Let the Beat Drop – Cheri Ritz

Rating: 3 out of 5.
This was my first novel by Ritz and I found it to be an easy, enjoyable read that passed the time quickly. As soon as I read the blurb I knew I would want to read this, as I often find musician based romances enjoyable, however whilst it had its moments it didn’t quite meet my expectations.

At its heart the book is a romance between Sadie and Jess after both return to their home town for the summer, but it takes a long time for the couple to actually get together, giving the book plenty of time to focus on the secondary storyline of a band of middle-aged women and the third storyline – a mystery that seemingly threads the narrative together and keeps you turning the page, both with anticipation and trepidation as to the eventual reveal.

All three storylines are done well, and I didn’t feel that the book was dragging on. Both Sadie and Jess frustrated me at times and whilst they both face turmoil for different reasons, something that normally bonds me with a character, I didn’t feel particularly connected to either MC, which stopped this being more than a high three star book for me and kept it in that easy read category.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick easy relatively sweet romance to read. My feelings could easily be different to someone else’s – and it did leave me smiling at the end.

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

Finding Home (Your Way #2) – Jamey Moody

Rating: 4 out of 5.
I’ve not really had the opportunity to read very much in the last couple of weeks and to be honest I’ve missed it a lot – so it was nice to try and get back into the swing of things with this one. I have an ARC for the second part of this series – Finding Family – and I didn’t want to read it without having read Finding Home first.

I really enjoyed the main characters in Frankie and Olivia – but as is normal with me I most enjoyed the friendship group around them and how the characters interacted with each other. I enjoyed getting to know both MCs through the friendship discussions and it made things seem much more believable when they got together.

The addition of the ex-girlfriend worked from a story point of view but frustrated me none-the-less.
The body positivity messages throughout the book are great and I appreciated that whilst there could have been a source of angst towards the end of the book it wasn’t treated that way.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Moody and reading more about this friendship group.

Finding Family (Your Way #2) – Jamey Moody

Rating: 4 out of 5.
This is the second part in the Your Way series and Moody produced something I actually slightly enjoyed more than the first instalment of the series – Finding Home. This could be read alone, but I would recommend Finding Home first as it sets up key details about the lives of the minor characters in this storyline.

I loved both Desi and Erin as main characters and enjoyed being able to read progression of Frankie and Olivia’s relationship from the first book. It was also good to read about more of the friendship group and I’m hoping there will be at least one more book so that we have Stella as a main character. It was fun reading about the kids in their respective families too.

As someone who has experienced the stereotypical meet, fall for each other, move in, get married in a short period of time, I felt this storyline was written really well. The family pushback was also aptly incorporated. The pace of the relationship was matched well by the pace of the book – but key elements of the narrative were explored in appropriate depth so it was clear why the MCs loved each other.

The ex-girlfriend trope is quickly dispatched expertly by Erin and any angst/turmoil for the remainder of the book is created through life events rather than the often typical desire to split the MCs close to the end just to get them back together. I found this refreshing as it makes the book a sweet romance tale of two people falling in love and getting everything they could ever dream of.

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys wlw romance but particularly to anyone who enjoys a series about friendship groups. I’m hoping there isn’t too long to wait for book three.

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

Everything We Never Wanted – Sienna Waters

Rating: 4 out of 5.
This is my third book by Waters and whilst I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the others I’ve read, this is still a really good book. Waters is rapidly becoming one of my favourites.

Alex has recently taken on custody of her niece Libby. Kat works as Libby’s teacher at her new school. They don’t see eye to eye on anything regarding Libby’s education, making this an opposites attract romance.

I found the book to have an interesting storytelling technique in that a lot of things happen off-the-page. At first I found this very confusing when the scene jumped but once I’d got used to it I actually enjoyed the way the approach moved the story forwards.

The reason the inevitable relationship difficulties come about felt fresh to me personally because I haven’t encountered it elsewhere, so that was refreshing. I also really appreciated the depiction of the realities of being a teacher and the financial decisions they have to make.

I didn’t particularly connect to either MC, which is what makes this a four star rather than a five for me, but I would still recommend this to any lovers of wlw romance.

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

Old & New – Lily Lancaster

Rating: 3 out of 5.
Fantasy isn’t normally but my thing but I was intrigued by the description of this novelette so I thought I’d give it a go – and I’m glad I did. Whilst obviously very short and quick to read at only 12,000 I thought Lancaster did a really good job of starting a longer narrative whilst introducing the main characters and completing a story within the novelette.

The captain of the ship is interesting but at this point we don’t know much about her. We are mainly introduced to two lesbian secondary characters in a relationship and the challenges they face conducting their relationship whilst ship breaking. There’s some intriguing samples of life on the ship – and life off the ship (including some interesting sushi action).

All in all this a good start to the series and I’m looking forward to the next part to see where things go.

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