Elizabeth Safleur’s Tough Luck is a gritty, emotional, sultry story of second chances. Interestingly enough, the second chance isn’t between her hero, Nathan, and her heroine, Starr. It’s a second chance at life for her hero. Nathan has spent nine years in prison for a crime that could be described as self-defense. However, a powerful family the Mackennas made sure to lock him up and throw away the key. Nathan and Stella meet at Shakedown, a burlesque club owned by Declan, a former inmate himself. He’s created a club that employes people with ex-con reps and other troubles. From the start, Starr and Nathan are drawn to each other. Very quickly in this story, Starr and Nathan fall for each other; however, the Mackennas are back and wanting revenge. Should Nathan protect Starr by staying away, or is he so gone for her that he can’t keep that distance?
One of my favorite parts of Elizabeth Safleur’s writing is her ability to create these worlds where you find yourself invested in its people. I found her with her Elite Doms of Washington series. I fell instantly for her brand of sultry, $exy romance. However, what I appreciate more is her universe-making. I read each book of that series, but I wanted to know more about the characters of this BDSM world of Washington.
With Tough Luck, she is once again showing us her strength in creating this special world in Maryland. Each character of the Shakedown series is compelling, and you want their story. The travesty of Nathan’s prison stay will inflame you, and the secrets of Starr’s past will make your heart yearn for a better future for her and her sisters. As such, you can’t help but love Nathan and Starr’s journey. Together, they are a dynamite couple who blow up Shakedown and blow up the sheets.
As you find in Safleur’s other books, this one is steamy. On a level of measurement, to me, it isn’t as hot as the Elite Doms series, but it’s still fiery enough to steam your glasses. Safleur gives Nathan and Starr lots of chemistry that it’s clear from the first chapter that they are destined for each other.
If I had any critique, it would be the unevenness sometimes of Safleur’s narration. Nathan and Starr tend to repeat their troubles, and it causes the narrative to falter. It doesn’t occur often, but it is enough that the story slows in parts.
That being said, will I be reading about Declan and Phoenix in Elizabeth Safleur’s next book, Tough Break? Indeed, Tough Road, the novella for the Shakedown series, piqued my interest but kept me skeptical about the series. Tough Luck, however, invested me. If you love romances with some grit and the concept of community and family driving it forward, then you should grab Tough Luck today and get started.
WARNING: This will be an essay, not a short review. If you want to know a general impression, then know this: Staci Hart is a genius, and Star Bright’s story is engaging, entertaining, and exacting. There is something special with this story that sets it apart from your average romance. It isn’t average for Staci Hart’s brand of romance, though. What you will find in Star Bright is more of the same insightful, intelligent, beautifully written romance that you’ve received from her before. Just on another level. So buckle up or move on…it’s entirely up to you.
In my second year of my master’s in literature, I took a seminar class entitled Hemingway and Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all time, and I absolutely enrolled in that class quickly. With this class along with the rest of my master’s, I spent quite a bit of focus on the modernists (in fact, I wrote most of my master’s thesis on Hemingway): authors, writing during a time post-WW1, whose general character reflected a generation disillusioned by the consequences of war. If you read almost anyone during this period, there is a loss of hope. These aren’t books with happy endings because the war had killed almost an entire generation of men. These were artists who wanted their literature to reflect the lack of hope for this generation, and it does. F. Scott Fitzgerald absolutely illustrates this time and time again in his stories. It isn’t just The Great Gatsby that leaves you feeling a little empty; the other books do the same. You’re probably wondering why I’m sharing this with you. Well, if you read Star Bright, you are reading a book that reads as though it is heavily influenced by Fitzgerald. Staci Hart’s hero feels very much like Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby: an outsider with insider leanings. They feel as though they never quite fit, but they are given entree into this world of decadence, debauchery, and hedonism. Where Nick and Levi diverge is in Levi taking on a true heroic characterization. In Gatsby, Nick feels like an observer, engaging with the other main characters, but it isn’t really his story. He is simply telling it. In Hart’s Star Bright, there is a sameness here. Like Nick, Levi is an observer, and he too is telling the story of the Bright Young Things; however, his presence is also necessary to the shape of the story. He is the impetus for change Hart’s heroine, Stella’s thinking. Herein lies the beginning of Hart’s genius in her story, Star Bright. Her ability to capture the essence of Gatsby, offer it the spirit of the 2020s, and lay it out in a story that is still vastly different from Fitzgerald’s is her brilliance.
You might say, well, Amy, Professor A, isn’t that a huge promise? No. Staci Hart hit my radar a little over a year ago. I read my first ARC of hers, and quite frankly, I gave it a 4-star review. At the time, I didn’t understand it. However, as the months passed, my brain pondered over that book. Additionally, I read the first book of her newer series, Coming Up Roses, and I realized immediately that I had missed something with my review. I met her at Book Bonanza, and I asked her my big question, the one that had been pressing in my brain since finishing Coming Up Roses, and it was at that moment when I placed her on a pedestal. I couldn’t help it because I realized immediately that her brilliance lies in her intentionality. She oftentimes writes books inspired by the classics. And she does this by co-opting a particular voice for a particular story. Just to clue you in, this is very hard to do. Most authors have a general writing voice that you find in all of their stories. The more you read their writing, the more easily it is to find that voice. Not Staci Hart. She changes the voice of the book to match its story. For Star Bright, her story and voice absolutely feel like Fitzgerald. There are so many moments when the decadence of his storytelling becomes hers. But here is where her genius also lies: Hart captures the feel of Fitzgerald without the modernist leanings. Life is difficult for the Bright Young Things. Even though we know they are lavishly rich, each of them struggles with something. Instead of mimicking Fitzgerald’s hopelessness in her book, Hart gives them hope. Their hope is derived from their manufactured sense of family, and it buoys them through their individual challenges. It’s a testament to Hart’s writing ability that she can evoke Fitzgerald in her book, but the reason you should read her books is she makes the storytelling her own. Even though Fitzgerald belonged to a larger group of “friends,” he and his friends still felt isolated. And that isolation runs rampant through their books. That isn’t a characteristic of Star Bright. In fact, you find the true treasure of Star Bright: its message of family and community. That is where Hart has found hope for her readers, and Fitzgerald could not.
And once again, Staci Hart’s style is decadent. Her descriptions are decadent; her characterizations are decadent, and her story feels decadent. There are big cinematic moments in this book that run like a reel through your mind. There are words that Levi and Stella and the other Bright Young Things speak that bring goosebumps to your limbs. Each turn of the page ingratiates itself into your being, and you don’t want to put this story down because you care about characters whom you probably wouldn’t normally. Hart uses the metaphor of light and dark to conjure up Levi’s conflict while also holding him in juxtaposition to the light of this story, Stella. If you have EVER wanted to read a story written with intention and decided skill, this IS the book. Even more, there is more of this series to come with a plentitude of characters for any situation. For me, Zeke is a standout, and I am hoping that Staci Hart brings him a story.
I know this review is long (I promised an essay), and it might be reading more into this book than necessary, but these words have been sitting in my mind for days and they needed some place on a page. I know this isn’t the typical review, but this book is doing something more than offering you a beautifully-wrought romance. What you find nestled between the pages of Star Bright is the hope of community. Hidden within its fun, you’ll find people who truly love, adore, and care for each other. And in our current world, I think we could all use that hope. Staci Hart could have easily used Star Bright to reflect on the problems of our world, leaving us disenfranchised just as the modernists did. Instead, she chose the light, letting the shadows stay in the dark.
We hold these truths to be self-evident when reading a Penny Reid romance, especially one centered in Green Valley, Tennessee, and even more especially when its focus is Cletus Winston that:
There will be times when you absolutely want to strangle Cletus or hug him or laugh at him or cheer him on. In Reid’s newest book, Engagement and Espionage, you will find this breadth of emotion as it relates to Cletus Winston. And quite frankly, it’s glorious. It’s the reason that you read Penny Reid’s brand of romance because she offers a depth of character in the ways she crafts her heroes and heroines. They are almost three-dimensional in nature, and they feel like real people in your life. In turn, this allows you to connect to their brand of zaniness, especially as it relates to Cletus Winston.
You will admire his lady love, Jennifer Sylvester (Jenn for short). One of the reasons that Jenn Sylvester exists is to humanize Cletus Winston AND to make him a better, less vengeful person. Yes, he is still wanting revenge, but when it entails Jenn, it is always as a protection and retaliation on her behalf. In other books, honestly, Cletus is the proffer of petty. Yet, in this book, Cletus’s want for revenge is worthy. Beyond that, through Jenn’s character, we are treated to a woman who is burgeoning on the actualization of her self. In Beard Science, Cletus awakens her self-evaulation. In E&E, we find her embracing her needs and making changes to give more of her time and energy to Cletus and herself. In fact, this book explores her journey in setting personal boundaries as protection for herself and her relationship with Cletus.
The Winston clan will play a huge part. This is definitely the case with E&E. They act as you expect: support, ire-maker, and back-up. However, Cletus being Cletus, we know he won’t be laying his head on the shoulder of his brothers and sister, so there is more witty banter between them all. Isn’t this what we love about a Reid romance? As such, there is a LOT to love about Engagement and Espionage.
And there is more of Green Valley. The favorites are here, but they are joined by a few mentions of some of our favorite SmartyPants Romance characters and a few characters we have yet to meet. Given this is Jenn and Cletus, yes, there is more of her deliciously villainous father (the character you love to hate) and her mother who looks as though she might redeem herself. Maybe.
But what is new here? What is the ultimate “engagement” of this book? There’s a mystery. Now, when Penny Reid announced this series, I have to be honest, given we’re dealing with Cletus, I thought for sure it would be “keystone cops-esque”. And boy did she surprise me. There is always a little bit of zany humor with Cletus Winston, but that humor is quiet in E&E. For me, the romantic suspense of this story carries it. Yes, romance resides in E&E, but it feels secondary to the overall story, and even though, you want the romantic stuff in this book, you actually want the story more. This illustrates Reid’s prowess as a storyteller. She isn’t simply a romance writer; no, she’s a storyteller for any genre. That’s exciting because it shows her breadth of experience, and you know as a reader that whatever she offers you, you’ll love it because her storytelling is simply delicious.
And lastly, be ready, folks. Even though Cletus and Jenn burned up the sheets in Beard Science, like that book, this is a slow, slow burn. This is where you find Reid’s mastery as a writer. She takes her time in ramping up their chemistry. By the time these two finally find some “alone” time, we, the reader, are all like Cletus, starving for their coupling and then satiated by the end. Little by little, Reid carefully crafts their physical experience in a way that feels explosive when it finally happens, and you can’t help but love that Reid doesn’t make her romance about that. She invites us into their relationship so that we feel emotionally invested in them. This is what I love the most about Penny Reid’s brand of romance.
The truth of Penny Reid’s Engagement and Espionage is that it is a journey. As the first page turns, you invest yourself deeper and deeper in Cletus and Jenn’s story. Reid makes them believable to us because their general experience is our own: we want that person in our life to know their worth in our own. We may fumble with finding the balance of showing that worth, but at the basest of levels, we love them beyond any measure. And that is the ultimate truth of Penny Reid’s newest book, and it will engage you and entertain you and keep you reading to the final page.
What should make a rom-com successful? For one, there should be some level of humor. Usually, it’s in the form of witty banter between the hero and heroine or the hero/heroine and their supporting characters. The humor might come in the form of unfortunate circumstances that might be embarrassing but are funnier in nature. Secondly, while there is always some tension between the hero and heroine, for the most part, their journey is unencumbered by too many issues. Instead, the hero and heroine devolve into a love that has a variety of heats. In the end, though, there is a guaranteed happy ending that makes their journey on any level feel complete. Lastly, just because a rom-com is funny and sometimes sweet too, they can be as sultry as ever. In contrast to a dark romance, the heat level might be a medium boil, but it’s there just as you like in any romance.
When you read Monica Murphy’s Rate A Date, you find all of these qualities, and she articulates them well through her storytelling. Her hero, Mitch, is a bit of a misunderstood professional football player. He has reached a time in his life when he’s done with a quick hook-up. He is looking for a deeper connection with a woman, a relationship. However, his occupation makes it difficult for him to find women who can see the “real” him beyond being a professional football player. He decides to sign up on a dating app, Rate A Date. But not as the Mitchell Anderson of the Raiders; instead, he is Mitch with very little identifying information.
Eleanor is looking for a relationship. Her friends are either engaged to be married or in committed relationships. Her friend, Kaitlyn, recommends a dating app, but honestly, Eleanor wants to meet a man organically. When Kaitlyn makes her a deal to try the Rate A Date app for thirty days, Eleanor agrees trepidatiously. Quickly, she and Mitch connect, and they begin to fall for each other. Here’s the problem: Mitch isn’t forthcoming with his true identity. Will Eleanor accept him when she finds out about his lies, or will they both have to return to the app to find someone new?
Rate A Date has all of the qualities I listed at the beginning of this review. Mitch and Eleanor have chemistry, they are a seemingly good match, and they eventually will find a happy ending, however that looks. I enjoyed reading Murphy’s romance. I found myself laughing in all the right parts, and I even worried about their relationship during its tension. However, this story was a little slow, and it seemed more about their physical coupling than the development of any emotional attachment. I found myself curious about why they liked each other beyond the physical. That’s the part of Rate A Date that isn’t clear. Instead, it felt like Eleanor theoretically could be another hook-up for Mitch even though he tells the reader multiple times that Eleanor is everything he ever wanted. I struggle with stories like that. Even in rom-coms, you can build the emotional attachment between the H and h without introducing too much emotional gravitas. It’s possible. I’ve read it. However, that is the part missing in Rate A Date, and I want it to be there so much because I generally like Mitch and Eleanor. I just want it to be believable that they like each other.
Of its qualities, I think Rate A Date’s best part is the sisterhood between the friends. I know this has been developed in other stories in this series. As it plays out even more here, you can’t help but wish that you could join their friend group because you know you’ll be well-loved and cared for. For me, that’s the highlight of Monica Murphy’s Rate A Date. Is it worthy of a read? Yes. However, you might find yourself a little underwhelmed by it as I did. It simply needed a bit more emotional connection beyond the physical for Mitch and Eleanor.
When I saw that Rachel Blaufeld had a book releasing, I was excited as I had enjoyed her book, Wander Love. The dark, angsty feel of that book is something I love to read with rom-coms, contemporary romances, new adult, etc. It creates a balance that imitates life, I think. So given all of that, I was excited for her newest book, Love Disregarded. For one, I love a second chance romance which is usually fraught with so much angst as either the H or h are separated for some ungodly reason. Additionally, this is also a bit “opposites attract”: rich boy and poor girl. Those stories too generally come with a parent who is disapproving and goes to great lengths to keep them apart. In a nutshell, those two tropes create the recipe for an angsty romance with the possibility of a redemptive conclusion, so I jumped into Love Disregarded.
And sadly, I was a little disappointed. I hate writing these words. I really do because I want to love everything that a writer writes. As a teacher of writing, however, I know that that notion is fiction itself. At the core, the trope qualities I listed above are present in Blaufeld’s Love Disregarded, and if you like those tropes, you should grab this book. Now, should you stop what you’re reading and pick this book up immediately? Sadly, I would say “no.”
For one, Aston, Blaufeld’s hero, is not my favorite person in the present. In my opinion, for a second chance romance to work, you have to want the perpetrator of angst in the past to be a better person in the present time, and while Aston has a few moments of kindness, he really isn’t a great guy. I actually prefer younger Aston before he makes the choice to ruin their relationship. It is his younger self where his compassion and integrity lie. I kept waiting to like him again, but I grew to appreciate his role, not his characterization, in the later parts of the story. As a character, I wouldn’t identify him as a nice guy, and he isn’t an anti-hero either, so it makes it hard for me to actually like him.
Secondly, there are holes in the story that I wanted to be filled. Typically with second chance romances, you receive the former story before you receive the present story, and the building of that former story elevates the tension and angst of the romance. There is another iteration of this where the former story is woven in the midst of the present, but you generally receive those woven bits chronologically and you have a moment of break up. It’s almost painful to read those past parts. For this reader, I find myself taking breaks to push through the difficulty of the eventual separation. Yet, Blaufeld doesn’t take that tact, which, if intentional, is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing in that you don’t suffer through their break-up chronologically because she doesn’t present it that way, but it’s a curse because I think she loses the momentum of her angst level. Even more, we are fed those details in later chapters that interrupt the present, but we never get the actual moment of break up. Again, it causes a strange chronological disruption which doesn’t sometimes make sense as Aston and Bexley are trying to move forward. It also leaves you confused at times.
Thirdly, there is a bit of repetition in this story. One of my pet peeves as a reader is being reminded of the same feelings and anxieties between the couple. For me, it feels like filler. This happens over and over again in Love Disregarded. It creates a whiplash effect as these two struggle towards their happy ending. For obvious reasons, Bexley complicates their reunion, while also falling into Aston’s arms, constantly trusting and distrusting him. I want forward motion, so it felt repetitive to relive their past (especially when it’s divulged in pieces) over and over again.
Bexley, her children, and Aston’s children are the highlights of Rachel Blaufeld’s Love Disregarded, especially Piper. Honestly. Yes, I think Bexley is a little too indecisive, and she could have shown greater strength against Aston given the lessons she had learned in the future; however, she is more likable as a character over Aston or any of the ancillary characters besides the kids. I know there are many people who love Rachel Blaufeld and will read this book. I did. It’s good. It isn’t a top read for me, though, for a variety of reasons, and in the end, that makes me a little sad as I HATE being the bearer of a middlin’ to fair review.
I’m shameless…at least in writing. As the vaguely anonymous reviewer here, I can fan-girl over C.D. Reiss, and you can assume I’m shameless even when my cheeks are pink from my adoration for her brand of romance. Now, to be clear, I know her brand runs the gamut of tropes, and she can be as dirty as you want in a romance or she can be a bit more buttoned-up. If I had to characterize her newest book, Lead Me Back, it’s a bit more buttoned-up (not by much, though) than I’m used to from her. However, that seems so inconsequential when you consider the genius of her brain. Now, I’m SURE I’m going to overdo this review. I’m sure I’m reading WAY too much into Lead Me Back. For gosh sakes, I earned my master’s in English and Literature. I spent YEARS learning to read and read EVERYTHING into that reading, picking it apart and contextualizing it with literary theory…blah blah blah. BUT if I am going to take this review too far and if I’m going to read into Reiss’s newest book, so be it. I’m putting myself out there and who cares. Right?
At the most basic level, I loved Lead Me Back. This book is more of her Hollywood series, so there are characters from earlier books who show their faces which is fantastic, wonderful, everything you love about Reiss. Additionally, her heroine, Kayla, is a ballsy broad for lack of a better term. She takes no prisoners and she gives back to Reiss’s hero (which he loves) what he deserves for his entitled self. Kayla is the person you want in your corner when you must slay your dragons. She’s honest and insightful when she isn’t self-flagellating over past choices. And Reiss’s hero, Justin…ahhh…hold on to that name as it clues you in to her inspiration for him, is layered. At first glance, you don’t see it. In fact, there were times when Justin made me a little crazy by his actions. When your life is driven by others for so long, you tend to lose yourself, and Justin has fallen prey to this. I think this is typical of Hollywood, and Reiss does a fantastic job of showing that struggle, but it also makes him frustrating at times. However, as we know, romance needs moments of conflict to keep the readers engaged or they will lose interest and close the book. All of these qualities make this book worthy of a read. No question.
But…but…but… here is where I can’t help but want to believe what I suggest to be Reiss’s writing genius. And yes, once again, I may be reading into this, but please bear with me. In the story, Justin has been cast as Mr. Darcy in another iteration of Pride and Prejudice (honestly, what a miscast but he does well apparently). If you’ve ever read one of my favorite books of all times, then you know, or might know, that Pride and Prejudice illustrates the consequences of misperceptions. And for this book, C.D. Reiss, takes that idea and creates an allusion to P&P within Lead Me Back. She doesn’t recreate P&P; she carefully crafts its truths into her story in a way that feels like it could be a different version of it. Again, I might be reading this idea into her story, but there were moments that felt like a parallel to Austen’s story. And if I’m right, then, in my mind, Reiss is a genius. Yes, I know writers do this all the time, and yes, I think they are geniuses too especially if they write it as nuanced as Reiss has. But for Lead Me Back, it works, and it works well.
Along with that level of genius, Reiss interweaves the story with pertinent social issues: the #metoo movement is in this story, mental health issues are here, the dangerous specifications of the fashion industry and the relationships that support it find purchase in Lead Me Back, etc. If you think Reiss left the heavy lifting for another book, she didn’t. If you think this is simply about a former boy bander turned actor romancing a future fashion guru, you’re wrong. The qualities of Reiss’s storytelling that make it important reside in Lead Me Back hidden behind the facade of Hollywood, and it makes this book nerd silly. My fangirl flag is flying once again after reading one of her books.
If I haven’t sold you on the characters or story or $exiness of C.D. Reiss’s Lead Me Back, then I have not articulated myself well enough, and you should one-click it anyway. You can trust Reiss to tell stories that will titillate, challenge, and steam your glasses. Lead Me Back is more of that with the added depth of story that makes Reiss’s romances feel necessary.
How do you begin a Skye Warren review? That’s a good one. For one, her books guarantee some of the darkest romance: dangerous, dirty $exiness, a hero who is so freaking broken that it seems like hope is lost for him, a heroine who is seemingly innocent and vulnerable but who shows her moxie when confronted with the hero and his disaster, and a story that grips you and grabs you all the way through to the end. Guess what? Diamond in the Rough is. All. Of. This.
You should know (I didn’t realize this before reading this book) that Diamond in the Rough is a book 1. It ends on a cliffhanger. I don’t know if that’s a spoiler, but as a reader, I tend to like to know that. Personally, for authors I love such as Skye Warren, I don’t particularly care. I will read their works when they release, but I know some readers plan, so keep that in mind when deciding to read this book.
And two…the hero is familiar. I don’t want to spoil it, so I’m not going to. Just know, that you will SCREAM (at least I did) when you realize who you’re dealing with.
Now, what is to love about this book?
It’s quintessential Skye Warren. If you love her books, you will absolutely love Diamond in the Rough.
I want to really talk about the hero because he comes from a family of seriously f-uped dudes. This family needs a HUGE hug. Like now. With that, there are all types of complications between him and her heroine, Holland aka Holly. This causes all the drama and complication you can muster, but again, this is Skye Warren storytelling. The struggle between Holland and her hero pulls you in, makes you feel that borderline discomfort where the gray area lives, and then guts you as nothing is easy between these two. Up and down you go the Skye Warren rollercoaster of romance. This is all here in Diamond in the Rough.
The story. It’s captivating, edge-of-your-seat storytelling. Here’s the thing I love most about Warren’s brand of romance. She plays with the idea of “good hero” or “bad guy.” Those lines are blurred. You are never quite sure who the true villain is because Warren illustrates a truth about human nature in her romance: there is both good and bad in all of us. This idea is woven into Diamond in the Rough’s story, and it keeps you glued to the page. It also causes you to hope when it seems ridiculous to do so, as everything can seem pretty broken. That type of storytelling grabs me and compels me forward to the final page, and Diamond in the Rough does this brilliantly.
I know dark romance isn’t for everyone, but if there is anyone whom you should read, it is Skye Warren. Either I wasn’t paying attention enough to her Facebook page or what, but she surprised me with this book. And I love surprises in books because it reminds me that each story is special and unique. Sometimes, certain authors lose that surprise, and reading their stories feels like putting on the same socks on a different day. Not with Skye Warren. The most common tenet of her books is that they are dark. She tends to deal in anti-heroes and sometimes dubious consent. Yet, even with those terms to define some aspect of her romance, she finds ways to keep it fresh and surprise expert readers such as myself. If you want to be entertained and challenged in your ideas about morality, read Skye Warren’s Diamond in the Rough. You should know that this reader is READY for the next book, Gold Mine.
“‘You’re a long way from home,’ I said. He shrugged, ‘Maybe not. You’re here.’”
And this my friends is the reason that you should read Louise Bay’s Mr. Knightsbridge. Dexter aka Sexy Dexter is the reason I’ve been waiting with bated breath for Bay’s newest book. His persona in her last book, Mr. Mayfair, piqued my interest immediately. Imagine a hero who is dirty in the bedroom, gorgeous in appearance, holds a business acumen that has placed him at the top of his industry, AND has the ability to show compassion and care to those who feel like family to him. This man IS your prototypical romance hero. Oh, and by the standards of romance, he has a large “member.” (That’s for you, Amazon). So, given all of those attributes, I knew I wanted this book. I needed it. And in true Louise Bay fashion, she did not disappoint me. Not. In. The. Least.
For one, I ate this book in one serving. I didn’t take any breaks, and it satiated my romance appetite completely. It also made me want a bit more…but then I’m a glutton. Thankfully, there is a book coming (no spoilers here) and I believe we’ll see more of these two, just as we saw more of Beck and Stella in Mr. Knightsbridge.
Two…while Dexter is everything you love in a Bay hero, Hollie is divine. She’s my favorite type of heroine paired with a suave, erudite hero such as Dexter. Hollie is irreverent and compelling. She’s complicated, but she’s real, and she humanizes Dexter in a way that even his best friends aren’t able to do. She carefully and compassionately offers him other viewpoints to struggles in his life which challenge him. In doing so, she is responsible for his evolution in this story. While Dexter is dreamy, he is also stubborn and believes too heavily in the personal mythology he’s created about himself. It is Hollie who asks him to recast that personal mythology. In doing so, it changes his path…in a good way. Hollie is the type of heroine who makes me want to read romance. And as she changes Dexter’s life, he also helps her re-see her own life, changing it for the better.
Three. Bay’s messages in this story are keen. While Dexter and Hollie are seemingly different, in a way, they struggle with the same problems: perceptions of family. However, each has a different flavor of that perception. I won’t reveal the issues as they play heavily into the story, but Bay is very clear in her storytelling that we MUST (1) trust the people we denote as family based on their past actions and (2) make sure to protect our own happiness when it is threatened by the self-serving actions of our family. This is decisive in her story. Both Dexter and Hollie struggle because they do not follow these tenets. When they finally align themselves with them, their happiness is assured. I love when writers such as Bay weave these nuggets of life truths into their story as a reminder for the readers to do the same.
Four. The “band of brothers” (my name for them) are back. Like I mentioned previously, Beck and Stella are here, but we also gain a little bit more information about the other characters in the friend group. While there are still a few who remained in the shadows this time, Bay once again shows us the depth of their friendship. That is key because it is often one of the saving graces for her characters, in this case, Dexter.
If you can’t tell, I adored Mr. Knightsbridge for many reasons. Louise Bay continues on as she always does, writing gripping romances that keep this reader reading. Her storytelling flows across the page once again in this story, and she absolutely writes characters that you can’t help but love. I love that I can trust her to engage me, entertain me, and challenge me to see life as she sees it. Grab this one fast!
“I wanted her on a primal level, more than ever before.”
Oh, Skye, your story did not disappoint. As is the case with Layla Hagen’s brand of romance, when the hero and the heroine meet, there is absolutely no turning back. There is chemistry from their meet-cute. And Hagen’s newest book, One Perfect Touch, is absolutely no different. In this story, her hero, Rob, and her heroine, Skye, are two sides of the same coin: how do you balance your professional life with your personal life? Hagen’s answer: by simply falling in love.
What is there to love about Skye and Rob’s story?
*Their characterization. Hagen makes their struggles palpable. These are two career people who have lived their professional (and personal) lives in control. When they meet, that control begins to slip because they simply cannot stay away from each other. The highlight of this book is watching these two lose themselves in each other as if they can’t help themselves. As they journey towards a future together, their change illustrates the message in Hagen’s book that love changes, that truly being loved by someone allows you to be the best version of yourself. Hagen develops this message well through her characterizations.
*The connection to her Hagen universe. One Perfect Touch is the third book in her Very Irresistible Bachelor’s series, and while it seems that this series relates to separate bachelors, in true Hagen fashion, these men and women are found in the same family. Therefore, as One Perfect Touch goes, you are treated to more of Hunter and Josie and Ryker and Heather, the heroes and heroines from her other books, which means updates of their stories. Additionally, there are future stories brewing in One Perfect Touch. This is how Hagen keeps you engaged in her storytelling. She wiles her way into people’s love for community and offers them stories that keep them buying her stories. One Perfect Touch is a perfect representation of this community.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Layla Hagen’s newest book. There are times when the narrative felt a little slow, but there is definitely a tension in the story that drives you forward. Yet, it never overwhelms you in the end. Reading Layla Hagen’s stories is really like coming back home after being away. It provides a level of comfort that allows you to fall in love with her characters and storytelling without overwhelming you with too much angst. It feels like the perfect “touch” for romance.
I’ve been waiting on writing this review about Lea Coll’s Only with You. As I’ve read some of the earlier reviews, I felt, honestly, like I was missing something. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the basic premise of this story: a young woman trying to move away from the confines of her father’s purvey of her life (especially because her father is self-absorbed and cruel), a hero with tragic past who has struggled to truly live his life in the shadow of that tragedy, and new beginnings. All of these were the highlights of this story. As Cade and Hadley grow and move closer to each other, this book’s strength is clear. Even more, Lea Coll has situated it in one of my favorite areas of the U.S. I adore Annapolis and Baltimore, so walking these places with Cade and Hadley reminded me why I love this part of the Eastern Seaboard.
Yet, there were parts of this story where I struggled. For one, there is an unevenness in the storytelling. What I mean by that is one minute Cade is “all in” and the very next he is out. Hadley feels as through Cade won’t be able to love her as he did his deceased wife, but the next line is her submission to him. Now, I know some of you will say…but “Professor A” this is romance, they become overcome by their chemistry and lose their self-reflection on the romance. I’ve read that often in other stories who write it well. They give those moments space to breathe, but Coll doesn’t quite do that. It makes the reader feel as though they have whiplash from the quick change of pace. Secondly, I am not a personal fan of repetition. When an author has to continuously remind us of the challenges facing the hero and heroine either personally or together, it reads like filler. And this tended to happen quite a bit in this story.
Overall, I appreciated Cade and Hadley’s story. As these two find their happy ending, you cheer them because they struggle to find it. And many of Coll’s early readers LOVE this story. For me, though, it was difficult because the story felt slow. If you love two people working to find their HEA after personal tragedies and challenges, then you’ll like Lea Coll’s Only with You.
Professor Romance 