melstylensubstance's reviews
507 reviews

Mountain Boss by S.J. Tilly

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The first part of this was not my cup of tea. I’ll start with Sterling - excuse me sir, but your lack of impulse control is not her problem. It is not a reason the be an obsessive jackass. Other than how she physically looks - you know nothing about her. She is tempting you therefore can’t work for you???  Despite being qualified for the job? Sterlings attitude was not sexy at ALL. 

I know that “walking red flags” and stalker romances are having a moment, but usually it can all be glossed over somehow by being in the mafia or a motorcycle club or something. Sterling was written as a normal dude with a mild stalking problem. Which made it more real and therefore harder to read imo. Just not my thing. 

And Courtney - this was not a badass heroine. She wouldn’t say shit if she had a mouthful. I had no patience for her. 

Somehow - the toxic first half did evolve into something more tolerable. Though I have to say I was never truly sold on them somehow becoming fuck buddies and then relationship material??

I think Spike and Lady Bear - and maybe Cook- were my favorite characters here. 

I’m sad I didn’t enjoy this as much as I usually do of this author’s work. But will I read the next book in this series, yes, yes I will. 

The Redemption by Nikki Sloane

Best book in the series. The MMC is the villain in the previous books, and gets his redemption. Silver Fox age gap - yes please.

The Lovelocks of London: The Collection by Felicity Niven

5.0

Publishing the series as its own collection was just what I needed to read the series!  I’m a big fan of the Bed Me Books,  and it was only a matter of time to read Felicity Niven’s back list. 

The first book is the story of Tommy and Harry (Harriet). It’s a marriage of convenience, but Tommy becomes such a wife guy it’s the best. It’s in this book we meet the pairings of the subsequent books. We get a little tease of the next book James and Catherine. And a small kernel of hope that Dr. Andrews will get his HEA also. 

The second book - James and Catherine has age gap and some intrigue running throughout. Highly entertaining, even if Catherine’s mental monologue of “I’m so shameful” gets annoying after a while. 

And finally, the one I was waiting for. Alasdair. He’s paired with Arabella after she suffers a scandal and moves to Scotland. And of all people, it’s HARRY who conspires to get them together. I mean, if they are pining for each other so blatantly that Harry notices, that says something.  This one is a travel story, leading of course to forced proximity and pretending to be married. Alasdair is just the too pure for his own good hero that I deserve. 

And the collection finishes off with a short story of Harry delivering her first child. James and Catharine come to help at delivery time, and of course Dr Alasdair is there too.  

A Perilous Flirtation by Felicity Niven

4.25

I want to put Dr Alasdair Andrews in my pocket and carry him around with me. This man is too good and pure and naive for his own good. But patient. So very patient. 
Which is exactly what is needed when dealing with Arabella Lovelock. She is the opposite of patient. And in her rush to grow up makes her life more difficult. She is honest to a fault about her own experiences, but doesn’t yet have the emotional intelligence to understand that others guard their hearts in a way that she doesn’t and to give some grace. 
The reasons I didn’t give this 5 stars are that it took many chapters to bring these 2 together on page again. Work had to be put in to characterize Arabella’s downfall, and to bring Alasdair and Arabella back in to each other’s orbits since their first meeting 3 years prior. The second reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was Arabella. She was rash and unreasonable at times. It bothered me as the source of miscommunication between the couple. 
Both characters were fully developed. And I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the other Lovelock characters play their parts in Arabella’s story. 

Clandestine Passion by Felicity Niven

adventurous emotional mysterious

5.0

Just a little bit of intrigue makes this story pop. I’m a fan of the older woman younger man. Jamie was just so earnest. Too good for this world. Kate seemed lonely. At one point I wished she had a friend she could confide in. But - independent women will always go out of their way not to trouble anyone and keep their own council. Made me kind of sad for her. But she really was a passionate, talented woman.

Convergence of Desire by Felicity Niven

5.0

Awwwwww!  I so needed this!  I loved the slow burn. The slowest of burns. Tommy just becoming the wifey-est wife guy ever. I know that the frustration with Harry was real - I felt it as the reader - so Tommy was a saint. While Harry didn’t understand much of the world around her, and couldn’t take cues, the lack of communication was excruciating. It was like a miscommunication trope, but totally understandable. She had no idea she was hurting Tommy. And he had no idea just how wildly off base she was on some of the conclusions she jumped to. In a way, Tommy and Harry reminded me of Ian and Beth from the Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie. High praise indeed!

Save Your Breath by Kandi Steiner

emotional lighthearted

5.0

I just love a friends to lovers trope. And I’m kinda picky about it. Qualities that make this book top tier for this trope:
- they were legitimately super close friends growing up. He was a hockey billet in her family. Not just an acquaintance within a friend group. 
- the stakes were pretty high about keep them in the friend zone only - her father and his billet dad being quite reasonable in laying down boundaries for Aleks. 
-as they were adults now, do the rules still apply??????
- they were both crushing on each other since they were kids
- fake dating allowing real emotions to be acted on. But is it real or fake???
- slow burn. We are taken on a journey

It was so delicious.

The Deception by Nikki Sloane

I liked it better than the first 2, simply because we got to see the plans play out, and Marist outsmart the others. Slightly less gross.

The Obsession by Nikki Sloane

This series is gross and toxic af. 

The Liar's Reckoning by August Jones

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. What a story!  

First off, I have to say that the author was transparent about how difficult this book was to write. It’s the 4th book in a series, and this relationship apparently was built up in the first books. Thus, when the American political climate went to hell in a hand basket, the planned story became a landmine. But I can confidently say, the author struck an excellent balance in not compromising the closeted gay Republican Senator, Graham, having an affair with a gay escort, Silas. 

First Graham, because he is FASCINATING. The background character development, which let you see how his upbringing, familial relationships, and general niavete shaped how he was in the world. Very privileged, sheltered, and selfish. He didn’t even realize how sheltered and selfish he was until he met Silas. I had loads of empathy for this guy. Silas called him puppy, and it was an apt nickname in so many ways. 

Silas was a bit of a jerk. But, idk - it worked?  He had no problem telling it like it is, holding a mirror up to Graham and asking him tough questions to consider how political actions and decisions had big impacts he couldn’t even see - because he was the opposite of worldly. And Silas knew too much of the world. And he really got f’ed over. I’m surprised that he even considered staying with Graham. 

This is a book that I went to sleep thinking about and woke up thinking about. It’s been a while since that’s happened. 

So - mind the content warnings and be prepared for lots of explicit scenes, but the emotion and angst were top notch.