Quick Reads, Quick Reviews 39

  

• Farrell and the Fake Boyfriend: Book 1, Lisa Clemente
• Running Off: Rainier Family Book 5, Ashton Cade
• Stealing His Heart: Nox Bay Pack Book 1, Connor Crowe

I really love the fake-situation-real-romance trope, especially when the honest feelings become obvious earlier rather than later.  This had an interesting start in that the MC's were virtual strangers prior to the agreement.  What was less appealing was Scott's situation.  It felt like it tainted all the tenderness they were sharing because he was never forthright in his feelings for Farrell once they started changing.  Instead, we got more of him declaring that he was working for the attentions of someone else.  Disappointing.  Farrell felt a bit pitiful, actually.  I thought he was less soft and shy and more weak and self-sacrificing.  The bright spots were really the tender moments of touching, connecting, and the end.  Farrell was right to make Scott think about what he truly wanted and I really liked the humorous and more playful honesty that brought them back together for their promise of a happy future.  3.5 stars.

The prodigal son meets the stalwart son; both needing what the other man offers yet so afraid of what they might lose that they almost give up the best possible future for both of them.  Parris actually rubbed me the wrong way right from the start.  He's so up his own...well, so self-involved that he's choosing to be blind to everything good about his hometown and refuses to take responsibility for just about everything negative in his life.  By the end of the story I did like how he softened and learned to love himself and appreciate his home, but I don't think enough attention and page time was given to his "ah ha!" moment.  We spent so long reading about how much he dislikes everything about Umberland that his turnaround isn't truly believable.

It's no wonder Caleb keeps pushing him away despite how much his heart wants to grab on and never let go.  Caleb was a bit too much of a martyr for me, though I did prefer him over Parris.  He was so faithful, so loving, so giving and to watch Parris do things he did and then turn around as if his negative actions should be overlooked was disappointing.  Caleb's emotional distance after a while was warranted and I did believe and like his personal turnaround which led to a really wonderful reconciliation.  The epilogue was sweet and perfect for the couple and very necessary for the story to end on a great note.  3 stars.

I'm all for insta-love between fated mates and virtual insta-pregnancy in mpreg stories.  None of that bothers me in the least.  What I do hope for, though, is that there's some kind of connection, some kind of personal education between the characters to build on that shifter-mating-fate thing that gets them together in the first place.  Felix is pretty fantastic, I will say.  He's honorable, vulnerable, immensely strong inside, crafty, loyal, caring...he's just all kinds of great.  As for his mate?  Well, I honestly know almost nothing about him.  We get a lot of superficial information as to who he is and what his responsibilities are, but any more than that and how much he admires and yearns for Felix and we've got pretty much nothing.  I'm really hoping that as the series continues we'll get more about him, even on the periphery of the other characters' stories.  3.5 stars.