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Review of Something About You, by Jea Hawkins

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I received an Audible code for a free copy of Jea Hawkin‘s Something About You from the narrator, Lori Prince.

Description from Goodreads:
Dre’s life falls into a nice, predictable rhythm and that’s the way she likes it. But when an adorable, fashionable 20-something bursts into Dre’s flower shop to cancel her wedding order after her fiancé’s change of heart, Dre finds a distraught young woman on her hands. She doesn’t have the heart to shove her out of the shop, so she takes her out for sympathy and tea. The idea of befriending this woman who is clearly her opposite, however, is the last thing on Dre’s mind.

Kelsey feels awful for canceling the order, but she’s sincere when she tells Dre she wants to be friends. When she offers to make up the loss by using Dre’s services for a major project at work, Kelsey sees a chance to get to know the woman who represents the life she’s always wanted for herself. And as Kelsey gets closer to Dre, she proves to her that they aren’t so different.

Will Dre take a chance and break out of her comfortable routine to find love in an unexpected place? And will Kelsey finally embrace the life she’s always dreamed about? Or will this budding flower of romance be cut short before it blooms?

Review:
Soooo, I wasn’t all that fond of this. The fact that the narrator, Lori Prince, did a good job with the narration meant I made it through, but the story left me pretty cold. It’s basically a meet cute and some sex scenes. There’s some flirting and an attempt to give the story some depth by looking at how the pretty blond is so much more than her appearance would suggest, but since the romance is so rushed none of it really works.

My main issue was elsewhere though. I had some major problems with Kelsey’s character. The story begins when her male fiancée cancels the wedding at the last minute and she comes into Dre’s flower shop to cancel the flower order and breaks down. Dre offers her some friendly support. Kelsey is obviously presented as straight. Toward the end of the book, she’s still referred to as straight. But the reader is never given even a moment in which she considers her identity or sexuality before she aggressively pursues a lesbian relationship. None. If someone goes from identifying as straight to something else—bi-sexual, lesbian—whatever, I would expect there to be at least a moment of, “Oh, I guess I’m not as straight as I thought.” I don’t need a lot of angst, but a little consideration for sure.

This was all compounded by the fact that Kelsey repeatedly went on about how she’d always wanted to try this or do that. But the things she wanted to experience were basically Dre’s life, lesbian lives. It made her feel like she was just playing dress up with Dre’s identity, a lesbian identity. I expected it would be the sort of thing she’d later chortle about with her suburban mommy-friends, “That time when I was young and adventurous and dated a woman.” It didn’t feel serious or real.

All in all, the writing was ok and the narration was good, but the story was uncomfortable at best.

Book Review of Treading Water (Forgotten Soldier #1), by Jessie G.

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I received an Audible copy of Treading Water from the author, Jessie G.

Description from Goodreads:
After devoting eighteen years of his life to the US Navy, Petty Officer First Class Shane Parker is struggling with the very real possibility of becoming unnecessary. If he doesn’t make Chief Petty Officer before his twenty—and it doesn’t seem likely that he will—he’ll be retired from active service and placed on the Fleet Reserve list until his mooring lines are officially cut forever. While it would all be very honorable and ceremonial, he simply wasn’t civilian material.

Before even swearing-in, Julian Brand knew he wasn’t cut out to be a soldier, but refusing wasn’t an option. Generations of Brand man made careers in the military and the expectation of every Brand son was to follow in those prestigious footsteps. Though the prospect of being rolled back hindered his every step, he survived Battle Stations and did his time. Six years out of uniform and Julian still struggles to find familial acceptance as he fights to live life on his terms.

On the surface, they couldn’t be more different, but when Jared Ramos calls, neither are capable of refusing. If they can find a way to work together, they might be able to save a friend and each other in the process.

Review:
I read Micah’s Soldier at the tail end of 2015. About it I said, “Not particularly deep, but well developed for something so short. It’s also very sweet.” So when I saw an audio version of the sequel available I was happy to give it a go.

I had a mixed experience with Treading Water. I really thought Shane and Julian were a cute couple and I liked the way their relationship progressed. I thought the writing was pretty good and I liked that injured soldiers were shown to have lives even after injury. This was all good.

But I struggled with having five first person POVs and with Shawn as a character. (Well, I struggled keeping Shawn and Shane straight in general. Why are the names so similar?) But I had some difficulty because his injury is what holds the whole book together; it’s the reason Shane and Julian meet at all and why they spend time together. But Since Shane and Julian are the main characters, it left Shawn and his traumatic injury feeling a bit like a storytelling prop.

About the narrator, Casey Hunter…I hate to say it, but he didn’t do a very good job. (Though it did improve as the book went on.) His voice was easy to listen to, but the timing was off in so many ways. There were extra long pauses where you wouldn’t expect them, like in the middle of a sentence, and almost no pauses where you would, like between chapters. There were times I was honestly left confused about who was saying what or that we’d moved on to a new character or section. I don’t know how audiobooks are produced. Maybe this should be put on the shoulders of the producer, not the narrator. Because, as I said, his voice and intonations was fine. But the timing issues definitely effected my listening experience.

All in all, I’d be willing to read more by Jessie G. and that’s really what I judge an author by in the end.

Learning to Want

Book Review of Learning to Want, by Tami Veldura

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I think I picked Tami Velbura‘s Learning to Want up in a Instrafreebie giveaway. It was certainly something along those lines.

Description from Goodreads:
Khoram is an enforcer, a bodyguard, but his boss has just betrayed him. Now he’s stranded on a desert planet he’s never heard of, chained to the only other human around.

Atash grew up in the cracks of Dulia’s complex social structure, where dominance and submission are a man’s worth. He’s struggled for years on a lower caste but Khoram could be his ticket to a better life if they can find common ground.

Atash wants to teach Khoram the art of submitting by choice and maybe make a name for himself along the way. Khoram, however, isn’t here to play Atash’s political games. He’s going to escape, if his former employer doesn’t see him killed first.

Review:
So, I found my experience with Learning to Want mixed at best. Picking up a book about a master/slave relationship (and not one in which characters play master or slave, but a real one in which one is actually owned by the other) is always an iffy proposition. Add to the mix that the enslaved character was a free black man, even if the enslaving character is black scaled (he’s still of the dominant, slave owning culture) is an uncomfortable echo of recent Western history. Though, if this was just the authors attempt to include some diversity I have to appreciate the effort.

There was just a lot of squink around the edges of the story. Even the Ohiri, the perfectly bland race that entered enslavement willingly and was supposed to be an example of unproblematic slavery, were raised from birth to submission. There willingness was coerced at best and they’re completely dismissed in the book. Background fodder, basically.

But my main issue is that, with the exception of transport in the beginning, which we’re told was 20+ days, but we don’t see, the whole book is about a week. In that time a free man was captured, molested, sold at auction, fondled some more (with some dubious consent), introduced to BDSM (which was really JUST SPANKING), come to NEED it, fallen in love, accepted and appreciated his ‘collar and cuffs’ (a euphemism of slavery), performed a perfect power-play sex ‘scene’ in front of hundreds, formed a soul bond and lived happily ever after (as a slave). And I was just like, “Ummmm, uh-uh. No way. We have skimmed over some major trauma here.”

Some books have a magic peen, where someone has sex one time and everything is magically perfect in the plot. This book had a magic paddle. One spanking and Khoram released all his guilt over being a drug dealing slaver in the past and accepted his lot as a sexual slave, craved it even. NO. Big fat No.

This book seemed to want to have both slaves and consent in the same people. In fact, that the slave must consent is stated more than once by characters in the book, seriously stressed even. And that just can’t work. It can’t. Veldura tried real hard, but IT DOES NOT WORK.

The writing is fine. In fact there are the occasional turns of phrase that are really beautiful. And the editing didn’t stand out as problematic. But the plot did. It is too rushed and the ‘free and consenting slave’ is an impossibility that Veldura failed to make feel anything but icky. As fluff, ok it’s fine. I could even like it. But think even the smallest amount about the plot and the whole thing collapses in on itself.