Barbara Elsborg

Loved this! 4.5 stars rounded down. Got me all hooked in from page one, I rode the emotional roller coaster with them from lust to fuckbuddies to lovers to love, through confessions about their respective horrible and soul-crushing pasts, their hurts and their viciously guarded hopes, bad people trying to hurt them, and their own mistakes.

This was pretty much a study in miscommunication. Every time...they wouldn't talk and reveal things, leading to many troubles that could have been nipped show more in the bud...but it was also a great story about healing and coming together and trusting and trying over and over again until you get it right. And eventually learning from your mistakes.

Some things were a bit overdone, but it also didn't jump into insta-love territory, or have any of those features that I deplore. It took time, they had to work through their issues and had to f*ck up many a time. But they never gave up.

I also liked the music thread in here, and would love, adore, jump on a sequel (nudge nudge).

I love any type of sexy accent, so imagining the various British ones was loads of fun, too.

And that pretty much sums it up :) Loads of fun, check; lots of sex, yet it never got boring or repetitive, check; fast-paced and held my interest captive, check; great characters, check; cover love that captured my eye and mind long before I read it, check; intricate plot that isn't given away too early, check. Recommended! show less

Well this wasn't what I expect from a Valentine's story. Werewolves, and Fairies, and Tricks, oh my.
Well written with excellent banter. And some superb unsexy facts (you'll understand what I mean when you read it).
I knew where the story was going early and guessed at the fairy's trick too (honestly Callen was used to dealing with the fae, he should have realised this straight away).
I did think the parents involvement was maybe one plot point too far.
And someone needs to tell Ryder to show more read KJ Charles' Magpie books!
However I really enjoyed reading and highly recommend it.

Trigger warning: the first time they have sex was very much a case of dual coercion from an outside party. show less

For full review including excerpt and dialogue highlights, please visit Reader's Edyn at:
http://bit.ly/Nob8Ai

Review:

This story was pretty stinkin’ cute. It is somewhat of a familiar take on the werewolf story, but also presented in a way that makes it unique to itself. By familiar, I mean the basics ~ werewolf finds its mate who is NOT a werewolf (sorta) and has to make her a believer of the things that go bump in the night.

Liv has seriously endured the worst day of her life starting with show more Landlord Grab-Ass who delivers a less than desirable proposition to be given in lieu of rent. Gag! Of course she is already running late for work, then in an effort to escape Landlord Gag-Me-With-A-Spoon, she smacks into Too-Bad-I-Don’t-Carry-Mace Mugger whom she delivers a painful blow to ~ yep, right in the jewels ~ to which he responds by biting her. Somehow she manages to get away and get to work only to realize that I-Really-Need-To-Get-That-Mace Mugger has become Whackado Stalker. But … as is commonly the case … things are not always as they seem.

Cal is not a stalker, or mugger, but a werewolf. Yeah … Liv has trouble swallowing that too. Moves him back into the Holy-Crap-You-Need-A-Straight-Jacket category. Yet something about how incredibly hot he is and his … well, he is incredibly hot. Is there anything else that matters? Exactly! Anyway, he offers to cook her dinner and she chastises herself while simultaneously agreeing and letting him in her apartment. And in no time, Cal seems to be a genuinely likeable guy. But Cal has a few secrets of his own. Secrets that Liv might find objectionable when the truth comes to light. But hey, he is incredibly hot, so she’ll probably forgive him.

I have to tell you all that I chuckled my way through this whole story. Ms. Elsborg took a light-hearted and fresh approach to a story of paranormal destined love and wrapped it all up with a snarky little bow. I really enjoyed the inner thoughts of the characters as they grasped with the events unfolding. Liv and Cal have spark. And did I mention that Cal is incredibly hot? Plus he’s a werewolf. Shifter score! For Ms. Elsborg to create such a fun story within a few short pages, well, let’s just say that I call JUST ONE BITE a MUST read! It is super fast, super cute, super fun, super snarky, and super sexy! I think I am going to create a new rating … I dub thee SUPAH! But don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

(eBook copy provided by publisher for review.) show less

Readers first "met" Taylor in [b:The Making of Jonty Bloom|54342632|The Making of Jonty Bloom (Unfinished Business, #1)|Barbara Elsborg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593558322l/54342632._SY75_.jpg|84086893] as Jonty's long-time straight BFF who suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for months. Now Tay is conscious, trying to get his life back, not speaking to Jonty (because Reasons) and oh yeah, he's gay. When his very worried parents show more leave for a cruise, they insist that Tay hire a helper, as he still has lingering long-term effects from the TBI. He hires the homeless guy with the dog who flirted with him once (as you do) and we're off.

I actually preferred this book to the first one in the series, as the MCs seemed more evenly matched. Tay starts out in a bad place, angry at the world about his limitations and addicted to pain medication. Ink is the mystery man with an infinite amount of patience who takes on Tay's recovery whole-heartedly even though he knows he won't be able to stick around.

About halfway through the book the tables turn; Ink's painful past catches up with him and Tay has a chance to demonstrate his loyalty and caring. The secret that Ink is hiding is truly devastating, although I wish the resolution hadn't happened quite so abruptly. We also get to visit with Jonty and Devan, although Jonty's behavior now seems more annoying than charmingly offbeat.

Ellsborg manages an interesting mix of melodrama and lighthearted banter, and the conflict keeping her MCs from their HEA is usually due to external circumstances more than failure to communicate or Big Misunderstandings. Sometimes her plots strain credulity but her writing is strong enough that you're too caught up in the story to care. show less