Natasha WestCritiques

This was… fine. I blasted through it in like an hour or so but I can’t really say that I enjoyed it. The taboo nature of the professor like, purposefully going out to seduce her young students wasn’t the turn off for me (though it’s obvious she’s like, not a great person, I’m fine with reading about not great people) it just all felt really shallow and a lot more telling rather than showing. I get that it’s a novella, so things move quickly, but it all just felt really surface level. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. Probably like 2.5 stars. It was okay.

This is most likely going to be a fairly negative review, so i will make a couple of disclaimers before i start. This is by no means a terrible story, it had some good scenes and concepts. Most of my grievances come from a place of enjoyment, its a story i could have seen myself really liking had it done better.

The concept is pretty simple, coworkers turn to lovers, with the singles cruise setting adding some spice to it. We see how the characters see themselves and how it contrasts how they view eachother. The characters were initially one of the best parts of the story, but as the story went on, i grew more concerned. Natalie and Eden are both very flawed people with self worth issues. I thought it was actually fairy realistic in the sense that they were relatable issues. The problem with this characterization, especially with how it relates to their love lives is that i dont view either of them as being emotionally healthy enough to enter a relationship

This is my opinion obviously, and maybe other people could see having a successful relationship even with these issues not really sorted out. I think the writer saw this as a problem as well, so near the end of the book the writing tries to have the characters work through their issues, but with limited success. These arent issues that go away overnight and in the story, that is pretty much how they end up getting resolved. With these sorts of issues, you really needed a much longer story with a longer time span so we could see the characters develop rather than just flip flop. This is by far the biggest issue with the romance itself because for me it just doesnt work as it is presented.

Even taking that out of the equation, there just werent enough character interactions between Eden and Natalie for me to buy into the love connection. The majority of the story is one misunderstanding after another without much real meaty interactions to make me care. Even the sex felt unearned given that the first sex scene came after only one somewhat significant interaction. Not to say that there arent good character interactions, there are with the side characters. The sad thing is, by the end of the story i felt more engaged with the side characters than with the main characters. Its nice to have a good cast, but they should have focused more on the main relationship.

I just dont think the set up works with the premise. You can have characters with alot of room to grow, but that idea doesnt work well with a week long cruise setting. Maybe if the cruise were a month long, the book was longer and they spent more time on interactions than misunderstandings, then it could have been a favorite. Granted, not being a writer myself, maybe that would be bad. All i can say for sure is the book didnt work for me. Like i said, not terrible, but just alot of missed opportunity

This sweet, short tale is the first story I've read by the author. I rooted for both mains throughout the story. I don't think Sam and Tilda would have made much progress without the supporting characters. Mom was a piece of work.

This story reads like a novel. Julia Hawkes’ actions have gone unchecked far too long. In comes Penny Stone, a small town freshman, who causes Julia to seriously question her methods and her life in general.

I like how this book starts by showing how Julia is trying to move past the player mentality and attempts to settle down. Yes, there is a relapse of sorts, but she has just enough of Penny in her to feel something this time. In addition, Julia and Penny’s intense love for each other still exists. The question is if it’s enough to bring and keep them together. They both still have a lot of growing and maturing to do.

This is a great continuation of the series. However, I think the author should end it here. Based on their history, I don’t think Julia and Penny can survive another break-up. Plus, I want to have that personal debate with myself whether Julia and Penny will stay together, get married, build a family, have successful careers, etc. A fourth book would only complicate my expectations for Julia and Penny's HEA.

Wait, what's this? A contemporary non-YA romance I actually enjoyed?! YES I DID. (and after the last few I read, that's a big thing.)

The Plus One was funny, engaging, and had just enough drama and feels. It was also the perfect length and didn't drag on too long. There's not much I can say about it without being spoilery, but it's a really cute and funny fake dating F/F romance with an awesome sister. Please read it.

While the writing is very good and the characters do go through what at least _seems_ like a growth period I just found myself too appalled by both main characters' behavior the entire time I was reading this. I can understand how intensely painful being cheated on must be, but infidelity is no excuse for some of the very petty means both women take to get back at their exes (slashing innocent strangers' tires as "collateral damage" is just inexcusable and beyond wrong!!) The amount of anger I felt at this may be over the top and is most likely clouding my judgment (and I suppose you could say if a book brings out such a strong reaction in you it has done its job) but all I could think was "I am so glad I don't know either of these women."

_Joined at the Hip_ is a totally, totally goofy read and should not work at all, but somehow does. If I had read it in on the "wrong" day or in another kind of mood, I might not have liked it. I much prefer it to _Marriage of Connivance_ which I found to be full of immature characters and containing a major plot device that is just too juvenile for me (grown women in their 30s resorting to very petty acts of revenge just does not grab me.) Here, however, the author's tendency towards the wild and wacky jives and I do not regret reading it and would say it is perfect for a nice and casual afternoon read.