As a fellow author, it’s one thing to review what draws my fancy at my own leisure, but it’s quite another when I open a book I’ve already promised to review (with no small amount of trepidation, I might add). You see, I’ve been burnt before — saddled with a novel that I dread finishing, and flailing to find something salvageable to comment on!

I need not have worried, in this case. I came across the book’s description on a Facebook writers’ group, and was instantly drawn in. And I am so, so thankful I took the chance on this not-yet-published novel.

The Premise

Stunning from beginning to end, “Ellipsis” charts the trajectory of a young woman from the overconfident highs of her early adulthood and passionate affair with a foreigner, through the debilitating grief and profound loss of a loved one, and timid emergence and blossoming into a new sense of self and purpose. Eloquently written and aptly described, there is so much substance here — an overabundance of themes intricately woven into the lives of these characters: beauty, violence, levity, loss, friendship, peace.

The Pros

I really liked the fact that all of these characters felt incredibly real. The cast is diverse in so many ways, and each was fully sketched and crafted — fabulously flawed, but resplendently relatable. From the Armenian lover, to the reclusive but endearing art teacher, to the officer’s dutiful but lingering gaze, and even the broad range of reactions from the grieving families; there is a vivid thread of description here that many authors fail to do well. Here, it is effortless, and I can easily imagine every character — her son’s lackadaisical boyhood sweet mustiness, her supposedly functional family’s emotively stunted responses, and the scared child clinging desperately on the other end of the line.

The writing meanders along with grace, style, and those tiny nuances of women’s fiction moments that are pure gold: revelling in the motherhood moment of feeling like “I’ve won”, the prickly feeling of the awareness of a lover’s infidelity, the nasty undercurrent of nonchalance while observing others’ lives around you — those lives not lived: “sometimes you don’t ride off into the sunset entirely, and that was okay”.

There is so much story here — so many avenues to explore, that I was thrilled to relish every kernel of life slowly revealed as the tale developed. The pacing has distinct shifts but despite the various phases of its life cycle, it does not lag or rush but buds and blooms, sprouting tendrils of life just like the flower on the novel’s cover.

Normally I have a “Cons” section, but I can’t with any real sense of conviction pick this apart to call out a flaw worth mentioning. I read it through quickly and thoroughly enjoyed the ride, revelling in the journey the author took me on.

Conclusion

This is a book I can easily see translated to film, or read for a Literature class or book club. There is a lot to unpack, and so many lessons to be learnt here. There is so much heart in this tale that at times it was simply breathtaking. There is joy; a slight blip of hope humming under our heroine’s skin: hope to make a difference, hope to change a life, hope to find purpose despite her own tragedy. And there is love here; a profound love of self that must fight its way to the surface and overcome. This is a book I will gladly re-read, time and time again.

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I won’t lie — this book started off a bit rocky with me, because it felt like I’d been dumped into the mind of a crazy person! But I’m glad I stuck it out, because I wound up enjoying it quite a lot.

*Disclaimer: as part of a book club, I chose this one out of hundreds of books because I was in the mood for something funny, for a change! And it did not disappoint.*

The Premise

Never-been-anywhere-or-done-anything-of-significance Lucy decides to do a complete 180-degree turn from her usual character and drop everything to hop on board the “backup” honeymoon in London because her sister forgot to cancel it. The hotel has strict rules that it must be for honeymooners only, so Lucy tells a “little white lie” that soon develops into a messy situation when an old friend from school, Cary, swoops in to play along as her husband in a marriage of convenience so he can escape the horrors of hostel life. But hotel concierge Oliver is on their trail, aware that something just doesn’t add up…

The Pros

This was light-hearted and genuinely funny, and had a distinct tinge of the kind of brain-dump silliness that I’ve always enjoyed with the Sophie Kinsella’s “Shopaholic” series. It’s an easy comparison, because Lucy is in her head and quirkily stumbling along with every move. I enjoyed the London and Paris scenes, especially as I’ve been to both places, and the humour kept me reading the book which I flipped through in a couple of hours. It’s a nice, jaunty read with no lulls, and the characters are lively. The side relationships and her budding friendships with both male leads felt genuine, and there were many moments of levity despite the seriousness at the peak of the action.

The Cons

While I enjoyed the story, the writing did seem all over the place at times! There were also some parts that seemed tossed in with side characters having their own thing going on, and it took away from some of the pacing. For example, all the messages from her family were distracting me from the plot, and I could have done with a lot less of that to keep me in the thick of things! But these are minor issues that did not negate the wonderful ride of the story overall.

Conclusion

All in all, this was a good, fun and easy read. Despite some hiccups, I did not stop reading it at all, and I relished the end where everything wrapped up nicely and it all fell into place. It was a little disorienting to be in the character’s head along with all the meandering thoughts, but it was a fun escape and nice travel story. I look forward to more from this author.

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There’s something disturbing and beautiful about this novel, despite the seemingly lacklustre rating.

Bear in mind I’m a picky reader, and I know exactly what I loved and didn’t love about it, which I’m happy to share with you so that you can make up your own mind. I can see that this would be an excellent and empowering book for some women, but it fell short for me personally due to my own preferences.

*Disclaimer: as part of a book club, I chose this one out of hundreds of books because I loved the premise and I was looking for something with NO TROPES for a change! I also write women’s fiction/romance without tropes, so reading this kind of book was part of my journey to develop my own writing.*

The Premise:

Told through two characters in the third person “Olivia” and “She”, the novel traces a relationship from the onset of passion to the nosedive of marriage fraught with a seemingly schizophrenic man. One minute he’s hot and the other he’s abrasive and cold. It’s unclear what his motivations are, and he is frustrating the woman he is with. I felt just as confused as the female character(s). Despite strong friendships and heartwarming relationships with her kids, this man is ruling her emotions and has her doubting who she is and if she deserves love.

The Pros:

I really enjoyed reading a novel with NO TROPES for a change. There was no destination that screamed “HAPPILY EVER AFTER, right this way”. From the very title, you know it’s a CAUTIONARY TALE, so you don’t expect it to end in anything fluffy. The writer captured some of the nuances of conversation and actions in a relationship where a man leaves a woman in debilitating mistrust of her own memory. The stream-of-consciousness laced with insecurity is something that resonates with every woman. I also enjoyed the fact that there were a lot of loose ends never figured out. Despite not knowing, “She” went with her gut in the end. In real life, sometimes there aren’t any answers. So while it felt unsettling, that was the whole point.

The Cons:

While I liked the chapter separations of “She” and “Olivia”, and I liked the general idea of what was done stylistically, the execution left a bit to be desired. I had a sensation of a general malaise with the jumping to and fro. It felt like things were glossed over or rushed in an effort to get to the end of the story. The man’s issues in his past were blurted out, rather than “discovered” — as were many other key elements of the story, which combined to dilute the tension that I would have liked to feel building up. Some readers prefer this style, but it was not my own preference so it led to disappointment overall. I really wanted to FEEL the emotions, not just read about them.

Conclusion:

Nevertheless, the overall message is beautiful: “She” could be any of us. There are so many “She”s around us: women in situations that they know are not healthy for them, but they stay anyway because they are afraid of being alone. I can see how this book can land in the hands of a woman in the same situation, and it can be just what she needs to give herself a kick in the pants to get the hell away from a toxic relationship. I do think this book is worth giving a try, or passing it along to a female friend who you think may get something out of it.

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It was refreshing for me — after a litany of heavy-handed bad boy tropes and expletives in my recent reads — to dive into this sweet story.

Disclaimer: I was looking for a sweet romance story, in an effort to improve my own writing. I write “real-life romance” which has some very sweet elements with family and marriage relationships, and I wanted to see a good example of the difference between the raunchier stories and the sweet/clean elements.

The Premise

Marina has escaped an abusive relationship with the only thing that matters: a child… albeit a mute, terrified child who has no blood relation to her. Four-year-old Kellyn is the only thing that links her to her past: a righteous dick of a powerfully-connected man who doesn’t deserve to walk the face of the earth. Still, she’s stayed close to him despite a flimsy restraining order she knows won’t be enforced, because of the child’s therapy and wellbeing needs.

From the outset this strange arrangement is endearing, if a little odd — she’s well aware that he can find her in a heartbeat, which of course he soon does, particularly when he hears about the new man in her life: her next-door neighbour and the town sheriff, Aiden.

The Pros

Aiden was a breath of fresh air, and I thoroughly enjoyed how the writer focused on him building a relationship with the little girl, not just her mother. He fell in love with them both: “his girls”. The town was also a breezy idyllic love-zone that welcomed and facilitated Marina’s career, which was cute if a little saccharine-sweet.

There are a lot of themes to unpack here, but the basic one that came to mind was female empowerment. Though Aiden is a cop, he is not the alpha hero here to save the day. Marina is the one who kicks ass from the beginning to the end of this tale — as she should be. She is “a victor, not a victim” as she reminds herself constantly. I liked that she didn’t need to be rescued. This story could have easily gone another way… particularly with his profession as a cop.

Aiden’s purpose in her life is not to rescue her, but to rebuild her faith in love. I loved the overall premise, and even though the writing veered into the land of the flowery from time to time — literally: they bond over gardening! — the meaty chunks of a love story were nice enough to bite into. There is also a heart-burstingly, beautiful moment where Kellyn finds her voice, which was beautifully done.

The Cons

So why didn’t I score it higher? Well, I’m a picky reader, and some things bothered me.

Firstly, some of the dialogue was a little lacklustre, and dreamboat Aiden and survivor Marina didn’t seem to have any character flaws. He was a good guy, she was an abused woman. I kept hoping for more character development, but the most character development was in poor little Kellyn, who emerges out of her shell and finds her voice when it is most needed. But clearly (and unfortunately) the kid was the star here, not the two leads.

Finally, there was more than enough story without having them jumping each other’s bones. Like, at all. I’m no prude and I enjoy a good hay-romp read from time to time, but it felt misplaced here somehow. Coming out from physical and sexual abuse, it was just… jarring. I wasn’t hungry for those scenes. I could have easily have done without any of the sex until the very, very end, if at all. After Marina found her strength. After she gets rid of the loser ex. After Kellyn found her voice. Just… after.

Conclusion

Despite those key issues which combined to knock off a whole star for me, I did really enjoy the book, and I flew through it in just two days. The writing style and flow were great, and it is indeed heartwarming and very, very sweet. Totally worth the read, and I look forward to more from the author. I just hope there’s a wee bit more depth the next time around, because there was so much potential here for something really amazing.

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While I enjoyed this book for the most part, I must admit I’m a little disappointed because I really wanted to love it more.

Again, I should share the disclaimer that I was looking for tropes, to widen my own horizon as a writer of “real-life romance”.

The Premise

It begins promisingly enough with former SEAL guy Maddox knocking on Bridget’s door and wheedling his way in to stay although she isn’t technically open yet, with the magic words: “I’ve got tools.” They proceed to embark on a friendship where he helps her get her inn ready and she helps him with research for his new ice-cream business. It’s cute and sweet, but not really overly dramatic. Their lust with each other rapidly turns into love (mind you: all of this develops over a few days) when they connect through sharing their pasts.

The Pros & Cons

A slight miscommunication leads Bridget to believe he’s taken, when he’s not, and this is the entire premise of the tension of the book. This was my issue here — it was really drawn out for far too long. The blurb led me to believe he actually was taken, and he wasn’t. I felt cheated for being led to believe this, because I was hoping for more drama in this regard. So, about the drama… there just… well, wasn’t any.

The back story and mystery were all nicely done — his reasons for leaving the SEALS, her mystery about her family, etc etc. There is a lot of story here, and it is all very sweet. The story is technically very well-written, the descriptions were lovely and I could imagine the town and its military events… but the dialogue just didn’t take me all the way there. The sex scenes were okay, but again I wasn’t swept away. I was just relieved that the miscommunication was over so they could finally get to the sex part! Overall, the story was going quite good, I was enjoying the characters… but I just wasn’t gripping onto the edge of my seat.

The book does end on a cliffhanger, which I’m sure will annoy readers everywhere because the couple’s entire story is complete, except for that nugget of information not shared (you’re supposed to invest in further books in the series to find out about it). I don’t mind cliffhangers but I do have a slight issue with this. If you’re going to end on a cliffhanger (which I’ve done, in my own books) it has to be a WHOPPER of a cliffhanger where there is a romantic “Will they… won’t they???” and in this case, it just wasn’t that. The entire romance story was wound up into the Happily Ever After, and still there was something never explained. If you can tolerate that, then this book won’t frustrate you.

Conclusion

For me, this book still starred quite highly because the writing was good and the story kept me interested all the way through. I appreciated that the male lead wasn’t SUPER alpha, and that the female lead had a lot of endearing qualities as well. I enjoyed reading their story, and I’m glad I read the book. I may pick up another by the author as I appreciated the writing talent, but I’m just not totally sold on grabbing everything in this series right away.

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This was my second book by this author and I enjoyed it even more than the last one I read by her (“Man Candy“).

I should provide a disclaimer: I was in the mood for tropes. I write unpredictable, real-life romance with dubious “heroes/heroines”, and as an effort to educate myself and grow as a writer, I was specifically looking for more typical romances with the usual reader journey. To that end, “Irresistible” does not disappoint at all. It had a fair handful of boxes ticked off from the jump, and it says right in the subtitle “(A Small Town Single Dad Romance)“.

The Premise

Former marine Mack is lusting after his sometimes nanny, who also happens to be the boss’ daughter and ten years his junior; meanwhile Frannie is the most capable super-domestic creature that’s haplessly in love with him as well. The endless cooking and effortless childminding were over the top, but cute and fluffy and of course necessary because poor Mack needs all of that saccharine-sweetness in his life. He’s been torturing his three little girls with unhealthy crap and a bad relationship with his ex-wife.

The Pros

The story was a rollicking romp from the first page right to the end, and I breezed through it in a couple of days. Having read another by the same author, I actually felt the familiarity in the writing, and looked forward to the journey. Overall I loved it, thoroughly enjoyed it, and couldn’t put it down. I loved foul-mouthed Mack and naive Frannie, and the kids are adorable scene-stealers. The dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny at times, and the naughty scenes are *ooh* scintillating. I really love how this author manages (yet again) to make the sex scenes sexy without absolute overkill. I also appreciate how she manages to interweave the stories of others, without flinging them at the reader. I genuinely wanted to learn more about all the side characters, from all the tiny kernels she dropped like breadcrumbs throughout the main characters’ scenes. I also enjoyed the growth of Frannie’s character, coming into her own and standing her ground with her family; girl power: woot!

The Cons

I don’t mind cursing, and my own characters curse a LOT, but I must admit that Mack dropping the F-bomb in front of his kids every other minute bothered me a bit. Sure, curse all you want otherwise… but in front of the kids I would have appreciated a bit more restraint. On the plus side, the charities must have been making a killing from that swear jar! I also think some of the trope elements weren’t really necessary — the age difference isn’t appalling, and the “boss’ daughter” element was another extra that didn’t seem to have any real impact here. Finally, the end was a little too swift for my liking; it sped ahead from one thing to another seemingly because it just had to fit that romance box! So I must admit I had some eye-rolling coming down to the very end. These were tiny hiccups though.

Conclusion

I will gladly grab another in this series, or any other series by this author. I was on the fence with the first book by her that I read, but I’m sold now, and became a fan! I signed up to her newsletter, and received the bonus scene to the book, which made me smile. Totally worth it.

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Full disclosure: I was in the mood for tropes. As I recently discussed on my Writer Blog, my own writing is very different with an unpredictable reader journey, so picking up a book that’s EXACTLY what I was referring to (where the title gives it all away) was a “research” effort on my part to look at the market for my own readers.

The Pros & Cons

Fortunately this book exceeded my expectations on many fronts. The tropes, while there, were subverted to some extent — (1) They hadn’t been “best friends” in ages, and (2) Blanca had no idea she was dating her best friend’s ex, which went on for at least half of the story. Far longer than I thought it would, which had its pros and cons. On the plus side, there were a myriad of OTHER issues that came way before that, and were just as important as the trope.

Ethan had quite a lot of damage on his own, without even being “forbidden fruit” — and I would have gladly read an entire novel on the two of them without the bestie-ex factor. There was enough there to flesh out something beautiful. His family issues and office relationship aversion are big enough “hang-ups” on their own! So by the time the “big reveal” came, I was just glad that part was over so it could get to the other good stuff! I liked that the main characters both felt fully developed, and I could easily imagine both their family scenarios — the boisterous, raucous overbearing brotherhood on Blanca’s side, and the quiet strained relationship on Ethan’s side.

I actually had no qualms whatsoever about Sierra (the ex) being bitchy (for some readers, I’m sure this would be an issue) but I did wish there was a greater build-up to her back story to create more tension. However, when it came to the side characters, I wasn’t enjoying them as much as I should have. As the writers noted in an afterword, the “Friends” sitcom element was there, with the guys and girls living in apartments right next to each other and being intertwined inextricably. That shadow of “Friends” was a bit too heavy-handed for me, as it seemed like each side character was painted in the broadest of strokes. There were snippets of everyone but it seemed like caricatures of roles without enough depth or subtlety. I realised that the characters were being developed just enough for “future use” throughout the series, but it felt like they were being thrown at me precisely for that purpose, rather than me being naturally inclined to want to know their stories.

Conclusion

Still, overall, I enjoyed the book, and read through it quickly in a couple of days. The writing was light and airy, the dialogue and sexy scenes are just racy enough without being overkill, and there is enough sweetness to make you smile and stay up late at night reading. The story has enough twists and turns to hook you if you’re not as picky a reader as I am. I’m not immediately craving more from the series, but I’d be happy to read another and would also like to try another series from the same writers.

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