For What It's Worth


Monday, January 8, 2018

monday minis





Heyyyyyy! I'm finally posting a review lol It's been a few months I think. I kind of enjoyed the break but it's time to do a little blogger housekeeping and catch up on a few for books I read for review over the holidays.


                                    Someplace Secret: A Holiday Romance by G.G. Andrew
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What happens when you can't get over the past?

It's been two years. Zoe has moved on. She's got a great teaching job in Boston, friends, and the sweetest boyfriend.


She shouldn't still be thinking about the man who turned her life upside down two winters ago...


Trouble is, he's staring at her from across the bookstore.


Source: e-arc provided by the author in exchange for an honest review ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: I thought Zoe and Evan had their HEA in Someplace Warm: A New Year’s Eve Romance. While Andrew’s does a good job here, via flashbacks, recapping their whirlwind romance and how it went wrong – I would still recommend reading Someplace Warm first just to get a better feel for why they belong together. They are very quick reads and you could easily read them both in one sitting.

There’s quite a bit of drama, some that felt unnecessary, but I do like both Evan and Zoe and that they finally got the HEA they deserve.


perf4.250x7.000.inddThe Gryphon King’s Consort by Jenn Burke

Love takes flight.

The sudden death of the Gryphon King throws the kingdom of Mythos into uncertainty, and Crown Prince Luca rushes both his coronation and an arranged marriage to a man he’s never met. Eirian is young and idealistic, and while they both want what’s best for their people, their philosophies couldn’t be more different. While Luca believes in honoring tradition, Eirian is determined to infuse modern values into their kingdom of magical creatures. When given the choice between loyalty to his husband and his own crusade, Eirian makes a decision that might doom their marriage.


Still, Luca is committed to making their union work, and that means forgiving his brash consort. But when Eirian becomes the target of a deadly conspiracy, Luca must act fast—or forever lose the chance to explore their burgeoning love. ~
Goodreads

Source: e-arc provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

My thoughts: Not a fan of the cover and I don’t think it conveys the tone of the book but the story itself had a fun arranged marriage trope, royal backstabbing and intrigue and an old school shifter PNR vibe.

I loved how Luca (the new King) & Eirian stood toe to toe in fights, yet respected each others differences. I’m always a fan of exploring differing political and moral pov’s and how it tests a relationship. That was done well here.

I enjoyed The Gryphon Consort but do wish there was bit more heft to the relationship. They had great chemistry but they kind of kept going in circles – drawn to each other physically and intellectually – then a miscommunication or doubts would creep in. Start over. It makes sense but happened too often.

So... fun! But not as much depth as I had hoped.


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Down by Contact (The Barons #2) by Santino Hassell

Two rival football players begin a game with higher stakes than the Super Bowl in this steamy romance from the author of Illegal Contact. ~ Goodreads

Source: arc provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

My thoughts: Really good hate to love story! I mean...they REALLY hated each other. lol

Down by Contact had Hassell's trademark gritty style but I found this couple to be really adorable and sweet together as well, which surprised me given how they start out.

I thought it got a little heavy handed on messaging at times. Even though I agree with everything and liked how it confronted things like toxic masculinity- especially in sports culture - it still felt like pausing for a lesson rather than a natural extension of the story/dialogue.

I also think it ended rather abruptly but that's an issue I've had with this author's writing in general but wouldn't deter me from highly recommending this book in any way (or any of his others).

I was so absorbed by this story & characters that I forgot to eat. lol And yay for having complex friendships and female characters - something not often seen in M/M romance.

Illegal Contact (book #1 in the Baron's series) was very good but, even with my few quibbles, I enjoyed Down by Contact even more.

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Have you read any of these books yet? Planning on it?

I really enjoy all of these authors and have a few more book rec's if you wanted to give them a try.

G.G Andrews wrote a super hot story for all the grammar nerds lol, Girl Meets Grammarian in the Covalent Bonds anthology, The Chaos Station trilogy by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen is one of my favorite series & you can't really go wrong with anything by Santino Hassell- although my favorite is the Cyberlove series co-written with Megan Erickson.

Happy Monday!



14 comments:

  1. I do like the sound of the respectful disagreements in that one book. I agree, when characters have different political or moral or religious beliefs, it can be very interesting!

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    1. Especially in a romance like this. One is meant to be King but the other was brought in specifically for his new way of thinking. I like how they struggled to mesh it together.

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  2. The one from GG Andrews sounds like my kind of read minus the unnecessary drama ofcourse ;)

    Vanessa @ Blushing Geek

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    1. The couple was low drama - it was more of an ex showing up that I felt was unnecessary. She was the guys ex -girlfriend and Zoe's ex- bff. She impacted things other than Zoe and Evan though. They were fairly low drama.

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  3. I haven't read any of those but a couple of them I might like.

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  4. Thanks for the quick reviews. Down by Contact is one that I've been looking forward to read. I really enjoyed the first one in the series and really need to get my hands on this copy. :)

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    1. Can't wait to hear what you think! I'm really enjoying this series and I love a good hate to love romance.

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  5. I really should try Hassel one day

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  6. You caught my eye with Gryphon King's Consort.
    I have Down by Contact up for sometime soon. Enemies to lovers can be fun.

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  7. I love Hassell's books but I've only been able to really read his work with Megan Erickson (minus the fourth one; have that to read soon) and The Community books. I'm glad you like these books - I must get them!!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  8. The Gryphon King's Consort doesn't sound bad, although yeah not the greatest cover ever. But in spite of the misunderstandings tha inevitably derail the romance it sounds pretty good!

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  9. I have got to read more books by Santino Hassell! I read the Cyberlove series on your recommendation and reaaaally liked it, so now I need to explore some of his solo works.

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  10. Someplace Secret sounds like a nice little read. :)

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