Standby Counsel – Alexi Venice

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
3.5 stars.

The second part in the Monica Spade series, Monica is just settling in after having started her own law practice with her other colleagues who also escaped the misogynistic, homophobic practice they were previously at.

Monica doesn’t specialises in criminal law, yet she finds herself requested by the court to act as standby counsel for Stela – a female student at the local university who has been arrested for murdering her boyfriend.

I enjoyed the premise of the book. I’m a fan of queer law/crime based books and wasn’t previously aware of the concept of a standby counsel, so I found this refreshing. The interactions Monica has with Stela are both strangely amusing and kind of creepy, adding another dimension to the book.

The case isn’t straightforward and brings unexpected elements into Monica’s life, including some stalking and some of the acronym based law enforcement agencies. These inclusions were done well, stoking but not over-exaggerating conspiracy theories.

One of my frustrations with the book was the length. There were times where things could have been shortened as they repeated things that had previously happened. For instance this happens when counsellors are undertaking their closing arguments. I found myself skimming over these sections.

Monica’s interactions with non-crime related characters were a little hit and miss. Her relationships with her colleagues are well written. There was a bit of a jealously sub plot with her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s ex that left me feeling a little strange about the HEA.

I’d definitely be interested in a third part to this series if it happens and would recommend anyone who likes some queer romance and lawyers combined to give this series a go.

I received an e-ARC via BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.

The Real Story – Sienna Waters

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
3.5 stars. An enjoyable easy read. Waters has become a reliably enjoyable author for me and I liked how this one is again completely different from the book before.

Elle is failing at Edina magazine. She cares more about partying and recovering from hangovers than pitching good ideas. When she feels her job threatened she’s forced to come up with a job saving idea on the fly. Her bright idea – a profile of one of the most reclusive business successful business women – Alya Goldstein.

I found the first part of book to be awkward in that we know the big secret, that Elle has fallen into Alya’s life due to her deception and need for the story, so when they start to fall for each other it made me anxious as I was waiting for the moment that would inevitably cause hurt. However it’s cleverly written in that there is still a lot of honesty when you look for it.

Whilst I didn’t enjoy the deception as such, I liked the premise in that it wasn’t one I’ve encountered personally in this way before in queer fiction. A byproduct of the deception meant that the conflict between the two had a genuine reason to happen and Waters didn’t continue it any longer than necessary, which I found to be a relief.

I liked that Elle’s relationship with her best friend is brutally honest and truthful, in perfect contrast to the beginning of her relationship with Alya. Alya’s relationship with her grandmother mirrors this. Both of these relationships force each of the MCs to explore things more honestly.

I would recommend this to any queer romance fans.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Journey to Cash – Ashley Bartlett

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Rating: 5 out of 5.
Great ending to a great series. I read this whole series in week or so, so whilst this is a review of the final book, it’s also of the series as a whole (so there may be some spoilers prior instalments). I’m considering this a five star book due to it being the closing part and how I feel about the series, but from a writing point of view I preferred Cash and the Sorority Girl slightly.

There isn’t really anything else like this out there in queer fiction at the moment that I’m aware of and I love how much it stands out. It hit me whilst I was reading the third book in the series – Cash and the Sorority Girl – that one of the reasons I love this series so much is its inherent queerness. The discussions of the patriarchy and heteronormativity in an everyday manner and how it flows through the whole series are fantastic.

The narrative of this final part neatly closes up the issues Cash is facing due to her drug dealing past and her former supplier Henry who previously tried to kill her and her ex-girlfriend Laurel. The situation throws them both back together to work with law enforcement to both hide from and find Henry.


All of the characters are great, Cash and her sarcasm, knowledge, values and the way she lives her life are obviously the thing everything revolves around, but the other characters are well written and bring out all of the sides of Cash.

Laurel as an ex-cop has a lot to work through and convince Cash of in this book after she walked away to find herself. The romance between Laurel and Cash isn’t the most important part of the book to me, but it is a huge part of the narrative. The power dynamics, the second/third chance to make it work and both of their reluctance to address their own emotional feelings make for compelling exchanges and portrayal.

I really enjoy the roommate relationship that Cash has with Lane. Her being Laurel’s sister adds a dimension to it, but at its heart this relationship shows Cash at her best, just as her relationship with Andy as a teenager does too. Andy’s teenage moral beliefs are very black and white and I love how Cash responds to this and how Andy has grown throughout the series.


Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention Nickels the cat, who has her own unique personality and provides some amusement.

I highly recommend this series – it stands out in wlw fiction, but it’s important to begin at the beginning with Cash Braddock. Despite the hard topics the whole series is easy to read, and all of the books are page turners. This was my 300th book this year and it was the perfect book to end the year on.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Home Ice Advantage – K.R. Collins

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Yet another great instalment in this series. I find myself both loving the idea that this series is going to continue for some time as I enjoy the books so much, but also equally worried that we’re going to be kept waiting even longer for the thing I most want to happen!

I enjoyed that the narrative of this book takes place both in the main hockey league and at the winter games, breaking things up a little and ensuring that we aren’t revisiting the same thing over and over. The hockey scenes are always written well and this hasn’t changed in this book. There’s plenty of action off the ice in this book too, which provides a nice interlude.

I find Sophie’s feelings about her career, her family and Elsa both immensely frustrating and completely relatable. I love that whilst Sophie is an adult, with a high pressure career, she’s experiencing the feelings that many feel when discovering their sexuality as teenagers and it’s here where I most love Collins as a writer. Her writing about hockey is fantastic and also shines, but her ability to bring out Sophie’s feelings without making her appear as a whiny child are great.

I love that Collins doesn’t write all of the characters to be the same, just because they are hockey players. She teases out parts of each of the women in the league so they are both great friends and foes for each other. I also really liked that this book explores the relationship Sophie has with her coach in more depth.

I enjoyed the discussions about ensuring the locker room was inclusive and the addition of some bi representation as well as a gay male character.

If you’re a fan of the series you’ll enjoy this instalment, and if you haven’t started this series yet – pick up Breaking the Ice as you’ll need to start at the beginning.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Matter of Blood – Catherine Maiorisi

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Rating: 4 out of 5.
In anticipation of part 3 in this series coming out in January I wanted to read this series as it seemed like it would be right in my wheelhouse and I’m really happy to say it is.

When I first started reading I thought I’d started the wrong book, and that I was actually reading the second one, because you’re dropped into a storyline that feels like the middle of something, but once it gets going it all starts to make sense and whether intentional or not really gives you the same discombobulated feeling the main character – Chiara Corelli – would have been feeling at the same point.

Corelli is a Detective for the NYPD, but has also served in the Army. When she came back from her latest tour in Afghanistan training Afghani policemen, she was asked to undertake an undercover operation to route out cops in the NYPD who were ‘on the take’. Her actions and discoveries have left her extremely unpopular with the rest of the force, with her facing the ‘blue wall’, and it is at this point we meet her.

Newly promoted Detective P.J. Parker is asked to be Corelli’s bodyguard. She has her own history with the force, with her father being a senator. She has to decide whether to team up with the most hated person on the force.

This is an interesting murder mystery, with a victim that inspires many emotions. The long list of suspects keeps things interesting and gives a lot of opportunities to learn about both Corelli and Parker. The family dynamics of both MCs and the victim are also really interesting.

I really enjoyed this book. Maiorsisi doesn’t try to pretend law enforcement is perfect and she certainly hasn’t written Corelli as the perfect character that can do no wrong. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes this kind of thing.