I jumped at this book with grabby hands because of this sentence in the summary: Back in college she tied this former frat boy to the bed with her argyle socks! I mean, male bondage! Argyle socks! It’s an irresistibly charming and random combination. How could this not be fun? Unfortunately, what I got was a cliché-laden good girl-bad boy romance that is drowning in sexism. (As well as several other – isms, but let’s … Continue reading Once Kissed by Cecy Robson →
T/W: past rape/sexual assault; slut-shaming The experience of reading this book was like dating a really hot guy. In the beginning all I saw was the potential. And the sex? Yes, please! I overlooked his flaws and knew it likely wouldn’t be long-term, but who cared because I was up late at night with his scorching hot kisses and nothing else mattered. A+! Some time went by – I had to sleep at some point … Continue reading Once Pure by Cecy Robson →
I didn’t receive a 2016 RITA® Reader Challenge review for this book, so I’m compiling quotes from reviews online and using the grade average from Goodreads as a substitute. This book has a 3.78 average, which I’m interpreting as a B+. And here are the review quotes, linked to the original sources: Sybil aka Lala wrote: …I loved the way the book was written. From the start you’re thrown right into all the confusion and you’re … Continue reading Altered by Marnee Blake →
Trigger warning for domestic violence The Strongest Steel is a new adult novel about Harper Connelly, a domestic violence survivor with extensive scarring on her back from where her ex-boyfriend carved a phrase into it, and Trent Andrews, the tattoo artist whom she wants to tattoo over her scars. This novel hits several of the new adult tropes. Terrible trauma? Check. Green eyed heroine? (Green eyes are the violet eyes of the new century.) Check. … Continue reading The Strongest Steel by Scarlett Cole →
I’m admittedly very cynical when it comes to New Adult. I haven’t read very much of it that I’ve liked with the notable exception of anything by Kylie Scott. I found Just a Girl by Ellie Cahill to be exactly what I was looking for: a romance about people in their young twenties who live and behave like they are in their young twenties, without a ton of navel-gazing. The book is told first person POV, … Continue reading Just a Girl by Ellie Cahill →
Before reading “Nice Girls Don’t Ride,” I’d tried two Roni Loren books. The first was a DNF; I read more than 50 pages before giving up, and now, maybe three months later, I can’t remember any of it. The second was Off the Clock. The premise intrigued me, so I gave Loren another try, and I ended up loving it. The description of “Nice Girls Don’t Ride” sounded promising, and I figured there was a decent … Continue reading Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren →
Trigger warning: Various kinds of sexual abuse are referred to in this story. When we were told that there were grey places the RITA spreadsheet I looked to see if there was anything I wanted to review. I went to Amazon to read the description of this book and somehow clicked on “Buy with 1 click” instead of the title. Sneaky Amazon. I was upset because the cost is above what I allow myself to … Continue reading Once Pure by Cecy Robson →
I’ll start with a plot overview, so you have a little context for my response to the book—I’ll try to stay neutral, but that’ll be hard. Your main characters are Rikki (the girl) who narrates the novel in first person. She’s intelligent and insightful, which makes her vapid and irrational insecurity even more painful. Then you have Sam (the boy) who is a cool, complex, sensitive teenager (where the hell were guys like him when … Continue reading Rikki by Abigail Strom →
TL;DR: If you want to pretend that you’re getting fuzzy warm equality feels, but actually like stereotyping gay men, this is an A+ gold star book. The story is competent. There are cute moments. It’s hot. I get why this is a RITA finalist and why there are a bunch of squeeing reviews on Amazon. If you’re at all remotely anywhere on the queer spectrum, or, you know, if you’re an actual ally? You might … Continue reading Him by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen →
“Nice Girls Don’t Ride” starts with a scenario we’ve read before: it’s Natalie’s 21st birthday and she’s on her way to meet her boyfriend. Not only does her car break down, but she gets conflicting messages from the restaurant and her boyfriend which make her think he’s up to funny business. A handsome stranger passing by in his tow-truck gets her car to the garage and her to the restaurant where she finds her boyfriend dining … Continue reading Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren →
I have to start this review by saying that I should not have read it in the same week that I read several feminist writings. The story is engaging and the hero and heroine (Zach and Nessa) are likeable. It’s part of a larger series so it suffers from having zero character development for anyone aside from the lead characters, but most people would think that’s a feature, not a bug in a novella-length story. … Continue reading Blue Streak by Jules Barnard →
