Ronica Black

Not bad for a full-length erotic novel. Erotica seems to be a genre that doesn't lend itself well to long works; you'll notice almost all of it takes the format of collections of short stories. This one does a fairly good job of keeping the reader's interest over the course of the full length. While there were some instances of kludgy writing ("she opened the door with great force" was one that stuck out to me), it had enough going for it to keep me reading. My favorite part might've been show more the boxing gym. Are there really places where hot lesbians go at it in the ring and then have sweaty, aggressive sex in the locker room afterwards? I hope so. ;) show less

Krystal invited her bestie Cassie to join her on a week-long whodunit Alaska in order to get Cassie to relax and enjoy life away from Cassie’s bookshop. Before the two women even get aboard the ship, Cassie has met a woman she’s very attracted to, Hannah who works on the ship. Cassie and Krystal meet two senior women at the first dinner. Hannah involves the four other women in investigating Hannah’s missing friend. When there’s a death, the four amateur sleuths really go to show more work.

While the setting isn’t unique and the storyline hasn’t been overused. Unfortunately, the authors don't take advantage of either the setting or the destination to their advantage. The authors do not develop their characters very well - by far, the two feisty senior women’s characters are better developed than the three younger women who remain amorphous throughout the book.

There are places in the book where the reader is taken out of the story to figure out who is speaking, entire conversations are repeated, and the ending is weak. The romance is pallid and very nearly non-existent.

My thanks to Bold Strokes books for an eARC. show less

Johnnie is a loner. Following the closure of her business, she was homeless for a time before discovering new skills and a new direction as an artist. Lately, she has been experiencing a lack of inspiration.

Elaine is a “creative practitioner." More or less a professional muse, she encourages creativity in clients through various approaches, sometimes sexual in nature.

When Johnnie is referred to Elaine for a consultation, a powerful attraction immediately ignites between them. However, both show more feel constrained from acting on this feeling. Johnnie's severe anxiety holds her back, and she believes Elaine is simply doing her job. Meanwhile, Elaine is still mourning the tragic loss of her wife, who passed away five years earlier, and Johnnie is, after all, a client.

Both women have issues in their past to overcome, and each has a messy relationship or two to disentangle themselves from. Their journey is slow, with considerable angst and longing on both sides before they eventually find their way to one another.

Readers should know that both women share intimate moments with other partners during this story. There is no infidelity, though misunderstandings do occur, fuelling the general theme of angst and frustration.

I found this to be a compelling read with elements I haven't encountered previously in romance fiction. show less

Olivia and Eve. Olivia is just divorced, and trying to get herself in shape. She tries to go up a mountain before she even tries to take a walk. It doesn't go well and Eve rescues her (a couple of times). They also have a charge between them, although both push it aside for a bit.

Eve starts helping Olivia get in shape, and, they also start falling in love. Although, they both have big issues to get over first (well, in my estimation Olivia's were much bigger). So, as is the question with a show more lot of these books where one of the characters is questioning. Can the characters get over their issues and let themselves fall fully in love?

I had only two problems with this book. The first was that it was a little off balance in regards to the two characters. It wasn't as bad as some of the books I've read (hence the 3 stars), but, here and there, there was a bit of false equivalency. That what one character did was just as bad as what the other one did, when it wasn't.

The second was the fitness part. It's a great fitness story, and, perhaps it's the story for a lot of people. But, as I said, it's a good story, real life, not so much for everyone. You can decide to do it, do it well, do it 'right', and do it for a good deal longer than was presented in this story and none of the magic that happens here does in real life. (Also, technically if I recall reading it somewhere, the only thing six packs mean is that ya gotta drink more water).

I will also say that I was happy that it only came to the edge of the vegan pushing cliff, and didn't jump over. We are omnivores, not herbivores, and it came this.... || close to getting preachy before it pulled back.

Overall it was an okay book. The characters were interesting (mostly). The language in the book was really cool too, not so much flowery, but, also, definitely not utilitarian.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less