bandherbooks's Reviews (3.65k)

I love kissing books, but despite the hot chemistry this one missed the mark for me. I couldn't quite believe that various adults would continuously cover-up the massive mess-ups of Beth's mom (drugs, domestic violence, etc) just to keep her out of jail.

I think older teens will still fall hook, line, and sinker for this and the newer titles in this series are excellent.

Lilias and Angelstone see each other across the horrors of the battlfield of Waterloo, then never again for many years. Both have dead lovers; one lost during Waterloo, the other to an assassin. A tangled path of lies and conspiracy bring them together to solve the mysteries surrounding the deaths of their loved ones.

Super fun, fairly hot, and with a more unique spin then the typical romance tropes, I enjoyed reading this!

A ridiculous premise with some steamy moments. What annoyed me the most was the endless litany of designer names. Also the fact the drama was based on lies and constant running away of characters. Lots of Notebook-style romantic fights. Not really for me. Read The Royal We instead. MUCH better.

Ness is super driven, hyper focused, and on the verge of completing her Bio-Medical degree after just 2 1/2 years. She also hasn't done anything else but study, and she is starting to regret not experiencing some classic College "firsts." Matteo Torres is the football team's jokester. Always the center of attention, cracking wise, never serious. When these two meet, opposites attract in the best way as Matteo decides he will help Ness complete her College Experiences Checklist. Luckily hooking up with an athlete is at the top of list...

I wasn't quite sure of the premise, but this is Carmack at her best since [b:Faking It|16172634|Faking It (Losing It, #2)|Cora Carmack|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360560023s/16172634.jpg|22020637]. The chemistry between the two main characters is sizzling, the dialog is sweet and funny, and I never felt like the drama was completely too ridiculous. The relationship isn't threatened by lies (I loved how Matteo immediately told Ness about his concussion and that they fought not because he hid it, but because he kept insisting he play in the next football game). Super fun, and really steamy.

There was SO MUCH GOING ON in this romance novel! Holy crap. Prison ships, debauched dead fathers, illegitimate children, medical miracles, chess, gowns! Not to mention the steamiest chess playing scene I think I have ever read. The bright moments shone, but I think 1/3 of the material could have been left out. I'm still not sure why I needed to give a fuck about the secondary character Villiers bastard children. I was all sexy chess please. However, I had fun.

I was inspired to pick up an [a:Eloisa James|86778|Eloisa James|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1375996000p2/86778.jpg] novel after listening to her interview on my local NPR station, WUWM Milwaukee.
http://wuwm.com/post/shakespearean-scholar-pens-romances-you-it
She is a fascinating lady, and I liked her opinions on the romance genre. Shoot, she's a Shakespearean professor. And she can write. Despite the craziness of this novel, I'll try one of her more recent ones. This was the only one available for immediate checkout on OverDrive.

I decided to read a few Eloisa James' books after her interview on WUWM the other day. She's a Shakespearean professor, and had a lot of intriguing things to say. Honestly, while this certainly a bodice ripping romance, I really had a lot of fun reading it. The dialogue was smart, the story entertaining enough for me to read word to word, and the sexual tension was fantastic. The marketing makes James' novels seem a bit racier then they actually are (more build up to relationship and sex than actual sex, which is what I enjoy in a romance), but when the sex does happen, hello.

This is the second James' book I've read, and I enjoyed the plot of this one far more. I loved Xenobia's spunkiness, the fact she was running her own business to let her control her future, and her unwillingness to settle for anything less than what she deserved. Huzzah, girl power.

While I definitely binged on this book like a delicious doughnut (Happy National Doughnut Day), I didn't enjoy this story line as much as the previous title (Three Weeks with Lady X). There was a hell of a lot more "NO, don't do that and he does it anyway and of course she loves it" moments which I find irritating, and I got a bit sick of hearing the heroine complain about her massive breasts. Still, I was compelled to finish and the steamy parts were WOW.

Super adorable, with lots of fun, geeky references. I'd compare Castle to Jill Shalvis but with a little more nerd cred. I'm also a true sucker for second chance at love stories, so this was a shoe in for me.

On a spoiler-y note, I was very pleased that Sam (the heroine) didn't let the hero get away with dumb shit like being oblivious to an evil ex trying to steal him from her. Go girl. Also, there was cute kitties, and one was named Loki. High five.

Somehow I never read To Kill a Mockingbird. Blame my schooling, blame me, somehow this modern classic just never made it into my repertoire. With the upcoming release of [b:Go Set a Watchman|24817626|Go Set a Watchman (To Kill a Mockingbird, #2)|Harper Lee|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428234289s/24817626.jpg|44458285], I thought I best get to correcting this. I'm so happy I did.

Thanks in large part to the lovely narration provided by Sissy Spacek, I fell in love with the Finch family. And what a great story, that slowly gave away its secrets, leading to a walloping ending. Lee did an amazing job of creating imagery, character, and setting. I could clearly picture the characters in my head, and I can't wait to watch the classic film! I need to see that darn ham costume!

I adored Life After Life, so I was a bit nervous when I heard Atkinson was publishing a companion novel. Can't possibly be as great, no way. WRONG!

Reading Life After Life isn't necessary (although I heartily recommend it because it truly is amazing) to fully immerse yourself in Teddy Todd's story. The narrative jumps between Teddy's boyhood, his time as a RAF bomber pilot, and his life after WWII, as well as switching between POVs (mainly Teddy's but also his wife's, his daughters, and his grand-children's). The jumps are seamless and meaningful and help fully reflect the underlying thread of the story, what it means to live a life.

Unlike Ursula, Teddy only gets the one. Is it the one who hoped for?