Category: Australia - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Sometimes I Read Non-Star Wars Books

16/3/2023

Fae's Alpha (Fated Mates of the Fae Royals #3)
by Helen Walton

Briana heads to Earth against her father's wishes to assist her sister. But first she runs into Sledge - a strong, sexy Alpha who just happens to be her fated mate. Briana doesn't want to risk her heart again. Sledge will do anything to win her over - even promise not to touch her until she asks him to.

What's not to like about firefighter wolf shifters? Especially one who rescues koalas! Another enjoyable steamy PNR from Walton, with the added bonus of a slightly more intriguing plot than the previous two instalments.

Reality TV Bites

28/2/2023

Here for the Right Reasons (Marry Me, Juliet #1)
by Jodi McAlister

Cece is in desperate need of money, which is definitely NOT the right reason to be on the reality dating show Marry Me, Juliet. But she only lasts one episode before being eliminated. Game over - right? Nope! The pandemic has stranded her on location. The show's Romeo, Dylan, offers to help Cece out with some extra screen time. Cece accepts: a decision that definitely won't come back to bite her. Ha!

AHHHHHHhhhh ommmgggg squeeeeee. Right, that's dealt with. I think I remember how to do words now. I discovered this series via an ARC of the sequel, which I loved (bi rep wooo!) and I thought I might like this one too. Didn't expect to love it just as much! Cece bulldozed her way into my heart and I was desperate for her to have her HEA. She and Dylan were such an amazing couple too. This book was amazing and I need more.

I just have one question. Lily Fireball book - when?

A Match Made in Sydney

27/2/2023

The Matchmaker by Saman Shad

Saima is a matchmaker with a string of successes - and a lot of debt. She has no choice but to take on new clients, even though she's already met their son and she absolutely cannot stand him. The dislike is mutual. Kal doesn't appreciate Saima's opinion on his life and his choices, but she wears him down and he agrees to go on some dates. But his perfect date might actually be his matchmaker!

Great setup, great start, great chemistry - I was so keen. And I have such a weakness for stories that use Sydney as a setting! I spent most of this book thinking it would make a fun movie on Stan, but towards the end I got quite fed up with Kal. Also... I don't like MCs who hook up with another character 81% of the way through the book. Somewhat spoiled the fun for me.

Simply Wonderful

6/2/2023

Can I Steal You for a Second? (Marry Me Juliet #2)
by Jodi McAlister

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Mandie is a longtime watcher of reality show Marry Me, Juliet, but she would never have applied to be on it - before she got dumped by her toxic girlfriend, that is. She's not even sure she has the courage to go through with it. But then she meets Dylan, another romantic hopeful - who should be her competition, not her new obsession! After all, they're on the show for a chance at love - with a man.

How can you not love that premise? Two contestants on a Bachelor-style show falling in love (which has actually happened IRL!)? Sign me the heck up! To say I enjoyed this would be a vast understatement. There was plenty of delicious drama to be had, so much heart-twisting angst, and a strangers-to-friends-to-lovers tale that had me up past my bedtime.

But the best part? Representation. Oh my gosh. YES.

I don't usually see myself in romcoms. I will devour ALL the sapphic romances, but I'm always keenly aware that bisexual women like myself are generally not going to be the heroines. Unicorns are more visible than us lol. So imagine my delight to discover that both heroines were bi!

And pandemic fiction is my biggest weakness atm, so I ate up that aspect of the story. xD

While You Were Reading

9/7/2022

While You Were in the Country by Eva Scott

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Frankie Fox has a magical night with Ant and leaves him her number, but he never calls. Never mind - there's soon another man in her life when Jed Murphy, her longstanding AFL crush and infamous bad boy, crashes his car in front of her. Frankie is quickly roped in to pose as Jed's fake girlfriend in an attempt to repair his reputation. There's an even bigger complication, however - Ant is Jed's brother!

I was a little wary after the last romcom-inspired book Eva Scott wrote, since it stayed too close to its source material, but she nailed this one. I absolutely loved reading While You Were in the Country. It contains the best aspects of its progenitor (While You Were Sleeping), but it's still quite capable of standing on its own - some parts of it might have even been better! And there's so much delicious drama that you're going to need a spoon to eat it all up.

Blossoming

13/6/2022

Paperbark Hill by Maya Linnell

One family tragedy set Ned Gardiner on his wandering path and now another has brought him home to his father's farm in Bridgefield. He doesn't usually keep his family in the same place long, but this time he might find a reason to stay. Diana McIntyre is trying to make her flower farm successful - no mean feat while grappling with loss and four boys. But help may have just arrived...

What a lovely slice of life this was. While Paperbark Hill had lower stakes than the previous books, I quite enjoyed the slow, believable build up of a relationship between two very real people - and of course it's nice to keep up with the McIntyres. Linnell has created a family (and a town) populated with characters that you always look forward to spending time with.

Second and Second to None

4/5/2022

Corpselight (Verity Fassbinder #2)
by Angela Slatter

Verity Fassbinder is back in the thick of things - and she's also heavily pregnant. Something wet and gross and deadly is lurking in Brisneyland, but it doesn't offer the same danger that a mysterious kitsune does...or the appearance of those thought lost. Verity can handle an attack from all sides...but can she also protect her family?

Easily the best book of the trilogy and definitely not bogged down by the issues that usually afflict a book 2 in a trilogy - although, it's obvious this was meant to be more than trilogy (and how I wish it was a proper series). I've always liked how David was used in the other books and this is no exception. Verity is a character who is grounded by her family and she's not the isolated hero that pervades so many other novels (side note - even I'll admit that isolating her in book #3 was a stroke of genius). Anyway, I loved Corpselight and I'll forever be salty that this "trilogy" didn't get the marketing it deserved.

Weyrd Times in Brisbane

29/11/2021

Vigil (Verity Fassbinder #1)
by Angela Slatter

Part Normal and part Weyrd, Verity Fassbinder can access two worlds in the same city - and she needs to, in her line of work. Sirens are falling out of the sky. Human children are going missing. Verity is run off her feet helping the police and the Weyrd community. Maybe everything is all connected, but that doesn't make her job any easier. It's also probably not a good time to start seeing someone new...

I found this trilogy through the last book and I wish I'd been able to start with the first instalment. I really enjoyed this. Urban fantasy is one of my great loves and Vigil delivers. It also delivers a setting that's familiar to me (even if it's not quite the Brisbane I know!). The romance is more realistic than most books of the genre - David is the kind of guy that actually exists. Slatter created something fascinating and wonderful in these books. It's such a shame that there's only three of them. Seems to me it was a sales issue only, because the quality is definitely there.

I should have heard about these books when they first appeared. I'm an Urban Fantasy hound with a penchant for Australian content, so I'm an easy target. If I didn't hear about it, something went wrong at the marketing level. But honestly, that's been a massive problem with Urban Fantasy titles by new authors for several years.

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.