Jae
Books: Romance | LGBT | Fantasy
Fair Oaks: Perfect Rhythm (2017)
Wrong Number, Right Woman (2020), Lucky Yellow Shoes (2020)
The Vampire Diet: Good Enough to Eat (2015)
Fair Oaks
Perfect Rhythm (2017)
Leontyne
Blake grew up wanting nothing more than to escape the small town where
she grew up, and now she has that, as pop start Jenna Blake.
But at the end of her tour she receives a call from her mother, that Leo's father has suffered a stroke and Leo should come home, where things aren't as she remembered–or as she expects.
"Your hair… It looks so different."
Leo tucked a strand of her tousled, shoulder-length mane behind one ear. "The label thought it was a good idea to add a few golden highlights for the cover of my last album, and then we decided to stick with it." It occurred to her that even now, as an adult, she wasn't the one who got to make the decisions about how to wear her hair.
Holly is happy with her job as an in-home care nurse. And she enjoys living in the small town where she grew up. She also figures she can eventually make herself content with being single, because after discovering she was ace, figured she'd never find a relationship that would work for her.
It had taken her a while to understand that hot wasn't quite the same as beautiful for most people.
I've had this book on my wishlist for ages and ages, and since it didn't seem like the price was every going to drop, I decided to splurge after reading yet another rave review of it.
Because of this:
Content disclaimer This chapter includes a sex scene. If you'd rather not read sexually explicit content, please skip ahead to chapter 23.
This is one of the best things I have every come across in a book! I've joked for ages about wanting to know where the boinking bits were so I could skip them, and here is an author giving me just that! YAY!
This was hard to read, as the story contains parental death, which brought back a lot of memories. It also was about difficult parental relationships, which was also not easy reading. But it was a good story that didn't sugar coat the hard things, and had a very satisfying scene towards the end of the book when she finally has it would with Saul, her manager / agent.
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
December 2021 | Rating: 8/10
Wrong Number, Right Woman (2020)
Denny
is not good at flirting. Or talking to women. What she is good at is
being a fantastic aunt and helping her sister raise her daughter.
Eliza has had terrible luck dating, so her best friend and neighbor gives her a subscription to a new dating service.
When Eliza accidentally texts Denny about her dating dressing dilemma, Denny decides to help her anyway, and the two keep texting–soon becoming friends despite not even know each others names.
Eliza, Sneaker Woman finally answered. Eliza Harrison. I'm not giving you my middle name, because my mother's already used it on me fifty-four times in the last hour.
It was a cute story, but once we got to the dating parts, I did a lot of skimming. Reading explicit ff sex scenes makes me even more uncomfortable than mf ones.
Once the two started seeing each other, there wasn't a whole lot more to the story. Heather the neighbor was lovely, Denny's niece was adorable, and Eliza's family were the exact opposite of Denny's parents.
So: cute but not something I'll reread probably.
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
May 2022 |
Lucky Yellow Shoes (2020)
This is a short story set after Wrong Number, Right Woman. Denny wants to propose, but cannot find a ring that both suits Eliza and that she can afford.
It's a sweet story about family and acceptance and love.
October 2022 | Rating: 7/10
The Vampire Diet
Good Enough to Eat (2015) Alison Grey & Jae
After nearly killing someone on New Year's Eve, Robin has decided to give up drinking for good.
But for a vampire, drinking is what keeps her alive, so looking for support, she ends up at an AA meeting.
Alana gave up everything for love–and then discovered her girlfriend was cheating on her. After spiraling for several years, she is now sober and has kept herself busy by becoming a lawyer. A divorce attorney to be specific.
The number eighty-two popped into her mind, and she realized she had been counting the bricks in the church's pale façade.
Although it's brushed off in the story, that is actually a vampiric trait in Slavic cultures.
So yeah, The Count is a pun on multiple levels, which delights me.
I thought the idea of a vampire going to therapy to try and stop drinking from humans to be an amusing one, but OA would have been a far better choice. Yeah, we are given reasons Robin didn't stay with OA, but they felt kinda week.
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
November 2022 | Rating: 7/10