Quick Reads and Quick Reviews 1

Sometimes I read so quickly that writing anywhere from 2-4+ blog posts a day is too much.  Too much for me and for anyone following my blog.  And would you really want to read a blog post that's just a paragraph-long review?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  So from here on out when I read a bunch at a time or have short reviews I'll put a few together to make a longer post.

For today I'll be including:

• Triton by Alana Albertson
• Drilled by Brill Harper
• 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep

Erik was more than arrogant, he was dismissive and rude. Aria was determined and extremely vulnerable. Together they were passionate in the bedroom, against the wall, in the ocean...you get the idea...but aside from being driven and excited about the accomplishments they don't seem like more than a passionate relationship that might fizzle in the future. I don't see a lot of bonding or discussion or even healing, especially for Aria. There's quite a few things that are left unresolved and most of the story is a flashback to the start of their relationship. Erik is incredibly harsh and not as willing to see things from Aria's perspective, Aria is more secretive than she needs to be, and both of them allow miscommunication and secrecy lead their relationship. It wasn't a bad story and there were some sweet confessions and triumphant victories of mental blocks, but that didn't really make it a great story.  2.5 stars.

Trope soup, she calls it. Definitely accurate. I usually love tropes for the simple fact that they're very uncomplicated and they always fill the brief. In this case, it definitely did. I found Rebecca a bit too simple for me. She read like she was five years younger than she was and I didn't really like that. I often enjoy girls unaware of how physically tempting they are and even a bit of insecurity because they've had no one to help them see beyond all the critics and this story had that in spades. I think that she overreacted to the revelation via checkbook because she didn't use her brain to put everything into perspective. The drama was a bit too forced and over-the-top for what was going on.

I also often enjoy big, bad, sexy men who make it their sole purpose to make their woman know just how amazing they are sexually and in every other way too. Graden was definitely the man for this job. He had a big complex because of his past which isn't really discussed or explained, but in a book this short I suppose brief and vague is the best we get. Rebecca's love and compassion went a long way to soothing his past aches no matter how much we learn about why they're there in the first place.

Overall, this was a good book, a quick read and was a satisfactory continuation of the Blue Collar Bad Boys series.  3 stars.

This was a really sweet book with moments of apprehension, drama, and excitement. It was well written and despite its short length, was very complete having characters with depth, background, and motivation as well as a satisfying conclusion. Ben and Clara were sweet and mature enough to desire a conclusion that wasn't petty and full of revenge for one another or others that might be having a hand in their misfortune, both past and present.  4 stars.