Allison Temple

Y'all this has to be one of the cutest, funniest, slow burn romances I've read. Imagine finding yourself dead, except there was a snag in the paperwork, leaving you stuck. My heart really went out to Ember, after she chose to end her suffering, she was stuck in a kind of limbo. Not purgatory, just a ghost trapped on earth waiting for the chance to move on. Honestly, there was something both absurdly funny and depressing about how corporate the afterlife feels in this book. (Kind of reminded show more me of certain parts of heaven in Supernatural. That said, this book isn't all fun. There are some moments that were a little depressing, and the romance is a very slow burn one, but it felt natural in a way. The story itself had good pacing, and the characters are all believable. I can't wait to find out what else Afterlife Incorporated has in store in future books! show less

This was a delightful surprise find: funny and sweet and romantic, and considering the Fake Husband trope, surprisingly grounded. Doug does most of the growing and changing over the course of the short fake honeymoon week, but Tripp also realizes he has to alter his relationship dynamic before he can have a real partnership with his fake husband. So yes they're hella sexy together but they also have to sort out their own shit to get their HEA.

Plus there's no better meet-cute than "naked guy show more locked out of his cruise ship room literally runs into bashful jilted groom."

My first read by this author, hopefully not my last. show less

If not YA, why main character YA shaped? Ember - and the ridiculous name was my first clue (although even she is topped by 'Edwina Beladorania Bangtilian Mumblebee the Fifth', which sounds like a romance author inventing an aristocratic title) - supposedly dies when she is 32, but acts like a spoiled and stroppy teen throughout. We also have 'not like other girls' syndrome and an obsession with pronouns - like, entire paragraphs dedicated to puzzling out a person's gender ('Oh, for god’s show more sake. Man, woman, or neither, Kelly is such a pompous jerk'). What grated most, however, is Ember's infantile attitude to not reaching heaven after death: 'The only thing that makes it bearable is the hope that maybe there’s something more. Something better or easier that comes after. And there was, until you took it away!' What is she, five? Someone forward thinking enough to arrange their own end should not be expecting fluffy clouds and the spirits of old pets.

Teen drama queen and shape-shifting reapers aside, the plot was unfortunately more of the same quasi-religious quest for a 'happy ever after'. Ember - and the word means the remains of a dying fire, not the 'spark' to start a new flame, as she likes to riff on - is rejected by a passing reaper at the hospital and goes on a quest through Toronto, seeking the end of her journey (see fluffy clouds, above). She happens to meet another reaper, purple-haired Kelly, who ignores her, and human psychic Jupiter - yeahhhh - who invites her home. The home she shares with Kelly, of course. Ember throws a strop and hides Kelly's possessions until they agree to help get her into Afterlife Inc, the business end of being dead. When they do stop by HQ, Kelly and Ember realise that something is awry, and that baby-faced leader Minerva has lost control. 'Wraiths', decaying souls who feed on ghosts like zombies, are infiltrating the living world at a higher rate, and ghosts are being either rejected or ejected from the afterlife.

To be honest, I lost interest in the childish take on death, with 'good' and 'bad' souls, and the rather egotistical belief that everyone - EVERYONE - gets to 'live on' in some capacity. How about people just die, because there's enough overcrowding on earth without the dead also taking up space?

Not sure of the intended demographic, but I don't think I qualify and needless to say, I won't be holding my breath for the sequel. show less

I love a good fake boyfriend setup but I like it to be clever and well-written. Fortunately, Allison Temple never disappoints. This is a great summer read. It's not too long, has great characters and it's funny!

So this is a new take on the fake boyfriend trope. Bailey has been working hard at his job... trying to work his way up. Then one day he shows up to discover that the new hire, someone he's going to have to work with directly is JAke Kenyon aka Jake The Jerk. He bullied Bailey for show more years when they were young. And things get worse because there's a retreat coming up... and Jake The Jerk has an emu rescuing, handsome boyfriend and Bailey has no one but his roommate Gordo. In a moment of weakness, Bailey lets slip the Gordo is his boyfriend and commits them to attend the retreat.

The thing that makes this story a lot of fun are the characters. Bailey is wound tight, but he still finds time to be quirky and funny. Some of his remarks are hilarious and I really enjoyed his banter with people. Gordo is an enigma for much of the story and I'm not giving anything away. He's a big, burly, laid back bearded guy. He's a great roommate... often taking care of Bailey when he doesn't even know he needs it.

Maybe there's more between them? Of course, there is! But don't despair there are quite a few awkwardly adorable moments and some confusion and even some pretty heavy emotion before they work out what they could potentially be to one another.

This is a kind of a prince Charming tale... only Baily doesn't even really know that he needs to be rescued. He's caught up in the rat race like most people are and can't really see that there might be a way out of it. But then... Bailey hasn't been seeing a lot of things that are right under his nose! Yes, I'm teasing! If you like M/M romance, I think you'll enjoy this one! show less