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Review: Three Player Game (Bluewater Bay #20) by Jaime Samms
While creating a three-way relationship in a romance series, it would have been incredibly easy for this to devolve into straight-up erotica. Instead, the author takes three incredibly complex characters and builds a realistic relationship that includes all sorts of interesting stumbling blocks that grab the reader’s attention (even if it does make you want…
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Review: Get a Grip (Bluewater Bay #19) by L.A. Witt
Even though the main characters had their traditional “meet cute” in person, this story made effective use of modern dating apps to ensure that they got back together. In fact, this entire series has been modern in that the characters are not to be separated from their smartphones, even the Bluewater Bay inhabitants and not…
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Review: All Wheel Drive (Bluewater Bay #18) by Z.A. Maxfield
Once again, Maxfield shines with her use of character. Though there is a significant (and quite sexy) romantic element to this novel, the journey for me was more about the character progression, whether or not Healey and Diego ended up together. The author made me cheer for them as individuals, not necessarily as a couple.…
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Review: All Saints (Murder Ballads and Whiskey #4) by Jason Jack Miller
Disclaimer: I received an electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I am friends with the author and we shared a publisher. The flow and style of the language in this novel took me on a trip around the world that I’m not sure I wanted to come back from. Whether…
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Review: For a Good Time, Call… (Bluewater Bay #17) by Anne Tenino & E.J. Russell
There were moments while reading this book that I forgot it was a romance novel. It’s just that the romantic element felt like a subplot to all the craziness going on regarding Seth’s familial estate, but we happened to also spend a lot of time in Nate’s brain as he angsted about Seth.
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Review: No Small Parts (Bluewater Bay #16) by Ally Blue
While there were some elements to enjoy in this book, I’m actually much more impressed that I got over halfway through the available books in this series before I got to one that I vaguely enjoyed rather than devoured.
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Review: Bluewater Blues (Bluewater Bay #15) by G.B. Gordon
I started this book in the afternoon and finished it before I went to bed that evening. In fact, I devoured it so quickly that I didn’t even take a few notes in my phone while reading, like I usually do to make writing reviews easier. I couldn’t bear to tear myself away from the…
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Review: All the Wrong Places (Bluewater Bay #14) by Ann Gallagher
Despite the primary premise of this book being a romance between two asexual characters, all of the really intriguing elements of this relationship revolved around what made the characters unique aside from their asexuality. Which I suppose proves the point. Both men were a study in contrasts. Brennan is a skater dude to reads science…
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Review: Selfie (Bluewater Bay #13) by Amy Lane
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the two Bluewater Bay books that have made me cry so far are by the same author. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours, even pushing back work on my own book to both finish it and type up the review while everything is fresh in…
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Review: Stuck Landing (Bluewater Bay #11) by Lauren Gallagher
Though at first it seems odd to have an F/F romance in the midst of a series that has been primarily M/M to this point, Anna Maxwell has been a recurring character through the Bluewater Bay tales, and it was lovely to finally see her find some happiness of her own after the drama of…
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Review: Wedding Favors (Bluewater Bay #7) by Anne Tenino
Though I wasn’t a huge fan of the short story that featured these characters in the Bluewater Bay Valentine’s Day collection, I’m very glad I went back to read Lucas and Gabe’s novel when I realized I’d missed it. I didn’t have the patience for either character when they were teenagers. As adults, I still…
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Review: A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet #1) by Madeleine L’Engle
I read this novel for my 2018 Resolution Project over at Speculative Chic, the other blog I contribute to. This year, I resolved to fill a gap in my knowledge of the science-fiction classics and read the book before the film comes out in March. I succeeded! You can find my full review at Speculative…
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Review: Rain Shadow (Bluewater Bay #10) by L.A. Witt
One of the things I love most about this series is the diversity of characters. This doesn’t refer to just skin color, or occupation, or whether the character is famous or “normal,” but also in terms of personal history. In this case, Scott is a guy who hasn’t had a serious relationship in decades, and…
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Review: City Ash and Desert Bones by Laurel Myler
Disclaimer: This book was produced by the publishing company that also publishes my current series of novels; however, I purchased a hardcopy version of this novel for full price. The mystery about Reesa, one of the narrators and main characters of this novel, hooks you from the very first line of the book. As reminders…
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Review: When to Hold Them (Bluewater Bay #9) by G.B. Gordon
One of the things that I love about this series is that the creators of the world recognize that the entire town of Bluewater Bay does not revolve around the television show being filmed there, however much the characters mention the “Hollywood Invasion.” So much of the Pacific Northwest is protected national park (for now),…
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Review: ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times by Andrew MacLean
A post-apocalyptic story starring a strong female character and her adorable pet cat? This should have been right up my alley. But despite the art being streamlined and stunning, the story never quite grabbed me. Though the internal narration conceit was very cool, it seems the author erred on the side of “less is more”…
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Review: The Deep of the Sound (Bluewater Bay #8) by Amy Lane
I was thrilled to see that the next book in this series was by the same author (and featured the same characters) as my favorite story in the Valentine’s Day anthology, “Nascha.” In fact, that story takes place over the same time period as this novel, and it was fun to see what was going…
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Review: Lights, Camera, Cupid! (Bluewater Bay #6)
“Just Another Day” by L.A. Witt: I loved this quick check-in with our first Bluewater Bay couple, actors Carter and Levi. Levi is his usual cantankerous and loveable self, Carter is still too perfect for words, and I’d be jealous of those cats if I didn’t own three ridiculous Siamese of my own. Also, those…
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Review: Intraterrestrial by Nicholas Conley
Disclaimer: I received a free electronic version of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. This is one of those speculative fiction books whose actually genre is hard to pin down. Though the medical issues lend a realistic air to the story, the adventure Adam embarks on feels more like science-fantasy…
