The Bromance Book Club

Finished October 10
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

This romance novel has a lot of humour and some pretty graphic scenes. It is the first in a series (as I'm writing this there are four books) that deal with romance and relationships in Nashville. It's different because there is a strong focus on the men's side of things in these relationships.
In this first book in the series professional baseball player Gavin Scott is having a crisis. He fell in love and married quickly when his girlfriend Thea became pregnant, just before he hit the majors. Now it is five years later, and his wife and him have been growing further apart for a variety of reasons. When an intimate encounter enlightens him to the fact that Thea has been faking orgasms for years, he can't deal with it, and reacts badly. Thea is now asking for a divorce and he is panicking. Enter the men's book club (it only gains the name on the cover towards the end of the novel). Some of his team members are in the book club, but so are other professional sports players and men with other high-level profiles in town. They are set on helping him save his marriage, and assign him a Regency romance book as homework. It takes him a while to understand that they are serious and to take the assignment seriously, but he begins to understand that his problems aren't really about the sex, but go much deeper. As he learns to communicate better with his wife and show his caring in ways that she can see, things improve.
The other men aren't shown in depth here, but future novels in the series focus on different men, so each gets his focused look. We also see some parts of the story from Thea's viewpoint and see how her background shaped her and the beliefs she has about relationships.
The intimacy not only of the relationship between these two characters, but of their family life as well brings depth to their story. I could already see one future romance on the horizon for the series too.
A fun read, with a different angle and more depth than at first glance. Looking forward to the next one, and have already put it on hold at my local library.

Misadventures of a City Girl

Finished January 4
Misadventures of a City Girl by Meredith Wild and Chelle Bliss

This romance novel begins as Madison Atwood's divorce has become final. She's tired of fending off the sympathies (real and nosey) of others, tired of seeing her ex with his new love in the news and on friend's social media, tired of putting off the reporters looking for her side of the story. She looks for a place that will let her get away, spend time by herself with a little R and R and no phones or computers. She picks a place upstate, called Avalon Springs.
When she gets there, she finds there is a little more group activity than she is looking for and instead of attending orientation, she heads off on a hike on one of the trails. She finds a hot spring, the one the spa takes its name from, and gives into temptation, strips, and goes in.
But as it turns darker, she finds she is being watched, and she is at first scared, then annoyed, then intrigued.
The man who came upon her unexpectedly, Luke Dawson, owns the land the spa in on, and lives higher up the mountain, seldom interacting with the public. He's dealing with his own issues, and isn't looking for a relationship, but the unexpected and sexually charged encounter keep returning to his mind.
This is a story of two people, who have chemistry, but live in very different worlds. Madison is a sought-after makeup artist, and her job will keep drawing her back to Hollywood. Luke is not comfortable around groups of people, and likes his privacy.
A light, fun romance with some graphic sex scenes, and a few barriers to overcome. An enjoyable read.

One Foot in the Grave

Finished May 4
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, read by Tavia Gilbert

This is the second novel in the Night Huntress series, but the first I've read. Cat Crawfield is a young woman who is half-vampire, half-human. Her mother hates and fears vampires and Cat found out her nature when she was sixteen. She is now in her early twenties and is a special agent for the FBI, leading a team who goes after rogue members of the undead. As the book starts, Cat learns that she has been targeted for assassination, and is facing great danger. When someone from her past reappears in her life, she must decide whether he offers a real future and protection or more danger than she can live with.
The voice of Cat here comes across as young, loyal to her men, yet a tad on the over-confident side. She doesn't just do her job, she engages in trash talk while doing so. She lets her emotions rule her actions sometimes, leading her into more difficult situations.
This is a book of fantasy and eroticism, with graphic sex scenes, and crude language. It is an action novel with a strong dose of paranormal.

Do Not Disturb

Finished February 18
Do Not Disturb by Tilly Bagshawe

This romance novel has a lot going on, including some suspense. As the book begins, Honor Palmer has called a formal meeting to transfer management of her father's assets to herself as his dementia makes him unable to do it himself. It is not a smooth transfer, as her father Trey seems to have grown more and more attached to the idea that women don't have business skills and doesn't want her to take the management of the family hotel from him. Her socialite sister Tina doesn't mind as long as she gets a nice allowance as a result.
Meanwhile Lucas Ruiz has fought his way up from poverty in Ibiza, and with the financial help of a well-off lover has graduated from a prestigious hotel management program. Now he is fighting for a dream job at a luxury hotel, a step towards his ultimate goal of owning his own hotel chain. When he succeeds, he also gains a few enemies and finds that not all doors in upper society circles are open to him despite his charm. When Anton Tisch, his hotel's owner's, ambitions pits him directly in competition with Honor's family hotel in East Hampton, the sparks really begin to fly.
We see a lot of very driven characters here, from diverse backgrounds. Lucas cares for his mother despite her weaknesses, but is a player in his personal life, who doesn't treat women all that well. Honor is driven to prove her skills in revitalizing the family hotel, but is naive in her personal life. She both cares about her sister and resents her lifestyle. Lucas has an unlikely friend, who comes from a wealthy family, Ben Slater. Ben is a low-key man with a romantic side and strong sense of ethics. He is good as his job in finance, but isn't skilled with relationships.
The Carter family is a conservative, but wealthy family in East Hampton. Devon plays a role in society and his church that doesn't align with his personal life, and he seems to care more about appearances than other people. His wife is lonely and insecure despite her beauty. His daughter Lola is also driven, focused on a fashion design career despite her father's expectations. She knows how to use her assets to get what she wants, most of the time. Lola's brother Ned is a good talker, but doesn't seem to accomplish as much as he says, and isn't willing to work for it.
Honor's sister Tina also knows how to use her assets, and she can turn any bad situation to her advantage. Her activities are definitely not okay with the conservative set, but she doesn't take herself too seriously.
Sian Doyle is driven towards becoming a journalist, despite her working class mill town background, and she is willing to work hard to get there. She is lucky in the people she meets that give her opportunities, but it is her hard work that brings her success.
On the darker side, Anton motivations aren't always clear, but his competitiveness is extreme, giving him the drive to win whatever it takes.
Lots of sex, dirty deeds, and society viciousness is here, along with the romance and suspense.

Just the Way You Are

Finished October 29
Just the Way You Are by Christina Dodd, performed by Natalie Ross

This is the first book in a trilogy.
It starts with 16-year-old Hope standing outside her home in Texas with her sisters and brother, listening as the leaders of her father's church discuss her parents' death, their supposed criminal actions, and what will happen to her family now.
It then jumps ahead seven years to Hope's life in Boston, barely getting by, working at an answering service and studying hard at college. Her aim is to get a computer science degree, get a well-paying job and earn the money to find the siblings that she was so abruptly and unkindly separated from all those years ago in Texas.
Wealthy businessman Zacharaiah (Zack) givens is successful, but technologically challenges and his secretary has set him up with the answering service Hope works for (Madame Nancy's), and his butler Griswald has set him up to easily access the service from home as well. When Zack has a particularly unpleasant wrapup to a business takeover deal, his best friend challenges him to be nice to others for a particular length of time.
So when Zack calls in to get his messages and is mistaken for his butler by Hope, he goes along with it and finds himself wanting to be nice to her, in fact fantasizing about her as a result of her pleasant husky voice. As Hope enters his life, he finds her attitude refreshing, as she treats him as she would treat anyone, not deferring to his status or wealth as she is unaware of who he really is.
Zack has always got everything he wanted and so when he finds he wants Hope, he believes that he will get her, but his confidence has become arrogance, and Hope's discovery of his real identity may put his conquest in jeopardy.
Both characters have trust issues. Zack was betrayed by a supposed friend when he was younger and now assumes that everyone he meets wants something from him due to his wealth and success. Hope was betrayed by people she thought were her family's friends, and separated from her siblings against her will, all in the name of money, and she distrusts anyone with money.
This book has some very steamy and graphic sex scenes, and there were moments when I felt his character verged on too in control at the cost of Hope's wishes, but she does find her own voice here and the characters are evenly matched by the end.

A Sport and a Pastime

Finished August 2
A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter

A friend asked if I'd read this one, and I hadn't so picked it up so I could give my opinion. First published in 1967, this book begins with an American man who leaves Paris to take up residence in Autun, in eastern France, living in the country home of friends. Soon after, a younger American, Philip Dean, that he has met through friends in Paris, comes to visit him. Dean is driving a huge older car, a 1952 Delage convertible. He makes himself at home, he makes the acquaintance of a young French woman, and the two begin a liaison. The activities of Dean and the young woman, even those of the most intimate nature, are described by the anonymous narrator as if he were present, watching, aware of the feelings Dean has, the unsure and the over-confident.
Dean is still young, with his money doled out by his father. Since his father wants him to return home to the States, his money flow reduces and then stops. He is hiding his relationship with the French woman from everyone except the narrator. The sex between them seems to be often related to power; she has the power of seduction and her youth, and he has the power of the decider and the suggestor.
I loved the description of the train journey, with everything observed. The rest, not so much.
On page 11, the novel says "none of the is true", making this a fiction within a fiction. I think the problem for me is that I didn't get a feel for the narrator, and so couldn't connect with him, and I didn't like Dean. Dean seemed for me a stereotypical wealthy American abroad, wanting both to experience the culture there, but also wanting to have others to recognize his American superiority. With Dean, as his money supply dries up, the wealth becomes an illusion, the same as his superiority. The French woman too, is here a stereotype, a woman capable of seduction, yet an innocent. She seems all surface and no depth.