Sparks Like Ours (Seven Shores, #3) by Melissa Brayden

Sparks Like Ours by Melissa Brayden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*I received this book from Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for an honest review*

A weird thing happened when I turned to this book. I was getting flashes of the most recent previous work I’d read, unexpected as I didn’t expect any real similarity. I kind of had a ‘darn’ moment there, but the fact that both books start off with a heterosexual woman and a lesbian eyeballing each other is similar-ish, but everything else was/is different. For one, in the previous book they were eyeballing each other with lust; while here, this book here, they were eyeballing each other as rivals – enemy-like, though a few degrees back from enemies. For another, I rather liked how things unfolded here more than in the previous book. In terms of how the people involved gradually came to some realizations, dealt with some internal and external issues, and eventually came together. Instead of the insta-lust of the other book I’ve not named.

This is the third book in Brayden’s California based Seven Shores series that follows four friends as they find love and happiness. Book one, ‘Eyes Like Those’, followed Isabel Chase, writer, and Taylor Andrews, producer (with Isabel being the ‘Seven Shores’ friend, though she’s newly arrived in California at the start of the book). Book two, ‘Hearts Like Hers’, finds Autumn Primm, Venice Beach coffee shop owner (‘The Cat’s Pajamas’), hooking up with a vacationing firefighter (Kate Carpenter). Kate’s the Seven Shores person in that she lives in that apartment complex, though it’s Autumn who is the Seven Shores friend (the difference being that Autumn was friends of the Seven Shores people but didn’t live there). And then we come to this book here, where the woman who intrigued me from the beginning, the one who I was curious about from the beginning, gets her story told.

Gia Malone is a young woman who has spent her life surfing. Professionally. She might have liked to go to college, maybe, but she wasn’t in the situation to do both – financially. So, immediately after high school, she entered the qualifying tour. Eventually she rose up to the top tier pro tour and a year before this book opens, she was number 7 in the world (I do not recall if ‘in the world’ is mentioned, but, since the events that occur in this story take place around the world, I assume ‘in the world’ is accurate), and by the time this book here starts, she’s number 2.

Occupying the number one slot at top of the pro surfing leader board is Elle Britton. Gia’s rival and something like but not exactly enemy. Part of Gia’s dislike of Elle is the part wherein Elle is number one; mostly, though, it seems that Gia’s dislike stems from how she views Elle’s personality. In that, Elle seems too perky to be real. A fake plastic Barbie type.

Several complicating matters turn up – a year before this story opens, a photo was released that made it look like Gia was lustfully gazing upon Elle in her swimsuit (it’s never firmly dealt with, but the impression given is that both parties know that Gia wasn’t actually doing that, it just looked that way). It’s an issue because it gets brought up every once in a while. Then there’s the part where the happily partnered up Seven Shores people begin talking about ‘sparks’ and how Gia and Elle seem to have some – a theory begun before either party seemed to actually desire the other (we are still in rivals zone; also, one of the main people talking about Gia’s love life is her fellow single Seven Shores friend Hadley, so I’m not sure why I worded things the way I did). Then a specific sponsor wants to pair the number 1 (Elle) and number 2 (Gia) in an advertisement campaign – so both would have to work together, interact a lot more than they normally do when on tour. The, how to word this, the romance angle of the book doesn’t really start, though, until another event occurs – on the same day two articles appear, one strongly indicating that Elle and Gia are bitter rivals; other strongly indicating that Elle and Gia are lovers. Elle has an odd reaction to the stories, Gia doesn’t even know those stories exist. Oh, and somewhere along the line Elle picked up a boyfriend who she likes and who likes her, and who both like spending time with each other – a boyfriend kind of adds a complication layer to a female-female romance, eh?

Wow that’s a huge paragraph, I should break that down somehow. Nah.

One of the problems with a many friends type book is trying to remember who everyone is and how they fit in. I found it easier to remember everyone without thinking too hard with Brayden’s prior series, though I mostly kept up with the character list with this series. There are just many side characters, some of whom already appeared in the story (both mains and side characters). *shrugs, moving on*

I liked the two main characters well-enough, and their eventual connection seemed well developed, but I unexpectedly kind of disliked some of the stuff I was seeing with Gia. Mostly in her thoughts and actions regarding Elle. Seeing perkiness as fake and plastic-y. But that, obviously or not, went away as the story progressed.

There are issues that pop up as the story unfolds, both foreseeable, and not. Family related, relationships related, and sports related. Everything seemed naturally occurring and not artificially created to add layers of problem issues to overcome.

Let’s see, what else is there to say – I liked the characters, main and side. The story was interesting and good. Flowed naturally.

Well, just one friend left without a partner (even if you pulled in Elle’s friend Holly it’d still be just one friend, since Holly has Dash, and is straight (though Elle started this book straight so…). Hadley the one connected somehow or another to fashion and a specific store. I’ve tended to like her in the series, so far, with my favorite scene with her being the one where she’s dressed up like a cow. Tail and all.

Rating: 4.65

May 18 2018




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Love By Design by S.W. Andersen

Love By Design by S.W. Andersen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For several reasons, this was a difficult book for me to read. The main one was the fact that at about 29% into the book, and no no need to use a spoiler alert, I ended up receiving access to two advance reader copies of books I really wanted to read. There wasn’t anything inherently bad or unreadable about this book up to that point, but, I found myself in the unfortunate situation of wanting to read something else while not having a good excuse to dump the book I was reading. This situation, oddly enough, ties into the book.

Oddly enough, has a somewhat (completely unrelated nonsimilar) similar situation develop. In that one of the main characters was in love with a particular character when the book began – to the point that she was in the process of marrying them. That’d be Cassie Carl. My this isn’t at all similar yet, eh? Then she finds she has access to two books . . wait, no, she meets the interior designer, Peyton Kingston, her future husband had hired to add a window to a part of the house (I thought you hired interior designers to do things like redesign a particular room, to make the furniture, walls, carpet, etc. ‘look good’, and hired an architect or, more likely, a contractor to put in a window, but whatever).

Cassie repeatedly, and I mean repeatedly, tells herself that she loves whatshisname, in fact she’d marry him in a heartbeat, the problem she has with him isn’t him, but his family – both the individuals in question (the mother seems to hate Cassie), and the position in society they hold which come with massive responsibilities (they be rich society types – the kind where women don’t work, unless it is charity and/or volunteer work – which really annoys Cassie since she’s worked her way up from garbage to be a department store manager). This, at least, is what she thinks before she meets Peyton for the first time. And afterwards. There’s just an added twist. The part where she’s deeply impacted by the mere presence of Peyton in a room – not that she’s ever been one of those, you know, lesbians – to the point of wanting to pounce her, rip her clothing off, and bang her for the next 90 years.

Meanwhile, in Peyton’s corner, we find . . . the exact same reaction. Except Peyton is not, at that point, ‘seeing anyone’. Oh, and is a lesbian, so finding another woman attractive isn’t a shock to the system. Later she, Peyton, finds someone to ‘see’ – Charyl (sp?) who runs a restaurant, is opening another, and lusts after Peyton (has for years).

There’s a weird mix of side characters that I cannot always remember how they fit in. Since they seem to float around amongst the main characters (especially Francesca), without ever being mentioned (it seems) by the main characters to each other.

Right, so, I was liking this book, not loving, but liking this book, two arcs became available to me, both of which I lusted at more than this book and . . . well, it’s a stretch. I had this thought. It isn’t working well. The part where Cassie is perfectly happy with ‘rich boyfriend dude whose name I can’t remember’, even loves him (she mentions this numerous times) – except for his connection to his family, as in they exist – until she becomes aware of someone else even more humpable. And . . . stuff.

Hmms. Good enough book. Took me longer than normal to read (shesh, three days to read this book?).

Rating: 3.33

May 17 2018




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The Taking of Eden by Robin Alexander

The Taking of Eden by Robin Alexander

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I start off by noting that I am unsure how to rate this work. I’m fluctuating between 3.75 and 4.35, and saying ‘so I’ll pick 4 stars’ just doesn’t feel right for some reason.

This is one of this author’s early works – back when different genres, styles, etc. were being played with and it shows. Well, I do not mean this book is all over the place, it isn’t really. It’s just that it doesn’t really read like a Robin Alexander book. Mind there are unexpected flashes of humor that remind me of later books, but this work was never intended to be a work of humor. Its angsty, and psychological, and drama-filled, with crime and a bit of thrills here and there mixed in as well.

The book is called ‘Taking of Eden’, I mention the title so I can then say – one of the main characters is actually named Eden. Eden Carlton. (view spoiler)[Eden is an incredibly rich accomplished woman, who spends most of her time working, or at home – the fancy dress parties and the like are not her thing. She has few friends, and no living relative to speak of (though she is close to her grandfather’s friend). (hide spoiler)] I mention all of this because it leads to the set-up of the story. Though the reader doesn’t know this going in, so maybe I shouldn't mention all of this, eh? I’ll add some spoiler tags and resume.

The reader of the book both does and doesn’t meet Eden at the beginning. Does because she’s there, but she’s not the main character in the beginning. No, that’d be Jamie Spencer, a nurse who got tired of the life and death found in hospitals and moved into working at a mental health facility. The McManus facility – a private one that caters to the rich, and is deeply concerned about privacy and confidentiality.

On her first day at this facility, Jamie is shown a particular patient – one intrigues her. No, this is not a book about a mental health nurse who becomes involved with a mentally ill patient inside a hospital. She becomes intrigued because of how much different that woman is being treated – only the supervising nurse is allowed access to her chart and only one doctor works with the patient. And anyone who asks questions about the patient gets run out of the building.

The book description is misleading. One of the reasons I was reluctant to read this book, beyond knowing it was an early Alexander book and highly unlikely to be humorous, was the book description. Well – ‘Murder and betrayal send three women fleeing for their lives deep into the woods of the Carolinas’ – isn’t exactly inaccurate but . . . is misleading for reasons I can’t really explain without spoiler tags being used.

Another character of importance is Holly – another nurse at the facility. She’s an important character, but not a POV character (the POV swings around a lot, and I mean a lot, so maybe she is at some point during the main section of the book). She’s one of the other people who notice the strange activities going on with that specific patient and both of them investigate the matter – both Holly and Jamie.

I liked this book a lot more than I did the other early Alexander books. Though mentioning ‘early’ reminds me why I give authors so much wiggle room – why I give them 3 to 5 books for me to come to a decision about them. If I’d read the first three books by Alexander, and only those three, I’d likely never have read another. And yet . . . bah, this isn’t a topic for this specific book. Though it made me look – first book I read by Alexander, no I mean by publication so let’s restart. First book published by Alexander that I read I gave a 1.5 star rating, then this book here, which is around 4 stars, then a 3.75 star book then a 4.75 star book . . . um, let’s pretend this paragraph never existed, or change the ‘if I’d only read the first three’ to ‘first book’).

Course this isn’t the 3rd or even second book I’ve read by this author, but the 27th (not counting rereads, which would raise things to … hmm, that number isn’t right I don’t think, looks closer; I’ve reread 4 of Alexander books, so this would be my 31st book read counting rereads). I do not remember the point of this paragraph.

Right, so, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.

Rating: 4.08

May 13 2018



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The Rogue Not Taken (Scandal & Scoundrel, #1) by Sarah MacLean

The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A fun, exciting, arousing, humorous book set in 1833 about the daughter of an Earl falling for the heir to a dukedom. That seems to sound right, dukedom? Eh, whatever.

Complications, though:
1) The daughter of the Earl, Sophie Talbot, despises aristocrats, the ton, nobs, the top-tier – for many reasons;
2) That Duke heir, currently going by Marquess of Eversley, or more specifically ‘King’, has vowed to never marry;
3) The Talbot daughters, Sophie being one, are the ones society mocks, makes fun of, and finds great fun being snide to. Again, for reasons;
4) King has a very bad rake reputation – the kind that involves ‘ruining’ (a very popular word in the book, well more ‘ruination’) those about to marry.

The book is hilarious from beginning to end. The romance is great – it’s an odd kind of enemies to lovers. Odd because, as noted, Sophie wants nothing to do with those with titles; and King wants nothing to do with respectable relationships and love. Which isn’t why the start off as enemies, but lays the foundation – King is like the model and reason why Sophie hates the aristocrats, vain, pushy, thinking only men count and women have just one path, and they are expected to be happy about it (looking for, securing a husband, pushing out babies) – actually scratch that last part, since King never plans to marry; in turn, King has this delusion that Sophie is trying to trap him into marriage – just like her older sister did – trapping a different Duke.

I’m being weirdly vague. Let’s get more detail.

The Talbot’s have spent a lot of time and energy over the ages being miners (at least the Talbot’s father and grandfather). And have become fabulously rich from it – to the point that papa Talbot ended up being created a brand new Earl. Thrusting the family into the titled class. So they enter the marriage market (when they reach the right age) beautiful, rich, titled (well from a titled family), and . . . not blue-bloods, not ‘one of us’ (hence my comments earlier about the Talbot daughters and how they are seen in society – scandals -> luckily for everyone involved, the daughters just love their new place – and popping up in the scandal sheets, the gossip columns. At least all of them but for Sophie. Who hates it. Everything about it. She was ten when she was thrust from being the daughter of a rich man, but without the responsibilities of titles, into the responsibility of having to live up to society).

The book opens with Sophie at a party. It’s a theme party – the hostess has some Japanese fish that she just loves, so is hosting a . . . Chinese dress up party (‘no one knows what the Japanese are like, but China is so close, they are the same!’). Sophie hates it. The hostess, Lady something or other (it’s not important) spots Sophie and invites her to wander out and look at the fish. Sophie leaps at the chance to wander away from the party. Whereupon she finds well the book description says what happens (that description, by the way, isn’t the best I’ve seen). Sophie, the ‘quiet’ Talbot daughter makes a scene with all eyes on her, mocks the upper crust, which turn their backs on her.

So Sophie decides to leave – and doesn’t want to have to deal with her relatives, so wanders outside, thinking about how to leave. And is almost hit in the head by shoes. Then a man climbs down the outside of the mansion and lands next to her. That would be King. Escaping a woman’s room. And an Earl who is yelling at him. And so Sophie and King meet. And this is kind of where the enemies thing starts – Sophie has one of King’s shoes and holds it hostage, wanting King’s help in leaving. King refuses and walks away without his shoe.

Sophie, through various means, ends up pretending to be a footman (yes, dressed up in livery and pretending to be a boy), hanging off the back of a carriage. Heading to Mayfair (where her family lives). Only the trip seems longer than expected. And . . oops, the carriage wasn’t actually going that direction.

Somewhere along the way Sophie and King bump into each other again. Sophie keeps attempting to either leave on her own, or get King’s help. King keeps thinking Sophie is trying to trap him into marriage. And keeps helping her even though he initially had decided not to – though that actually causes Sophie problems in certain situations, but let’s move on, eh?

As noted – hilarious book. And there was a quite interesting and even riveting sex scene. I have a tendency to skim those parts – especially like here when we are talking about a heterosexual book, but I found myself reading every word. Weird, eh?

I’ve never read a book by this author before. I plan to immediately acquire the next book in this series (maybe all of the books in his series . . nah, just the next book).

Rating: 5.5

May 11 2018



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Breakthrough by Kris Bryant

Breakthrough by Kris Bryant

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*I received this book from Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for an honest review*

I’m not sure I’ve read a book like this one before. I do not mean anything good or bad by making that comment, just making a note about it. I’m specifically referring, here, to the main character – the solo point of view character.

I’ve read many books that involved players or people with play reputations. Oddly, or not, most of those involved non-femme characters (or, at the very least, not high femme). Have I seen that character in books? Yes, but not high femme player.

Going over to the player side of the characterization I tend to find three versions: 1) players wanting to stop being a player and to settle down (most of the time I see this in the form of rakes in historical fiction who have spent the good portion of their early adult lives sleeping around with every woman they could find, but now they’ve decided they need to be responsible); 2) people with player reputations who were never players but that reputation got stuck to them for one reason or another (I’m reminded of two characters: Brayden has a character with a player reputation who feeds that reputation, not because they are specifically a player, but because they use it as a shield against . . . I forget now what; and Galli has one who got that reputation by being seen going home with different women every night from a bar, except she was driving them home as a designated driver type, not for romance); 3) players who have no intention of being anything but players (rarer character to find as main character). Well the character in this book is something of a fourth type. A woman who lives in a world, a situation, in which being a player is the norm, and she doesn’t even realize that she lives in a somewhat ‘different’ type of world. She knows she’s a player, but everyone is a player.

Kennedy Wells has spent her life going from one party to another, drinking, partying, sleeping around, and getting paid to do it. Quite well paid. She works as a celebrity journalist. The kind who writes articles about ‘her friend the actor’, instead of hit pieces. Her life was tossed off-course, though; when one of her flings with a random woman, her interview subject, lead to a lawsuit. So she was moved off the high flying celebrity circuit and wants back on. Her boss, Erin, promises that she’ll be put back into her old position if she helps her brother, Erin’s brother, Travis settle in at another magazine – one that’s more about fishing, hunting, and the like. Help by writing a feature article, not help in person with Travis. Travis makes no appearance in this book (other than via one or two emails).

The feature article involves interviewing a jerk asshole reality star type person who has a fishing show. In Alaska. And she has to leave immediately. All mentioned because she heads off with barely adequate clothing and without even reserving a room. Which is where I get back to reminding people that the main character is a high-maintance high femme princess type – who, upon arrival in Alaska, proceeds to disdain the offer of an SUV, takes instead a luxury sedan, then drives around in high heels somewhat randomly. Until getting lost. Because she’s a city girl and stuff.

This reminds me of my initial problems with this book. Very early on there was a very strong vibe of ‘my gosh, I can’t believe how nice and helpful these folks are out here far from the big city; they’ll help without wanting something in return’ (very early on? This goes on, at least the vibe about ‘help without an agenda’, throughout the book) compared with the city dweller who only helps if they have an agenda. I’m not really sure why that particular trope comes up so often. I live in New York, I’ve helped people and people have helped me without needing to be blackmailed into it, or with an ulterior motive. But, eh, I’ve never lived in Los Angeles, where Kennedy is based, maybe it’s as hellish as Kennedy describes.

Got distracted by tropes. Where was I?

So, Kennedy, the main and only point of view character, heads off to Alaska to write some articles. While there she bumps into several people, some nice (all of whom, weirdly, are described as super thin), some less than nice (from a waitress who isn’t as helpful as Kennedy would expect, up to . . . people with guns and evil intent). Stuff happens. Personalities change. Etc. etc. I really hope Kennedy is supposed to be seen, how to word this, as a not tremendously likable person. She does grow, though, so that’s good.

Four things I wish to note before wandering off and doing whatever else: 1) there’s a bunch of sex in this story, lots and lots of sex; 2) I like Wally the pet raccoon; 3) it is hard to get a handle on Brynn, the other main character, since her point of view is not present; 4) thinness. As in, every bloody person meet is described as being super thin. From the 40+ year old librarian who is described as eating a mountain of food, but is just so thin despite that; to the main character Kennedy who is described as being 30 pounds underweight (Kennedy describes herself as being thin, too thin, because she needs to be for her job; Brynn describes her somewhat more negatively as needing 30 more pounds on her); to Brynn herself who is tall, lean, and all muscle; I do not specifically recall if Lara, the police officer, is described as thin or not, but she is described as being gorgeous by vain Kennedy so, since it’s a thought by Kennedy that probably means Lara’s super thin also.

Oh, a fifth thing: Kennedy is really into the fact that she’s a high femme, and likes that Brynn is butch. Though it gets slightly confusing at times – what with Kennedy thinking to herself how Brynn is exactly her type, shortly after making note that everyone she normally sleeps with are all high femmes. Eh, whatever.

Rating: 3.89

May 10 2018



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