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What I'm Reading Wednesday

I’m Reading . . . some New Adult Romance

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This is a fine thing, indeed. It’s What I’m Reading #Wednesday, and honestly, in the last week, I’ve been unhappy with what I’ve read.

I blame Colleen Hoover, Cora Carmack and Ginger Scott. Their last books were so good, I’m getting spoiled.

I’m happy to report, however, that last night, while trolling the ‘zon and iBooks for something . . . anything . . . I found out that Sarina Bowen’s new book, The Shameless Hour (The Ivy Years Book 3) went live last week.

Booyah!

Next week, I promise I’ll have more to report. But why have the other books I’ve been reading (which I will not name; we’re all entitled to our points of view!) not been cutting the mustard? It’s been a few things.

First, the characters are not memorable. They’ve been lackluster, wishy-washy and too capricious. One girl couldn’t make up her mind about anything, and that made me nuts. Another whined. No. Just no. Second, the storylines were unbelievable, and while I’m more than ready to suspend my disbelief, you’ve got to give me something to work with. Anything. Third, and this is a big one, some of the books I read this week were poorly edited. It wasn’t typos or missed words so much as my own personal bugaboo: words misused. One series I read had so many words used in the wrong context that I wanted to scream.

“No, you didn’t withhold the sobs threatening to escape!” I raged. “You held them in. You swallowed them. You bit them back. That word doesn’t mean what you think it does.”

On the other hand, I did read all three books–partly out of desperation and partly out of a morbid curiosity to see how the author brought it all together. So maybe it’s understandable that others read them, too.

The good news is that May is bringing me all sorts of book deliciousness. If only I can hold out that long . . .

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I’m Reading Trouble by Samantha Towle and 10 Years Later by J. Sterling

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I knew it was going to happen, and this week I hit the wall: I ran out of reliable NA romances to keep me occupied between the time I stop writing at night and the time the Kindle hits me in the head as I fall asleep.

Sigh. #FirstWorldWriterProblems

So I tried out Trouble by Samantha Towle. It was decent. The story wasn’t easy to read; the main female character suffers abuse at the hands of her father and her first boyfriend, and as a result, she’s also bullemic. That’s not light-hearted fare; it’s a long way from ‘I’m tutoring the hot football/hockey star and even though I’m not popular, I think we’re in love.’ Still, the writing was good, and the male character was both lovable and flawed. Their slow dance toward each other was interesting and realistic, and I enjoyed it, as well as the twist I hadn’t expected. The supporting characters were also likable and well-drawn. I’d read more from this author.

Once I’d finished the first book, I decided to take a chance on one I’d seen in my suggested reading from the ‘zon for quite some time. The premise was promising: two people who clearly had some kind of high school history are about to reconnect at their ten-year reunion. The female lead has a cool career, working for a popular radio show in LA, and the male lead is an undercover cop. Lots of promise.

Unfortunately, the promise didn’t pay off. There was a lot of trite build-up, quite a few situations that could’ve led down intriguing paths but which the author never pursued. We eventually find out what went on between the two in the past, and the payoff was a little anti-climatic. Part of that could’ve been that the flashbacks were way too much telling and not enough showing. There wasn’t enough dialogue or action therein, and it didn’t make me care about the characters. Honestly, I was a little bored, which was really too bad, because again, the characters could have had so many dimensions. This book almost felt like a short building up to the real story.

So now I’m back in the same place, looking for the next read. Cora Carmack’s All Played Out releases in less than a month, but I’m not sure I can wait that long. I’m open to suggestions here.

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I’m Reading Wild Reckless by Ginger Scott and The Ivy Years by Sarina Bowen

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When you’re a reader-connoisseur of a certain genre of books, you tend to develop a sixth sense about those books. I can usually tell from a blurb–either how well it’s written or its content–whether a book is for me or not. Sometimes, though, I choose to read a book despite its blurb. At times this works out, and others it does not.

This week, I read three really excellent books that fell into this category. I wasn’t enthralled with any of the blurbs, but I went for it anyway and was pleasantly surprised.

The first book is Wild Reckless by Ginger Scott. I’d read four of her other books; the first two were really excellent (This is Falling and You and Everything After–LOVE those titles), and the other two were only so-so. I’m happy to say the newer books were the better one, so it was clear Ms. Scott’s writing has been evolving. But on the basis of those first two, I bought Wild Reckless even though it seemed to be a little YA.

I loved this story. The characters are amazing, three-dimensional, well-rounded and well-written. There is a lot of angst and trauma, but none of it is manufactured or dwelt on too long. It’s just the sucky stuff that happens in some lives and how we move on from those situations, living past them without letting them define us.

Owen and Kensington had terrific chemistry, and their story developed at the perfect pace. I really enjoyed this book, and I’d love to read more in this world. (Hint, hint, Ms. Scott!)

After finishing Wild Reckless, I started reading The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen. I wasn’t sure about this. The main female character was in a wheelchair, and I wasn’t sure how that would be handled. As it turned out, I was impressed that while the challenges of Corey’s condition certainly were not ignored, again they did not define her. They were part of the situation that allowed her to meet Hartley, and they added some complications, but they only made the ultimate coming together sweeter. Again, well-written characters set into a plot that didn’t have too much contriving.

I enjoyed it so much that I went directly into the next book, The Year We Hid Away, and I loved it, too. Possibly even more! I even read the novella The Blonde Date, and found it wonderful. I highly recommend The Ivy Years books.

And now I’m looking for a new read. Any thoughts? Ideas? Books that are making you sigh?

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I’m Reading The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan

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Today, I’m continuing my string of New Adult romances with terrific characters in The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan. I’m a little shocked that this was Ms. Callihan’s first contemporary romance (I guess she’s written some paranormal). Frankly, I was a little miffed because I want more NOW.

Again, the plot of this story isn’t anything earth-shattering. Boy meets girl. . .and in this instance, boy and girl feel instant attraction. Boy is willing to pursue, girl wants nothing to do with boy because he’s the BMOC (is that a thing anymore? It was in my day.) Dude’s a football star, 2-time champion and Heisman trophy winner. Anna Jones is the type to fly under the radar after getting shunned by the popular crowd during high school.

But Drew Baylor doesn’t take no for an answer. Not in a stalker, creeper way, but in the sense that he’s taking advantage of every opportunity he gets to see and talk to Anna. When they finally hook up, she lays down some rules in her own head (which is something else I liked: she doesn’t tell Drew the rules, it’s just understood, which I think is so much more realistic): no kissing on the lips. No telling anyone. No staying the night. No falling in love.

Of course it becomes more. You know it will, I know it will . . . so why do we get hooked by hook up stories? Because it’s about falling in love. It’s about two damaged characters who are fighting being together until the absolute senselessness of it makes being apart impossible.

The only problem I had with this book was that I want the next one NOW. Yesterday. And there’s not even a release date. I’m a little bitter.

I think I might need a 12 step program for new adult contemporary romance.

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I’m Reading The Deal by Elle Kennedy

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All right, confession time: I’m really in a sort of reading slump. While I was wrapping up the writing of The Only One, I did my traditional ‘read good quickies as I fell asleep every night’ deal. This time, I happened to find some really good books, which I enjoyed. Unfortunately, I can’t find anything to read right now, when I’m in a writing vacation and need some juicy words!

I want to talk about four books I read during the last week: The Deal by Elle Kennedy, Confess by Colleen Hoover, When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill and The Distance Between Us by Kasie West.

My two favorites by far were The Deal and When Joss Met Matt. The Deal was another of the college-tutor-falls-for-jock-she’s-tutoring books. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite tropes. I really enjoyed this book in particular, because the characters were so insanely well-drawn. Hannah and Garrett may become one of my favorite couples of all time: Hannah is a survivor, but her past trauma doesn’t define her. She’s gotten beyond it. And when hockey player Garrett pursues her because he desperately needs her help to pass a test, she doesn’t want to help him. How he convinces her to do it is original, funny and endearing. Her slow evolution to inclusion in his world–and his into hers–is realistic and sweet. I can’t for the follow up to this book.

When Joss Met Matt was a book I wasn’t sure I’d like. Remember a few weeks ago when I read The Way We Fall? I’d gotten burnt by flashbacks, and this book seemed chock full of them. However, I was pleasantly surprised, because this book did the backward looks very, very well. Set against the backdrop of one evening in the present, we learn how Joss met Matt, how they became each other’s Sorbet Sex partners–again, a cute idea–and how it worked out for them over the years. There’s nothing unpredictable here; as my daughter said when I described the books, it’s a little like Friends with Benefits. You know what’s coming. But the resolution was a slow and steady build-up to a satisfying and awww-inducing conclusion. I really enjoyed this one.

Close runners-up were Confess and The Distance Between Us. You know I’m still nursing a little resentment against Ms. Hoover after the hole Never, Never deal, but this was a decent story, a little dark and a little tragic, but a few little twists. I liked the resolution, but felt a tad heavy. TDBU is a YA, which I seldom read anymore, but it was well-written, even if the story was a teeeny bit trite and a lot of loose ends were left untied. Again, it was the characters who grabbed me; both were well-constructed and likable.

So I’m off now to the beach for the day, and I need a read. I’m bringing my Kindle. . .who can give me a good, well-written, light and funny romance? Mama needs a good love story!

I’ll report back next Wednesday.