Swoon Reads by Macmillian Publishing

Two of my first reviews on here were Swoon Reads and they were less than favorable.  So, I was hesitant when some new Swoon Reads came across our advanced reader table at the store.  However, I’m a sucker for young adult romance and took them home to give them a chance.

If you don’t remember what the idea behind Swoon Reads is, I’ll remind you.  Macmillan publishing created a website swoonreads.com where writers can submit their original manuscripts.  Then, readers can browse the site, read from the submitted manuscripts, and rate their favorites.  Those submissions with the highest ratings are chosen for publication. 

The novels are usually between 200 and 300 pages, so they’re rather quick reads.  They’re understandably a bit cliché, but I was actually pretty surprised by the more unique story lines this time around.

My first read was Kiss Cam by Kiara London.  In Kiss Cam, we meet Juniper, Jasper, and Lenny, three teenagers who run a very popular vlog (video blog, for those who don’t know).  When their fans dare Juniper and Jasper to kiss, and then go crazy over it, the crew decides to start a kiss cam segment on their show.  They promise they won’t fall for one another, but as the novel develops, one of them realizes that they’ve already broken the promise.

I don’t really understand vlogging, or people being famous from YouTube.  I was probably too old when these sorts of things started getting popular, so the novel was a little difficult for me to get into.  I have no doubt that a teenager would find the basis for this story very entertaining.  While the plot was unique, the overarching storyline was pretty basic as far as romance novels go.  Still, this is a young adult romance, not a New York Times bestseller, so I had to remind myself to cut it some slack.  Overall, the novel was a fun read that reminded me of when I was a teenager. 

The second novel I read was No Holding Back by Kate Evangelista.  Same as the last time they sent us Swoon Reads, this one was a romance between two young men.  One thing that’s great about Swoon Reads is the diversity.  In this novel we have Nathan and his best friend of over ten years, Preston.  Preston is on track to be an Olympic swimmer and Nathan is the support he’s needed all those years of training.  The only problem is that Nathan has been harboring romantic feelings for Preston and has finally decided that he can no longer keep it a secret, even if it means losing Preston as a friend.  While Preston waits to hear some important news regarding his swimming career, Nathan whisks him away for a fun European vacation.  However, Nathan’s plan to admit his feelings for Preston goes awry and their friendship may be irreparably damaged.

As a former swimmer, I enjoyed the sports twist on a romance novel.  I liked both Nathan and Preston as characters and, while the unrequited love plotline is played out, I still found myself unabashedly rooting for the two of them.  There were a few times that I found myself frustrated by the slow moving plot line, but the author would manage to bring my interest back to the characters and their developing romantic relationships.

As these are young adult romance novels, you’ll find that the actual romance is pretty tame.  The books keep to a couple kisses and some heart fluttering, but they’re entertaining for a couple hours.  If you’re the sort of person who enjoys giving a new author a chance and might appreciate the idea behind Swoon Reads then I think you’d like these and other Swoon Reads novels.  If you’re a picky reader who wants the best of the best and doesn’t patience for clichés or predictable story lines then you might want to steer clear.  I fall somewhere between the two, but I’ll pretty much read anything once.

Black Night Series by Julie Ann Walker

When I started working for a bookstore I learned that books don’t sit on the shelf until they’re bought.  Sometimes, sadly, a book that has been sitting there too long gets sent back to the publisher.  Even sadder, sometimes the publisher doesn’t want the book back and asks for it to be destroyed.  The cover gets ripped from the book and usually it gets tossed into the recycling bin.  My bosses, being the kind souls that they are, give us booksellers a chance to dig through said recycling bin to rescue the coverless books and take them home with us.

This is how I came to be acquainted with Julie Ann Walker’s books.  I have no idea how her books have been sitting on the shelves for so long because they are masterpieces.  I managed to grab a few books from her Black Night series.  Book 2: In Rides Trouble.  Book 5: Born Wild.  And Book 7: Full Throttle.  Her Black Night series follows some really hunky ex-military men who have come together to form their own off-the-books special ops team, using their friend’s motorcycle shop as a cover.

I have read books 2 and 5 and let me tell you, Julie Ann Walker does a fabulous job of creating standalone books.  I hadn’t even a clue that I wasn’t starting with the first book when I read In Rides Trouble.  I never thought I would find the name Frank hot, but I do now.  Becky wants Frank, Frank wants Becky, there’s just one issue, he’s hiding a major secret from the group and he isn’t about to give it up, even if it means losing Becky.

He and Becky have some off the charts passion in this book, so much so that I think I was actually panting at one point.  In Rides Trouble has drama, a stubborn man, a strong-willed woman, and mistakes that will make you laugh and curse in frustration.  The secondary characters will have you cracking up even as the main characters refuse to kiss when you desperately want them to.  My only complaint with this was that there was so much build up that I was practically foaming at the mouth for them to finally get together, but when they did, wowza, it was worth the wait.

Book 5, Born Wild, was a fantastic second read for me because it told the story of Becky’s brother, Billy, and her best friend, Eve, which were two characters from Book 2 that I wanted to know the story behind.  Billy and Eve dated once upon a time.  Young, passionate, and madly in love the two had everything going for them, but add in one elitist father and suddenly Eve was marrying some rich guy before Billy could even get an objection in.  Now many years later Eve’s life is in danger and she’s come to Billy to help save her life. 

There were a maddening amount of misunderstandings between Billy and Eve.  I was clutching at my hair wanting to scream at the characters to buck up and talk to one another.  This isn’t a complaint, however, I do so love the drama associated with misunderstandings.  Julie Ann Walker writes sex like people have sex.  Do you ever read a romance novel and the characters are just saying the most ridiculous things (“Let me love you, my beautiful beacon of light”, you get the picture)?  You won’t be rolling your eyes at these novels.

Overall, if you like the Alpha male novels, unbelievably well written sex scenes, women who know what they want, and dangerous situations, you are going to love these novels.  Give them a chance and you won’t be disappointed.  In fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ll just be 104 degrees, panting, and wishing you knew some special ops guys to jump.

The Life She Wants by Robyn Carr

Have you ever read a piece of fiction, but it felt like you were reading a memoir?  The characters were just so real that they couldn’t be fake?  That’s what happened while I was reading The Life She Wants by Robyn Carr.  I snagged this book from the BookExpo a couple months ago and it has been sitting on my shelf since then.  I was hesitant to start reading because, even though I was pretty sure that Robyn Carr wrote romance, the back of the book made zero mention of any sort of intimate relationships, outside of friendship.

Emma Compton and Riley Kerrigan were inseparable as children.  They knew each other’s secrets, fears, hopes, and dreams.  So when Riley slept with Emma’s boyfriend it was understandably one of the most painful moment of Emma’s life.  To outsides, Emma recovered nicely enough. She moved to New York City, met a wealthy financier, and got married.  When Emma’s husband is found guilty of stealing his client’s money he commits suicide and leaves Emma to deal with the repercussions. Though Emma knew nothing of his theft, no one believes her, and she’s forced to leave New York and return to her small hometown in an attempt to hide out.  Trying to rebuild her life she confronts ex-friends, ex-boyfriends, and angry ex-clients while trying to balance feelings for a man from her past.

This book made me feel a whirlwind of emotions.  At times it felt as though Emma Compton was a real woman and I was reading her diary from the most depressing time of her life.   I wanted desperately to reach through the pages and just give her a hug.  I felt her anger and her sadness and her frustration at her situation.  I had to remind myself, frequently, that this was just a novel and Emma was safe in the imagination of Robyn Carr.  Anyone who has ever had a falling out with a friend will commiserate with Emma, or maybe Riley, depending on who was at fault for the falling out. 

This was an excellent novel.  After reading as many novels, from as many different authors as I have, I can say that Robyn Carr has a pretty interesting writing style.  I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is that makes her different, but I’m confident that it had something to do with how real she made the whole experience.  I, also, enjoyed the characters and the story that Robyn wove.  It was a tale that I had not read before, and we all know that romance novels can get a little bit repetitive sometimes.

I had a few frustrations with the book, of course, but it’s hard for me to explain what they are without giving away a somewhat interesting twist in the plot.  So, I’ll just try to vaguely explain my one major disappointment. Due to her husband’s actions Emma is constantly being watched by people to see if she got away with any of her husband’s stolen money.  When it finally becomes clear that Emma does not have any money (other than 9,000 in savings of her own money) I expected more of a moment.  I wanted to demand apologies from the assholes (pardon my French) who didn’t believe her and I wanted to laugh in their faces.  I was denied that and I am still a little bummed about it.

I, also, felt that there were one too many plot points.  There’s her friendship with Riley, her love interests, the ex-boyfriend, her shitty step-mother, the issues with her husband’s ex-clients, her new job, the FBI… and more.   I could have done with a little less, but overall I was very pleased with my read. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes their romance contemporary and realistic, and their books full of plot.  The romance certainly doesn’t dominate this novel like it might others which gives other relationships a chance to shine, like that of the best friend. 

The Life She Wants come out September 27, 2016!