrible, abusive father. As he ages, the tension recedes somewhat, but the book is still full of violent episodes. In fact, I would wonder if the town was cursed, based on how much brutality occurs in such a short period of time, but perhaps that's just me. Still, you can't help but be swept up in the various dramas, as well as Zane and Darby's relationship. The supporting cast is excellent as well, especially Zane's aunt, Emily; the local police chief; and some of Zane's friends.
Overall, a heartbreaking yet powerful read. It ended a bit abruptly for my taste, but I liked the characters and intensity of the story. (Please note: trigger warnings for sexual assault, spousal abuse/familial abuse, gay slurs.)
Broken Horses
8.0
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The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and five-time Grammy winner opens up about a...
Vancouver Map and Walks, Full Version
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Lose Yourself Without Getting Lost. This handy application presents you several self-guided city...
Worth The |Risk (Infinity #1)
5.3
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Some risks are scarier than others because they’re the most important ones we’ll ever...
male/male four stars romance fan yourself its a hot one