Love’s Truth – C.A. Popovich

Mar 21, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I was really excited about the premise of this book, the idea of someone running away from a cult and trying to assimilate back into everyday life fascinated me and as I hadn’t read any Popovich before I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try a new author for me.

Barb is on holiday. She very rarely takes a vacation and has finally given in to the idea that she needs an extended vacation, choosing a resort that will give her the opportunity to be by the water and explore nature at the same time.

Lynette escaped from a cult in her early twenties after having been there for 12 years. She’s still trying to heal, get through her everyday life and try not to be found and taken back to the cult. Not only that, but she hasn’t had good experiences from her past relationships, so the last thing she’s looking for is a vacationer to catch her eye.

I did really enjoy the storyline itself, in that I could see why the two fell for each other, what they would bring to each other in a relationship and why they would want to pursue that, but because of the setting and the time period, the story became very repetitive very quickly.

Lynette works in the hotel dining area, so this means a significant amount of the book revolves around their interactions in this dining area, or in Barb’s hotel room. I found it a little challenging at times to keep track of the timeline, as we within the interactions the characters are often worried about Lynette being late back for work, so we get glimpses into their conversations, but then all of a sudden she needs to be back, making things feel jolted at times.

I found the relationship to be believable, I just wish it had the opportunity to grow further within the storyline, though I do understand what Popovich was aiming for. The details within the book are interesting and I found the fact that the characters communicate a breath of fresh air.

I definitely wouldn’t rule out another Popovich book, and I’d be interested in reading more about this topic too if it appears in other sapphic books.

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

Love Forged – Nicole Pyland

Mar 20, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

If you read my reviews regularly you’ll know I’m a big Pyland fan, and to be honest I had thought the Sports series couldn’t be beaten, and then Love Forged was released. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve actually read a friends to lovers romance, so I can’t speak completely to it’s originality but it felt fresh and authentic to me.

Tate and Flynn are best friends. They grew up together, have done almost everything together in their lives, and are now embarking on their next journey together – med school. Unexpectedly Tate receives a letter out of the blue, that turns both of their lives upside down.

I don’t read the blurbs on Pyland books, I just look forward to them when they’re released, so this narrative came as a complete surprise to me. The title doesn’t give away much (though now I’ve read it, the title is perfect), and I definitely wasn’t expecting such a warm, thoughtful book. It was a pleasure to settle in for a few hours and get lost in this blossoming friends to lovers romance.

Whilst at its heart it’s a friends to lovers romance, it also deals with grief, loss, family and the characters finding themselves. Best of all for me, there was no crazy conflict between the two. Other than some initial communication breakdowns that felt very authentic in the world of trying to tell your best friend that you’re gay, the conflict in this purely relates to outside sources and provides a great narrative to show the couple growing together.

i’m deliberately keeping this review shorter than normal. I don’t want to give away anything else that happens and want people to be able to enjoy for themselves. If you haven’t read Pyland before, I would highly recommend starting here. If you have, you should definitely enjoy this one too.

I received an e-ARC directly from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Table for Two – Kate Gavin

Mar 18, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I’m not sure why I was surprised that I enjoyed this so much, but this is definitely falling into the category of one of my favourite books of the year so far.

Reagan owns a number of restaurants with her best friend. She’s dealing with the terminal illness of her father and is convinced to take a break for a few hours. Whilst getting lunch she finds herself sharing a table with Jillian.

Jillian, or Jill, is an ice queen workaholic, who automatically makes presumptions about Reagan. They both “enjoy the view” over lunch, but don’t leave each other on good terms. They’re thrown back together when Jill ends up planning her stepfathers birthday party and Reagan’s company is hired to do the catering.

Gavin provided the perfect mix of sadness, disappointment, hope, joy and love for me. Whilst Jill and Reagan’s family issues are very different, they have a shared knowing and understanding that makes them great partners for each other.

I loved that Gavin didn’t automatically make Jill less of an ice queen just because Reagan walked into her life one day and I especially enjoyed her character arc because of this. Her enlightening moments are really well done and the internal conflict and understanding she comes to feels very genuine.

Reagan has to take a leap of faith, and I enjoyed the aspects of the storyline where she is attempting to connect with Jill. szadfrerI also liked that Reagan calls Jill out regularly and that it becomes a great part of their relationship.

The parts of the narrative that take place when the MCs are apart from each other really add to the storyline. Reagan’s friends are well written and I love the protective gestures and holding Jill to account that take place. The scenes with Reagan’s mom are really well done, with a kindness and gentleness to them that act in stark contrast to Jill’s family. The way they are articulated ensures that you can understand where Jill has come from and why she is the way she is.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but anyone who has read lots of my reviews knows I’m a sucker for the inclusion of a pet in a book, so the added addition of a number of dogs in the narrative was definitely a positive factor for me, even without the impact they have on the storyline and allowing us to see some things.

I think any sapphic romance fan will enjoy this, especially ice queen fans and would happily recommend this.

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

On The Rocks – Riley Scott

Mar 15, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I read this book a couple of days ago and I still don’t really quite know what to say with regards to reviewing it. It has it’s good moments, but it just didn’t work for me.

A one-night stand to relationship romance, Lennon and Alex meet after Alex comes into town following a break-up. Lennon is also looking for a mindless hook-up following a break-up of her own.

There were aspects of both characters that I found interesting. How Alex is depicted with regards to her art and her career was intriguing to me, but otherwise, I didn’t particularly connect with her as a character. I connected more with Lennon, and I liked her personal growth through the story.

Scott is clearly an experienced, talented writer, and whilst I haven’t read any of her previous work I was excited to read this. However, I’m not a big fan of reading about alcohol, and it’s something that’s very prevalent in the narrative here. I’ve read novels previously about bar owners and the like that haven’t contained as much detail about drinking as this one did so I was caught a little unawares. I would say however that as this is such a personal thing about why I couldn’t enjoy this more – others may feel very differently about the book.

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

Love’s Falling Star – B.D. Grayson

Mar 13, 2021Mar 12, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I’m not completely sure what it is about this book that made me like it so much, there are some new author flaws and it has difficulties due to a lot of the main characters getting to know each other “off-page” but essentially there was something about it that just had me smiling constantly for the first 70% of the book, so I consider it a success.

Lochlan Paige is a closeted country music superstar. One of the few things she has for herself is to write at libraries, in her own little bubble with rare peace and quiet. After her latest concert, she heads to the local College library, where she meets Vanessa, a pre-med student.

After they meet a lot of the getting to know each other takes place via text message and phone calls, which as readers we don’t get much information on, so there are quite a few time skips, which I did find disappointing, but it didn’t change my enjoyment of the story itself. I can understand why it may for some readers though so you may want to take this into consideration.

I enjoyed the fact that the narrative acknowledges who Lochlan is and the impact it has on their relationship. Vanessa has her fan moments but also approaches their relationship from a pretty logical place. The development of their time together, and how it panned out narrative-wise felt believable to me, though obviously it has some sensationalist moments for effect.

My review is probably impacted by how much I loved both of the characters, rather than the writing itself, but I’m often a character-driven reader, so this isn’t much of a surprise. The ending also worked really well for me, again sticking true to the characters.

I was impressed with Grayson’s first outing, romance fans should find something they’ll enjoy in this book and I’m definitely looking forward to Grayson’s next book.

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