Tag: arc review

Review: Looker by Laura Sims

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Title: Looker
Author: Laura Sims
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
Genre: Fiction
Source: Received an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Rating: 3 stars

A dazzling, razor-sharp debut novel about a woman whose obsession with the beautiful actress on her block drives her to the edge.

I’ve never crossed their little fenced-in garden, of course. I stand on the sidewalk in front of the fern-and-ivy-filled planter that hangs from the fence—placed there as a sort of screen, I’m sure—and have a direct line of view into the kitchen at night. I’m grateful they’ve never thought to install blinds. That’s how confident they are. No one would dare stand in front of our house and watch us, they think. And they’re probably right: except for me.

In this taut and thrilling debut, an unraveling woman, unhappily childless and recently separated, becomes fixated on her neighbor—the actress. The unnamed narrator can’t help noticing with wry irony that, though she and the actress live just a few doors apart, a chasm of professional success and personal fulfillment lies between them. The actress, a celebrity with her face on the side of every bus, shares a gleaming brownstone with her handsome husband and their three adorable children, while the narrator, working in a dead-end job, lives in a run-down, three-story walk-up with her ex-husband’s cat.

When an interaction with the actress at the annual block party takes a disastrous turn, what began as an innocent preoccupation spirals quickly, and lethally, into a frightening and irretrievable madness. Searing and darkly witty, Looker is enormously entertaining—at once a propulsive Hitchcockian thriller and a fearlessly original portrait of the perils of envy.

Review:

“Alone with a bottle of wine, how luxurious. I’ll be alone with one, too, in a few minutes, but the quality of her aloneness differs from mine. Hers is fuller: surrounded, swaddled even – an island on whose shores laps a vibrant, busy sea. Her aloneness is temporary; mine is infinite. Mine spreads out from the center like a puddle, muddying everything it touches.”

When I first heard about Looker, I was intrigued. The synopsis was giving me some slight The Woman in the Window vibes, which was one of my favourite books of 2018. I decided to request it and was fortunate enough to receive a copy via NetGalley.

The problem was, it seemed like it was going to be a mystery or a thriller. It’s not that. Sure, the ending is intense (literally the last 10% at most), but otherwise this story fell a little flat for me. While it started of interesting enough, it seemed overly repetitive and I never felt for the narrator in a way that I probably should have considering the struggles she had to endure with her infertility and her husband leaving her along with her crappy job.

The one thing I thought was nice was that because the narrator was so unreliable, I wasn’t entirely sure what was real and what was conjured up in her mind. Were her negative interactions with people as bad as she thought they were? Were her positive interactions only in her mind because she needed them to be positive in order to not lose her mind?

All in all, I would say that Looker is a fascinating character study about one’s obsession with another caused by a string of terrible events in her life. But because it sounded more like a thriller than anything else, I was a little disappointed. However, I think if you go into it knowing it isn’t a thriller and there is no big mystery to solve, it would be an enjoyable book.

Review: Hotshot Doc by R.S. Grey

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Title: Hotshot Doc
Author: R.S. Grey
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published by R.S. Grey
Publication Date: December 6, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Source: Received an advanced copy from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Rating: 4 stars

Dr. Russell has a bad reputation around our hospital. The scrub techs say he’s cold-blooded, the nurses say he’s too cocky for his own good, and the residents say he’s the best surgeon in the world—really, just a swell guy!—on the off chance he’s within earshot.

I try to avoid him and his temper at all costs. It’s just as easy to admire his sexy, grip-it-while-he’s ravishing-you hair and chiseled jaw from a healthy distance, preferably from the other end of the hallway half-hidden behind a plant.

Unfortunately, my plan crumbles when my trusty ol’ boss decides to swap his white coat for a Hawaiian shirt. His retirement leaves me with two terrible options: switch specialties and spend months retraining, or take an open position as Dr. Russell’s surgical assistant.

That means I have to stand near him in the OR for hours on end and anticipate his every need without letting his biting words and bad attitude intimidate me. Oh, and as if that’s not difficult enough, my silly crush on him—the one I’ve tried to stomp on until it disappears—might just be reciprocated.

It’s fine.
I’m fine.

I take my job seriously. There will be no smoldering bedroom eyes across the operating table, no angry almost-kisses in the storage closet. (Well, no more of those.)

What’s the phrase? An apple a day keeps the doctor away?
Maybe I should go for a whole damn bushel.

Review:

“I think I’m losing it. I wonder if repressing sexual attraction can turn you into a crazy person.”

Hotshot Doc follows Bailey, a surgical assistant, who is the legal guardian of her younger sister after their parents pass away. When the novel begins, Bailey finds out that the surgeon she has been working with for the past few years is going to retire so she is in need of a new surgeon to work for in order to keep her job.

Enter Dr. Matt Russell who can’t keep a surgical assistant to save his life. He’s gone through so many, definitely making them cry during each of their short stints working with him. He’s in need of a new surgical assistant after his most recent victim quit (working with Matt gave him a stomach ulcer!!!) and Bailey really needs that job to keep a roof over her and Josie’s heads. And so begins the perfect Grey’s-type romance. Makes sense considering the sisters are obsessed with Grey’s and marathon the show together.

My favourite thing about Bailey was how awkwardly relatable she was. Being that lost for words around someone as hot as Matt? Girl, same. Literally. My other favourite thing about Bailey was her relationship with her sister. No matter what, she always took into account what would be the right thing for her. And even when she started dating Matt, she never put Josie off to the side or forgot about her just because she had a guy in her life.

“Standing close to him in a quiet hallway was thrilling in the same way a death-defying rollercoaster is thrilling… maybe one that hasn’t been inspected in a while, made of rickety wood and squeaky iron bars. I was fairly sure I wouldn’t survive the ride, but something made me want to step right up anyway.”

As per usual, R.S. Grey knocks it out of the park with her hilarious one-liners and steamy romance. I’m convinced that if she tried her hardest, she couldn’t write a bad book. She is the ultimate queen of rom-coms and it’ll be pretty dang hard for anyone to ever knock her off her throne.

My one issue (the smallest thing really) is that I was expecting more of the romance. It’s clear the novel was supposed to be enemies-to-lovers, but it seemed like it developped kind of quick. They were enemies for about .2 seconds and then it was overshadowed by their respect for each other career-wise and the fact that the only reason they were staying away from each other was because it may not have been the right decision for Bailey to make when she had to take her job and Josie into account.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. R.S. Grey is still the queen of rom-coms and that isn’t going to change any time soon. I don’t think it was her best, but it was still pretty dang good.

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About R.S. Grey:

R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of thirteen novels, including THE FOXE & THE HOUND. She lives in Texas with her husband and two dogs, and can be found reading, binge-watching reality TV, or practicing yoga! Visit her at rsgrey.com

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Review: Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

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Title: Five Feet Apart
Author: Rachael Lippincott
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 20, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Received an advanced copy from Simon & Schuster/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Rating: 3 stars

Can you love someone you can never touch?

Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

Review:

Five Feet Apart is a story about Stella and Will, two teens with cystic fibrosis. Because they both have CF, they can never get within six feet of each other. If they do, Stella risks losing her place on the lung transplant list, and they both risk dying.

Reading this book, I was sure that it was going to break my heart into a million unrepairable pieces. It sounded like a mix of The Fault in our Stars (I spent 90% of that movie crying and don’t think I can ever watch it again because of that) and Everything, Everything (read the book in 24 hours, didn’t cry but it still had an impact).

To be completely honest, this book was nothing like either. I never had a connection to either of the characters or their romance. I never felt like I was cheering from them to figure something out or for a mircale cure to drop out of the sky. The only character I was cheering for to find the best happily ever after imaginable was Poe. And we’re not even going to get me started on that storyline.

The story had so much potential to be that deep, emotional kind of story that tugs at every heartstring and leaves the kind of impact that won’t let you forget it. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet that potential. Everything was written very surface level. There were many moments where characters could have been developed further or situations could have been more emotional, but it stayed very basic. This prevented me from having any kind of true attachement to the story.

Overall, I thought it was a good story in the sense that it brought important awareness to cystic fibrosis. However, I personally felt it was lacking in depth.

About Rachael Lippincott:

Rachael Lippincott was born in Philadelphia and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She holds a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, splitting her time between writing and running a food truck with her partner.

 

ARC Review: Only You by Marie Landry

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41578092Title: Only You
Author: Marie Landry
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-published by Marie Landry
Publication Date: November 13, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Received an advanced copy from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Rating: 4 stars

Ivy’s new boss is sexy, Scottish…and comes with an expiration date

When Ivy reluctantly takes a new part-time job, it’s a means to an end. Doing this favor for her pain-in-the-neck roommate means Ivy can have her apartment to herself again much sooner. The last thing she expects is Hugh—the hot Scot who just happens to be her new boss—asking her out on a date. And then another. And another.

Something about Hugh makes Ivy want to let her guard down and open up, which would be perfect if he wasn’t possibly returning to Scotland in a matter of weeks. But maybe that doesn’t matter. Maybe Ivy can learn to live in the moment and have a little fun, even if it means setting herself up for heartache later.

Review:

Going into this I was a little hestitant because I’ve never read a holiday book before (except a YA one when I was a teenage and my lord, was that ever bad). Holiday romances have the stereotype, to me at least, of being way too cheesy. Don’t get me wrong, cheesy can be good, but we all have our limits and with the holidays it can go overboard real quick. I am happy to report that this book was the perfect amount of holiday romance goodness

My one small issue with the characters is that they felt a little under developed. I wanted to learn more about Ivy and Hugh. Especially Hugh. All he had going for him was that he was a hot, rich Scot with a very charitable and generous heart. It would have been nice to know more than what any non-spoiler synopsis could tell you.

The other characters that made an appearance throughout the story were decent. They were basically there to offer their guidance and advice when it was required. Except Celia. I loved her and Ivy’s storyline throughout the book.

I liked the writing. The descriptions of Santa’s Village were exactly what I would imagine any Christmas amusement park to be. It made me wish there was one like that where I live and definitely helped me get into the holiday spirit.

Like any Christmas movie, Only You had the same kind of layout. It was very much based solely on the romance, the holiday spirit, and everything working out perfectly. This was such a happy book in terms of everything that happened. Even the things that were supposed to be sad didn’t feel all that sad to me.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was more or less what I expected of a holiday romance, and if you’re looking for a quick read for the upcoming holiday season, then I would suggest picking up this one.

5188180About Marie Landry:

Marie Landry’s life revolves around books; when she’s not writing them, she’s reading them, taking pictures of them for bookstagram, or blogging about them. An avid reader from a young age, she loves getting lost in characters’ worlds, whether they’re of her own making or someone else’s. She particularly loves coming-of-age stories with as much of an emphasis on self-discovery as on romance…but don’t leave out the romance!

When not doing bookish things, Marie can be found daydreaming (in general, but often about traveling through Europe), binge-watching shows on Netflix, and taking photographs. She lives in a cozy apartment in Ontario, Canada with the best roommate ever, and only sometimes imagines it’s actually a flat in London.

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Love Sincerely Yours by Meghan Quinn & Sara Ney – Blog Tour

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Title: Love Sincerely Yours
Author: Meghan Quinn & Sara Ney
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Hot-Lanta Publishing LLC
Publication Date: October 9, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Recieved an electronic copy from the author/InkSlinger PR for the purpose of this blog tour in exchange for an honest review

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Rating: 5 stars

Dear Mister…**strike out** no, too formal.
Hey there sweet cheeks *strike out* no, too forward.

To whom it may concern,
Full disclosure; before we move forward with this email, I would like it to be known that I have consumed an adequate amount of alcoholic beverages to intoxicate myself tonight. Three margaritas, two shots, and one beer—because it was free.

I think it’s important to be open and honest with your co-workers, don’t you?
So here I am, being honest. Drunk but honest. Or just drunk with lust? You decide.
I like you so much it’s clouding my judgment and making me do things I never would sober. Like write this letter.

I have a hopeless, foolish, schoolgirl crush on you when you are the last person on earth I should be falling for. Did you know people around the office call you a sadist? An egomaniac. An insensitive, arrogant prick. Your bark is worse then your bite, and you don’t scare me. The fact is, I’d love that bite of yours to nip at my bare skin while we’re both wearing nothing but sheets.

For once I want you to look at me as more than one of your employees.
And as long as we’re being honest, that navy blue suit you wear? With the crisp white shirt? It really makes me want to loosen your tie and show you who’s boss.

Love,
Sincerely,
Yours

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Review:

Wow. That’s the only word my brain can coherently come up with. Just wow.

This book was incredible. It was funny, it was adorable, and the tension between Peyton and Rome filled every moment of every page. I loved it.

The chemistry between Peyton and Rome was intense. The second he actually noticed her, oh my lord. The banter that flew between them was so funny, it had me laughing out loud even in public (sorry strangers?). And with every moment of banter came an insane amount of tension. So insane that I wanted to hop into the novel and tell them to find a room, or a supply closet, or even a strategically placed phone pole to just get it over with.

Rome was the perfect book boyfriend. I don’t care if he was moody and a tyrant at the office. It was so obvious he had that soft side and damn if I didn’t want to be the one to try and find it myself. Sorry, Peyton.

Hunter was a dream. He was one of the funniest side characters I’ve ever read. His one-liners killed me every single time and I can’t wait to read a book about him because I’m sure it would have me smiling for days.

Meghan Quinn and Sara Ney are such a perfect writing duo. I need them to write a million more novels together. They know how to write a good romance with a good storyline, funny as hell characters, and tension that will keep you flipping pages so quick because you can’t wait to see when it all comes together.

My one small issue was how Peyton’s friends seemed to disappear as soon as she struck out on her own. Once she left Roam, Inc. it was all Peyton and Rome, with the occassional appearance from Hunter. Considering how much of a part Gen played in the story at the very beginning, it would have been nice to at least see her in the book a little bit more.

I don’t normally speak about epilogues much, but oh my goodness, it needs to be mentioned how much I loved it. First of all, it wasn’t a million years in advance, and second of all, it was from Hunter’s POV to set up the next story. Now I’m sitting here just waiting for the next one because I need a book about Hunter in my life.

Overall, I adored this book. It’s definitely one of my favourites of the year. Their ability to write rom-coms rivals that of R.S. Grey, and you guys know how much of a big thing that is coming from me. I can’t wait to read whatever they have to offer next.

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About the authors:

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About Sara Ney:

Sara Ney is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the How to Date a Douchebag series, and is best known for her sexy, laugh-out-loud New Adult romances. Among her favorite vices, she includes: iced latte’s, historical architecture and well-placed sarcasm. She lives colorfully, collects vintage books, art, loves flea markets, and fancies herself British.

She lives with her husband, children, and her ridiculously large dog.

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About Meghan Quinn:

Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

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