Romance Novels

[Ladybug]

Oct 15, 2020 20:16:34 GMT -4 @livingfortheweeken said:

The Beard series by Reid was really hit or miss for me, mostly miss. I liked Cletus' story, but didn't like the other ones a whole lot. I think the author's writing style is not for me.

I have the 2 most recent Olivia Dade books and I'm excited to read them.

Beard Science (Cletus and Jennifer) was definitely the best one, but I was interested in the running plot about the biker gang and Claire and Billy, which got me to the end. I also really liked Grin and Beard It because of Sienna, she was a great character.

I finally started When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole.

[Deleted]

I am salty on Penny Reid because her version of East Tennessee is not anywhere close to the actual East Tennessee, to the point that I wonder if she has ever even visited the area. And she once had a meltdown about negative reviews which turned pretty personal and nasty.

That being said, Friends Without Benefits is still one of my favorite romance novels.

[Ladybug]

Oct 23, 2020 0:10:24 GMT -4 @borokat said:

I am salty on Penny Reid because her version of East Tennessee is not anywhere close to the actual East Tennessee, to the point that I wonder if she has ever even visited the area. And she once had a meltdown about negative reviews which turned pretty personal and nasty.

That being said, Friends Without Benefits is still one of my favorite romance novels.

Good to know about East TN. I have only been to Knoxville for a brief time ages ago (but it was during the fall & it was gorgeous!), so I couldn't tell if she's accurate there or not. I tend to avoid anything set in Texas because I know that I would have issues if the author got something wrong.

I finished Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade. This book has gotten great reader reviews, but I have very mixed feelings about it. I sort of liked the premise, but you really have to suspend your disbelief. The FMC writes fan fic for a GOT-type fantasy show. She has a crush on someone in her online community who also reads and writes fan fic of this show. Turns out he's actually an actor on the show (rip off of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, right down to the hyphenated name), and is writing "fix it" stories because he's so upset about how the showrunners are ruining the show in the last seasons. They end up meeting in real life when she gets bodyshamed online in one of her cosplay costumes, and the actor asks her out on Twitter. He figures out she's his online crush but he can't tell her about his fan fic without risking his reputation and career. (can you believe this?)

I liked some of this book. I liked the heavy shade thrown at GOT showrunners and the actors bitching about them in a group text. I liked that the MMC dealt with the burden of a carefully crafted public persona that didn't match his real personality, but his fake persona was so unbelievably bad. I liked that the FMC was a really smart geologist who was not immediately dazzled by dating a tv star, she fell for him when he started showing his real personality. I also liked that the characters were older, in their late 30s. I liked how the characters found genuine friendship and support in an online community. I'm not a fan fic person, but that factored a lot into the story, so if that's your thing you'd like this.

We're told that the heroine is totally confident about her size, but when the hero innocently suggests a date that includes an exercise activity, she shuts down, gets totally offended, and jumps to the conclusion that he's fat shaming her (he wasn't). There is another point in the book where he does something that he believes is helping her and supporting her, she sees it as a betrayal, and instead of saying "this is what I need from you" she shuts down again and acts pissed at him. Grow up and communicate! I just really had a hard time with the female character, and I felt like she had unreasonable expectations of the guy. He wasn't a mind reader.

ETA I did love the cover!

[Deleted]

Those type of books make me uncomfortable because when they are obviously based on real people, I feel like we are reading the author's personal wish fulfillment.

[chiqui]

What an original plot! I am in awe. I like the cover too. I hate those photorealistic beefcake men who are pouting like Fabio.

[Ladybug]

Oct 23, 2020 11:02:35 GMT -4 @borokat said:

Those type of books make me uncomfortable because when they are obviously based on real people, I feel like we are reading the author's personal wish fulfillment.

Yes, I'm not a huge GOT fan but I knew enough about the show and actors that this made me a bit uncomfortable too. The author thanks the Bramie fandom in her acknowledgements, as the fictional show and fan fic are very thinly veiled versions of the GOT characters. I looked up NCW and discovered that he has been married 20+ years to the former Miss Greenland! The MC in Spoiler Alert shares occupation and physical likeness w/NCW, but is his own character. Still, it must have been weird writing love scenes for this book with a specific person in mind. This is also why I'm not a follower of fan fic.

chiqui Definitely check it out if you're interested! I like writing my thoughts about these books, but I never mean to discourage anyone from reading a particular title even if I didn't love it. It was definitely an original plot line for me as well!

[Deleted]

I HATE beefcake covers. I am glad that the industry seems to be shifting toward illustrated covers instead.

[Deleted]

Oct 23, 2020 10:32:38 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

I finished Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade.

I finished and liked it. I'm a huge fanfic reader and really enjoyed some of the fanfic snippets/aspects. It even made me want to read the fake books the show is based on. I didn't watch GoT, so I didn't know about the Real Person Ficness of Marcus, but I am aware of the failing up of the GoT showrunners, and that didn't bother me too much. I do understand how it could irk some people though. It's part of why I haven't read Red, White, and Royal Blue yet.

The parts about April and Marcus that you wrote, I can kind of agree with. I did find myself saying "Use your words!" even as I thought about all the times I didn't use mine because in the past, and thought things like "What if this ends it?" or "Don't rock the boat". The breakfast/workout and the parent lunch had me wishing April wouldn't react so harshly and then clam up. Like you said, Marcus isn't a mind reader.

Overall, I thought it was a cute lil book about two adults with issues they really needed to deal with. They seemed to have/make really good friends to support them. 

[Ladybug]

I finally read When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare and I loved it! I avoided it for years, even though I love TD's books, because of the cheesy title and cover. I loved the main characters. You have to really suspend your disbelief because the story is pretty unbelievable. A shy but talented illustrator invents a fake suitor to get out of being introduced into society and having to find a husband. For years she sends letters to her fake fiancé, then when a suitable amount of time has passed, she tells everyone that he died. She's allowed to mourn and retreats to a family castle in Scotland and guess what, the fake fiancé turns out to be real and shows up on her doorstep wanting to get married. Somehow, her letters actually made it to him, and he sees an opportunity for him and his men (he's an army captain) to get some land and start their lives over after the war. It is a ridiculous plot, but I loved the characters, especially the female MC, who is sweet and talented but painfully shy.

[Gigiree]

Oh, I read that one when it came out and adored it. Such a cute story, and I enjoyed both main characters.