Off the Shelf: Something About You by Riley Hart

Ok first things first this book had me pushing the boundaries of what I typically read. There was an element of kink I had never read about before but I was actually able to see and dare I say...understand.

This book is the story of Saint and Lucky, a suave city slicker and family orientated family guy small town guy who couldn’t be more different if they tried. Saint has grown up within the supportive cocoon of his parents and has been alone since their death when he was 18. When he gets an email from Lucky (who everyone else calls Tyler) telling him about a grandmother he didn’t know he had, he’s stunned. That doesn’t stop him from driving down to meet this grandmother, much to the surprise and displeasure of Lucky.

Saint and Lucky had an antagonistic relationship that made me laugh but also had me hooked from the beginning. They were such polar opposites that it was a wonder the two fell for each other in the first place. Saint lives this city life in a high rise apartment, is openly bisexual and is focused on his flourishing career in PR. Lucky is also bisexual but has never dated or been with a man, is the baby of his huge family who worry about him endlessly. When Lucky introduces Saint to his grandmother Alice (a firecracker if I ever read of one!) and the two have to collaborate on the refurbishment of Alice’s family home, sparks fly!

I really loved this story. It was about so many little things pulled together. It was about a sad family history, love spanning decades and Lucky and Saint navigating the past and a potential future. 

I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Alice and Saint develop. It was like they got a second chance to enjoy each other and heal wounds that they didn’t necessarily know about. I loved Alice’s spunk, her zest for life and her bid to drive Saint’s Corvette! 

Riley Hart knows how to do steamy sexy times and this book was no exception! She had me fanning myself at times! It was so great to see the love between these two characters grow and I honestly hope she selves back into this universe soon! 

The book was a 4 star read and if you’re interested in checking it out go here.

TK MAJ

Off the Shelf: Exposed Anthology

NATURAL ENEMIES BY ROAN PARRISH

Ok, I have been waiting to sink my teeth into this anthology for the longest time and I decided I would read it as a little palette cleanser in between my other reviews. I went in and picked an author I knew but hadn't read in a while: Roan Parrish. Her story is called Natural Enemies (a punny title if I ever read one) about two botanists, both appealing in their own way, who choose to go about using their skills in different ways, start off as enemies and soon discover that there may be something waiting to bloom between them if only they'd give it a chance.

Stefan is a "plant eugenicist" whose days include time in the lab, lunch in the lab and evenings cooking dinner just to keep from thinking about the lab. He is described as a preppy black man who wears wool pants and sweater and shirt combos well. I honestly loved how stuffy he seemed initially because there was so much more to him as time went on and that was a treat! He dealt with person fears and changed for the better as the story went on. Stefan has always had trouble connecting with others, either being seen as too white for his black friends or too competitive for everyone else. He talks about always having something in him that people notice and shy away from, leading to his lonely existence. He takes a botany tour and is incensed to discover Milo talking to the visitors about how to grow plants when he should be telling them about the more pertinent issues relating to plants that a person can't discover by simply using Google (his words, not mine).

Milo is like a breath of fresh air. He is this funny, gentle man in charge at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens who spends his entire life around plants. If he isn't helping kids from Erasmus, a school in the area, discover the love of plants, he's tending to his neighbour's plants or the plants on his rooftop garden. He was the one of the pair I found more appealing: his love of plants was down to basics and so clearly visible that it made him really endearing. He had his moments of imperfect action but I couldn't help but forgive him because he was coming from a good place. Milo was picked as one of 30 under 30 leading to a rather naked photo shoot for charity and it was really endearing how shy he was about being naked around anyone other than Stefan.

Overall the novella was a treat! I enjoyed it from start to finish and had a couple of laughs along the way. I gave it a rating of 4 stars and as per usual with novellas I found myself wanting more at the end! Ah well, here's hoping the couple pop up in the Roan Parrish universe sometime soon!

See more by Roan Parrish here.

TK MAJ

Off The Shelf : SANCTUARY by Rebekah Weatherspoon

It was a lovely follow up to the first book in the series overall even though I got the sense that the story needed a few more chapters to really develop and tease out many of the plot points that were presented in the story. 

Here were some of my least favorite parts of the novel:

I had a problem with the editing and I think it could have used another go around to get those errors that came up now and then sorted out. I am personally obsessive about correct grammar and spelling in books because if it's not I find myself fixing the grammar errors and that takes my focus away from the story. I found myself having to do that every now and then with this story and was predictably put off by it. That being said, I am sure in a second edition of the book these errors will be ironed out. 

The part about Liz being a dominatrix in the past after the death of her and Brooklyn's parents was a bit out of left field and not developed very convincingly. I just didn't see how it fit in except as a device to explore female domination of males in the bedroom. There was mention of the fact that their parents had died and that necessitated the sex work but even that death wasn't really explored. I felt like it was thrown in as the back story but wasn't really looked it and kind of hastily shoved to the side as if dwelling on the past grief might make the whole dominatrix thing less sexy or something (I don't know why the didn't explore this theme further and I'm just making a wild guess here).

I loved Silas but I just wished she'd developed his character a bit more. He comes across as taciturn and abrupt and the author gives a reason why but that isn't really drawn out and explored more. It would have helped me sympathize more with Silas to know more about his challenges in life and really helped draw me in and make me more invested in a happy ending for the couple. He seemed kind of like the typical broody hero that authors (and readers, myself included) love, until the revelation about him was made towards the end of the story. It made sense but was such a small part of the tale that I think deserved more air time.

Here's what I loved about this book:

Liz, the heroine was a blast! What I love about Liz is she is a sassy, self assured black woman. She is full of personality but she still has insecurities that she has to work around in her daily life as an attorney in a largely white male dominated company. She struck me as seeking a home, a place to feel safe and that resonated with me. 

Scott was a surprise, in more ways than one. He was not what he seemed and that was a really great part of the story. The dynamics between him and Silas were one of the best parts of the story. Sibling relations are a theme I love and whenever an author includes them as a key part of the plot, I'm all for it. It was so great seeing the idea that people are flawed and the fact that people can be so different to different people in their lives portrayed in the book. This part of the story got an A from me.

The dogs and the farm were such a great part of the story. It was so cool to have such a different setting. And I know there are tons of cowboy romance novels out there based on a farm but those are usually stud ranches or horse farms and you don't see many heroines of colour there (in my experience, anyway). I genuinely enjoyed the idea of the hero and the heroine on a farm together finding love and because representation matters, I was even happier that they were both (mostly) black while doing it. It helped me relate to them in a way I don't always have the ability to do with the other cowboy romances out there (not that I don't enjoy one every now and then). The five dogs and their individual personalities added to the charm and honestly I love when pets or children are central characters in a novel and here that was done so well it had me laughing at points imagining all the shenanigans there.

Overall I will admit I loved Haven, the first book in the series more (and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads). It felt so much more evenly paced, high stakes and angsty (all my favourite words when it comes to plot) to me. That being said I am going to wait for book 3 in the series before I make my decision about the series as a whole. 

As for Rebekah Weatherspoon, I'll definitely be picking up more of her novels. She's great at what she does and I look forward to more from her!

Find Rebekah's books here.