Tag Archive | romance

Big Girls Don’t Cry #review #romance

Sep5

Big Girls Don’t Cry  by Mimi Barbour

Synopsis
Remy has a crush on her neighbor Eadan. She decides if she loses weight, she will have a better chance at catching his eye.
When Eadan needs some interior decorating, he asks his neighbor to help with the job. Meanwhile, he decides he needs a frumpy, plain looking girl who will stay loyal and not leave him like his ex-girlfriend did.

Opinion
This story blurb from Amazon did not prepare me for the train wreck of story. And like a train wreck, I could not turn away. As painful as it was, I read it to the end.

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His skinny, hot girlfriend left him. So now he wants a plain Jane, borderline ugly girl who will not attract any attention.
Too shallow?

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Remy is trying to lose weight to catch a man. As an afterthought, there is a lot of emphasis placed on losing weight for her overall health. Mmm hmmm. All I could think was that she is changing herself to try to make herself attractive to another person.

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I do not want to get on my soapbox, but I will say that this story line annoyed me because I do not agree that a person should try to change their physical characteristics in efforts to get another person to fall in love with them.

The only kind of redeeming aspect of this story was the subplot where Remy is trying to help a teenage girl who is being bullied. I call it a redeeming aspect because I could see that happening in real life.

I read other books by Barbour and they were a lot better. Overall, this book’s premise had a lot of potential, but fell short in my opinion. I think if the characters were better developed that might have helped. Plus, I had a strong dislike for Eadan’s shallow attitude. His character needed to be rewritten.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW. I thought about saying “pass”, but then I think about that one redeeming aspect. If you cannot borrow it, try to buy which it is on sale or part of a compilation. Definitely do not pay more than 99cents for it..

Book details
Series: N/A
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥 🔥
Print Length: 98 pages
Publisher: Sarna Publishing (June 30, 2015)
Publication Date: June 30, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

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Between You & I by Susan Cairns @suzecairns #romance

Sep1
Title: Between You & I
Author: Susan Cairns
Genre: Contemporary/NA Romance
Release Date: October 6, 2017
Cover Designer: Emma Rider @ AWT Cover Design 

 

A force to be reckoned with . . .
Taylor Lewis dreams of finding her spot in corporate America. Taking a leap, she applies for an executive position at the company where she got her start. When passed over for an outsider, Taylor refuses to give up easily, vowing to prove the job should have been hers.
Looking for a change…
At thirty-nine years old, Reid Mariano is feeling the pressure to pack up his bachelor lifestyle and settle down. After meeting Jennifer online, and landing a job he hopes will take him to retirement, Reid gives up the Chicago bar scene and relocates to Buffalo, NY,
Impossible to ignore . . .
While Reid looks forward to building a future with Jennifer, and establishing his new career, Taylor sets out show she was the better choice. Working late nights and long hours, a smoldering attraction sparks a connection that neither of them are prepared for.

 

Susan Cairns was born and raised in a small town in western New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario. She currently lives with her three fur-babies: Lucy, Leela, and Bella. They run the house—she just lives with them!

 

Susan loves to travel and is always looking for her next adventure! She has been lucky to keep in touch with many friends who live all across the US. They’re always ready to open their homes to her whenever she feels the pull to visit a new place.

 

Along with writing, Susan is an avid reader and is often seen with her Kindle or a book in hand. She also has an eye for photography. All year round she has her camera in hand taking pictures of anything and everything, especially her nephews and niece, who are the light of her life.

 


 

Susan received a Bachelor’s degree in Communications/Public Relations from SUNY Empire State College. She recently finished her Master’s degree in English and hoping to become an adjunct professor in creative writing.

 

In addition to Between You & I, Susan has written four Contemporary Romance novels: Chasing Hope and The Reunion Series: The Reunion, The Rebound and The Reason. She also has one New Adult novel, Falling Back Together.

 

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Witness Protection by Holly Copella @HCopella #romance

Aug27
Title: Witness Protection
Author: Holly Copella 
Genre: Romantic Thriller/Action – Adventure
Published: October 8, 2015

After witnessing an execution, a resourceful young woman attempts to disappear while being pursued by a hitman and a handsome federal agent.

Helicopter pilot, Jackie Remus, reluctantly agrees to go on a date with one of her clients, but her date is unexpectedly cut short when she witnesses a man being murdered. After narrowly escaping with her life, she is placed into protective custody. When the safe house is breached, Jackie makes a daring escape from both the hired killers and the handsome FBI agent, who wants to return her to protective custody. With a little help from her sly and crafty friend, Monroe, Jackie is convinced she can disappear until the trial. While on her journey to meet with her friend, she solicits help from a few shady but lovable characters along the way. Although she manages to stay one-step ahead of the hired killers, the federal agent remains in hot pursuit. Will Jackie reach Monroe before she’s captured by the FBI and returned to protective custody? Or will the hired killers silence her first?

Witness Protection is a romantic thriller with some scenes of violence, mild gore, moderate foul language, and intense sexual situations. Holly Copella books do not contain graphic sex scenes.


 

Holly Copella has been writing since the age of twelve when her frustration at a book’s poor plot drove her to author her own story. Over the last decade, she’s written a number of screenplays, some of which she’s now adapting into novels. Her fascination with zombies and other darker material lends an edge to her writing, which tends to lean toward horror. As a fan of Agatha Christie, she appreciates the craft of a good plot and the importance of creating significant characters.

 

Hailing from Pennsylvania, Copella lives in the Endless Mountains on a farm with her rescue horses and other animals. In addition to writing and reading fiction, she enjoys riding horses and traveling to Las Vegas and Disney World.
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Just One Chance by CA Harms #romance #blogtour @charms0814

Aug23
Title: Just One Chance
Series: Oh Tequila #1
Author: C.A. Harms
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
Release Date: August 15, 2017 

Tequila, you failed me. 

You left me in a terrible haze, and I can’t find my god damn wallet.

Or my left shoe.

How the hell does one lose their shoe?

 


I have no f*cking clue.

All I know is that my night started out with one thing in mind…to have a little fun.

The problem with that? I can’t remember a damn thing, except one.

Morgan’s soft and needy moans. It’s a sound I will never forget, and just thinking about it makes my heart race and my pulse quicken. And I want to hear it over and over again…I crave it.

But Morgan’s a mystery. The harder I try, the more she resists. There’s one thing she doesn’t know about me though…I’m not one to give up.

I’ll play her game. I’ll let her think she’s won. But in the end, I will have her.

Because all I need is Just One Chance to prove she’s meant for me…

I love HEA stories, as long as they come packing a little heat. I need some excitement, some angst, and moments that make me fan my face are always good too. I am an Illinois girl, born and raised. Simple and true, it honestly doesn’t take much to make me happy. I love the little things; they truly mean the most. I may have a slight addiction to my new Keurig—oh my, that thing is a godsend. And so fast too. I have two children who truly are my very best friends, and their faces never fail to put a smile on my face. I have been married to my husband for sixteen years, and even though at times I want to beat him with a stick, I would never change the years we have had. We have learned and fallen, only to pick each other up, dust off the ache, and help each other make it right.

I am one of those authors that adore my fans. I love to hear from you. After all, it is because of each one of you that I continue to write. I look forward to your feedback.

Be sure to follow me to stay up-to-date on all my upcoming releases.

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Geek Love #gamerromance #review

Aug20

Geek love

Synopsis
Joel and Sam are gamers attending a science fiction/gamer convention. Once Sam reveals to Joel that she is a woman, it seems that they make the perfect couple. However, another woman will do whatever it takes to claim Joel as her own.

Opinion
The story was okay. Sweet even.

My biggest complaint: explaining the geek sci-fi terms. It was as if the author wanted to write a book for geeks and then decided everyone should be able to understand the jargon.

I know and watched enough Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Firefly to get all the references without the explanation. I am not even a hard-core geek. Doctor Who is my heart, but I digress. I could understand if she was making obscure references but this is like Sci-Fi 101.

My other reason for discontent is that the villain should have went to jail. Really! The stunt that the villain pulled should not have been brushed aside as if nothing had happened.

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I think this story could have been a lot stronger if the author had developed the characters a little more. This is a novella, so there was not time to flush the character profiles. If possibly the author turns this into a full-length novel, I think she would have more time to make the story stronger and better.

Side note: For once, could an author have a story with a woman gamer heroine who everyone KNOWS is a woman at the beginning? I feel like the female gamer with male sounding name is so overdone these days. It is uninspired. Unoriginal. Boring.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW. It is okay if you have some time to kill. But don’t expect too much from this book.

Book details
Book Length: 104 pages
Series: No but there is a follow up book Code Monkey
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥

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