Review: The Difference Between Us

The Difference Between Us by Rachel Higginson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Molly Maverick works for SixTwentySix marketing, she is struggling to get the management to understand that print advertising is dead and the future is in online marketing and campaigns. She is also the best friend of Vera from the first book. She and Vera's boyfriend Killian's former boss and kind of step-brother Ezra Baptiste practically had a stand-up fight when they first met and have been at loggerheads ever since,not helped by the fact that Ezra is the most beautiful man she has ever seen. The only trouble is, while Molly is avoiding Ezra at all costs, he is pursuing her, getting her to work on his media campaigns, painting a mural on his restaurant wall etc.

Hmm, reading this book so soon after the first one I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities in theme between them, hence the lower rating. Killian and Ezra are both in the restaurant business, although Ezra isn't a chef he knows his way around a kitchen. Molly and Vera were both oblivious to the interest that Killian and Ezra were exhibiting. Killian and Ezra both started pursuing Vera and Molly by engaging with their work. Vera had an abusive ex, Molly has a boss who can't keep his hands to himself. Killian and Ezra are orphans. Even the pacing felt the same, the threat of angst which never really transpires and an abrupt finish. My goodness, even some of the sex scenes felt the same.

Overall, if I hadn't read the first book I would have enjoyed this, there's not much angst, it's a slow burning romance, there's some banter between Molly and Ezra and its nice. But it felt too similar to the first one.

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Review: California Girls

California Girls by Susan Mallery
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Three sisters, three very different lives, all of which are going to change beyond recognition.

Finola the oldest is the host of a TV show, married to a plastic surgeon and about to go on holiday where they will finally start trying for a baby. Zennie is highly skilled OR nurse, single and dedicated to her work she really doesn't see the point of dating although she's going through the motions with a guy she's dated a few times. Ali, the youngest is busy planning her upcoming wedding. Then in one fateful week everything changes, all three women get dumped. Finola's husband announces he's leaving her moments before she goes live on TV, interviewing the younger woman he's having an affair with. Ali's fiance is too much of a coward to tell her himself, so he sends his older, badder brother. Only Zennie's breakup isn't a ritual humiliation, but then she really didn't care in the first place. When her BFF asks Zennie to be her surrogate Zennie doesn't hesitate, after all she has no interest in having a baby of her own.

I wanted to expand my reading horizons which had got into a bt of a rut recently and so I requested this ARC from NetGalley because it sounded like something a bit more than just a chick-lit romance. It was definitely not a chick-lit romance, I would firmly classify this in the women's fiction category but I have to say it didn't really wow me. Having the intertwining stories of the three sisters really just made me feel that we didn't get to see more than a surface impression of each of the sisters, they had no depth. Similarly the male characters were all a bit cardboard. I also had the feeling that frankly not a lot actually happened, there was a lot of the sisters bemoaning that this one was prettier or that one was their father's favourite but not much more. To be honest, I think this is my overall impression of women's fiction and therefore the fault is probably with me for requesting a book in a genre which leaves me so apathetic - a real case of it's not you it's me!

If you are a fan of women's fiction, where the characters reassess their lives and childhoods then I expect that you will enjoy this novel, I have decided that I am not a fan of women's fiction, I like a bit more angst with my romance.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Wicked with the Scoundrel

Wicked with the Scoundrel by Elizabeth Bright
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 39%.

Colin Smith has been off travelling the world having adventures, just the way he like it. But he has been forced to return to London to raise more money. He has been asked by the Marquess of Chatwell to humour his eccentric daughter Lady Claire Harrison's search for buried roman treasure by 'finding' some jewellery that he has recently buried, in return the Marquess will fund Colin's next treasure hunt.

Lady Claire Harrison is somewhat socially awkward, she has a perfect memory and if left unchecked will tell someone the details of each and every time she has been to a venue (or any other occurrence). She is clearly intended to be portrayed as extremely intelligent if misunderstood and lacking in social skills (think Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory).

I tried with this book but I just couldn't get into the writing, it felt artificial as if the author was talking in a fake English aristocratic accent as she wrote the book. I thought both Colin and Claire were unlikable characters and the insta-lurve that Claire experienced didn't ring true - why would she fall in love with such a boorish man?

I picked the book up again to give it one last chance and nope, just couldn't carry on.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: The Opposite of You

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vera Delane has returned home to Durham North Carolina. After being classically trained as a chef in Charlotte she gave it all up for her boyfriend who turned out to be controlling and abusive. She left him and ran away to Europe where she has spent the last year travelling and taking odd jobs in bars and restaurants. But when she heard her father was sick she came home and decided she was sick of running, sick of hiding from her ex, sick of not expressing her creative urges. So she has bought an airstream and intends to run a food truck from the car park of her older brother's cycle shop, right in the heart of the bar and restaurant district. The only trouble is the truck is less than 100 feet from one of the most prestigious restaurants in Durham, Lilou, with the celebrated and notorious chef Killian Quinn.

Vera has spent two years being put down by her ex and as a consequence she has low self-esteem and is used to accepting other people's judgement. But when Killian Quinn tries to intimidate Vera and force her off the parking lot she finds a backbone and gives as good as she gets. Soon the two of them have an antagonistic relationship where Killian continually gives Vera unwanted feedback on her food, well two can play at that game, but although Killian's comments may be harsh Vera recognises that they have an element of truth.

I love me a enemies to lovers romance and I love romances featuring chefs and lots of delicious food so this book was right up my alley. I only wish I can remember where I first heard about this book so that I could thank them for the recommendation.

I really enjoyed this, the slow burn romance hidden beneath a battle of wills between a Michelin starred chef and a food truck, the witty interactions, the food descriptions and the gentle romance. I have already bought the second book because I have to know what happens to the secondary characters.

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Review: Blow Me Away

Blow Me Away by Christina Hovland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Jase Dvornakov was a bomb disposal expert until a tragedy sent him home to his family's flower shop where he hides away making bouquets and prom corsages. Heather Reese owns a cookie shop opposite Jase's floristry shop, after a shocking break-up she has sworn off men, instead spending her time at the local senior centre. She's volunteered to organise a Seniors Senior Prom for the residents of the senior centre and is trying to drum up interest and donations from local businesses, including the Dvornakov's florists.

Jase's well-meaning but interfering family are constantly on his case about getting a girlfriend so he tells a little white lie, he tells them that he and Heather dated, she dumped him and he's heartbroken. We all know what happens with little white lies don't we? Suddenly Jase's crazy Russian grandmother is exacting a very expensive vengeance and Jase has to promise a whole load of favours to stop Heather getting his grandmother Babushka put in jail.

Heather is all about finding the one, she wants the dog, the picket fence, the family car and the kids. Jase had all of that, then his wife found another husband and took the dog with her. Now he's all about the temporary. Can their explosive chemistry overcome Jase's misgivings?

If you thought the best part of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels was her crazy family then I think you would love this book. Babushka blackmails her family by threatening to die at any minute, she dates multiple unsuitable guys, she throws her money around like confetti, she cooks amazing cookies and does her own thing in spectacular style. This is definitely a romantic comedy - so many things I don't want to spoil for you but I chuckled quite a lot at Jase's crazy Russian family and their antics and the shenanigans at the seniors centre.

I very much appreciate Christina Hovland sending me a NetGalley widget after I was refused an ARC.

I received a free copy of this book from the author via NetGalley in return for an honest review.


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Review: The Risk

The Risk by Elle Kennedy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What happens when the daughter of Briar University's hockey coach starts fake dating the captain of their arch-rivals Harvard?

Jake Connelly is 100% focused on hockey, as captain of Harvard's hockey team its his job to make sure that his team are just as focused and he has to put a stop to the friends with benefits thing that his teammate Josh McCarthy has going on with Brenna Jensen, its messing with McCarthy's head and Jake knows Brenna isn't interested.

Brenna isn't interested in dating, she's all about the hook-up and move on, she's not going to give her heart to anyone. She doesn't even care about McCarthy but when Jake tells her to back off her hackles rise. The two of them have that insane hate chemistry where they could easily kill each other or rip each other's clothes off (possibly both). Then Brenna goes for an intern position at a local hockey network and the misogynist interviewing her is totally disinterested and dismissive until he starts talking about Jake who has been drafted to play for his team, the Oilers, at the start of the next season. Hating herself Jenna tells the creep that she and Jake are dating.

Jake doesn't mind going to dinner at this guy's house and pretending to be Brenna's boyfriend, the only catch? For every fake date he wants a real one. But with the hatred between their rival hockey teams and their coaches growing exponentially is it all going to blow up in their faces?

I liked this, heck I'd read the back of a cereal packet if Elle Kennedy wrote it, but I didn't love it. I guessed what Brenna had done to upset her father quite early on (downside of being old and having read a ton of books) and Jake was too cocky for me, verging on the bossing Brenna around and telling her what to do and what she thought. Yet, Jake was also pretty self-aware and caring - go figure, he was complicated.

These gripes are because I love Elle Kennedy, don't let them detract from the fact that I devoured the book in a single day and enjoyed every second of it. I just want to see Jake's legendary abs :)

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Review: The Standby Guy

The Standby Guy by Natasha Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two and a half stars.

Katie Dixon has been a single mom to her son Sean ever since her husband was killed in a road traffic accident when Sean was still at daycare, helped by her husband Tim's best friend Carter Colburn who happens to live next door. Over the years Carter has been like a father to Sean and Katie's best friend, they pop in and out of each other's houses and regularly eat together.

Now Sean is off to college and Katie is about to indulge in some me-time and maybe cross off a few things from her bucket list for when Sean left home.

Carter is struggling to run his own law practice and help out at his family's reclamation business after his father's heart attack. Given the opportunity to take his law practice to the next level by winning a prestigious new client Carter is astonished to find his reputation as a ladies man has preceded him, his new client wants to meet Carter's girlfriend as a character test. Only problem is ... all of Carter's female friends and exes are too busy or won't return his calls or just wouldn't give the right impression. In desperation he turns to Katie who promptly volunteers, crossing a line he has drawn for himself, after all this is his best friend Tim's widow.

I loved the premise of this but I just did not like either of the characters. Katie was wet, a neurotic mom who can't let her teenage son go without calling and texting him constantly. She was too saccharine sweet and drippy. Carter on the other hand was a weird character, self-sacrificing when it came to his family, Katie and Sean but dismissive of other women generally. I just don't see how it is even possible to run your own law firm and work several hours every day at your family's business. Also Carter's jealousy seem out of kilter and borderline scary to me. Don't even get me started on the two of them misinterpreting each other and downplaying the relationship.

I finished the novel but it wasn't for me and I wish I hadn't bothered. Judging by the average reviews I am in the minority so maybe I'm just being a Grinch.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: A Wedding at the Comfort Food Cafe

A Wedding at the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Auburn Longville is the former wild child turned pharmacist, brilliant red hair (hence the name) with a few bad habits (trying to stop smoking, drinks too much on occasion), she has turned her life around and her new relationship with Finn Jensen seems to be going really well. Then, in what Auburn refers to as 'Diary Irony', someone from her past comes to sleepy Budbury to stir things up and lead Auburn to question her life.

I've got to say I just love this series, set in a small village and centred on the Comfort Food Cafe run by the eccentric Cherie it's full of delicious cake, wild parties, real life family dramas and second chances. This book is yet another gem.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Taming the Troublemaker

Taming the Troublemaker by Kadie Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beth Cooper is moderately attractive but she pales into insignificance beside her sisters who are both drop dead gorgeous, tall, blonde and curvy while she is tiny and kind of flat chested, she's also a school teacher so she doesn't give off those super sexy vibes and one too many of her ex-boyfriends dumped her as soon as he saw one of her sisters. Beth has always had a soft spot for Autry Hill, the luscious cowboy with a near legendary reputation as a ladies man.

Autry has grown tired of his reputation, not all of it true, and is disappointed that his family believes everything they hear. When his parents offer to gift him the family ranch if he can stay away from women and scandal for six months he thinks its a bet he can win without breaking a sweat. Then a series of calamities thrust quiet, good girl Beth into his line of sight and he discovers this may be one woman who is immune to the legendary Autry smile, who doesn't appreciate his flirting, who calls him on his BS, but may also be the one person in town who believes in him wholeheartedly.

This is the third book in a series, I haven't read the previous books and it didn't hinder my enjoyment - it can easily be read as a stand-alone.

If you like charming cowboys, school teachers with a hidden wild side, bad boys acting as big brothers to troubled foster kids and a big old dollop of romance and misunderstandings then this is the book for you. I just loved it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Huge Deal

Huge Deal by Lauren Layne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kennedy Dawson is old money, named after the Kennedy family he is also one of a trio of brokers known as the wolves of Wall Street all managed by their uber-efficient assistant Kate Henley, Kate even helped Kennedy's model girlfriend plan a surprise birthday party for him.

Kate has been in love with Kennedy since the very first day she laid eyes on him back when all four of them were trainees, that is until she overhead the guys make a pact not to sleep with her and Kennedy saying something very hurtful. Since then she has mostly been over him, in her head, it's a pity her body hasn't got the message. She gets on well with both the other guys but she and Kennedy always seem to be at loggerheads, which is odd because they are both perfectionists.

But everything changes when Kennedy's brother Jack returns to New York, looking eerily similar to Kennedy but with more spontaneous charm and humour, he hits it off with Kate immediately (cue lots of Titanic jokes).

Kennedy doesn't like it when Jack so effortlessly gets Kate to laugh and behave in a very un-Kate-like way but he daren't examine his reasons too closely. He also realises that he knows nothing about this woman he has worked alongside for years, at his birthday party they talk and he discovers there is more to this attractive, smart and clever woman than he ever imagined, but with different views on love how could they ever be together?

Oh my word! This book gave me all the feels. I was actually tearing up on an international flight at some of the heartfelt comments, Roger Dawson's words to Kennedy about going all-in were so moving (to me). And also (because Lord knows I hadn't embarrassed myself enough) I had to snort with laughter at Kennedy's mother's idea of a picnic(view spoiler)[ a travel cheese board (hide spoiler)].

This was Lauren Layne at her finest. Cute, sexy romance with larger than life couples, witty banter and glamorous locations. L.O.V.E.D. it.

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Review: 99 Percent Mine

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Darcy Barrett is the family screw-up, literally. While her twin brother Jamie is driven and successful she gave up a promising career as a photographer and now tends bar at a biker dive. She has spent the best part of the last decade travelling the world, coming home only long enough to earn money for her next trip. After their beloved grandmother died and left her crumbling old cottage to Darcy and Jamie, Darcy intends to jet off again but someone has taken her passport, then Tom Valeska an old family friend arrives to renovate the house and suddenly Darcy can't bear to leave her childhood crush.

This is a difficult book to review, Darcy is both adorable and infuriating, she and Jamie are so selfish in some ways but also so generous in others. Both of them treat Tom like a loyal dog, and fight over him like the last slice of cake, but they also love Tom wholeheartedly. Tom has always felt like the charity kid around the Barrett twins, the child of an overwhelmed single mom, the Barretts took him under their wings and treated him as a third child, taking him to Disneyland when Darcy's heart condition forced her to stay at home with her grandmother for example. But Tom has always felt unsure in his position, like he has to be perfect and go along with everything the Barrett twins want or he will be cast aside.

Yet this all felt very real, these were real people making mistakes, reading signals wrongly, being too self-absorbed, not thinking through the consequences, making things worse - and I liked that very much. The writing felt raw and vibrant. Not your usual cookie cutter romance but something different.

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Review: The Soccer Player and the Single Mom

The Soccer Player and the Single Mom by Kyra Jacobs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Scott Gillie is a soccer player with a mission, to get to the national squad until an injury derails his career. Felicity Shaw is a single mom who has just lost her job when the factory when into receivership. Their lives collide in a doctor's waiting room where Scott's agent JB makes Felicity an offer she can't refuse - be Scott's PA for a few weeks while he's stuck staying with his grandmother Edna in Quail's Hollow but Scott isn't going to make it easy ...

This was inoffensive, fade-to-black romance. Unfortunately I read it shortly after one with a similar story, Nothing But Trouble which I absolutely adored and this fell short by comparison. There wasn't really any drama or tension or even any plot, just Scott and Felicity dancing around each other and playing house under the watchful eye of Edna and Felicity's son Tyler.

I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Nothing But Trouble

Nothing But Trouble by Amy Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Four and half stars.

CC Morgan has worked for self-centred former Broncos quarterback Wade Carter for nearly six years. Six years of 24/7 catering to his frankly scary Nerds addiction, buying him condoms at 3am, sending flowers to all the women he breaks up, consoling all the women he breaks up with (because heaven forfend he gives women his own cellphone number). Then just as she is about to hand in her notice Wade's father has a heart attack and Wade decides to move from Denver back to the family farm in small town Colorado and he wants CC with him.

Suddenly CC and Wade are living in a small town, getting involved in town politics and opening up to each other in ways they never have before.

This is just heaven from start to finish, CC and Wade are great together, she doesn't take any of his NFL macho BS, she doesn't think he's all that, in return he relies on her and respects her attitude. Amy Andrews at her best, not as raunchy as some of her others but still with enough smexy times to raise the temperature. Funny, sweet, sassy with baby pigs!

Can't wait for the next one in this new series, I want Arlo and Winona to be a thing.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Deadly Obsession

Deadly Obsession by April Hunt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zoey Wright has a heart condition which has put her on the sidelines for most of her life, after yet another operation she is determined to live life to the full and exchanges her job as a CSI agent in the lab for one in the field. Her first job is the latest victim of the serial killer the town is dubbing the Beltway Cupid Killer. Watching from the shadows is old family friend Knox Steele, a former ranger and Zoey's older brother Cade's best friend. Knox has always had a soft spot for Zoey but when he tries to lay down the law and she rips him a new one he starts to see her not as his friend's kid sister but as a smart, feisty and beautiful woman. Knox doesn't plan on sticking around long, his tour overseas ended badly and he bears the weight of the world on his shoulders.

This was a mildly suspenseful, easy to read, predictable romance. I'm afraid despite April Hunt's attempts to create multiple suspects I called the identity of the killer on page 124 (of 341). There were some good moments, like when Zoey called Knox a "watered-down man-baby" but I wouldn't put this in the same class as, say, Scarlett Cole or Laura Griffin. Also, in romancelandia why does no-one ever have a normal name like John (i'd accept Jon) or Pete, is it a prerequisite for special forces that they have a name like Roman or Knox?

If you don't enjoy grisly scenes in your suspense, want more romance and less thriller, with tons of alpha males from the different services all with their own secret pain then this is for you.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: This Crumbling Pageant

This Crumbling Pageant by Patricia Burroughs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Epic (607 pages) fantasy about an alternate Georgian England where the Magi live side by side with us ordinaries, their King is dying and myths and rumours abound about who will be his successor. At the centre of the mystery is the Fury family, their ancestor foretold the backlash against magic and led the Magi to hide in plain sight amongst the ordinaries, he then set the current royal family on the throne. Will the Fury family find the successor?

The Fury family are blessed with the magic of music, but their youngest daughter Persephone also had wild and dangerous gifts that the family try to suppress. As the family prepares for a grand ball to launch Persephone's beautiful sister Electra into the marriage mart, Persephone begins a great adventure where she will meet the King, future King, the True King and a rebellion.

This novel effortlessly weaves Roman mythology with Welsh mythology, magic and battles, politics and family. True there were bits I didn't understand,(view spoiler)[ what was Cosmo's vision at the hanging? (hide spoiler)] but still I was there in the palace, in the Welsh countryside trying to make sense of Persephone's 'gifts' just as she was.

As the first part of an epic fantasy this ends with much still to learn - will the next book continue Persephone's journey or will it pick up with one of her brothers? Can't wait.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: The One Who's Not the One

The One Who's Not the One by Keris Stainton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Five years ago Cat had it all, the boyfriend, the promising career in stand-up comedy. Then Sam, her boyfriend went to Australia and didn't invite her. Since then she's given up on the stand-up comedy. she flat shares with 'The One Who Eats All My Food' and 'The One Who Has Really Loud Sex', she has a job she despises (and that pays a pittance) and she hasn't had sex in two years.

Then one day, travelling home on the tube (train), she sees an article about Sam in the London Metro (newspaper), he's back from Australia, still doing stand-up comedy, and getting good reviews. Obsessed by the one that got away (just one in a long list of people that have left Cat), Cat stalks Sam on Facebook and google and is determined to see his show, especially once she finds out it is entitled 'Cat Amongst the Pigeons' - is that a reference to her? Is his show all about her?

At Sam's show Cat runs into his younger brother Harvey, and then again when she takes her best friend Kelly's little boy to see Father Christmas at John Lewis.

Then sexy Nick at work announces he is moving to the new office in New York and asks Cat to join him - suddenly Cat has three potential beaus - which one will she choose?

I liked this, it was very down-to-earth, very realistic, this is the way that women talk to each other about men and relationships and sex (and willys). However, I did think that this was both very British and very 'of the moment' with references to current events which may make the book less accessible to readers from outside the UK and readers in a few years' time.

The book started a bit slowly for me, so much so that I stopped reading after a few chapters and reread the blurb, worried that I was reading a different book (easy to do when you have a TBR pile as big as mine) but it soon picked up again. reminiscent of Bridget Jones (without the dear diary entries) it was amusing and a fun read. My only criticism was that the ending was a bit too sudden (even with an epilogue) I would have liked there to have been more of a build up to the end.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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