Closeness – Y.L. Wigman

Feb 17, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

3.25 stars. This book is a little bit different. I found it to be an interesting read but I probably wouldn’t revisit it. If you like a mix of contemporary and historical romance you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

Set in Australia Duscha inherits a home from her estranged father unexpectedly. She’s mourning the death of her partner and the house gives her the opportunity to go back to Canberra. The house is old and needs a lot of work, which inspires her to hire a gardener.

Honor owns her own gardening/landscaping company. Her partner Merrin is the firms accountant after Honor gives her the responsibility when Merrin experiences health difficulties. Honor is called to Duscha’s to give a quote for the gardening work, when they realise they have a connection from their pasts neither expected to encounter again.

The narrative is interspersed with historical information as to how Duscha came to inherit the house. Some of this is done through her discoveries, others are done through historical flashbacks. Whilst I enjoyed the short stories that were told, I found it jarring at times to be pulled from one timeline to another. There’s also a subterfuge plot line for Honor.

I appreciated how their discovering each other again as contractor/contractee and then friends is built into the narrative. It does provide a little bit of angst, but I’m happy to say there’s no crazy conflict and the majority of the angst in the book is provided by their feelings about their situation and the things going on around them.

I liked the relationship Honor had with her father, which grew on me after initially feeling quite differently differently about it, and Duscha’s relationship with her mother. The couple of friendships interspersed in the storyline also helped with understanding both characters.

There were a couple of small bits that weren’t revisited to the full extent I would have liked but I can understand why they perhaps won’t in the overall narrative. However there was something about the book that left me with a sense of it being unfinished. It’s possible it’s because it crams in a lot in a relatively short word count.

All in all I think this book has elements people will enjoy, with a good narrative, interesting setting and elements of mystery, paranormal, romance and family conflict.

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

The Last Time We Met – Maggie Brown and Leni Hanson

Jan 17, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

This is sort of a second chance romance, I’m not sure you can call it a full-on second chance when the characters don’t really get together the first time they meet, but they do have some history so I’ll classify it that way for ease.

Merritt is the daughter of a US senator. She works for Doctors Without Borders in the trauma team, visiting some of the worst tragedies to provide emergency medical care.

Austen is an Australian rock star. She has a reputation for bedding whomever she wants whenever she wants.

The two first meet when Merritt is in College. They meet when Merritt goes to a signing for Austen and Merritt is one of those that catches Austen’s eye. They have a nice night together but for reasons I won’t get into it, it doesn’t go any further than that. This forms a brief flashback in the book, but it’s the only one, so those that aren’t flashback fans don’t need to worry.

The two meet again in Australia. Austen has returned home for a vacation, but not before she performs an important show for some diplomats. Merritt has decided to vacation in Australia after a particularly difficult spell at work, as her parents are in Australia for her fathers work.

I liked how the authors approached the two meeting again and especially liked how they interwove both MCs friends and acquaintances into this part of the book. The side characters are interesting and provide a little bit of will they, won’t they intrigue, as well as allowing us to get to know the MCs better away from each other. It also serves to help build up chemistry between the two again – something we don’t always see in second chance romances.

I liked the Doctors Without Borders aspects to the storyline. I liked that Merritt was open about how her assignments had made her feel and that she dealt with them in a communicative manner.

There’s a couple of twists in the last quarter of the book that I actually really enjoyed.

I can’t comment as to how the authors styles have combined as this is my first time reading either author, but I wasn’t able to identify any clashing styles or weird jumps on the page, so I’d say they were successful.

All in all this was an interesting read that I think wlw romance fans will enjoy.

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

A Message in Blood – Catherine Maiorisi

Jan 13, 2021 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

This is the latest part in the Chiara Corelli Mystery series and as far as I’m concerned the best one yet. I should say upfront, this book won’t be for everyone, it deals with the very difficult topic of child sex-trafficking and discusses this in graphic detail at times, however the uncomfortable nature of the topic is outweighed by the underlying relationships that thrive in this book.

Chiara is now beginning to gain public awareness for her work in a good light again after her previous battles due to her undercover work. Chiara is more aware of her own issues, especially with her PTSD and is more open to confronting her feelings and behaviours towards others. This growth from book one is one of my favourite parts of this book.

There is a general awareness throughout the book of how people interact with each other in all of the horrible ways. It discusses racism, cops, politicians, the military, family and many other things with an honesty that I found refreshing and at times profound. The way Maiorisi weaves these concepts through the narrative, giving each its moment and relevance to the overall narrative is masterfully done.

The complicated elements of love and loss and moving on are looked from many different perspectives. Chiara is opening her heart to the possibility of a relationship with Brett, and I especially love how Brett approaches this with her. P.J. has her own battles to fight with her past, and I love how she has grown and fits together with Chiara and her family.

Family is at the heart of much of the narrative, both in positive and negative ways. Chiara’s sister and her story arc in this book actually made me cry.

The mystery element of the book was done really well. As I mentioned it revolves around the very difficult topic of child sex trafficking and is graphic at times, so I had to take a break at times, but I think it’s done in a realistic and non-gratuitous manner. We’re kept in suspense until the very end as to the perpetrator and I enjoyed the twists that came with this storyline.

Whilst the book covers many hard topics, I find that upon reflection the feeling I was left with when I finished reading was warmth. Maiorisi finishes this book in a way that would neatly tie up the series should this be her choice, but I have to say I would love for her to continue to tell Chiara and P.J’s stories, especially at this high standard.

If you haven’t started this series yet, do.

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

A Matter of Blood – Catherine Maiorisi

Dec 28, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

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.

Maybe Charlotte – Louise McBain

Dec 9, 2020Dec 9, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

This book was a really pleasant surprise. I’ve been having a difficult couple of weeks and it was nice to have an easy to read book that doesn’t have the usual pull everything apart at 90% thing.

I didn’t realise that this book is a sequel until I’d finished it and I don’t feel like I missed anything by not having read the first book, so I would say that if you haven’t read the first book this one can still be read as a standalone. I’ll definitely be adding it to my TBR list though.

Both of the main characters were interesting in themselves. The book is told from the point of view of Charlie and I did occasionally miss knowing some of the more in-depth feelings on Lily’s part that alternating the point of view would have provided but as a narrative concept it works.

I really enjoyed the fact that this was a page turner full of small but interesting moments. There were some amusing capers that really made the secondary characters shine, including a couple of storyline threads that run through the majority of the book. Charlie’s ex plays a part in the storyline, but even this is done in an engaging way.

One of my favourite parts about this book is the setting. I love DC and spending time there, so it really made me happy that the storyline takes place there. I also really liked the descriptors of art that feature in the book.

Overall this a sweet romance full of moments to keep you interested and great chemistry between the main characters. I’d recommend to all wlw romance fans.

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