lisaluvsliterature's Reviews (4.19k)

I really liked the first one, My Life as a White Trash Zombie, and was excited to get started on the second book. And honestly, book two didn’t disappoint, it was just as much a story that hooked me and kept me waiting and listening to see what would happen next and just who was behind what things. I also continued rooting for Angel as her zombie life continued and she tried to figure out her way in this new reality.

I had a feeling I might not be a fan of her boyfriend’s uncle. And I was right about that! While some of what happened wasn’t completely his fault, it was easy to tell he looked down on her and didn’t think she was right for his nephew when they first met. It was so frustrating for Angel though when everyone was not believing her, when someone who was a zombie, I mean, already that’s out there, you’d think would have been a bit more open to some of the theories she was coming up with.

Of course I continued to adore Angel. Like the funny little words or names she used, like “meanie pants” or zombie rebel alliance, lol. And I was so proud of her for not wanting her new boyfriend to treat her the way he was, for sticking up for herself. I liked how her relationship with her dad unfolded, not all of a sudden perfect, but a work in progress. And then there was her parole officer. That whole part of the story with her needing to take her GED, etc., added a bit of extra to the story. I also like all the people who were standing up for her, friends she’d made in her new life as they just got to know her and that she was a likable person.

There was a bad guy who showed up that I don’t want to spoil it, but if you read my last review or read the last book, you’d know it was someone I expected wouldn’t show up again for another book or so. But the way that person came back and how it moved the story along was perfect in my opinion. And again the author did a great job with making it so there were people that you weren’t sure if they were friend or foe. There was also a moment, and any Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans probably took it like I did, a line, “Hello Mother.”

I look forward to seeing where this story goes next, because I know the events and villains in this story will be back and I can’t wait to see how the author weaves it into the next book and just what else Angel might be dealing with.

This book blew me away! It started with what would have to be one of the most mortifying moments, having your high school ex-boyfriend be the one who has to give you a pelvic exam as you are getting ready to do IVF. I mean, just wow. I’m so bad I prefer to go to women doctors for that anyway! But it was impossible when we got John’s side to not fall in love with him and his daughter. Especially since we didn’t know exactly how he’d broken up with her in high school on prom night and what made it so impossible for Marissa to forgive him or even be able to move on with any relationships.

I loved how John set about proving to her he was changed. And then something big happened, that I won’t say what, because it’s a major spoiler and major change in plans for Marissa and her IVF. But oh my gosh, it was so crazy! But perfect in a way too. I was left with so many parts that made me laugh out loud, as well as a lot of emotional parts. I loved the family interactions, as well as the banter between Mari and John.

The scene where Mari’s big secret comes out to her family, the being pregnant as well as what I alluded to in my last paragraph was hilarious and so so perfect. And then there was Marissa’s best friend Blake, who was the character in the first book in this series, which I haven’t read yet. But I am guessing from what happened that we kind of get this story slightly aligned time-wise for part of it. Blake and her significant other Gabriel made even more perfect characters for this whole story to piggy-back on or spin off of into its own directions. So much I really need to go back and read it, even if I’m not always a big billionaire romance reader.

In the end, even with the craziness and the whimsicality of some situations, I feel like the author made a lot of “real” choices for the characters in how they behaved and reacted to things when all the pieces finally started to settle into place. This may end up being one of my favorites of the year, and cements Camilla Isley as one of my favorite romance authors these days!

It’s been a while since I’ve read this author, as for the longest time I didn’t read a lot of the more sweet/clean romance. But this whole series sounds good, I was excited to jump in and especially with one by an author I knew I’d enjoyed in the past. This was a sweet and easy romantic read.

The first bit with Marina in the cemetery was an interesting to start to the story, but it gave me a good view of what type of person she was, and made her very likable. Then we had Wade’s chapter and I knew right away I did NOT like his fiance. And the way their relationship was described as well as how she behaved around him made me okay that he might still have some feelings when he ran into his ex.

Marina and Wade’s first re-meet-cute was really sweet. I loved how silly he was with her, and how easily they were able to kind of pick up their friendship or the way they knew each other pretty quickly with the reunion. Meeting Wade’s fiance’s family made for me disliking her even more and I was glad how he dealt with what happened that night. It was easy to tell he was a good guy. I wondered if there was more to the story with his fiance’s family, that maybe they were actually having money troubles and wanted something from him? But this was a short and sweet story as I mentioned, so we didn’t get a ton of that kind of back story.

It was set in New Orleans, which I love that city, so it was fun reading that! I’m now wishing I could go back for some yummy Cafe du Monde powdery sugar goodness beignets. Then the description both of the house Wade and Marina ended up meeting in again to do their respective jobs made me want to go back down and do some tours of the beautiful houses in the area. And of course we got a perfect HEA.

My only issues are that I find it somewhat hard to believe a pro-football player would be quite that serious in abstaining from physical relationships. However I know of a few players that I’m guessing were that way, although still, at his age it seems a little far-fetched for me.

This is my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last! I enjoyed all the characters, as well as the setting at a museum with an archeologist who kind of specialized in Egyptology, a science I had been a bit obsessed with when I was younger! 

Lizzie was someone I could totally identify with in a lot of ways. Her love of her job and what she did for her job. While I don’t always love my actual day to day work at my job because I don’t get to do what I love about my job, I do love my field of both library science now, as well as the science that I taught back when I was a classroom teacher. I’m also kind of like Lizzie in that I don’t always put myself out there or take chances. I had a best friend in college like Lizze’s best friend that made me do things outside my comfort zone. But I kind of retreated back into my introvertedness once she moved on with getting married and having kids. 

Enough about me though, let’s talk about this story. I loved how the two met, the one night stand bit, but how Finn kind of fell first. Except it was perfect how he pretended not to know her, I know it made her so mad and that was perfect to get her back wondering what was going on. With her best friend dating his friend, it threw them back together, not to mention the little surprise of him turning up to be her new office mate. Their connection was perfect and I loved it.

I could not see how in the world their perfect romance was going to hit any roadblocks though, and the author completely surprised me with how that happened. While it was a perfect way to and direction to take the story, I feel like it still seemed a bit out of character for Finn to take it as far as he did. If maybe we’d got some more of how he felt around the academics earlier in the story, that would have helped make that point for me maybe.

In the end I loved how it all came together and how the story ended. As I mentioned before, I hope that I can read more by this author in the future!

Just can’t like this guy that’s obviously going to be the love interest. There’s enemies to lovers tropes, and I love those, but this is no connection for me at all. 

Um, the paranoia of these characters about touching each other after LD as they put it was ridiculous. And one of them became a lesbian because she could only “touch” her female flatmate during the LD? Wtf?!?