Review: A Simple Twist of Fate

This is the second novel in a series about the three Hanover brothers. Their father, Charlie, was a con man who died and left behind a trail of angry, cheated people. The grown brothers inherit a house from their grandmother, but the house is located in a small town where Charlie did a lot of damage. The first book, which I haven’t read, sets all this up and shows the brothers moving into the house and deciding to fix it up and stay.

A Simple Twist of Fate opens with Sophie, the housekeeper/carrier of secrets, walking in on a naked Beck, the lawyer/hater of secrets, after his shower. And that’s when I noticed that my brain wasn’t meshing with this author’s style. The conversation was interspersed with so many little body movements that I lost track of who was speaking, and it didn’t flow for me. Then another brother walked up and joined the conversation, and they were talking about how many penises Sophie had seen in her life, and it was strange. After that, I figured out that Sophie has been pretending to clean the house for a month while she searches for something important. Her aunt requested the search so she can’t tell anyone. It’s a secret! During that month, she has been lusting after Beck because he wears t-shirts that barely cover his stomach. Beck has been lusting after Sophie, too, because she wears tight jeans and looks cute when she carries a mop.

The first quarter of the book consists of people telling Beck that he should hook up with Sophie because of his lust, but Beck says he won’t because of their employer/employee relationship. People also tell Sophie to hook up with Beck, but she won’t because she’s on a mission and doesn’t want to get sucked in, or something. That was a problem for me, because Sophie and Beck didn’t interact with each other at all. I was told repeatedly that they were hot for each other, but I didn’t get a sense that they had ever hung out, joked around, or said more than two words to each other, so it was purely physical. Maybe all that chit chat happened in the first book. Basically, I got no relationship building between them.

This book spent a lot of time with other characters. Too much time, in my opinion, because it was taking away from the primary relationship. The whole history of the first book was spelled out, plus Sophie got to go to lunch with some girls, plus the oldest brother drank water and glared a lot. There was also an FBI agent popping up now and then who kept getting yelled at. And there was a mystery woman who would show up and say, “I have to talk to you!” and they would shut her down and go away. Sidenote — Don’t you hate it when characters keep saying “I have to tell you something” but they never just blurt it out? They allow themselves to be sent away without ever saying the very important thing that they need to say.

Eventually, awkwardly, Sophie and Beck decide to set aside their hesitation and have sex. Remember Sophie and Beck? Then suddenly she’s his girlfriend, and things are hunky dory, and she even tells Beck her secret! But the other brothers have issues, and then their mom shows up, and things are tragic and they separate based upon the worst misunderstanding ever until Beck’s brother talks some sense into him (another ding for having third parties solve the problem) and so Beck says nice things to Sophie and then it ends. Several plot points are left hanging because there’s another book to be written about another brother.

For fun, let me share a few things I highlighted: “Somewhere along the line he’d turned into a pre-teen girl.” “He treated her to a dramatic women-are-so-difficult exhale.” “He didn’t plunk down a stack of cash on this place to listen to them bicker like little girls.” “Running to Mom to talk about his love life? They were acting like little girls.” That’s just me being picky, but enough of the manly men stereotyping negative actions as girl-like.

I see this book as part of a saga about brothers finding their identity and dealing with the past. The romance is part of it, but not a big enough part. Basically, I was annoyed and frustrated with this book.

Rating: C

Review: White Trash Beautiful

Reviewed by Janell
 

This is a poor-girl-meets-rock-star story, but it didn’t entirely work for me. Cass lives in a trailer park with her mother and her boyfriend who are both drug addicts. Cass works as a waitress at the diner across the street. She makes just enough money to buy beer and tuna fish, and anything extra she hides so that one day she can move out. Her boyfriend, Jax, used to be protective and nice before the drugs changed him and he started beating her up. Her mother used to call her a princess but now she’s passed out all day.

One night, Tucker White waltzes into the diner and calls Cass sweetheart. She’s not into random guys flirting with her, but Tucker comes back again and says nice things to her, making her believe he’s actually a good guy. Tucker is the lead singer in a band that’s on tour and about to hit the big time, but Cass doesn’t know that at first.

Tucker’s motivations weren’t clear to me. I get that he flirts with a pretty waitress, and I get that he sees her bruises and her crappy boyfriend and wants to protect her, but I had a hard time finding any feelings beyond that, beyond his wanting to be the knight on a white horse. He tells Cass a few stories about his childhood so that she’ll relate to him, but then I was confused about whether he wanted to settle down with a woman or be a rock star, because he didn’t seem to say much about his band.

Cass sneaks away from her trailer a few times to see Tucker in concert, and one night he takes her to his hotel and they have unprotected sex. Yeah, both of them were so caught up in the romance that neither one considered protection. They didn’t even say, “oops,” afterwards, it just wasn’t ever mentioned. That bugged me.

I was also bothered by the choices Cass made. The story is told from her first-person point of view, and she goes back and forth between “I deserve this horrible life and I shouldn’t let Tucker get involved with me,” or “I need to escape this horrible life and I deserve the fantasy with Tucker.” She made a few too many stupid, “he’s better off without me” decisions.

The drama at the end was over-the-top, but I could have enjoyed it if it came with more character interaction and relationship building. Instead it almost rushed past, and then they were back together and Cass’s reservations were suddenly gone.

Overall this was too up-and-down for me. I like the concept, and there were some good moments, but Cass’s martyrdom got annoying and Tucker’s loyalty and love seemed to be based on nothing more than Cass’s sad eyes and bruises.

Rating: B-

Click to purchase: Amazon

White Trash Beautiful

by Teresa Mummert

Original Release Date: September 19, 2012

Re-Release Date: July 9, 2013

Publisher: Gallery Books

Review & Giveaway: Undone

Reviewed by Janell
 

This is such a love story, and I mean that in a straightforward way: girl mets boy, they flirt, date, fall in love, and eventually live happily ever after. They aren’t thwarted by dark pasts, silly misunderstandings, or villainous exes. They simply learn to fit into each others’ lives and commit to each other. It’s very sweet. Maybe a little slow in parts, maybe a little long, but overall an enjoyable journey.

Paige is a Philadelphia girl who likes loud clothes, tall shoes, and speaking her mind. Her life is pretty good, she thinks, until her best friend/roommate moves out of state. Then Paige loses her job. She moves in with her boyfriend, who quickly tells her that she’s not worth the effort of a relationship. Homeless and jobless, Paige moves in with her parents.

The problem is, her parents have retired to Mirabelle, a small town on the Florida panhandle. Paige hits Mirabelle like a mini-hurricane, causing the old biddies and gossips to turn against her and prevent her from finding a job. Her new life sucks just about as much as her old life. And then her car breaks down.

Brendan, the hot mechanic, tows her car, and that’s pretty much the last bad day Paige ever has. You know what’s cool about Brendan? He’s not an aggressive silent type who thinks he’s not good enough for her. No, Brendan tells her plainly, “And Paige, it’s just a matter of time.” I’d be lying if I said that didn’t give me the shivers.

They circle around each other for about a week, then they kiss, and that’s when I noticed how much this book differed from most books I read. Paige and Brendan date for over three months without having sex. I know! His narration doesn’t constantly point out how uncomfortable his pants are, he doesn’t narrate explicit fantasies, he just takes cold showers and waits because Paige wants to take things slow. When they do get down to business, the scenes are hot enough but not scorching.

Paige’s parents are just about the most normal, supportive parents you can get in a book. Brendan’s grandparents, sister, and friends are also normal and supportive. By the time I met the full cast of characters and saw how nice everyone was, I began to wonder if this book would have any conflict at all.

Paige’s snippy coworkers and nosy neighbor contribute to the town gossip who writes an actual gossip blog, with fake names and innuendos and everything. I know small town novels always have gossips, but I was surprised that old ladies were high-tech enough to write blogs that people read. The rumors cause some drama but not enough to shake up the romance. Ba

sically this is a happy, feel-good love story with fun partners who support each other and talk to each other. This is the first in a series, and I am definitely interested in the next book. Undone is not very suspenseful, which made it seem more like real life. Sometimes in life you just date, hang out with your friends, and eat dinner with your parents. And that’s pretty cool.

Rating: B+

*ARC Provided by Forever

Click to purchase: Amazon

If you would like to win a copy, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. US Only.

Read more »

Review: The Wedding Gamble

Reviewed by Janell
 

Here’s another “Got wasted in Vegas and ended up married” story, and it was great fun, proving that predictable works if it’s written well. Laura is in Las Vegas for her younger sister’s bachelorette party. It’s also Laura’s birthday, not that anyone remembers. She’s having a miserable time until one of the bridesmaids gives her some “generic aspirin,” and then Laura is wandering the Strip in a loopy haze. She meets David outside of a wedding chapel, and he asks her to do him a favor. Laura always tries to help others, so she agrees. She thinks it’s a dream when they get married, but the next morning she realizes that it wasn’t.

David is working undercover for the FBI, tracking down a witness. When the wrong people see him in Vegas, he tells them that he’s there to get married. Enter Laura. David wants her to forget about him and go back to safety, but Laura can’t stop trying to help him, protect him, look out for him.

Laura is a preschool teacher, a size 12, used to sacrificing herself for her sister, used to being the unattractive, boring afterthought in her family. But when she sees bad guys threaten her new husband, she busts out her inner actress and distracts them. It’s fun to watch her discover her inner bravery and hidden talents.

David’s life has centered around bringing down one particular mob boss. He hasn’t had room in his life for relationships. Capering with Laura makes him wish for something he didn’t know he wanted, and it also uncovers a pretty sexy protective side.

As the bad guys circle, Laura and David grow closer. He even buys her a birthday cake, which would melt my heart in an instant. Danger intensifies their relationship, and pretty soon — after a few interruptions — they are exploring the benefits of their marriage. The author does a great job of describing Las Vegas. From the canals of Venice to Circus Circus, from Fremont Street to the Bellagio Fountains, from the sounds of Treasure Island cannons to the crowded sidewalks, I felt like I was there.

When they’ve done their job, David sends Laura back home to safety, with the expectation that she’ll get an annulment. The final HEA happened quickly, both from a book-timeline standpoint and from a writing standpoint. I could have been held in suspense a little longer, but I’m not complaining.

Overall this was fun, amusingly suspenseful, and sweet.

Rating: B +

*ARC Provided by Entangled

Click to purchase: Amazon

The Wedding Gamble

by Cindi Myers

Release Date: July 8, 2013

Publisher: Entangled

Review: Facade

Reviewed by Janell
 

Let me introduce you fine readers of this blog to Nyrae Dawn, an author who knows her way around a tortured guy. She started in YA, with What A Boy Wants (detour: I think the cover model of What A Boy Wants is the same guy on the cover of Easy by Tammara Webber, and have you read that yet? Because, oh boy, everyone should read Easy). I think I’ve read just about all of Ms. Dawn’s YA books, and they’ve all got Sensitive Boys with Problems, written so well that you just want to make out with all of them.

Facade is her second New Adult book, which is like her YA books, but the Sensitive Boys with Problems have aged a bit, added a few more problems, and are having emotional sex. What’s not to love?

Adrian lives in a trashy rental house where he smokes pot all day and has loud parties every night. He had a bad childhood, capped off by a Tragic Event that caused him to just run away from life. He uses the drugs and parties to bury his guilt and chase away the nightmares. He’s a silent observer who writes poetry and carries around a well-worn copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, because, “I’ve always respected Edmond. He went through hell and back but fought despite it…. He was strong. Not me.”

Delaney had what she thought was a perfect childhood, up until a Tragic Event showed that it was all a lie. Get this — it was the same Tragic Event that affected Adrian! Delaney knows how they are tied together (it’s an invisible thread that she keeps mentioning, drawing them closer), and she tracks Adrian down in the hopes that they can share their grief and maybe help each other heal, rebuild, move on.

When they meet, Delaney can’t bring herself to blurt out their connection, so she lets Adrian chase her. Adrian can tell that she has secrets, that she’s haunted, and he wants to help chase away her ghosts. Delaney knows exactly what’s bothering Adrian, but she doesn’t want to bring it up and ruin the friendship that they’re building.

I kind of hated Delaney after a point, because she kept making up excuses not to be honest with Adrian. “Oh, maybe he’s moved past it and I would be bringing up bad memories.” “Oh, he’s kissing me, I don’t want to spoil the mood.” “Oh, he’ll hate me, and I’m falling in love with him.” At least after a point she realizes that, the longer she stalls, the bigger her deceit becomes. When she does tell him, that’s when all the gut punches start flying. Finally, Adrian chooses to confront his past and move on. Yay!

The first book in this series, Charade, centered on Adrian’s friend Cole and his girlfriend Cheyenne. They are strong supporting characters here. You don’t need to read the first book to understand this one, you just might enjoy it because it’s fun (and maybe 11% less angsty).

Finally, something to think about. When Adrian and Delaney are at a fair, they play some games, but, “he doesn’t vow to win me a stuffed animal like you always hear about. I think I love that about him. Love how real he is.” What do you think, readers? Is vowing to win a stuffed animal a true test of love? Or is not winning one more honest and real? I think this issue needs to be settled so all women on carnival dates know where they stand once and for all.

Rating: B+

*ARC Provided by Forever via NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

Facade

by Nyrae Dawn

Release Date: July 2, 2013

Publisher: Forever

Review: Miss Watson's First Scandal

Reviewed by Janell
 

This is a historical novella, set in a Regency-esque time period, but in the resort town of Brighton so there aren’t any balls or country house parties, just some swimming and friendly dinners. This book is the first in a series, and as such it introduces a core group of characters who live in Brighton and will have adventures in further books.

David Hawke is a rich bachelor banker. He visits Brighton once a year and hangs out with his friends and the menfolk all swim naked in the surf every morning. His friend Peter Watson lives next door, along with Peter’s sister Abigail. On the other side of them lives Abigail’s best friend Imogen, and Imogen’s brother. I guess no one has elderly parents in Brighton.

Anyhow, David has come to foreclose on Peter’s house because Peter is an unemployed gambler. Abigail knows they’re in financial trouble because she’s sneaky like that, and she tries to find a way to delay the foreclosure. When David agrees to consider it, she kisses him in gratitude. It’s her first kiss, she’s curious, she kisses him again.

That’s the setup. David is eight years older than Abigail. He hasn’t been waiting for her to mature so he can seduce her. He’s just been banking in London, too busy to feed himself or sleep or get married. Banking is serious business, you see. Abigail has not been crushing on David, either. He’s just been sort of there. Their kiss is out of the blue and gets them thinking about each other in different ways. I would like to say that sparks fly and eyes are opened and all that, but I didn’t feel it. I felt more like it was in the background of all their other problems, an afterthought.

I was underwhelmed by this book. Abigail’s forward actions didn’t ring true for her upbringing, and she seemed too sheltered to understand what she was getting into after this exchange: “Then you don’t really mind me being here.” “No. In fact, I think it would be best for you to stay.” When she nods, he scoops her up and carries her to bed. That’s the seduction, and it didn’t make me swoon.

A subplot involving Imogen’s secret identity was random and too convenient, probably laying groundwork for a future novel. I didn’t like how it was handled, though, probably because I didn’t have any sense of Imogen’s character. She mostly sat in her bedroom and talked to Abigail, which made me seriously wonder at first if she were handicapped and incapable of leaving her house.

You know how most Regency (if not all) romances end happily, and then there’s an epilogue showing off a delightful marriage and children? This epilogue was… wrong. It’s like how, when your favorite tv show is going to have a spinoff series, they spend an episode with new characters and settings and try to get you interested. If the new stuff is good, then you might get excited. But if not, you’re just mad that you don’t get to see your regular characters doing regular things. In the case of this book, I wasn’t even that invested in the original characters, but I would have liked them to have some screen time together. Resolving a final romantic problem in an epilogue without one of the romantic partners present is, well, lame.

Rating: C

*ARC Provided by LLD Press via NetGalley

Miss Watson's First Scandal

by Heather Boyd

Release Date: July 2, 2013

Publisher: LLD Press

Review: Lick

Reviewed by Janell
 

Holy cow, you guys. This book. This is the book. Grade: A

Oh, you want more? Fine. Evelyn spends her 21st birthday in Las Vegas, planning to get drunk and have sex. Instead, she gets very, very drunk and marries a rock star. She wakes up in her hotel bathroom with a giant diamond ring on her finger and a hot shirtless guy watching her. With no memories of the night before, she freaks out, vomits, and makes her new husband angry enough that he storms out, planning to annul the marriage.

This story works because of the characters. It’s narrated by Evelyn, and she is not stupid. She knows that getting married at 21 is a bad idea and would interfere with her career plans. She’s also observant, self-aware, brave, and self-deprecating (“If I were him, I’d divorce me and never look back.” “Marriage sucked and husbands were the worst.” “How horrible, being forced to live in the lap of luxury with my wonderful husband. Poor me. I needed a good slap.”).

David, the wonderful husband in question, is not the typical tortured, angsty, alpha male. He has issues, but no big tragedy that he wallows in. He’s not overbearing and controlling. He will punch a guy who touches his woman, but he’ll also listen to his woman explain the touching without going all rage Neanderthal on her. He has a temper, but he also likes to cuddle. He is awesome.

I was so pleasantly surprised by all of the conversations Evelyn and David had. They honestly wanted to figure out a way to make their crazy relationship work. There were no big secrets or silly misunderstandings. Evelyn even knows that withholding information is lying, and that, “if [she] had to demand his faith and affection, it didn’t mean a damn thing.” She’s so opposite of the too-stupid-to-live heroine that it makes me giddy.

Of course they have hot sex all over the place. It takes a little while to happen but then makes up for the delay. Of course they run into some bumps and break up. The fallout is realistic, the make-up is fantasy. I know, the whole plot is fantasy, but the way it’s written made it seem so believable.

I could go on and on, but I don’t want to ruin the experience for you. Just go. Read it. Go on now.

Rating: A

*ARC Provided by Momentum

Click to purchase: Amazon

Lick

by Kylie Scott

Release Date: July 1, 2013

Publisher: Momentum

Review: Love at First Date

Reviewed by Janell
 

This is a cute fairy tale disguised as a contemporary novella. Ellen, recently turned 30, is ready to marry and have two children. Her mother, now on her third marriage, has drilled into Ellen the mantra that compatibility is the key to a successful relationship. To that end, Ellen has joined an online dating service to screen out anyone who might prefer paragliding over walks on the beach, and to include only honest, successful men ready for marriage.

As the story opens, Ellen has narrowed her choices down to two matches. She is prepared to meet them face to face and begin her lifetime of shared goals and political views. But wait! First she has to dog-sit for her best friend, which leads to an evening at the vet, which leads to dog-training school and Henry. Henry is an unscreened, unknown, dog-rescuing, gray-eyed hottie in sweatpants. What should Ellen do?

Ellen forces herself to meet the two appropriate men, all the while daydreaming about Henry. Because he has nice eyes and a nice dog. What’s not to love? Over three nights of dog training she dreams, she doubts, she focuses, she despairs. In the end, everything works out, yay!

This is a short romance, I read it in about an hour. It introduces other characters who have their own full-length novels in the series. Based upon the writing style, the other books should be light, breezy, and fun. This story was pretty much building up to a kiss at the finale, so the heat factor was almost zero. I wonder how steamy the other books are? I probably won’t read them because I felt this story was too fluffy, too “waiting for Prince Charming”. But I bet my fourteen-year-old self would have fallen for it completely.

Rating: B

Click to purchase: Amazon

Love at First Date

by Susan Hatler

Release Date: October 31, 2012

Publisher: Hatco

Review: Gaming for Keeps

Reviewed by Janell
 

This book made me so jealous, you guys. I wish I was more of a geek girl, that I knew my way around online multiplayer games, that I could wear costumes and go to conventions. Alas, I don’t have the time or mental energy for most of it. I just consume the mainstream movies and tv shows and wish I had more street cred. Penelope — Pen — is the heroine in this story, and she plays the games, she walks the walk, talks the talk. I wish I was her. Her dog’s name is Worf, she references Supernatural and makes t-shirts printed in binary code. I caught all the references she made, but I couldn’t confidently make all the references myself, and that makes me sad about my life. But this is a book review, not an analysis of my lack of awesome, so I’ll move on.

Pen plays an online game called Heroes of Fallen Gods, and she’s in a guild with her ex-boyfriend. She has a flirtationship with a player in another guild, who invites her to a convention and suggests they meet up in real life. Pen, having been burned by meeting someone offline before, says she’ll be there but doesn’t set a specific meeting time. Once there, a douche trolling for girls pretends to be her gamer friend, so she hangs out with him, but he’s lame and she has to knee him in the crotch. No one is as cool in reality as they are online, am I right?

Meanwhile, Pen’s online buddy Cal is a hot stud / secret agent who just wants to paint himself indigo and wander around as a Dark Elf without being bothered by work. Unfortunately, a Bad Guy is planning Bad Things at the convention, so Cal has to take phone calls and plan things and stress.

Pen and Cal meet in an elevator, but they don’t know that they already know each other! I know, right?! The heat pooling, the sparks flying, the feeling like they’ve known each other a long time, it all happens. Fast. Did I mention this is a short book? On the plus side, Pen and Cal spend a lot of time bantering and kissing before he has to save the world and rescue the girl. On the minus side, I wouldn’t mind if they’d spent even more time together, delving into more obscure sci fi and then rolling around naked.

There’s a clumsy shower scene acknowledging that shower sex is trickier than the books make it out to be. There’s body paint. Fake sword fighting. A discourse on how a person’s knowledge of Firefly tells you everything you need to know to judge their character. Sigh. I’d better stop before I get the sads again. To sum up: fun, cute, hot, awesome. I just wish it had more, went deeper, lasted longer (…that’s what she said).

Rating: A-

*ARC Provided by Entangled

Click to purchase: Amazon

Gaming for Keeps

by Seleste deLaney

Release Date: June 10, 2013

Publisher: Entangled

Review: The Rules of You and Me

Reviewed by Janell

“I was Hannah Cohen. I had everything and knew everything and could do everything.”

Hannah is sixteen and raised to follow her mother’s rules of self-preservation, including: Always have the upper hand; Never let yourself be surprised; and, If reality isn’t the way you want it to be, create your own. Obviously she’s a lot of fun. When her father overdoses on pills and goes to rehab, Hannah’s mother runs away to Paris to avoid scandal and Hannah moves in with her aunt to avoid her mother.

This is more a coming-of-age story than it is a romance, because Hannah learns how to face reality even when it terrifies her, trust people, and take responsibility for her own mistakes. There is a boy, though, helping her with all of this growth. Jude is a high school graduate whose brother died in Afghanistan. Jude hasn’t been able to move past his brother’s death, but he finds Hannah to be a welcome diversion from the non-life that he’s barely living.

Hannah and Jude hang out, drive around town, and have awkward social encounters with other people. Jude encourages Hannah to climb Chimney Rock even though she’s afraid of heights (metaphor alert!). They are “just friends” until one afternoon in Jude’s truck, when he says, “I know this person sitting right here, and she matters.” They kiss, I’m happy, and then his mother interrupts them and ruins everything. Hannah remembers that she’s not supposed to trust anyone so she forces Jude back into the friendship zone, where he stays for pretty much the rest of the book.

This book is Hannah’s emotional journey. She makes up with her dad. She confronts her mom. She dumps her shallow friends and reconnects with ex-friends. Jude is there, as a friend, but the story is more about Hannah becoming Hannah than it is about her falling in love. I, of course, must quibble with that because I love reading stories about teens falling in love, but when there’s so much personal growth involved it takes time away from the romance. I’m superficial that way.

Having said that, both characters are interesting, the setting is beautiful, and if you need some help with your own personal growth, this book will have some good advice for you.

Rating: B

*ARC provided author via NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

The Rules of You and Me

by Shana Norris

Release Date: June 17, 2013 

Review: First Position

Reviewed by Janell
 

First Position is a reunited lovers story starring Emory, an almost-professional ballerina, and Mason, an NFL quarterback. They met in college and dated until shortly before graduation, when their career paths led them in different directions and Mason dumped Emory for not abandoning her ballet career to follow him. The story picks up six years later as Emory is breaking up with her fiancé and Mason is divorcing his trophy wife and recovering from a shoulder injury.

It’s a good premise and a good beginning. Emory and Mason’s road to reconciliation is emotionally quick, yet physically slow. They’re each keeping secrets from the other because they don’t want to ruin their fragile new beginning. When Emory discovers Mason’s secrets, she yells at him for not telling her. “Because, Mason, that’s what people in relationships do. They share things with each other.”

Emory is a a strong, reasonable character. She’s also got a perfect ballerina body, perfect coloring that rarely requires makeup, long blonde hair, and she loves to eat. Her only perceived imperfection is her small chest, but the big-breasted women in the story are characterized as sluts and whores, so her small breasts are an implied positive character attribute.

Mason is amusing at times, thoughtful and emotional at other times, but always an alpha male with temper issues. When he thinks Emory has been touched by another man, he throws food and flips coffee tables. He buys her a nice dress but then doesn’t want anyone else to see her wearing it. He also, still, doesn’t respect Emory’s love of ballet. He takes her to a ballet performance, thinking that it’s ridiculous, but he harnesses his contempt and congratulates himself for spending two hours of torture to make Emory happy. For me, his thoughts and behavior were boorish enough that I couldn't fall in love with him.

The supporting cast of characters is colorfully depicted, from Mason’s brother and mother to Emory’s gay roommate and his boyfriend. Mason, by the way, is okay with a gay man hugging Emory. He’s not okay with calling a baby boy beautiful, though, the baby must be handsome, so Mason still has some evolving to do.

My biggest problem with this book is a technical one: too much narrative head hopping. When characters are having a telephone conversation, I don’t need to see what each person is doing on their end of the line. I would also prefer one definite narrator per scene, because it wasn’t always clear who was having what thoughts. It weighted the narration down with unnecessary information.

Overall, this is a sweet story. It’s a long journey with a series of small happenings that paint a big picture, rather than a roller coaster of events and emotions. The ending, when Emory finally reveals her secret, has heavy emotions that play realistically and I felt that the characters had finally reached a new level of emotional intimacy. It made me wish that large chunks of the mid-section had been replaced with more conflict and introspection to depict even more character growth.

Grade: B-

Click to purchase: Amazon

First Position

by Prescott Lane

Release Date: April 14, 2013

Review: After Math

Reviewed by Janell
 

After Math is the love story of Scarlett, a math major with social anxiety disorder, and Tucker, a college soccer star with a reputation as a womanizer. Scarlett works as a math tutor, and do you know who happens to be in danger of failing math? Tucker. Scarlett wants to stay cocooned in her safe world of predictable equations, but she agrees to be Tucker’s private tutor so that her department will get needed funding.

This story isn’t insta-love, but it is insta-connection. At their first tutoring session, Tucker doesn’t act like a cocky athlete, he acts like a genuine, sensitive person. Why? He must sense a kindred spirit in her. Scarlett is surprised at this different side of him, and finds herself responding to it against her better judgment. Once Scarlett and Tucker establish a basis of mutual respect, they begin to open up to each other and realize that they’ve got something special.

Like most New Adult books, After Math has some coincidental meetups (Hey! Your apartment is on my running route! Hey! We’re at the same party!) to push the relationship forward. It doesn’t seem forced, though, because both leads have such emotional damage that they don’t want to rush into a relationship. They each have pretty terrible pasts. So terrible, in fact, that I found it off-putting; it almost felt like their relationship was built upon their mutual ability to attend college and say, “Boy, talk about a crappy childhood.” But with a lot more drama.

I was expecting more of a culture clash between the characters as they tried to be together — will Tucker want to hang around the math department? How will Scarlett deal with Tucker’s athletic lifestyle of jocks and women? Will Tucker show his new, true, personality to anyone besides Scarlett? I didn’t feel that the book answered those questions. The characters spent so much time digging into their pasts, revealing their layers of hurt and betrayal, breaking down (breaking up) and rebuilding, that there wasn’t any room left in the plot to see them deal with the present. I guess that, once they resolved all their issues, everything else just took care of itself. The brief epilogue seems to suggest this.

If you like your books on the heavy, emotional side, then you will love this. Scarlett is a well-rounded heroine who allows herself to open up and change through the course of the novel. Tucker is a gorgeous guy who says a lot of sensitive things about how Scarlett is the only woman for him. They have weepy conversations in the rain and they have hot, emotional sex.

I love a good angsty romance as much as the next girl, but I wanted to see more of Tucker resolving his past lifestyle and reputation, more of him fighting for Scarlett rather than just apologizing for being so damaged and then instantly turning his life around for her.

Rating: B-/C+

Click to purchase: Amazon

After Math

by Denise Grover Swank

Release Date: March 12, 2013