PJ Trebelhorn

Now that is a heckuva start to a story. Yikes. Car wreck.

And then from there, it got even more intense. The emotions in this novel sorta floored me. I'm not sure how Trebelhorn did it, or why it was different, but, while most lesbian fiction books definitely have emotion running through them (they'd be boring if they didn't), in this one it seemed as though those emotions were right at the surface of the book.

It's about Riley and Vic, and it's sort of a second chance romance--ish. The two women went to school together in Wolf Bay. Vic's family and Vic are rich. Riley and her Mom weren't, and Riley's Mom was an alcholic too. That made life pretty hellish for Riley. And, while Vic sorta had a very hidden crush on Riley, Vanessa (Vic's twin sister) and their friends bullied Riley relentlessly, especially their senior year.

But, it's 20 years later. Vic is back for her sister's wedding and a lot has changed for her, and for Riley too. They slowly grow closer. But, there's still a lot of stuff hanging on from when they were kids, a lot of very very heavy stuff.

They, as well as the other characters were pretty awesomely written and I liked them (or well written and I hated them as I was supposed to). I wish there'd been more Tyler, but, overall it was a really really fun read.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.… (meer)

This review can also be found on my blog.

2.5 ⭐️

pros:
-quick read
-mostly fun

cons:
-biphobic mc (assumed another wlw must be a lesbian & later said that she thought her ex (who she had dated for YEARS) who left her for a man was just a straight woman looking to experiment with "a dyke")
-the premise itself didn’t make that much sense to me (two people obviously into each other decide to fake date instead of just... dating)
-using an abusive stalker ex for drama
-mc has a homophobic teammate for ?? no reason, just more drama i guess even tho nothing comes of it
-editing issues (inconsistent timelines, mixed up names, etc)

edit to add: some research has shown me that casual biphobia is not at all uncommon for this author, so i won't be picking up any more of her books.

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Ko-fi… (meer)

This is the story of Savannah and Madison. Savannah is primarily an ice hockey player, as well as a Veterinarian when she's not on the ice. She thinks her life is going pretty well. But, one of her mother's keeps trying to set her up with women. And it's driving her nutty.

Madison has moved in next door to Savannah, and she's a photographer. Both women are attracted to each other right away, but, instead of going about their attractions in a straightforward way, they decided to do a fake relationship to get Savannah's mom off her back.

Of course, they get closer and closer during this fake relationship, but, they also have to overcome Savannah's massive issues, not to mention someone from Madison's past who has it out for her.

It was a cool book. I liked the characters, really liked the hockey stuff (seriously, a ten minute misconduct, c'mon ref, seriously? Oops, I may be a hockey fan, go Bruins!)

It was a fun and fast read.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.… (meer)

Yeah, the ratings almost had me placing this one further down on my reading list. I'm glad I didn't. I really enjoyed reading about Quinn and Grace's journey. Their longtime friendship felt genuine, which made their leap to the next level feel even more risky. During one stretch of their story, I rooted for Team Grace because she took the bulls by the horn, so to speak. With the exception of Beth, all of the other characters are likeable and relatable. I really like Callie's character and hope her story in [b:Twice in a Lifetime|35504490|Twice in a Lifetime|P.J. Trebelhorn|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498246640s/35504490.jpg|56910920] is just as entertaining.… (meer)