Hello Forever by Sarina Bowen

Blurb:
A basketball game changed both their lives.

When they were only teenagers, Axel and Caxton were caught making out in the woods at church camp. And afterward, Cax had disappeared from all the youth group activities.

Six years later, Axel is astonished to spot his first love’s face in the crowd of a college basketball game he’s watching on TV—at a school which has just offered him a job. It’s a thousand miles away, in a tiny rural town. But suddenly, he can’t wait to get there.

Cax can’t believe his eyes when Axel appears in the same Massachusetts town where he now lives. And he’s still just as drawn to Axel as ever. But he can’t let himself go there again, because loving Axel will mean giving up everything else he holds dear.

Both men have so much to lose. But as far as their love is concerned, it’s Hello Forever.

Hello Forever was previously published as It’s Never Over. This is a stand-alone novel with no cliffhangers. Readers of Goodbye Paradise will get to check in on Caleb and Josh and their clan.

     

My Review:
4 stars — I received a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

Another solid M/M romance from Ms. Bowen!!  While I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as Goodbye Paradise (which is a really hard book to live up to since it was a 5 star read for me and contained so many little things that made it a perfect Lenore book), I was still sucked into this story and stayed up until 2:30 in the morning finishing it.

The POVs in this story weren’t structured in the same way as the previous book, this one was more close to alternating chapters (with some exceptions, as it made sense for the story).  I didn’t mind the change.  It made more sense for Cax and Axel’s story, and I felt like I got what I needed as a reader as the plot progressed.

There’s something about the different struggles that LGBT folks face when deciding when to come out that just rips open your heart, you know?  And Cax in particular had a tough road to walk.  I can’t imagine having to survive an abusive father no matter who you are, but especially as a gay kid when he is ridiculously homophobic and bigoted.  And I really got how his upbringing and experiences and the state of his family influenced his choice to remain mostly in the closet, especially if he wanted to maintain a relationship with his brothers.  Do I believe that he couldn’t have found another way?  I’m not sure.  But for who Cax was, it made sense…he was flawed, but doing the best he could with what he knew.  I enjoyed seeing him grow stronger over the course of the book, with setbacks here and there, but eventually standing up and accepting himself with no apologies.

While Cax’s journey was perhaps more heartwrenching in some ways, I felt closer to Axel in this story.  It wasn’t that he didn’t have his own struggles to go through, even as someone who was able to come out of the closet with support from his Mom.  He really showed that you can be “out and proud”, but still fear the backlash that may come from people he meets.  And how that fear can make for a lonely existence sometimes.  AND how loving someone in a closet can really have adverse affects on you as well.

I loved Cax and Axel together, and loved hearing about their past as children.  If I had one complaint, I wish we’d gotten a bit more from the romance.  It’s not that it wasn’t deliciously steamy, or that they didn’t have chemistry, but it just felt like something was missing to really push it over the top for me.  Honestly, it could just be that it’s hard to follow up the love of Caleb and Josh from the previous book.

The plot took a few twists and turns I wasn’t expecting.  Like, something would happen and I would assume that I knew how it was going to play out, but then it would go in a slightly different direction.  I like that, it felt authentic to the characters.  That’s not to say that there weren’t some things that were definitely foreshadowed and didn’t shock me, but it was nice to be surprised on some things.  Wow, that was really vague and confusing, sorry.  😛

Again, this story is strong in secondary characters, with so many playing important roles.  And I loved so many of them, from the reappearance of Caleb and Josh (squee!), to Boz who was so funloving, to Amy (though I wish we could have seen her a bit more), to Jason (perhaps we’ll see his story in the future?), to even Cax’s brothers.  I love when a book has a great supporting cast.

So yeah.  I always hate writing these last paragraphs, I never know how to end a review.  Obviously I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and what more can you ask for?  OH!  And can I just say that Caxtastrophe and Axeldental were the most hilarious email names??  Loved it!

Goodbye Paradise by Sarina Bowen

Blurb:
Most people called it a cult. But for twenty years, Josh and Caleb called it home.

In Paradise, there is no television. No fast food. Just long hours of farm work and prayer on a dusty Wyoming ranch, and nights in a crowded bunkhouse. The boys of the Compound are kept far from the sinners’ world.

But Joshua doesn’t need temptation to sin. His whole life, he’s wanted his best friend, Caleb. By day they work side by side. Only when Josh closes his eyes at night can they be together the way he craves.

It can never be. And his survival depends on keeping his terrible desires secret.

Caleb has always protected Josh against the worst of the bullying at the Compound. But he has secrets of his own, and a plan to get away — until it all backfires.

Josh finds himself homeless in a world that doesn’t want him. Can Caleb find him in time? And will they find a place of safety, where he can admit to Josh how he really feels?

Warning: Contains a hot male/male romance, copious instances of taking the Lord’s name in vain, and love against the kitchen counter. This book was previously released under the title: In Front of God & Everyone.

     

My Review:
5 stars — OMG guys, I don’t even know what to say except this was so my kind of book.  Like you know how you have those specific kinds of things that just shoot a book over the top for you?  Well this book had them all.  I have an unhealthy fascination with books about characters from religious cults.  I love best friends to lovers stories.  And I adore male/male romances.  Plus a million little things that I could never put into words.

I fell in love with both characters, obviously, but perhaps more for Josh than Caleb.  Josh had such a sweet naivety to him, and he was just so damaged from living in fear that someone would find out his “sinful” thoughts.  The compound did a real number on him, from the doctrines that they were taught, to the people who mentally abused him by tearing him down at every chance, to the family that basically abandoned him.  At times I was flabbergasted at the stark difference between Josh and Caleb, because even with Caleb’s ability to leave the compound, I didn’t understand how he was able to see the compound for what it was so much more than Josh.  But as I went on with the book, I could really tell how the differences in their family situations growing up could make an impact, could allow Josh to believe it more fully with less skepticism.

And Josh just developed even more fully in their time outside the compound, and my heart ached for how lost he seemed.  How everything that drew him in reinforced the horrible things the bullies made him feel about himself.  I was so invested in his growth, in watching him love his new jobs, and eventually come to understand that that was OK.  And seeing him stand up for himself against Caleb was both heartbreaking and rewarding.

Since a larger part of the book was in Josh’s POV, I did feel I got to know him a bit more, but I fell in love with Caleb all the same.  It’s funny, b/c I felt like we got to see more of his damage in the second half of the book, and the effects of the compound on him were more subtle perhaps.  But I loved that he wasn’t as strong and together as we might have thought at first glimpse.  I wasn’t expecting it, I thought his contributions to the story would be more wrt the romance, but it’s funny how those we see as so together can sometimes be hiding great strain and sorrow.  There’s a TINY part of me that perhaps wanted more from him, but I’m also OK with it because I loved the story we got.

The romance was amazing.  Seeing them figure things out together, and struggle against their upbringing and their fears to embrace what they desired was very fulfilling.  Obviously the steam factor was amazing, right from the first kiss.  It’s kind of funny, b/c it’s like taking the fears of most LGBT folks and magnifying it a bit.  Fear of being discovered, shame of their feelings, fear over being accepted by their loved ones, fear of losing their loved ones because of who they love.

And then to top off this amazing story of Josh and Caleb, we got a FANTASTIC set of secondary characters, some of whom we got to see a bit of their own story as well (Maggie and Daniel).  I LOVED the dynamic of a runaway from the cult wanting to help other runaways from the cult.  I truly believed in the bond they shared from their shared experience, and how they became a family.  And I appreciated that Ms. Bowen added more to the story in little bits, like Maggie’s struggle after Chloe’s birth.  I loved how much love they had to give to each other.

And it wasn’t just these more major secondary characters, I also loved the minor ones.  From Washington, to the tiny glimpse of Trey, to Caleb’s work buddies.  They all added something to the story.

So there’s my gushing review.  When this first came out, it pained me that I didn’t have time to read it right away, b/c I had a feeling I was going to be in love.  Thank the baby jesus that Ms. Bowen republished it under her name, b/c what if I’d never discovered it otherwise?  That would have been a travesty.  A travesty I tell you!

The Diary of Bink Cummings: Vol 2 (MC Chronicles #2) by Bink Cummings

Blurb: When changing life’s course, you never consider what twisted curve-ball fate might dump in your lap. Growing up in the MC, then gaining my own personal Independence was not only a curse, it was a blessing. So when I decided to say fu*k my past and embraced my future, away from the only place I called home, I tried to re-invent myself, by becoming the woman I am today.
Until, one day, fate reared its ugly head, forcing me to return to the place I ran from. The place where I had no choice but to face HIM. And hide the biggest secret of my life, as I wallowed in silent fear, of the insurmountable repercussions it would evoke when anyone found out the truth.

 

 

 

 

Favorite Quote:

“I want you on the back of my bike, livin’ in my house, havin’ my daughter. I wanna own all your smiles and only see you cry when you’re happy. I wanna die in your arms because it’s the only fuckin’ place I’ve ever truly lived,” he says decisively, as if he doesn’t even have to think about it.

4 stars

*Original review*

Holy crap on a cracker, I thought it couldn’t get better. I was wrong.

Bink realizes that Big is too possesive and refuses to cave to his domineering nature. Good for her! She steals away into the night and makes it to Chicago, about three hours away. I can’t even sum up this story anymore and frankly I don’t want to. Read the damn book!

It’s so worth it. Second book blows the first one out of the water. Really.

*re-read*

Wow, I have become more wordy as I get older. Also, I’ve noticed that I don’t like Big as much as I used to.  Maybe I’ve become enlightened, whatever the reason, he’s a pretty big douche-nozzle.  Unfortunately, I still find him attractive in a ‘I’d rip his balls off if a man ever did to me what he did to her’ type of way.  So yeah, still working on those issues. 😉

The weird attraction they have to each other is impossible to not love though.  Their chemistry is the main basis for their relationship.  The sex thing got a little old but is a big part of their characters as bikers.  At first I didn’t see the big picture.  They were just people who like to have sex, anywhere they could.  But as I started to read the third one, I realized this is an intregal part of their characters.  They are very sexual beings.  Or maybe I just became numb to it.  ::shrugs::

Don’t get me wrong, they have tender moments, quite a few actually.  Which just help provide the depth a reader needs to not chalk this up to some shallow story.  No, this book is pretty well rounded, except in sex and violence.  But hey, its a MC book, you gitta expect that.

I quite like it.  Another score for an MC book.  Maybe I’m just a more than normal picky reader when it comes to this genre.

Imperfectly Criminal (Imperfect #2) by Mary Frame

Blurb: Freya Morgan thought it was a great idea to hire the bad boy on campus to beat up her douchebag ex-boyfriend after he cheated and treated her like crap. Fast forward a few months, and nothing she’s done has helped her get over the scars left behind by her ex. Not the paid beating, not the string of sucky dates, nothing.
Dean Collins is in trouble, and it’s all Freya’s fault. After all, she started the trend of all the ladies on campus paying him to do their dirty work. But now, two of the boys he was hired to beat up are dead, and he’s the only connection.

When Freya agrees to help him find the real killer, she discovers that this bad boy isn’t so bad, after all. And getting involved with him means more than finding a killer, it means potentially losing her life…and her heart.

Favorite Quotes: 

“Don’t you know how these things work? When there’s a mystery to be solved, it’s always the person you least suspect, not the person you hope it is.” He laughs. “This isn’t an Agatha Christie novel.” “You’re right,” I sigh and sit down on the swing next to him. “If this was an Agatha Christie novel, the writing would be way better.”

“There are plenty of reasons to go around,” I answer. “Considering his status as the Duke of Douche.” I know you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead and all that, but I’ve never understood that philosophy. An asshole who dies is still a dead asshole.

4 stars

I liked this one better than the first one!

 First, her name, everyone wants a unique name in their story so they can stand out.  Well, MF nailed it with this one.  She is super sarcastic and kinda awkward in her own way. Now to the hard stuff.  This book deals with sexual assault.  I could identify with her feelings of confusion. It’s hard to explain really because everyone’s experience is different.  I really liked how it didn’t overshadow her life, how she clearly struggled but didn’t let it consume her.  And how MF was able to write it like that without it losing its potency was fucking awesome to me.  Freya acted exactly as I did.  And I loved her all the more for it.

Another thing I really liked was how Freya never came out and said the word.  I know that sounds weird but we don’t need to see it or hear it to know what it is and what she was referring to.  And while some people may think it’s a bit of a cop out to not address it by its name, I myself was comforted by that very fact.  I mean, yeah, obviously Freya is never going to forget it but it didn’t rule her life ya know? This may be coming out all wrong, it’s hard to really explain.  Okay, I’m just gonna move on cause I‘ll just keep going in circles if I don’t.

 I floved Dean!  He was so….awesome and caring and funny!  I loved how he took care of his family and didn’t make a big deal out of it.  I loved how he wasn’t too proud to do any of the dirty work himself.  But most of all, I loved how he responded to Freya.  He was hard and soft, vulnerable and strong.  It was the best of both worlds for me.

 And their chemistry! Hot Damn!

::raise hand:: I’ll take a helping of flirty banter with a side of sensual kissing scenes please?  Ding! *Order up*

 

Falling From Grace (Grace #1) by S.L. Naeole

Blurb: When you wake up in the morning and your eyes take in the first hints of light that shine through your window, the dust motes catching and reflecting the sun’s rays like little diamonds, the shimmering hues of yellow and orangey gold breaking through into your room, the first thing you think about usually isn’t how you’re going to make it through the worst day of your life.

Unfortunately for Grace Shelley, that’s exactly what she’s facing as she ponders what to do now that she’s going to be starting out her last year in high school without her best friend. She’s not exactly the most popular girl in school – well, not the most popular girl in school to like, anyway – and everything seems to be hinting at another status quo year for her until she bumps into a stranger who leaves her stumbling for words and chasing after her heart.
The new guy in school is different. Robert doesn’t care about the rumors he’s heard about her or that no one else seems to see her the same way that he does; he only wants to be her friend. That’s when things get complicated. When Grace learns that he’s not your typical high school boy and that he’s actually a wingless angel who’s looking for someone to trust, she’s thrust into his world where not all angels are meant to protect human beings, and where the changes she brings into his life changes everything in hers.

 

2 stars

Okay this is one of those books that are super confusing but you can’t stop reading it.  I don’t know why I keep falling in to these writing traps.  So this story line was ALL over the place.  Not much was resolved by the end, in fact there was so much info dumping that I couldn’t tell you what the story was really about.  It was a giant cargo plane stuffed with fireworks that crashed into an oil tanker. You can imagine right?  And I just couldn’t look away.

Strike one: info dumping.  I mean, it was in almost every chapter!  And it wasn’t even relevant!  This book needs a developmental editor stat!

Strike two: insta-love!  Like three days in.  ::Cue the petty eye roll::

Strike Three: No real plot.  Boy meets girl, boy likes girl. Girl has massive self confidence issues and keeps him at arm’s length. Boy takes offense and misunderstands ALL THE TIME. Then they make up, wash, rinse, repeat.   :shakes head:  Oops, sorry, did I spoil it for you?

Strike Four: The climax!  What the eff! It was confusing and again, didn’t make sense with the rest of the storyline. It all seemed a bit thrown together with no real direction, no focus. This story could have been fantastic if an experienced editor was employed to take out the massive fluff in this book.

Definitely not reading anymore in this series. Truth be told I should have DNF’d it but I kept holding out hope it would redeem itself.  And in some places it felt like it was going in that direction.  But then some random piece of info would get thrown in, complete with a long drawn out explanation, and by the time I realized there was no resolution I was done with the book.  I felt like I was Jedi mind tricked!

Poppy (A Force of Nature Fairytale #1) by M.A. Horst

Blurb: Storm, the eldest son of a heartless businessman, is forced to choose a bride. His father wants grandchildren to secure the future of Royal Industries, and he wants them now.

Forced to choose from a specific list of women that’s been promised to the Royal family, Storm holds a masquerade ball and invites the six women.

Poppy has lived a sheltered life. She has been homeschooled by her overprotective mother. Attending the masquerade ball is an exciting experience for her until she lands in the arms of Storm Royal. Electricity crackles around them.
Poppy’s delicate new love is shattered when she finds out why Storm really wants to marry her. She’s only a means to an end, another piece of property.

Can Storm win Poppy’s trust while trying to keep his fiery desire for her under control?

This is one force of nature Poppy didn’t see coming.

3 stars

There is a warning on this book that is it insta-love but I didn’t see it cause I generally don’t read the blurb and just go off of recommendations.  I probably wouldn’t have read it if I had seen it.  I’m not a fan of insta-love, so it makes sense that I didn’t enjoy this story as much as I should, but that’s a personal preference.

This story is pretty straightforward as far as re-tellings go.  It doesn’t really deviate from the original. The sex scenes were hawt! Very delicious writing in that aspect.  I enjoyed when Poppy lost her timidity and stood up for herself. The story itself seemed a bit fast paced IMO. Now this is a novella so some is to be expected, however, I still felt it could have transitioned in a different way to help with the pacing.

Home by Melissa Pearl

Blurb:
Rachel Myers never meant to stay in the small town of Payton. Her eyes are set on bigger things than waitressing at Clark’s Bar. She wants to perform on a stage of her own with bright lights, fame, and fortune. But her dreams seem too far out of reach and so she stays put, content with the love of her boyfriend, Joshua Clark. He’s a good man, a solid rock she can depend on. She wants that to be enough, but it hasn’t quelled her yearning for the big city.

Josh has never loved anyone the way he loves Rachel and he dreads the day she might leave him. He’s happy in his small town home. Running the bar that has been in his family for two generations is a dream come true. He couldn’t be happier with his life… until one night, a city boy from Hollywood promises Rachel a record deal and destroys everything.

Jumping at a chance she never thought she’d have, Rachel leaves Payton. And Josh. But the sparkle of Los Angeles is not all it’s cracked up to be, and Rachel quickly figures out that some sacrifices are not worth the risk. Is she too late? Will Josh forgive her, or has her desire for fame ruined the best thing she’s ever had?

Sometimes you have to say goodbye before you can say forever.

     

My Review:
3.75 stars — While these books are all standalone, you do get something a bit extra when you read them all.  And I actually skipped over 2-4 the first time around, so after reading True Love and Rather Be, I was hella interested in finally reading Josh and Rachel’s story.  And it’s funny, b/c while I’m a romantic at heart, this wasn’t a typical love story for me.  Which is not a bad thing, it’s more that there were many other aspects that drew me into this story, and for once the romance wasn’t the biggest part.

Both of our characters are hecka flawed, with a lot of growing to do, and in this story we see them as an established couple at the beginning, and then they end up on separate paths to do their own growing before finding their way back to each other.  The problem with this is that I didn’t necessarily feel *quite* the same investment in them as a couple as I normally do in my romance novels.  It wasn’t that they weren’t super cute together, or they didn’t make me smile…or that I wasn’t rooting for them.  But it just felt a bit different than my normal romances.  I was rooting for them not because I knew much about what they were like together, but because I believed them when they told me that the other was their “person” and that they were their true love, and so I wanted them both to find their happiness.  Does that make sense?  Probably not.

As with most of the Songbird novels, I felt a smidgeon more for Rachel’s story than for Josh’s.  It wasn’t that Josh didn’t have his own path to go on, but I just felt more invested in Rachel’s path.  Maybe it’s because Josh was so bad with open emotions, I always felt like I wanted just a bit more from him.  BUT he really was the perfect big intimidating man with a marshmallow center.  I loved that he was so quiet and reserved, but would not take crap from anyone.  I loved the way he was protective of Rachel.  So many of his reactions felt just very young.  He was an interesting dichotomy in that sense, in that he had all this responsibility with the bar, but I felt like he still had a lot of growing to do with relationships.  Not that I could blame him with the heartaches he experienced in his past.  I really did understand why he was so quick to jump to conclusions, and why he turtled to protect himself.  And while I wouldn’t have minded a bit more groveling on his part for the mean words he said to Rachel, as a man of few words I understand that was probably more than could be asked for.

Rachel also suffered from being young and naive.  It was PAINFUL to see her get taken for a ride…it’s so hard being a reader and seeing all the pitfalls, and wanting to yell at your character “OPEN YOUR EYES!!  DON’T SIGN THAT!!!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”  But I could totally see how this probably happens every day to young girls with more dreams than common sense…  But it hurt to read.  And while it sucked to see her believing the threats, they felt real to me, and I could see how she would assume she didn’t have another out.  I felt like the time it took her to figure things out was realistic too, even if it sucked.  I was happy with the turns that story took, and it was actually really gratifying to see her figuring herself out, what she was capable of, and what she wanted from life.

And I think that’s where this story wins.  It’s a love story where the couple really *needed* to separate and learn to stand on their own, so they could really understand what they needed from each other.  And it made that moment where she sings, and then the whole phone call part just so gratifying, I wanted to whoop out loud!!  I love when a climax is that satisfying.

I also ADORED the cameos from Jody, Leo and Angel.  That was so satisfying.  I’m sure it would be interesting even if you’d never read Everything, but it was like awesomesauce after reading it.  AND!  I loved seeing more of what happened between Nessa and Josh!!  That always felt a little bit unfulfilling in True Love, so while these are all truly standalones, you really do get more out of the experience if you read them all (and in order).  Now I’m going to reread til the end of the series!!  It’s so fun seeing the little glimpses of where characters weave in and out of each book, connecting them all in some way.

Top Ten Best 2017 Releases I’ve Read So Far This Year

(Images link to Goodreads, Titles link to Amazon using Amazon Affiliate links)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in which you make a list of ten to do with a certain topic.  This week’s topic is “Best Books You’ve Read In 2017 So Far (break it down however you want — by genre, strictly 2017 releases, whatever!).”  And I’m going to narrow it down to 2017 releases only!!  In this case, the star rating will take you to my review.

Lenoreo’s Top Ten:

1. Make Lemonade (a Hope Falls Kindle Worlds novella) by Cassie Mae — 5 stars
2. Sweet Tea and Summer Love by Regan Claire — 4.5 stars
3. Hot Licks (Off Beat #3) by A.M. Arthur — 4.5 stars
4. A Boy like You (Like Us #1) and A Girl Like Me (Like Us #2) by Ginger Scott — 5 stars and 4.5 stars
5. Operation Prom Date by Cindi Madsen — 4.5 stars
6. The Opposite of You (Opposites Attract #1) by Rachel Higginson — 4.95 stars
7. Pillowtalk by Cassie Mae — 4.5 stars
8. The Bohemian and the Businessman (The Story Sisters #1) by Katy Regnery — 4.5 stars
9. 180 Seconds by Jessica Park — 4.5 stars
10. Paper Cranes (A Fairytale Twist Novel) by Jordan Ford — 4.5 stars

So what are the best 2017 releases you’ve read this year so far?  Or if you don’t read many new releases, what were the best books you’ve read this year so far?  Did you also fall in love with any of these babies?

Everything by Melissa Pearl

Blurb:
Jody Pritchett had a dream…but life had other plans. Instead of singing and dancing on Broadway, Jody’s a twenty-year-old single mom, living at home with her disapproving father and overbearing sister. The choice to keep her little Angelia came with a high price and although she adores her baby girl, it doesn’t take away the sting of kissing goodbye her chance at a career on the stage.

Leo Sinclair had his own dream…but got lost along the way. After a failed marriage that left him hollow and downtrodden, the Australian songwriter wonders what joy his future could possibly hold. Encouraged by the one family member who doesn’t think he’s a failure, Leo decides to stop living the life everyone expects him to and start chasing his dreams again.
When the perfect opportunity comes knocking, Leo leaves Australia behind and hops a flight to LA. With his sights set on selling a musical to a Broadway producer, Leo is determined to finally realize his life-long dream. But life gets in the way again, when he spots a young mother outside his apartment in tears. He never realized how one person, one voice, and one Angel could have him contemplating abandoning his dreams once again.

As these two burned hearts wrestle to overcome their past struggles, Leo and Jody must decide what dreams are worth clinging to…because, sometimes, everything you want is not everything you need.

     

My Review:
4 stars — Ah, another sweet sweet love story!!  I loved how this one turned out, and the hea we got!!

I wasn’t sure how I was going to like Jody’s story, b/c Jody herself gave me some reservations, particularly in Bulletproof.  And while she was still a bit of a drama queen for me, we did get to see her grow up a bit over the course of the book.  I wouldn’t have minded a bit more growth with her, but I think she just might not be my favourite heroine, and that’s OK you know?  While it was hard to see her act so naively even at the beginning of the book, it really made her growth as a mother so much more impactful.  I found myself rooting for her and the strides she was making in her independence.  I think the nature of her personality will always have her feeling a bit young, but it worked for her, especially as a match to Leo.

Leo was extra adorable, he was so my kind of hero!  I loved how sweet and kind he was, and he really reminded me of my Dad.  We always used to joke that my Dad always had a song for everything, and he would break out into songs all the time…it was one of my favourite qualities about him, so of course I loved that aspect of Leo as well.  I will admit that I didn’t really feel like his background made much of an impact on who he was, and I kind of wanted some of that to come into play, or to learn more about it.  I feel like he had a really unique past in Australia, but it was kind of just glossed over, so I wondered what the point was.  Not that it was a big deal, but I guess I kept waiting for his parents to have an impact, or to just dive in a wee bit more to why he got married so young.

Leo and Jody brought out the best in each other.  I loved the way Leo brought the sunshine back to Jody…how they connected so perfectly over music.  They brought happy smiles to each other, and thus brought happy smiles to me.  There were so many cute scenes that I fell in love with, especially the Dance With Me Tonight scene.  That was just gold.  And I loved how he called her foxy pants!  I didn’t feel their sexual chemistry quite as much as say Morgan and Sean, or even Cole and Ella, but their romantic chemistry and friendship chemistry was fantastic.

And I ADORED the way Leo was with Angel.  While I’m not huge on kids, I really felt like Jody’s struggles raising Angel, and how that impacted her romantic relationships was well portrayed.  And you could really tell that Leo was falling in love with *both* his girls.

I will say, the highlight for me in this book was the musical.  I really loved that we got to learn what it was about, and see bits of the lyrics of some of the songs.  I kind of want to see this musical!!  Ms. Pearl needs to write it!  😛  You know, in her spare time.  *rolls eyes*

The climax and resolution of this book was spot on…I was crying and crying and then smiling so big!  And the epilogue was gold.  Time to continue my read-a-thon!!  I can’t wait to reread Rather Be now that I’ve truly met Leo and Angel!

Bossypants by Tina Fey (Author/Narrator)

Blurb: Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update”, before “Sarah Palin”, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.
She has seen both of those dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon – from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

3 stars

It was funny. I never noticed the hands on the cover were not hers, LOL.  I think I might like her less after reading this though.  It wasn’t bad, but I wrinkled my nose at some of her beliefs.  She made her views very clear in this book.  I did kinda see what she meant about the sexism in the workplace and adapting to it.  Her way of handling it seems way more diplomatic and subtle than what I’d like to think I would have done.

And while I do enjoy hearing opposing views, I guess I just wasn’t feeling it as much as I wanted to. I learned a lot about her life growing up which was interesting. She seemed to have a similar childhood to mine, except of course, my parents weren’t republicans. 🙂 And she knows how to nail a punchline. This chic is hilarious!

This book was released in 2011 and while its not that far in the past I could still see how my views have changed and grown in that time. At any rate I’d read another books by her, if only to laugh at her jokes.