Review: Roommate

Roommate by Sarina Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aw! Roddy has left Nashville with practically just the shirt off his back after his in the closet famous country star boyfriend deliberately cheated on him in some kind of twisted power play. He returns home to Vermont, hoping his religious parents might have had a change of heart since they kicked him out when he was eighteen - but nope. Now he's sleeping in his car, washing at the gym during a free one-week trial, and desperately seeking any paying job.

Kieran is living a lie. The atmosphere at home is toxic, he works mornings at a local coffee shop and afternoons at a print shop designing copy before returning to the farm at night to help his older brother Kyle and his father. But he has a plan, he's saving every penny he earns to put towards renting his own place in town and he plans to audit some art classes in his spare time. Years ago he watched as Roddy and one of the High School seniors got it on under the bleachers, thinking no-one knew, until Roddy looked right at him one time!

Kieran can't believe it when Roddy comes into the café where he works and asks for work, although he doesn't want to be reminded of his voyeurism he can't stop his cousin hiring Roddy, especially when he realises that Roddy is sleeping in his car, so when Kieran gets his three bedroom apartment it only makes sense for him to offer to share with Roddy.

This is a sweet, yet sexy, close proximity romance. Loved it.

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Review: First Love, Second Draft

First Love, Second Draft by Becca Kinzer
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 39%.

Gracie Parker is a writer, but she hasn't had a successful book since she got divorced five years ago. Gracie's ex, Noah, is a professional baseball player, he's had a terrible season and realises that he let true love go for a sport/profession that may be over. After an embarrassing accident which may or not have gone viral on social media Gracie is left with badly bruised ribs, her older sister just goes off on a work conference leaving Gracie unable to wash or dress herself (or indeed go up and down stairs).

Meanwhile, Noah has rented the empty property next to Gracie's house, determined to find a way to show her how much he loves her. When he discovers she needs help with basic things he offers to help, despite her objections.

There's also a plot involving Gracie's nephew Matt and his ex-BFF from school that he may have had a crush on all those years ago.

Once again, the story isn't going anywhere, none of the characters behave like normal people (I mean would you really bring your sister home from the hospital and then just leave her alone to her own devices when she can barely get out of the car? Why wouldn't a big-time baseball player pay for a nurse to help his ex-wife with washing and dressing instead of carrying her fully dressed and dropping her in the bath?

Today I am giving books a second chance but if they exasperate me then I am not hesitating to DNF them - this one bites the dust.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Biggest Player

Biggest Player by Sara Ney
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 44%.

Margot is a teacher and a single mother of a ten year old daughter.

Dex is a smoking hot quarterback, his friends are all coupled-up and he wants the same, but no kids just yet, just wall-to-wall smexy times.

Dex and Margot meet on a dating app, she thinks he's catfishing people because he is telling the truth about who he is. Then when he changes his dating profile (so as to avoid gold-diggers) they swipe right on each other. Despite the mutual attraction they agree to just be friends because she has a child and he just wants to have fun.

Unfortunately, I found that Dex read like a seventeen year old, his idea of 'moves' is to stretch and put his arm around Margot at the cinema, his idea of a date is to meet at Glam Golf - FFS what about dinner?

As with a lot of NA/YA authors I found that there was a whole lot of nothing happening as an excuse for heavy petting (eg plumbing issues leading to them both getting soaked - pfft), no life outside each other. So I gave up. I'm having one of those days.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Match Me If You Can

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 33%.

Jia Deshpande is a journalist, albeit she seems to be writing click-bait rather than real articles, for Mimosa, Mumbai’s top women’s magazine. In her spare time she writes an anonymous blog about love and dreams of writing a matchmaker column. Her boss says she can have a shot at the column IF she can match a new colleague, Charu, who has recently arrived from the countryside and has said she is looking for marriage.

Jaiman Patil is a struggling local pub-owner, he's been in love with Jia since he was twelve years old, but aside from one perfect kiss at Jia's sister's wedding (a kiss that Jia told him never to speak of again), he has never shared his feelings. Which is a pity because Jia has feelings for him. Also, the reason Jia said to never speak of that kiss again is because of a misunderstanding, but as a reader the misunderstanding is 100% in Jia's head - more of an excuse to reject him than a genuine reason.

Manoj is a comedian who has a weekly slot at Jaiman's pub, he and Charu hit it off immediately but Jia thinks he isn't good enough because he's younger and still deciding what he wants to be in life. Jia wants to set Charu up with another colleague, Eshaan, despite one of her friends saying what a terrible boss he is - so again ignoring clear signs and pursuing her own agenda.

There's also a blooming sub-plot involving Jaiman's rival from culinary college who has just bought the shop next door to Jaiman's pub, I suspect that he and Jaiman's other friend form culinary college are in love with each other but nothing has happened so far.

I feel a bit hypocritical not finishing this book because it does what it says on the tin, its a modern-day Mumbai-set re-imagining of Jane Austen's Emma. The trouble is, it isn't bringing anything new to the party, worse its more like the film Clueless starring Alicia Silverstone. So, it just feels like a few minor details changed and relocated to India, no more. Such a pity.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Bookshop Murder

The Bookshop Murder by Merryn Allingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Flora Steele was adopted by her aunt after the early deaths of her parents. With plans to travel, her intentions were thwarted when her aunt became ill and died a few years later. Now Flora is stuck in Abbeymead, a small Sussex town, running a book shop which barely breaks even.

One morning Flora opens the shop to discover the dead body of a young man in among the second-hand bookshelves. The man turns out to be an Australian staying at the Priory Hotel, a former stately home. Being a small town, rumour is rife and soon Flora sees a catastrophic dip in sales as the locals mutter about ghosts and curses. Nevertheless, the police view the man's death as simply a tragic heart attack and are unwilling to investigate further.

Determined to save her livelihood, Flora enlists the help of local reclusive writer Jack Carrington, who frequently orders research books from the shop, to prove that his death was no accident. The victim was apparently the grandson of the former owner of the Priory when it was a private residence and rumour suggests he was interrogating the staff looking for some sort of treasure.

While Flora is impulsive and liable to jump to conclusions, based on little or no evidence, Jack, as a former journalist, takes a more measured approach.

This was pleasant enough, perhaps I had too high expectations of this (for some reason I thought the author was a Golden Age writer, not a contemporary writer). Flora careers around suspecting everyone in the village, the villain takes the trouble to make a full confession and gloat over his evil to Flora, there's a handy boy who gives Jack the crucial information, and everything relies on a whole lot of strange coincidences.

Overall, I will definitely read the next book - I note the average rating increase over the series - but I'm not sure I would have paid for this one.

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Review: A Place in the Sun: The brand new heart-warming beach read women’s fiction novel from the bestselling author

A Place in the Sun: The brand new heart-warming beach read women’s fiction novel from the bestselling author by Jo Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Thea's husband Marco died suddenly of a heart attack in their Cardiff restaurant. Although she tried to keep the business going after his death, Theas isn't a chef and the combination of Covid, rising costs, and mounting debts forced her to sell the restaurant and give up the family home. Now all that she and her two children have left is the cottage in Tuscany Marco bought on a whim for a song. Thea's plan is to spend the Summer in Tuscany, do up the cottage and sell it to hopefully make enough money to buy somewhere in Cardiff. After the restaurant took over their lives, and probably cost Marco his, Thea wants nothing more to do with the hospitality trade, she certainly doesn't want to work in a restaurant ever again.

When they finally arrive in the small village Thea is disheartened to see that it is practically a ghost-town filled with old people, including three argumentative Nonnas, no cafes, no restaurants and only one small shop. Then the mayor arrives and informs her that the cottage must be made habitable and either sold or occupied by Thea by the end of August, otherwise there is a balloon payment due - its a scheme to bring in investment in the village, empty houses are sold for a song but the buyer must improve them or they have to pay the full market price.

At the centre of the village is La Tavola, a community kitchen which utilises leftover perishables from the local shop to make hearty meals for the elderly residents of the village once a week which are hand delivered by volunteers and then on a Sunday there is a communal meal where all are welcome.

Against her better judgement, Thea makes a deal with Giovanni, local odd-job man and the brains behind La Tavola, he will do up her cottage if she takes over running La Tavola for him. Thea's children are thriving in Italy, finally shrugging off the grief which has overshadowed their lives, making friends with local children and gaining some independence, then a young woman arrives at the cottage looking for Marco, saying she's a 'friend' - what does this mean?

When Giovanni lets slip that La Tavola may need to close because he can't afford the rent any longer, the village pulls together and hatches an audacious plan, but it brings a surprise to the village which leads Thea to reconsider all her choices.

This was a gentle small-town, fell-good romance, what I didn't feel the need for (and it felt a bit wedged in at the last minute) was the 'surprise' and her reaction to it - I felt that could have been finessed far better, goodness knows we had enough repetition of why the restaurant in Cardiff failed, we could have handled a bit more reasoning behind what seemed like a weird decision. Being deliberately vague.

Anyway, as long as you don't mind multiple references to lasagne and red wine (I have to admit even I was feeling a bit queasy by the end) this had all the Jo Thomas hallmarks.

Perfect holiday reading.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Home is the Sailor

Home is the Sailor by Lillian Marek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Captain Will Dormer was invalided out of the Navy after the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 after the loss of one eye and one leg. Whilst recuperating in hospital he is advised that his father and two elder brothers have died in a drunken carriage ride when their carriage went over a cliff near the family estate. Will was sent to the Navy after his mother's death when he was only ten so he feels no great sorrow for the death of his family. What he finds inconvenient is inheriting the title of Viscount Claremont and the estate of Belmond Park, his brother's widow, her mother, and his cousin Frederick who bullied him mercilessly as a child.

Will is wallowing in self-pity, no job, responsibilities that he did not want, worried that everyone finds him grotesque etc. Then he receives a letter from Captain Robert Garland, his first commanding officer and father-figure asking him to visit. When he arrives, Will discovers his mentor is dying, leaving a sister and daughter. Captain Garland has lost practically all his money after investing in two cargo ships which both sank, and asks Will to look after Maria and his widowed sister, Lady Sophia Pellew. Initially Will intends to provide the ladies with money, but as he spends time with the Captain, he realises that Maria has skills in house management and dealing with people that he lacks and he decides to offer her a marriage of convenience, he needs a wife and heir and she doesn't seem to find his scars abhorrent, and she needs security.

Living in Portsmouth and having a sailor for a father, Maria is used to seeing men with injuries, she doesn't find them ugly, she still finds Will devastatingly attractive, but she worries that as a woman of (very) humble birth she will not fit in with Will's friends and family.

When they return to Belmond Park as husband and wife they find a house that has been neglected, family residents who resent and dislike them, surly servants, and wary tenants. Together they tackle the issues, but it seems someone is taking dislike to the next level.

I read a review of this book on Dear Author several months ago (eek July 2024) and kept it in my inbox (hey, I'm old I get email notifications of reviews) because I loved the sound of an intelligent historical firmly entrenched in accurate historical detail with a slow burn romance and a solid plot. I finally got around to treating myself and I was not disappointed.

Highly recommended and I will look out for other books by this author.

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Review: Cover Story

Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Argh! Read it, liked it, forgot to write a review.

Bel is a journalist and podcaster. She moved to Manchester from Leeds after a relationship with a colleague went wrong and he refused to accept they had broken up.

Connor was a big cheese in the City, but it gave him crippling anxiety so he walked away from a very lucrative job and at the ripe old age of thirty he's retraining as a journalist and his internship is at the paper's Manchester office.

Bel and her colleague have run the gamut of bolshie, Gen Z interns and are frankly a bit jaded so they may not have been the most welcoming to Connor. ON his side, he mistook Bel's hungover clothing and attitude as superiority which automatically puts up his hackles.

Then Bel gets an anonymous call alleging that a local beloved politician is not the reformed man he appears to be, and instead is a predator who targets young women. This could be the scoop of her career - if she can get the evidence, but without a slam-dunk the only known victim won't go on the record. The scoop is potentially so explosive that head office swear Bel to utter secrecy.

Bel comes up with a bit of a Scooby-Doo plan to get the Ring doorbell footage of the politician and his victim entering a local Airbnb by getting close to the owner, a Manc party-girl who owns a swanky wine bar. While undercover Bel has the misfortune to run into Connor and desperately claims he is her boyfriend, now he's been drawn into the investigation!

As the blurb says so well, two rivals, one fake romance, the headlines write themselves.

I liked this, both Bel and Connor realised they were in the wrong (a bit of Pride and Prejudice) and they worked well together. I loved Connor's brother.

Just a great rom-com.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: When Shadows Fall

When Shadows Fall by Neil Lancaster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DS Max Craigie is contacted by a former colleague in the Navy (can one say colleague?) who now works on Mountain Rescue, a middle-aged blonde woman has fallen to her death whilst walking the Munroes, sadly deaths are not uncommon, but Max's friend is worried that the number of women dying has increased dramatically and is at odds with the normal statistics - ie women are traditionally better prepared and more cautious than male climbers.

Although not their usual purview, when the team start investigating there have been five other women in the last year who have had similar 'accidents' and they all look eerily similar, middle-aged recently divorced/separated, and blonde. More worrying, none of the deaths appears to have received more than a cursory investigation.

As the team dig deep they put Janie undercover, but could her life be at risk?

I love this series, I like the way they have branched out of pure police corruption (although TBH there would be no-one left in Police Scotland if they didn't) and I like the addition of the new team member.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Love Lessons

Love Lessons by Sarina Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Ian Crikey has bought a run down property and is doing it up himself, he hosts a Friday night party which gets a bit raucous, the cops are called and an overzealous newbie arrests Ian. When Ian's mugshots appear on TMZ in filthy clothes and shaggy hair/beard the team management are not pleased and haul him in to give him a good telling off and tell him to clean up his image.

Vera is the personal shopper who set up her own stylist business and has roped in Charli from the previous book as her assistant. She is sick and tired of being unable to work from her home office because Ian Crikey is banging, sawing, and otherwise making a noise outside her house. When his rowdy party gets louder and louder she has no choice but to call the police, no way is she going to confront a huge scary hockey player.

When Vera realises that she was the cause of Ian being arrested, and warned by the Bruisers she is mortified and tries to make it up to him by offering to style him - something that he refuses, although he does (grudgingly) allow her to trim his hair and beard. However, Ian thinks Vera is a rich snob and notices the way she looks at him - obviously thinks of him as a bit of rough.

It seems that fate wants to bring them together, not only are they neighbours but they are also the only two singles invited to spend a week in Neil Drake's family villa in Italy (Neil being married to Charli and a friend of Ian's).

Three years ago Vera got dumped by her long-term boyfriend and he made some very cutting remarks about her prowess in the bedroom. He's recently got in touch and invited her to be his plus-one at a swanky charity gala and Vera is determined to show him what he missed/prove him wrong so she asks Ian for tips on the art of seduction.

I'm a sucker for these dating-guru helping her to seduce the man of her dreams only to find that the two of them have more in common. Obviously Vera's ex is a narcissistic manipulative user. Ian doesn't know that Vera is the one that got him arrested. Vera doesn't think anyone as handsome/rich/charming/worldly/ripped as Ian could possibly fall for her. Ian doesn't think he's good enough for someone as successful and cultured as Vera.

Loved it.

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Review: Bombshells

Bombshells by Sarina Bowen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sylvie Hansen gets called up from Canada to the Brooklyn Bombshells, a female ice hockey team. Not only is she ecstatic about playing hockey professionally, it also gives her the opportunity to sort things out with her is he/isn't he boyfriend Bryce Campeau who happens to play for the Brooklyn Bruisers. Bryce grew up in Sylvie's home so her parents were surrogate parents for him, Sylvie had a crush on him but he seemed to treat her as a cute little sister, until the night of her mother's funeral when he made some promises to Sylvie about being together. Since then nada, despite Sylvie's attempts to get him to commit (to anything).

Anton Bayer is also on the Brooklyn Bruisers team, he's had some bad publicity (leaked photos of him and four women in a bed type of stuff) and his (professional) performance has suffered. This season he's determined to live clean, stay away from the women and get his act together, otherwise he may find himself off the team.

Anton is immediately smitten by Sylvie, but you don't make moves on your teammate's girl. But when Sylvie asks for help in flirting to get Bryce's attention he can't say no. At first they are just really good friends, but one night of comforting turns into something more, and now Anton is breaking every rule he set himself because if Bryce finds out there will be ALL the drama.

Loved it.

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