Tag: Travel

Books

Book 962: Art Therapy (Rooms for Romance #1) – Tag Gregory

Geoff W

Book Cover of "Art Therapy" with Amazon Affiliate linkWhen this one landed in my inbox I wasn’t 100% sold on it but when I realized Gregory took a hotel I’d stayed at (Kennedy School in Portland, OR) and turned it into a romance novel I decided I had to read it.*

This is the story of Jayce and Ryan. Jayce suffered a stroke and some brain injuries that haven’t affected his mental capacity but have affected his speech and ability to do certain things including slowing down the art he does for the hotel as part of a rehabilitation/work program, and Ryan is a hot shot sex machine that’s been brought in to help with PR for the launch of the new hotel.

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Books

Book 956: The Book of Elis – Lou Skelton

Geoff W

Book cover of "The Book of Elis" with Amazon Affiliate linkWho doesn’t love a childhood friendship that turns into a second-chance romance after one has moved countries away and they reconnect later in life? I know I do, so that’s why when this one landed in my inbox I requested a copy.*

The Book of Elis is the story of Ieuan and Elis who were inseparable as kids, but Elis and his family move from a small village in Wales to bustling Brisbane, Australia. When Elis and Ieuan are in university their families decide to take a joint vacation to Tenerife in Spain and the story goes from there.

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Books

Book 950: Kaleidoscope – Cecily Wong

Geoff W

Book cover of When someone from the publisher reached out about Kaleidoscope, this line caught me: “This book is heart-wrenching and hopeful and the characters truly shine on the page. It’s one of those books where I wish I could read it again for the first time all over again. And I’m so happy that you get to.”

And I downloaded a copy almost immediately, but of course sat on it for a few months, allowing me to forget about the blurb and the subject and go into this completely blind.*  This approach, if you’ve followed me for a while, sometimes works for me and sometimes it doesn’t. This time it sort of worked mostly because the intro was a little abrupt and different from the rest of the story, but that’s on me, not the author.

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Books

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

Geoff W

Book cover of "Apple-y Ever After" with Amazon Affiliate linkWhen 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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Books

Book 944: The Kingdom of Sand – Andrew Holleran

Geoff W

Book cover of "The Kingdom of Sand" with Amazon Affiliate linkI wanted to like this book so much like really wanted to, because Holleran is one of those early LGBT authors whose work has stood the test of time for decades. And that’s why I requested a copy from NetGalley.*

What I didn’t expect was how similar to Mrs. Dalloway and A Single Man this would be. I think that bodes well for the longevity of the novel, but unfortunately, for me, it wasn’t the time or place to read it to truly appreciate or enjoy it. While there were some incredibly beautiful passages throughout, I struggled to get into the book and (for the most part) identify with the nameless narrator.

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