Jaime Clevenger

I had pretty high expectations of this book after absolutely loving [b:A Convenient Arrangement|58516097|A Convenient Arrangement|Jaime Clevenger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1625759305l/58516097._SY75_.jpg|91913924]. I don't always love reading books in a series where there are cameos from previous couples but I loved Jess and Cody so much that it didn't seem like a bad thing.

What ended up happening is that I struggled to finish the book. First, I couldn't get over the fact that during sex scenes, Finn's body wasn't discussed or described. She merely had a chest. We got to know about Amelia's body but why not give Finn the same attention. And there was mostly sex happening between them. I enjoy sex scenes but honestly, I skimmed them toward the end. It was a combination of not caring much anymore and just too much of the same thing.

But the biggest thing that killed the book for me was that it seemed that the entire premise was built upon one of my biggest pet peeves in wlw ficiton: angst and tension based completely on lack of communication. It drives me crazy and makes it really difficult to feel anything but frustration and disappointment in the characters.

And the way Amelia handles her relationships with her mom and her ex? It felt unbelievable to me and just one more thing to add to the frustration.

I'm sure this book with hit the sweet spot for other readers but, for me, it was a big miss.

I do thank the publisher for giving me the chance to read the second in the series.… (plus d'informations)

What to say about One Weekend in Aspen... Well, the first thing I'd say is stick to the ebook instead of the audio. I struggled to get into the story but couldn't get past the voices the narrator chose. It was killing it for me. I finally decided to quit and nearly didn't pick the ebook up but I'm glad I did.

I don't think I've ever read a romance novel that involves a sex party before. I think Jaime Clevenger did a nice job of making that work. We got a nice assortment of secondary characters that really didn't have any depth but that was fine. Katherine was a bit much and I don't see why anyone would want to befriend her but, meh, okay.

The two protagonists were good together and had a lot of chemistry. Emily's ex, Cass, was so incredibly over the top awful - and she got worse and worse as we went along - I found it impossible to believe and, between her and Katherine, liked the book less because of it.

But it wasn't a bad read. Plenty of angst and hot sex. And I really liked Alex a lot. I felt for her and was happy that she found some happy.

Thanks to Bella and Netgalley for the ARC ebook!… (plus d'informations)

At 37, Seren Winters is making a life-long dream come true – she’s four months pregnant and will be a single mom. Unfortunately, though, her mom has died, and she’s now tasked with get her house ready to sell. When her doctor recommends she take a water aerobics class, Seren reluctantly agrees to it. She has no sooner arrived at the pool for her first class than she accidentally knocks the instructor into the pool. Paige Dannenberg, a veterinarian, is stepping in for her mom as the teacher of an aerobics class when her mom falls and hurts her tailbone. Paige, who has no rhythm and no idea what to do as an aerobics instructor, runs into a student on her first day at the pool and is unceremoniously dumped, fully clothed, into the pool. Before they meet, neither woman is interested in a relationship, but fate has already ordained that they are meant to be together, and everyone knows you can’t mess with fate.

The author takes her time in building the relationship between Paige and Seren even as she is developing her characters. What she has created is one the better LesFic romances so far this year. Both Paige and Seren are likable characters, both have valid reasons for not wanting a relationship, especially Seren. Clevenger slowly lets the relationship develop in a way that has her readers invested. Seren is the better written of the two characters, and though she falls for Paige in spite of herself, she’s the one to back away.

There’s very little angst in this book which makes the story flow smoothly. Clevenger throws in humor and scenes we probably won’t see anywhere else any time soon like the birth of twin calves on the characters’ third date. The result is a very readable book that readers won’t want to put down.

If you like well-written books with characters you’ll be sorry to say goodbye to at the end of the story, then this book is for you. If you prefer your romance novels to be full of angst and drama, this probably isn’t the book for you.

My thanks to Bella Books and NetGalley for an eARC.… (plus d'informations)

A lovely book to spend snuggled up on the couch on a rainy weekend. This story takes you on the journey of charming characters and their holiday to Hawaii.

It centres on Julia and Reed, who meet on the holiday as mentioned earlier. They are immediately attracted to each other, but their lives couldn't be more different. Julia travels with her closest friends while Reed is there with her kids. The children also play an essential role in the book. While I'm not much of a child person, I found them very coherent with the plot here. Julia's best friends also play an important supporting role, which I sometimes found too omnipresent because they take up a lot of the storyline.

Because of the excellent narration, I could not put the book down. The characters' actions captivated me, and I desperately wanted to know what would happen next.

However, I was not 100% satisfied with the ending. I would have imagined the realisation to be different. Also, there was often a push & pull from Reed that I found annoying. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book. I have only read a few love stories so far in which the author also wrote children so well.

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Find more reviews on my blog.… (plus d'informations)