Review: Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh

From Goodreads: Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

First, I just want to celebrate that this was the first book I was ever approved for on Netgalley. And from one of my favorite authors, too. Never thought that would happen.

Also of note, this book is out today!! Go buy it!

B&N | Kobo | iTunes | ARE | Chapters Indigo | Amazon

Now, on to the review…

Review: Playing it Close by Kat Latham

From Goodreads: Where do you go to escape everything when you’re one of the most famous rugby players in the world? For Liam Callaghan, that place is a remote lodge on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. Perfect, except he doesn’t exactly want to be alone with his thoughts. Enter Tess Chambers, the ultimate distraction.

Still reeling from a professional disaster that’s made her all but unemployable, Tess understands the desire to move through life as somebody else. So when instantly recognizable Liam uses a fake name, she runs with it and creates a temporary new identity of her own.

Their time spent together in paradise is idyllic but brief—after one passionate night, Liam wakes up to find Tess gone. Returning to London, he’s shocked to learn she’s taken a job with his team’s new sponsor. As the Legends’ captain, he’ll have to not only figure out how to work with the one woman who ever left him wanting more, but also convince her that their feelings in the present mean more than any lies they’ve told in the past.

I got a review copy from the author (first time that’s happened! Exciting!) but that didn’t influence my review at all, this is completely honest.

I read the first book in the series about a year ago and adored it. It was so cute and pushed all my sports romance buttons. This one was not QUITE as good, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I might have some trouble articulating why, because I’m much better at expressing complete adoration or total dislike than I am at “I liked it, mostly!” because I can never pinpoint what kept it from being tipped over into the love category.

Review: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

From Goodreads: YOU’VE GOT MAIL meets HOW TO EAT A CUPCAKE in this delightful novel about a talented chef and the food critic who brings down her restaurant—whose chance meeting turns into a delectable romance of mistaken identities.

In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lou works tirelessly to build her beloved yet struggling French restaurant, Luella’s, into a success. She cheerfully balances her demanding business and even more demanding fiancé…until the morning she discovers him in the buff—with an intern.

Witty yet gruff British transplant Al is keeping himself employed and entertained by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym. When an anonymous tip sends him to Luella’s, little does he know he’s arrived on the worst day of the chef’s life. The review practically writes itself: underdone fish, scorched sauce, distracted service—he unleashes his worst.

The day that Al’s mean-spirited review of Luella’s runs, the two cross paths in a pub: Lou drowning her sorrows, and Al celebrating his latest publication. As they chat, Al playfully challenges Lou to show him the best of Milwaukee and she’s game—but only if they never discuss work, which Al readily agrees to. As they explore the city’s local delicacies and their mutual attraction, Lou’s restaurant faces closure, while Al’s column gains popularity. It’s only a matter of time before the two fall in love…but when the truth comes out, can Lou overlook the past to chase her future?

Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together.

Awww man, they compared it to You’ve Got Mail. Of course I had to read it. Add in the food aspect, Milwaukee, and the fact it was a debut and I was totally sold. I love finding amazing authors right when they start out and when was the last time you read a book that took place in the Midwest that wasn’t in a small town? Yea, that’s what I thought.

This wasn’t quite the winner I was expecting, but it wasn’t a total bust either. 

Series Re-Read Review: The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts

This summer was really busy and stressful. I quit my job, moved twice, and went back to school. School was CRAZY intense for the 6 weeks I was in it, I blew through my savings by not working for over 2 months, which meant more stress because, well, I’m broke. It was pretty fricking nuts. That’s basically a perfect recipe for a book slump. So I figured I would try rereading a favorite series and see where it got me (I also needed to forget that Blood Magick exsisted because it was awful). It didn’t really work as a slump buster, but I was reminded of why I love Nora Roberts and The Bride Quartet in particular.

I originally read these in high school, if not right when they came out, only shortly after. It was probably my first experience reading a Nora Roberts book that wasn’t five-ten years old already. I have to say, it was kind of great (at the time) to not get weirded out by weird clothing descriptions (those early 90s, man, it was rough) or come across any super outdated worldviews, etc. These felt way more modern than any of her other books I had read at the time.

So the series is about four best friends who start a wedding business called Vows. It’s really perfect for them. Mac’s a photographer, Laurel went to pastry school, and Emma’s dream is to open her own floral shop. Parker is the glue of the operation and they run it out of her family estate (where they also all live).

Part of the reason I love this series so much is their friendship. The dynamics of the four of them, since they’ve known each other so long and so well, are so wonderful to read. They’re really more of a family than friends, sometimes annoying each other but always able to listen and then tell them what they need to hear. I love that they run a business together and do it SO WELL. It’s a well oiled machine and I think how well they work together reflects how strong the relationship between the four of them is.

Obviously, each book focuses on a different friend falling in love, so I’m going to do a mini review for each one, all in this master post.

Series Review: The FBI/US Attorney Series by Julie James

They also have really pretty covers!

So I mentioned before that I had another blog before this one. It was mostly kind of terrible, though I did somehow get quite a few more views than this one. Not sure why. Anyway, there were a few good posts, so every once in a while I might move one over onto this blog, just so I can have my stuff all in one place. This was a review originally posted last May that I did of an entire series that I absolutely adore. I’ve updated it so now it has the cover of the book I hadn’t read when I wrote this (PS that’s maybe the best one yet, definitely tied with Love Irresistibly as my favorite. Sydney and Vaughn are the bomb.com). The reasons I love them didn’t change though, so it’s the same review; I just added the new picture with the rocking shoes. 

Review: Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl

From Goodreads: Passion this hot can’t be faked…

All revved up for bright lights and steamy nights, writer Veronica Chandler chased her dreams to New York City. When she hit a dead end, reality sent her back home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Saving her pride and her new gig—writing a relationship advice column!—requires some faking. No one can know the truth about her big-city flop or her nonexistent sex life. But the town’s irresistibly rugged librarian is determined to figure her out… and give her hands-on lessons in every wicked thing she wants to know.

Gabe MacKenzie’s heart might be in Wyoming, but secretly his future’s tied up in his family’s Manhattan legacy. Getting down and dirty with Veronica is supposed to give him a few memorable nights—not complicate his plans. But the thing about heat this scorching is there’s just no going back… and it might be too hot for either of them to take.

Review: I started reading Victoria Dahl when the prequel novella in this series was a free ebook. I think I’d already been following her on twitter a while, so she’d been on my radar as an author to look into, but that was my first foray into Dahl’s work and I am so happy I did it. She’s become a favorite, though I’ve still only read this series so far. I’m glad I’ve got a lot of backlist to keep reading. The Jackson: Girls’ Night Out has been such a solid series and while I was sad that Taking the Heat was the last one, I was so excited to finally get to it. I’d seen so many people who got advance copies (curse them!!) talking about how much they loved it; I knew this would be a winner. I was right too. Everything I love about Dahl’s writing was here: witty dialogue, somewhat nontraditional heroines who are actually super relatable, and great friendships. 

Review: Underneath It All by Kate Canterbary

This is a bit of a flashback Friday to a review of Underneath It All I attempted to post on my last blog in January, but I’d already locked myself out of it by that point so I didn’t. I’ve cleaned it up a bit, but it was written at 2am and that shows. I kept it that way because I kind of liked the tone. Anyway, hope you enjoy the review! 

Waiting on Wednesday: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. My pick this week is Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry. Yesterday she reveled the cover over on the USA Today HEA blog and it is gorgeous!!

Review: A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

Yes, this is a week late. On Twitter I said I would post this last Monday, but I was moving and applying to jobs and life just got in the way. It probably didn’t help that I’m very much not in the habit yet of regularly writing anything, much less reviews and blog posts. I am trying to be better, I promise! Anyway, here’s my review for A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev.

From Goodreads (note: I think I’m going to put this in all my reviews going forward, because it’s always better than any summary I could come up with and gives everyone an idea of what the book is about before I jump in with my thoughts): Mili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America for eight months, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her.

Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. Open-hearted yet complex, she’s trying to reconcile her independence with cherished traditions. And before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis, escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding, and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.

Heartfelt, witty, and thoroughly engaging, Sonali Dev’s debut is both a vivid exploration of modern India and a deeply honest story of love, in all its diversity.

Review: Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh

Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh

So, I wrote a few drafts of this review where I tried to reasonably talked about the good and bad parts of this book, but that wasn’t really working. Instead, I’m just going to break down all the things that made me LOVE this book (most of them are also why I love the series, too). If gushy lists aren’t you’re thing, turn back now.

But first, some context: Shards of Hope is book 14 in the Psy-Changeling series. There are some spoilers for previous books, so if you’re not caught up, beware! This one is about Aden, the leader of the Arrows, and Zaira, one of their top commanders who is convinced she’s too broken to find any happiness in the new world that allows Psy to feel emotions.