Alyce Caswell - Author
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Book Reviews

More Miss Than Kiss

27/3/2022

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With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher

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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.

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A Catfish By Any Other Name

9/1/2022

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Well Played (Well Met #2)
by Jen DeLuca

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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!

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Meet Me at the Faire

8/1/2022

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Well Met (Well Met #1)
by Jen DeLuca

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​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...

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Come for the Kilt, Stay for the Plot

6/1/2022

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Well Matched (Well Met #3)
by Jen DeLuca

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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.

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Sequel and Sensibility

6/1/2022

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

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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.

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Meta in the Margins

10/10/2021

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Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

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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.

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With Friends Like These...

9/9/2021

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Wife Support System by Kathleen Whyman

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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.

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Passsssss

4/9/2021

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New Year, New Guy by Angela Britnell

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Laura's sister, Polly, has a wedding to prepare for and so Laura is put in charge of looking after Hunter, the old school friend of Polly's soon-to-be husband - and a surprise guest. Hunter and Laura immediately clash. Having to share space with him is bad enough...how is she supposed to keep him a secret from the groom? And will the groom even want to see him?

This...just wasn't as interesting as it sounded. The leads had no chemistry, the story felt flat and it was hard to find much of the goings on believable. I don't think it was terribly objectionable, though. And if some parts had been developed better then I might have enjoyed it.

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Switcheroo

29/8/2021

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The Girl Who Swapped by Emma Baird

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Lottie and Josh aren't even out of their teens and are carefree students - so why did they just wake up in the bodies of two 40-something parents with children? Charlotte likes to keep her life in order, but now she's in the body of a young surfer and half a world away from her children. What is going on? And how do Lottie, Josh and Charlotte fix this mess they've found themselves in?

This book had an intriguing concept and a whole lot of potential - a pity that it wasn't fully realised. Some things really should have been fleshed out more, including the characters themselves. They seemed to be reduced to "young and tarty" and "old and boring". Still, there is some fun to be had in The Girl Who Swapped. And Baird's more recent books are much better, courtesy of experience.

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Deck the Halls

27/8/2021

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Highland Christmas (The Highland Books #5)
by Emma Baird

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A family Christmas is always going to be stressful, but add in an ex-alcoholic father, a father reappearing after a lengthy absence, a father flying the coop when he realises his child isn't his, and a father with sad, secret news - then the stress becomes practically stratospheric! Gaby and Jack are so run off their feet with the pub that they haven't any presents for their daughter. Can this Christmas be merry at all?

So I'm writing this nearly a day after finishing the book because MY EMOTIONS. Baird made me love all these people and seeing them go through so much makes me want to hug them all (...even Zac). Evie and Tamar were a delight, especially in scenes together! And Dylan finally shed his cardboard cutout identity and became a well-rounded character. I'm sad that this seems to be the end, but also happy to see off Lochalshie and its people when they're in a relatively good place.

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    About

    Alyce Caswell, when she isn't buried in a book or drinking her way through a giant pot of tea, is a keen writer of science fiction and romance. She has published two novels and four novellas in her space opera family saga, The Galactic Pantheon Series.

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  • Home
  • Books
    • The Galactic Pantheon >
      • The Tortured Wind
      • The Twisted Vine
      • The Flickering Flame
      • The Shifting Ice
      • The Whispering Grass
      • The Creeping Moss
      • The Galactic Pantheon Novellas
      • The Adventures of Grace Pendergast, Galactic Reporter
    • Dealing with the Demon >
      • Giveaway
    • Love and Lockdown
    • The Eyes of Charon
    • Sweet Delights
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