Confessions of a Dreamer by Kenna White

⭐⭐☆

Ros McClure works in the internal audit department of a university. She is a shoo-in for the top position when her boss retires but is bypassed. It doesn't sit well with her, particularly since her new boss is clueless about the work. As she is dealing with this setback in her life, she gets the news that her aunt, Bonnie, has been hospitalised. She flies back home and realises that Bonnie is being taken care of by Stacy Hagen, Ros' erstwhile biology teacher and high school crush.

Bonnie's ill-health, a class reunion and other things align for Ros to return back and be with her aunt for a while. Ros realises that despite twenty-five years having passed, she is still attracted to Stacy. And this time, it looks like her interest is returned.

This book had so much potential which has not been realised. Ros and Stacy, it turns out were always into each other. Because of the whole teacher-student relationship Stacy chose to tamp the attraction. This itself gives an opening for so much delicious burn when they are in each other's orbit after two and a half decades. There was so much possibility for great chemistry. But this is entirely missed -- and that hurts because we could actually read the book as it could've been. 

We also feel that if Ros' diary had been used differently in the narrative -- interspersing it and building the feeling throughout the narrative would probably have made the romance more tingly and butterfly-y. As it is narrated, there doesn't seem enough depth in the relationship for the finale.

We're not sure about Ros' pragmatism with her aunt. Bonnie is the person who gave Ros a home and unconditional support and love. Yet when her health is nosediving, Ros seems to be perfectly fine leaving someone else to take care of her instead of actually making any effort to be there for Bonnie. How?

Stacy, as a person, is unreal. She is constantly looking after endless people on a pro bono basis and yet she doesn't come across as particularly nice or kind -- she just comes across as impossible. And then there is her weird, intrusive behaviour with regards to Ros' old diary. 

This one is a lost opportunity of being a great book.

⭐⭐☆

Following Chance by Baxter Brown

⭐⭐☆

As college students, Kate Connors, a law student in a college in small town Renfrew met Lauren Dawson, a sociology student and wife of Kate’s classmate, Drew. Despite the fact Lauren was married, Kate and Lauren had an intense passionate affair. Which ended badly. Gathering pieces of her broken heart Kate left Renfrew for the city.

Fifteen years later, Kate is back in Renfrew as a librarian, with a 10-year-old daughter, Jack, in tow. Kate had felt burnt out and had also felt that she was unable to give Jack enough attention. Having saved enough money, Kate is back in a smaller town to slow down their pace of life.

The first person Kate meets in Renfrew is 10-year-old Abbie, immediately followed by Abbie’s mom, Lauren. As luck has it, the two girls become the best of friends and it is impossible for the two women to not interact.

About 97% of the book has Lauren chasing Kate making herself vulnerable – in the past and in the present – and Kate brushing her off, pushing her away and rejecting her with varying degrees of coldness, rudeness and plain nastiness. As a result, there is no real chemistry between the two.

Lauren is special. She is filled to the brim with every characteristic we like, garnished with a great sense of humour. In fact, this is the first time we’ve actually envied a pen person. We were intensely jealous of Kate especially since there is absolutely nothing to like (much less, love) about her. Even when she’s supposedly smooth and charming, she comes across as just an ass.

We cannot imagine what sort emotion (love or guilt?) Lauren feels and carries to keep her faith, self-esteem and hope for one year after Kate returns and rejects her on a daily basis. Kate takes pains to be horrible to the woman she is supposed to have this great, unexpressed love for, namely  Lauren, who is now divorced and unfailingly nice, warm, loving, mature, flirtatious and openly expressing her feelings for Kate. The chip on her shoulder that Kate has is more of a forest than just a chip.

This one just wasn’t for us.

About the rating:  Since Lauren is a 5 for us and Kate a zero, we’re averaging the overall rating for this one to 2.5.

⭐⭐☆

Her Secret Love by Chanel Ivy

⭐⭐☆

A pocket packet filled chock-a-block with predictable drama.

Georgia Hunt owns a very successful company that she's built from scratch. She married very young and that marriage has now fallen apart since she and her husband are in completely different mind spaces. Katrina Smith is a new temp accountant in Georgia's company. Georgia has an immediate attraction to the hot, confident, gorgeous, somewhat cocky temp and they fall into a sexual relationship almost immediately.

Kat seems to have some secret past and deflects any questions about it. Despite the secrecy, both the women find their feelings for each other deepening even as Georgia's husband steadily loses control on sane behaviour.

This is a compact read which is more about the drama than about characters or characterisation. There's a sex scene almost as soon as the two women meet. We thought that meant this would be an out-and-out erotica but after maybe one more explicit scene, the concentration was mostly on Georgia's deteriorating marriage i.e. The drama aspect. But then, it also wrapped up with a sex scene. So we imagine that the intention was for this to be more erotica than anything else.

This is a short, not emotionally or mentally involving, rather forgettable read which nevertheless serves a single episode soap-operatic-high-drama purpose. 

⭐⭐☆

The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée: A Lesbian Romance by Clara Reese

⭐⭐☆

A fluffy book about a fake engagement, but not entirely a fake romance, between a rich-girl-poor-girl.

Leah Davis is a hugely successful IT professional, CEO of her own company and out and proud. Her life is fodder for the gossip mill and her real and made-up affairs are constantly being written about. 

Jenny Mason is a songwriter and singer, singing at a open mic on the regular to a disinterested audience of a handful of people, dreaming big dreams. One small step upwards is when she's approached to provide the entertainment at the bash of some big company.

The newest rumour about Leah is that all her public affairs are a cover-up for her real involvement with a married woman -- that too a woman married to a member on the advisory board of Leah's company. After having hooked up with Jenny, the entertainer during the company meeting, Leah asks Jenny to be her fake fiancée till the storm blows over.

Jenny agrees with three conditions, one of them being, no feelings to be developed by either of them. Which turns out to be easier said than done for both. 

This one is a pocket packet – a book that has most elements of a full-fledged novel, but rather than get into depth of characterisation or relationship-building and relationship development, it skims along surface providing just about a glimpse of everything. Pocket packets are undemanding quick reads that don’t particularly stay with you for any length of time (of course, there are some exceptions – shorties that stay). This one is rather heavy on explicit scenes, some with light BDSM, this is a romantic erotica pocket packet.

Leah and Jenny are both pretty okay. They have a fairly good equation particularly since they mostly talk and don't create unnecessary hurdles and angst. There is a little bit of dithering before they confess their feelings but not to a point where they behave badly with the other. There is a little tension created by an antagonist -- one of Leah's exes, Madeline. However, Madeline ends up being rather tragic because she had real feelings that were dismissed and she was unfairly diminished.

The are instances of the wrong MC name being used which creates confusion. Beta readers are absolutely essential for indie authors to avoid such regrettable important errors.

Within its niche, this is pretty okay.

⭐⭐☆

Truly, Madly, Deeply by Clare Dugmore

⭐⭐☆

Divorcee Sabrina Thompson has a nightmare ex-husband, a very supportive family (parents, brother, sister-in-law) and a ten-year old daughter, Piper, who is the centre of her life. Having got pregnant when she was just eighteen, Sabrina gave up her dreams of going to culinary school and got married instead, only to have her husband cheat on her when her baby was only eighteen months. Now, with a growing daughter and limited qualifications, Sabrina is stuck in a job she hates, working long hours for a lecherous boss and has no immediate for any life beyond work and Piper.

Coach Rhiannon O’Bryan is a gym teacher and a football coach. She lost her wife eight years back and hasn't found anyone who can deal with her being a widow and mother to ten-year old Teagan. It doesn't help that hook-ups aren't Rhia's thing. She is a relationship seeking lady.

Piper and Teagan become instant best friends. Rhia's infatuated with straight Sabrina. Sabrina got married young and as she gets to know Rhia's better, she also uncovers unexpected curves in her sexuality.

Sabrina, with her insecurities and vulnerabilities, is someone you feel for instantly. Rhia starts off a little shaky but grows pretty solid quickly. Deducing from the details of their backgrounds, there seems to be certain age gap between the two, but it's never alluded to. Despite having plenty of word-space, the children are rather underdeveloped as characters. Most of the times they seem to be not too capable of conversation instead running to play all the time.

The writing is uneven. While describing Sabrina, her thoughts, feelings, personality -- especially in the beginning -- the writing is solid, delves into some depth and creates involvement. However, when it moves to incident narration, it is basic at best. It's almost like different people have written different parts.

On the whole, this one is just an average read. 

⭐⭐☆

Heart's Desire by Chloe Peterson

⭐⭐☆

This is a rich-girl-poor-girl, social strata straddling romance.

Margo is hired as a cook, personal chef, by the Decaudins, a family of you – parents and two daughters – for the summer.  Her boss, Mrs. Decaudin seems a little ditzy and somewhat eccentric. The younger daughter, seven year old Charisse, seems to be on her way to world domination or at least politics with mad bribery skills already in place. The older daughter, gorgeous Elise, seems to take an instant dislike for Margo on learning that as their family chef, Margo will be living in the apartment in the basement.

Margo sticks to her work, keeping her head down and trying her best not to ruffle any Elise-feathers despite being privy to Elise’s proclivities towards bringing women home almost every night and spiriting them away during a safe pocket of time in the morning after Margo serves them breakfast.  

But as Margo inadvertently gets to know Elise more, she realises that things aren’t always what they appear to be.

   

Within lesfic, there is a large space for pocket packets – books that have most elements of a full-fledged novel, but rather than get into depth of characterisation or relationship-building and relationship development, they skim along surface providing just about a glimpse of everything. These are undemanding quick reads that don’t particularly stay with you for any length of time (of course, there are some exceptions – shorties that stay). This one is definitely a pocket packet.

Margo and Elise are nice enough. Their social interactions are very farfetched but move the story along. They relationship moves from nothing to everything rather abruptly so it didn’t have enough build-up or depth to appeal. Since it’s not insta-love or insta-attraction either, the suddenness of a change in their feelings and status was kind of hard to swallow.

On the whole, this is a quick okay read.

⭐⭐☆

   

Her Magic Touch by Christine L’Amour

⭐⭐☆

Jamie has been given a spa tears as a birthday gift by her friends. When she arrives at the spa, she learns that it is for s full body massage. She's about to chicken out and run when the masseuse, Courtney Meadows, calls for her. Jamie goes in with misgivings and when she feels herself getting uncontrollably turned on, she hurriedly leaves the place. But then she bumps into Courtney again and they agree that the massage will be completed in the privacy of Jamie's home.

As straight as Jamie thinks she is, her want to do more with Courtney cannot be ignored or denied.

This is much more erotica than romance, though there is a lot (lot in capitals) of conversation. In fact the emotional reactions seems a tad excessive, especially in the beginning. Jamie is not awfully likeable, especially in her behaviour with her friend, which is a good indicator of the person she is. Courtney is also just average. But what she lacks in the romance and character-creation departments, L'Amour makes up in the sexy times.

This is a quick read which is not completely unpleasant.

⭐⭐☆

Amy’s Rest by S. R. Silcox

⭐⭐☆

Georgia Ballantyne lost her partner of 12 years to cancer. It’s been two years but it is not easy to stop missing your partner of over a decade. Besides the house in Brisbane that she lives in, Georgia has one more piece of Amy’s estate still left – a country cottage which Georgia has never seen but Amy had fallen in love with. Together they’d made plans about their time in the cottage at some point in future. A future that never materialised. Georgia plans to renovate the cottage and sell it, pay off her mortgage on the apartment and maybe start dealing with the fact Amy is truly and completely gone from her life.

 Zoe is the identified builder for renovating Georgia’s house. Building is Zoe’s family business though it wasn’t what she wanted to pursue in her life. Her dream was to qualify in social work and hold word working classes for troubled teens. Now she is the head builder while the business part is handled by her wheelchair-bound brother. When the renovation comes their way, Zoe’s brother believes that this could be the turning point for their struggling business. Zoe doesn’t buy into his optimism and is prickly about working with a project manager, who just happens to be Georgia.

The two get off on a poor start entirely because of Zoe’s attitude problems but working together reveals more facets of their personalities – facets that mesh.

This book has both characters dealing (or not dealing) with loss of loved ones. The way people deal with loss and the time they need is entirely individual and deserves respect. This kind of dealing shouldn’t be forced or hurried by anyone else’s timeline.

Georgia is entirely understandable and a perfectly nice character. But Zoe (eyeroll). For almost half the book Zoe is a shoo-in into the Hall of MCs who are Jerks in Lesfic. She is aggressive, abrasive, judgemental, confrontational, rude, superior – you get the gist. She tones down a tad later, but not entirely.

This is an okay book but not something to scramble for.

PS: It’s said never judge a book by its cover, but we totally did and got into this one expected a romcom. It was quite a bummer to get something much more serious. 

⭐⭐☆★

Beyond Repair by Aleks Mitchell

⭐⭐☆

Six years back Jade Summers left Willow Creek, the small town she grew up in for the city. Along with her hometown she also left her then girlfriend, Brianna Kistler, literally crying her eyes out. To make matters worse, she then didn’t answer any of Bri’s text messages or calls and even blocked her on social media. Six years thence, Jade knows that Bri is the love of her life and has returned home hoping to have another go at their relationship. Except that Bri has changed. Jade broke her and she is now a strictly emotionally unavailable person who has a series of relationships and hook-ups scattered around town.

The basic premise of the Jade-Bri story reminded us of Georgia Beers’ Flavor of the Month with one important correction – Jade has come back to apologise and make good. The lack of remorse was something that we’d hated in Flavor of the Month. We usually are completely put off by people who hurt others emotionally in the name of their own heartbreak, but Bri didn’t evoke any particular negative feelings. Which is quite a win for the author.

Between Jade’s comeback and the return of Bri’s homophobic father who’d left his family and started a new one when Bri was but a child, there is plenty of space for high emotions and angst. Yet, we were left strangely untouched by the happenings. We really wish that the writing could’ve got us more invested but it didn’t – and we sorely missed that.

This is a book in which we don’t find anything recommendable but nothing particularly off-putting either (except that it doesn’t draw you in). 

⭐⭐☆