Book Blog #410: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

 

Title: Ugly Love

Author: Colleen Hoover

# of Pages: 323 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her. Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future. They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Review: An easy read for people who enjoy their romance with tension, bad communication, and baggage!

Ugly Love follows a similar story arch as Maybe Someday (just replace the song writing sessions with sex, and take out the cheating). I definitely could enjoy the main characters in this one more despite their flaws (Tate being so submissive she's a pushover, Miles needing therapy and being overbearing).

There's first person POV switching, but it didn't really bother me this time because the chapters for both Miles and Tate were pretty engaging. The downside of Tate's chapters were that they mostly focused on repetitive sex scenes vs Mile's POV was written like Milk and Honey style poetry but dumbed down to a wispy child's mentality. 

Hoover also does a great job at writing male main characters who give me the ick for one reason or another (makes me wonder what men in her life inspire such problematic male characters). Miles is better than Ridge, but I had a hard time cheering for his relationship with Tate because of his unresolved baggage he displaced on her. 

Overall a decent read for an accessible romance book. Scratched my itch for romance read!

Book Blog #408: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

 

Title: Maybe Someday

Author: Colleen Hoover

# of Pages: 367 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Synopsis: At twenty-two years old, Sydney has a great life: She's in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter's cheating on her--and she is left trying to decide what to do next. Sydney becomes captivated by Ridge, her mysterious neighbor. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there's something about Sydney that Ridge can't ignore, either. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one...

Review: This one can go in the trash with all the other "romance" books that glorify cheating.

Maybe Someday tries to tout two main messages: "love has no boundaries" and "even if you cannot control how you feel, you can control how you act." However, Sydney and Ridge's relationship is a TERRIBLE example of both of these things. 

Ridge is a horrible person. Sydney wants others to recognize him as an honest man who works hard to maintain integrity in his relationships when he LITERALLY makes untactful jokes and doesn't seem to have respect for his other romantic relationship. Red flags everywhere. 

Sydney's perspective (because yes, there's first person POV switching) is what I imagine Ariana Grande's internal dialogue must have been like when she got with Ethan Slater. "Yes, he's in a relationship, but the undeniable love between us and our shared passion for our craft overcomes all (even though we know better)!"

Not attached to any of these characters who seem more like caricatures than real people. I was not excited about Ridge and Sydney's love story and thought it was not a story worth telling.

Book Blog #402: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: The Love Hypothesis

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 383 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding...six-pack abs. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Review: This was WAY more enjoyable and fun than I expected.

The premise is nothing new; it follows the usual progression of any other friend to lovers romance, male savior fantasy. I was really in the mood to read something strongly focused on a love story, especially after reading a lot of books that had 0 romance (e.g. Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Poppy War). It checked all the boxes, plenty of yearning and sweet moments where the characters show how much they care about each other.

"This is a Hallmark movie. Or a poorly written young adult novel. That will not sell well."

What made this story standout is that its a metafiction. Hazelwood is self-aware of exactly what is serving the audience; a protagonist who is "a living, breathing, rom-com trope machine." I loved the commentary from the other characters on the ridiculousness of the premise and how exaggerated each trope plays out. 

But one trope I didn't enjoy was how prominent miscommunication is central in the conflict, especially at the end of the story. ESPECIALLY since this is not some high school romance; these are supposed to be more mature, intelligent adults in a relationship.

Hazelwood also does her signature "throw in a few tidbits of women empowerment in STEM". While the messaging is good, the execution feels random and non-cohesive with the main plot.

Overall, much much better Hazelwood's Deep End that I read earlier this year, despite both stories suffering from the bad communication trope. The characters were more likable, and it was more believable that the two main characters developed a relationship that isn't just based on lust.

Would recommend this to people who are interested in a fun, easy to read romance!

Book Blog #400: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

 

Title: The Nightingale

Author: Kristin Hannah

# of Pages: 593 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Despite their differences, sisters Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when the Second World War strikes, Antoine is sent off to fight and Vianne finds herself isolated so Isabelle is sent by their father to help her. As the war progresses, the sisters' relationship and strength are tested. With life changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Vianne and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions.

Review: A solid read! 

I’ve only read one other Kristin Hannah book so far (The Women), and compare to that one, The Nightingale has protagonists with more compelling life journeys. However, the storytelling execution was weaker. The story has two 3rd person POVs: Vianne and Isabelle who live in France during WWII. 

I didn’t know much about WWII from the French POV, so to hear about the suffering that even from those who weren’t specifically targeted by the Nazis was shocking.

The author has a knack for writing unlikable characters since I didn’t enjoy Vianne similarly to how I was frustrated with Frankie from The Women. Being forced to switch between Vianne’s and Isabelle’s perspectives broke the immersion and slowed the pace of the story because I kept wanting to read Isabelle’s perspective instead.

That being said, for the characters in general, I appreciate how not all of these characters are perfect. Despite their flaws, at least one character shows growth throughout the story that makes their personality flaws redeemable.

There’s also a mysterious first person perspective that takes place long after the war has ended. This narrative was unnecessarily interwoven with the third person narrative; it added nothing to the main story and could’ve been shortened into an epilogue. 

In typical soap opera (but maybe Kristin Hannah’s recurring  storytelling pattern), major events happen coincidentally timed to maximize shock value. It’s unrealistic in a way that’s sometimes cheesy, but I still enjoyed the plot despite this. 

Although I wasn’t as engaged in this story as I was for The Women (although maybe I’m just a sucker for romance), The Nightingale succeeds where The Women failed: Vianne’s and Isabelle’s stories are stories worth telling. 

Book Blog #398: To Drown Among The Stars by L.K. Frost

 

Title: To Drown Among The Stars

Author: L.K. Frost

# of Pages:

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: In an unprecedented turn of events, Bastion emerges from his Trial of Knighthood a failure. Certain the gods have abandoned him, he travels down the coast on a leave of absence, looking for solitude. Instead, he walks into trouble in the wake of a series of pirate attacks on seaside villages, where he meets Ulla, a deaf dragon-kin healer with secrets of her own. Despite their initial, disastrous meeting, they’re drawn together by their mutual loneliness. Then, they discover the attacks aren’t random - they’re coordinated. The pirates are planning a large-scale attack on Moonwatch, the kingdom’s naval base, with the intent of stealing an ancient secret. Together, Bastion and Ulla race to Moonwatch only to learn the commander has been drawn away by the attacks. Unable to deny his duty or his very nature, Bastion takes command of their diminished forces in the face of a pirate fleet armed with a mysterious weapon. When Ulla is wounded, the world comes crashing down on Bastion and he must reveal his darkest secret to save her, even though it may mean losing her, after all.

Review: I received an ARC directly from the author. 

To Drown Among the Stars had a lot of potential (the premise sounded interesting to me!) but unfortunately it fell short of expectations.

Each scene in isolation is pretty decently written (immersively descriptive) but the transitions between them were abrupt or the catalyst in a change of action seemed random and unrealistic. Multiple times throughout the story, Bastion ends up wandering around for time to think or for some unexplained "leave of absence" that didn't feel nature with the flow of the greater story. 

The writing was too verbose on aspects that don't matter. Instead of spending a few sentences describing an empty pint rolling along the ship floor, those lines could've been spent doing more world building or moving the plot forward. I actually had to check if this was a sequel in a series because it read as if world building and character backstories were covered in a previous book.

The characters are not fully developed; they felt flat. The reader is told by other characters how they would characterize Bastion (a man of high moral character), but the story didn't show his personality. Am I supposed to view him as a young knight-to-be who's still building his confidence? or an experienced swordsman with authority? The characterization flipped flopped between the two personas without a it being clear on what type of person Bastion is supposed to be. 

The romance between the main characters came off more as infatuation rather than actual romance (there's a lot of focus on how Bastion feels when he's interacting with Ulla, and not as much about what he loves/cares about her as he spends more time with her). Despite being depicted as independent and capable, the female lead Ulla is just a narrative accessory for Bastion's journey rather than a fully autonomous character.

While I was excited to read this, I had a hard time staying engaged in the story and feeling invested in the characters. There's some major improvements that I'd want to see before I recommended this book to someone.

Book Blog #392: The Women by Kristin Hannah

 

Title: The Women

Author: Kristin Hannah

# of Pages: 471 (hardcover)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets―and becomes one of―the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost. But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

Review: “Thank God for girlfriends. In this crazy, chaotic, divided world that was run by men, you could count on the women” 

A great read; somewhere between 4 and 5 stars (high 4, low 5). 

Kristin Hannah gets you to learn so much about the Vietnam War without making it feel like you're learning about the Vietnam War. Instead, the reader follows the life of the young protagonist Frankie who is a nurse in the Vietnam War. Unlike other war stories that focus on the harrowing experiences during the war, The Women spends a considerable amount of time focusing on what happens to the veterans, especially the women who served, after coming back from Vietnam. The reader learns that the struggles Vietnam War veterans went through can measure up in a different way to the horrors they experienced in during the war. 

For a book called The Women, I actually thought the book would be MORE focused on the women than it actually was. Yes, the reader will see women supporting women, but there's a surprisingly amount of that support through the lens of fixing the turmoil caused by romantic relationships with men. Frankie's loneliness that is seemingly not sated until she's with a man was not an aspect of the plot that I was expecting.

The start actually felt rushed, especially for how slow and repetitive latter parts of the book are during/after the war. However, I kept being drawn back to this book after I'd try to put it down, so I was engaged in Frankie's story despite her character growth and life trajectory not being clear.

Kristin Hannah does a great job at writing flawed characters. I found myself annoyed at Frankie's naivety and recklessness, but she felt more realistic because of those traits. I also actually strongly disliked qualities of most of the male characters, but in a morally grey way where some of their actions/feelings can be debated as being justifiable.

This is also not a classic underdog story; Frankie comes from a well-off military family in San Diego. Yes, she's a woman, but she definitely starts off privileged and entitled. This doesn't mean it's not a story worth telling; it's just perspective that I'm not used to reading about, and it made me feel uncomfortable (which is a good thing!).

The biggest complaint I have that some of the series of events were incredibly coincidental and unbelievable. Readers will be able to anticipate what will happen next and then find that it indeed does happen against all odds!

Overall, a well-written and engaging story with fallible characters. I would recommend this book!

Book Blog #390: Manacled by SenLinYu

 

Title: Manacled

Author: SenLinYu

# of Pages: 945 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Harry Potter is dead. In the aftermath of the war, in order to strengthen the might of the magical world, Voldemort enacts a repopulation effort. Hermione Granger has an Order secret, lost but hidden in her mind, so she is sent as an enslaved surrogate to the High Reeve, to be bred and monitored until her mind can be cracked.

Review: This is the OG fanfic that SenLinYu later reworked and published as Alchemised late last year. Since I already read, loved, and reviewed Alchemised, I won't repeat those thoughts here since the overall plot is the same and instead do some compare/contrast. 

There's more sex scenes. I was surprised on how non-smutty Alchemised was based on my general impression of fanfics, but in the OG fanfic, there's a lot more (not too graphic) sex scenes, more aligned with what I initially expected.

Draco is sweeter than Kaine. There were moments where I was "kicking my feet and screaming" over Draco x Hermione moments vs Kaine x Helena moments. This might be related to my previous scenes; more sex is a result of having more loving moments between the two main characters. 

Manacled isn't as dark as Alchemised. I was impressed to learn that the world building SenLinYu did in Alchemised is actually gorier than the Harry Potter components incorporated in Manacled. This is most noticeable when comparing the "evil" side's fight strategies and torture methods.

Alchemised is still the best iteration of the story. Both would benefit from more editing (fluff in the beginning that could be slimmed down). In retrospect, you can tell the SenLinYu selected key moments from this fanfic and tried to fit them into the new world they built, but these moments flow more organically in the original fanfic.

- A key example of this is how Harry x Ron x Hermione is already a known tight knit trio, so moments referencing their friendship as a key plot point makes sense in Manacled but feels weaker in Alchemised when they're Luc x Soren x Helena. 

It was fun to be able to experience this story again with the original Harry Potter premise. I would recommend most people to just read Alchemised and to only consider reading Manacled in additon if you loved Alchemised and wanted to read some "deleted" (edited out) scenes.

Book Blog #387: Alchemised by SenLinYu

 

Title: Alchemised

Author: SenLinYu

# of Pages: 1030 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed. In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive. According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit? To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.

Review: This was a very solid read IF you're reading it from the perspective that it originated a Harry Potter universe Draco x Hermione fanfic. 

As a stand alone book, the character development is actually quite weak. I haven't read the original fanfic Manacled (although I'm tempted to read it just so I can compare), but presumably SenLinYu relied on the character/relationship building from the original Harry Potter series that is now missing in this new world she created. 

The story also READS like a fanfic, and not just because of the romance (in fact, although the romance is a prominent part, there were less romantic/smut sections than I would expect from a fanfic). The characters were overly expressive and descriptions of their expressions were repetitive (e.g. characters often have their face contoured in rage, which read as an over dramatized and unrealistic).

But from the perspective of a fanfic, the story is quite good and insanely addictive. Since I care about Harry Potter characters like Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ron, etc, I was invested in their continued story through this book (it's pretty obvious to tell who is who even with their names/descriptions slight changed). 

Despite being over 1k pages, I flew through this book (Part 3 I read in one sitting!). Part 1 was repetitive and slower to get through mostly because the world building isn't clearer until later in the book (so up to you if reading 200+ pages before really getting immersed in the world. 

Solidly a 4 star read, but I would only recommend it if you're familiar with the Harry Potter characters.

Book Blog #384: Normal People by Sally Rooney

 

Title: Normal People

Author: Sally Rooney

# of Pages: 274 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Connell Waldron is one of the most popular boys in his small-town high school--he is a star of the football team and an excellent student, and he is never wanting for attention from girls. The one thing he doesn't have is money. Marianne Sheridan, a classmate of Connell's, has the opposite problem. Marianne is plain-looking, odd, and stubborn, and while her family is quite well off, she has no friends to speak of. There is, however, a deep and undeniable connection between the two teenagers, one that develops into a secret relationship. Everything changes when both Connell and Marianne are accepted to Trinity College. Suddenly Marianne is well liked and elegant, holding court with her intellectual friends, while Connell hangs at the sidelines, not quite as fluent in the language of the elite. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle each other, falling in and out of romance but never straying far from where they started. And as Marianne experiments with an increasingly dangerous string of boyfriends, Connell must decide how far he is willing to go to save his oldest friend.

Review: I read this book because I heard it was recommend for fans of Heated Rivalry, but they're not actually similar at all. 

I was expecting a fluffy, happy, romantic story full of yearning and characters that I cared and rooted for. Instead, I felt like an outsider looking into a slice of life story about an on and off again relationship between the two main characters: Connell and Marianne. 

Although there was some underlying messaging about loneliness, living authentically vs conforming to expectations, there wasn't enough character building to get the reader invested in the characters. Their lives and relationships are complicated and messy, but instead of relating to them, I felt alienated and frustrated with the characters, especially when their problems could be chalked up to poor communication.

Overall this was a drag to read, and I wouldn't recommend reading this book if you're looking for a true romance story. 

Book Blog #381: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

 

Title: The Song of Achilles

Author: Madeline Miller

# of Pages: 369 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: The legend begins... Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia to be raised in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. “The best of all the Greeks”—strong, beautiful, and the child of a goddess—Achilles is everything the shamed Patroclus is not. Yet despite their differences, the boys become steadfast companions. Their bond deepens as they grow into young men and become skilled in the arts of war and medicine—much to the displeasure and the fury of Achilles’ mother, Thetis, a cruel sea goddess with a hatred of mortals. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece, bound by blood and oath, must lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

Review: I finally understand the hype.

I was reluctant to read this book because I already read Miller's more recent book Circe (which was also hyped up) and thought it was...just okay. I wasn't a huge fan of how she balanced the original mythology and the fictional aspect (I actually wanted MORE of the fictionalized aspect), and Circe isn't a particularly likable nor interesting person.

ON THE OTHER HAND, The Song of Achilles has a VERY likable main character. Don't be fooled by the title, the narrator is Patroclus, Achilles's close companion (and likely lover according to the actual mythology). While Patroclus is relatively unknown (I didn't know who he was at all) and comes of as meek and uninteresting as Circe in the beginning, the reader will see that he's just a really well-intended, caring person, and faithful companion to Achilles. 

I didn't know how Achilles's nor Patroclus's stories ended, and even though the ending is intentionally predictable, I was flying through this book on the edge of my seat praying for a good ending for this duo. The start of the book is way more romance heavy than I expected from Miller's writing, but this was exactly what I was hoping for so it's was very pleasant read. 

The middle portion, or whenever Miller went into recounting war events/logistic/politics that are necessary for staying true to the mythology, went a bit slower for me. This is why this book is getting 4 stars instead of 5; for both Circe and The Song of Achilles, there's aspects of the myth's retelling the read more like a nonfiction recounting of events rather than something the reader can be immersed in (aka good fictional storytelling). 

However, this was less of a problem in The Song of Achilles since Miller included more fictional aspects in the book (or at least I presume) with many interactions between Achilles and Patroclus (which I doubt the original myths wasted their time with). I blazed through the last half, and it wasn't even as romance focused; it was just a really gripping, fast paced story.

Achilles and Patroclus's story reminds me of the second-to-last song from the musical Hadestown (retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice) where even though we know the ending of the Greek mythology stories, we want to tell them again and again because they are so hopeful, even if they may end in tragedy. The Song of Achilles is no exception to this; I feel like sad and hopeful at the same time after finishing this book but loved the journey it took me through. 

This is a solid if not high 4 star read; I would highly recommend!

Book Blog #377: Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

 

Title: Half His Age

Author: Jennette McCurdy

# of Pages: 277 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating:★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Waldo is ravenous. Horny. Blunt. Naive. Wise. Impulsive. Lonely. Angry. Forceful. Hurting. Perceptive. Endlessly wanting. And the thing she wants most of all: Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher with the wife and the kid and the mortgage and the bills, with the dead dreams and the atrophied looks and the growing paunch. She doesn’t know why she wants him. Is it his passion? His life experience? The fact that he knows books and films and things that she doesn’t? Or is it purer than that, rooted in their unlikely connection, their kindred spirits, the similar filter with which they each take in the world around them? Or, perhaps, it’s just enough that he sees her when no one else does. Startlingly perceptive, mordantly funny, and keenly poignant, Half His Age is a rich character study of a yearning seventeen-year-old who disregards all obstacles—or attempts to overcome them—in her effort to be seen, to be desired, to be loved.

Review: The Lolita story told from the perspective of Lolita (aka Waldo) who is a seemingly "willing" and "promiscuous".

McCurdy seemed to be trying to reach a word count with the many times she thought it was necessary to list all the items Waldo buys every shopping binge. Otherwise, every reader (hopefully) knows what type of "romance" this book is, but not much actually progresses in that department despite the book being under 300 pages. I couldn't help but repeatedly put this book down because I was so disinterested to hear about Waldo's story (and I maxed out the 7 days hold I had on this book via Libby). 

Not worth reading; I would not recommend. 

Book Blog #375: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Title: Atmosphere

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

# of Pages: 341 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Historical Fiction

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis:  Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Review: If there's one thing I learned from read Atmosphere; it's that I don't have it what it takes to be an astronaut. 

I'm not particularly interested in science and space, so seeing this was about NASA's space shuttle program wasn't a selling point for me. However I do enjoy reading Taylor Jenkins Reid books, so I knew I would give it a try eventually. After reading the whole Game Changers series (smutty gay romance with a hockey backdrop) I was excited to dive into something completely different, expecting to learn a lot about this space program in the 1980s.

But I slowly realized this was in fact NOT a space book. So much for reading something different; it's first and foremost a lesbian love story (although definitely not smutty like the Game Changer series) with a backdrop of space and science. 

Honestly, the book's marketing selling this book as a space book rather than a romance book is what made this book not meet my expectations. I was not looking to slog through secret women x women romance development when I was already exhausted from doing this for previous reads 6 times over. 

The story might start with a gripping space mission-related disaster, but it time skips into the past to introduce the reader to the characters and of course the romance, which actually made me care about the romance even less because I just wanted to get back to hearing about how they were going to fix the disaster. Without spoiling it, I actually was not a fan of the ending and how it relates to the romance either; if it went the other directions, it might have actually tipped the scales enough to give this book 4 stars because it would have been more impactful.

The space aspects were actually quite readable, and I really enjoyed learning about the struggles women had breaking into the space program. There's also a subplot that explores Joan's relationships with her family that I actually was very interested in but was underdeveloped in terms of creating multi-dimensional characters. 

While this could just be a case of reading this book at the wrong time, I do think Reid tried to tackle too many topics (women's struggles/feminism in 1980s, family, and LGBTQ) and was not able to put enough attention on each one in 341 pages. If you're interested in reading a lesbian love story, I'd recommend this book but not so much if you're looking for a space story. 

Book Blog #373: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

 

Title: Every Summer After

Author: Carley Fortune

# of Pages: 320 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right. They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart. Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without. For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart. When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.

Review: Fans of The Notebook will love this book!! (I did NOT like The Notebook).

Every Summer After is about two childhood friends, Sam and Persephone (Percy). Their love story is told from Percy's perspective and each chapter jumps between their childhood and their present day at age 30. The author is building toward revealing some secret on why Percy and Sam haven't seen each other for over a decade, which because more and more obvious as the book progresses.

The problem with this style of storytelling is twofold:

1. In the present day, Sam and Percy already have some sort of romantic history. When they're together, they're already supposed to have some sort of chemistry that the reader hasn't learned about yet since the childhood chapters are running in parallel. It made me feel like I was privy to something that I wasn't a part of, which hurt my early investment in their love story.

2. Readers have to hear about a teenage love story despite this being targeted toward adults. I didn't find depiction nor the dialogue for the characters as children to be particularly realistic. This part of the story was also more slice of life that felt like stalling so that the "big secret" isn't revealed too quickly.

Even after I learned more about the Sam and Percy, I didn't ever actually like either of them. Both of them had issues you could chalk up to immaturity but also these two created this "tragedy" of not being in each others lives for so long because they don't talk to each other! My feelings aside for them as individuals, I don't think they're actually better together (I actually think Percy is better matched with a different character in the book). 

The whole "love conquers all" trope that is present in both this book and The Notebook always gives me the ick because the author usually makes the characters behave morally questionably to prove this point (e.g. a character could lie or cheat / someone might illogically forgive these nefarious actions in the name of "love").

Not really a love story worth reading. 

Book Blog #371: The Long Game by Rachel Reid

 

Title: The Long Game

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 453 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Ten years. That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family…from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything? Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship…Ilya wants it all. It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love. It’s time to make a call.

Review: I honestly don't think this book is particularly better then the other books I enjoyed in this series (Heated Rivalry, Role Model, etc.) but SOME book in this series has to get the coveted 4 stars to show how addicted I am to these Game Changers books.

Here's my justification for the extra star; while ALL of the Game Changers book are DEEPLY hopecore, The Long Game has that underlying feeling of hopelessness and angst that makes the story even more irresistible. Shane and Ilya have already done the formula all the other books have gone through of becoming a couple, which allows this "sequel" to their love story concentrate on other relationship problems (long distance, compromises) as well as broader issues with themselves and those around them (mental health, systemic homophobia/bigotry).

As typical of romance books (and staying on the hopecore theme), The Long Game still has the typical happy ending and wraps up any lingering issues into some (too) easy resolution. But similarly (and actually more so than Heated Rivalry), I thought the ending actually had a good amount of tragedy too. This puts it a step above the endings for the other books in the series; it feels a bit more realistic because not EVERYTHING is just sunshines and roses.

Don't get me wrong; this book is far from perfect. The beginning 1/4-1/2 of the book dragged because of all the story "recap"/overlap with other books (I was worried Reid didn't know how to write an actual romantic sequel without focusing on new characters). It seemed like The Long Game was treated as a reunion episode where EVERY lead character from the previous books gets their time in the lime light. 

Since I read all of these books in rapid succession, all the sex scenes sound the same to me and was actually one of my least favorite parts of this book (they kept having sex instead of talking/doing something more plot relevant). All the dirty talk is about the same across all the lead characters of the book (they start slurring and speaking in the same sentence fragments), so it gets really old by book 6. 

Once again, shout out to the Heated Rivalry show for making it so easy to imagine and love these characters, even if we are a long ways from the second season. 

Book Blog #370: Role Model by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Role Model

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 341 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: The hits just keep coming for Troy Barrett. Traded to the worst team in the league would be bad enough, but coming on the heels of a messy breakup and a recent scandal… Troy just wants to play hockey and be left alone. He doesn’t want to be in the news anymore, and he definitely doesn’t want to “work on his online presence” with the team’s peppy social media manager. Harris Drover can tell standoffish Troy isn’t happy about the trade—anyone could tell, frankly, as he doesn’t exactly hide it well—but Harris doesn’t give up on people easily. Even when he’s developing a crush he’s sure is one-sided. And when he sees Troy’s smile finally crack through his grumpy exterior, well… That’s a man Harris couldn’t turn his back on if he wanted to. Suddenly, Troy’s move to the new team feels like an opportunity—for Troy to embrace his true self, and for both men to surrender to their growing attraction. But indulging in each other behind closed doors is one thing, and for Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all.

Review: It's possible that if Heated Rivalry didn't already have an amazingly produced TV show with extremely likable actors to bias my impression of the story, Role Model could be my favorite book of the series.

Reid isn't doing anything revolutionary here; the topic she's pushing this time is related to sexual assault and what it means to be an ally. As always, the book leans deeper and deeper into the hopecore as the story progresses, and as a pessimist it actually gives me the ick. All of these problems are resolved so nicely, everyone is so supportive; it's basically a fantasy at this point. 

But what IS new is that Reid wrote a REALLY likable new character: Harris. I was hesitant when starting this book because I already thought Ryan Price in Tough Guy was too much of a side character, and Troy Barrett seemed to be tangential off of Ryan. Was this character too far removed from the original characters for me to care about him? But his love interest Harris is so funny; I was literally laughing out loud. Paired with Troy as a more serious, uptight guy, they complimented each other well.

Based on the timeline and Ilya/Shane mentions, there's a lot of overlap with The Long Game. I actually felt like I was missing out on a lot of key Ilya/Shane details that I'm now excited to read about in the next book.

If there's any non-Ilya+Shane book to read from this series, this is the book!

Book Blog #369: Common Goal by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Common Goal

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 335 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Veteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge—life after hockey. It’s time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time. Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He’d sworn to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved. He’ll teach Eric a few tricks, have some mutually consensual fun, then walk away. Eric is more than happy to learn anything Kyle brings to the table. And Kyle never expected their friends-with-benefits arrangement to leave him wanting more. Happily-ever-after might be staring them in the face, but it won’t happen if they’re too stubborn to come clean about their feelings. Everything they both want is within reach… They just have to be brave enough to grab it.

Review: Better than Tough Guy! Finally, another book that feels interconnected with the other books (basically a Game Changers sequel) to justify actually being part of a series. 

There's some common themes I'm seeing in these books:

- civilian bfs are sex gods (is Reid trying to play into the stereotype that gay men are more promiscuous??? Would have loved to see more nuance here.) 

- the start of your male gay fantasies will coincide with leaving your high profile hockey career. This allows you to avoid any remaining homophobic issues in NHL and the public eye (which were important topics in Game Changers and Heated Rivalry). Also, now you're free to do whatever your heart desires because you're already loaded because...

- money solves all problems (go on the vacation of your dreams, buy whatever will make your partner's dreams come true)

Honestly I don't consider Eric and Kyle to be a good match (age gap or not). Despite Kyle being fluent in dating and sex, when he's with Eric, he becomes a sitting duck waiting for Eric to make up his mind. But all is forgiven if they have great sex and live happily ever after right?

Happy to see more Scott/Kip and Shane/Ilya scenes in this book, although not enough to be worth it to read if you're only interested in the Shane/Ilya relationship. Too much of this couple's relationship overlapped with Tough Guy's couple to the point where Tough Guy could have just never been written altogether. 

Not sure if I'm just desensitized, but it felt like there were less redundant sex scenes compared to the first two books in the series. But if characters are supposed to feel closer after all the "talks" they have after sex, why does the story SKIP most of those talks and focus so much on the sex that doesn't particularly show their romantic relationship deepening?? Their one shared interest (art) seemed like some gimmick that they actually didn't DISCUSS other than saying some nice words about some pretty art. 

This couple was too boring for me to give this 3 stars, would recommend skipping unless otherwise invested.

Book Blog #368: Tough Guy By Rachel Reid

Title: Tough Guy

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 312 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating:★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Ryan Price may be an enforcer, but off the ice he struggles with anxiety. Recently traded to the Toronto Guardians, he’s determined to make a fresh start in the city’s dynamic LGBTQ Village. The last thing he expects to stumble upon in his new neighborhood is a blast from his past in the fabulous form of Fabian Salah. Aspiring musician Fabian loathes hockey. But that doesn’t stop him from being attracted to a certain burly, ginger-bearded defenseman. He hasn’t forgotten the kiss they almost shared back in high school, and it’s clear the chemistry between them has only intensified. Fabian is more than happy to be Ryan’s guide to the gay scene in Toronto. Between dance clubs and art exhibits—and the most amazing sex—Ryan’s starting to feel something he hasn’t experienced in a long time: joy. But playing the role of the heavy on the ice has taken its toll on his body and mind, and a future with Fabian may mean hanging up his skates for good.

Review: 2 stars that maybeee can lean to 3 stars. It was a very mid read (in the truest sense of not hating it but not loving it), and I don't think I would have read this story if it wasn't part of the Game Changers series.

For readers who are only invested in the Ilya and Shane romance, there's nothing particularly relevant to their relationship in this book (their appearances in this book were brief and didn't progress their character nor relationship development).

Our male leads are Ryan (super side character in Heated Rivalry) and Fabian (new non-macho love interest):

Fabian:

- Outgoing, sex positive, high self-esteem

- Brings problems to an otherwise unproblematic relationship 

- Fatal flaw: projects his opinions onto others (just because you hate hockey doesn't mean you should emotionally manipulate players into quitting??)

He is clearly passionate about his craft (and a "starving artist") but should still check his privilege; not everyone can feel as comfortable as he is just quitting a stable job.

Ryan:

- The opposite of Fabian 

- Low self-esteem that will really bum you out

- Main source of turmoil: wants to orgasm

I started to sympathize with Ryan's struggles, but then some of them seemed to be pretty easily resolved. If the fix was so quickly and easily changed his attitude, was it really a struggle at all?

Loved as always how Rachel Reid made these characters feel distinct from the other Game Changers characters, but their chemistry wasn't really there (especially since Fabian is so strongly opinionated, doesn't make sense to me why he would feel such a strong connection to a hockey player, regardless of their history). 

While I did like how this book highlights hockey's enforcer role and how detrimental it is to the player in such a role (like football players, there's an actual higher risk of CTE due to the physical nature of the role), I otherwise didn't find Ryan and Fabian's love story worth reading about. 

Book Blog #367: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Heated Rivalry

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 372 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night. Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great. As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

Review: I was more addicted to this more than Game Changers, but it doesn't quite hit the 4 star bar.

I'm going to assuming making some high level comparisons with the TV show and commentary on the actions during the smutty parts do NOT count as spoilers. If you think otherwise, skip this review.

I read this book soon after binging the TV show (after it was all over my social media feed despite never hearing about this series). I wanted to see a more verbose version of Shane and Ilya's story (plus I wanted to read the other books to figure out what happens after).

The Heated Rivalry book delivered in both of these areas; since there's third person POV switching (similar to Game Changers), the reader gets to hear more details on their inner turmoil that is more subtle in the TV show. That being said, the POV switching is more noticeable than in Game Changers, likely because the characters are in different locations most of the time. For Reid's writing style, I think it's a necessary component (and translates well to TV), despite still not being my favorite form of story telling. 

Another props to the writing (especially compared to Ali Hazelwood books where a lot of the same gendered main characters read similarly across books) is that the characters felt distinct: Ilya being the brash but well meaning, and Shane being innocent and neurodivergent (which was SHOWN rather than told, which is refreshing for a smutty romance).  

Not sure how much of this was influenced by watching the show; Reid should give major props to the actors/director who made these characters even more likable than I could have imagined them being. I was pleasantly surprised by how many scenes and their dialogue were lifted straight from the book to screen and overall translated well (unlike some books->movies coughColleen Hovercough). All in all, props to Reid for writing a solid book in the smutty romance genre. 

That being said, the common complaint between Game Changers and Heated rivalry is there's too much redundant sex. Of course for the sake of keeping down the total screen time, some of the sex scenes were consolidated in the show (and that already was a lot of sex!). I think the book could have made similar cuts, especially since them navigating the obstacles of their relationship are interesting on its own. 

Special shout out to Shane being at least briefly grossed out at the thought of kissing Ilya after Ilya was licking Shane's butthole. Loved Shane for being so relatable since there's is 0 mention of them doing any prep.

If you're a fan of the show, definitely give this book a read! It's fast (finished in only a couple of days) and easy read (and ended up rewatching parts of the show as I read to simulate listening to an audiobook). 

Book Blog #366: Game Changer by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Game Changer

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 380 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic...and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter. Kip knew there was more to Scott’s frequent visits than blended fruit, but he never let himself imagine being invited back to Scott’s penthouse. Or kissed with reckless abandon, nevermind touched everywhere all at once. When it happens it’s red-hot, incredible and frequent, but also only on Scott’s terms and always behind his closed apartment doors. Scott needs Kip in his life, but with playoff season approaching, the spotlight on him is suddenly brighter than ever. He can’t afford to do anything that might derail his career…like introducing the world to his boyfriend. Kip is ready to go all-in with Scott—but how much longer will he have to remain a secret?

Review: Read this book hot off watching (and being obsessed with) the Crave TV show Heated Rivalry. 

This book was way better than I expected (and of course I expected it to be a smut-forward hockey romance that I already saw in episode 3 of the TV). Not sure if I just wasn't into the actors chemistry, or Scott x Kip's story is too might of a tangent off of Ilya x Shane's love story, but I thought episode 3 was boring. But even though I knew what was going to happen, I was addicted to reading the extra details that come through in the book.

I was actually pretty impressed on how true to the story the show was to the book, considering that one episode was able to tell the ENTIRE story from this almost 400 page book. Which leads to me my first complaint; Game Changers didn't need to be as long as it was. They could have cut out 1/3 of the page count (which, yes would including cutting out some of the sex scenes) and still have packed the same punch romantically and plot-wise. 

What I really appreciate about this book is the focus on the closeted gay struggle, especially in the NHL. As someone who just binged a bunch of Ali Hazelwood books (read: heterosexual romance that follows a similar formula), it was incredibly refreshing to read a romance book that highlights a real-world problem.

This was almost a four star read! Definitely go in with the expectations that this will be a smutty gay romance, but if that's what you're looking for, this would be the book for you.

Book Blog #365: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: Deep End

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 464 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Review: I've read two Ali Hazelwood before this, but this is my intro to her contemporary romance writing (which I heard was better than her paranormal romance).

It wasn't. 

One of the characters in this book kept saying that Scarlett's kinks are "so Fifty Shades!" (since she's into the dom/sub aspect of BDSM). This essentially set the stage for the rest of the book; it felt like a watered down Fifty Shades of Grey. There was a lot of smut, but it actually wasn't that kinky and a bit boring, honestly. I thought that they would explore more of the kinks they supposedly shared, but it was mostly just him telling her what to do and her crying because she liked it so much. 

There's no depth in the relationship between the two main characters. It's fine to have two characters bond over shared kinks, but it's hard to call this true romance when they don't seem to do much together except want to have sex, and all their emotions seems to be based off the greatness of their sex lives. The dom/sub kink seemed to be their whole personality, the defining feature who makes them who they are. I would have preferred more nuance to their characters.

And of course I was constantly frustrated with the plot because most of the problems fall under the poor communication trope! These characters will just choose to not talk to each other for long stretches of time, another character wants to withhold information about a breakup and keep up the facade of being a couple (oh what could go wrong?)... 

Usually with this trashy, smutty romance books, it'll be at least a fast read. However, this was not the case for Deep End; had to really push through the beginning half especially when it felt like very little of anything was happening. 

I would not recommend this book.