Review: Wrong Question, Right Answer

Wrong Question, Right AnswerWrong Question, Right Answer by Elle Casey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wrong Question, Right Answer is the third book in Elle Casey‘s Bourbon Street Boys series. It stars Toni, the resident prickly and tough lady of the BSB.

I read and enjoyed the previous two books in this series, and Toni was always a curiosity with a dark past that involved jail time. We learn what made her the way she is and how she copes with working through it all. Though Lucky is never a viewpoint character, we also learn more about how he is handling moving past his sister’s death (which was touched on in book two). The overarching challenge they endure is predictable following their alcohol infused encounter at the beginning of the book.

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Review: The Fixer

The FixerThe Fixer by Jenny Holiday

My Goodreads Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

I’ve read Jenny Holiday’s 49th Floor series, and have enjoyed her mastery of character development. In The Fixer she delivers again on characters, with Jenny and Matthew noticeably evolving throughout the book.

Jenny is a college newspaper editor-in-chief who wants to fix everything, embarking on a mission to save the college’s historical art building. Matthew is an artist who comes from a rough background, and just wants to be left alone. Their initial impressions of each other drives home the concept of ‘never judge a book by its cover’, but over time they open up.

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Review: 667 Ways to F*ck Up My Life

667 Ways to F*ck Up My Life667 Ways to F*ck Up My Life by Lucy Woodhull

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you’re looking for a book that’s
1. entertaining
2. hilarious
3. and engaging

then 667 Ways to F*ck Up My Life is for you. It stars Dagmar, who begins the story at the lowest of lows, having dealt with
4. losing her job
5. losing her crappy boyfriend
6. and being abandoned

so it’s not shocking that she drops a mic on giving a f*ck. Dag takes control and starts living life for herself, doing what makes her happy and not holding back to please an ideal others thought she should uphold. In the course of this, she temporarily adopts the persona of Giselle, and
7. meets a wonderful guy
8. who she can’t fall for
9. because she’s lying
10. and this obviously won’t end well

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Review: Once Upon a Duke

Once Upon a DukeOnce Upon a Duke by Sandra Masters

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Once Upon a Duke is an early 1800s romance story of a widowed lady, Serena, and a rakish duke, Geoffrey. The two engage in flirtations immediately and things heat up quickly from there. Early on Geoffrey suggests that Serena should become his mistress, but she wants love and commitment after her disastrous first marriage.

This book had an interesting plot with two major drawbacks: I didn’t feel much emotional attachment to the characters, and there was an overwhelming amount of dialogue–especially dialogue centered around exposition. Don’t get me wrong, dialogue is great and occasional exposition is necessary, but often actions (even in books) speak much louder than words. It’s the cardinal rule of writing: show, don’t tell.

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Review: After We Fall

After We FallAfter We Fall by Marquita Valentine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After We Fall is the story of police officer Hunter Sloan and pet-lover Evangeline Ambrose, who recently escaped an abusive marriage. Evangeline is learning to trust and open up to the world again while Hunter is dealing with his troubled past in his own way.

I’ve spent a couple of days considering what to say about After We Fall. I enjoyed the book and thought that the characters were well-developed. It was conflicting to read compelling characters dive into a relationship that didn’t feel quite believable.

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