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

Jul 11, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

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

Jul 9, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

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.

Trust – April Canniff

Jul 5, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been lucky to be on a roll with good books recently and this one definitely continued the trend. I couldn’t put this book down. I loved the balance between the intrigue and the romance. I’m a fan of military romances and cop romances separately, so combining the two was always likely to lead to a good thing for me.

Knowing this was the author’s debut I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing.
The book is set up really well by a great opening, leading to a slow burn that’s pretty satisfying. There’s lot of detail on the missions, which I didn’t mind at all as it served to show the MCs struggle between mission and personal life.

I loved both MCs and the balance between the toughness required for the job and the gentleness underneath for both of them. The best friends provide important insights and are well integrated. The wider team needed some more development but I can understand why this might have been overlooked as the rest of the team are male.

I debated back and forth with myself over the rating on this one, but have settled for five stars as I think it has a lot of aspects that were better than some of the other four stars I’ve handed out recently.

The book ends with an opening for a sequel and I hope we’ll be getting one!

In Her Court – Tamsen Parker

Jul 5, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

This was a really fun, fast-paced, happy read. The book finds Willa and Van pushed together at a camp for adults when Nate (Willa’s brother) breaks his leg and she steps in to help. This is the first time they’ve seen each other adults, after previous teenage feelings.

Both MCs were easy to identify with in some way or another. They were well written, rounded characters, with plenty of geek culture, a bit of sport and no particularly intense relationship angst.
I loved how Willa was written and could identify wholeheartedly with the ‘you play sport so you can’t be smart’ sentiments. There are so many easily relatable aspects to Van as well.

The book isn’t technically a standalone, as it’s part of a series (not all of the books in the series are by the same author), but as far as I’m aware it’s the only one in the series where two women fall for each other. I have no idea if any of the characters are in any of the previous books, but you certainly don’t need to read any of them to enjoy this book.

Parker doesn’t normally write wlw books, but based on this one I’d be willing to give any others she might try in the future a go. All in all if you’re looking for a fun, easy read this is very good option to go with.

The Wrong Date – Sienna Waters

Jun 28, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

Really enjoyed both the writing and premise of this book. The characters are well written and have real depth to them. Whilst the high school reunion story is a common idea – how we get there with the characters is anything but.

Loved the story so much I sat and read the whole book in one sitting – reading until 2.30 in the morning – so be prepared to make time to enjoy this one.

I really enjoyed the awkwardness of Annie and the confidence of Robin and how their relationship worked together. The HEA seems just right – and I’d really enjoy reading another book about these characters and what happened next.

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