Tag: romance books

Review: 667 Ways to F*ck Up My Life

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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

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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

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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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Review: Refine

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RefineRefine by Nichole Van

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Refine is the amazing conclusion to the House of Oak series (available as a Kindle Unlimited option on Amazon). The books just kept getting better as the series progressed, and this one I could barely put down long enough to sleep.

UPDATE: In March 2017, a surprise fifth book was released in this series: Outshine. Refine was the original “final” book at the time of this writing.

Both Jasmine and Timothy (Linwood) experience great character development throughout the book.

We go into it apprehensive because Linwood has been a shaky character to this point, but who he is, how he got there, and who he becomes is an amazing journey. A lot of the story takes place in a setting that forces Timothy to finally take a good look at his life, and how he copes with unfamiliar territory is both hilarious and endearing. Him watching a movie was probably one of my favorite parts of this book, followed by his interactions with James.

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Review: Duke of Sin

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Duke of SinDuke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t think I’d ever like Val, but I am converted.

In Duke of Sin, we learn more about what made Val into the person he is today. He’s still his special brand of crazy in the end, but Bridget’s influence on him shines through in little ways. She’s far from perfect as well; their bond is formed by their acceptance of those imperfections in themselves and each other. The only part that bothered me was that the staff didn’t seem to treat Bridget differently after she took up with Val.

The second chunk of the epilogue with Val and a guest was hilariously great imagery, and something I can absolutely believe him doing. I was in tears laughing over it.

Looking forward to Duke of Pleasure!

 

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