Review - - Ship Wrecked

Ship Wrecked: A Novel

by Olivia Dade

Spoiler Alert - Book 3

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: November 15, 2022

Reviewed by PJ

Maria’s one-night-stand—the thick-thighed, sexy Viking of a man she left without a word or a note—just reappeared. Apparently, Peter’s her surly Gods of the Gates co-star, and they’re about to spend the next six years filming on a desolate Irish island together. She still wants him…but he now wants nothing to do with her.

Peter knows this role could finally transform him from a forgettable character actor into a leading man. He also knows a failed relationship with Maria could poison the set, and he won’t sabotage his career for a woman who’s already walked away from him once. Given time, maybe they can be cooperative colleagues or friends—possibly even best friends—but not lovers again. No matter how much he aches for her.

For years, they don’t touch off-camera. But on their last night of filming, their mutual restraint finally shatters, and all their pent-up desire explodes into renewed passion. Too bad they still don’t have a future together, since Peter’s going back to Hollywood, while Maria’s returning to her native Sweden. She thinks she needs more than he can give her, but he’s determined to change her mind, and he’s spent the last six years waiting. Watching. Wanting.

His shipwrecked Swede doesn’t stand a chance.

PJ's Thoughts:

I was blown away by Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert, set within the fanfic world of the hit (fictional) television show, Gods of the Gates. Then came book two, All the Feels (click for review), and let me tell you, I felt all. the. feels. How, I wondered, would Dade possibly top Alex and Lauren's journey to love? With co-stars (grumpy, socially awkward) Peter and (sunny, confident) Maria, with set-the-sheets-on-fire chemistry, intense yearning, emotional angst, hilarity, snappy banter, laugh-inducing nicknames, and a hard-won happily ever after, all wrapped up in an immersive story that I could not put down. That's how she did it. 

I fell head over heels in love with both Peter and Maria. How could I not when the author's love for these characters she had created was so clear? These are complex characters and the care she took with each of them was evident in their development, layers, flaws, fears, hopes, and dreams; in their subtle - and not so subtle - nuances, and in their significant personal growth. Dade's characters are so very real and relatable. 

I have enormous respect for an author who, in a sea of ripped heroes and svelte heroines, chooses to create both a fat leading man and leading lady, embracing them as they are without making their weight a negative facet of their story. Peter is tall and broad-shouldered, with thick thighs and arms, and a soft belly, qualities Maria loves about him. He surrounds her body, makes her feel safe. Maria is a tall, strong, blonde Swede with with a healthy love of her ample curves and the fortitude to stand strong against those who would risk her health for a smaller silhouette on TV. Great body positivity! And she's not the only one who loves those curves. Needless to say, Peter and Maria enjoy an energetic and steamy physical relationship once they make the decision to indulge.

Secondary characters are flawlessly woven in and out of the story, interacting with Peter and Maria in ways that highlight facets of their personalities and move their story forward while also giving fans of the series a look at favorite couples from other books and new favorites to embrace. The relationships from the three books all move in a similar timeline so for those who have read the first two books, it's fun to view certain events from a different perspective. For those new to the series, if you want to avoid spoilers I recommend reading the three books in order. Though you can definitely enjoy Ship Wrecked as a standalone, my own enjoyment was enhanced by having read books one and two first. 

A particular highlight of Ship Wrecked for me was Dade's impeccable comedic timing balanced with heart-tugging emotion.  In Chapter 16, when Peter and Maria are sent to Stockholm on a publicity trip and stay with her family we are treated to both. There were heartbreaking parts of that chapter where I cried for past experiences Maria finally shared with Peter and other parts where people on the other side of my house were tracking me down to find out why I was snort laughing so loud and often. Pro tip: do not eat or drink anything while reading Chapter 16. 

Olivia Dade has secured her place on my must-buy, favorite-author, I-will-never-miss-a-single-book-she-writes, all-novels-go-straight-to-my-keeper-shelf list. I enthusiastically recommend giving her a try. 

One last thing: kudos to Avon for a fantastic cover that accurately depicts these wonderful characters! 

Have you read any of Olivia Dade's books yet?

Have you read other romances where body positivity is an integral part of the story? 

Review - - Mr. Perfect on Paper

Mr. Perfect on Paper

by Jean Meltzer

Publisher: MIRA

Release Date: August 9, 2022

Reviewed by Hellie

The perfect Jewish husband should be:

• A doctor or lawyer (preferably a doctor)
• Baggage-free (no previous marriages, no children)
• And of course—he must be Jewish 

As the creator and CEO of the popular Jewish dating app J-Mate, matchmaker Dara Rabinowitz knows the formula for lasting love—at least, for everyone else. When it comes to her own love life, she’s been idling indefinitely. Until her beloved bubbe shares Dara’s checklist for “The Perfect Jewish Husband” on national television and charming news anchor Chris Steadfast proposes they turn Dara’s search into must-see TV. 

As a non-Jewish single dad, Chris doesn’t check any of Dara’s boxes. But her hunt for Mr. Perfect is the ratings boost his show desperately needs. If only Chris could ignore his own pesky attraction to Dara—a task much easier said than done when Dara starts questioning if “perfect on paper” can compete with how hard she’s falling for Chris…

 

Hellie’s Heeds 

You’re going to be “verklempt” in every sense of the word. Verklempt, assuming you were an SNL fan in the early 1990s when this word became more mainstream, means: overcome with emotion. Get your chocolate, get your tissues, and clear your schedule because you will be turning pages long into the night as you constantly wonder: “How in the world is Dara going to end up with Chris, who is clearly Mr. Right, even if he’s not perfect on paper?” I have rooted for some fictional couples in my time, but I rooted for Chris and Dara as if my very life depended on it. These two were perfectly flawed, but oh-so-lovable characters with friends and family that were just the right amount of supportive without being intrusive. Well, apart from that scene her grandmother does on live TV.  

The more I read this book, the more I wanted to slow down and take notes about HOW the author did it. For me, it is one of those perfect books to take and pull apart to show all the beats and nuanced tension that kept the story going, making me truly worry (as someone who has read HEA books for over 30 years) if the hero and heroine were going to make this work. This author did all the right things and made it look seamless–and what’s more I know it couldn’t have possibly been seamless–so I applaud her (and her editors) all the more for how perfect this book came out.  

If you have ever been to a writer’s conference or workshop where they talk about character development, one of the first keys to building realistic tension and relatable characters is identifying something (usually a quirk or a boundary for the character) that the character will never do. It doesn’t have to be “big” (like, they’d never rob a bank or kill someone) but it has to be a true boundary for the character. I always get stymied by what seems like a very simple question to answer for my characters; therefore, when I see it so artfully done in books I read, I take notice. I know how hard that was to create and then create the outcomes needed for the character arcs. And the arcs for both of these characters, the quirks and boundaries they each had to overcome, were handled spot-on. If you’re still reading this and you’re like, “I’m just a reader, Hellie, what ARE you talking about?”--just let me say the reunion scene in the end where the two characters are trying to get to each other to declare their love is AMAZE-BALLS. Like When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle AMAZE-BALLS. Classic rom-com.  

The Dark Moment scene–I was crying–and I had to read it aloud to my husband, who cries at Disney movies, and then we were both sobbing into our breakfast meals. We are soft-touches for a great dark moment and then an even bigger reunion. The scene with Dara and her grandmother, as Dara realizes what she thought she always wanted isn’t what she wants…and how going for what she truly loves may impact her life and understanding of what it means to be Jewish, had us sobbing harder into our bacon–I mean it, we were a mess. Then when Dara takes the leap of faith–and the ChallahBack Girls come to her rescue: SOLID GOLD.  

And I haven’t even gotten to talk about all the LOL moments–which there is one basically on every page. I assure you I laughed much more than I cried–but when I cried, it was because I was invested and verklempt.  

When I read Jean Metzler’s The Matzah Ball last year, I put her on my auto-buy list, even as I knew sophomore books sometimes don’t live up to the perfection of their predecessors. Worry not, dear readers. It is as perfect as a slow-roasted brisket, cooked for 12 hours on low. This one is definitely going on my list as one of the best books of the year.

 

Review - - For the Love of the Bard

For the Love of the Bard

by Jessica Martin

A Bard's Best Romance -  Book 1

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: June 28, 2022

Reviewed by Hellie

Literary agent and writer Miranda Barnes rolls into her hometown of Bard’s Rest with one goal in mind: to spend the summer finally finishing her YA novel, the next installment in her bestselling fantasy series. Yet Miranda’s mother, deep in the planning stages for the centennial of the town’s beloved annual Shakespeare festival, has other ideas.  

Before you can say “all’s fair in love and war,” Miranda is cornered into directing Twelfth Night—while simultaneously scrambling to finish her book, navigating a family health scare, and doing her best to avoid the guy who broke her heart on prom night. 

When it comes to Adam, the veterinarian with a talent for set design and an infuriating knack for winning over Miranda’s dog, the lady doth protest too much. As any Shakespeare lovers knows, the course of true love never did run smooth, and soon Miranda realizes she’ll have to decide whether to trust Adam with her heart again.

 

Hellie’s Heeds: 

You know how I raved about A PROPOSAL THEY CAN’T REFUSE, how it was the MUST READ of Summer 2022? Well, your TBR pile just got a little longer. This book gives APTCR a run for your money in the Laugh Out Loud column because I don’t think there was a single page I wasn’t guffawing and reading tidbits to whoever was in the room at the time.  

The set up is a classic “enemies to lovers” and “second chances” mish mash, complete with previous unresolved high school trauma that only an older sister kissing your boyfriend can create. One of the first lines in which I knew I would be placing this book on a keeper shelf and then buying whatever this author puts out next was this: “It wasn’t that I didn’t like Adam. I loathed Adam. I loathed him in the way that one loathes their most vivid memory of being embarrassed, heartbroken, and humiliated. The kind of memory that follows you into adulthood and echoes through the corridors of your entire existence.” I mean, that paragraph resonated…as did most of Miranda’s tart observations and retorts she dishes out to her siblings, Adam, and the hilarious villain-turned-ally event planner, Candace.  

In lieu of the cute older characters I normally enjoy in a story, this one featured the reliably disastrous and prone to eat anything goofy dog. Puck makes for great scene stealing laughs and bonding moments between this couple. There is also a fun-loving lumberjack-looking hipster book agent that is Miranda’s BFF, named Ian, and he’s as much a scene stealer as Puck, just saying. One hopes that he will also receive his own book. In fact I would read any other love story of any of the other characters in the book…anything in order to be able to visit the Bard’s Rest again. In fact, I vote this town actually be created as an ode to the great man himself, complete with competing mainstages, actors and village people, and the pun-riddled establishments that I wanted to visit (especially if there were food stuffs involved.) I will be there with bells on.  

Miranda is everything I love in a heroine: witty, hilarious, but a little self-deprecating. Adam is kind, funny, sexy, and everything you’d want in a modern hero. Now some readers may wonder why Miranda doesn’t cut Adam a break–I mean, it was high school, after all–but I always figure those readers enjoyed high school more than I did…or my friends did. I figure readers fall into two categories where high school is concerned: those who are willing to attend a high school reunion and those who won’t even friend people they went to high school with on Facebook (let alone attend any reunions.) If you fall into the latter category as I do, this book is for you. Miranda is your heroine; Adam is your wish-fulfillment of what you wished had happened to rectify that time called high school teenage angst. But if you’ve already paid for your therapy and believe we should all not be acting like high school teens any longer (i.e. needless drama and grudges), you may think Adam deserves someone a little better (even though Miranda does grow and become a very worthy heroine, IMO.) In fact I think the author does a great job of creating several “difficult” women to stroll the pages of this book, making them annoying but loveable, making me yearn for all their stories. Even Portia’s. I cannot wait to see what this author does next. Well done.  

I would say more–but it would mostly be every single quote in the book I found hysterical, which we do not have time for–so I think it would be better served if you just picked up your own copy and fell in love with Bard’s Rest.

 

Tour Review - - Point Last Seen

Point Last Seen

by Christina Dodd

Publisher: HQN

Release Date: July 26, 2022

Reviewed by PJ

LIFE LAST SEEN

When you’ve already died, there should be nothing left to fear… When Adam Ramsdell pulls Elle’s half-frozen body from the surf on a lonely California beach, she has no memory of what her full name is and how she got those bruises ringing her throat.

GIRL LAST SEEN

Elle finds refuge in Adam’s home on the edge of Gothic, a remote village located between the steep lonely mountains and the raging Pacific Ocean. As flashes of her memory return, Elle faces a terrible truth—buried in her mind lurks a secret so dark it could get her killed.

POINT LAST SEEN

Everyone in Gothic seems to hide a dark past. Even Adam knows more than he will admit. Until Elle can unravel the truth, she doesn’t know who to trust, when to run and who else might be hurt when the killer who stalks her nightmares appears to finish what he started…

PJ's Thoughts:

She's done it again, delivered a gripping, edge-of-my-seat thriller that kept me compulsively flipping pages from the breath-stealing beginning to the heart-stopping end. Is it any wonder that each new book Christina Dodd releases goes straight to the top of my reading list?

I've been reading Dodd's books for more than 20 years, beginning with her historical romances then following her as she transitioned to contemporary romantic suspense, paranormal, and suspense thrillers. While I've enjoyed her stories in all sub-genres, I believe it's with her current thrillers that this prolific author has found her best, most authentic voice, creating compelling stories that have, quite literally, kept me reading all night long. 

Point Last Seen showcases Dodd's best assets. Her ability to set the stage creates an immersive, sensory experience. Her main characters are intriguing, a bit mysterious, fully developed, and never fail to engage my emotions. I was fully invested in both Elle and Adam and the outcome of the challenges in their paths. I loved their layers, the bits and pieces of themselves that were strategically revealed as the story progressed. 

Then there's the supporting cast. I always enjoy the quirky characters who populate Dodd's books, helping to move the story forward while at the same time offering opportunities for pops of sly humor as well as the many twists waiting to surprise the reader around the next turn. 

It doesn't matter how many of Dodd's books I read, those surprising twists never reveal themselves to me until the author deems it appropriate. It's that kind of writing that keeps me glued to the pages, has me gasping with surprise, that twists my emotions into a pretzel, surprises me with laughter in the midst of chaos, and guarantees that whenever she publishes a new book, I'll be first in line to snag a copy. 

I highly recommend adding Point Last Seen to your summer book-buying list. It's one of my best reads this year. 

Review - - A Proposal They Can't Refuse

A Proposal They Can't Refuse

by Natalie Caña

Publisher: MIRA

Release Date: May 24, 2022

Reviewed by Hellie

Kamilah Vega is desperate to convince her family to update their Puerto Rican restaurant and enter it into the Fall Foodie Tour. With the gentrification of their Chicago neighborhood, it's the only way to save the place. The fly in her mofongo—her blackmailing abuelo says if she wants to change anything in his restaurant, she'll have to marry the one man she can't stand: his best friend’s grandson. 

Liam Kane spent a decade working to turn his family’s distillery into a contender. But just as he and his grandfather are on the verge of winning a national competition, Granda hits him with a one-two punch: he has cancer and has his heart set on seeing Liam married before it’s too late. And Granda knows just the girl…Kamilah Vega. 

If they refuse, their grandfathers will sell the building that houses both their businesses. With their futures on the line, Kamilah and Liam plan to outfox the devious duo, faking an engagement until they both get what they want. But soon, they find themselves tangled up in more than either of them bargained for.

 

Hellie’s Heeds 

If you buy only one summer beach read, make it this one. OMG. I was laughing from page one. By page 10, I looked to see if there were any other books by the author I could glom as soon as I finished this one. I learned this is her debut. I’m putting her on my auto-buy list. I cannot wait to see subsequent stories about the Vega family–especially about Saint, the broody older brother. *swoons*  

This has a delicious gumbo mix of tropes: friends to lovers, second chances, meddling family members, competing businesses, a fake engagement, and I’m sure many more I’m forgetting at the moment. But they’re all the tropes I most adore (minus the rake and the wallflower one). Both the hero and the heroine were intensely lovable and relatable, what with their love and dedication to family as well as their secret shames that were keeping them from going all in with relationships and their careers.  

Aside from the hero and heroine, who I loved, my favorite characters were the grandfathers. I know some readers love books with precocious children or poor stray dogs that get a second chance, but me, I'm about the old people. With one caveat: so long as the old people don’t die. Treat the old people like you’d treat a dog in a book: Don’t. Kill. Them. Off. That said, I love “old people” characters because they’re sneaky…and grumpy (sometimes)...and they cause such trouble. These grandfathers did not disappoint. Oh, my, were they sneaky and grumpy and shenanigan-causing. One minute I’d be laughing and the next I’d be crying…beautiful. 

The more I read, the more I could see this was a debut book–because I feel in many debut books, you can sense how much heart is in it. While I would agree, every book an author writes has their heart in it–I have to say, the first book, it’s definitely a “leave everything in the ring and on the page” kind of heart, and that was this book. It was poignant, heart-stirring, and emotionally satisfying. And it was hot. The sexual tension between this couple nearly scorched my book proof, let alone any sheets they were on. And it felt hot without feeling overly graphic as well, so kudos to Ms. Caña there as well. I know sex scenes, like humor, can be very subjective for readers (i.e. too much? Not enough? Clinical? Too vague?)--but I felt she made the scenes feel organic and authentic to the romantic arc of the characters. Well done. I dog-eared a few pages for the hubby later.  

My only complaint? Ms. Caña can’t come out with book 2 soon enough for me.

   

Review - - Seoulmates

Seoulmates

by Jen Frederick

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: January 25, 2022

Reviewed by Hellie

 

 

When Hara Wilson lands in Seoul to find her birth mother, she doesn’t plan on falling in love with the first man she lays eyes on, but Choi Yujun is irresistible. If his broad shoulders and dimples weren’t enough, Choi Yujun is the most genuine, decent, gorgeous guy to exist. Too bad he’s also her stepbrother. 

Fate brought her to the Choi doorstep but the gift of family comes with burdens. A job in her mother’s company has perks of endless company dinners and super resentful coworkers. A new country means learning a new language which twenty-five year old Hara is finding to be a Herculean task. A forbidden love means having to choose between her birth family or Choi Yujun. 

All Hara wanted was to find a place to belong in this world—but in order to have it all, she’ll have to risk it all.

 

Hellie’s Heeds 

This is the second book of Jen Frederick’s Seoul series; and while I believe technically you could read one without the other, I believe that reading the first one will give the reader a deeper understanding of the core conflict keeping the hero and heroine apart. In the first book, which I felt was a love letter to South Korea and adopted kids everywhere, Hara is this Everywoman character you root for to get her happy ending. While in one way she does get her HEA, the romantic element, perhaps the element many of us look for in a HEA more, does not get a HEA–and even getting a happy for now ending was a bit challenging. But there was so much to unpack with her story. She was an adopted kid from South Korea whose adoptive parents are from Iowa, where she grew up as the only Korean kid for miles. While she is totally loved by her adoptive mother, Ellen, her adoptive father ends up divorcing her mom and has a “real” (read: white) child with his new wife. Hara decides to go to Korea to find and meet her biological parents, much to the distress of her mom. When Hara arrives in Seoul to meet her biological father, she learns he died two days before and ends up attending his funeral instead, etc, etc.  

This book picks up six weeks after the last book ends, where Hara has reunited with her birth mother and is given an opportunity to live in Seoul, learn more about her birth country and culture, and maybe fit in for the first time with people who look like her. Only as one always learns when she thinks life will be easier if she just lived somewhere else, she realizes, nope, she is still the Outsider. On top of it, the boy she met who made her experience of Seoul and finding her birth parents bearable is her “stepbrother” which in the Korean culture is the same as if they were true siblings, meaning any romantic relationship they may have wanted would be cultural incest and social suicide if they keep pursuing it. And they want to be together.  

I have to hand it to the author: there was conflict galore in this book. I was so happy to have a second book that would perhaps resolve the issue of the romantic couple, but this book put the heroine (and the reader) through the wringer as one wondered if Hara would ever get a happy ending, if she would ever get to be with her true love without losing her mother again or tearing apart a family. There was also the conflict of Hara trying to find her place in society and a job/career she truly enjoyed. The book starts with her working for her mother–so she is known as the nepotism hire and all the co-workers treat her poorly because she didn’t earn her position. And there was also the conflict that Hara does love her adoptive mother and does also miss aspects of her adoptive home, Iowa, which she doesn’t imagine ever feeling. So the ending where Hara resolves her romantic issues as well as her career issues also resolves her homesickness for Iowa and the things she actually enjoyed there. It was also like a love letter written back to Iowa a bit.  

The story runs the gamut of emotions, but feels authentic and immersive to Korean culture and the people who live there. If books are a way to travel to places you only dream about, I think these two books do a bang up job as a travel guide for places you should go. And I want to go. Mostly for the food described in the book–but I’m a very food oriented person. The setting and description of places is also very well done. And the love scenes are very sexy and sensual without feeling too graphic, just the right touch to connect with the characters and their romantic arc.  

Highly recommend.

 

Review - - Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft

Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft

by Samantha Silva

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Reviewed by Hellie

August, 1797. Midwife Parthenia Blenkinsop has delivered countless babies, but nothing prepares her for the experience that unfolds when she arrives at Mary Wollstonecraft’s door. Over the eleven harrowing days that follow, as Mrs. Blenkinsop fights for the survival of both mother and newborn, Wollstonecraft recounts the life she dared to live amidst the impossible constraints and prejudices of the late 18th century, rejecting the tyranny of men and marriage, risking everything to demand equality for herself and all women. She weaves her riveting tale to give her fragile daughter a reason to live, even as her own strength wanes. Wollstonecraft’s urgent story of loss and triumph forms the heartbreakingly brief intersection between the lives of a mother and daughter who will change the arc of history and thought. 

In radiant prose, Samantha Silva delivers an ode to the dazzling life of Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the world's most influential thinkers and mother of the famous novelist Mary Shelley. But at its heart, Love and Fury is a story about the power of a woman reclaiming her own narrative to pass on to her daughter, and all daughters, for generations to come.

 

Hellie’s Heeds 

Due to my BA in English, I was already aware Mary Wollstonecraft died of childbed fever, so spoiler alert, I knew the ending would be Sad. Despite my educational studies, I was not exactly an expert on Miss Wollstonecraft, though I was aware she had written A Vindication on the Rights of Women, a book I own but have never read. Honestly, I knew more about her daughter, Mary Shelley, the daughter she gave birth to before she died, who’d written the first science fiction novel. But the cover was arresting and the premise interesting, and the writing from the first page, compelling. I could not put it down, even as the pages bore me along to Mary’s inevitable death and I grew sadder and sadder for this life that was about to be interrupted just when she had found true happiness.  

But this book isn’t only about Mary. Parthenia Blenkinsop (what a great name!) is the midwife who has come to assist in the birthing–and her story is just as bittersweet and compelling as it unfolds. The book switches back and forth between chapters: first Parthenia, told in 3rd person; and then Mary, told in 1st person. Mary’s sections take us back to the beginning, her upbringing, how she became the fiery feminist alluded to in countless women’s studies classes. Parthenia’s sections are in the days of the birth until Mary dies, with interesting tidbits creating Mary’s current world (so different from the struggles she shares in the past). When I read Mary’s final entry, for me, I wished to still know more–to know how she and Godwin got together and had their HEA–but this wasn’t the arc of the book. It was a love story of a different kind, a love story for life, for her daughter struggling to live, and her encouragement to her little bird to keep struggling and living because even when life is sad, it is still beautiful. 

The scene with Mary and her husband, where he asks her, “What would you have [the girls] believe?” and she says, “In love, that melts into friendship, and friendship that melts into love.” Gah. I wept. I read it to my fiancé and he wept. And there were a dozen poignant scenes like this, scenes that had tears well up in my eyes but also made my heart glad and hopeful. I finished this book in a crazy fast time, which is notable considering I don’t typically have a lot of time in the week for my reading and my weekend was spent helping my fiancé move furniture around the apartment for my eventual move-in. I stayed up late, I snuck off to the bedroom, I read at the table…it was the sort of literary love story of The Fault in Our Stars. You know you’re headed for heartbreak, but oh, the words, the beautiful words make it all worthwhile.