Category: Romance

snails?

Posted on by Greig

In At The Deep End

Kate Davies

This a novel about a woman whose life has become aimless after giving up her dancing career.
Her lovelife is non-existent and work is insecure and uninspiring.
Getting drunk at an arty party she makes out with a woman and the experience brings the realization that she’s attracted to women.
She throws herself into this new world with abandon. Quickly she finds herself with new hobbies, new friends and in a relationship with a woman who encourages her to explore her boundaries.
I life my romances fluffy. This is NOT a fluffy story even if you do get a sweet resolution after the drama plays out.
If you want a coming out story combined with complicated emotional dynamics then you’ve found it.
It’s well enough written – it’s really just not my cup of tea.

Rating: B

surgery?

Posted on by Greig

Tell Me How You Really Feel

Aminah Mae Safi

Superior teen romance.
As the author admits this tale is heavily inspired by fanfic in which Rory Gilmore and Paris Geller end up together.
It’s a hugely enjoyable and incredibly fluffy tale about two people protecting themselves from the world by pretending to be not quite who they really are.
I finished it and immediately and went back into it to re-read the best bits. I suspect this is a future comfort read.

Rating: A-

tanzania?

Posted on by Greig

A Gift From the Comfort Food Cafe

Debbie Johnson

Single mum Katie has slowly been putting her life back together in the little Cornish village of Budbury. Her past littered with broken and dysfunctional relationships and when a possible new love interest arrives on the scene she doesn’t know how to react. The fifth book in the Comfort Cafe series isn’t quite up to the standards of the earlier books.

Rating: B-

auction?

Posted on by Greig

Married By Morning

Lisa Kleypas

A historical romance where a governess with a secret past becomes involved with her charges’ older brother.
The two leads are enjoyable but the whole story is incredibly cliched and it took a bit of motivation to finish the whole story once the ‘scandal’ was revealed to be nothing the heroine could reasonably be blamed for.

Rating: C+

mate?

Posted on by Greig

Coming Home to the Comfort Food Cafe

Debbie Johnson

The third Comfort Cafe book tells the story of Zoe. Zoe has taken on the responsibility for her best friend’s teenage daughter Martha after the friend dies from cancer.
Escaping to Budbury to distance her charge from the trouble she’s getting into at home things take an unexpected turn when the kid’s Australian father turns up to help.
Decent story and the extended cast really works.

Rating: B

briar?

Posted on by Greig

Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe

Debbie Johnson

The fourth Comfort Cafe book tells the story of Willow. A pink-haired young woman who is entirely devoted to the care of her Mother Lynnie who suffers from Dementia. With a little help from the community she’s able to work enough to keep her head above water. Her little cleaning business brings her to an old residential home where she meets the millionaire geek, Tom, who has bought the place.
This is an enjoyable contemporary romance with a great cast of recurring characters

Rating: B

mutant?

Posted on by Greig

Christmas at the Comfort Food Cafe

Debbie Johnson

This is an enjoyable contemporary romance. Part of a series centred on a village cafe in Dorset.
In this one we follow the perspective of Becca. She’s a graphic designer from Manchester and she comes to Bunbury to visit her sister for Christmas.
Notoriously immune to the charms of the festive season She finds herself falling for the charms of the villagers and in particular for the handsome Irishman Sam.
I liked that Becca was less than thrilled by Christmas and that she could be spiky and difficult with people. All too many Christmas romances (both novels and films) have protagonists filled with starry-eyed joy at the prospect of all things Christmas.
I particularly liked that the characters actually talked to each other about their feelings (a pet peeve of mine is the dumb misunderstanding) but on the other hand some of the plot points were clunking and obvious.

Rating: B

teal?

Posted on by Greig

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

Jenny Han

I only read this one because I enjoyed the Netflix movie.
Lara Jean Covey is put in a pickle when her unsent love letters are mysteriously posted. It would be embarassing enough but one of them is to her older sister’s very recently ex-boyfriend.
Almost accidentally she finds herself fake dating another letter recipient called Peter Kavinsky.
It’s a pretty good young adult fake dating story but it doesn’t work as well as the movie.

Rating: B

rags?

Posted on by Greig

Always On My Mind

Jill Shalvis

One of my favourite romance series is Lucky Harbor. Set in an idyllic seaside town in the Pacific Northwest the books jump from resident to resident as they find love.
This book finds talented baker Leah falling for firefighter and best friend Jack. It’s actually a fake dating story as Leah tells Jack’s ailing Mother Dee that they’re together to make her happy.
It’s got a small arson subplot to add to the action but it’s mostly confused mutual pining.
It’s full of clichés and the writing never elevates above readable but it’s a fun read and if you like a sweet contemporary romance this is a good one.
Read before but not reviewed in the 2014 epic romance binge.

Rating: C+