Beautiful Lawman by Sophie Jordan

Author: Sophie Jordan
Title: Beautiful Lawman
Series: Devil's Rock
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Avon

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

I didn't think I had read anything from Sophie Jordan before, but now I'm pretty sure she's written a series about dragon shifters and I've read at least two of those books. I think...
Anyway, we're not here to talk about those. I've finished the fourth installment of Devil's Rock - which incidentally were my first read of the series. It's intrigued me enough that I'll probably go back and listen to the previous ones, as well - I do like the sound of the first one.

So, this one is about Piper - a young woman from a family of criminals, jailed or dead ones. Everyone in their small town thinks she's trash like the rest of the Walsh-clan, which makes caring for her younger sister very hard, since no one except the slimy strip club-manager wants to hire her. The last thing she needs is getting involved with the town's sexiest lawman, Hale. Hale, who is golden-boy turned sheriff, who also judges her by her blood. If only she didn't get his blood boiling.

This book is mostly centered around Piper and Hale and mostly Piper's struggles trying to care for her sister. She's a tough one and rolls with the punches. It hurt seeing how she had to play the dumb girl to get people to back off, but I cheered when she sassed back. Hale is kind of an asshole at first - judging people by their families background is just plain wrong and douchy. But, it does happen, unfortunately.

I did love the way Hale and Piper just... fit. They just came together and even though it was a bit of a struggle at times, their lives just went together like bread and butter. The whole background story with her brother and the crime he was incarcerated for was a good way to move the story forward and prepare for the next installment.

3.5 of 5 lap dances

/ Denise

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

Author: Laura Thalassa
Title: Pestilence
Genre: Apocalyptic romance 
Publisher: Independent

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Yeah, this was... I don't really know how to feel about this. On the one hand, I liked the writing and the main story - The Four Horsemen coming to earth, killing everyone because of the wrath of God and a human falling for them.
Buuuut, the execution left somethings to be desired. Let's start with the good things:

Pestilence is hot -Yeah, seriously, that's a good thing.
Hate-to-love-trope - I love that.
Unfeeling to feeling - I liked the transition for Pestilence, from being an ethereal being, hating humans, to slowly falling in love with Sara, wanting to protect her from everything (even though he hurt her a few times, but details).
Trixie Skillz - dat horse, though.
Violence - okay, I don't specifically like violence, but I liked that the author didn't really skip the details. I mean, Pestilence "died" brutally multiple times.
Sexy times - Even though Sara called him "Pestilence" even in the more intimate situations, I kind of liked the whole virgin side of him. Fast learner, though. And he never forces her against her will (well, he does make her pee and get naked in front of him, but it's strictly platonic..?)

Okay, so on to the less positive stuff:

Divine intervention - Pestilence always said he had a mission and hinted that he didn't have a choice but kill humans. But he never explained why, except that God is involved and humans are despicable (except Sara, she cute). Is this because we'll be getting more books or what? I would have liked some more background story here.
Stockholm syndrome - Okay, so Sara tries to brutally murder him and he is vengeful and wants to make her suffer. He does accomplish this quite spectacularly. Sara still falls for him. She does have her guilt and questions herself a lot, but that doesn't seem to stop her from ogling him from day one.
Bare story - okay, so the story was quite bare, according to me. Things happen, but overall they really don't? I don't want to spoil too much, so I guess you'll have to find out for yourselves.
Feminism - you'd think this was a good thing, right? Well, no, this is a book that seems like it wants to be feminist and then just does and says things that are very counterproductive.

I'll probably read War when it comes out, because I'm interested in where the story is going and why God wants everyone dead, if they actually do want them dead.

2.75 of 5 immortal horses

/ Denise

All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue by Sophie Jordan

Author: Sophie Jordan
Title: All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Avon

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

I can't say I loved this book, but it had me intrigued until the last page. I did like the story - how at childhood crush is, well, crushed when it comes to light that he's not so great, after all. And then a misunderstanding that's actually believable and they are so petty and funny and bickering all the time and you can almost touch the tension.

Okay, what was good? I really liked Aurelia. She tried to be independent, to not settle for any marriage even though she felt like a burden to her brother and his wife. She's a fantastic artist and that big misunderstanding years before peaked her interest in making caricatures of people. But not of anyone, just of people who deserves it (according to her). Max was also totally okay. He really has the whole "I'm-a-man-and-therefore-you-shall-do-as-I-say"-vibe, but Aurelia could handle it, so that's nice.

What wasn't so good? Weeeell... Max was a bit caveman at times - which, I know, this is a historical romance, I might be asking too much. But that man could not listen to anyone if his life so depended on it. He was very much into his rights as a man (but other times kind of sweet). The character development weren't marvelous, either and there weren't much of a story tbh. Like, I liked the story about their relationship but other than that, nothing really happened. Oh, except for the pond-incident. That was a good one. I also would have loved to find out more about Aurelia's sketches och Max's childhood.

Why should it be read? If you're looking for an easy, character-driven read with hot males and witty, capable women - you should read this.

3 of 5 drenched wigs

/ Denise

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Genre: Fiction/Historical
Publisher: Atria Books/Random House Audio

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Jenkins Reid does know how to write problematic characters. Evelyn Hugo isn't in any way all that likable. All the same, I felt for her story and in the end, she had a place in my heart.

Why did that happen? Evelyn Hugo has had a long life filled with success and heartbreak. When she starts telling her story to Monique, the young journalist she insists on sharing it with, we slowly but surely get a glimpse of a strong woman with a great desire to be someone. She's manipulative, smart and knows how to use her looks to get what she wants. The stories about how and why she married her husbands make me mostly sad, because this isn't really a happy book. I like happy books, but just as Daisy Jones, Evelyn had me so interested in her story that I held on till the end. Which I'm very glad I did.

What's so good then? Like I said, this is not a happy book. Neither is it devastating. It's matter-of-fact and still filled with emotion. It contains a lot of food for thought. Like how women were and are perceived, LGBT-rights, love, friendship and family and how sometimes you make the wrong choices. How you grow old and then realize how much time you've wasted, even when you've succeeded in what you set out to do.

Monique didn't really interest me. I understand her part in the story, but I could have been without it. Still, Evelyn's story did get a whole different impact when told like this - rather than the book being told in present form. The ending was in part suspected, but did also surprise me. I also appreciated the short articles between the stories, as well. It really gave the feeling of what life Evelyn was living.

4 of 5 oscars

/ Denise

Söta, Röda Sommardrömmar av Christoffer Holst

Författare: Christoffer Holst
Titel: Söta, röda sommardrömmar
Genre: Feelgood/Deckare/Romance
Förlag: Lovereads
Länkar: Adlibris / Bokus / Goodreads

Det verkar som att så gott som alla böcker jag läser på svenska kommer från förlaget Lovereads, för jag läser ju väldigt sällan böcker på svenska numera. Och nu kommer jag här och meddelar att jag vanligtvis inte läser deckare, heller. Så har jag satt mig ner och läst en svensk deckare! Hur gick detta till?
Well, jag läser ju feelgood och jag gillar Christoffer Holst och titta på det där omslaget och själva begreppet feelgood-deckare fick mig att ge den en chans. Och om jag är glad för det!

Cilla Storm är journalist, men inte den luriga, pengakramande sorten. Hon är nyfiken, glad, rolig och omtänksam och lite konstig. Jag gillade henne nästan direkt. Grannen Rosie är lite av hur jag drömmer om att vara som pensionär och hennes son Adam är helt enkelt yummy. Eller ja, han är ju faktiskt mer än så. Polis. Men inte den hårda, misstänksamma sorten. Även han är ganska öppen och glad. Jag fick inte så mycket känn på honom, men jag hoppas att vi får lära känna dom allihop mer i Blå, blå höstvågor!

Vad handlar det om då? Jaha, jo, boken handlar om att Cilla har köpt en kolonilott på Bullholmen, en ö i Stockholms skärgård. Hon har blivit dumpad av sin pojkvän och vill bara komma bort från allt. Men den stillsamma, vindrickande sommaren hon tänkt sig blir avbruten när en ung kvinna hittas mördad. Cilla var den sista som såg henne vid liv och hon är ju som sagt lite för nyfiken för att låta saker vara.

Vad är det som är så bra då? Jamen, det är en mysig bok, helt enkelt. Inget blir för blaffigt, för mordigt, för pinsamt eller för konstigt. Konversationerna flyter, karaktärerna känns levande och Holst gör mig aldrig uttråkad med sina fina miljöbeskrivningar. Jag listade väl typ ut mysteriet där i mitten av slutet någonstans, men det gjorde inget, för jag hölls ändå i spänning hela tiden.

4 av 5 glas Cava

/ Denise

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Title: Daisy Jones & The Six
Genre: Fiction/Historical
Publisher: Ballantine Books/Random House Audio

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Daisy Jones and the Six truly surprised me. I saw it on my audiobook service and, having seen all the hype, I though I’d give it a go. I don’t know why, since I almost never read hyped books and I definitely don’t read books about a 70’s band. But I did and I’m glad.

I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook. That’s rarely the case, but this book worked amazingly as an audiobook. The narrators - and there where a lot of narrators (another thing I usually dislike, what’s this book done to me?) - were amazing. It was like listening to a movie. A real documentary.

What's so damn good, then? I don't know! I kept expecting to be bored, getting fed up with the cheating, the booze, the drugs. But the book kept sucking me in, getting me involved in the lives of The Six and Daisy. Camilla was marvelous, but truly - all of the characters' personalities came through even though most of the story revolved around Billy and Daisy. The author made the storyline exciting and, most important, believable - everyone remembers differently, thought differently and that gave another dimension to the story.

Why should it be read? Because it's a beautifully written story with a set of characters you won't get out of your head. If you're looking for a character-driven story set in the 70's, behind-the-scenes of rock music and full of humanity, I recommend you pick this up. Especially the audiobook, if you're into that!

5 of 5 rockstars

/ Denise

Blossoms in Autumn by Zidrou and Amiée de Jong

Author: Zidrou and Amiée de Jong (ill.)
Title: Blossoms in Autumn
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Europe Comics

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Even though this book is rather bleak and a bit more depressing than I would have thought, I truly enjoyed this story about to people finding each other when they didn't really expect it. Ulysses is 59 years old and Mediterranea is 61. He's a widower and a father forced into retirement, she's a former model who's been taking care of her dying mother and owns a cheese shop.

What did you like about it? The illustrations are lovely, for one thing, speaking an entire language of their own. I liked the couple's relationship and their easiness with each other. How they both went from bleakness to brightness, just by being with each other. There's some nudity in this book, which I also appreciate. It's an honest look on aging, on feeling younger than you are and not seeing yourself in your body. But it's also a book that's humorous and sweet, so not everything is depressing.

Why should one read it? If you're looking for a story about aging, trying to find yourself when what you always have known isn't there anymore, finding love when you didn't think it would be possible, you should pick this one up. 

4 of 5 perfectly aged cheese

/ Denise

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roerig

Author: Caleb Roehrig
Title: Death Prefers Blondes
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

My oh my. If you'd said to me that I would love a book about ass-kicking drag queens, murder mysteries, daring heists, sweet romances and spinning action scenes... I'd probably have believed you. Pick this up, just do it. Also, look at that cover. Total insta-cover-love

Okay, what was so good, then? I don't know. I liked the story, about a spoiled rich girl trying to create some action in her life, ending up loving the action and becoming a thief. Getting in over her head on a job and her personal life crumbling before her eyes. With her band of drag queens. I liked the characters, each one unique in their own way. I loved the friendship. I loved the way the romance was low-key - even though I would have liked to know about the romances around Margo.

Something not so great? Well, if you're going to have multiple points of views, I would love for it to be consistent. Don't tease us with the boys sides to the story and then give us all Margo. That's probably the least good thing about this book. And it's not an awful thing. I just felt... unsatisfied, that's all.

What should one read it? If you're looking for an action-filled, interesting, smart and including rainbow-book with great characters, a mystery to be solved and some deadly outcomes, you should read this.

4 of 5 fabulous drags

/ Denise

Josh and Hazels Guide to not Dating by Christina Lauren

Author: Christina Lauren
Title: Josh and Hazels Guide to not Dating
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Gallery Books

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

I saw that someone described this book as "pure fun" and I have to agree. Hazel is such a wonderful character and I loved how she loved herself. Sure, she was quite adamant that she was a bit loony, but she was also determined not to change for a man. You go, of course you shouldn't change for a man. Be you. Josh is also a great guy, funny, thoughtful and respectful.

What did you like about the book? Well, honestly, almost everything. It's not a complicated story with lots of intrigue, lies, action or anything and that's absolutely perfect. This is a book about Hazel and Josh getting to know each other. Becoming friends. Falling in love. It also has one of my favorite tropes - opposites attract! I adore watching people who are so completely different falling for each other, realizing they are still compatible and respect each other for their differences. I love how natural the entire thing is in this book.

Almost everything? Yes, there was one thing that made me a bit uneasy. How Hazel practically worships Josh. And people, including Hazel, says as much on multiple occasions. Yeah, that was my one negative thing about this book. Josh never took advantage of the fact that she worshipped him and that's what matters, I guess. Oh, I'm not so fond of how things ended, but the epilogue does include a little boy dressed as a Disney-princess, so I'm good.

Why should I read this? If you're looking for a fun, easy read with characters with great chemistry and respect for each other, I'd say - pick this up. Christina Lauren's writing style should be reason enough.

4 of 5 double dates

/ Denise

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

Author: Christina Lauren
Title: My Favorite Half-Night Stand
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Gallery Books

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Okay, so this book has one of my favorite tropes - friends-to-lovers. When done right, it's can be such a fun and sweet read. In this case, the friends are best friends and have such a great relationship, being comfortable with each other, bantering, caring about one another.
But, this book also has one of my least favorite things - lying. I just don't like it. Especially when there's no real good reason. Like in this case, the woman, Millie, is catfishing the man, Reid. This is not okay and I had trouble with it the entire book.
That said, if I had to read a book about lying and catfishing (and, apparently no one had to put a gun to my head), I'd pick this one. Even though the story is important, I find even more important that I love the characters. Millie had her issues (bad decisions, trust issues, workaholic) but I couldn't help but like her. I would have liked to gotten to know her a bit outside the circle of friends and Reid, though. Reid's a decent, lovely, genuine guy without said issues (except the workaholic part), and we get to know him a lot more than Millie, it feels like. The only secondary characters we get more than a glimpse of are the group of friends, which is okay and just a little boring.

What's up, then? The thing about Christina Lauren is that I'm starting to realize that I love their writing style. I adored Autoboyography. Their characters are funny and great and multifaceted, which gives me warm, fuzzy feelings while reading. I'm definitely reading more from them in the future.

About the audio book - loved the female narrator, had to get used to the male one, though. But eventually it worked out okay.

3.5 misspelled its

/ Denise

Muffin Top by Avery Flynn

Author: Avery Flynn
Title: Muffin Top
Series: The Hartigans #2
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Entangled: Amara

Links: Adlibris / Book Depository / Goodreads

Okay, so I truly thought I would like this book. I read both good and not so good reviews and I went in with that in mind. And... I was disappointed. It wasn't a bad book, really, it just wasn't the kind of book I wanted to read. A lot of little things that became big things that annoyed me kept coming up. The plot was okay, I guess, and the story went along fine. The characters started out promising, but turned out to be the most disappointing, really.

What went wrong, then? Listen, a story about a plus-size (aka fat) woman who's totally badass and confident and the love-interest is a big, muscly firefighter who loves his women, but not enough to stick, going away and spending a lot of time together, fake-dating - it sounds all kinds of great, right? The woman, Lucy, needs to go on a reunion and dreads it. The man, Frankie, is on sex-hiatus and thinks that Lucy is the perfect woman to spend time with, because he feels no attraction to her. Not because she's fat, no no, but because she's a fierce ballbuster with too much confidence (what?), because he's totally attracted to her physically, because she's got great boobs (um?). And not only do we get this somewhat illogical explanation, that I could have overlooked, but we get this told to us multiple times "It's so lucky I'm not attracted to her, because she would eat me alive"-kind of talk. What more, when we're in Lucy's point of view, we first meet a confident, awesome woman enjoying a burger and fries with extra hot hot sauce and I instantly like her. I feel like this is the book I've been dying to read. But no... I can take the self-deprecation and the bad jokes about her size - okay, I understand how it's easier to hide behind humor instead of throwing yourself out there. What I cannot, and will not, take, is the authors need to remind us how fat Lucy wherever we turn. And I also don't need to be told everything in detail multiple times. Let us readers figure it out, please. That's probably one of my biggest pet peeves - books that don't let the reader read between the lines, figure out some stuff along the way.

Was there anything good? Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't read the entire book (only about 3/4). I just couldn't finish it - maybe I will at some point when I'm not a mess and can distance myself from my irritation. But, okay, the kind of good things. Lucy is not portrayed as someone who's not capable. She can and does do everything she sets her mind to, she wears what she wants and eats what she likes - yeay for that. Also, Frankie seems to honestly give zero thoughts to her ample body if it's not in a sexual, horny, attracted sort of way and he, as well, doesn't see any reason to limit her. This should obviously be as natural as breathing, but unfortunately the world is not always awesome, so it was nice to read it. Also, the friends were nice.

Should I read this then? Yes, if you're looking for a plus-size romance with hot bods and steamy sex somewhere down the line, but also is not afraid of reading about a great woman reject herself multiple times. I hear a lot of readers relate to Lucy and her thoughts, so I am very possibly wrong in all my words. Read it for yourselves, yes.

No real rating, since I didn't really finish it. I really like the cover, though.

/ Denise