Grade: D-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Sci-Fi
Reviewed by Kate
Aliens (who look like humans) have invited 10 of earth’s top scientists to a sit down, a meeting of the minds if you will. Ashley, a former child star (I kept thinking Lindsey Lohan), poses as a scientist in a publicity stunt to jump start her career again. When they land on the alien planet a probe is inserted into each of their brains, allowing the aliens complete access to the humans’ thoughts and knowledge. Ashley is sent to be executed when the aliens discover her deception. While awaiting execution, her probe links with the probe of ZXQ (all aliens have probes implanted at birth). Now Ashley and ZXQ, or Sam as she names him, can share thoughts and he agrees to help Ashley escape.
Sounds exciting, right? I thought so too. I really looked forward to reading this one. Then I read it. In my opinion Ashley would have been better off sticking to the path other have-been actors take to start a comeback…Dancing With the Stars or any of Fox’s celebrity reality shows.
Unfortunately, she chooses aliens and we embark on the slowest 200+ pages I’ve come across lately. Her character has a sense of entitlement that put a sour taste in my mouth. The entitlement switched to a need to prove herself back on earth. It wasn’t until the last fifth of the book that she showed and character growth at all. On the opposite side of things, Sam goes from alien to full blown human in the blink of an eye. Very little struggle for him to adapt to a new program.
The romance between Ashley and Sam isn’t worth writing home about. Ashley had been there, done that. And probably for all the wrong reasons. Sam is experiencing his first taste of sex. And, of course, he’s magically wonderful at it (eye roll).
The ending that took forever to get to sort of fizzled. A huge build up, then… nothing. Like a lit bottle rocket that never launches. A disappointing ending to a disappointing book.
no kink
Loving an Ugly Beast by Danielle Monsch
Grade: C+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Fairytale/Historical
Reviewed by Anne
Benton is big and strong, but he’s covered with scars, so he’s known as the beast of his village. Nissa is his best friend. They secretly each like the other, but lack the confidence to make a move. When a fairy godmother shows up and grants Benton’s wish to be more beautiful, how will things work out?
First off, what a great premise! It’s pretty rare to read about a man who thinks he’s unworthy of a woman because of his looks! I enjoyed seeing this cliche turned on its ear. Second, this is a mid-evil set fairytale village. I enjoy this kind of setting, and I really wanted to enjoy the book.
My biggest complaint is the modernisms that kept pulling me out of the story. At one point they talk about having enough money to “keep your son in diapers.” That didn’t make sense to me. They would have been using cloth diapers. Expense wasn’t as much an issue as the time it took to wash them, I’d think. Another time we see this line “Why is it always good for the man but a crapshoot for the woman?” Crapshoot? That seems like a more modern casino term to me. I don’t know. I’m not an expert. Maybe I was being too picky, but little stuff like this kept pulling me out of the story. That was disappointing! It had a lot of promise.
Because of that promise, and because it was funny, and because I like fairytale romance, I’ll probably try another one by this author, but it’s borderline for me.
New Life by Bonnie Dee
Grade: C+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
Anna is a brand new attorney. Jason is a college aged janitor in Anna’s building. He was seriously injured in a car accident that left him with permanent brain damage. One night he finds Anna crying in the stairwell. They feel a connection to each other. Most people look right through Jason, but Anna does not. This develops into a relationship. It has it’s challenges, but they meet them well together in the beginning. I really enjoyed the book up to this point.
As things progress, though, they face bigger challenges and I didn’t like how things played out. I felt like Jason was too fragile. It didn’t seem like there was a lot of personal growth, and I’m not convinced they overcame their problems. I think they’ll face them over and over and probably deal with them in the same way.
I thought it was an interesting relationship to read about, but I wasn’t convinced that they’d live happily ever after.. That was troubling to me. I think the story ended too soon for me to be convinced otherwise. I do think Bonnie Dee is a good writer, though, and I’d read more by her.
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