One More Chance by Ali Vali

 

⭐⭐

Review-lite

…because…this is a refurbished fanfic first published in mid-2000s

• Xena fanfic How Do You Mend a Broken Heart published by Vali in 2005, dusted and padded up for word count by the author and publisher
• Refurbished, but still feels unpolished
• A sequel to this story also exists – All it Took Was You – maybe that will also make an appearance as a novel sometime
• We’re so extremely uncomfortable with super-butch characters who seem to secretly want to be men (case to point: in this book the Xena character, Harry, is called ‘Uncle Harry’ by a kid) 
• Characterisations and storyline pretty clichéd and slightly over the top – as was he norm with Xena fanfic
• This is not bad but then, it’s not wow either

⭐⭐

Puppy Love by Cara Malone

 

⭐⭐

This is a low-key, rather unconvincing romance. 

Marley St. James is thirty-seven. She’s a vet with partnership in a well-established practise but has a disastrous romantic life. She was emotionally (though not physically) involved with a married woman, Lillian, who claimed to have a bad marriage. That went south when Marley runs into Lillian’s wife at the supermarket and realises that Lillian was only stringing her along. With a history of choosing people who are unavailable in some way or another, Marley is just a tad jealous of all her friends finding the loves of their lives. Because all that Marley really wants is to love and be loved.

Blaire Baker is divorced. As a part of her healing process she attended a Buddhist retreat and has come back with a learning that everything is impermanent and therefore detachment is the key. Her mom’s dog, Toby, is Marley’s patient and Blaire and Marley meet when Blaire takes Toby to the vet. There is immediate attraction between Marley and Blaire which leads to further exploration. 

There is nothing exceptional about either Marley or Blaire – though between the two, Marley reaches you a tad more than Blaire. The relationship between them is at best, mundane. There is a distinct lack of chemistry and connection between them. Also, when Marley is so keen on forever, why she would get into a casual thing is inexplicable. The relationship smacks a little of desperation on Marley’s part. Blaire seems seriously superficial since it takes one conversation with her friend to change her ‘detachment’ world view. 

This one is entirely skippable. 

⭐⭐

True Hearts by Ellie Green

 

⭐⭐

Set in a small town in Australia, this romance leaves much to be desired.

Gem Tillings was a baker in Melbourne with a shop specializing in vegan offerings. The business failed leaving Gem in debt and owing money to her parents and the bank. A friend gets her an office job in a school in Tyndall, a place that is a little more than a village. Miscommunication by the estate agent finds Gem without a place to lie when she arrives. As a solution, she is offered 9and she accepts) the only other property available – a shop which also has a tiny bedroom and bathroom attached.

Marnie is the overworked local vet who is also the landlord of the shop Gem’s renting. Marnie is a loner and considered slightly weird by the local for her keeping-to-herself ways.

The attraction between the two runs into the wall of Marnie’s extreme introversion which is at complete odds with Gem’s outgoing personality. 

Gem and Marnie are developed in detail. But the pull between them is completely lacking. Marnie is the more difficult character between the two, blowing hot blowing cold, jumping to conclusions and seemingly unable to get over herself. She is just way too much work and effort. If the intensity of burn and heat between the two was more, we could probably have rooted for them but as it is written, we felt zero involvement in the goings-on and the relationship. And therein lies the problem with the book – it doesn’t get us involved, though there is ample opportunity for it to have been and immersive read. 

Also, it begins very well. the introductory scenes of both the women and their first meeting were very well done. But that set an expectation of something written in a faster, breezier way. The sudden change of approach made the whole experience of the book nosedive. 

This one just didn’t grab us.

⭐⭐

Her Forever: Lix 3 by Emily Hayes

 

⭐⭐★

Review-lite

…because…*shrug* 🤷

• Lauren, the bouncy, super-enthusiastic and unbelievable thirty-something reaches the peak of her journey to becoming a submissive in this one with a ‘collaring ceremony’
• We’re not super-convinced about the whole dome-sub dynamic being ‘equal’ despite the best efforts by the author to convince the reader about this
• Find the relationship particularly imbalanced because more than once Quinn says that as the domme she got to ‘help’ (or actually write) what Lauren will say in the collaring ceremony, which is positioned as equivalent to a marriage in the kinky world
• Better dialogue than in the previous two parts but still quite unnatural
• Unbelievable conversations between Lauren and her friends
• The relationship between Lauren and Quinn also seems strangely wooden and stilted
• Heads-up: much less sex in this one than expected from Hayes (but then, Lix 2 has a surfeit of sex)

⭐⭐★

Royal Ugly Duckling by Clara Reese

⭐⭐

When Odette's mom married a billionaire, she and her twin sister, Bella, moved to Lathonia, became heiresses, and subject of news articles. Chubby, plain, saddled with braces, Odette is a stark counterpoint to her twin's golden gorgeousness and is quickly dubbed 'ugly duckling' by the media. A moniker that the mean girls of the super-exclusive school she attends are quick to adopt to bully her. 

Odette finds sanctuary in books and a secret crush on the athletic Ashley, who is also the princess of the kingdom. One afternoon, a stray kick of the football hits Odette in her face, and Ashley quickly comes to her rescue carrying her to the infirmary and caring for her in multiple ways. Surprisingly, it seems that Ashley has more than noticed Odette and a tentative friendship stars between them with exchange of favourite books.

Things escalate and the two girls have one exquisite night together after which Ashley pulls away.

Devastated, Odette goes ahead to transforms herself into a shallow bitch. Five years later she is all gorgeousness, known as a bed-and-leave-'em heartless bitch, closed off from her family. 

But then, Ashley re-enters her life and the same teen cycles seems to be repeating.

This is a completely superficial escapist book. Odette, the narrator, is far from likeable even before her heart is broken. She is never completely involved with her consistently supportive mother and sister, and obviously disinterested in her three adorable step-sisters. She is so shallow that her response to being dumped is to become 'beautiful'. And all she seems to be really doing with her life five years later is being vain and being cold. When the lead leaves you cold, the book cannot make much of an impression. 

Ashley is never fully sketched out, but from what little is there, she is quite appealing. Though, strangely, for being a bona fide princess, Ashley doesn't seem to have much clout in the school pecking order. 

The best part of the story was the exchange of books between Odette and Ashley and the continual reference to said books all through.

This is a read-and-forget book that is in the strictly okay-with-a-shrug category. 

⭐⭐

No Other Love by Jade Winters

⭐⭐

Some synopses are just not accurate. The synopsis for this one makes it seem a much deeper relationship in the youth than it is in the book.

Amber is largely ignored by everyone in school and she hates it but Highschool Amber nurses a secret crush on classmate, Sophie. Not that they are actually friends or anything. Just classmates. The in one life-changing moment Sophie kisses Amber and the very next day onwards Sophie freezes out Amber. While Amber is still grappling with Sophie's behaviour, Sophie's parents divorce and she moves out of town. That is, she effectively disappears.

Ten years later, Amber owns a successful PR business in New York with a partner. There is a brief mention of a past relationship in which Amber doesn't sound like a likeable person. Sophie owns her own business in London and has just been dumped by her partner of five years. Circumstances find both women back in their home village and back in each other's orbit.

Before the two actually get together there are so many crossed stars that it actually feels like the universe is warning them against getting together. Given that they didn't have even one meaningful conversation in the past, the whole 'forever love' seems too superficial and made it really difficult to get into the relationship.

That is not the only superficial thing in the book. When they seem to be on the same page, Amber flies to London from New York, surprises Sophie (who just happens to be naked in bed) and before they say hello they are having sex, being interrupted by Sophie's ex and breaking up again. 

Even the last time when someone sets them up to enable them to talk to each other and they just get together -- totally unconvincing.

Both the ladies are fairly okay but their whole relationship absolutely doesn't work.

This one wasn't for us.

⭐⭐

Drawn by Carsen Taite

⭐⭐

This is a tight crime novel which is somehow bracketed into a romance.

Riley Flynn is an artist on the cusp of her first solo show. She specialises in drawing urban cityscapes of her hometown, Dallas. She belongs to a group of artists who have regular artist jams where they meet, draw together for a few hours, critique each other’s work and end up at a pub. Riley has a strained relationship with her mother and a non-relationship with her father, Frank Flynn, who has been in prison for fifteen years accused of murdering a 24-year-old woman. New evidence points towards his innocence but Riley wants to have nothing to do with him because even before her was sent to prison he’d become an absentee father who was cheating his wife with a TA and doing drugs.

The dead body of a young woman turns up with one of Riley’s sketches in her pocket and Detective Claire Hanlon starts her investigations. During the course of her investigations, two more young ladies are murdered and Riley’s sketches are found on both bodies. On the path to a promotion, Claire is being pressured to find a connection between one of the Flynns (Riley or her father) and the murders by her boss who was one of the investigators in Frank Flynn’s bungled case.

The story is taut and well-paced but the romance was unnecessary. It slowed down and marred the thriller aspect. Also we couldn’t really feel the chemistry between Riley and Claire and the sex scene was way too abrupt and forced.

Riley and Claire are fair enough characters not evoking any strong feelings either ways. But then, to be fair, this is more of a story-driven book than a character-driven one. We felt a lot of loose ends were left particularly with the investigation in Frank Flynn’s case. If Claire would’ve somehow unravelled that one, it would’ve been a stronger book. Also, the murderer and his motive wasn’t very convincing. Why serial kill three young ladies when his beef is with someone else? Made no sense.

Basically a just about okay read. 

PS: Doesn't the gorgeous woman on the cover look exactly like Nick Jonas' wife, Priyanka Chopra? 

⭐⭐