RITA Reader Challenge Reviews

The Dirty Secret by Kira A. Gold

The Dirty Secret

Oh, hey. I agreed to review this book, but I don’t really remember much about it even though I finished it yesterday. I know that it mostly was about decorating a house, and that the heroine had a secret and that there was a LOT of not particularly interesting sex. Let’s try this again. The book starts with Vessa, our heroine, visiting a woman named Donna (like a title) Edith. Donna Edith matches people with … Continue reading The Dirty Secret by Kira A. Gold

Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan

Miracle on 5th Avenue

It’s simple to know whether you’d enjoy Miracle on 5th Avenue. Do you like Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, but wish they had slightly explicit sex scenes? If yes, Merry Christmas to you! This book is an eminently capable version of that. The elements are all there, and it satisfies, hitting all the beats just as you anticipate them. It feels like reading the tumblr Things Fitting Perfectly Into Other Things. Miracle on 5th Avenue features … Continue reading Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan

Atone by Beth Yarnall

Atone

If you are looking for sunshine and soothing fuzzy animals, this is not the book for you. Rape and murder are mentioned on the very first page of Atone and it just gets darker from there. I read a lot of gory mysteries and am not generally a squeamish person but this book got to me, and not in a good way. Trigger warnings: child rape, sexual assault, sex trafficking, child abuse, forced sterilization. The … Continue reading Atone by Beth Yarnall

Atone by Beth Yarnall

Atone

So I need to start this review with a whole host of content warnings. Rape mentions including: sexual abuse/rape of children and teens, sexual slavery of children and teens, and prison/revenge rape (i.e. the Heroine “hopes” one of the antagonists is repeatedly assaulted in prison as a punishment for him taking part in the enslavement/abuse) Emotional abuse/manipulation Alcoholism (with some emotional abuse attached to it) Dubious/lack of consent between the Hero and Heroine (their first … Continue reading Atone by Beth Yarnall

Make Me Sin by J. T. Geissinger

Make Me Sin

I started 2017 with the purpose of experiencing new things, places and even authors thus chose this book from RITA review list. While reading this book I was in major dilemma about my personal two beliefs. “Don’t quit just as the going gets tough” and “Life is too short to read depressing books.” Okay, so this one is verbatim Susan Elizabeth Philip (SEP) quote which I wholeheartedly agree. This book just didn’t do anything for … Continue reading Make Me Sin by J. T. Geissinger

Pansies by Alexis Hall

Pansies

This year, I was early enough to choose a couple of my favorite authors for the RITA Reader Challenge (yay!), but I also wanted at least one new-to-me author to read and review. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I chose Pansies solely because I thought the title was pretty and different. I’d never heard of the author or The Spires series, and I had no idea that it was a m/m romance. Not … Continue reading Pansies by Alexis Hall

Hot in Hellcat Canyon by Julie Anne Long

Hot in Hellcat Canyon

This book was so charming. SO charming. Hamster wrapped in a blanket eating a carrot charming. Smart and funny with adorable visual descriptions, intense chemistry, and fizzy sparkling prose. It should be at the tippy top of your summer reading pile. The main characters are drawn to each other first through their clever vocabularies. It is a book about smart people who think about things and enjoy witty banter, my ultimate catnip. Naturally, they are … Continue reading Hot in Hellcat Canyon by Julie Anne Long

Tender Is the Night by Barbara Freethy

Tender is the Night

Over the years, I have read three Barbara Freethy books, the first of which, Golden Lies, came back into my life after a decade of searching because the Bitchery solved my HABO a few years ago. That book is still among my favorites. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will ever be able to say that about Tender Is the Night. While it isn’t a bad book, it also isn’t a good book. If there was … Continue reading Tender Is the Night by Barbara Freethy

Ravenous by M. S. Force

Ravenous

No joke – when I started writing this review, I had to look up the name of the book because I totally forgot. That pretty much sums up my feelings for Ravenous. I swear I wanted to finish this book. I stopped and started reading it again multiple times in the hopes I would finally give two shits about the plot or the characters, but alas, it was not to be. When I got to … Continue reading Ravenous by M. S. Force

No Mistress of Mine by Laura Lee Guhrke

No Mistress of Mine

Oh, Bitchery, I hang my head in shame and consternation. I promised to read and review No Mistress of Mine several months ago, and I embraced the task with enthusiasm. I read it and another book in one week and sat down and wrote an effusive review of the first book. And then I dallied. And dithered. I went on to read and listen to several other books, and every few days my glance would … Continue reading No Mistress of Mine by Laura Lee Guhrke

Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne

Snowfall on Haven Point

TRIGGER WARNING for discussions of suicide and rape. There are certain types of books that when I read them, I need mood music, which is why my dad eventually found me listening to Christmas music on the hottest day of the year. Seeing as he believes Christmas music is only appropriate from December 18th to the 25th, he was not amused. I, however, was too wrapped up in this book to care — and, honestly, … Continue reading Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne