Between These Sheets

This is not a romance

Reviewed: 01-15-20

I have always known Colleen Hoover to write gut-wrenching, emotional books that will tear me apart before putting me, cracked, back together. I don’t know what I was expecting from Verity, her 2019 self-published book that was billed as a romantic suspense.

It was not a romance. I know that for sure. In fact, the love story in this book made me sick to my stomach.

Lowen is an author who has been commissioned by the family of Verity Crawford, a famous author, to complete a beloved and complicated series that Verity is unable to finish. Lowen moves into the Crawford family home and quickly realizes that things aren’t right.

She discovers a horrifying autobiographical manuscript that goes into terrible details about Verity’s life, her husband Jeremy, and their three children. And it is through this manuscript that the reader puts together the tragic pieces of the Crawfords’ lives before Lowen entered their home.

There were so many pieces of this book that troubled me. How could I root for Jeremy and Lowen’s love to succeed when they were carrying on their flirtation in the very house that Verity was living and presumably recovering in? Their young son, Crew, was also in the house. The trust that Lowen put into that manuscript, how all consuming it became for her, I just could not understand the decisions she made.

This book left me with chills and a deep unsettling feeling. The twist was a surprising relief to me in some ways, but deranged and nonsensical in others.

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A gripping suspense from Lisa Jewell

Reviewed: 11-25-19

I needed time to recover from the emotional ringer that this book put me through before I could gather my thoughts for this review.

This is the story of a mother’s love and the lengths one would go. It is the story of youth, the beauty and allure and potential. It is the story of love, a familial love and a romantic love and love for one self. But mostly, it is a story of such horror and fear that it turns my stomach and breaks my heart.

Another Lisa Jewell book that I couldn’t put down and will surely stick with me for a long time. Her style of writing is remarkable – sharing as much information with the reader as the character is capable of sharing; when the twists are revealed they are less shocking and more understandable in the sick world she has created.

There are parts in the book I cried and I laughed. It brought out deep feelings and fears. And ultimately I finished it less than 24 hours after I started it.

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1 person found this helpful

A funny and sexy romantic comedy

Reviewed: 11-20-19

This book is a fun, flirty, steamy, and funnyyyy read. Georgie is hilarious, she’s literally a clown (that’s her job, it’s absurd but fits the story). Travis is her brother’s best friend/forever crush/former pro baseball player who has come back to their hometown for a fresh start.

Their chemistry is awesome and these two are such a good match. There’s lots of tropes in this book, like the fake relationship they attempt in an effort to be taken more seriously. But I don’t even mind because this book flows so nicely and is such a good mix of humor and sex. This is my first Tessa Bailey but absolutely not my last!

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Can 2 strangers share a bed & not get tangled up?

Reviewed: 11-20-19

Can two strangers share a flat, and a bed, without getting tangled up? In The Flatshare by Beth OLeary, Tiffy and Leon attempt it. They have different schedules so while Leon works nights, Tiffy sleeps.

I listened to this audiobook and I appreciate the complexities of the characters. The narrators, Kwaku Fortune and Hope Fletcher, were great. Leon is thoughtful and caring. Tiffy is eccentric and hilarious. She’s super tall and dresses funky and I love her for it.

Not only do Tiffy and Leon have such depth, but the supporting characters do as well. The emotional pull towards Leon’s brother Richie is a constant in this book. I loved Tiffy’s supportive and funny friends. And I adored Leon’s patients.

This concept, of sharing a life and a bed with someone and not knowing them, is a great set up for a romance. It all came together nicely here.

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The narration took me out of the story

Reviewed: 11-20-19

I listened to the audiobook of Dating You/Hating You and although I thought the voice of Carter Aaron was fine, the voice of Evie was loud and grating and did not suit my vision of the character. It made it hard for me to enjoy parts of this book because her voice became a distraction.

This book takes place in LA, where two Hollywood agents are forced to compete for the same position after their firms merge. This, after meeting at a party where they hit it off right away. The tension is high. There are some kisses, there are some pranks.

However, the book at times focused more on the difficulties of a terrible boss and work environment than the romance, which I was absolutely fine with. Seeing a certain character get their comeuppance is a very satisfying part of the conclusion.

Like other Christina Lauren books, I feel transported to the city I am reading about. In Love and Other Words, I was taken to Napa and the Bay Area and in Roomies, it was the bustling energy of New York City’s theater scene. Here, I was taken to Los Angeles and into the world of high power agents in a cutthroat environment. It made for some high tension office dynamics and an ultimate workplace romance.

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A contemporary romance with historical intrigue

Reviewed: 11-20-19

A contemporary romance that has sword fighting, corsets, and an uptight hero named Simon who moonlights as a sexy pirate named Ian? This book was a great escape, and totally makes me want to visit a renaissance fair.

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1 person found this helpful

A successful entrepreneur meets her match

Reviewed: 11-20-19

I really enjoyed this book. It's a cute love story, but it tackles deep and tough issues like the repercussions of a football career and CTE and workplace harassment and blackmail. Samson was super sexy and Rhi was a tough chick but a total delight.

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A Canadian Muslim retelling of Pride & Prejudice

Reviewed: 11-20-19

Ayesha At Last is an homage to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice but really it is so much more on its own. Ayesha is a Canadian Muslim living in Toronto. Her family immigrated from India when she was a young girl. Khalid is also a Canadian Muslim, who works for a tech company and works to find a balance in his life between his Muslim faith, his at times over bearing mother, and how he fits in with his coworkers and friends.

I was originally drawn to the story of two modern Muslim people finding love after seeing Basheer and Fatima’s romance in the 4 Weddings and A Funeral series. Basheer and Fatima are secondary characters, but as they dated according to modern Muslim customs, they found love with each other. I loved seeing how people from another culture and religion date and fall in love and when I heard about Ayesha At Last, I knew I had to read it.

I really loved this book, which highlighted the dichotomy of honoring tradition and finding your own way while staying true to your values.

Following along as Ayesha and Khalid found love, like the titilation from brushing hands while learning to cook together, was beautiful.

The secondary characters are finely developed, some are hilarious and others are sympathetic while others are downright tragic and villainous. It was a great journey to see the growth of so many of these characters.

Find this review and more on BetweenTheseSheets.com

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Historical New York, Uptown Girl & Powerful Lawyer

Reviewed: 11-20-19

I am an avid historical romance reader, so when I came across Joanna Shupe’s The Rogue of Fifth Avenue, I was instantly intrigued. As a New Yorker (currently living on the West Coast), I loved traveling back in time to the New York of yesterday.

I was so excited, in fact, to start this book that I had simultaneously purchased a paperback copy, the audiobook, and checked the e-book out of the library.

Mamie is a debutante from a wealthy uptown family. She has a big compassionate heart. It is clear she has great love for her sisters and respect for her family. However, she is drawn to the world of New York that she is not supposed to see – the gambling halls, the downtown tenements, the lives of the poor.

It is through this exposure to class inequality that she develops a pertinacity for pick-pocketing the wealthy to supplement the measly incomes of some families she befriends in the tenements. Her compassion is so honorable and makes her a very appealing heroine.

Frank Tripp is Mamie’s father’s high power lawyer. He is well known throughout the city for his hard work for New York’s elite. When the two cross paths, almost everyone can see their chemistry. Mamie’s father forbids her from entering in any relationship with a man besides the one he has arranged for her – as if she is another entity of his business to control.

Mamie is rebellious and likes to do things on her terms, so if she is told not to do something, her heart will want to go there even if she knows it is wrong. She cannot deny her attraction to Frank and he is not willing to give her up either.

But along the way, secrets are exposed and Mamie doesn’t know who she can trust. This was a great read, with high tension and with big stakes and people’s lives on the line.

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3 people found this helpful