Fair Trade – Sienna Waters

Oct 7, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

This is my fourth Waters book and whilst it wasn’t my favourite of the four I did find it to be an enjoyable read.

Leigh is an American lawyer working in London. She’s a very private individual and doesn’t get on with her boss, but knows that she doesn’t want to go back to America if she loses her job. Rosie is a gardener by trade, she loves spending her time getting her hands dirty but is struggling to make a living doing what she loves. They unwittingly find themselves thrown together in an unusual situation when they meet one day in a London pub. Rosie agrees to help Leigh out by entering into a fake ‘green card’ marriage in exchange for the one thing she’s always wanted.

I haven’t read many fake relationship books, so I don’t have a lot to compare this one too, but I feel like my enjoyment was hampered by Leigh’s character in this particular trope. Her private nature makes the fake relationship hard to believe, so whilst I thought Leigh was written well as a character, she just didn’t fit in the situation. I also found the fact that Rosie so openly discussed the arrangement to be quite strange.

I enjoyed the twists in the narrative and whilst I didn’t initially feel much connection with the two MCs, both had points that made them likeable, even relatable, but I just didn’t get a personal connection. It’s perfectly possible others will feel differently than I on this one though. I did like how both MCs grew within the narrative though and I found the ending very fitting.

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

The Girlfriend Sweater (St Brigid’s #1) – Jenny Parker

Sep 21, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

The first in a series this is a sweet small town romance novella about Eva and Katie. Katie is intent on living a small town life after leaving San Francisco. She’s a lawyer at the only firm in town large enough to need two lawyers but is deeply unhappy in her job. Eva is a knitting pattern maker and tutor on the side. They meet when Katie decides to take a knitting class that Eva is teaching.

This was a solid three and a half stars for me. The reason for the title of the story made me smile – it adds to the sweetness of the story. I enjoyed the storyline but once they’d got together as a couple I felt like too much of the relationship happened off page for my tastes. I’d have liked a bit more before the inevitable angst.

I thought the angst was done well in that it built up throughout the storyline and wasn’t a random turn of events. However how Eva dealt with the situation seemed out of character so I had some issues with that part of the narrative.

I enjoyed the story and it was definitely a nice way to pass just over an hour. I am definitely looking forward to the next part of the series.

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

The Simple Answer – Lily Seabrooke

Sep 18, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

I really enjoyed this. It’s mostly a sweet enemies to lovers story. Emily returns home from college, back to living next door to her best friend Percy and her number one enemy – her best friends sister – Vanessa.

Emily and Percy are geeks and Emily is a bit on the bumbly unsure of herself side. Whilst Emily has been away Vanessa has been trying to make amends for her previous behaviour and wants to convince Emily she’s changed.

I enjoyed Emily’s friendship with Percy, the way Vanessa’s amends were written and the build up of Emily and Vanessa becoming friends then lovers. Emily’s bumbling was a little bit frustrating at times, as was Vanessa’s being inside her head so much but I’d still classify these scenes as written well. The sex scenes are also really steamy.

I haven’t read any of Seabrooke’s other novels, but I’m definitely going to check them out now. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys the enemies to lovers trope.

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

Time Illusion – Luna Harlow

Sep 17, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

A good second follow up sci-fi novella to Four Bodies in Space.

The members of The First Breath of Spring are called to action to rescue the remainder of the citizens on the planet Rommys from an anomaly.

Whilst there is no romance in the book there are mentions of ex’s and I think this may be a very slow burn over the series of a relationship to come.

Whilst this is sci-if and clearly discusses ships, other planets etc. I find these novellas to be more about interesting characters than anything else. Again, as with the first novella I enjoyed Harlow’s use of language and getting to know both Solaris and Li more. I hope there will be a third instalment to the series and that it will be longer.

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

Four Bodies in Space – Luna Harlow

Sep 17, 2020Oct 14, 2020 ~ lgbtqreader85 ~ Leave a comment

An interesting sci-fi novella. The author does a good job of setting up a series about a space force of which Solaris is a member.

The novella has a mystery that weaves through the narrative and introduces a number of characters. I really liked the way ships are named and I found the authors use of language fascinating too as it helped to embed the story more into the sci-fi environment.

I’m looking forward to the second part of the series and learning more about Solaris and Li.