Blog Archives - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Nobody Puts Elf on a Shelf

30/9/2021

His Christmas Escape (Rainbow Cove Christmas #5)
by Shona Husk

There's no happy Christmas homecoming for Jade. Avoiding her biphobic parents is easy enough, but she immediately finds it hard to avoid whatever is going on between her and Nico, who works in a kitchen. Jade and Nico both want to keep it casual - Nico has his own problems, namely a restrictive living situation - but a week-long fling could turn into something else. If they let it.

This might be my favourite book of the series, actually. It just felt so real to me. Husk captured the dynamics of dysfunction so well and threaded a romance through it all. The longer timeframe, aside from suiting Nico and Jade's relationship, made me feel like I got a lot more out of this story than I did the others. Okay, and this might also be the hottest book of the series! ;)

Summer Ba - er, Summer Cove

30/9/2021

His Christmas Pearl (Rainbow Cove Christmas #4)
by Renée Dahlia

Kiet is shucking oysters when Zoe comes across him and they both get bad first impressions. But after Zoe drives him home, she finds herself caught up in the mystery of the money disappearing from Kiet's business. That's why she's choosing to stay at his place during her holidays - and there's definitely no other reason...

Much like Zoe, I also found myself caught up in the mystery. It helped that Kiet and Zoe were very likeable leads (although I was often distracted by thoughts of "yay, Sam!", having read Sam's book first). The ending seemed a bit OTT and I wondered if Zoe completely lacked any sense of self-preservation (come on, woman!), but all in all this was a pleasant read.

Return to Sender

28/9/2021

Her Christmas Homecoming (Rainbow Cove Christmas #3)
by Shirley Wine

Marta Field has come home to sort out her mother's house and find some way to pay for her mother's bills. Music was a passion she once shared with Joe Marshall - and they also shared a different type of passion. But Joe has seen her walk away from him once. What's to stop her doing it again? There isn't much for a singer in a small place like Marandowie. Maybe Joe can convince her to stay.

This was a fairly enjoyable homecoming romance and I liked the small mysteries that the characters got to explore. It seemed that I was reading a very sweet story. But then I got to the Christmas party - the one constant in this series - and Marta turned into Raging McBitch all of a sudden. Wow, I did not want Joe to stay with her after that. Until then, however, it was shaping up pretty well.

Second Time's the Charm

26/9/2021

Her Christmas Kisses (Rainbow Cove Christmas #2)
by Susanne Bellamy

Flick is adrift after her parents divorce, ruining her plans to buy the family restaurant. She stops in Rainbow Cove to get groceries, but then her car becomes a write-off. The owner of the other car? Xander, who's in charge of the town's resort. Flick accepts his help and starts working in the resort restaurant. She's a whizz at desserts, but something else is simmering between her and Xander.

Every now and then you find a shorter book like this where the author completely nails the pacing. This is such a strong romance I think it might have been served better as book one in the series. I was on Team Flick right from the start and I couldn't wait for her and Xander to get together, then stay together. Jenny was also a wonderful side character.

Ooh la la? No la la!

26/9/2021

His Christmas Feast (Rainbow Cove Christmas #1)
by Nora James

Christophe can cook a magnificent feast and wow most residents in Rainbow Cove, but Emily - his next door neighbour - remains immune to his charms. Emily hates Christmas and certainly doesn't appreciate a Frenchman trying to get her to see the good side of the holiday. But the two of them have a fence to fix - and they may be mending other fences too.

Oh wow, I really detested Emily. She was abrasive for most of the book and the abrupt change at the end felt weird to me. Christophe was also too pushy for my liking, but I suppose some readers will like that. Still, I thought the fence metaphor was pretty good. Even if I couldn't stand the thought of these two characters ending up together lol

High Spirits

25/9/2021

Vicious Spirits (Gumiho #2)
by Kat Cho

Miyoung and Jihoon are together, but scarred by their personal losses. Their friend, Somin, is clued into the supernatural world and she has no patience for Junu, the dokkaebi whose loyalty is to money before all else. But Somin and the others will need his help to deal with a tear that is allowing spirits through into their world. And Junu might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I liked this more than the previous book - Cho's writing is more developed and the story runs smoother because of that. The usual K-drama hijinks exist here (including the "date day" sequence), but they don't affect the pacing and seem to work a lot better in his sequel. Junu was, frankly, the most interesting character in Wicked Fox. His increase in page time notably led to an increase in my enjoyment!

Supernatural Seoul

22/9/2021

Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1)
by Kat Cho

Gu Miyoung is a gumiho and needs to feed on gi in order to survive, but taking lives doesn't agree with her - nor does remaining under her mother's thumb. Jihoon encounters her on a night when things go wrong. Despite her warnings, despite the icy shield she erects, Miyoung cannot push Jihoon away. And she may not even want to.

Wicked Fox has the soul of a K-drama and if you're not into those, you're going to have trouble reading this book. Those aspects were fun (especially the slightly meta comment about what happens halfway through a K-drama), though admittedly the pacing of the book was a bit off because it was better suited to a show. I found this is be a fairly average YA fantasy/romance. But I did like it enough to buy the sequel/companion.

Cute Christmas-less-ness

19/9/2021

His Christmas Pride (Rainbow Cove Christmas #6)
by Renée Dahlia

Sam is an oyster farmer who dodges a Christmas lunch to play his favourite online game with "Velebit", another user he has a connection with. He's in a small town so he doesn't expect Velebit to be the local newcomer. Mick is a paramedic with a troubled past and he isn't sure he should let anything with Sam develop. But they have one heck of a connection already...

This was a very cute and enjoyable read. Sam was so adorably awkward. He and Mick were both fleshed out very well in such a short space of time. I needed something light after my last read and this certainly delivered. I did feel extremely put out, however, by the complete and utter lack of Christmas in its pages - well, Christmas was mentioned a couple of times but had no bearing on the plot.

Yes It's the Series that Never Ends

14/9/2021

Boundless (The Lost Fleet: Outlands #1)
by Jack Campbell

Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary has saved the Alliance from a variety of external threats, but the Alliance itself may prove to be his biggest challenge yet. Oh come on, how can I sum this up without making it sound like all the other books? Space stuff happens. Planetside stuff happens. Hypernet stuff happens. Onward to the next instalment!

John Geary is, hands down, my favourite Gary Stu. Campbell's books have their flaws, but damn it, they are just so enjoyable and I am full of glee every time Geary outmanoeuvres someone. It's worth noting that recent books in the Lost Fleet universe (prequels + this one) have shown considerable improvement with the absence of Rione, who seemed to exist only to serve a cringeworthy Madonna-Whore dynamic with Desjani. I can now enjoy the plot without wanting to hurl my book against a wall (yes, these books are so beloved in my household that we own physical copies lol).

PS: Yes, Geary gets laid in this one.

With Friends Like These...

9/9/2021

Wife Support System by Kathleen Whyman

Polly feels alone in her large ex-B&B house, haunted by the past. Erica is struggling to balance her career with her daughter and her often-missing husband - and now the nanny has just quit. Louise loves her husband, but maybe it's best if they spend some time apart. The solution to all their woes is unusual: they all move into the B&B with their kids. At first, it's perfect. And then it's very, very not...

This was quite a solid debut and had a fascinating premise to kick things off. I did find it difficult, however, to become invested in the book since there were simply no likeable characters. Could I understand these women and their actions? Yes. Did I want to spend hours with them in my head? Good Lord, no. But I can still appreciate how this story was crafted. It hits all the notes it needs to.