Just A Bit Wrong by Alessandra Hazard

Hey everyone,

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, or follow me on Goodreads, you’ll know I’m a huge Alessandra Hazard fan. I’ve been avidly reading her Straight Guys series since it began, so it isn't any surprise that I devoured Just a Bit Wrong on the day it was released.

The book:

Zach Hardaway is one of the best physiotherapists in Europe.

Tristan DuVal is a young soccer star with a groin injury. 

They despise each other from the moment they meet. 

As far as Zach is concerned, Tristan is a rich, spoiled brat who is too used to getting his own way.

As far as Tristan is concerned, Zach is a bossy, presumptuous prick. 

Tristan hates Zach. He does. The problem is, he also wants to shove Zach against the nearest wall and climb him like a tree.

My thoughts:

I really disliked Tristan in Gabriel and Jared book Just a Bit Unhealthy so when I heard the next book was going to be about him I was intrigued but hesitant. I mean the guy had been a manipulative arse to his brother throughout the previous book so I questioned whether he had any redeeming qualities. Luckily Alessandra Hazard did it again and made me fall in love with a flawed, selfish, manipulative character.

“He said softly, ‘if you don’t fire him, somone might accidentally find out that you’re fucking my brother. That would be such a shame. His career would be ruined’.”

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Hey everyone,

So I’m not reviewing a romance book today. In fact its probably as far from a romance as one can get, however, through the course of reading The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, I realised I had quite a few things I wanted to say. So without further ado, lets start the review (and yes I did intend for that to rhyme).

The book:

"There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed...”

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office-leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist-an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes' gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand-and fear-the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

My thoughts:

If you follow me on Instagram (Bookstagram) you might have noticed that this book has been in my photos for a few weeks. This is partly due to the beautiful cover that I loved photographing and also because The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton took me a while to read. Normally I zoom through book, roughly reading three or four books a week on average. Yet for some reason I just couldn’t get my teeth into this one and I’m not entirely sure why.

“ To be reduced by her own mother caused her a new sort of distress, and grief for her father was replaced by a sort of grief for herself ”

Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger

Hey everyone,

Firstly I want to apologise for how long its been since I lasted put up a blog post. The only reason I can give is life got in the way, now that its calmed down a bit I’m back to blogging on a regular basis because a) I missed it and b) I’ve read so many good books recently with no one to share them with! The woes of having friends who don’t read the same books as you.

On to the review of Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger.

The book:

A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

Flash forward twenty years.

Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers, and loves. But something is missing .... Travis is the first to figure it out. He's still in love with Craig, and come what may, he's going after the boy who captured his heart, even if it means forsaking his job, making a fool of himself, and entering the great unknown. Told in narrative, letters, checklists, and more, this is the must-read novel for anyone who's wondered what ever happened to that first great love.

My thoughts:

For roughly the first 100 pages I was a little confused and a lot intrigued. This was mainly down to the writing style of the book as rather than being told through description and dialogue Steve Kluger as told the story of Travis and Craig through letters, attorney notes, diary entries, emails and more. Yet although it was confusing to start with, in the end it became part the books charm. Overall I think it made the reader closer to the characters and the struggles they were facing.

“TRAVIS: I never said I like boys!

GORDO: Ever beat off to Penthouse?

TRAVIS: No.

GORDO: Ever collect baseball cards?

TRAVIS: No.

GORDO: How old is Barbra Streisand?

TRAVIS: 36. Three weeks ago.

GORDO: What do you need—a fucking blueprint?”

Top Five BDSM Romance Books

Hey everyone,

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’re probably aware that I like a little bit of kink in my romances, especially of the BDSM variety. Luckily for me since the phenomena of Fifty Shades these book abound, yet this abundance of BDSM romance books has caused another problem... The blight of the bad, ill-informed and frankly mundane BDSM romance book. So to help out my fellow kink lovers I’ve decided to compile of list of my Top Five BDSM romance books. Enjoy!

Axel’s Pup by Kim Dare

Apple Polisher by Heidi Belleau

Hey everyone,

I promised the posts would be more regular from now on! This week I went back to one of my favourite sub-genres of romance, contemporary m/m. I finally started a series that I have been wanting to read for SO long, and I'm not going to lie I'm already on book two! Today, however, I want to focus on Apple Polisher by Heidi Belleau the first in the Rear Entrance Video Book series.

The book:

Christian Blake dreams of being a kindergarten teacher, but making the grade means maintaining a squeaky clean image: no drinking, no drugs, no swearing, no sex. And definitely no falling for his new roommate-tattooed bad-boy Max, who may or may not be a drug dealer.

Most of all, it means no working at a porn store. But Christian's aunt has cancer, and her beloved Rear Entrance Video will go bankrupt if Christian doesn't take over managerial duties. Soon enough, Christian finds himself juggling sticky twenty-five cent peep show booths, a blackmailing employee, and a demanding professor who likes to make an example of him.

And then there's Max, who doesn't know anything about the store, but hates Christian's preppy sweater vests and the closet Christian forces him into when they're together. Max just wants Christian to be himself-even though Max is keeping secrets of his own. Christian struggles to find the impossible balance between his real life and the ideal one he thinks a teacher needs to live . . . all while trying to keep his aunt's dream alive without losing his own.

My thoughts:

For me this book was about discovery. Both Christian personal journey of self-discovery and his discovery into those around him. In the beginning Christian does come across as a little judgemental; he assumes one of his new housemates is a drug dealer with very little evidence. He's also completely paranoid about the image he projects to the outside world, partly due to his relationship with his mother.