Testing the Limits by Kira Sinclair

Title: Testing the Limits

Author: Kira Sinclair

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin (January 1, 2014)

Source: NetGalley

Rating: ☕☕1/2

Synopsis: Wanting him was wrong, but it felt so right…

Social worker Quinn Keller sees the best in people…and the worst. When she rescues a prominent businessman's battered wife, Quinn is targeted by the woman's violent husband. Her only option is to place her safety in the hands of Ranger Jace Hyland—tattooed, scarred, incredibly hot…and the brother of Quinn's deceased fiancé. An entirely different kind of dangerous!

Quinn is the woman Jace has always wanted—and she's strictly hands-off. But keeping her safe means taking her to his small apartment…and his bed. So for one unforgettable night, Jace will give in to the temptation he can no longer resist. One night of forbidden hunger. One night he prays will be enough to satisfy a lifetime of longing….

My Thoughts: Sometimes you really can judge a book by the cover. I've done it and won. Sometimes, like this one, a hot tattooed guy coupled with an intriguing synopsis proves, once again, you shouldn't. 

The Good, The Bad, And Everything Else: I rarely read Harlequin Blaze imprints. Mostly because I find many of them tend to have more sex and less character development and sometimes even less fully developed plots. In this case I should have stuck with my original thought pattern and skipped this one but first let's discuss the characters.

Quinn is a social worker and Jace is an MMA fighter and ex-Army Ranger. Honestly the set up couldn't have been better for me to really love these characters. Unfortunately, they are so consumed by guilt over the loss of Quinn's fiancé who happens to also be Jace's brother. The rehashing over and over about Jace taking on added responsibilities that aren't his cross to bear gets tedious. Also, Quinn's nonchalance attitude over an abusive man's threats to her, directly contradicted her characterization of a strong social worker who gives victims second chances at life. 

The plot is overshadowed by the sex within the book mostly because the synopsis clearly defines the book as a romantic suspense which is what I expected. The really great beginning fizzled and really made me scratch my head a bit as the suspenseful part failed to be brought up again until the 30% mark. At that point Jace and Quinn decided she'd be safer at Jace's apartment. This seemed a clunky way to get them to "have" to share a bedroom/bed as I really felt Jace, with his Ranger background, should have been able to protect Quinn in her own home without having to relocate to his apartment. Also, on a side note, if a crazy stalker man casually walks into your home to threaten you just to prove he can do as he likes the right response would be shout out to the hot Army Ranger just outside. You know...the one who was there to protect you??? Of course hot Army Ranger guy really couldn't protect Quinn as the bad guy literally kidnapped her in front of him. Um....I've never read a book with a special ops hero (either currently enlisted or retired) who wasn't capable of taking down a bully who only seems to be able to beat on women. What a rip off. I hope he never got tattooed....you know the Ranger brotherhood ones all special ops men tend to have....if he did he'd have to get it removed because he's a disgrace.

Ok I hated the characters. I equally hated the plot...because...what plot? The Quinn and Jace have sex plot? Since this was the only plot that seemed to have enough pages dedicated to it I have to assume this was the main point of the book. If you follow any of my reviews you should know I'm not all about sex just for the sake of it in my romances. Sex does not equal love no matter what some authors want you to believe. Kira Sinclair did not fall completely into this negative trope but since the footwork of the Quinn/Jace I love you parts happened off the page...we don't necessarily see them fall in love. It's just assumed with their history they've always kind of been there even though at the beginning of the book they admit to sharing semi-regular awkward meals together to keep up appearances of the brother and sister-in-law act. Highlight on the awkward part. 

In a Nutshell: What a stink-a-roo for me. I am not sure I'll pick up another Sinclair book even though some reviewers claim there are better books out there by her. I would stick a label on this book to my friends "Read at Your Own Risk" but may ask them to try it out just as an experiment of sorts. I want to know if I'm all alone in my dislike/hatred. Christina Out.

With a Hitch by RC Boldt

Title: With a Hitch

Author: RC Boldt

Narrator: Jennifer Mack and JF Harding

Series: Standalone

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: RC Boldt Publishing LLC (March 19, 2019)

AudioBook Published: Audible Studios (May 7, 2019) 

Source: Audible Escapes subsription

Rating: ☕☕☕☕1/2

Synopsis: Amazon bestselling author RC Boldt brings us a smart, sexy new standalone about a matchmaker/dating coach who's faced with the challenge of finding Mrs. Right for the city's beloved NFL wide receiver...

———————————————————

She’s playing it safe. He’s playing for keeps.

DARCY

Growing up in the foster system, I learned the hard way that lasting love doesn't always come easy. Dating in the modern era can be daunting; the bar scene and dating apps leave you wondering if there's any hope in sight.

That's where I come in. Helping you break the “swipe-right” cycle, I’m dedicated to matching you with the love of your life.

Finding Mrs. Right for Dax Kendrick should be a piece of cake. Except nothing about this man is simple.

DAX

The NFL has given me more than I ever imagined—a roof over my head, food on the table, and a chance to provide for the family who sacrificed everything while I chased my dreams.

Maintaining a squeaky-clean image for my sponsors when my paycheck and the fruits of my endorsements are all women want is a hefty challenge.

I’d nearly given up when I hired Darcy Cole. Yet the more I’m around her, the less I care about finding my perfect match.

Because it might be right in front of me. 

My Thoughts: A surprisingly good friends to lovers romance from a new to me author. 

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: Being so character driven it's not surprising how I was completely sucked in by Dax. He is everything a book boyfriend could be. When Darcy has menstrual cramps he baked her turmeric muffins and went over to her house to watch chick flicks with her. He started a fundraiser for Gainesville Florida after a natural disaster that raised millions which he matched. Oh did I mention he's a hawt football player with a multimillion dollar contract and endorsement deals? Book Boyfriend people....Book Boyfriend. Darcy was a little harder to like because she's ruled by fear when it comes to accepting a relationship with Dax. Yet.... she proved herself by trying to protect him from harm showing she really did care for him. She's driven and a smart business woman who came from nothing to make something of herself. I ended up liking her more than I thought I would. The secondary characters were notable and I really need to read more about them especially his teammate Kyler.

The plot is fairly simple as far as the friends to lovers part goes but it did add an added layer when a nefarious character is introduced and ultimately a #MeToo additional storyline came into play. I couldn't be more please with this. I thought it was tastefully done even if it was wrapped up with the best possible outcome, which isn't always reality....thus the reason for the movement and it's importance. Overall, despite the sunshine and rainbows outcome of the storyline I am happy to have it included in a book that could have just been all fluff.

Towards the middle of the book begins the sexy times (remember it's friends to lovers and Boldt did a great job of creating the foundation for an amazing and believable friendship.) The steamy parts were pretty hot and I'd go as far as to say almost erotica in nature (minus all the over the top 50 Shades fetish sex.) Darcy and Dax have great chemistry despite both stating neither one is their typical type.

The audio was done well and the dual narration of JF Harding and Jennifer Mack helped make Dax and Darcy come alive. Both narrators are new to me and I'd absolutely listen to another book by either one or both again.

In a Nutshell: I picked this book up to satisfy a reading challenge I'm doing. These random books can be hit or miss and I'm happy this was an absolute hit for me. I'm 100% going to read more by this author. Just an FYI While this book is touted as a standalone there is a book written prior to this one that involves Darcy's sister and one of Dax's ex-teammates.

The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros

Title: The Last Letter
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled: Amara (February 26, 2019)
Audio version Published: Audible Studios (April 23, 2019)
Source: Audible Escape
Rating: ☕☕☕☕1/2

Synopsis: Beckett,

If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have.

I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride.

My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. It’s not fair.

And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart. She’s going to need help.

So if I’m gone, that means I can’t be there for Ella. I can’t help them through this. But you can. So I’m begging you, as my best friend, go take care of my sister, my family.

Please don’t make her go through it alone.

Ryan

My Thoughts: Did I love this book? Maybe. Did ugly cry during it? Absolutely.

The Good, The Bad, and Whatever Else I Want to Say: The longer I listened to this book the longer it felt. The longer it felt the more I was irritated by, Ella, the heroine. So, why was I going back and forth between rating this book 4 Stars or 5? Because it had two adorable kids, a dog, a military man, and it made me cry...more than once.

First off, Ella...she has major trust issues and it really started to get on my nerves because she couldn't trust Beckett because she just knew he'd be like all the other men in her life and leave. Through the whole book she was just waiting for Beckett to prove he wasn't trustworthy so she could say "I knew it." Yet I didn't hate her. I actually liked her a lot. She was actually a really great character and Yarros did an amazing job of fleshing her (and the other characters) out.

Colt and Maisy, Ella's twins, are adorable. I think they stole the scenes they were in every time. They acted and talked more like little adults rather than the 6 year old's they were but I still liked them a lot anyway. Beckett Gentry was also fleshed out well and despite his keeping part of his identity a secret from Ella he was very upfront with his intentions and thoughts. I liked him a lot. Are you seeing a pattern here?

The supporting characters are just background noise and not that remarkable but with everything going on with the storyline their additional input wasn't necessary. Speaking of the storyline...how much should one person have to go through? Honestly it was too much. Bad things happen to good people. It's a fact. Also, just because a person goes through one really bad thing doesn't mean they are exempt from more bad things from happening in their life. This sucks but true as well. With that said, I've decided this book is a standalone because everything that could have possibly taken place in a sequel took place in this book. There is nothing left that could happen to these characters but good gravy WHY? Because Rebecca Yarros wanted to make us cry. It's the only thing that makes sense in my mind. She wanted to make her readers sob to the point of red puffy eyes and lots of snot....AKA ugly cry. Yet I still liked this book a lot.

The Audible experience was a good one. Teddy Hamilton (who I've listened to before) and Jennifer Stark dual narrate which is always a great way to listen to dual POVs within a book. Teddy's voice is great for Beckett and Ok for Ella....this is pretty typical in audiobooks. Men are great narrators but when it comes to their women voices they all come out a bit weird to me. Jennifer's voice was new to me but I thought she did a good job. I was able to listen to the book at 2X the speed easily and would pick up another book narrated by her.

In a Nutshell: I picked up this book because it fit into a reading challenge I'm doing. I've never read a book by Rebecca Yarros before and even though I overall really really liked this book I'm not sure if I'd pick up another book by her any time soon. I love a book that can run my feelings from warm and tingly to sad and crying and back again but this book was just too much. I don't like to ugly cry.

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

Title: He Said/She Said
Author: Erin Kelly
Narrators: Jonathan Broadbent and Helen Johns
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Macmillan Audio (June 6, 2017 )
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: The path of every eclipse can be predicted from now until the end of time.

Kit and Laura, young and in love, pledge to travel the globe and see as many as possible together. They have no idea of the darkness that will follow.

At a festival in Cornwall, in the hushed moments after the first eclipse they share, Laura interrupts a man and a woman. She knows she saw something terrible. But the man denies it. Later, in a panic, Laura tells a little white lie - which changes four lives irreparably.

When the victim turns up on their doorstep, the truth seems to vanish ever further into shadow. As gratitude spills into dangerous obsession, Kit and Laura simply have to run.

But they can't hide forever. With another eclipse on the horizon, the past is closing in on them again.
Telling Kit the truth will cost Laura her marriage. But keeping the secret could cost them both their lives.

And the person they fear the most knows exactly where they'll be...

My Thoughts: Remember that time when I thought this book had been recommended to me by a friend on GoodReads and then I read it and borderline hated it only to realize in no way did any friend of mine on GoodReads actually say I should read this book? Yeah.....so that happened.

The Good, The Bad, The Really Bad, and Everything Else: First and foremost I couldn't get over the super slow pace of this book. Nothing happened forever. Finally something would happen and peak my interest only to revert back to the slow pacing again. I also was annoyed with the constant back and forth the narration took. It jumped back and forth in time and also jumped between points of view. It is told between Kit's and Laura's points of views and they would also bop between the year 2000 and then 2015. At one point I think there was even an earlier POV with Kit but I was too bored to really notice. I just really wanted the book to get to the point.

The last 10% or so got really twisty and I approved. However, there was yet another twist at the very end I felt did nothing to add to the story and without it the book would have been just fine. I really wish the twistiness would have happened way sooner. I literally had to check this book out from the library three times in order to get to the end because I found other things to do rather than listen to this book.

As far as the characters go, not one could be considered likable and their secrets made me even more against them than I probably should have been. At one point Kit made some comment about lying snowballs into more lies. Yet the entire book is centered around concealing lies and what it does to a person. At least the sun eclipse information was interesting.

So what else did I like about this book to make it an average rather than a stinker? Well, I can't fault the writing of Erin Kelly. It flowed well, if you haven't decided you're over the dual POV narration anyway, and I'm pretty sure listening was a way better way of reading this book than had I read it myself. Of course, this is only supposition on my part, but I know my reading patterns and instead of week after week to get to the end of this book it would have been month after month.

The narration being split between a male and a female POV lent to a dual narration for the audio very well. Helen Johns and Jonathan Broadbent did an OK job. I was able to listen to the book at my normal 1.8X's the speed without the story sounding garbled. So all in all I neither was wowed nor did I dislike the listening experience so I would pick up another audio book narrated by either/or these performers.

In a Nutshell: Since I didn't full on hate this book I'm not against reading another book by Erin Kelly. I'm hoping the slow pacing of this book is just a one off and not her typical style.

Through the Smoke by Brenda Novak

Title: Through the Smoke
Author: Brenda Novak
Narrator: Justine Eyre
Series: Stand-Alone
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (October 15, 2013 )
Source: Library Find in Audio (NetGalley for the ebook)
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: A shocking betrayal...

Riches. Power. An ancient heritage of pride. The Earl of Druridge wanted only for an heir. So when he learned that his wife was carrying another man's child, he was filled with a thirst for vengeance. But he wasn't the one who caused Katherine's death. Or was he? To his horror, he remembers nothing of that dreadful night, when their last shocking confrontation ended in scorching flame and cold blood.

A forbidden love...

Rachel McTavish, the beautiful daughter of a coal miner, knows something about the fire that took Lady Katherine's life. In secret, the strong-willed girl strikes a bargain with the desperate earl: He must send his physician to help her dying mother or he may go to the scaffold - and the devil. The earl agrees, but Rachel is still unsure that her revelation will be enough to save him when so many wish him dead.

Passionately drawn to the nobleman, despite all the doubt and mystery that shroud him, Rachel wonders if he can really be a murderer. Or if he is the only man who will ever own her heart....

My Thoughts: A good book with an Ok romance but a stellar suspenseful mystery with a slight gothic feel.

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: While this definitely does sit in the genre of historical romances what I really loved was the mystery of who set the fire that killed the earl's wife. I love suspenseful situations in historical romances and Brenda Novak knows her way around suspense. The mystery was easily solved and it was a little annoying the hero took so long to figure it out. In addition, Rachel ran headlong into danger in a feeble attempt to save her man and if you've read any of my reviews heroines who do TSTL things but the crap out of me.

I did enjoy the relationship blooming between a wealthy titled peer and a poor shopkeeper's daughter and of course the hero blew off what is expected and married her despite the backlash that would happen. However, I really wasn't won over by the romance completely. Mostly because of my inability to fully like Truman. I like my heroes to be more Alpha than he was, more decisive than he was, and a lot more, well, everything.

There was also an incident involving the first time they had sex which I would consider borderline rape. Don't get me wrong, the hero isn't blatantly a rapist but he should have noticed something wrong and the entire situation was just swept under the rug. I feel a big deal should have been made about this and there was no deal made about it at all. This pissed me off and set the rest of the book in a bad light to me.

The narration was Ok but I don't think it enhanced the reading experience for me. Justine Eyre is a new narrator to me and her British accent and voice pitch had me slowing the speed down. I normally listen at close to 2X but I could only listen between 1.25X and 1.5X otherwise I had a hard time understanding. I would listen to another narration by her but I wouldn't purposely seek one out because of her.


In a Nutshell: I've read better books by Brenda Novak but this one wasn't terrible. It's my first historical by her and I'm not sure if I think that is where her writing sweet spot is. She has done some great contemporaries and excellent romantic suspenseful thrillers. If a reader is new to Novak I'd steer them to the Whiskey Creek contemporary romance series or the Evelyn Talbot thriller series rather than this one.

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The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren

Title: The Honey-Don't List
Author: Christina Lauren
Narrator: Patti Murin and Jon Root
Series: Stand-Alone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (March 24, 2020 )
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.

James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.

Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…

My Thoughts: I really like Christina Lauren's books but I thought this one wasn't quite as good as my experiences with some of the others I've read.

The Good, The Bad, and the Stuff in the Middle: The Laurens team does a great job of creating interesting characters and I liked Carey but not nearly as much as James. I thought Carey was so far into the Tripp's lives she justified all their bad behaviors but doesn't cut James the same slack. She mentally complains about pretty much everything James does and sees all his mannerisms as negative. It wasn't until they had to work closely together on the book tour she really discovers who James is and how terrific he can be. Carey occasionally got on my nerves by being Ok with how she was being treated by Melly. Rusty had my sympathy through most of the book because I couldn't see even one redeeming quality in Melly. Oh and not to draw parallels where there really weren't any but I kept seeing Chip and Joanna Gaines as the Tripps. Probably because they too are a couple who have hit remodeling TV shows but this was really all in my head and not from the authors writing of the characters in this book.

I think at one point we were supposed to feel for Carey because she had a medical condition she was living with which is one of the reasons she claimed to stay with the Tripps so long. For the insurance. I understand needing medical insurance as much as the next person but to dedicate a decade of her young life to a screaming shrew like Melly is crazy. There are other jobs with insurance out there.

The romance was Ok except it relies on the miscommunication trope to add conflict when there was enough conflict between the relationship of our four characters; Rusty, Melly, Carey, and James. I also hated that Carey finally got a backbone but used it on James instead of Melly. Man I hated Melly. The intimacy between Carey and James was done really well but I wish more focus could have been on building their romance rather than the destruction of Melly and Rusty's marriage.

The audio of this book was great. I love when multiple narrators work together to enhance the experience. Both Murin and Root are new to me narrators and I would listen to more with them. I was able to listen to the book at my regular speed of almost 2Xs without Murin making Carey sound like a chipmunk.

In a Nutshell: Although this wasn't my favorite Lauren book I did find myself thinking about it for days after finishing which was a good thing. This is why I ended up giving it an extra half point for a rating. I will definitely read more books by this writing team even though I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book over Josh and Hazel's Guide for Not Dating or My Favorite Half-Night Stand. I think those books are superior to this one.

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

Title: Spoonbenders
Author: Daryl Gregory (narrated by Ari Fliakos)
Series: Stand-alone
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Random House Audio  (June 27, 2017)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: The year is 1995.

Meet the Telemachuses: an apparently ordinary family with strikingly obvious issues. Their individual personalities are eccentric, their intergenerational relationships are strained, their collective failures are well documented, and their finances are, well, let's not even go there.
The city is Chicago.

For Grandson Matty Telemachus, this is just the way things have always been. The only person who has ever tried to convince him otherwise is his hapless Uncle Frankie, who rushes to retrieve 'that video tape' every time he consumes too much red wine at Thanksgiving.
The family is dysfunctional.

This cassette is proof that the family - Grandad Teddy, Grandma Maureen, Aunt Irene, Uncle Frankie and Uncle Buddy - were once known as The Amazing Telemachus Family, and toured the country with a magic and mind-reading act. That was, until on fateful night in 1974...
So is the magic.

Spoonbenders is the legacy and legend of an extraordinary, normal, entirely unique family across three generations of big personalities and socially inept recluses - each cursed with the potential of being something special.

My Thoughts: I read a very short review about this book and the reviewer enjoyed this book so I thought I'd give it a shot.

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: I made a mistake when tackling this book. I did not read the synopsis. I had no idea this book was set in 1995. I did manage to figure it out but the book also skipped back and forth in time with no indication it was happening. At least on the audio version. The results made for a little bit of a confused listen at first. I did figure it out but I thought this hindered my enjoyment rather than enhance it.

The building of the storyline was actually very interesting and the character, Buddy, although being portrayed as a secondary character was the best of the bunch. The plot was pretty cleverly woven and it built and built throughout the book to a good climax but overall it didn't wow me. Probably because the book spent so much time focusing on two characters, Teddy and Frankie, who were essentially the same person. I don't necessarily have to like the characters in a book but sometimes my dislike of specific characters can sway my enjoyment of a book anyway. In this case having  more than half the book so focused on the two characters I disliked was a big negative sway.

The narration was adequate but not great. I don't recall any voice differences between characters. This could mean they might have been there but were not great nor horrible enough for me to notice or there really wasn't any difference. At the end of the book I felt Fliakos just read the story to me rather than it being a great audio production. I would not seek out another book narrated by Ari Fliakos for the sake of the narration but wouldn't refuse to listen to another one based on this book.

In a Nutshell: An overall OK book but not one I would re-read. I also wouldn't recommend this book except for, perhaps, likeminded readers. I'm not sure if I would seek out another book by Gregory but as I do like to give an author at least 2 tries I would rule it out.