 Fast paced and entertaining.
Blurb: “Bridesmaiding is a tedious business at the best of times, but as Julia discovers, the task is particularly cumbersome when one of the brides is your ex and her fiancée won’t stop sulking about it. With the wedding threatening to dominate everything for the rest of the year, a bewildering embrace with a devastatingly attractive pop star offers a welcome distraction. Dating Krisha catapults Julia away from the paltry concerns of dress fittings and hen dos, but it also takes her away from her friends, and directly leads to her most disastrous f**k up yet. Much to her surprise, she discovers that embracing the role she’d accepted so reluctantly might just be exactly what she needs.” This is Holmes’ debut novel and I enjoyed it. The story was fun and entertaining with lots of unexpected twists and turns. The main character Julia, a 27-year-old single woman, has not much interest in her job, not much luck in finding a new girlfriend and in general she's a real mess. With a strong desire for finding love, she was pretty active on online dating. Unfortunately with not much luck. While being a bridesmaid for her friend Freya, something that she didn't enjoy very much, on the verge of losing her job and messing up everything else, Julia's future didn't show very bright. Still, hope exists. Love is out there. Maybe closer than she thinks. Chances are that she will mess up things again. All are variables and everything fluctuates in Julia’s life and mind but still, she does find the strength to make a bit of order. “Julia looked at her old friend, her new girlfriend, her greatest adventure yet, and shook her head.” For the first time in her life, she knew with absolute certainty that she was exactly where she needed to be. Will she manage to keep it that way? I look forward to reading more from this author. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website
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 For the time being, some of the books are only available in their original language hence, my review will be in that specific language. This book is in Spanish, though a little bird told me that the author has plans to make it available in English. I hope so.
Un romance encantador, desgarrador y emocionante. Blurb/ Desc: “La sargento Bates toma la decisión de retornar a las calles para vencer la criminalidad en su ciudad. Su mayor enemigo, el destino. Tracy Mecher vive en las frías calles de la ciudad en una lucha incansable contra ese mismo destino. El sendero del destino es un relato de amor envuelto en escenas conmovedoras entre estas jóvenes mujeres con sus vidas encaminadas en el mismo destino. Dos mundos contrarios se entrelazan donde tienen que tomar complicadas decisiones para demostrar que el amor no tiene límites. Con una sublime narración, se llega a giros inesperados con los que se descubre la verdadera identidad de una de las protagonistas con sucesos llenos de romance, acción y suspenso. Es una historia que te mantendrá conectada hasta el final para descubrir, ¿cuál será el verdadero sendero a seguir en sus vidas?.” Esta es una dulce y a menudo triste historia de amor entre dos mujeres jóvenes. Al encontrarse, se les ofrece la posibilidad de un futuro más brillante. Es la historia de Tracy y Kristen, ambas de diferentes orígenes, hermosas y con un corazón incorrupto. Kristen es policía y se enamora de Tracy con solo mirarla. No importaba que Tracy pareciera estar sin hogar o que Kristen tuviera novio. Todo lo que importaba era que sentía la necesidad de estar con Tracy. Por otro lado, Tracy ha tenido algunos años difíciles dejando a su familia y viviendo en las calles, una decisión que tomó porque se lastimó al no ser aceptada por su familia. Tracy misma necesitaba algo de tiempo para aceptar quién era y, con la ayuda de Kristen, se las arregló. Fue el destino lo que los colocó juntos, aún así, el mismo destino pone en riesgo su relación y su vida muchas veces. Es un romance encantador, desgarrador y emocionante con mucho drama, giros y vueltas, y un final feliz. This is a sweet and sad love story between two young women. By finding each other they are offered the possibility of a brighter future. It is the story of Tracy and Kristen, both coming from different backgrounds, both beautiful and with an uncorrupted heart. Kristen is a cop and she fell for Tracy just by looking at her. It didn't matter that Tracy appeared to be homeless or that Kristen had a boyfriend. All that mattered was that she felt the urge to be with Tracy. On the other hand, Tracy had some hard few years leaving her family and living on the streets, a decision she made because she was hurt by not being accepted by her family. Tracy needed some time too to accept who she was and with Kristen’s help, she managed. It was destiny that placed them together, still, the same destiny puts their relation and life at risk many times. It is a lovely, heartbreaking, exciting romance with lots of drama, twists-and-turns, and a happy ending. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s Facebook page  A paranormal novel about love, family, bullying, and special gifts.
Blurb: “Henrietta Bailey is a mysterious woman who has spent her entire life living in the town of Crescent, a sleepy beach community in Central Coastal California. She loves the beach, the ocean air, and the town itself. Her simple life fulfills her. However, she spends much of her time reminiscing about her long-lost love, a woman who left her devastated. Now, another woman awaits on the horizon; a wise, intelligent, and sexy lady who is sophisticated beyond her years. This woman yearns for her soul mate and lover. Will she be able to win Henrietta’s heart, or will Henrietta be fated to live the rest of her days alone? All her life, Henrietta has held a gift, one that most of the townspeople fear and do not understand. Still, this doesn’t deter her from pursuing these extraordinary talents, and she does what she can to help others improve their lives. Those close to her encourage her, and new people enter the picture who offer enlightenment. Personal secrets emerge that change the course of Henrietta’s life. Can she do the right thing and move forward? A long-lost mystery comes to the surface, causing upset among some of the town’s residents. Come meet this incredible woman who strives to attain the things in the world she values the most – family, love, and respect.” The story moves along nicely. It contains paranormal elements, and lots of intertwined stories combined with memories, one of them being a fictional lesbian one. Through the memories, we find out a lot about the history of the house in Crescent, his owners over the years and also about Henrietta and her relationship with her mother and grandmother. Henrietta was a good person as a child and also as an adult. “My life is a journey and I celebrate each step of the way with love and joy. I am all knowing, all loving, and an important being in this universe.” Emphatic, shy, hard-working, appreciated by few, including her employers but unfortunately not accepted by many others. She had the capabilities to do readings and talk to those that passed on the other side. Henrietta is now 60 years old, not married, with a tough past and suffering from anxiety because of it. She is quite an introvert, hardly speaking to anyone about the most intimate things. While we get pretty much into details into Henrietta’s life and thoughts we get to find out about Mary, the woman from her past, and also that she gave birth to a son, Andrew, when she was only seventeen. Mary, the love of her life was now trying to get in touch after 20 years after she finally divorced the husband she never loved. Sophia, the gorgeous Italian woman, 30 years younger than Henrietta, tried to seduce her and they had some intimate moments, to Henrietta's surprise having in mind the age gap. Henrietta had a special gift that made others refrain from accepting her, calling her a witch. “...thoughts create our reality and we are in control of them.” With all the added mysteries, the novel is easily gripping. This is a paranormal novel but it's about love, family, bullying, and special gifts. A very pleasant and intriguing read. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  Love can be found when you least expect it.
This is a different kind of lesbian romance novel, where erotica elements are more present than the emotions related to a love between two people. This is the story of Virginia and Sage, both with some traumatic past and lots of personal issues. Virginia, a well-known actress, decided to take a break from the spotlight and drugs related issues, and move to a cabin in a remote place in Wisconsin in order to recover and find herself. Sage, a successful writer, was living a solitaire life in the same place, trying to recover from a hard past. They were brought together by Sage’s dog, named Denzel and Bartleby. While the dog only made the introduction, series of events, quite unusual and tragic I must say, made them realize that they rescued themselves from life-threatening events and offered them a possibility for a brighter future. A fun, heartwarming read, dark at times, steamy in big proportion. Does it bring a happily ever after? Will their sexual relationship go beyond intensive sexual moments, and love for the same cute little dog? Will they manage to move further from the dark point in life? Will they make peace with their past? These are all questions that I invite you to discover the answer on your own. Type of reader: Readers of contemporary lesbian erotica. Quotes from the book: “This was what Denzel was doing the other day. He wasn’t watching anything in particular, just looking into the deep beauty of the world around him. How much time do we spend looking at our phones? Looking at our walls? Closing ourselves in, away from this great big wonderful wide world that we were born into?” “He’s like a rescue dog, but so much more than that. I think he brought us together for a reason.” “I had this revelation,” Virginia swallowed. “About me. About everyone, I guess.” Callie nodded. “We’re all just characters trying to play our scenes right,” Virginia licked her dry lips. “But the thing about life is that you can change the script without anyone throwing a shit fit.” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  After reading and enjoying Angelika, I certainly looked forward to reading another work of this author. I found myself drawn into the story due to many reasons: exquisite language, the tender love between Darcy and Eustacia, certain interesting information about Jamaica and the overall humor.
The story is set in the late ‘60s and it offers the reader a view on how things were at the time. On top of that, and the main topic, it offers a view from the perspective of an effeminate young boy Stanford. While he has his parents full support, due to his increasingly feminine appearance it seems impossible for him to maintain his male identity in Jamaica. Hence he takes the name of Eustacia and moves to Vermont to live with the Coxes. Prior to Eustacia’s arrival Perry, Darcy’s friend, put a spell on him, out of a silly joke: “Dragon’s breath and snatch my beanie! May Darcy find a girl like Jeannie!” To my amusement, Darcy did find his Jeannie bit later in Eustacia. Not only she looked very much like the actress in the movie, but she also loved playing Jeannie’s role with her parents and later on with Darcy. The pure love that it is born between Eustacia and Darcy Cox is really sweet. They develop deep feelings for each other while they are also sharing many common interests at the same intellectual level. As the title says it is indeed a story of true love and the author did a remarkable job by not dramatizing the transgender part but putting in the spotlight Darcy’s lack of judgments regarding it. It would be great if in real life everyone would treat LGBT people with the same respect as we are all simply human beings. The plot is very well constructed and written and it didn't surprise me being charmed by the author’s style already. Type of reader: If you're looking for not only a love story but to open your horizons, broaden your thoughts, views, and understandings from a different angle then this book is for you. My favorite quotes from this book: “Mummy…, Daddy…,” he said, his voice shaking as tears began to run down his cheeks, “I don’t care; I really don’t care…. There’s so much more to my dear, sweet love than a stupid appendage! As far as I’m concerned, Eustacia is a girl, and I’ll take her just the way she is. I don’t care if she’s male, female, or something in between, because life without her would be unthinkable.” “You are who you are; I am who I am. We’re all different, and we all like different things, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” “Jeannie,” Darcy asserted, “when they made you, they broke the mold. For you, there can be no replacement, not now, not ever.” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  After the successful debut novel “Big Mistake” (Taboo Love #1), the author takes us in another taboo love story. This time is about a gay love but this isn’t so taboo nowadays, is it? Colton and Asher were once stepbrothers and this could be looked at controversial and a big barrier for any further possible intimate relationship. Colton’s father was married to Asher’s mother. Now, luckily for everyone, their parents are divorced.
Asher is a few years younger than Cole and little did they know that secretly they both developed strong feelings for each other. After Asher turned 18 and during Cole’s visit, things evolve. Here starts the spicy part. The truth is spoken. But first Cole needs time to look at Asher as not being related, hence no barriers for their love. On top of that, as he has bipolar disorder, his love for Asher is so strong that he believes that he is too damaged and incapable offering Asher what he really deserves. Asher is so sweet in his determination to be with Colton and forever by his side not only offering love but helping him with his disorder too. The most intriguing and intense part for me was the confrontation between Cole and his father, Chris. While Chris never wanted to accept his son’s diagnose for being accurate, the same he thinks that being gay isn’t normal and it’s all an illusion. Unfortunately, some people are still narrow-minded. The author promises a happy ending and doesn’t disappoint. I encourage you to discover on your own all the details including the hot steamy ones. Once again I was impressed with Lili’s writing craft. Type of reader: Any fan of qualitative M/M (not exclusively) fiction. Age 18+. Intriguing quotes from this book: “It messes up your brain and makes you think gay. It’s a delusion.” He squeezed Colton, hard. “You’re my son. I know you’re normal. Somewhere in there is my little boy. I want him back.” “You’re not gay. I’m not, so how could you be?” his father insisted. “Then I’ll be in the dark with you.” Asher reached out for his arm, so he stepped further back. “You know today is one of those days, but not every day is like this. It’s hard to remember that, where you’re at right now. I’ll learn every idea that could help you, and we’ll do it together. As much as I can, I’ll be… your joy.” My rating: 5/5 (Amazon) 4/5 (Goodreads). Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  This is a wonderfully written contemporary romance about a woman who doesn't really know what she wants. Something normal, right? Despite the fact that the main character is rich and successful, her problems have nothing to do with that. She needs to learn to be secure enough in herself to accept love from others and learn to leave all the bitterness behind.
The struggle of the main character, Lizzie, in finding herself and all the happening really got me hooked. On a funny note, I could say that I felt often hungry reading about all the meals in the story. The story is presented from Lizzie's point of view. I admired her occasional sarcasm, especially during her regular meetings with Ethan. I admit at times I didn't resonate with her but that is fine. Everyone is different and each and every one of us, in fiction or in reality, has its own past; sometimes a dark one. I loved Sarah’s character and I do believe she was the perfect match for Lizzie. At times I couldn't understand how could she tolerate everything Lizzie had said, done or didn't do? Opposite attracts, right? I loved seeing how Lizzie and Sarah met and fell in love. With a good number of necessarily steamy scenes, a lot of humor and heartbreaking scenes, the plot flows smoothly as Lizzie tugs us along, enveloping us in her world and taking us on a whirling emotional ride. An easy and enjoyable read. Type of reader: Readers of contemporary lesbian romance fiction with a strong voice, fantastic writing, deep character development, and an engrossing story. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  The main character of this novel is Jackie, a young attractive woman. She is married but has her husband’s approval to pursue her inclination for being with women as long as he remains the only man in her life. After a car accident, Jackie suffers a concussion that causes her something impossible to understand and accept, at first. Her world is turned upside down and only when she tries finding out more about what had happened she is starting to understand. Initially, Jackie’s reaction is normal as everything is strange and hard to accept. In a course of events and with the help of her friends she makes slow steps forward. A new woman starts being part of her life that plays the role of a lover and offers her a tremendous support. Looking at the name of the book it was normal to expect an awakening.
Even though this book has a paranormal element I loved that the author created real-life characters and happenings. Jackie was a heavy drinker and she didn't acknowledge her problem, despite her husband’s comments and certain events. Her husband was not perfect either, he had his alcohol and gambling issues and didn’t seem to be the best partner. Jackie hasn’t been in the past very close to her family but during her transformation, she managed to solve this issue. With her sister’s big help she started her alcohol-free period. I didn't have to resonate fully with the main character to let myself withdrawn in the story and I loved it. I followed carefully her journey and I found myself inspired by the way she was developing her spiritual side. The more she evolved in that area the more she was making the other parts of her life right. I enjoyed everything related to spirituality, Reiki, meditation, grounding exercises that inspired me to dig further in this area. I liked the ending too, which answered some questions and left me feeling eager to know what is going to be next. I loved the Lawler’s writing style. I felt it sincere and very comforting and I am looking forward to reading other works by this author. Type of reader: Although this novel falls under lesbian paranormal fiction I recommend it to a wider audience with love for a strong female lead facing personal transformation. My favorite quotes from this book: “As she lay there, she thought about her day. It had been a very spiritual experience. There were times that she’d felt at one with the trees, and she understood their language.” “Let go and open up and allow the good things to manifest.” “If you want change, then you need to be that change.” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  Layla and Adrienne, two young beautiful women with a tough past spend a month together prior Christmas. While Layla is in town for the holiday visiting her Nana, Adrienne found its home their for the past years under Nana’s wing. Even though they weren't related, Nana became pretty soon her own family. Spending time with Layla was something that at first was expected from her, as to entertain the granddaughter of Nana Harvey. It is a sweet story that doesn't start with an immediate sympathy for each other, on the contrary, they both find annoying things to one another. But it looks that Nana Harvey is quite the matchmaker. It is not just Christmas that does the magic, it is only the fact that they are right for each other, but until feelings are spoken they both think the feelings are only one-sided. It surely does have a happy ending but be prepared to shed a tear or two now and then.
Reader type: If you like lesbian romance, the cheesy sweet type and love Christmas, this novella it is especially for you. If you realized that you read it in one sitting, it won’t surprise me. I can recommend it to YA readers too. My favorite quotes from this book: “It always amazes me how naive kids could be. But I guess that was the beauty of childhood. You could believe in everything because the world hadn't proven otherwise yet. If only life could stay that way. My life would be a whole lot easier if I could just believe in things like a child would.” “If you keep an open mind, I bet you’ll find something that is even better than you ever dreamed. It could be in front of you the whole time and if you don’t give it a chance, you could miss out on something spectacular.” My rating: 4/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  What would you do when your family pressures you into having a child using as a reason something that you hardly believe in? You have your doubts but you will think your parents got a bit crazy and even if you love them, you simply can’t believe that they are telling the truth. But then you start to believe and you also realize that you wish to have a child more than anything in the world. Wanting a child is one thing, but conceiving one in a gay relationship seems a bit complicated. Well, nothing would be impossible if you would be able to get pregnant. Despite the seriousness of the topic, the novel is full of humor also. As the main character comes from an Indian family and the big secret is related to India, the book gives you some insights in this area too. It is mysterious, sweet, funny and entertaining at the same time. The words are flowing nicely and you get caught up in the story before you even realize.
Reader type: If you like romance, with or without lesbian characters and with a bit of mystery, this is the book for you. Give it a try if you didn't already, I am sure you will love it. My favorite quotes from this book: “Sometimes the answers are right in front of our face, but we just don’t listen.” “It’s not just ‘old stuff’,” her grandmother said adamantly. “It is proof that you are related to our Great Teacher and are the last in line. Do not take this lightly. It is not just a matter of faith. It is your responsibility and the greatest of all honors.” “Sometimes we’re so close to a situation or problem that we can’t see the solution, even when it’s as close as our own womb?” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website |
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Message to you:In order to be a good writer, one has to read a lot. And I do and I love it....and I chose to share my readings with you. Feel free to share with me any of the books you have read or wrote, if I find them interesting I will add them to my list. I'll post my reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and all my social accounts. |
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