A Boy and A Girl by Jamie S. Rich

A Boy and a Girl
Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Spark
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: futuristic, graphic novel
Reviewed by Kate

186 pages

When I ran across this one, I knew I had to read it. Comic and romance? Seriously, I was geeking out a bit. I’m sure there are other romance graphic novels out there, but this was the first I’d run across.

Travis is a crashing a party with his friend when he meets Charley, who is attending the party with her friend. The party they are attending is a welcoming party for Charley’s friend’s new robot mother (meaning his mother had died, so he ordered a robot made to look and act like her, and they’re having a party). Back to Charley and Travis though. Shortly after meeting, they sneak off to the host’s bedroom to get it on, and end up getting caught. After separating, Travis finally finds Charley again on the night before she is leaving town. The two set out on a sweet journey, determined to spend every last minute together.

I enjoyed the story of Travis of Charley. I was floored by Charley’s reveal about a 1/4 of the way in (I won’t ruin the surprise for any future readers). But it was the Scooby-Doo ending (not a mask-pulling-off-reveal, but more of a that-came-out-of-left-field) that shocked me speechless. Although, honestly, I probably wouldn’t have been as shocked had I read the description more closely-but again I was geeking out at finding a romance graphic novel. I’m not a fan of non-HEA romances, and you should know that Travis and Charley do not end up together. But it works in this story.

I enjoyed this unique storytelling format a lot and I look forward to enjoying more of this kind of platform.  Have you ever read any romance graphic novels?  Are you excited to try one out?  Any recommendations?

Welcome to Paradise by Rosalind James

Welcome to Paradise (The Kincaids, #1)
Grade-C+
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Kincaids #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
340 pages
 
The History Channel is getting ready to film its reality show America Alive: 1885. Mira and her douche of a boyfriend Scott are going to be contestants as well as Gabe, a sterling example of a hero, and his twin brother Alec. There are 16 contestants total, but the book follows the pairs of Mira and Scott and Gabe and Alec.
 
I’m a huge sucker for the reality show premise. Give me a book that takes place in or around a reality tv show and I’ll move it to the top of my TBR pile. There’s just something about them that I can’t turn down.
 
As a reader, you hate Scott right from the get-go. He’s an absolute asshat. He’s condescending and rude and arrogant and…well, you get the picture. And for me, I found myself wondering why in the world Mira was with him for any length of time.
 
Gabe, of course, is perfection personified. Although I did get a chuckle over the fact that his twin brother is described as being the hotter of the two. As a reader, you will cheer at the way Gabe treats Mira.
 
All that being said, after finishing the book I just couldn’t get excited over it. There was really nothing (apart from the reality show aspect) that stood out as being great. And I felt the conclusion was a bit soap opera-ish and over the top.
 
If you enjoy the reality show premise, then it’s probably worth checking out. Otherwise, I’d steer clear.
It’s obvious I’m a sucker for the reality-show setting. Is there a setting that you just can’t pass up?

Dirty Pleasures by Melody Snow Monroe

Dirty Pleasures (Pleasure, Montana #10)
Grade-D-
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Mild Kink
Series-Pleasure, Montana #10
Genre-Contemporary/Menage
Reviewed by Kate
166 pages
 
Gabe and Dylan had been assigned to protect Ceci on their last case. Despite being extremely attracted to her, they kept their hands to themselves. But now the case is over and it’s time to discover if Ceci feels the same way about them.
 
This book didn’t work for me on so many levels. Other than being huge and manly in so many masculine ways, there didn’t seem to be anything remarkable or memorable about either Gabe or Dylan. Ceci had so much internal turmoil that it was hard to connect with her. She has what comes across as OCD and is also trying to deal with her self hatred eminating from her ex-boyfriend’s suicide. It was more than I wanted to read about.
 
As far as the kink goes with this one, I couldn’t decide whether this one was a BDSM read or not. There was some spanking and they did visit a club (which was a disappointing scene for a BDSM reader like me). But neither of the men seemed real dom-like even though Ceci granted them the Dom title simply because they never let her do what she wanted.
 
This book may appeal to fans of the Pleasure, Montana series, but to a Pleasure, Montana virgin (*snort*)like myself, it just didn’t work.