Author: lgbtqreader85

One Golden Summer – Clare Lydon, T.B. Markinson

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Rating: 5 out of 5.
Strangely considering both authors popularity, I’ve only read one book by Markinson before, and before this hadn’t explored any Lydon work. I will definitely be reading more books by both authors. I think one of the biggest compliments I can pay the book is that you can’t tell it’s written by more than one author – it flows so freely.

I often find I don’t enjoy books set in the UK – they often feel like they’re written for a foreign audience perspective of life here, but I loved this book. The descriptions of British small town life and our coastal towns rings very true. The scenery, town and British life are almost a character in themselves, really helping to make the book in my opinion.

I wanted the MCs to be together from the moment they met, and found myself frustrated with both characters that they couldn’t quite get it right at times. However I think it’s a mark of how well the book and the characters are written that I felt this way. The secondary characters in the book are also well written, relevant and contribute to the story.

If you’re looking for a good summer read in all the current madness you won’t go wrong this with one.

Breaking Free (Maddie & Kara #2) – D.R. Coghlan

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Rating: 3 out of 5.
This book has me in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to reviewing. I liked the characters, I enjoyed the writing, it’s a good follow-up from the first book and I would genuinely like the third possible part to finish the story of Maddie and Kara, yet I can’t list this amongst my 4/5 star reviews.

At times I found myself skimming/speed reading pages, wanting to get to the end and the reconciliation I knew would happen, finding all the ignoring each other in a long distance relationship frustrating. However, I can imagine that this is very realistic for some people in this type of situation. Another reason I’m finding it difficult to review – I believe most elements of the book are realistic – difficult families, bad friendships etc. Perhaps I was just looking for something to get lost in and the realism couldn’t take me away from day to day life enough.

The twist in the book is good, and was a good way of starting to encourage those on Maddie’s side to start seeing her differently. I was happy to guess the twist before it happened, but only just, so I didn’t spend the whole book wondering why Maddie couldn’t see it.

Kara’s storyline was good and I think showed a journey some people go on when they fall for someone and see themselves changing from the person they thought they were.

If you like realism in your lesbian romance books you should enjoy this one and even if you don’t there’s a lot to like here, just prepare to be a little frustrated along the way.

A More Perfect Union – Carsen Taite

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Rating: 4 out of 5.
This book was well on its way to being a five star review – romance, espionage, intrigue…and then it ended. After being so invested in both characters I needed more from the ending. I’d love a second book and the ending provides lots of scope for that book to be written, but even so, I just needed more.

This was my first Taite book and I have to say I was very impressed with both the storyline and the quality of the writing – I’ll definitely be making sure to work my way through her extensive back catalogue.

Both Zoey and Rook are interesting, insightful characters and I liked how their duty to their respective jobs was explored, including the inevitable impacts. I’d have liked some more of them together in a romantic situation (and more sex) and would happily have read a longer book to have more of this aspect.

Hearts Like Hers (Seven Shores #2) – Melissa Brayden

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Rating: 4 out of 5.
I loved the first book in this series and I really enjoyed this one – it just didn’t quite live up to my hopes. Despite this it was still a great book that I would happily recommend to anybody else.

The friendship group in this series really make this set of books for me, the reactions and writing of Hayden, Gia and Izzy are well written, funny and enjoyable. I like Autumn, but felt disconnected from her. I much preferred Kate and the brooding, slightly damaged characterisation.

I liked the storyline, and it was interesting to have some of the plot lines such as adoption and pregnancy come into play in unexpected ways and is why I’d still give the book 4 stars.

I’m looking forward to finding the time to read the third instalment and hearing more about this group of characters, including if the HEA sticks.

Slammed – Lola Keeley

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Rating: 4 out of 5.
When you’re catching up on all of the books that have come out in the last couple of years whilst you’ve had a reading break, it’s easy to stay on a roll of great books and this is most definitely one of them.

A fantastic lesbian sports romance, full of complicated (in all the best ways) and enjoyable characters.
The tennis in the book doesn’t play second fiddle to the romance and you can tell the author genuinely loves and watches tennis. The terminology and action scenes are spot on. The lesser storyline threaded through the book has merit and is an enjoyable factor.

I loved the romance between the MCs, the hesitance at first, followed by the passion and the impact on their lives. The angst mainly comes from influences outside their relationship, which I always enjoy in a book, life isn’t always easy so a well thought out journey like this one helps make the book.

If you love sports and romance, read this book. Even if you don’t love sports, read it anyway, you’ll still enjoy it.