Bulletproof – Maggie Cummings

Nov 7, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I really liked this book, it’s a satisfying four star read that in another release month might have led me to lean more towards a low five star, but compared to a couple of others this month it doesn’t quite reach there. I really loved how Cummings mixes the police operations with the relationship and romance side of things – and my favourite part of reading this was actually how much the relationship between the two MCs shines through.

Dylan is a detective for the NYPD working vice when she stumbles across a conversation in a bar and finds herself transferred to major crimes to make use of the information she’s learned. She has a reputation in her neighbourhood as a butch that’s down for no-strings attached. She meets Briana socially, they clearly have chemistry, and then they discover Briana is the AUSA on Dylan’s new case, putting the brakes on things.

I love it when I come across a book where the two main characters are depicted as not looking for relationships, then fall for each other. Cummings has done this aspect of the narrative really really well – delving deeply into the feelings experienced when someone has a reputation as a player and then finds themselves giving themselves to someone deeply. I really enjoyed the experiences of Dylan in this regard. I liked how their relationship softened Briana and showed her that career and love can happen.

There is the introduction of some secondary characters that are well written, but contribute to the angst, both in the workplace and in their personal lives. I appreciated the inclusion of a trans character – especially as Cummings didn’t pretend that this character would have had it easy in the police force.

Whilst the angst element of the book was done slightly differently within the normal tropes, and I can understand and empathise with Dylan’s feelings, the angst part of the book is the reason I can’t quite make it a five star, as I wanted them to fight for each other sooner.

I’d definitely recommend this one to romance fans and fans of cop based books in wlw fiction. I’m definitely going to be exploring more of Cummings’ work.

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

The Holiday Treatment – Elle Spencer

Nov 4, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I’ve not really been in the reading mood this past week – but it’s really unlike me to take as long with a book as I did with this one – despite it being an easy read and not particularly long – I just found there wasn’t really anything that encouraged me to keep reading instead of doing something else.

The first 30-35% of the book moved along quite nicely. We meet Holly who works at the Wifetime network writing a popular Christmas movie series – Evermore. One of the executives at the network is Meredith, whom Holly has a crush on. Holly grew up in a town devoted to Christmas, and subsequently finds an affinity for Hawaii at Christmas. Fate brings Meredith and Holly together in Hawaii.

After this part of the book – I found myself experiencing a whiplash effect more than once, and confused me just as much at times. There is a dream episode that I thought was real – which then lead me to believe that things that are written to have actually happened were dreams, which meant re-reading to ensure I had accurately understood things. The parts of the book where angst and tension are introduced felt like jolts in the storyline and felt contrived.

Once Meredith and Holly are together, we don’t actually get to see much of this – except for some significant moments in their lives, making it too slow burn for my personal tastes.

I liked some of the secondary characters, but some just baffled me. The part of the book where Holly returns to her parents home is very sweet, but could have been shorter and still have been effective in the storyline.

All in this was a book with great potential, that in some places, especially at the beginning, managed to live up to it, but more often than not felt disconnected. If you love holiday romances there is likely to be enough enjoyable things here for you to give this a go.

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

The Other Women – Erin Zak

Oct 24, 2020Oct 25, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I’d seen a lot of reviews about this before I had the opportunity to actually read it, so whilst I was sceptical about the subject matter, I thought there was a good chance I’d enjoy it – but I actually loved it. This is my first Zak book and I just couldn’t put it down.

Cecily is a higher flyer, groomed to be a future CEO, married to her childhood sweetheart and having an affair. She’s unhappy with her life and is at heart essentially looking for herself amongst all the different aspects of her life.

Francesca is a Las Vegas casino bartender. Having fallen for someone who broke her heart in a cruel manner she’s now looking for a way to heal in all the wrong places.

Cecily and Francesca meet when Cecily goes to Vegas on a business trip. What follows is instant attraction, openness and a respectfulness that’s a bit hard to describe. I loved these two characters together. The push pull tension of the attraction but their hurt hearts – it made for a great storyline.

The angst is actually great on this occasion. Their realisation of a shared past was hard to read and only made me root for them more. How they deal with getting back together and moving on also felt like a really good narrative to me.

I liked that the storyline depicted both Cecily and Francesca as having very successful careers but that they weren’t happy in their personal lives. Too often society leads people to believe that happiness is money – so I liked that this was explored thoroughly through both lenses.

I enjoyed the alternating point of view between the two MCs, but I especially liked that it wasn’t necessarily alternating chapters, or even whole chapters before the POV changed. It mixed up a formula that’s often seen and I found this refreshing.

I also really enjoyed both MCs relationships with their families, be it Cecily’s with her husband and sister, or Francesca with her close friends and her family. With some aspects of pitfalls of Vegas life woven in it was a really well rounded story and I think I’ll actually be putting this on my read again pile.

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

Twice Shy – Aurora Rey

Oct 14, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

This was my first book by Rey and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It’s over a four star but not quite a five star. I had no idea this book included characters from other Rey books, so I think that speaks as to the ability to read this book as a standalone and still enjoy it – but I’m definitely going to want to read The Last Place You Look and Built to Last now.

I really enjoyed the premise. Amanda is a bakery owner looking to expand her bakery into the shop unit next door. She hires Quinn, an architect, to help her make her vision a reality. It’s clear from their very first meeting that they have chemistry and the storyline revolves around their getting together. It’s a cute, sweet romance, with a satisfying HEA.

I liked both MCs a lot. I enjoyed the scenes of Amanda both at work and being a mother to two teenagers. I thought the balance of her life was expressed really well. I thought it was a shame that her ex had such a big part in the book and it actually caused me a bit of anxiety because I was really enjoying the relationship between Amanda and Quinn and hated the interjections of Mel – but I could understand why it was done this way as I’m sure there are many divorced couples where one or the other person wants to get back together.

I thought Quinn was great, and I really enjoyed her getting to know Amanda’s kids. As someone who has been the person inserted into a ready made family with older children, I thought the way Rey dealt with Quinn’s introduction into the family was done really well. I also enjoyed how the teenage characters were written, especially when it involved discussions on gender and the like.

All in all this book had me smiling a lot and I’d highly recommend it. It doesn’t stray wildly from the traditional romance tropes but it does bring some much needed levity and openness into the mix. I’d happily recommend to any wlw romance fans and I’m looking forward to exploring more Rey.

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

One More Chance – Ali Vali

Oct 14, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s over a 3.5 star but not quite a four. It’s really hard to say you enjoyed something with such serious and difficult topics as domestic violence and homophobia. So I think it’s more appropriate to say I appreciated the writing.

The MCs are Harry and Desi – childhood lovers who met in third grade but due to life circumstances we no longer able to be together after high school. Harry becomes a well respected orthopaedic surgeon and happens to be in the ER the day Desi is brought into the ER after her husband makes an attempt on her life – throwing them together again in ways neither had hoped or expected.

I liked both MCs. Desi was written well to illustrate the feelings people in this situation feel (I have no experience in this situation, so I can only presume sensitivity readers were used to ensure this was accurate). Harry is definitely a character written in the ‘hero’ mould.

Once they are thrown back together a relationship does come around quickly which I struggled with slightly but could also understand. I’ve previously enjoyed books where characters have got back together after break-ups but I have tended to prefer ones where that’s a slower burn so this was a bit different for me.

I liked the secondary characters around the MCs – and even the horrible secondary characters had a purpose to the storyline. The inclusion of Serena, Rachel, Mona and Tony ensures that we see the MCs from different points of view and ensures that we get the opportunities to move away from the violence where possible.

The book comes with many warnings from my point of view, it definitely will not be for everybody, but it is definitely a well written book and from that point of view I can recommend it. I would be interested in a second part of the story.

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