5 stars I have to give this collection 5 stars overall, not because every story is worth 5 stars, but because each story has something different and valuable to offer. 4-10-2021 Bullet 5 stars I read this book several years ago (but Amazon deleted all of my reviews), and even though I had a pretty good recollection of what would happen, I still found myself gritting my teeth and hoping that Valerie would make different choices this time. It would be easy to think Valerie was a stupid young girl who thought she could save the “bad boy,” but there was so much more to it. Reading it again, I was struck by Ethan’s manipulation of Valerie. In typical abuser fashion, Ethan was attracted to the light in Valerie and instinctively tried to smother it with his darkness. And he was an expert on making her feel guilty and responsible for his happiness. He always had an excuse for his behavior. There was always some kind of misunderstanding, and because Valerie had no experience with someone like him, she didn’t have the tools to understand what he was doing and didn’t know how to react. Ethan used her stated love for him to manipulate her into forgiving him again and again. And in the process, he destroyed her sense of self-worth. A part of me wishes I had read this before marrying my ex-husband, but like Valerie, I have to recognize that without him, I wouldn’t have my first child. And like Valerie, I cannot regret that. Luckily, escaping from an abuser can result in an HEA. (PS - My favorite line from this story was probably this one: “...I was crying his name over and over in between grunts of some other language I’d never learned but surely communicated what I was feeling.”) 4-11-2021 Everything But 5 stars I loved this story, the unlikely pairing of Riley the rock star and Erin the English teacher. The plot moves along at a steady pace, never dragging, and the conversations are realistic and propel the story. A few times, Riely does super-stupid things, but luckily, Erin is pretty understanding and forgiving. Riley’s parents are complete jerks, which becomes apparent as the story nears the end. Sometimes it takes an outsider to point out what should be obvious so it’s satisfying when Erin contronts Riley’s dad about how he treats Riley. I think one of the things I liked most about the story was when Erin used Riley’s lyrics to make a point. Of course, Riley likes that too and it helps to endear Erin to him. I expected an 80s-type romance ending (think: An Officer and a Gentleman) so I was pleased by the resolution of their relationship. There were a few clever lines in this story that I want to share. This one is easy to understand because it describes the feeling of anyone experiencing self-doubt: “She shook her head, closing her eyes and breathing in once more, as though she had to force out the garbage up there.” While Riley tries to avoid an erection in public, he thinks, “War, sewage plants…” and that made me laugh. And I really liked Riley’s explanation of why his parents were so disappointed in him: “They wanted a carbon copy of Brian and instead they got the photo negative.” This slyly-worded statement, in fact, encapsulated a boatload of hurt. I was glad Erin was able to see past it to the softie hiding behind his hardened exterior. 4-14-2021 On the Run 3 stars I had a lot of trouble getting into this one. Told from the POV of Kyle, it tells the story of the beginning of The Vagabonds and her journey from small town girl to lead guitarist of an all-girl band. She's 16-years-old and has a birthday near the end, making her 17 as they hit the road for their first tour. I might have enjoyed this more if I'd read other books in the series. Although it's a prequel, it feels like something to be read after getting to know the characters later in their lives. Unfortunately, I never felt a connection to Kyle or the other girls. I might enjoy other books in the series, but this one doesn't push me to need to read them. Love and Lies 4 stars I might have given this book 5 stars, but for the fact that I found Casey maddening. The story is told completely from her first-person POV, but I never fully understood or related to her. I don’t think that’s the fault of the author. I just couldn’t relate to Casey’s actions at all and I never really felt her pain. I read this book years ago when it was called “Then Kiss Me,” which became immediately apparent to me as soon as I started reading and recognized the character names and initial events. The description said that this book was different somehow. It wasn’t different enough to justify reading it again, since I really didn’t like Casey. There were a couple of things I liked about the book. I liked the introduction of Nicki Sosebee, the main character from Ms. Jamison’s other series of mystery books (which I haven’t yet read). I loved some of her metaphors/imagery, like this one: “My flesh crawled. If it could have, it would have jumped off my bones in an attempt to avoid his lips.” There are some potentially triggering themes including domestic abuse and rape. I think these are addressed in a sensitive manner and never cross over to gratuitous. They are vivid enough to paint a clear picture without going overboard. I found it interesting when an attack brings on a memory that Casey had forgotten. She wonders, “How the hell had that escaped my mind?” This was an insightful moment in the story because it reminds the reader that, as human beings trying to survive in a cruel world, we often push down the bad memories to cope, and our minds are so good at protecting us, we actually forget what we’ve repressed. Until the memory is provoked by outside forces. Although I didn’t love the book, I cannot deny it is well-written and realistic, painting a memorable picture of characters and events in a small town. It was worth reading once but it’s not a story I’d be drawn to read repeatedly. April 14, 2021
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Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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