Leading The Witness

– by Carsen Taite

 

When Carsen Taite releases a book especially when it’s something to do with US criminal law/legal matters, I get very excited because as you may know, Taite’s my official go-to author for all things US criminal law-related. I love all her law-related books because I can always feel this sense of authenticity, the level of detail and knowledge that Taite innately injects into her stories. I love authors who use their other professional expertise to validate and substantiate the realism of the cases/plots weaved. For me, it makes for a better, more convincing, more informed read when I believe in what’s being written and told. But that’s just me, so…!

Anyway, back to Taite’s latest legal romance outing, “Leading the Witness,” which I read it in one short sitting. First off, I was already intrigued by what the blurb revealed about the story, the plot and the MCs. A seasoned prosecutor, a zealous defence attorney hellbent on grilling law enforcement witnesses in all her cases (aka a chip on her shoulder but as a result of very legitimate reasons which readers will get to discover as the story progressed), two attorneys with opposing methodologies in trying criminal cases, a high profile child kidnap case, an old equally high-profile child kidnap case resurfacing that was related to one of the MCs, not to mention, both MCs butting heads in every step of the way whilst also being attracted to each other! Intriguing, innit? But then, as I started reading it, I must say, how this story unfolded from the start was an unexpected one for me because going into the story, mindful of what the blurb alluded to in regard to the plot, I was prepared for what I thought would be Taite’s usual writing structure and storytelling style. Alas, it wasn’t and my intrigue level increased exponentially! For me, this was not the usual style that Taite uses in her writing and story-weaving of a crime-and-law-related plot and romance.

Pretending In Paradise

– by M. Ullrich

 

I like the fauxmance trope as much as the next person. Nothing more fun than reading how people pretend to be in love whilst trying to achieve their intended goals but inadvertently fall into the love trap in the end, eh? But it’s also tricky because I like to read different takes of the trope and too often, in my experience, I ended up reading the same old approach, hence affecting my reading pleasure as a whole. So, I’ve been very picky and selective about it. But M. Ullrich‘s latest fauxmance novel, “Pretending In Paradise,” had a premise that was both intriguing and the nature of the trope was refreshing to me when I read the blurb. So obviously, I decided to just dive right in for my next Ullrich adventure with this one that had piqued my interest and caught my attention. You know what, it hit the nail for me! The storyline, the nature of the fauxmance trope were all well-executed. Ullrich’s style of telling the tale and weaving it fitted well with the contents of the story. The best thing about it was that I had so much FUN reading through it like I hoped I would because if you read the blurb, it just screams fun, with some prickly humour, possibly a bit of a bloody cheek and devilish banter here and there, doesn’t it? Anyway, it was a breeze finishing it in one sitting.

A Curious Woman

– by Jess Lea

 

I was really looking forward to Jess Lea‘s debut full-length novel, “A Curious Woman,” ever since Lee Winter mentioned it and having recently read its excerpt on Ylva. To say that I was excited and thrilled about exploring the tale after reading the excerpt would be an understatement! I must say, when I finally received my ARC copy and read the entire story, Ms. Lea didn’t disappoint. Not at all! Not with her writing style nor her storytelling method and certainly not with all that eccentricity oozing out of literally every page, all those oddball characters, and quirky surroundings, that kept me entertained until the every end! So, well done, Ms. Lea!

This story, right off the bat, was one eccentrically original and creatively intriguing tale weaved in the world of mystery. I mean, I can safely tout that I’d never come across a book in lesfic that was written THIS atypically before and Ms. Lea sure had some fascinatingly creative juice flowing in her story-weaving of this particular story of mystery and intrigue, nevermind that little hint of romance, too! I certainly never came across anything quite this original in lesbian fiction, which is reason enough to pick this one up to read and explore its thrilling oddities yourself, not to say there aren’t other reasons to do so, mind! Once you read it, you’ll know!

Romancing The Girl

– by Camryn Eyde

 

Camryn Eyde‘s “Romancing The Girl” was another pleasant surprise for me! I wanted to further explore Eyde’s storytelling style with her other full-length novels after reading her absolutely brilliant Tricky series (Books 1 & 2; final book still in the wind) which became one of me favourite lesfic stories, with Darcy & Olivia making me list of favourite lesfic couples! So I decided to make “Romancing” me next Eyde read. Plus, the blurb sounded intriguing. I mean, it can’t sound any more interesting and curious than putting a TV reality dating show in the middle of a working farm with horses, sheep, with that whole farm life thing going on, can it? And it’s in Aussie-style, complete with the Aussie language and lifestyle treatment which elevated me level of interest and anticipation even more! Needless to say, this story was another very well-written, enemies-to-lovers love story that was rich with other subplots that raised the stakes of the entire story altogether. Not to mention,  one brilliantly constructed long scene vividly depicted with highly intense and edge-of-your-seat effect toward the end of the final act.

Tricky Series (Books 1 & 2)

– by Camryn Eyde

*This commentary applies to the entire Tricky series
(thusfar, with I believe, the 3rd and final installment yet to be released)
including Book 1 “Tricky Wisdom” and Book 2 “Tricky Chances.”

I’m ashamed to say that I had Camryn Eyde‘s Tricky series on me TBR list for a while and actually managed to forget about it until very recently. Thanks to Sheena from TLR who happened to organise a book club read of Eyde’s first book of the series, “Tricky Wisdom,” that instantly kicked me arse into action about reading the series! I’d previously read a couple of Eyde’s shorts a while ago but never her full-length, which was when I had placed the Tricky series on me TBR list in the first place after her shorts. Long story short, I had breezed through both installments back-to-back, never wanting to put them down, whilst berating meself for me forgetfulness in reading them much earlier on! But hey, better late than never, eh?

Now, let’s crack on, shall we?

Camryn Eyde’s Tricky series, “Tricky Wisdom” (Book 1) and “Tricky Chances” (Book 2), essentially is a series that chronicled the personal voyage of one medical student, Darcy Wright, through her eyes and point-of-view as she stumbled her way through medical training in Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, whilst also getting her previously non-existent love life all bent out of shape by being entangled with her roomie and her best mate! Yeh, Darcy’s life was definitely interesting!

Thorn

– by Anna Burke

A holiday gift surprise fell onto me lap whilst I was on holiday, courtesy of the very kind and generous Salem West of Bywater Books! (Ta, mate!) Yes, it was in the form of a book (me fav form!)!

“Thorn” by Anna Burke.

Never read anything by this author ever before.

Wow. To say the book captivated me was an understatement. I was hooked, lined and sinkered. From the first paragraph. Literally.

Just read this…