Roberta Blablanski's Blog, page 5

Breakdown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars What an incredible, anxiety-inducing end to the Hot Wire series! Cassidy is an amazingly articulate writer, conveying a plethora of emotions of the characters and in her readers. The Bauer family is dysfunctional with a capital D, and I can't get enough of their chaotic [...]

True Faith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars The blurb and title drew me in; the actual story was a painful experience. At 11 hours and 20 minutes, this is a fairly long book. Given what I did listen to, I can't imagine what could be interesting enough about these characters and their [...]

House on Fire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars I want to love this series as much as I loved Burke's Not Dead Yet series, but I'm still having trouble with getting the connection between Evan and Colin. Evan is still managing his depression, and Colin continues to accept his attachment to Evan. Colin [...]

Not Until Noah

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars By now, most people have heard about actor Kal Penn's engagement to his partner of eleven years. How timely the release of Not Until Noah with this lovely news as Lisa Henry's latest shares some parallels with real life. Carter is the closeted actor; Noah [...]

I’m Here

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars I'm Here by Adam Arbiter reads like a diary written by a young British World War II soldier. The writing is dry at times, but it fits the narrative and setting. Arbiter conveys MC Garret's evolution from eager to be a hero and naive to [...]

Never Fade Away

My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is my first book by E.L. Esch, and I was blown away. Never Fade Away is not an easy read. Suicide, mortality, mental illness, and drug and alcohol use are featured throughout the story. The frankness with which these topics are dealt is sometimes [...]

Out of Sync

My rating: 5 of 5 stars Rock star romance is my go-to trope, hands down, so I had high hopes for Out of Sync. North did not disappoint. Out of Sync is not a fluffy, lighthearted read; there's lots of angst and heavy topics. Mental illness (including suicide) is not sugar [...]

Worth Trying

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Worth Trying is the second installment of the Without Precedent series. I enjoyed Worth It and was curious to see how the author would redeem Innes. He came off as selfish, inconsiderate, and cruel at times in the first book. Getting his perspective in the [...]

The Charm Offensive

My rating: 5 of 5 stars What you'll find in The Charm Offensive: 1. Representation of a plethora of colors of the rainbow; 2. Humor that ranges from smart to sharp to ridiculous to heartbreaking; 3. Behind-the-scenes view of reality television; and 4. Raw depictions of mental illness. I love every [...]

What We May Be

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars Trevor is swoon-worthy (hello, man bun!), Sean is broody, and Charlotte is conflicted. They each have their own baggage and struggles, and together they make magic. The first chapter had me concerned about how I would enjoy this story. There are many names mentioned in [...]