Like First Love, Again by J.J. Arias

 

⭐⭐⭐☆

This one is a straightforward friends-to-lovers romance, written pretty well. The common factors in all of J. J. Arias' books are fully intact in this one too — Cuban-American MCs, great chemistry and some explicit scenes of intimacy.

Tori (Victoria) and Mia (Maria) are high school friends. Tori is gay with a huge crush on Mia. Mia is straight (as far as she knows) who is slightly beyond-the-norm physical with Tori — which is pretty much torture for Tori. So, as soon as they go to their respective colleges, Tori ghosts Mia. And thus things stand, till Mia makes a reappearance into Tori's life. Which is when Mia first gets to know about Tori's sexuality, questions her own past physicality with Tori and things start changing.

I enjoy Arias' writing style on the whole, but there are some parts in this book that made it a little bit of a force-myself-to-read situation. For one, till a little over a third or so of the book, it felt like Mia was alone in the relationship. Which makes me both, sad and mad. Of course, the author takes pains to make sure we know about Tori's headspace too, but if you put yourself in that situation (I do), you wonder how Mia is able to keep chasing Tori. 

Then there is the whole Mia and her losses story. It is in the background while the romance is the focus... and then suddenly it takes centre stage for a bit, then it fades back into the scenery again. It feels like this one should've actually been written as two books — one dealing with just the romance, and a second, more in the literary fiction genre, dealing with Mia, her life, emotions, resilience and rebuilding. 

Also the frequent refrain of Mia doing something (kissing Tori, hugging her...or really anything) for "all the times she didn't" got a bit much. The first time — very nice, The second, okay-it's-been-said-before-but-I'll-live-with-it. After that, please-enough-already. 

I'm seriously uncertain about how to rate this book. On one hand, J. J. Arias' books always have excellent chemistry — as does this one. On the other, there are those parts — though well written — that strike a note of dissonance in the flow. It didn't let me settle into either storyline completely. But maybe that's just a me problem. 

For a recommendation, the best I can say is: Have at it, if you really want to. 

⭐⭐⭐☆

In Walked Trouble by Dana Hawkins

 

⭐⭐⭐☆

This is a well-written light romcom. Though it can be called enemies-to-lovers, it's not exactly that. The rivalry is new and brief. So romcom is the best fit.

We have Remi James, a seasoned bartender with a chip on her shoulder, and Maya Marek, her new, annoyingly perfect and entitled (in Remi's opinion) surprise competition. Remi's prickly exterior hides a deep-seated vulnerability tied to her relentless ambition, while Maya's bright and cheerful demeanor conceals her own quiet struggles. 

There's a promised (hefty) bonus awaiting for one of them (depending on criteria set by the owner of the bar) at the end of a specified time period. Hawkins sets this part up really well — why the money is important to each of them. 

The other part really well done is the chemistry. It's no-so-slow burn, but not hurried either — though there's insta attraction. In addition to the chemistry, there's enough talking and sharing and baring (past traumas) to give convincing groundwork of more-than-just-lust.

As the story progresses, family emergencies and painful pasts come to light, serving as the catalysts for the relationship to move beyond simple rivalry. 

There is the prefinal act conflict here. While Hawkins takes pains to describe what is driving Remi's asshat behaviour... well, it remains asshat behaviour. Which Maya addresses (while Remi wallows). 

While the ending is satisfying, I felt like I wanted a bit more from the final act. I definitely need an epilogue, because as things stand, I feel that Maya is going to bear the entire emotional burden of their relationship going forward. That kind of imbalance always makes me uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, it's fun enough and light enough to live firmly in the I-don't-exactly-regret-reading-this reads shelf.

⭐⭐⭐☆

And Then There Were Four by Elna Holst

 

⭐⭐⭐☆

This is the fourth book of Holst’s Tinsel and Spruce Needles series that essentially has one book every Christmas – so the title can be as much play about that, as about the arrival of twins.

This book is an update about what’s happening with all the characters from the series. Each of the four chapters gives a peek into a different character’s life. The first chapter has Erika Stolt and Padma Lingren (from Candlelight Kisses) who are about to have twins. The second chapter tells us what’s happening with Helena Hansen (now this is a character who deserves a love story of her own). The third chapter has the Andersson sisters, Mia (Wild Bells) and Fifi (Little x). The final chapter has the birth of the twins and the start of something new for Gunilla Andersson (Mia and Fifi’s mom – and we hope for her story too – though this one is supposed to be the last of the series).

The writing is fluid, the characters – we already like them all from the previous books and they remain great. Love the dialogues and consistency of characterisation across books. All the characters are linked in one way or another but interestingly, each chapter can be read as a short story by itself. Our favourite chapter is the third one – it has the strongest and the most romantic story. It would help if you’ve read the previous books in the series to get a sense of the characters and their relationships. (We’ve missed Candlelight Kisses so our connect with Erika and Padma was limited – though we really liked them individually and together in this one).

The book is rather short and given its length, there are a surprising number of explicit scenes. Since the sex is between different couples, it doesn’t seem like erotica, though a large part of the book is erotica.

This is a short, easy read about people you’ve met and liked earlier.

⭐⭐⭐☆

#CassiNova by Lori G. Matthews

⭐⭐⭐☆

This one is a sitcom that doesn’t aim at being anything other than broadstrokes funny.

Samantha Cassidy is a popular, closeted TV actress with an Emmy under her belt and a dream of winning an Oscar. Alex Novato is a landscaper in her day job, but an aspiring author with a dream of getting published. As a creative outlet, Alex writes a fanfic shipping Sam’s character with that played by another actress, Emma, on the show. Sam and her manager, Jade, are impressed with the fanfic and decide to have a looksee at the author. It just so happens that Sam is in dire need of an overhaul of the outdoor areas of her new house and Alex is hired.

There is not much of a story. In fact, the story is only an excuse for comedic scenes. This book was originally a Clexa fanfic on AO3 and in the lack of plot, the fanfic origins show. However, it was hilarious as fanfic and it is hilarious in the book form too. 

Sam and Alex are very likeable. We particularly liked that Alex doesn’t put pressure on Sam to come out before she is ready. 

Since this is good old plain comedy, there is no reason the analyse characters or situations – just enjoy the lightness and at many times, the howlariousness of the on-going madness. 

⭐⭐⭐☆

The Other Women by Erin Zak

 

⭐⭐⭐☆

This one is more a drama than just a romance.

Dramatis personae

Cecily Yates

• Married to a perfectly amiable man, Luke Yates
• Loves him, not in love with him
• Had a hot and heavy relationship with work colleague, Willow Carmichael, for four years having made it clear to Willow that she had no intention of breaking her marriage
• Now separated (after Willow left Chicago for Las Vegas four months back)
• Looking to pick up her relationship with Willow again during her work trip to Vegas

Willow Carmichael

• Something of a player
• Seduced and stayed with a married Cecily knowing that the latter wouldn’t leave her husband
• Claims to love Cecily
• Cruel in dumping Francesca with whom she’d had a relationship for three of her four months in Vegas

Francesca Lopez

• Bartender
• Sweet
• Heartbroken
• Unexpectedly swept away by Cecily (and also sweeping Cecily off her feet) 

Luke Yates

• Amiable
• Considerate

Cecily is the centre of the story. Given that all her actions seem wrong (cheating, having a long illicit affair, closeted with no intention of coming out, getting into an affair with Francesca rather quickly), she is surprisingly very, very likeable. Maybe because she really sees herself and doesn’t make excuses for her behaviour – amongst many other likeable factors. She is a very, very pale shade of grey.

Willow, while not exactly a main player on page, is quite the pivot of the story. She starts off a deep black and ends up a very-close-to-black grey. Barely. 

Francesca is charming, sweet and wholly white. 

Luke also, mostly white. Well, maybe an even paler shade of grey than Cecily. 

We loved the chemistry between Cecily and Francesca and were totally rooting for them. But we just did not get the conflict, particularly Cecily’s actions, words and reactions. This, despite really, really liking Cecily. 

On the whole, we quite enjoyed this book because we were invested in Cecily and in the romance between Cecily and Francesca right up to the end.

⭐⭐⭐☆

Lockset by Brenda Murphy

 ⭐⭐⭐☆

Eunice (Eun) Park is a litigator in Chicago and has been with the same firm for fifteen years. She is estranged from her father who, in their last meeting five years back, had gathered a group from his church to pray the gay out of her. 

When Eun receives a call from her father asking to meet her, she demurs and pushes it away to a couple of weekends later. But the meeting never materialises because her father dies of a massive coronary before that. So Eun goes back to settle the estate. 

Morgan Wright is a locksmith working with her father in a business owned by them and also a part-time animal shelter volunteer. Morgan and her sister were the people who discovered Eun’s father’s body when they responded to a call about a dog. Morgan takes the dog back home, since she almost instantly bonds with him. 

When Eun comes to town, she is in in multiple messes – dealing with her father’s demise, grappling with her extended family’s homophobic hate and getting a hard time at work amongst other things.

She hooks up with Morgan almost instantly thinking it would be just a hook-up driven by the overwhelming emotions she is trying to handle. However, the hook-up becomes more over even while there seems to be some mystery surrounding her father’s accounts and personal life. 

This is most definitely an erotic romance. There are lots (in all caps) frankly hot sex scenes – much like Jump Then Fall and Begin Again by Sarah Sanders. 

Given her circumstances, Eun’s pull-push-indifference behaviour with a truly supportive and all-round great partner-material Morgan becomes somehow explicable and you really root for them to get onto the same page fast. The mystery parts are okay but the relationship rules. And of course, the sex.

This is a pretty okay read.

⭐⭐⭐☆

Now and Again by Natasha West

 

⭐⭐⭐☆

This is a second chances book but not entirely, because the first time around, the relationship was abbreviated and nixed before it could develop. 

Juliet Sullivan is a nanny. She works with wealthy families looking after their kids with immense love and patience – because Juliet loves kids and she loves her job. When her current employer gets a promotion at work and is scheduled to move to Canada, Juliet finds a new job in the Powell household consisting of an irritable man of the house, a harassed and harried mom, an unmanageable little girl – and Riley Powell.

Riley and Juliet were together in high school where Riley was the all-round popular girl, who was also a good person and did well in her studies, while Juliet was the outcast (because she wasn’t as rich as the others). Riley’s best friend India particularly delighted in picking on Juliet. Despite their differences, Riley and Juliet shared one kiss and that could’ve developed further given that they both were crushing on the other. But India’s machinations ended that possibility. 

Now, Riley had been evicted from the rental house she was living in and is crashing at her father’s with his second family. Riley has no love lost for her dad and can’t wait to get away. When Juliet is added into the mix, things get more complicated because both women still harbour feelings for each other. 

Riley and Juliet are both very appealing women and the attraction that they feel for the other is inescapable. West writes good background about them both and explores their thoughts enough to make their actions understandable. This story is entirely built on non-communication, mis-communication and jumping to conclusions, which is somehow made understandable from the characters’ points of view. We admit that we feel more sorry for than angry with the bad guy, India, because all her actions arise from her own struggles.

This is meant to be a light entertainer and does that job really well. Particularly the scene towards the end where all Powells descend on Juliet. That was pure romcom climax which was thoroughly enjoyable. 

This one is quite a good read. 

⭐⭐⭐☆

The Setup by T. B. Markinson

 

⭐⭐⭐☆

Review-lite

…because…not a lot of story in this one

• The whole story happens in one single day that the two mains are ‘setup’ by a mutual friend 
• Good dialogue
• Markinson manages to give enough background about both leads (especially Imogen)
• The day seemed just too long – and for just one day (or less) it felt too much emotionally and the sheer number of incident-wise 
• This one could’ve well been spread over a few days and been called a novel instead of a novella
• Once again – great dialogue

⭐⭐⭐☆

The Girlfriend Sweater by Jenny Parker

 

⭐⭐⭐✩

This is a small town romance with two rather sweet MCs.

Eva was involved with a rather flamboyant cheater in the past. She's out of that relationship but not quite looking to get involved again. She's passionate about knitting, watches it and also works in her friend's yarn shop.

Katie is a lawyer. After completing her studies in San Francisco, she moved to St Bridget since a smaller town appealed to her more than a bustling city. She dreamt of practicing family law and making a real difference to people's lives but is stuck with a nightmarish boss aiming to make as much moolah as her can at any cost.

On a whim, Katie joins a just-about-to-start knitting class. The class brings a possible new friend and also possible/ maybe romance into the shy lawyer's life. Except that her boss' new questionable suit may derail Katie's hope of staying in St. Bridget.

This is a sweet, easy, fluffy read with very appealing leading ladies. Minor angst that's quickly resolved, solid supporting cast, realistic incidents and a fairly possible storyline add to the likeablilty factor.

⭐⭐⭐✩

Let the Beat Drop by Cheri Ritz

⭐⭐⭐☆

Sadie DuChamp's fledgling rock career comes to. Grinding halt when the bank breaks up in a flurry of bad blood. In the aftermath of an awful relationship and the band going bust, Sadie returns home. She is assailed with guilt that she's not been home more or taken care of her mom after her father passed away a few months back. Sadie's mother is in the grip of depression and Sadie decides to spend a year with her before embarking on anything new. 

A group of Sadie's mother's friends drop by for a regular coupon-exchange and chat session and led when Sadie starts playing her drums, led by one of the women Marley Moran, the group ends up having an impromptu jam session. Sadie is delighted to see her mother joining in and thinks that music is the way to help her mom back. She floats the idea of the group performing and Marley is happy to create an opportunity at her annual party.

Marley is in the business of manufacturing vodka. Her daughter, Jessica, a couple of years older than Sadie is studying business and keen on joining her mother's business as soon as she finishes studies. Home for the holidays, Jess is a little discomfited by the new development viz. her mom performing in public with a band and she is also madly attracted to the woman creating this turbulence, viz. Sadie.

This is a very well written book. While the romance is front and centre the relationships of both the girls with their mothers also are important threads. Characterisations of every single person, including those making very brief appearances, are so well done that you can practically see everyone.

Sadie and Jess are very likeable. This is a new adult book, which means both the women are in a transitory phase between teen and adult. So they have the teen ability to love and forgive. Despite Jess' blow-hot-blow-cold behaviour, Sadie is able to be totally into her. Both of them want to be responsible and take care of their mothers but are a little clueless, a little too young and a little ham-handed in how they do it. All this just makes it all so real and both of them endearing. Kudos to Ritz for the way she's written Sadie and Jess keeping them so perfectly in character. 

We really enjoyed this one.

⭐⭐⭐☆

The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen

⭐⭐⭐☆

A very well written and engaging teen story.

Alison Green dreams of being the valedictorian. Nerdy, socially awkward, a little emotionally clueless, gay (out to her parents, sister and best friend), Alison is really every girl. She harbours a secret crush on Charlotte, a super cool girl but cannot imagine doing anything about it. Her best friend, Becca, has a crush on Alison's friend, Jack, and is always tongue-tied in his presence. 

Without meaning to, Alison finds herself the producer of the school play -- a role she's wildly incapable of handling. 

The story is about Alison's action packed school year.

The writing is just so easy, funny and engaging that reading this is so much fun. Twitterpated -- its been a decade since we've seen an author use this delightful word.

Alison is a real person who makes mistakes, creates messes, hurts people, apologises, has some level of self-awareness -- just a complete human being. We love the whole show-not-tell way the characters, their strengths and failings and their growth is written. 

There is not a single character that we didn't like -- Becca, Annie (Alison's sister), and one really tertiary character, Jenny -- particularly stand out. The romance between Alison and Charlotte has some cute moments, but it's not like there is any major focus on it. 

This is a super-light, breezy, extremely entertaining read.

⭐⭐⭐☆

Foxy Lady: A Fur-ever Veterinary Romance by Cara Malone

⭐⭐⭐☆

This book is a sweet, angst-free read filled with characters who are high on instant-appeal quotient.

Adelaide (Addie) Mercer is a single mom with an energetic eight-year old son, Liam. After a bad relationship and its subsequent demise, Addie moves to Camden since it offers her a job with a salary and hours that meet her requirements. Addie’s yard abuts that of the house behind hers which seems to be unoccupied. Except that suddenly some sort of cage-type building starts there and seems to happen only when she is not at home, given that neither Addie nor Liam finding anyone working on the intriguing structure which Liam is convinced is for a bear.

Sydney (Syd) Young is a vet working with WOW, an organisation that recues and rehabilitates wildlife. She is on call 24x7 and has no semblance of a life outside work or anything possibly approaching regular hours. Not that she is complaining because she loves her work. When she is called by a lady who wants to surrender a fennec fox, Sonic, that her son unthinkingly bought, she knows finding a home for the fox is going to be difficult. Syd falls in love with the fox and decides to be his permanent home herself. But before getting him home, she got to build his home in her yard.

When Sonic arrives, Liam and Addie waste little time in going over to see exactly what animal occupies the structure that had them guessing for so long. Crackling electricity between Addie and Syd sparks off on sight.

Every single person (and animal) in this one are instantly appealing. We do love the fact that Addie is described a curvy and drips sex appeal. Her far from slim built is never something that she is self-conscious about and it carries no weight (God! Awful pun but we couldn’t resist) on Syd’s mad attraction for Addie. Couple of good sex scenes too in there.

This is light, breezy, middle-of-the-path enjoyable in sexiness and sweetness.   

⭐⭐⭐☆

Vesting Period by Monica McCallan

⭐⭐⭐☆

This is the second in the series about the ladies behind LadyLuck, a dating app for lesbians. Though it is a part of a series, it is complete as a standalone romance in itself.

Carter Montgomery is LadyLuck's app designer. She and her friends Avery and Brennan are the three co-founders of the popular app. Pushing Carter to find some romantic (or at least sexual) interest, Avery sets her up on a date using LadyLuck. Carter's date is Jamie Prescott, a roving start-up streamlining and troubleshooting consultant employed by a major venture capital firm based in New York. By the nature of her job, Jamie is never in any city for long and all she is really looking for is hookups in whichever city she happens to be. While Carter and Jamie are intellectual equals, there is no meeting ground in their thoughts, ideas, outlooks or personal wants. Their first date ends with Carter walking away in a huff. 

Subsequent meetings don't go much better despite Carter's best efforts. A natural with people, Carter cannot figure out why she can't really have a cordial conversation with Jamie. Being attracted to the infuriating woman doesn't help. When Jamie makes Carter realise that she's looking for love and a relationship, things only get more difficult for Carter trying to balance her long term wants with the attraction for a woman who isn't going to be in town much longer.

The thing that we enjoyed the most in this book were the dialogues. Whether intellectual dialogues about abstractions and concepts; fun dialogues with friends or serious ones with family -- the dialogues are awesome. Then there is great supporting cast of friends (Carter's and Jamie's) and Carter's sister. 

Carter and Jamie are very well developed personalities and their baggage (particularly Jamie's) is thoroughly explained. But all the character development and motive explanation in the world cannot make us forgive ghosting -- so Jamie loses points. Plus, between the two, only Carter makes compromises with who she is and what she wants, to be with Jamie, which made us feel that Carter is way more invested in the relationship than Jamie. This feeling remains even at the end. Skewed relationships in a romance don't sit too well with us -- at least in our books, the escapist world should have more balance and emotional equality. 

Notwithstanding our need for Carter to get more and to get better than Jamie, this is a well paced, highly readable romance with likeable characters, a well developed context and (once again) great dialogues.

⭐⭐⭐☆

The Goode Vet by JJ Arias

⭐⭐⭐☆

Ronny Hayes has just won a lottery of thirty million and moved into a decrepit mansion in an exclusive neighbourhood with grand plans of restoring it herself with the help of her brothers. Dr. Vanessa Hunter, a vet, is the star of a popular reality show and Ronny's closest neighbour. Vanessa is also rather a diva and doesn't take kindly to the shenanigans of her new neighbours, no matter how amiable they are.

So we have a gripe -- the books in the Goode Girls series are usually long enough to get into totally. They give you a feeling of satisfaction at the end. This one is just too short. And the length is even more galling because we felt that Arias could've developed everything more. To be fair, whatever is there is very well written and every scene is well done. Vanessa and Ronny are nice, but we'd have liked to know them more. With how well it is written, the length felt like a tease.

All our griping just underlines that this is a good read. If you're looking for a short read, this is highly recommended. 

⭐⭐⭐☆

In the Black by Luci Dreamer

⭐⭐⭐☆

Michelle Mitchell (Mitch) and Lilly Tan were high school sweethearts living and idyll life in the small town of Bend City. Till Lilly chose to go away to study and in response Mitch cut her off completely. Ten years thence, Mitch is a firefighter. She loves her job and is kickass at it but hasn't spent a single day without thinking of Lilly who seems to have created a whole new life in Atlanta. 

When Lilly's beloved aunt, May, falls ill, Lilly is back in town. May owns a popular bar which she wills to Lilly. May's health deteriorates rapidly and Lilly's visit extends to become a longer stay. May and Mitch also have a close relationship so Lilly and Mitch meet and interact much more than expected or planned and find that their past connection never quite went away.

Initially, we were completely Team Mitch. We totally felt her, especially about the not-a-day-without-thinking-of-Lilly decade. We are never great fans of the plot device were a third party is treated poorly by one of the MCs as she finds her way back to love and that was exactly what Lilly was doing, so our empathy and liking for her was very low. But as the story progressed the understanding and liking flipped. 

Both Lilly and Mitch made missteps but on the whole, we felt Lilly's share of blame in their relationship's demise was less than Mitch's. Closing off communication -- neither talking, nor listening; not being physically present; refusing to read written communication in any form -- this is certain killing off of a relationship. This feeling got stronger because in the second half of the book, Mitch became more self-pitying about what had happened in the past and refused to move on from there. We have low to no patience with people who reject or delay love, so we found Mitch un-understandable, exasperating and downright irritating. We still didn't like Lilly's treatment of her girlfriend in Atlanta, but she was faultless with Mitch. 

We found the fire action in the climax rather long drawn out and admit that we skipped a lot of it. To us it was too long a detour from the main story about the relationship.

Despite our issues with both the leading ladies at different points in the book, this is definitely a good second chances romance -- so go for it.

⭐⭐⭐☆

A Shot at Gold by Nicole Pyland

⭐⭐⭐☆

Madison Fletcher is a quiet, hardworking, determined young lady with a single goal in life -- to win an Olympic gold for archery. Already a national champion, she believes that the right coach can make her Olympic-ready and to Madison that coach is Elodie Booker. When she was competing, Elodie had transcended the gender divide and was known as the best archer in the world. After winning a clutch of medals, culminating in an Olympic gold, Elodie disappeared from the scene post the death of her coach.

Madison gets to know that Elodie is going to be coaching at an archery academy and joins just for her. However, at the last minute Elodie reneges on her coaching commitment. Madison tracks Elodie down and convinces Elodie to become her personal coach.

The relationship between the student and coach is rocky and labours under the baggage Elodie is carrying. It is not exactly helped when the attraction between them becomes impossible to ignore.

Madison is such a wonderful person. Initially, she does seem a little cocky about her skills but as you get to know her you realise she's just confident. She is matter of fact, honest, open, forgiving and one of the most straightforward people ever. She expresses her emotions truthfully and without ambiguity. Whether her ambition, her past, her anger, hurt, attraction or love -- she doesn't prevaricate about expressing. While her goal of the Olympic gold is supposed to be all-consuming, Madison is, in fact, ruled much more by her heart than anything else. She is a great human. We'd love to have such people in our life. 

Elodie, right in the beginning, proves herself to be undependable. She does redeem herself somewhat later, but her biggest positive quality is that Madison likes her and is willing to repeatedly give her chances. 

This is book is an engaging read that we do recommend.

 

⭐⭐⭐☆

Fitting In by Amanda Radley

⭐⭐⭐☆

Writing convincing love stories with non-typical characters is tricky. Radley more than measures up to the challenge with this truly heartwarming romance.

Heather Bailey is the manger of Silver Arches a high-end mall in London. She's been in this position for seven years and in the company for nineteen. Retail is not quite the same as it used to be and The Arches Group is feeling the impact. As a strategic move, The Arches Group has got an investor, Intrex, headed by the redoubtable Leo Flynn. Heather is uncertain about what this could mean for her and for her beloved centre but continues her work with the same dedication that she's always had.

Leo Flynn has an unsettling penchant for dropping in to Heather's office without warning, but Heather quickly learns to deal with this without either cowing down, letting it affect her work day or being rude. But what surprises her is when Leo Flynn tells her to find a job for his daughter, Scarlett, with just a cryptic comment that Scarlett is difficult.

Heather overthinks the reasons why the daughter of her new boss would be a part of her team but has to comply. Scarlett arrives in Silver Arches and as per Leo's diktat, she is placed in Facilities. The going is not good. However, there is something about Scarlett that intrigues Heather. With a background in the army, Heather decides to shift Scarlett to Security.

Slowly and painstakingly, Heather starts unravelling the mystery that Scarlett is.

The world of Silver Arches that Radley builds is entirely convincing. There are a number of character peopling this book and all of them are completely believable.

Heather and Scarlett are wonderfully written and detailed. Radley has achieve success in writing Scarlett on the autism spectrum and maintaining the trajectory without slipping. Heather's attraction and sensitivity towards Scarlett are beautiful. The only slightly weird thing is that despite being a textbook model of autism, no one except Scarlett herself recognises this about her. The only person who suspects it is Scarlett's stepmother.

Being in a long term relationship with someone on the spectrum wouldn't be easy, but the way Radley has written the relationship between Heather and Scarlett with so many small but important exchanges of mutual respect and accommodation, makes us firmly believe that theirs is going to be happily ever after.

This is a real touching romance.

⭐⭐⭐☆

One Golden Summer by Clare Lydon and T. B. Markinson

⭐⭐⭐★

This is a lightweight romance between trapped-by-unwanted-success-superstar and a wine shop owner in a quint beach town.

Forty-nine year old Kirsty McBride, divorced for seven years, owns a wine shop in Sandy Cove in partnership with her old friend, Helena. She has a fairly good relationship with her parents, though her mom is far from subtle about nudging Kirsty to find a partner. Her life is on an even keel. And her business could be expanding to include divorce parties. Kirsty has floated the idea to her new, posh, affluent, recently divorced customer, Ginger, who seems interested in such a party.

Saffron Oliver, star of a hit franchise, Girl Racer, has been acting since she was fifteen, is hugely famous (enough to command eight figure fees for a single movie) but practically burnt out and rather lost at just thirty-two. She wants time off and convinces her pushy agent to leave her alone for a month. Saffron plans to spend the month in Sandy Cove, where her sister, Ginger, has relocated to.

Saffron and Kirsty inevitably meet and are assigned by Ginger to work on her divorce party together. The two are attracted towards each other but carrying their own baggage which could well crush the budding relationship.

All the characters -- Kirsty, Ginger, Helena but mostly Saffron -- are immensely engaging. The dialogue fun and the atmosphere light. Lydon and Markinson are both solid writers so the narrative flows fluidity. So as a purely fluffy read, it ticks all boxes. 

We know that we're not supposed to overfeel something meant to be as lighthearted as this book, but we found Saffron intensely tragic. She keeps saying no one hears her or listens to her, and that is repeatedly proved true throughout the narrative. Also, she seems to be alone in almost all her relationships including with her sister and with Kirsty. She seems to be the only one reaching out, the only one trying to convince the other of her authenticity and the only one trying to make a relationship. Our heart really bled for her.

But our final take is that this is a very well paced, easy flowing, quick entertainer.

⭐⭐⭐★

Moonflower by Max Ellendale and A. M. Corbi

⭐⭐⭐☆

An excellently written book that deals with highly prevalent, sensitive subject matter.

Daria Grayson, mother of two year old, Ella, is married to a violent, abusive man, Mitchell. She finally divorces him and by the time Ella is four, she's been divorced a year, but still haunted by fear. Her best friend, Molly, is her strength, support, anchor and pretty much everything. She also has excellent support system in her mother-in-law, Mary, who suffered the same fate at her husband's hands that Daria did with Mitchell.

Working in Kindness and Care For All, an outreach centre, Daria's world is contained within her parents, sister, brother-in-law, Ella, Mary and most of all, Molly. Molly forces Daria for an evening out and introduces her to her cousin, Charlotte Garrett, an ex go-go dancer, currently managing the eatery they are in. Charlotte is stunning, playful and totally alive. 

Under Molly's aegis, Daria and Charlotte meet again and Daria feels stirrings of an unacknowledged part of her -- a possibility that she might be gay. Charlotte is out and clearly interested in Daria. 

Daria slowly comes into her own outgrowing fears and finding forgiveness -- all leading to happiness. 

This book, written in first person, is entirely about Daria's journey albeit with a satisfying romance with Charlotte.

Daria, Ella and Charlotte are intensely appealing. The relationship between Daria and Charlotte is lovely. There is romance, enjoyable dialogues and empathiseable interactions, lovely connection between Charlie and Ella, great sex scenes...yet, the real relationship is between Daria and Molly. 

Hard drinking, frequently doping, entirely in your face Molly is Daria's oldest friend who has been with her through her nightmare marriage, got her out of it and is her rock forever. In fact, even after Daria and Charlotte get together, Molly is way more there in every step Daria takes than Charlie is. Molly and Daria have some sort of a weird platonic-romantic relationship that honestly didn't need anyone else. 

Trigger warning for this book: domestic abuse and intimate partner violence. Painful, physical assault. This is a very big trigger warning because it is the core of the book. Dealing with the violence and the aftermath of having lived through it is the crux of Daria's journey. The exposure to scary violence is introduced right in the third paragraph and is a constant background.

Much more than a romance, this book is Ellendale shining light on a very serious issue. Writing it as engaging fiction helps because the reach and readers of fiction is way higher than if this was written as a blog post, a news article or a research paper. We applaud Ellendale for this.

In every way -- as story about healing, as a first person account of dealing and healing, as self-acceptance, as a romance -- this is recommended.

⭐⭐⭐☆