Jeff Jarvis

I'll say upfront that I am a big Georgia Beers fan. I have not read one of her books yet that I didn't enjoy thoroughly. Olive Oil and White Bread is one that I am particularly fond of due to the nature of the story. Instead of just getting a quick view into a relationship, she takes the reader on a long journey, from the beginning of a relationship, through courtship and that “honeymoon” period, to the difficult parts of a relationship (dealing with work, parental loss, infidelity). I always love how well Georgia develops characters, and this book is no different. You get to really know Jillian and Angie, what drives each of them and what each wants out of the relationship.

I don't want to spoil anything in the story, so I will not go too deep in my explanation. I feel the book gives a very realistic portrayal of the ebbs and flows of a relationship. It isn't all about sex and love and happily ever after. Relationships take work to maintain and the characters in this story get to see that firsthand. There are some points in the book that had me feeling down and were filled with deep emotion. That is not a bad thing. Georgia does an excellent job of bringing the reader into the story and making you feel something for the characters. It made me think of my own relationships and how easy it is to miss the obvious things by just going through life without paying attention. This is an excellent book about relationships, not just about lesbian relationships. It is definitely worth a read.

Seemed like a very basic story that was over in a flash. The characters weren't developed and were very 2 dimensional. I wanted more out of this story.

I'm a big fan of Georgia Beers and this book was no exception. SoL was a different style for Beers, going person by person through the lives of people in a town as they interact with one another. In one chapter, you get to know the character, their thoughts, where they are in their life, what they want or need in their life. Somewhere in each chapter, they interact with another person, who you will get to know better in the next chapter. This progresses throughout the book and I found myself looking forward to meeting the next person, even looking to find who that next person was going to be. It was a light read, but it gave me a lot to think about, about how many people we encounter in our routine lives and how those interactions shape other people. I highly recommend this book.

This is the second book in the Tangle Valley series from Melissa Brayden. I enjoyed this book even more than I did the first one, although there was one part with the main characters that I did not enjoy. Ryan Jacks has had a lot of trouble with past relationships, being burned and having her heartbroken. At one point Ryan thinks Gabriella Russo can't get over her former lover, Madison. Ryan backs away because she has gone through it all before. Gabriella's character is very head-strong and she gets pissed off because of Ryan backing away. She doesn't communicate with Ryan before getting angry with her and not taking time to understand the past issues that she has gone through. I found this troubling and I lost a lot of respect for Gabriella. I felt like it was very unfair to not take her partner's past and her feelings into account before jumping all over her. It made for a bad section of the book for me. Otherwise, it is another good Brayden novel.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this 4 part series. It was a nice quick story, although the characters in it could easily be brought into a longer novel. I would love to see that with these two characters and to see their relationship develop further.

Highly recommended.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Perfect Partners is the first book I have read from Maggie Cummings, but it won't be the last. Her writing style is wonderful, allowing characters to develop over time without having you learn everything from the start. Her building of the relationship between the main characters Izzy and Sara was great, a slow build that had me wanting more and more until they finally were together.

It is a sweet story of a police officer, Izzy, who has been given an opportunity to take part in the K-9 training course that Sara is a lead instructor of. Sparks are evident from their first meeting and build as the training goes on. Sara resists her feelings because she has lost so much in her life and if she were part of a relationship with a cop, there would be the risk of losing her too. Over time, her feelings can't be stopped and the two come together and their relationship develops. I won't go into further points in the story so readers can get the full enjoyment of the story themselves.

This is an enjoyable story and one I would recommend highly.

Carsen Taite is one of my favorite WLW writers, primarily because her stories, while containing hot romances, also have a well-developed story outside of the romance. Trial By Fire is another excellent release. If you are a fan of crime stories with courtroom drama along with a slow build between two women, you will really enjoy this title.

I'm a big fan of stories with ice queens, so I was very excited to see this book released. While the stories are short, they are all enjoyable. Each has an ice queen as a lead character and have romance that makes their cold hearts melt. I highly recommend to anyone who likes this subgenre of lesfic.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I went into this book blind as I decided to not read the blurb about the book in advance. I had read good things about Missouri Vaun's work in the past and decided to try her newest work with no background.

The beginning of the book was a nice slow pace with good character development and vivid depictions of the Pacific coast area. As the story progressed, I found the romance parts a bit quicker paced than I personally like, but they were enjoyable. I prefer a long slow build instead. The end of the book was a very quick pace with a satisfying ending to the story.

I would recommend this to anyone that is not familiar with Vaun's prior works as a good entry point to her writing. I will definitely be looking at other books she has written.

I received an ARC copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I don't hide that I am a huge Georgia Beers fan, having read nearly every book she had released. She continues to produce quality stories that seem to get better with each new book. Fear of Falling is another fantastic story with characters you care about and want to see together with an HEA at the end.

There is not a lot of sex in this story, but that is in no way a bad thing. It is a slow growing burn as Sophie James and Dana Landon get to know each other as talent and manager and begin to develop feelings for each other. Sophie has led a wholesome career and has hidden her desire to be with another woman. Her journey is a wonderful coming out story. Dana is 10 years older than Sophie and went through a heart breaking relationship just a year before. She knows as her manager that professionally she shouldn't give into her growing feelings for her new client, but she can't resist. Her story is one of overcoming a bad relationship and giving into a relationship that scares her.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is a sweet romantic tale that leaves you feeling warm and satisfied.

I was provided a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased and fair review.

I absolutely loved this book. While the book can be read as a stand-alone, in my opinion, it is best if Jae's book, Perfect Rhythm, is read before this one. There are characters from the first book that are in this one, so to avoid major spoilers it is best to read them in this order.

The dynamic in this is one that I really enjoy, two people who initially do not like each other, but through getting to know each other they fall in love. Sasha owns a bakery in Fair Oaks and her character is very open about her sexuality. Ashley, on the other hand, knows who she is, but does not want anyone to find out. She is afraid of outing herself as a lesbian and losing her parents and possibly business in the small town. When the two are asked to help with the cake and flowers for a same-sex marriage, they spend lots of time with each other and their feelings begin to develop quickly.

I loved the building of the characters, the humor and playfulness between them, the slow build to a relationship that Jae does so well.

I highly recommend this to those looking for a sweet relationship and a building coming-out story.

I was provided a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I typically don't enjoy audiobooks with multiple narrators, but The Holiday Trap does an excellent job of blending 2 narrators that have a lot of energy and making the story flow. The story of 2 people doing a house swap for a month and finding the loves of their lives and true joy in their lives is one I will enjoy going back to in the future.

If you are looking for a heart-warming story of self-discovery, this is a great one from 2 people's views.

I received a free ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair, unbiased review.

This short story from Renee Roman is an excellent quick read filled with really hot sex from page 1. Sharon Lane gets caught by her roommate Case Austin while pleasuring herself. Instead of being shocked or uncomfortable with the site before her, Case shares with Sharon that she had wanted to be with her for a long time. After a night of wonderful sex, Sharon wakes up with the fear that their friendship will come to an end and that Case will see her the way she sees herself, someone who is fat and not confident, someone she would not want to be with. Case goes on to show Sharon that she is exactly who she wants and has wanted for a long time.

I loved the hot sex scenes, which makes this a story I will come back to. The author left the story open at the end and I hope she will turn this into a longer series building on the couples' relationship, maybe looking at their past and how they got to this point. I felt for Sharon, who saw herself in such a negative way. I could relate to this feeling and the author did a great job of building those feelings in a very quick story.

When I do reviews, I am looking for a book that I can relax and unwind with, especially romance novels. I found this book to be very difficult to follow due to the author's style of writing. It was a very tedious read and not one I enjoyed at all. It seemed like there was some agenda the author had at the beginning in regards to religion and lesbians, despite them indicating the girls in the story were not lesbians and then later saying they were. And while I like blunt language in stories, the continual use of the c-word was cringeworthy. Not one I would recommend.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Melissa Brayden has such a wonderful writing style. I really enjoy her way of writing in the first person to tell a story. Back to September is brilliant in the way the characters get together and battle different obstacles in their way to finally being together. Hannah owns a small-town bookstore in Providence. She isn't really into romance novels or romance at all for that matter, that is until one of her employees pushes her to feature Parker Bristow's newest release in the store window. Further conversations result in Hannah contacting Bristow's publicist about having her do a signing at the store. When the two meet, there is an automatic connection. Hannah's real-life romance novel has begun. Without spoiling the rest of the story, the couple goes through a lot of on-again, off-again moments in their relationship until they realize just how much in love they are and that they can't be apart.

There were times that I really didn't like Parker and the way she would put up walls to protect herself, even though it is a very real thing that is done in relationships. Hannah is just the sweetest character and I found myself engrossed in the story, wanting her to reach her HEA. I think a major plus of the novel is how it looks at an evolving relationship and the different stages, the difficulties that couples go through, and how they are able to work through those things and risk their hearts for the person that they can't live without.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the sweet romance between Hannah and Parker.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

This latest book in the Irresistibly Bound series is another knockout. While there are some BDSM elements present, they are not hardcore and should not prevent everyone from enjoying the story. Eve is a very dominant and controlling personality and Faith is attracted to and frustrated by this at the same time. Their chemistry is incredible and it makes for some very juicy and exciting love scenes. The additional element of Eve going through a custody battle added an interesting aspect to their kinky relationship.

If you have read and are a fan of Anna's other works in the series, you will love this addition. If you haven't checked out Anna's work before, I would recommend starting at the beginning of the series and build up to this story. Her work is definitely top-notch and this story is no exception.

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I have either read or listened to nearly every book Georgia Beers has written. I like the way her books flow, how the relationships she writes develop over time. Cherry on Top is similar to her writing style in other books, but the story development seemed different. That is not a bad thing at all. The two main characters get together a lot quicker than those do in some of her other books. There was also a couple of different storylines woven together with Cherry that I found to be a nice addition.

There were times in the story that I just did not like the Ellis character at all. I can understand her distaste for social media influencers, especially after what happened with her family, but her vitriol for all social media seemed misplaced, especially when she was writing for a tabloid that exposed people's activities. I don't feel like she ever truly felt remorse for that work that she was doing, yet she came down very hard on Cherry. It made me not like her at all. Cherry deserved better than to be treated the way she was.

This is one of the few times that Beers has written a character that I did not like, one that I don't feel like ever redeemed herself. The book is still fantastic and I loved Cherry.

I was provided with a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

This is the first novel I have read by MJ Williamz. While I liked the potential of the storyline, the overall storytelling was just not my style. I found the character development to be very shallow, very surface-level. I also found parts of the story to be very repetitive. For example, the character Ronnie is very early on established as a womanizer. Over and over throughout the book it is reiterated how much of a womanizer she is. As a reader, once I am told a main fact about character, I don't feel like I have to be reminded of this over and over again, especially not directly being told.

I found the sex scenes to be bland and very rushed. It was as if there was no build up to the scenes. In some cases, the scenes were no more than 4-5 lines of text. Clothes off...fingers in/out...touch the happy spot...massive orgasm. Similar scenes were established many times as well.

For some, this style may be exactly what they are looking for. I had a hard time getting through the book since it did not hold my interest and was in a style of storytelling that I don't gravitate to.

I was provided a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.