Category: Chicklit - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

You've Got Fail

6/10/2022

Mr Wrong Number by Lynn Painter

Olivia is a complete dumpster fire, so naturally Colin, her brother's best friend/roommate, has reservations when she moves in for a month while she gets herself sorted. But when it turns out that the wrong number Colin's been sending flirty texts to is also the aforementioned dumpster fire? He now sees Olivia in a completely different light. But how can he convince her he's actually into her?

Oh man, I am such trash for anything that has a whiff of You've Got Mail about it. And I always appreciate a dash of Pride and Prejudice. So the question wasn't "will I enjoy this?" but "how MUCH will I enjoy this?". An average amount is the answer, apparently. This was a pleasant enough read, but I know it will quickly fade from my memory.

The Average Game

30/7/2022

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

Ruthie lives a very quiet, tidy life in Providence, a place where rich old people come die - er, retire. Two of the eccentric residents, the Parlonis, require another young man to torment/run their errands and so one must be found. But the latest offering is Teddy, son of the owner of Providence and the guy who just made one heck of a bad first impression of Ruthie...

I have to say, Thorne really knows how to pace a romcom! And she has populated her pages with some very interesting characters. However, I didn't really see Ruthie and Teddy being together at all (perhaps it's because I never lost my dislike of Teddy) and many things weren't addressed or were too quickly dealt with (eg. Teddy's sister). An okay, if not particularly memorable, book.

Not Lovin' It

5/7/2022

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Nora is wary of small towns and for good reason - they're the kind of place were former boyfriends get lost forever, trading her in for someone less career focused. But she agrees to visit Sunshine Falls with her sister, Libby, in attempt to fix the vibe between them. This small town won't trap her, no way - even if it is the childhood home of Charlie, the editor who rubs her the wrong way and gets under her skin.

Hmm. I wanted to like this more than I did. Mildly entertaining, plays with the trope of a woman going to a small town- but lacks the magic of Beach Read. I also prefer a bit more of the "will they/won't they" thing, and there wasn't a single instance where I thought "won't they" about Charlie and Nora. Without that crucial element, the book plodded along without any tension. But it was still decent enough.

More Miss Than Kiss

27/3/2022

With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher

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

Lorelai has locked up her heart, but not for the usual reasons - whenever she kisses someone, she can see how they will die. Understandably, she has spent years avoiding men. But then Grayson, a regular at the cinema where she works, catches her eye. It's strangely difficult to avoid him - but how can she start anything with him if she'll see some horrible fate when she kisses him?

I really liked the concept and I do enjoy magical realism, but this book fell flat for me. Mostly, I think, because Lorelai was so annoying and didn't really gain the maturity she lacked from the start. I was also hoping to see more of her and Grayson together...alas. I liked the scenes with Lorelai and her family - the only time I was truly charmed by With This Kiss. But I also had to suffer through a scene with some guy assaulting Lorelai and people subsequently feeling sorry for him.

A Catfish By Any Other Name

9/1/2022

Well Played (Well Met #2)
by Jen DeLuca

Stacey is desperate for some change in her life. She gave up her future to move back to Willow Creek after her mother became ill and she's been stuck in a holding pattern ever since. She did have a fun summer fling with Dex - he's only it for a romp, nothing serious. But then they start exchanging emails and he's suddenly the perfect man. Has he changed? Or is he someone else entirely?

I really can't get enough of Jen DeLuca's Renaissance Faire series! This time it was a case of mistaken identity (well, on one side) and it was resolved in a way I didn't expect - with maturity instead of shenanigans. I appreciated that. I also appreciate the fact that DeLuca's characters sound like real people - and I very quickly became fond of Stacey. The only problem is, I've finished all the available books! Now I have to wait for #4. AHHH!

Meet Me at the Faire

8/1/2022

Well Met (Well Met #1)
by Jen DeLuca

Emily moved to Willow Creek to help her sister out after a car accident. She's happy to help out with her niece, but unfortunately this means she has to volunteer at the local Renaissance Faire. So now she has to spend time with Simon, the English teacher who seems to hate her. But at the faire, he's a pirate with swagger and she might just be the bar wench he needs in his life.

I am so in love with the Renaissance Faire concept in this series. Well Met served up fake handfasting in place of fake dating and I enjoyed that quite a bit. I wish I'd started with this book, though it was nice to meet April at the start of her journey. Simon annoyed me sooo much at first, but DeLuca must have the magic touch because I was falling for him just as quickly as Emily was! And now I must begin the next book...

Come for the Kilt, Stay for the Plot

6/1/2022

Well Matched (Well Met #3)
by Jen DeLuca

April has been a single mother for nearly eighteen years and she has always planned to leave Willow Creek the moment her daughter graduates. But her plans may suddenly be in disarray - and all it took was agreeing to pretend to be the girlfriend of Mitch, the gym teacher who sometimes wears a kilt! But April knows she's not sticking around...this relationship has to stay fake. Right?

I really enjoyed this. DeLuca writes very genuine characters and it was such a relief to read about characters swearing, because I honestly can't relate to all those chick lit heroines who don't. Fake dating is, of course, one of my great weaknesses - I loved "watching" it all play out. Admittedly, I bought this book for the kilt on the cover, but I definitely wasn't disappointed by the lack of Scotsmen! I think I'll be checking out the other books in the series.

Sequel and Sensibility

6/1/2022

A Wedding at the Jane Austen Dating Agency (Jane Austen Dating Agency #2)
by Fiona Woodifield

Sophie Johnson lived to tell the tale and got her happy ending with Darcy - or did she? Now running the Jane Austen Dating Agency with then help of Emma Woodtree (ha!), she has a wedding to plan for a successful agency couple and she's still trying to get that exclusive editorial position at the magazine. But all these competing priorities still don't stack up against the threat of Darcy's mother.

This sequel had more of the same Austen-esque shenanigans, so if you liked the first book you'll enjoy this one. I never thought that Darcy actually suited Sophie. Seeing him get booted in favour of an other suitor - well, that suited me just fine, though I'm sure I know what will happen in the next book. And of course I'll still read it! I enjoy this sort of light-hearted fun.

Meta in the Margins

10/10/2021

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Savannah works for Pennington Publishing, where commercial fiction is frowned upon - there's no way she can ever reveal that she's written a romance novel. She hides her manuscript in a secret room, hoping to avoid prying eyes, but someone finds it and starts leaving notes in the margins. Savannah might be losing her heart, but who exactly is she losing it to?

What a fun, delightful romcom. I've always had a weakness for books that are a bit meta and this is definitely one of those. Savannah was easily likeable, sympathetic and relatable - especially to other writers. I enjoyed many parts of Meet Me in the Margins (the courthouse scene made me cackle out loud) and do wish some of said parts had been expanded more, but all in all this book made for a pleasant afternoon of reading.

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.