Day: September 1, 2015

Guest Review: True Devotion by Liora Blake

Posted September 1, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: True Devotion by Liora BlakeReviewer: Tracy
True Devotion by Liora Blake
Series: True Series #2
Also in this series: True Divide, True North, True Devotion
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: June 22, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Devon Jenkins is a feisty blonde, and Simon Cole is the arrogant, sexy guitarist playing in her brother’s band. When they met for the first time, it went something like this: He hit on her, she shot him down, he made a lewd joke, she told him he was an idiot.

In the two years since then, not much has changed. From the way Simon flirts shamelessly with any set of ovaries within a 100-mile radius, Devon knows the smartest thing she can do is keep an impenetrable wall between them.

But sometimes the smart choice isn’t necessarily the right one…

Tracy’s review of True Devotion (True #2) by Liora Blake.

When Devon and Simon first met it was lust at first sight. That was until Devon’s brother walked in to the room and told Simon to get his hands off of his sister. Oh boy. Simon was not happy but didn’t give up on his lust for Devon.

Devon and her family grew up in the projects of Cleveland and they were happy to get out of there. Devon especially as she left a brutal relationship behind. She turned her life around by becoming a massage therapist. She’s a happy person who loves taking care of her brother’s daughter and baking in her spare time. She loves verbally sparring with Simon but while she lusts after him she knows it won’t go further as she believes Simon to be a man-ho – even though she would love it to. She also believes that she’s not really good enough for anyone so doesn’t look further into Simon or anyone else.

Simon isn’t who Devon thinks he is. He’s a good man who has had some traumatic and emotional events happen in his life. He’s trying to do the best he can in his life and that means helping people. He finally seems to get through to Devon but when the going gets tough in their relationship Devon lets her self-esteem issues get the best of her and she makes a break for it.

This was another great book in this series. (Two out of two is a pretty good record!) I loved Devon and Simon together and I adored the chemistry of the two of them that practically flew off the page. How they ever managed to go two years without getting together is beyond me.

In this story Devon learns that Simon isn’t exactly who she thought he was – he’s more. I loved seeing her get to know him as someone other than just a guy in her brother’s band. She got to know him deep down and there was a lot to know.

Simon was awesome. I loved him from minute one and that didn’t change throughout the book. He was a good person and one who cared deeply. Don’t get me wrong, he could snark it up with the best of them and he had a great sense of humor as well. He was highly intelligent and incredibly wealthy but for all that he had he wasn’t conceited or snobbish and that was one of the things I loved about him. He was down to earth and…well, normal. The banter between Devon and Simon was entertaining but never hurtful which I liked. Simon could easily be a great book boyfriend, that’s for sure.

The book was a good one and I really enjoyed reading it. I’m looking forward to reading more from Blake in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from Pocket Star. You can read it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-stars


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Guest Review: Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl

Posted September 1, 2015 by Jen in Reviews | 2 Comments

Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl
Jen’s review of Taking the Heat (Jackson: Girls Night Out #3) by Victoria Dahl

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.

Ah, what a wonderful book! It’s funny and sexy and smart and everything I love about reading Dahl’s books.

The third book in the “Girls Night Out” trilogy (no need to read the other books to enjoy this one) is about Veronica Chandler, author of the “Dear Veronica” advice column in the local paper. She moved back to Jackson Hole, Wyoming after a disastrous attempt to make a life in NYC. She meets brand new librarian (be still my beating heart!) Gabe MacKenzie through a friend, and they soon start a casual relationship. Veronica is trying to figure out how to live more authentically and stop being so afraid, and Gabe enjoys being with her and wants to have fun before he has to move back to NYC to take over the family business. But, he hasn’t told Veronica that he’s leaving, and the closer they get the more problematic his omission becomes. He can’t stay, and she’s realized she doesn’t want to leave, so how could it ever work out?

Can I tell you how long I have been waiting to read a romance about a male librarian? YEARS, that’s how long. I am a librarian, and I love reading romances about libraries and librarians, but I have come across almost no male librarians and none where the job was realistic or an important part of their character, and believe me I’ve looked. So when I heard Dahl was writing a male librarian I was beyond excited. I love to read romances about librarians, even if they are always women, but most authors don’t get the library details right. Dahl does. It’s pretty clear she either personally knows librarians or consulted with some during the writing of the book, because most of the book rang true, far truer than any other books I’ve read with librarian heroines. (And I thought the library details were more well done and important than they were in the last book, about the librarian Sophie.) Makes my heart happy! For instance, Gabe’s friends ask him not just for reading suggestions but tech help, even outside the library. That kind of thing happens to me and other librarians all the time, and lots of us are just as comfortable helping with tech questions as book recommendations! Moreover, librarian really is the perfect career for a guy like Gabe who genuinely wants to help everyone. His job is a part of who he is, which makes his choices about the future even more heartbreaking. Loved it.

But enough about my nerdy appreciation for Dahl’s research. Let’s talk about the characters. Gabe is….yum. He is a sweet beta, though he can still be bossy in the bedroom. Oh, and I can’t forget his dirty talking, flirty banter. Seriously, this guy is my new book boyfriend. He’s smart and kind and sexy and funny and bearded and just wants to do the right thing, sometimes to his detriment. And did I mention he genuinely loves to go down on women and has worked to master his technique? He’s damn near perfect, but I appreciate that Dahl gives him flaws, too. He doesn’t like to cause conflict, doesn’t like people to be upset with him, so he tries to avoid anything that will make the people he loves unhappy. He does it for the right reasons, but unfortunately that conflict aversion means he isn’t upfront with Veronica about his life plans. I personally couldn’t get too upset with it because a) they hadn’t known each other long, b) they were only casually seeing each other so it’s not like he owed her his whole story, even if he did let it go on too long and c) he was making his choices out of love for his family, nothing selfish or cruel. I would have liked a little more groveling from him at the end, but he still did alright.

Veronica was so great, too. She grows a lot during the course of the book, learning to trust herself and stand up for herself and show the world she’s not perfect. She’s in her late twenties but is still a virgin. (I don’t think this is much of a spoiler because you learn it at the start of the book, and I’ve heard Dahl herself talk about it online.) I’m not always a fan of virgin heroines, so I was skeptical, but I should have known better. Veronica’s virginity is largely an outcome of her fear and her tendency to keep herself hidden. She just never lets herself get close enough to people, so of course sex was tricky. She’s not doing it for any moral/religious reasons, hangups, body image issues, etc (not that those aren’t valid reasons to abstain, just not what’s going on with Veronica). She just didn’t get the opportunity, and the longer it went on the more awkward it was for her, the more she tried to hide herself, and the more unlikely sex became. As you get to know Veronica, you see how her virginity totally makes sense and is a symptom of what’s wrong in her life. She’s not sheltered, though, and isn’t afraid of sex. Of course, the thoughtful and talented Gabe is delighted to help her get over that hump! (harhar) Oooh boy, is this book sexy. The tension between Gabe and Veronica is H-O-T, and when they finally get together, I was almost as relieved as they were!

The book didn’t quite make it to perfect for me, though. There were times when Veronica seemed a little too immature to be 27, especially when she was talking about sex. I also thought Veronica was a bit too hard on Gabe near the end. I had no problem with her anger over his omissions, but I had a little trouble understanding why she was so upset that he wanted to move back home to help his family. I didn’t understand the hard nosed ultimatum she gives him (she doesn’t call it an ultimatum, but that’s what it really was). Her reasoning seemed kind of flimsy–they just hadn’t been together long enough for that kind of decree, IMO, and it seemed like forced drama for the sake of drama. Why not give your new relationship time to grow and Gabe time to come to terms with his choices? And as I mentioned above, I wanted to see a bit more from Gabe to make up for his right-reasons-wrong-execution behavior as well. Minor issues, but enough to knock just a tiny bit off my grade. Still, this was my favorite book of the summer, and I’m happy it lived up to my expectations.

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

This book is available from HQN. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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