Blurb

Recently divorced Tina Durham is trying to be self-sufficient, but her personal-training career is floundering, her closest friends are swept up in new relationships, and her washing machine has just flooded her kitchen. It’s enough to make a girl cry.

Instead, she calls a plumbing service, and Joanne “Joe Mama” Delario comes to the rescue. Joe is sweet, funny, and good at fixing things. She also sees something special in Tina and invites her to try out for the roller derby team she coaches.

Derby offers Tina an outlet for her frustrations, a chance to excel, and the female friendships she’s never had before. And as Tina starts to thrive at derby, the tension between her and Joe cranks up. Despite their player/coach relationship, they give in to their mutual attraction. Sex in secret is hot, but Tina can’t help but want more.

With work still on the rocks and her relationship in the closet, Tina is forced to reevaluate her life. Can she be content with a secret lover? Or with being dependent on someone else again? It’s time for Tina to tackle her fears, both on and off the track.

This is my first f/f romance, rather trans f/f romance and I liked  a lot of things about this story but there were also some elements that did not work very well for me. 

I generally enjoy Ms North's writing, the way she builds this ordinary, often sweet, life for her characters is a bright light in the midst of many romances where the characters are often victims of abuse, violence and their happy ending is a hard won one and bittersweet. I found these elements made a very pleasant and entertaining mix in Blueberry Boys (review) which is my favourite book by Ms North. We have these elements here too but here they seemed overabundant and the sweetness was borderline cheesy at times.

I was excited to try f/f romance for the first time and I did enjoy the way the relationship between Tina and Joe developed. It read as real and believable and I was glad that things between them worked out without any major/over-the-top drama. At the same time I have to admit that Joe's resistance to having a relationship with Tina because they were both in the same roller derby team (Actually, Joe was the coach and she invited Tina to join which didn't happen until later in the story, mind you) was too much, it felt like a convenient excuse and not a real obstacle.

While I enjoyed reading about Tina forging a new life on her own after her divorce, I would have liked to see more of her past, her transition, everything that happened to her to bring her to place where she was at the moment. It felt like an important element of her character was missing from the story.

I didn't get really involved in the roller derby as a sport/hobby but this didn't bother me too much. It ave me enough sense of the community and camaraderie among the different women in story, and it was nice seeing women supporting each other for a change. At the same time, there were subplots and elements related to team's dynamics which I was interested in but there were just glossed over and not explored in the depth they deserved.

While I very much like and appreciate the inclusion of characters with different sexuality, at times it read as preachy and the message for celebration of diversity seemed superimposed on the story/characters and not an intrinsic element of it.

Having said that, I still think it's a nice, sweet f/f romance. It's well-written, engaging and positive, if a bit too sweet for my taste. I think it touches upon important issues of sexuality and identity and building relationships and I wish they were explored in more depth and detail.

Author: Cara McKenna
Genre: Erotic romance
Release Date: 21 June 2016

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Tumblr / Goodreads

My rating: 5 Stars
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This is my 20th Friday Favourites post and after a short break I'm happy to be back with the lovely Rose Lerner as my guest today. Check her favourites and read an excerpt from her latest release, a novella in the Gambled Away anthology of historical romance. She is also an ebook copy of the anthology to one lucky winner, all you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!

1. Favourite place

My couch, definitely. It's purple and fuzzy and the warmest spot in the house.

2. Favourite food and drink

No, I have so many! Potatoes, maybe? Especially latkes. And I would say 99% of the time I drink water, but I am also a big fan of strawberry lemonade or a Dark and Stormy.

3. Favourite music/genre/artist/song

This changes every week, but right now, The Mountain Goats, "Cry for Judas." What a good song.

4. Favourite movie/TV series

Star Trek: the Original Series.

5. Favourite hobby besides writing, if you consider writing a hobby

I don't consider writing books a hobby--it's definitely a job--and so is cooking, my next favorite thing to do after writing and what I do at my day job. So I'd have to say my favorite hobby is fiction of all kinds: movies, novels, TV. I just love stories. I love digging into a world and pulling it back over me like a blanket, especially if I have a friend or two to dig in with me. I love the emotional roller coaster ride and the jokes. Fiction is my jam. Nothing else will ever come close, whether I'm creating it or consuming it.

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Rose Lerner's latest release is All or Nothing, a novella in the historical anthology Gambled Away which came out earlier this month. Enjoy a sexy excerpt from the story next. 

Blurb

Get revenge. Pay a debt. Save a soul. Lose your heart.

Spanning centuries and continents, five brand-new novellas from beloved historical romance authors tell the stories of men and women who find themselves wagered in a game of chance and are forced to play for the highest stakes of all: love.

“Gideon and the Den of Thieves” by Joanna Bourne

London, 1793 – Soldier of fortune Gideon Gage has come home from halfway around the world, fully prepared to face down a ruthless gang to save his sister. But there’s one member of the gang he could never have been prepared for: fascinating Aimée, driven from her own home by the French Revolution and desperately in need of his help.

“Raising The Stakes” by Isabel Cooper

California, 1938 — When the flute she won in last night’s poker game unexpectedly summons an elven warrior bound to her service, two-bit con artist Sam takes quick advantage. With Talathan’s fairy powers at her command, her shakedown of a crooked preacher is a sure thing…but would she rather take a gamble on love?

“All or Nothing” by Rose Lerner

England, 1819 – Architect Simon Radcliffe-Gould needs someone to pose as his mistress so he can actually get some work done at a scandalous house party. Irrepressible gambling den hostess Maggie da Silva would rather be his mistress, but she’ll take what she can get…

“The Liar’s Dice” by Jeannie Lin

Tang Dynasty China, 849 A.D. — Lady Bai’s first taste of freedom brings her face to face with murder. A dangerous and enigmatic stranger becomes her closest ally as she investigates the crime, but can she trust her heart or her instincts when everyone is playing a game of liar’s dice?

“Redeemed” by Molly O’Keefe

Denver, 1868 — After agonizing years in the Civil War’s surgical tents, Union doctor James Madison has nothing left to lose. But when beautiful, tortured Helen Winters is the prize in a high-stakes game of poker, he goes all in to save her—and maybe his own soul.

Purchase link: Amazon

I discovered Georgette Heyer when I was thirteen, and wrote my first historical romance a few years later. My writing has improved since then, but my fascination with all things Regency hasn't changed. When not reading, writing, or researching, I enjoy cooking and marathoning old TV shows. I live in Seattle.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads






GIVEAWAY

When it comes to the wolves of Wall Street, Ryan Hamilton is the leader of the pack. But his bravado is all bluff. The bank he works for is up to it’s assets in fraud and shady deals. And thanks to pressure from the NYPD and FBI, Ryan is working as both a trader and a whistleblower. His only respite from the tension is when he parades his latest arm candy at a fancy lingerie shop.

Simone Demarchelier owns Irresistible, crafting custom high-end lingerie. So she’s more than happy that Ryan is spending a fortune on his women. But she senses that behind the hotshot facade there is something more. Something tortured and sad. And when he flies her out to the Hamptons in the shadow of a summer thunderstorm in order to fix one of her designs, she instead finds herself stuck in the opulent home with a distraught Ryan.

Is Simone the one person who can mend Ryan’s heart and soul?

Review

I love Ms Calhoun's writing and the latest books in this series, The Muse (my review), is one of my favourite erotic romances of last year. I somehow ended up reading this series out of order but the separate novels are very loosely connected and they work well as standalone.

Evening Storm is book 4 and very briefly introduces the characters I already met in book 5 and it brings back characters from the previous book which I haven't read yet but this did not prevent me in any way from enjoying Ryan and Simone's romance.

The story is set in the world of luxury - the high-end lingerie designer Simone and the Wall Street shark Ryan come together in an unexpectedly intimate and tender way. It's an angsty story but at the same time a very sexy and intimate one.

The secrets they keep from each other really made things between them difficult. The attraction was there and it was most powerful, yet there was lack of trust and abundance of doubt and misgivings at the beginning. they really did meet at the worst possible time (for him, at least). But it was also the right time, in a way, because he desperately needed Simone's honesty and her down-to-earth, confident and independent attitude. His feelings for her kept him grounded and helped him when his own honesty and desire for justice wavered in the face of the difficulties he was faced with.

Their romance was nothing conventional - he kept bringing other women to her store to buy lingerie for them. he also kept telling her stories about his time with them but they were all meant for her, rather than being a realistic account of his sexual exploits. I found it a bit weird at the beginning but it turned out to be their way of forging connection and intimacy between them. And it was unique and beautiful.

The writing was, as usual, impeccable, very sensual and engaging. Ms Calhoun is a master at exploring the inner world of her characters, their desires and fears and their sexual attractions. A recommended read and series as a whole!

Blurb

Review

I loved the first Winston Bothers book and had high hopes for this one too and I'm so glad my expectation were more than met in this story.

This romance where a Latina Hollywood star meets the Tennessee hillbilly and reformed criminal Jethro offers the delightful mix of fun and serious with some crazy sense of humour which readers have come to expect from Ms Reid's books.

This time Ms Reid ventures into new territories with the character of Sienna. She is one of Ms Reid's long list of strong, smart, sexy heroines, but she is also overweight (and loves her body) and Latina. It was an interesting mix and I really liked her complexity - independence and feminist sensibility interwoven with being close to her family and really caring about their opinion and well-being.

Jethro was a really interesting character. He is an odd ball like all the rest of the Winston brothers. His past paints him as the typical small-time criminal, biker, following his father's footsteps. But what the reader sees in the present is a man trying to make amends for his mistakes, trying to be a better man and not hurt anyone intentionally. The tortured aspect of his personality was convincingly done but it was also balanced with some humours situations (which are inescapable with the Winston family) and the angst and brooding never got overwhelming.

Sienna appeared much more light-hearted and easy going, a bit fickle and a lot of playful. I found her passion for the things she loved and cared about totally endearing and it made me really like her.

Their romance was not an easy one, there were some misunderstandings between them initially which I really found annoying and unnecessary. Both of them learned of the other's past/history from third sources and jumped to the wrong conclusions. This is definitely not my favourite device for building conflict and I wished it was not used in this otherwise cleverly developed story.

Still, this is a minor quibble and didn't prevent me from enjoying the story. This is a recommended read for fans of Ms Reid's writing and for anyone looking for a sexy and smart romantic comedy.




My review of Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers #1) - 4.5 Stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

Blurb

Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna.

But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the backroads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston. Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often. Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heartthrobs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?

Penny Reid is the USA Today Best Selling Author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. When she's not immersed in penning smart romances, Penny works in the biotech industry as a researcher. She's also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.

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Jethro placed his coffee on the small table and leaned back at an angle on one arm, his long legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. My tummy fluttered with excitement as I sat on the floor next to him and picked up the frosted confection. I was going to smudge the corner of my mouth with frosting.

And then he was going to lick it off.

And then we were going to kiss.

And then . . . good things after that. Hopefully including but not limited to rolling around and making out on the carpet. And then sex!

Holding Jethro’s eyes with mine, which were heavily lidded and hot with interest, I took a small bite, careful to dab the side of my mouth with the frosting.

But then something unexpected happened and it startled me out of my sexy thoughts. 

The doughnut was insanely delicious. 

Insanely. Delicious.

It was still warm from the oven, and it melted on my tongue. It was sweet, but tempered by a center filled with rich, smooth, bitter high-quality chocolate crème.

Unable to help myself, I moaned, “Oh my God.”

Jethro’s lips quirked to the side, his eyes on my mouth, and—right on cue—he leaned forward. “You have something just there.” 

I ignored him, swatting his hand away, and took another bite, speaking around a mouth full of heaven on earth. “Holy shit, this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

Jethro rolled his lips between his teeth, his eyes bright with laughter, and watched me devour the doughnut. 

I continued to moan with each bite, licking and sucking my fingers until it was gone. Completely preoccupied, I didn’t notice the shift in his mood. I was just about to lick off the last of the crème when he caught my wrist, forcing my attention to him. My protest died on my lips as the weight and intensity of his gaze hit me. He looked hungry.

To be more precise, he looked ravenous. 

Jethro brought my finger to his lips and sucked it into his mouth, his tongue darting out to lick the junction between my index and middle finger. The light, slick touch sent unexpected trembles to my low belly and pulled a soft whimper from the back of my throat. 

“As I was saying,” his darkened gaze drifted hotly from my eyes to my lips, and he used my hand as leverage to tug me forward, “you have something . . .”

He didn’t finish the sentence. Instead he licked the corner of my mouth and then delved his tongue ardently between my lips, caressing mine hungrily. Jethro’s grip on me shifted. His arm came around my waist, supporting me, while my hands cupped his jaw. 

In a controlled and graceful movement, he rolled me onto my back, held himself above my body, and claimed my mouth. I felt his fingers on my thigh, sliding the hem of my skirt higher, skimming fingertips between my legs. Instinctively, I arched and strained, wanting to be touched, needing him to touch me.

“Undo your shirt,” he ordered, pulling his mouth from mine and fastening it to my neck.

“Why don’t you—”

“Because I’ll rip it off.”

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Title: Gambled Away: A Historical Anthology
Author: Joanna Bourne, Isabel Cooper, Rose Lerner, Jeannie Lin, Molly O'Keefe
Date of publication: 31 May 2016
Genre: Historical romance, novellas

Anthology Website

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My rating: 4.5 Stars