Ooof, this week. I'm mighty glad it's over. I was kind of in a funk, but at least the week did start off on a high note. Let's skip to that part, shall we? // On Monday I went to the swanky offices of Bob Mackie for a viewing party of Ru Paul's Drag Race- one of the most entertaining shows on …
Brian McGreevy
On My Bookshelf
Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy You know, I think I've only written about books in passing here on the blog, but in case you didn't know, I'm secretly a bookworm. When I was a kid, I lived for the days that the Scholastic Book Fair came to my school. I never went anywhere (even on a 2-minute car …
![HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING by Denise Williams (thank you to @berkleypub/@berkleyromance for the free copy!)
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What a fun, engaging, and sexy romance read!
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Our main character, Naya, leads a quiet life. After splitting with her abusive ex a few years ago, all she wanted to do was fade into the background. But she’s become a shell of the person she used to be, so her friends lovingly encourage her to get out of her routine and try something new. She decides that maybe they’re not wrong and on the first night she opens herself up a little, she meets a guy in a bar. Before their flirtation can turn into something serious, she has to decide if she’s ready for a new relationship or if she wants to retreat back to her old life.
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I loved that the two main characters were both nerds that enjoyed trading cheesy jokes back and forth. Since Naya is a professor, I also liked how the author explored the struggles of being a woman in academia. I really felt for Naya and hearing about the ways her ex used to hurt her was hard to read. I definitely want to mention the discussion of domestic violence in this book so that you don’t go in thinking this is a super light read.
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To me, this book was about a woman trying to find herself again and learning to believe in herself and her worth. I also loved that Naya made a list of things she wanted to do/accomplish, along with the nods to her list throughout the book, as I am very much a list person myself. Overall, I thought this was a fun romance! I enjoyed the writing, there were some great supporting characters, and some good steamy moments as well (ooo la la).
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[CW: domestic violence, sexual, physical, and emotional abuse]](http://starcrossedsmile.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)