REVIEW: Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey

 OUR REVIEW:

This series is just fun, y'all. I know when I pick up the next one it'll be a good time with some giggles and some characters who have real feelings hiding in there somewhere. In the case of Pitcher Perfect, we'd seen both Robbie and Skyler in a scene before and it was memorable. We basically start there with their story and learn that that particular meet cute is started Robbie's fall for Skylar. It took a little longer for her, but the events and stories that bring them together are sweet and exactly what I needed for a quick, fun romance. 

If you enjoyed this series, I really think you'll enjoy Robbie and Skyler's story. 

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SYNOPSIS:

Boston Bearcats rookie Robbie Corrigan is living the dream. He’s made it to the NHL, his best friend/teammate and fellow “orgasm donor” is his roomie—and the women of Boston love them both. Life is sweet. That is, until he meets Skylar Paige, division 1 softball pitcher, girl least likely to take anyone’s bull…and the one member of the opposite sex immune to his charms. Robbie might be dazzled by the badass pitcher, but Skylar pegs him as a filthy player and wants nothing to do with him.

When he discovers she’s carrying a serious torch for her brother’s best friend, Robbie knows he should just go back to clubbing and whipped cream bikini parties, but he can’t seem to leave Skylar to flounder on her romantic quest to land another man. Nor can he miss out on the opportunity to spend time with her and hopefully redeem himself. Before Robbie knows it, he’s agreed to be Skylar’s fake boyfriend/love coach at an upcoming family wilderness competition where her crush will be in attendance. What could go wrong?

Through a series of contests that require them to trust each other, Robbie and Skylar grow closer and closer until their fake relationship starts to feel like the realest thing they’ve ever known and the sizzling lessons in sensuality burn out of control.

But it’s all just pretend…right?

REVIEW: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

REVIEW:

It's been a while since I've read an Ariel Lawhon novel and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed her writing. I was immediately interested in the character of Martha Ballard and the story she had to tell. Maybe it's because I'd recently read The Crucible with my students, but I honestly think if I didn't have that frame of reference I'd still enjoy this novel. Martha's story is one that seems so familiar, despite its setting of 1789. Unfortunately, as much as things have changed, many things remain the same. Women not being believed? Check. Women being preyed upon by men who think they're untouchable? Check. People automatically thought of as less than or suspicious because they're different? Check. People behaving badly? Check. Even with all of that, though, there were bright spots. There was so much love and hope and goodness. The characters are rich and the setting and historical details fascinated me, while reminding me of how good I have it. 

This novel is one I've been recommending to those who want a rich and interesting story. It's well researched and imagines the lives and stories surrounding real people in a way that captivated me. 

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SYNOPSIS:

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town's most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon's newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

Inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into history.

 

REVIEW: Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder

OUR REVIEW:

Some Kind of Famous was such a nice surprise. I've read both of Wilder's previous novels and remember enjoying them so was excited at the opportunity to read this one too. When I reflect on what makes it such a good read for me, I think it's the focus on two characters that I don't get to meet very often. Merritt is coming off a long recovery period-life post being a world famous musician who ends up burning up and burning out. She starts off as tentative and internal--lots of things going on inside, lots of guilt or shame, and without the nudge of her sister (and Niko) I feel like she'd still be living with her sister, hiding from life. But she's nudged and she hires Niko and life begins to begin again. 

With Niko, we learn that this man who seems pretty stable and steady, is that because it's his armor and shield from his previous hurts. He craves a certain certainty and has been burned so many times that he sets the bar low for everyone else but himself. And so getting to know Merritt challenged him just as he challenged her. 

Seeing their care and respect for each other, their desire for the other to succeed, and their willingness to put the other's happiness first made this an all around superior read. 

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SYNOPSIS:
In this steamy and emotional small-town romance, a disgraced ex-musician and a local handyman try to resist their growing attraction for each other—until a broken-down house forces them together—from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood and Will They or Won't They

It’s been a decade since Merritt Valentine’s peak as a celebrated singer-songwriter… and her subsequent career-ending mental breakdown. Since then, she’s abandoned the glitz of Los Angeles to move in with her sister, Olivia, in the sleepy Colorado ski town of Crested Peak, hoping to heal her lingering emotional wounds of the spotlight.

Life in Crested Peak would be uncomplicated if not for Merritt’s inconvenient crush on the local contractor and handyman, Nikolaos Petrakis. Niko is disarmingly handsome and too kind-hearted to ever be right for the complex and prickly Merritt. Though tempting, a fling with Niko would only bring the kind of drama Merritt has vowed to leave behind.

After his last heartbreak, Niko is done dating his fellow townies. Still, he can’t shake his fascination with the brilliant Merritt, even as he heeds their mutual friends’ warnings to steer clear of her chaos. But when Merritt needs help fixing up a house of her own, Niko is glad to be the only man for the job.

As the two spend more time together, their mutual attraction sparking a deeper connection than either one expects, they’re forced to confront the idea that they may have underestimated each other– and themselves.

 

REVIEW: The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel

OUR REVIEW:

This is the first time I've ever read a Kristin Harmel novel and I can see why she has a huge following; she clearly loves her characters and treats them with as much care as the world she's building allows. In The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau we get to know an octogenarian jewelry thief--words I never thought I'd type. lol. Of course it's not that simple. We come to know Colette and her family history-one that sees justice in theft--and it's with that in mind that we find her contemplating one important heist. In order to really understand this, we have to know the history and in alternating chapters we learn about her life in France during WW2 and her life in America after. Lots of grief and fear and tragedy that also includes hope and contentment and love. 

As we learn more about Colette and her history, we get to know the people in her life now--and how all of this impacts them. It's an interesting intwining of past and present and found family. Love and loss and grief. And while all of that seems grim, I left feeling satisfied and content with the ending.

While this novel isn't breaking new ground, it's definitely engaging and would be a great book club read. I enjoyed it and I know others will too. 

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SYNOPSIS:

Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.

But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette’s four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane’s body was found floating in the Seine—but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

Seventy years later, Colette—who has “redistributed” $30 million in jewels over the decades to fund many worthy organizations—has done her best to put her tragic past behind her, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time—and who owns it now—she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn’t the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she’s forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. Against all odds, there may still be a chance to bring a murderer to justice—but first, Colette will have to summon the courage to open her own battered heart.
 

REVIEW: Nocturne by Karina Halle

OUR REVIEW:

Karina Halle is someone we've read again and again because she always seems to be willing to challenge herself to write in new worlds, and by doing that, challenges us to try to follow her. It's been a while since we've read anything by her and so when Nocturne came across the screen, it was time to jump back in. 

In Nocturne she not only put us back in 1947 Hollywood, but she also added vampires. Fun! I've read some of her other vampire novels and enjoyed them, as I enjoyed this one too. Her take on the Black Dahlia murder(s) and the corrupt underbelly of the city of stars, plus the sinister desires of one brand of vampire added up to quite a lot of things going on. And while this wasn't my favorite thing I've ever read (sometimes it felt like it dragged a little), I did enjoy it.

A nice escape for the norm..but definitely pay attention to the warnings before the book-this may not be for everyone. 

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SYNOPSIS:Los Angeles, 1947.
The city is drowning in secrets and blood—and Lena Reid just lost her best friend to the shadows.
Elizabeth Short is dead. The press calls her the Black Dahlia.
Lena wants answers. Closure. Revenge.
What she finds instead… is him.

Victor Callahan is danger in a three-piece suit. An ex-boxer with fists like thunder and eyes that promise ruin. He’s supposed to help her.
Instead, he haunts her. Follows her. Wants her.
He doesn’t remember what happens after dark.
The blackouts. The blood.
The hunger.

But Lena’s not afraid of monsters.
She falls for them.
She is one.

Now, with a serial killer circling closer and a secret society pulling strings behind the curtain, Lena has one rule
Don’t let a vampire fall in love with you.
Because once he does…
He’ll never let you go.

Seven meets L.A. Confidential with a vampire twist, in this true crime and film noir-inspired standalone dark romance from New York Times Bestselling author Karina Halle. This book contains mature content with potential triggers--please consult the Content Warning at the start of the book.