ARC, Books

Book 951: Playing for Keeps (Sporting Secrets #3) – Jax Calder

It was a no-brainer I would say yes when this one finally arrived in my inbox.* I enjoyed Playing Offside and Playing at Home so much and was getting antsy this one was taking so long (a whole 6 months). It was definitely worth the wait and I’ll gladly wait this long again because Calder does a good job not only in writing the stories but also in making sure they’re reviewer ready. I’m still shuddering after a couple of recent ones I read that needed to start over.

This is the story of Ethan and Luke, childhood best friends who were inseparable until Char, Luke’s twin sister, ended up pregnant with Ethan’s kid, Theo. Needless to say shit hit the fan and they went their separate ways (including Luke fleeing to Japan to play professional rugby), but Luke is back to achieve his dream of playing for the New Zealand national team and he happened to sign with Ethan’s professional team, not because of Ethan but because of the out players on the team.

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Book 949: Apple-y Ever After (Apple Meadows #1) – Catherine Cloverdale

When this one landed in my inbox I got excited, a fall New England romance set in a small Vermont town obsessed with their local apple festival, sounds like the perfect summer read.* Unfortunately, it’s a big ol’ NOPE from me.

Apple-y Ever After features travel writer/photographer Adrian who has been assigned to cover the local Apple Festival and the only place left with space for him to lodge is a local B&B run by hopelessly scattered and accident-prone still grieving from the death of his fiancé, Julian. Now, this should be the perfect setup, a well-traveled city boy coming to a small town where he meets the still grieving country boy, and boom happily ever after, right? Right?

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ARC, Books

Book 943: Aaron’s Awakening (Maine Men #6) – K.C. Wells

When this ARC landed in my inbox I recognized the series and the author, but if I’m 100% honest about why I decided to read this, it’s that gorgeous colorwork sweater Aaron is wearing on the cover.* Priorities right? I just finished knitting my first colorwork sweater and am in the process of workout the design of another from a TV show so obviously, it was already in mind!

I’m glad I decided to jump back into the series. I remember enjoying Finn’s Fantasy when I read it but hadn’t kept up with the series so of course had to rush through and read books 2-5 to catch up on the friend group! And the overall thought on this book is: I’m not sure how Wells is going to close out the series (aside from who she’s closing it out with), but after these last two she’s got her work cut out for her to make it even better!

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Book 942: Shaun’s Salvation (Maine Men #5) – K.C. Wells

And Wells pulled me back in! Yes!!! I wasn’t sure she was going to be able to do it after the two lackluster offerings of Seb’s Summer and Dylan’s Dilemma, but she did with Shaun and Nathan’s stories.

Shaun is another member of the core group of friends that no one knows what his sexuality is. There are a couple of friends that are sort of nebulous/fluid and he’s one of them. He put his personal (and sexual) life on hold after his mom died of cancer in high school and his dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

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Book 941: Dylan’s Dilemma (Maine Men #4) – K.C. Wells

On my trek to get to Aaron’s Awakening, I continued to make my way through Wells’ series. I did get sick while visiting Texas so quite a few of these are going to be back posted as I catch up on things. I was a little disappointed in the series with the last installation and all I can say about this one is the same.

For me, the problem with this one and the last one is the character development. There were such strong characters in the first two books who grew and changed within their stories, but in Seb’s Summer and this one the characters were okay, but they just fell flat for me.

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