The final book in Sarina Bowen’s Ivy Series is a bit of a head scratcher and one in which the author’s intent seemed clear, but I don’t think she managed the very delicate balancing act she had decided to undertake, but first let me praise the other five books in the Ivy Years series and emphatically recommend buying all of them immediately: The Year We Fell Down – BAM! This book got me right in the feels. The Year We Hid Away – That’s a […]
Contemporary Romance of the Don’t Bother Variety
If this book was half as saucy and funny as it thinks it is, Luke Young could make a fortune. Wait. According to Amazon: Over 1.4 million eBooks downloaded! With the sixth and final book released, now is the time to start the hilarious and sexy Friends With Benefits series. Seriously? I’m going to go rethink my life. The book review proper will continue when I return. [musical interlude] From Amazon: Jillian Grayson is a disillusioned divorcée and best-selling romance novelist who suddenly can’t write […]
HOMG, So Much Plot!
Not You It’s Me started well with a playful tone, but Julie Johnson’s contemporary romance quickly descended into over-the-top plotting that gives Queen of Histrionica (and admitted personal guilty pleasure) Jennifer Ashley a run for her money. Gemma Summers is in a boring relationship that she hopes to spice up with free courtside basketball tickets, but things go awry when she and jerkface land on the kisscam and he ignores her. Embarrassed, Gemma finds herself swept into a massive clinch by the gentleman sitting next […]
Fun and Sexy Contemporary Romance – A Series Autobuy
With the Wild Seasons series, the writing team known as Christina Lauren is hitting its stride. Stronger than the Beautiful series, each of these books features one of three childhood friends who have just finished university and are figuring out where their lives will go next. When a weekend in Vegas turns into three impulsive marriages, Mia, Harlow, and Lola react differently by staying married, getting it on then getting it annulled, and getting started on the annulment immediately. Lauren’s fun female friendships are included […]
How I didn’t quite learn to stop worrying and love collegiate sexual politics
Let me start off by saying that, with The Ivy Years series, Sarina Bowen became #1 with a bullet on my list of favorite contemporary authors. Her blend of humor, sensitivity, romantic instinct, steam, and generally good writing really came together in a fantastic series. The Fifteenth Minute is no exception in technical merit. But, to me, it had issues that weren’t so in its predecessors. A lot of them have to do with the underlying premise, which I’ll get to more in a minute. […]
Will Meh. Will Meh.
This book was fine. It was alright, mildly entertaining, but not a book I would actually own or buy for anyone else. The parts I like the best were also the least realistic and didn’t give cause for investment in the characters. The parts I hated were the parts that read absolutely true to what it’s like being a teenager; depression, self-doubt and awkward loves. I’m really struggling to say anything else about it. I will say that it’s a great vacation read in that […]
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