Clare James

I was looking forward to reading this book since I enjoy auto racing. I was very happy to find that the story is awesome! I loved it and was disappointed that it had to end. The characters are well written with depth and complexity. The story is fresh with secrets, surprises and steamy encounters. Mms. James is a new to me author and I look forward many more of her books.

ARC received from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

A mixture of second chance with love-hate between old best friends, this is my kind of book. Aria and Tristan have a history that neither of them have recovered from because of the residual bitter feelings but when their paths cross again, the chemistry reignites. They are both 21 years old even though Aria is a single mother and Tristan is a savvy minded tech businessman and professor so they seem older but they are really still quite young. Lots of great elements in the book -the sexual show more tension, the antagonizing of each other, the resurfacing of old feelings and the reality of the present. I liked this story because it was hot and the characters were likeable but it did lack some in the crucial parts where the characters were finally building up towards their true feelings, some of that didn't elaborate itself well enough. The conflict was always there internally between them but when it came time to hash it out in the open, that fell a little short in the delivery. Otherwise, I admired Aria's realistic view of herself and Tristan's development towards being more open minded compared to before. Although they were moving forward, I wasn't completely sure if they fully accepted the past and forgave each other. The ending left me wondering if there would be another book to follow or not. show less

I really thought I was going to like this book. The description reminded me of The Virgin Romance Novelist, one of my five-star reads from last year. The book, though, couldn't have been more different.

VERY MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

As the book opens, Stevie finds out that her boyfriend, Max, has been cheating on her. Already feeling unsexy because Max could never satisfy her in bed, she now feels betrayed as well. She moves out, deciding to use her accumulated hotel points to get away and a Cosmo show more article to find her sexy again. When she steps into the hotel bar, she meets Gabe. Stevie instantly knows that Gabe is everything she never had with Max, and their connection is immediately apparent.

This part of the book was okay. Not amazing, but maybe three stars.

Then Gabe takes Stevie to a sex club. And at this point, if you were to look at my Kindle notations, you would see that I added "OH NO NOT ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE SEX CLUB BOOKS."

Note to any and all authors: If your book takes place in a sex club, this is something that should be disclosed in the blurb. And no, "Oh, you know where this is going" doesn't count.

I am not a fan of books about sex clubs. Especially when the main character is just taken there and expected to accept it and join in. But I have significantly less problems with them when I know what I'm getting into.

Still, it didn't start out so badly. Gabe introduces Stevie to the lifestyle slowly, and she's into all of it. She embraces her own sexuality, and you can tell that she's becoming a happier person. I started to take issue when Stevie was no longer enjoying what was happening, but felt that she had to do it to appease Gabe and earn her place at the club. This is played off as sort of humorous, but it's not. It's not funny when the characters feel forced into sex.

I haven't DNF-ed in over a year, but I probably would have with this one if it hadn't been so short. At 187 pages (probably closer to a true 150 given the unusual formatting), it only took me about two or three hours to finish. I see in the blurb that the book "now has 70% more content," but I can't help but wonder if that was a good idea. Of course, I never read the original online version, but what we get after a couple days at The Club just feels rushed and awkward. The ending is awful. Purposeful misunderstandings are one of my least favorite tropes, and they abound toward the end of this book. How hard would it have been for Stevie to check her voicemail or read her texts? I don't think I've ever been so upset with someone that I refused to read their texts.

Both the title and the blurb are misleading. There are no "dirty little lies." "Dirty little misunderstandings," maybe, but not lies, unless you want to count Max and the cheating? And like I mentioned before, there is no indication that this book takes place in a sex club. There really aren't any "romantic gestures," as promised by the blurb. Stevie doesn't even lose her bird!

And, you would think, at least, that a book published from an online version might undergo a bit of editing before people are expected to pay for it. This book came out two years ago, so I can't even brush it off as an ARC issue. There are multiple line breaks within a single sentence. Point of view changes within the same paragraph. Grammatical mistakes throughout the entire book. This is okay when you're reading some online smut. This is not okay in a published book.

Given the plethora of five-star rave reviews, clearly there is a demographic for this book. It's just not me. If you're reading my complaints and wondering what's wrong with me, because this seems like something you'd totally be into, I encourage you to pick this book up.

Overall, I'd give it about 1.5 stars, rounded up to 2 because of the entertaining beginning.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy. show less

Bring on the ice, Caught is a scorcher. It started with a bang and kept getting better. A misunderstood bad boy and a straight laced workaholic could end up being each others saving grace. Viv is tasked with cleaning up Jarod's image after a particularly embarrassing fiasco. What ensues gives new meaning to the words spin doctor. Clare James wrote a steamy, awkwardly amusing look at unexpected love. Received an ARC of Caught for an honest review.