RoomHate by Penelope Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

RoomHate- Ding, Ding, Ding! This book wins the award for most inaccurate title. Potential Spoiler Alert…Approx 10% of the way into the book the roomates no longer hate each other. Further in the novel they actually state that they never hated each other. So…hmmm. Yep, one could accurately conclude that the title is misleading.

Now that I’ve gotten my grievances regarding the book title off my chest let me sing this story’s praises.
First up, I’d also like to applaud Penelope Ward for creating a “rival” love interest (Jade) who is gorgeous, sexy and skinny and still NICE! Yep, no girl-on-girl cut downs or the clique skinny girl MUST be a bitch. How refreshing!
Secondly, sex scenes (while few and far between) were hot without pushing the envelope for shock value.
Thirdly, Another potential spoiler alert…Penelope did a great job of describing life with a newborn and no help. As a new mom myself I can attest to the lack of sleep and showers being something of distant memory, etc.

View all my reviews

More Than Water by Renee Ericson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Following a very public breakup with her boy band boyfriend (say that 3 times fast!) Evelyn “EJ” Cunning isn’t looking for a new relationship. She befriends “geek chic” Foster Blake who is also recovering from heartbreak. After a drunken hookup the two agree to a “friends with benefits” situation with strict understanding that neither party is looking for love.
What develops is a refreshing friendship where their differences are valued and explored. As a reader I very much enjoyed the respect that both Foster and EJ had for each other. There are far too many books that depict the egotistical brainiac belittling other characters especially someone with more of an arts-based focus. Likewise, EJ’s character finds Foster’s passion for science attractive and uses his knowledge to fuel her art projects. Kudos to Renee Ericson for developing such enjoyable characters. I also thought the book had the perfect balance of supporting characters. They were used to set up scenes and provide a platform for dialog but not too much to “water down” (pun intended) the story.

A few random thoughts to potential readers of this book:
*Out of all the books I’ve read in recent memory this one takes the top prize for containing the most pubic hair jokes/comments.
*When asked about her parents EJ describes them as “in love” which doesn’t jive in my mind. The author depicts EJ’s mother as a manipulative shrew with no interest in her daughter marrying for love. Mrs Cunnings character would have made more sense if she would have been stuck in a marriage based on status or convenience. (Not to say she doesn’t enjoy those aspects of her marriage. Just observing that it would have been more convincing if that was her main purpose in her own marriage verses a genuine love connection.)

View all my reviews

The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well isn’t this book just a good old fashioned Southern romance!?! Bless it’s heart! 😉
Sitting here at the computer with my lips pressed together trying to decide what to include in my review…hmmm I guess a few bullet points with the first few thoughts that pop into my head.
*This story was an easy read.
*Sex scenes were what I’d classify as “vanilla”. Nothing too raunchy or devious but nevertheless enjoyable.
*I’m not sure whether some of their teenage sex fests were exaggerated or if I COMPLETELY got robbed in my younger years!!! (I mean, come on! How many men even in their teen years can pump out sex that many times in one night without their diddly-doo falling off?!?)
*SPOILER AHEAD-
I can’t imagine any red blooded woman who would accept the betrayal of their lifelong friend who had repeatedly slept with their husband. I mean COME ON! Even if their marriage was one of convenience I can’t fathom that not being a friendship deal breaker.

View all my reviews