Mini Reviews : Doing It for Love by Cassie Mae & When the Stars Align by Jeannette Grey
Title : Doing It For Love
Author : Cassie Mae
Publication Date : September 29th 2015
Publisher : Loveswept
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Cassie Mae’s charming, sexy new novel, perfect for fans of Emma Chase, puts a steamy twist on modern love as one bride-to-be tries to put the spark back in the bedroom—by any means necessary.
Elizabeth Fanning’s life looks pretty perfect, judging by the diamond ring on her finger. Her fiancé, Landon, is sweet, handsome, and hilarious. The trouble is, before they’ve even tied the knot, their sex life has gone from mind-blowing to “meh”—and Liz isn’t ready to be part of an old married couple. After a cathartic call to her best friend, Liz comes up with a brilliant idea. She and Landon may never be able to re-create the magic of their first time, but how amazing would their wedding night be if everything below the neck was off-limits until then?
Liz thinks it’ll bring them closer together. Landon’s convinced she’ll cave first. So they raise the stakes: Whoever lasts longer gets to pick their honeymoon destination. With her heart set on the Bahamas and Landon fighting for snowbound Utah, Liz simply has to win. But pretty soon, her body is screaming for attention, and Landon’s never seemed so far away. Has Liz’s experiment backfired? Losing their little competition would be frustrating—but the one thing she can’t afford to lose is him.
Personal Thoughts
If you're anything like me, then at one point after finishing a romance novel, you've often wondered what life is like for the couple after that HEA. Cassie Mae explores exactly that in Doing It for Love. I didn't exactly know what to expect when I went into the book, but it surprised me with just how delightful and romantic it was. Landon and Lizzie were at that point in their relationship where their bedroom life wasn't as sizzling as it was in the beginning. When Landon proposes, Lizzie comes up with a plan to abstain until their wedding night so that the anticipation can bring back that spark into their sexy times. What ensued were two horny characters and some hilarious moments of course! I really loved both Lizzie and Landon, but I think I loved them more together as a couple. They were so great together, fighting through whatever obstacle came their way by holding each others' hands. Struggles came into their lives, especially through the form of wedding expenditures and not having a reliable source of income, but through it all, they were supportive and encouraged each others' dreams. It was heartwarming to see them work through their issues side by side. You would think that because they were already a couple that there wouldn't be much romantic tension between them, but no, they had wonderful chemistry together and I really loved the sweet and romantic moments that the two of them shared throughout the book. Both their characters were also well-developed and engaging. I also enjoyed the roles that their friends played in the book and I'm hoping that some of them get paired up and get their own books as well. Overall, Doing It for Love was a wonderful story that was sweet, funny and romantic in every way. I highly recommend it to lovers of contemporary romance.
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
Title : When the Stars Align
Author : Jeannette Grey
Publication Date : September 1st 2015
Publisher : Forever Yours
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Their passion burned hotter than the stars . . .
For Josephine "Jo" Kramer, nothing has ever been easy. When she earns a summer internship in Puerto Rico, working at one of the world's preeminent scientific facilities, she'll let nothing distract her. Not her own insecurities, not the arrogant scientists, and definitely not her tall, chiseled research partner, Adam.
For Adam McCay, physics is simple-it's women who are complicated. Especially brilliant, beautiful ones like Jo. From the moment they meet, he can feel the heat smoldering deep beneath her icy exterior. And Adam knows just what it will take to make Jo melt . . .
Under the endless stars of a tropical sky, Jo and Adam indulge their every desire. But as their internship comes to an end, their perfect island paradise is threatened. Was their time together a summer fling? Or is their passion hot enough to last the long winter nights?
Personal Thoughts
I requested When the Stars Align on a whim after glancing at that beautiful cover. Then I found out that the book was set in Puerto Rico and also had characters who were scientists and I was even more excited to start it. Jo was a tough character at times. She was a tricky character at first because she guarded her emotions tightly inside and came across as a tough and hard to get through. Behind her pierced and tattooed persona though was a just a girl who had never really felt love. When she opened up to readers you realize why she kept people at a distant from her, and while it could be frustrating for me as a reader, it was also easy to understand why she was the way she was. More than I loved Jo, I think I loved Adam. This boy was amazing! In personality, he was the opposite of Jo. He was more outgoing, emotive and friendly. I think the fact that they were opposites were what made them complementary. Adam was the perfect kind of guy to get through to Jo's insecurities and help her realize that she is loveable too. As you can imagine, I really enjoyed their romance together. At the beginning of the book, Adam had an ex-girlfriend that he was on a break with. He was very upfront with Jo about it and didn't pursue a physical relationship with Jo until he and his ex had talked and completely broken things. I loved that about Adam so much and I respected him a lot for actually talking to his ex. When Jo and Adam finally got together, the romance was all kinds of steamy and delicious. The sex scenes in this book were fan-yourself level of hot and I loved the chemistry between the two. However, I loved the sweeter moments between Jo and Adam even more as they opened up to each other. Their emotional connection was realistic and made it even easier for me to ship them as a couple. The Puerto Rico setting also added to my enjoyment of the book, with me wanting to visit the country so I could visit all the cool places. Perhaps the only thing I would have wished to see more of was Jo and Adam doing their research. There were a few scenes with their experiments and research work, but as a scientist myself, I wanted to see a teensy bit more. It didn't really take away from my enjoyment though and by the end, I was convinced that I needed to try more books by Jeanette Grey. I hope she continues to write more NA books and perhaps explore some of the side characters that were introduced in When the Stars Align. I highly recommend this book to fans of NA. It's not to be missed out on!
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
Thank you to NetGalley, Loveswept and Forever for the e-ARCs of Doing It For Love and When the Stars Align.
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