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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…
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Review: The Burnt Toast B&B (Bluewater Bay #5) by Heidi Belleau & Rachel Haimowitz
First, the elephant in the room. One of the heroes of this tale is a transgender (female-to-male) character. I’m actually glad that this is not hinted at in the back-cover blurb, and that I found it out naturally (very early on in the book). It put a different slant on the relationship, but only by…
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Review: Before the Awakening (Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens) by Greg Rucka
Finn’s story: This story, while well-written in the technical sense, was by far the weakest of this trio. If not for my husband encouraging me onward, I might have put the entire book down. I understand that the book was released before the film, and that the authors don’t necessarily get all the information they’d…
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Review: Lone Wolf (Bluewater Bay #4) by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt
As a professional author and former fanfic writer, this novel was an odd sort of wish-fullfillment romance that I never knew I wanted. Reading it was both fascinating and oddly bizarre, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Reading about other authors and their process is always an interesting experience, because I believe there’s no “one, true…
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Review: Hell on Wheels (Bluewater Bay #3) by Z.A. Maxfield
Characters can make or break any book, but especially romances, and the characters in this book shined. Though both of them come from worlds far from my experience, Nash and Spencer were guys I could relate to, guys I could cheer for. And even better, neither of them existed in a vacuum. Their decisions regarding…
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Review: The Weapon of a Jedi (Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens) by Jason Fry
This book boiled down to “Just how did Luke get so good at using a lightsaber, anyway?” Which is an important question to ask, in the continuity between the films A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Unfortunately, the reality of the the limitations established in the Star Wars universe at that point in…
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Review: There’s Something About Ari (Bluewater Bay #2) by L.B. Gregg
This novella was a fun, quick read with striking characters that I devoured in one sitting. I appreciated that it didn’t follow the traditional romance genre formula, because there was no “meet-cute.” No slow burn between characters as knowledge and attraction deepen. Instead, this was the metaphorical final five minutes of the movie as two…
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Review: “Christmas Past” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short story) by Jodi Taylor
Though this review won’t get posted until after the holiday itself, this story was easily one of my favorite Christmas presents this year. Taylor blows me away with her ability to weave humor and heartbreak into the same passages. Though this story didn’t have quite as much of the usual St. Mary’s shenanigans, it was…
