Review Round Up ~ May 29

New Releases:

We Were Once by S.L. Scott

4.5 stars - One of the Best

Review Copy Provided by Author

I have no idea where to start with this review because I don’t want to potentially spoil the story for anyone. This is definitely a book that you want to read and experience for yourself. I’m going to try to hit key pieces so you can get a glimpse of the awesome.

Characters:
Josh and Chloe are both interesting and easy to like. They meet as seniors at Yale and are a bit star crossed. I loved how they seemed to bring balance to each other and even at 20 and 21 seemed to have staying power and the problem solving skills needed for a long term relationship. The older versions had perseverance and I was proud of how they handled themselves is the face of adversity.

Characters who aren’t people:
Frankie and Dwayne Evans/Hemsworth add a humor element that is cute and made me giggle more than once

Story:
Be prepared for the story to take a hard right on you and it to totally be worth it. There were a couple of chapters where my heart was in my throat and I wasn’t sure what would happen. Everything got resolved in a way that I was happy with and I can’t recommend this emotional book enough.

Where did that 1/2 star go?
Okay, this is one of those things that could be a positive or negative depending on your reading style. I finished We Were Once and there were a couple of things that didn’t feel resolved to me. Both centered around the relationships Josh and Chloe had with their fathers. These aren’t huge things key to the story flow, but they niggled at me. I wanted to know how/why things played out a certain way.

Overall:
This is a unique read with wonderful characters and I highly recommend grabbing it!

Amazon

View all my reviews When You Wish Upon a Rogue by Anna Bennett

3.5 stars - Worth a Reader's Time

Review Copy provided by Publisher via Net Galley

This was a charming (and a little steamy) historical.
I enjoyed getting to know Sophie and Reese and loved their almost instant connection to each other. Their interactions ranged from sweet to very steamy and I wanted to see them to find a way to be together.

While the author does not explicitly tell us when this takes place, there are clues that tell us it is in the early 1800/1810's based on Reese discussing his service in the Infantry. Given that, the author does a good job of painting the struggle that Sophie faces given her family's situation.

When You Wish Upon a Rogue is a fun and entertaining read that makes me what to go back and read the first two books in the series, but there were several places where I found myself scratching my head. For one, Sophie seemed to have an extreme about of freedom for an unmarried lady of her social status. This freedom led to several other things that I found surprising regarding some of Sophie and Reese's interactions. The second issue for me was the blending of women of various social standings blending in a social situation.

This is a piece of fiction, so the things that seemed out of place are things that I have to try to let go as artistic license. Ms. Bennett is a newish author to me and based on this book I would be interested in reading more of her work.

Amazon

KORU Contest Reads:

The Sweetest Thing by Leeanna Morgan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review Copy Provided by Contest

There are a lot of books where I get done and I’m wishing the book was longer, unfortunately this was not one of them. To be a bit brutal, this story could easily have been about 3/4 the length or even a bit shorter.

The author is new to me and I am picking the series up in the 5th book. One of the big struggles in long series is keeping readers up to date on previous leads while also keeping the story for the main characters moving. There were times here where it really seemed the secondary cast was taking over. This caused me to feel like I didn’t really know either of the leads.

I also struggled a little bit with the relationship between the lead characters. They spent very little time together, they seemed to have little communication between visits and were arguing half the time. Given that scenario, how can strong romantic feelings develop?

If someone has been reading this series from day 1, this could be a great book for them. There were not any major flaws, but I will say that it was not a book that makes me want to run out and buy more.

TBR Reads:

British Bedmate by Penelope Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars - Would Recommend to a Friend

Copy was received for free via a newsletter signup

This is a book that has been lingering on my TBR for a while and I'm sorry that it has taken my so long to read it!

Very well written, British Bedmate handles a couple of complex situations with delicacy and humor. I truly enjoyed getting to know both Bridget and Simon. They are entertaining and well rounded personalities. The transition from awkward roommates to friends to more was sweet and I enjoyed the evolution for both.

The duo of Keeland and Ward is one that I enjoy when I get the chance to read their work. I need to do better about not letting their books linger on my To Be Read list.

Amazon

View all my reviews