knitplaywithfire

Taking a Chance

Revisado: 08-18-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Sometimes your life is bad enough you need to escape to another country to restart your life. Summer has already had a pretty crappy life to use her own words. But she has managed to pull herself up using her brains and her looks when needed. She has managed to change her life and moved from the US to the UK, married a football star (for the Yanks, soccer), been a WAG on her own terms, survived the idiot she married dragging her into his fraud and bankruptcy, and managed to keep her head held up high. She goes back to the US and takes her younger cousin, Delilah, with her to New Zealand for a gap year.

Summer and Delilah have been working their way around New Zealand working various odd jobs. They are on their way to a remote beach area to camp when their rather dubious camper van decides to quit working while they are going downhill on a gravel road. Their "grand" adventure goes sideways from here.

Roman has been quietly building his life and his firms up. He has been married twice before and has decided he doesn't need nor have time in his life for romance. Today has been one of the days nobody who owns a business likes for Roman. He has had to fire someone, promote someone and then drive to his holiday home to make sure that it is okay due to heavy rains and flooding.

And this is when the lives of Summer and Roman intersect. The camper van has done a runner and gone off the road into the trees on Roman's drive. Summer is there trying to get Delilah out of the upside down camper van. Trying being the operative word. Roman despite all of his exterior gruffness is deep down inside a gentle soul who has yet to meet his soul mate. He rescues both Summer and Delilah taking care of them and their injuries. And this is when the adventures really begin between Summer and Roman.

We do end up finding out that Roman is related to Hemi along the way. And we learn some interesting tidbits about Roman's admin assistant, Esther. Hopefully we will get Esther's story next.

I have read this book twice now and listened to the audio version. So realistically, I have read this book three times. I was provided an ARC of this book from the author prior to publication. But life intervened and I honestly forgot to read it and review on time. But I always purchase her books as soon as I get the email from her mailing list one is available for pre-order.

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Totally unexpected ending

Revisado: 04-05-24

The only issue I had was Ari Thor's girlfriend's name being mispronounced repeatedly. It is a different narrator but he kept changing the pronouncation of the name

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Luke & Hayden

Revisado: 10-08-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

We first met Luke and Hayden in a previous book, "Just Say Christmas." And they finally got their own love story.

Luke has hidden his sexuality all of his life since coming out as a professional sportsman is not the norm. And Hayden has always been out. But these two connect when they first meet. And the sparks fly despite Luke not being out. Hayden is coming out of a relationship that wasn't really a relationship with a man who turned out to be a narcissist, a liar and a cheater.

Luke is a very likable character. He is honest to a fault and cares about the people around him. He has mana. Hayden is adorable and comfortable in his own skin. Both of them care about their families, both biological and found families.

Two totally different men who end up together makes for a fantastic story. I want to point out that this is a love story. It is no different than what a love story with a male lead and a female lead.

This review is for both the audiobook and the e-book. Having read it and listened to it, I think I need another reread of it since it is that good.

I did receive a copy of both the e-book and audio book from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

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Better as an audio Book

Revisado: 04-17-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This is not your typical romance story. Lachlan and Laila are seem to be a completely unmatched couple in every way but they are perfect together.

Lachlan is an exploration geologist who spends some time at his flat in an old converted church in New Zealand but most of his time is spent out in the field hunting for rare metals and minerals. After a rather interesting trip, Lachlan is back in En Zed recovering and prepping for his next bidding war against his rival.

Laila and her two young daughters live in the same old converted church that Lachlan does without knowing him. Laila has managed to reinvent her life after the death of her husband. Her late husband was a world famous mountain climber who while a fantastic climber, he was a horrid person to be married to. But Laila would never admit this to anyone. And as a religious Muslim woman in En Zed, she doesn't feel like there is anyone she can talk to. But Lachlan is there to help her in more ways than one. But he needs to decide if he can take on Laila and her girls since he had long ago decided he wasn't ready for kids. After all his mum and sisters required all of his devotion/

But things get interesting when his sisters decide to find out who their sperm donor really is and arrange to meet him in town. And this is where the story really takes off.

This is not a rugby romance but it is definitely a romance. And it is worth blocking out some time to read it all in one go. It is that good!

I did receive a copy of this audio book novel from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

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"I like a confident woman who knows what she is ab

Revisado: 09-11-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

"I don't trust .... feelings." - E

Elizabeth Wolcott has decided she needs to reboot her life and takes a gap year in her early 30s after becoming an eminent neurosurgeon in the US. She has taken a locum job in En Zed since taking a job working in the Northern Territories in Oz is way too scary for her. After all saltwater crocodiles are way to over the line on the scary scale. So she has packed up her townhouse in Atlanta and arranged a house swap with a professor and his family in Auckland. Elizabeth is looking forward to a nice tidy small house with a small yard and a dog she has not seen but has been told is a lab. But the reality she discovers when she arrives is something totally different. The dog is more of a horse and the house is tiny and not quite what she saw in the Skype chats with the owner. (Note to self: remember to carefully curate your video backgrounds.)

Luka Darkovic has just returned home after a rugby trip to Japan where he had just had one of the strangest interviews of his career. He is tired and hurting and not in the mood to do much other than to do his physio and heal. But he agrees to meet his mate Marko at a local cafe before heading out to a toy store. But his plans do not go off as planned. Instead Luka finds himself trying to stop a small horse masquerading as a dog and a Yank who is totally not in control of this creature. He manages to control the creature and goes off on his day with his neck a bit more hurty. But to his surprise the next day, he discovers that his doctor is none other than the owner of the horse he stopped yesterday.

These two characters are engaging and draw you in immediately. They have both dealt with trauma in their lives and have finally figured out that they compliment each other and that they can heal each other. They both struggle to find a way to heal and be real.

I loved these characters and honestly didn't want to put down this novel, even to go to work. I deliberately took my time reading this novel. And I was super lucky in that the audio version came out at the same time as the novel. I was able to listen to the novel while I was reading it. It made it even better than normal for me. I an now disappointed since I need to now wait for the next book by Rosalind James to come out. I honestly hope she continues this series somehow. I love these imaginary trips to New Zealand and that each of the books written by Ms. James are honest novels. Too many romance books these days are now novellas and the stories are too short to honestly have well developed characters and story lines.

I did receive a copy of both the novel and the audiobook from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. Although to be honest, I do preorder her books as soon as I get a notice of a new one in her newsletters.

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Better in Audio Than in Print for Me

Revisado: 06-18-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I normally like everything that Rosalind James writes but not this one. This one just seemed like she wrote it to tie up some loose ends from her previous book. I am also not a fan of American football and this has influenced my opinion of this book.

I liked this book but have struggled with writing my review of it for some reason. I liked the characters but there are some issues with them. The storyline was good but not an over the top one. The characters are familiar since they were introduced in "Shame the Devil."

The character of Owen has lived quite a bit of life for someone so young. He is an old soul and just too perfect of a man. Something is off with this character. He is too honorable. Yes, there are too honorable men out there but even they have faults. Owen seems to have no faults. I like him but something about him that bothers me.

Dyma is a wonderful character and she claims to be wise beyond her years. But she is still a young woman who has always lived in a small town and having her first experiences with the much larger outside world. She makes several very common errors among young people experiencing the larger world. She is likable but the experiences gap between her and Owen is large. Huge actually.

This is a good read if you want something to escape into on a hot summer weekend. It is enjoyable. And it can be read without reading the other books in the series. But you do encounter characters from earlier books in this series. And it is nice to have an actual novel to read instead of the novellas that many authors are publishing right now as well.

I much preferred the audio version of this book compared to the printed version. I still had the same issues with the storyline but it was much easier this time around. I guess it could be because audio versions allow me to do other things like weave or knit while listening.

I did receive a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. Although I do normally purchase Ms. James' novels as soon as they come out for pre-order.

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Even Better the Second Time Around

Revisado: 02-14-21

Thor aka Harlan Kristiansen meets his match when he meets Jennifer Cardello at a rustic inn at Yellowstone. And due to a lot of misconceptions and perceptions, the antics start. Harlan doesn't really introduce himself properly leading to some interesting assumptions on Jennifer's side. And sine initially Harlan thinks Jennifer's daughter is actually her sister, things get interesting fairly fast.

I am not going to go into the plot other than to say it is well written, convoluted at times but not in a tiresome way, well developed characters, fantastic scenery that plays a plot in moving the storyline along. In other words, a normal book by Rosalind James. This book is longer than most people are used to these days since most novels I have been reading are really novellas, aka it is longer than 200 pages. Yes, there is a difference and it matters. Novels have well developed characters and storylines and move along sometimes at a little slower pace than a novella but they draw you in and engage your mind. Ms. James is a master at this skill.

I highly recommend her books due to the fact that she has developed and continually works on her skilcraft in her novels. She takes the time to do her research and plot things out. Think about the classics and various novels you were required to read in school, those authors were/are highly skilled and Ms. James belongs in this group. She takes her time with her writing and one key thing is she has it read at various stages along the way and her novels are proof read. One thing that will turn me off an author's writing is a lack of proofreading and poor character development. And Ms. James' skills are why I will read anything she publishes.

Take the time to set aside time to enjoy this novel.

This book is definitely better the second time around. I actually preferred the audio version of this book over the written version. I normally do enjoy the audio versions of a novel since it means I can quilt or knit or do some other sort of handwork while listening. But this is one of those times that the audio version was so much bettter.

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Even Better the Second Time Around

Revisado: 08-18-20

Daisy Nabhitha Kittredge is on her way on a dark and rainy night to run a mysterious errand. She is on a dark stretch of road when something white darts out in front of her car causing her to land her car into a river.

Grayson Loto Tamatoa is a former All Black who is dealing with some medical issues from way too many concussions playing footie. Gray is a rather large Samoan who now makes a living as a builder and is on his way to his mum's house when he first meets Daisy after hitting her car and rescuing her from the river.

Gray takes Daisy home and than on to help her complete her errand which is to rescue her sisters from Mount Zion the cult she and her family had been born into and raised. Daisy and her twin brother had escaped when they were 16 and of age. Daisy was on her way to rescue her sisters when the accident happens. And this sets off the chain of events that leads to wonderful love story that has tons of twists and turns and many familiar characters from other books in the rugby romances of previous books. (But you don't need to have read them in order to read this book or any of the other books by Ms. James.)

Mount Zion is based loosely on the Gloriavale Christian Community in New Zealand. I had just watched a documentary on this community prior to reading this novel. If you are not familiar with how religious cults work, I would suggest either watching the documentary or doing some reading.

This novel like all of Ms. James' novels is well written and with wonderful characters. The scenery of New Zealand is also important character not only in this book but in all of her books. Having read probably 99% of what Ms. James has written, I have to say this is her best book to date. I can't wait to read what she writes next.

I did read this novel before listening to it as an audio book. And like always, there are things you pick up you miss when reading it. Plus you get to hear the En Zed accents of the narrators. And somehow it is easy to visualize the scenery described in the novel. I know want to redecorate my studio to include a photo of the Wanaka Tree just like Gray has in his bedroom.

I did receive a copy of this audiobook novel from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review

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Short Fast Novella

Revisado: 05-23-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

The premise for this book is a recently divorced young woman who wins an all expenses trip to a book con in Scotland hosted by her favorite author. What she doesn't know is the contest was rigged by the author's brother and his best friend. These two happen to have a unique quark in that they like to date the same woman at the same time. They share the woman but are not attracted to each other.

The timeline for this insta-attraction is fairly fast. This is a fairly short novel more of a novella. So the fast insta-attraction makes sense. The audio book is under 4 hours so for audio books a short listen.

I have some issues with the narration though. The narrator is Concha di Pastoro and while I am sure she is good narrating other books, she was not the best choice for this book. The pacing is uneven with her speeding up and than slowing down. I had to check my device to make sure I hadn't accidentally changed the speed. I hadn't. There are several incidents of the wrong words being read like "hit the room" instead of hit the roof. I borrowed the book from Kindle Unlimited to check it. The Scottish accent is also pretty bad when she is doing the two male leads.

My biggest peeve with this book is the huge echo. There is an echo throughout the audio book. It isn't as bad in some places compared to others. But it was a distraction to me. I do a lot of audiobook listening and the narrator can make or break a novel, as can an echo. I think this book has a lot of potential as an audiobook but with a few changes.

I did receive a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

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Even better than the written word

Revisado: 05-09-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Have you ever finished a book that is so good, you don't want it to end? And you don't want to share how good the book is with other readers because they may not love it as much as you do? I do because that is how I feel about Stone Cold Kiwi.

But this time it is even better. The audio book is even better than the written word. Normally I do not enjoy two narrators but in this case, having a male and female narrator is what this story needs. Having just read the story back in February, I realized during my listen that some of the things I loved the first time are even better this time. Plus I found more to love about this story in the audio version.

Most people have a slight fear of Friday the 13th including Poppy Caldwell since that is the day her life as she has known it implodes. She is 10 months pregnant (or so it feels) and already has 2 kids under the age of 6. Her husband is on a "business trip" and has promised to be there for the birth of this child. Poppy has had some suspicions that his business trips are not quite really business trips. But she doesn't want to upset the boat right now. Until things implode.

Poppy has taken her kids to the zoo and goes into early labor. She manages to find a way to get to the closest hospital with both kids in labor and ends up giving birth out in the grass in front of the ER. Her son, Hamish, is a hero and a very strong and responsible young man for 5 and is the one who goes into the ER to ask for help for his mummy even if it means crossing a busy street.

Hamish leads the doctor who comes with him across the street back to the park where his mother and sister are. Dr. Matiu Te Mana is the new ER physician at the hospital and he is impressed with the courage of a small young boy who did everything he could to help his mum. Matiu has moved to the South Island for a change of pace. Koro, yes, that Koro, has encouraged him to make the move because he thinks his grandson needs the change.

Poppy also discovers that her SOB of a husband is cheating on her right after giving birth when as she is being wheeled into the ER on a gurney from the park she hears him whinging as he is taken from an ambulance with his mistress. Just one of these things is enough to make most people really develop a fear of Friday the 13th but Poppy is stronger than she realizes and she soars high from this low. And she also discovers that the wonderful Maori warrior who is the man who helps deliver her daughter and saves her life after the delivery is the man she is meant to be with.

Matiu needs a little kick from his Koro before he wakes up to realize the gem that Poppy is. But he falls in love with all of her kids without any help from Koro. He just needs to work through a few issues first.

And I would like to state that one slightly odd thing I enjoy about Ms. James' books is that they lead me to new recipes. Matiu orders a salad of soba noodles and tiger prawns at one point in the novel and I now have 2 new recipes to try.

I did receive a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. But I always have her books pre-ordered as soon as I can.

This is just in the first chapter that this action takes place. Poppy and Matiu are two strong characters who show that there is a life after the tragedy of your life falling apart.

Listen and enjoy the children since they are really the scene stealers in this version.

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