Life on the Refrigerator Door

Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers

Age: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Life on the Refrigerator Door is a novel told solely in the scribbled notes between a Mother and her daughter, Claire, because they keep missing each other due to their busy lives of being a doctor and a teenager. They start as simple notes such as Mum reminding her daughter to pick up groceries or to clean out Peter, their pet Rabbit’s cage, or Claire telling her Mum she was babysitting or that she had passed a test but then one day the notes take a more serious turn... Mum has found a lump in her breast so she has to make a doctor’s appointment to get it checked out. Through note form, we see the strain this new development has on their relationship as well as Claire struggling with being a young teenager.

Life on the Refrigerator Door is a fast, easy read that follows a whole new layout which makes it stand out in the crowd. How Kuipers manages to make the audience feel so much empathy towards the characters when all we’re really getting is snapshots through handwritten notes left on a refrigerator is fantastic. I felt the hurt as young Claire realised her Mum was really sick, the distress the Mum had at telling Claire about the lump as well as feeling extremely irritated by Claire’s bratty teenage behaviour when she was being moody and self-absorbed; which is how most teenagers are and it was written superbly.

My only issue with this novel is that despite the quirky and unique layout is I can’t quite grasp the idea of a Mother and daughter having such personal and serious discussions over note form! Grocery list. Sure. Clean out the rabbit. Sure. Mum, I’m babysitting tonight. Great. The idea that the news of Mum having a lump in her breast and it turning out to be cancer was discussed in such an impersonal way kind of irked me but it did deliver a story that could have been cliche in a whole new format and for that I applaud Kuipers.

So make a note to yourself and add this book to your ‘to be read’ pile!

We Are All Made of Stars

We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars

Helen Thinks: I came across this novel when I typed ‘Dementia’ into the search bar of my local library and amongst all the medical journals and textbooks it jumped out at me so I reserved it. And boy, am I glad that I did!

It follows three different characters. Stella; a night nurse at a hospice who writes letters for her dying patients that she delivers once they’ve gone while also dealing with her veteran husband whose home from the war with an amputation and a coldness towards her. Hope; a young woman with Cystic Fibrosis that isn’t dying but is using the hospice as a rehabilitation after nearly not dying. Hugh; a recluse of a historian that lives alone but soon becomes friends with his new neighbour and her son. The main focus of the novel is Stella and her letter writing but we do get to know quite a bit about Hope and Hugh’s life too. I don’t want to give too much away in this summary because Hugh’s involvement with the storyline could be seen as a plot twist that I did see coming but Coleman still wrote it beautifully. Even with the multiple first persons, nothing became confusing or jumbled. It smoothly transitioned from one point of view to the next.

I read all three hundred and odd pages of this novel in one morning. I neglected T.V., housework, I’m pretty sure I cancelled meeting up with my sister all because I was desperate to see how this novel turned out - I’ve even recommended it to my sister and best friend to read! It was simply breathtaking as a novel.

The massive plus for me was after each chapter there was a letter written by Stella for her multitude of patients and it’s intriguing to see who people want to write to when they know death is upon them. Some wrote to their ex-wives, some to siblings confessing childhood secrets, to children that they had become estranged from. It just made me wonder... If I was to die tomorrow, who would I write my last words too? My sister? An ex-boyfriend? The boy I never found the courage to let him know I loved him back?


So thank you to my library for recommending this novel to me and I’m now paying it forward and recommending it to all of you guys to see if you can answer the question the book poses... “What if you had just one chance, one letter you could leave behind for the person you love? What would you write?”

A Family Chosen (Volumes 1-4)

A Family Chosen by Sloane Kennedy

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+ / Erotica
Rating: 3.5 stars

Helen Thinks: This is a Sloane Kennedy’s entire story arc. It consists of twenty novels from four of her individual series but all the characters intermingle so Kennedy has bundled them into these volumes. I was going to individually review every novel but I really didn’t think you would want me writing twenty long reviews about how amazing these novels are - because seriously that’s all the reviews would be! For two weeks straight (would have been a lot shorter time if life didn’t get in the way!), I read these novels one after the other and I couldn’t put them down.

Three out of twenty novels are M/F pairings but the remaining seventeen are M/M or M/M/M. Kennedy does explain for those that prefer only to read M/M then you can skip the M/F ones if you really want to but as much as I love my M/M novels, I couldn’t skip the M/F ones and I wouldn’t advise that any of my M/M fans do either. Those of you that aren’t massively into the M/M I beg of you not to skip these books over. Lauren; my sister; has always stated that she wouldn’t read the M/M books on my kindle but then started reading the first novel - Gabriel’s Rules - which is M/F and I explained to her that the third one of the trilogy was M/M and she decided to give it a go anyway because she couldn’t not read the third book in a trilogy. Safe to say, she’s now halfway through the books and is just as addicted as I am. So praises to Kennedy for getting my sister to try something new and for it to be that well written she can’t put them down.

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All the Missing Girls

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Age: Adult
Category: Crime
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: My library app recommended All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda. Miranda isn’t an author I had heard of but I thought I’ll give it a shot and I am so glad that I did! It was a captivating read that I couldn’t put down and I text my best friend while I was only halfway through to add it to her to be read pile!

Ten years ago, Nicolette Farrell left her hometown of Cooley Ridge after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared without a trace. Now that her father has been diagnosed with Dementia and they need to sell the house to pay for his carer fees, Nicolette is back in Cooley Ridge to help her brother, Daniel. However, it’s not long before another woman is missing and it re-opens Corinne’s case as well as brings back old memories for all those involved. The investigation into Corinne’s disappearance focused on Nicolette, her brother Daniel, her then boyfriend Tyler and Corinne’s boyfriend, Jackson. Annaleise Carter, Nicolette’s neighbour, was the alibi for the group on the night of Corinne’s disappearance. Nicolette was the only one that left Cooley Ridge behind her while the rest of them made lives for themselves in their home town. Now Annaleise is missing...

Do you want to know what makes All the Missing Girls stand out? It’s told backwards.

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Code Silver (Sierra View #1)

Code Silver by Max Walker

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Noah Silver has been having a difficult time lately what with his Mother having passed away and his father being dreadful to live with so he decides it’s time to move out. However, for that you need the funds. To get cash fast Noah becomes a cam boy. Unbeknown to Noah, one of his viewers is Dr Dean Harper - a handsome doctor whose ex-boyfriend ripped his heart out when he walked in on him having an affair with three other men. After an accident, Noah arrives at Sierra View where he meets Dean and they have a connection. But what would a successful doctor want in a cam boy like Noah? And how can Dean explain to Noah that he’s been having lustful thoughts about him long before he stepped into the hospital? Alongside their blossoming romance, a serial killer is targeting cam boys. What will happen to them once they realise that Noah is the killer’s next target?

I’ve been on an M/M binge lately and I am incredibly over the moon that I stumbled upon Max Walker’s Code Silver. I had this little gem stored away on my kindle for when I went on holiday with my sister and niece so I could have something to read at the poolside. It delivered. For someone who hates sitting in the sun, I couldn’t get up to move because I just couldn’t put this novel down at all. I needed to know what happened to the characters.

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Pieces of You

Pieces of You by Ella Harper

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary / Romance
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: I have this habit that if I enjoy a novel by an author I immediately reserve the rest of their available works at my local library. This is how Pieces of You by Ella Harper ended up on my shelf dedicated to books from the library and oh my goodness am I glad it did! Despite having read a different book by Ella Harper, this is Harper’s debut novel and what a beautiful piece it is. I have genuinely called this the book of my 2016.

Lucy and her husband Luke have been trying unsuccessfully for eight years to have a child. Despite their lack of a child, she knew that she would always have Luke in her life and that was enough to keep her going through their attempts. Until one day Luke is in a car crash and as he lies in a coma her world comes crashing around her - in the form of a pregnant nurse; the result of a one night stand with her beloved husband.

This book flooded me with emotions. From heartbreak to downright anger. Seriously, the amount of times I had to put this book down and phone someone (many thanks to my Mother, sister and best friend who were often at the end of these phone calls patiently reminding me it’s just a novel!) about what was happening and how it was so frustrating was a clear sign of how amazing Harper’s writing it. The empathy the reader (or I did) feels for Lucy is astounding - seriously, I told my Mum at one point if it had been my husband there would have been a huge chance of his machine being switched off (only joking of course!).

I read over this review and realise that I don’t actually make much sense and I’m basically flailing like a massive fangirl but that’s now what I am. Harper has joined the small group of authors that I follow blindly into the dark with each novel they release and she achieved this magic with only having two books out. I eagerly await her third one and I hope that you’ll give this book a chance and feel even just a small part of the emotion that I did towards it...

A Year Agreement (Trilogy)

A Year Agreement (Trilogy) by Kenadee Bryant

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary / Romance
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Jenna Howard was left by her mother at five years old and emancipated herself at seventeen to find out life doesn’t get any better just because you’re an adult. Working two dead end jobs just to keep herself above water, Jenna believes her life is just one big disappointment until a customer at the strip joint offers her the deal of a lifetime - marry him and he’ll pay her one million dollars. Despite her immediate convictions towards a stranger offering her this deal Jenna knows that the amount of money offered will change her life forever so she agrees. What she didn’t bargain for was the fact her husband-to-be could be quite cold and cruel towards her nor did she bargain for the fact that maybe - just maybe - she likes him more than she should?

I’ll be honest with you and admit that it was the cover of the first novel that grabbed my attention one day when I was perusing through the “recommended for you” category on amazon. I immediately downloaded it - big bonus it’s available on Kindle Unlimited for those of you that subscribe to that service - and read it within a couple of hours. I literally could not put it down. I also kept texting Lauren (my sister for those of you who aren’t aware or who have forgotten) throughout her night shift telling her that she must read it!

Liam was a bit of a douche at times and I know that’s what she was going for but sometimes some of the comments he came out with was a bit too much. However, once his gruff exterior was chipped away at by our heroine, I did find myself liking Liam very much and believe that Jenna and Liam were written very well by Kenadee Bryant.

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The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars

Helen Thinks: Sara has never left her home country of Sweden so when her elderly penpal, Amy, from Broken Wheel, Iowa, offers her the chance to stay at her house for two months she jumps at the chance. Unfortunately for Sara, Amy’s funeral is just coming to a close when she arrives. However, the residents of Broken Wheel were all under instructions from Amy to ensure that Sara remained there and felt welcomed. Broken Wheel is a small dying community in the middle of nowhere so they are stunned that Sara wishes to remain there, as well confused to her love for the written word. In return for their generosity and for something to do, Sara opens a bookstore with Amy’s books for the people of Broken Wheel and the residents become fond of Sara.

I’m not going to lie to you but the beginning of this book was slow going. Sara, for me, started off as a particularly dull character that had no dimensions whatsoever. Her inner thoughts were rambles about published books that you may or may not have read. I understand being a book lover - I’m a massive book lover - but it was focused on a little too much for my liking. However, Sara did begin to grow on me as she started to interact with the residents of Broken Wheel and we started to see snapshots of their lives. From Andy and his good friend Carl that owned the bar, Grace that owned the local diner and Caroline that was always there to help out and organised everything. There was a handful of supporting characters and they were all individual enough that you could see who Bivald was talking about.

I felt like a great touch was that each alternate chapter was a letter from Amy to Sara so that despite Amy’s death in the novel we still managed to meet Amy as well as get a look at the friendship that had formed between the two women. In their letters they spoke of books and of what books meant to them as well as us seeing what Amy’s relationships were with the residents of Broken Wheel.

Despite me saying earlier that this book was slow starting, I managed to read it in one afternoon once I tackled the first thirty or forrty pages that made it a struggle. I was in love with the characters of Broken Wheel so all I can say is that Helen from A Drop of Romeo highly recommends that you give this book a chance.

The Years of Loving You

The Years of Loving You by Ella Harper

Age: Adult
Category: Romance
Rating: 5 stars

Helen Thinks: Only in her thirties, Molly has the wind knocked out of her when she is diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's. She hopes it’ll make her marriage to Sam stronger but he becomes practical and detached from her so she turns to the other man in her life - her best friend, Ed. Molly and Ed met many years ago at a party and it was instant love for the pair of them but life kept getting in the way so they became strong friends instead. Ed is absolutely heartbroken by Molly’s news and is suffering his own heartbreak due to his fiancee calling off their future nuptials on the night of their engagement party. The Years of Loving You shows Molly as she comes to terms with her diagnosis but also shows us the journey of Molly and Ed’s friendship from that first star filled night where they immediately fell in love to the present day.

This was my first Ella Harper novel. I saw it advertised on goodreads in the corner labelled “because you read...” and the cover grabbed my attention. Within seconds of clicking on the link I had opened up a new browser to my local libraries page and reserved it. Boy, am I glad i did! I sat and read this entire novel in approximately two hours because I just couldn’t put it down. Harper’s writing was flawless.

Harper has developed characters that are three-dimensional and you find yourself feeling alongside of them. When Molly was told she had Parkinson’s at such a young age I was devastated for her. When Sam started being all analytical and practical about her diagnosis I was practically yelling in my head that it’s tears she needed, a hug maybe. And I absolutely adored and treasured Ed with all his family problems that he kept secret and were therefore the primary cause as to why life kept getting in the way of what could have been a blossoming relationship between Ed and Molly. True fangirl at heart and thanks to Harper’s extraordinary writing, I was shipping them from the get go but to obviously avoid spoilers I won’t be revealing which way it goes at the end.

The use of flashbacks can often be annoying and usually pointless but throughout The Years of Loving You that was never the case. The flashback moments were related to what had just happened in the present day and I believe they helped cement a relationship between us as the reader and the characters on the page.

I feel like I could rave on about this book for an eternity. I don’t know why this novel out of everything I have read this year has had such an impact - maybe it’s because we all have that friend in Ed’s position? The love that once could have been but never happened so friendship was the only way forward? - but it has and I am most definitely going to be reading some more of Ella Harper’s work in the future.

The Night Stalker (Robert Hunter #3)

The Night Stalker by Chris Carter

Age: Adult
Category: Crime
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Unlike the previous two books, The Night Stalker starts with us already at the autopsy of a victim. To the naked eye she is perfectly healthy and bears no visible signs of foul play except for one thing - thick stitches sealing closed her intimate area. During his examination of the area, Medical Examiner Doctor Jonathon Winston notices that something is hidden beyond the stitches and starts the procedure to remove it. What started out as a simple explosion results in an explosive finish as the item inside of the victim detonates - killing the doctor and his intern. Due to the severity of the case, Detective Robert Hunter is called away from a case he is already working and it’s made his main priority because now this killer has also claimed one of their own. It only takes a couple of days before another body arrives in just the same healthy state apart from the thick stitches. It’s not a bomb but it’s just as grotesque and Hunter realises that this serial killer is more of a monster than he could ever being to imagine...

Robert Hunter is back in this third instalment and I hate to be vague but... wow. It’s Carter’s winning style of grisly crime scenes that sells this series of novels to me in the first place but the thought process of this one must have been intense. I don’t want to spoil it too much but from each item placed inside the female victim to the very reason as to why the killer does it was flawlessly written and it was believable. Even more shocking, the killer’s backstory as to why he clicked and went on this psychopathic rage actually has you feeling slightly sorry for him - if he wasn’t a homicidal maniac.

The biggest highlight of this third novel is that finally Carter has finally found his footing with the main characters and they finally start to shine individually while also being able to add in additional minor characters that helps balance out the storyline. Personally, Hunter and Garcia are my new favourite fighting duo and I enjoy reading every instalment as well as re-reading them.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride as Carter takes us back out on the roads of Los Angeles as we chase another twisted mind into the darkness...

Guardian

Guardian by Sierra Riley

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Due to working in family law, Alexander Wilson has always kept his sexuality a secret solely due to being afraid that families wouldn’t approve of their children being helped by a homosexual and because he was afraid he’d be fired from the firm. Alex believes he’s happy this way - just him and his beloved corgi, Valentina. However, when his car starts to make funny noises, he pulls into the nearest garage and meets the gorgeous tattooed ex-soldier come mechanic, Titus. Straight men like Titus don’t go for guys like Alex but he can’t help but develop a crush on the man and when Titus comes to Alex for help to save his niece, Phoebe, Alex is more than willing to help - that’s what friends do, right?

I feel like I’m going to have to try and control myself while reviewing “Guardian” by Sierra Riley seeing as I loved it that much I think I’m just going to ramble on and on about how amazing it is without actually making a point... Bear with me! First of all, I’ve just got to say the cliched contrasting leads were fabulously written. I absolutely adored Alex’s portrayal. Yes, he was a little nerdy and loved his space facts but Riley didn’t overcompensate this. Whenever it was brought up, it didn’t look like Riley was just mentioning it to prove all the research she had done (or maybe it’s a secret love of hers!) and didn’t want the facts to go to waste. He was never patronising with his intelligence and I fell in little in love with him, lucky Titus. And speaking of the handsome, muscular love interest with his military background and his beautiful ink to remind him of that time. Charming, beautiful and who doesn’t love a big man that’s good with children seeing as he’s his niece’s guardian after the death of her Mother? They might be contrasts but they sure as hell complimented each other beautifully and I applaud Riley for her amazing writing skills.

I always give a writer extra brownie points when there’s an actual plotline to go with the love story because in some novels the characters can just float along from one meeting to the next but that is not the case in “Guardian”. Due to Phoebe’s biological father showing up one day at her karate training - after being absent since finding out her Mother was pregnant - Titus needs to hire Alex to help him keep his guardianship of the girl and ensure her Father doesn’t. Riley wrote this flawlessly. It planned out like you’d imagine a real investigation into the biological Father would go as well as all the steps Alex and Titus had to go through to ensure they were doing the right thing for Phoebe. Plus the sexual tension that mounted due to them not being able to act on their feelings due to ‘conflict of interest’ with Titus being Alex’s client made this story absolutely addictive - and probably the reason why I read it all in one sitting!

Guardian was my first novel by Sierra Riley and I can definitely guarantee that it will not be my last novel. I can’t wait to delve into the rest of her novels if they deliver as much as “Guardian” did.

Banquo's Son

Banquo's Son by T.K. Roxborough

Age: Adult
Category: Historical
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Ten years have passed since Macbeth’s bloody reign over Scotland. For those ten years, Fleance - Banquo’s son - has been hiding away with a new family in the woods of Northern England. Denying his noble bloodline, Fleance has managed to stay hidden away from those that murdered his father and has fallen in love with a sweet maid named Rosie. However, he’s haunted by images of his dead father both when sleeping and awake as his Father wants justice - as well as the greatness for his son that was prophesied by the three sisters. Neither Scotland nor Fleance will rest until this day so he sacrifices his life with Rosie to travel back to Scotland where he encounters many people including young Prince Duncan, murdered king Duncan’s grandchild and third in line for the Scottish throne. Once encountering the young prince, Fleance’s life changes and the decisions he makes not only change his future but the one that he has with Rosie too...

This book popped up as an advert on my kindle and I accidentally clicked it unlocking said kindle. However, at high school, Macbeth was one of my favourite Shakespeare plays so I was intrigued and found myself adding it to my library. I’m going to be completely honest with you and admit that it was a slow read to begin with. The first couple of chapters focused on Fleance’s life in England with his new family where they live simply and his love interest, Rosie, that travels around England with her family so he rarely sees her. However, Rosie’s father demands to know what Fleance’s intentions towards Rosie are and he finally admits the truth that he can’t stay with Rosie until he has travelled back to Scotland where he can learn what truly happened to his Father all them years ago. Rosie and her family are obviously devastated by his decision causing her Father to say that his chances are over but thankfully Rosie understands and says she’ll wait for him. So off Fleance goes on his travels back to Scotland. While this is happening, we also see Prince Duncan dealing with his unstable father, Prince Donalbain, and the news that his uncle - King Malcolm - is on his deathbed without any children to inherit the Scottish crown as well as taking care of his sisters, Rachel and Bree. Upon receiving news that King Malcolm is definitely close to the end, Duncan sets out to journey to his Uncle’s castle so that Malcolm can be amongst family. On his journey, he is attacked by a pack of wolves where our titular hero comes into save the day and a friendship is born. Duncan can sense there is more to this “Flea” than his companion is letting on but he doesn’t push and together they make it to the Royal castle in time for Duncan to see his uncle before he passes. The death of King Malcolm and the coronation of King Donalbain starts to make people uneasy and eventually there’s whisperings of rebel forces allying with England to take control of Scotland.

Banquo's Son is 402 pages long and Roxborogh ensures that every page is crammed with excitement and action like you would imagine a film depicting this era would be. Deaths, coronations, rivalries and of course - love interests. Our hero, Fleance, finds himself torn between his old simple life where he’s in love with Rosie and his new life of nobility where he’s got the admiration of Princess Rachel. By the end of the book, circumstances that I won’t detail because it screams spoiler alert have to sway Fleance towards one of the women but I can’t wait to continue the journey in book two and see what decisions are made.

This book swims with characters from Fleance, the royals, thanes of different cities, the people we meet on their travels, Fleance’s family as well as Rosie’s. It’s one of them books where you could possibly do with a character list at the beginning to ensure you’re aware of who is who. However, Roxborogh never loses track of who is who and where they’re supposed to be. I always applaud any author that can have a huge cache of characters and write smoothly. Roxborogh definitely achieved this.

It is my first venture into historical fiction - the author does disclaim at the beginning that not all events are accurate as it is based of a fictional piece of work in itself - that is not solely romance, and I can definitely guarantee that it won’t be my last.

The Executioner [Robert Hunter #2]

The Executioner by Chris Carter

Age: Adult
Category: Crime & Mystery
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: When the remains of a decapitated priest are found on the altar steps of a church in Los Angeles with the head replaced by that of a canine there’s only one duo they’re going to call - the team that managed to catch the horrifying Crucifix Killer. When the forensic team find a bloody number three written on the priest’s chest. Due to the religious elements and the different components of the crime scene, Hunter believes that Garcia and he are on the tail of a ritualistic killer. However, the bodies start to mount up and Hunter has to reevaluate his original hypothesis as this killer isn’t sticking to the same MO. No, he seems to be killing the victims in the way that they fear the most. Their deaths are literally their worst nightmares. But how could the killer possibly know such personal information about each of his victims that for as far as he can see have no possible link?

After such an amazing debut in “The Crucifix Killer”, I was more than happy to take the leap of faith with Carter into the second novel following Garcia and Hunter’s investigation. Just as the first one, the crimes committed are shockingly grisly that keep you up late at night hooked to every last word written on the pages in front of you. My favourite part of Carter’s writing is that even though he does use a crime novelists favourite trick of a the red herring, they’re not just carelessly thrown in like some novels. They’re all cleverly thought out and leave you thinking that this whole thing could be over (slightly before you want it too!) but then when the twists are revealed at the end... gobsmacked is literally the only word I can use to describe the feeling I got when I learnt who the killer was in this novel.

So settle down, get yourself a nice hot cup of tea and follow Hunter and Garcia as they chase down a killer who literally scares his victims to death...

Billion Dollar Bad Boy

Billion Dollar Bad Boy by Nora Flite

Age: Adult
Category: Romance, erotica
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Five years ago, Alexis was held hostage in a bank robbery which she made out alive but ever since has just been existing in her day-to-day life. Nothing exciting ever happened to her until one day she finds an anonymous package in her post office box. It’s addressed to ‘Pet’ and simply signed from ‘S’. She knows it’s an error, the expensive gifts definitely can’t be for her, but she finds herself envious of this confident, sexy ‘Pet’ and as the messages start to get more personal, Alexis finds herself falling for this enigmatic stranger. So when he asks to meet her she decides to throw caution to the wind and meets up with him. While Alexis may be meeting a stranger, ‘S’ is meeting up with the woman that has haunted him for more years than he can count because he’s not so much of a stranger as she believes...

I’m a not-so-secret fan of the new generation of erotica writing genre that has swept over the masses since the release of both e-readers and Fifty Shades of Grey. They’re quick, entertaining and joyful reads that fill up most of my hours sat at work and make me feel happy when I’ve reached the last page - who isn’t a sucker for a HEA, right? However, Billion Dollar Bad Boy stood out from the masses of other novels I’ve read in this genre due to the back story of Alexis’ hostage situation in the bank robbery. Throughout the novel, a detective is trying to get Alexis to remember what happened on that day so that he can solve the case but she can’t help having blacked it out. The twist revolving around this storyline isn’t as surprising as I think Flite would have liked but it still added a good element to the novel, as well as the love story formula.

Billion Dollar Bad Boy might not be one of the next great love stories but it definitely worked its magic on me and I loved every second of it. I can’t wait to read some more of Nora Flite’s work after this delightful introduction. So if you’ve got an hour or two free, I’d say give it a go because you definitely won’t regret it.

Want It Bad

Want It Bad by Melinda DuChamp

Age: Adult
Category: Romance, erotica
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Carla is a 41-year-old lawyer who has worked hard to get where she is but to do so she’s sacrificed everything else - including her sex life. Best friend Janet is a air hostess which has gained her enough sexual escapades to last a lifetime and is why she tries to encourage Carla to let go and have fun. Carla does not think she has too until she meets her new neighbour is both cute and young - and it eventually turns out he’s an escort that prefers his clientele to be elderly ladies. Usually he has a no neighbour clause after a previous experience but Carla is persistent and will not take no for an answer. However, along her sexual discovery, forty one year old Carla learns things about herself that she can’t quite wrap her head around - especially her feelings for said twenty five year old escort, Jake.

After the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, erotic fiction has become as mainstream as your crime and romance fiction. It’s on your top bestseller list and not hidden away in the back anymore and it’s no longer something women whisper about. Many authors have embraced this and DuChamp’s erotica are some of my favourites. Yes, they’re a little vulgar and not for a sensitive audience but they’re well written. The friendship moments between Janet and Carla are witty, fresh and I do actually think DuChamp writes them the appropriate ages which is harder with a heroine over 35 - seriously, how many do you see? It was refreshing to be in the mind of an older character and the cougar aspect of twenty five year old Jake was a perfect touch. The moments between Jake and Carla were hot as well as moving when they had their brief sentimental moments.

There’s not much more I can say about “Want it Bad” without splashing the world spoiler all over. It’s not a fanfiction favourite “porn without plot” but it’s a smutty love story that I read all in one sitting because it was just too good to put down. What’s a real fun fact is that DuChamp is a pseudonym for two authors (J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson) and if this is what their brains can come up with then I’m in for the ride. DuChamp, you have a massive fan in the reader and I can’t wait to read some more of your works.

The Crucifix Killer (Robert Hunter #1)

The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter

Age: Adult
Category: Mystery, crime
Rating: 5 stars

Helen Thinks: As part of the Robbery Homicide team, Detective Robert Hunter is called by his rookie partner, Carlos Garcia, to a horrifying crime scene in the middle of nowhere. Hunter is used to nasty, it’s the job description, but the sight of the poor woman skinned alive on a bed in front of a mirror is even enough to turn his stomach. However, nothing is as mortifying as the signature carved on to the back of the victim’s neck... a double ended crucifix. The signature used by a serial killer that Hunter had already caught, a serial killer that had confessed to all the crimes and had been executed; a serial killer that Hunter had never really believed was guilty. The Crucifix Killer is back.

It’s not a big secret that I absolutely love the grittiness that is the world of crime but eventually the novels tend to all become a blur. The same procedural formula is used time and time again - which is not a bad thing as crime fiction is the biggest selling genre in the world. However, Chris Carter has shook things up with his debut novel “The Crucific Killer”. The first scene is a flash forward where we see Garcia - the rookie partner - is caught in one of the killer’s traps and Hunter only has so long to save not only Garcia’s life but his own too. It draws you in perfectly. From the first chapter, I was on the edge of my seat and determined to finish the book just so I could know who the killer was!

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Still Alice

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Alice Howland is a fifty year old woman that works at Harvard as a cognitive psychology professor and is a renowned expert in linguistics. She’s proud of the life she has built for herself, her husband and her three children. Then one day, during a lecture, she finds herself struggling to remember a simple word that she uses on a regular basis during her lectures. She dismisses it as old age combined with tiredness but eventually the problem becomes more regular until one day when out jogging she can’t remember where she is even though it’s the same route she always takes. Finally deciding that she can’t hide from this any longer, Alice visits the doctor where she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. “Still Alice” follows her journey as the disease has a major impact on both her professional and personal life.

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of Dementia and according to the Alzheimer’s association an estimated five million Americans are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I decided to read the book because I had seen the movie (starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kirsten Stewart) advertised and it piqued my interest. I am a care worker in a residential home for those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other forms of Dementia but the service users I look after are primarily in their later years, averaging around the age of eighty. To think such a cruel illness could start at fifty was baffling and also slightly terrifying, especially knowing that currently there is no cure for Alzheimer’s.

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Ticker

Ticker by Lisa Mantchev

Age: Young Adult
Category: Science fiction
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Having lost both her sisters to a hereditary heart disease, Penelope ‘Penny’ Farthing was saved by Doctor Calvin Warwick – who was engaged to Penny’s older sister – when he implanted a brass ‘ticker’ into her chest to replace her heart. The success of this operation made Penny the first person to become augmented. However, it soon came to light that for Warwick to be so successful he had practiced on unwilling patients and was arrested for mass murder. On the final day of Warwick’s trial, everything starts to go wrong for Penny and her brother, Nic – their factory is bombed, Warwick escapes, and their parents kidnapped, a ransom note sent demanding their notes on the augmentation trials if they ever want to see their parents again. Ticker sees Penny, Nic and their friends (Violet, a baker, and Sebastian, a rich gentleman) working alongside a young Army general as they try to stop Warwick once and for all.

Ticker had been on my to-read list for many months; due to the beautiful cover art catching my eye on Amazon; before I eventually got around to reading it and I can honestly say that Mantchev did not fail to deliver! Despite there being many characters to trip over (and each one having their own set of individual quirks and ways that could have easily got a writer confused!), Mantchev did not lose control of the characters once. There were many relationships between the characters; familial, romantic and traitorous; and they all developed perfectly along with the plot. The characters were written that well I even developed a tiny crush on the young Army general, Marcus Kingsley!

This was my first time reading Steampunk fiction but it definitely won’t be my last! It was a great look into science fiction with Penny’s ‘Ticker’ being the focal point and the idea that we can create stronger human beings through having mechanical organs and body parts. However, Warwick’s methods of practicing on unwilling participants had the characters divided. Penny, despite it saving her life, believed it was murder and wrong whereas her brother, Nic, thought it was for the greater good, especially seeing as it will allow him to grow old with at least one of his sister’s.

With a plot filled with adventure, Ticker was a novel that I couldn’t put down and read in one entire sitting because I was just dying to know what happened. I hope you’ll all feel the same if you give it a try!

Staff Picks: Best of Erotica

Real (Real #1) by Katy Evans

This book is firmly in my guilty pleasures category! I knew it got to be pretty trashy at times, but I still enjoyed it. It follows Brooke and Remy. Remy is a champion fighter with hordes of women lusting after him, yet picks Brooke to come to his hotel room. The last thing Brooke expects is to be offered a job traveling with Remy as his physical therapist.
Recommended by Rosie




Bared to You (Crossfire #1) by Sylvia Day

If you liked Fifty Shades, this book'll be right up your alley! Although it does feature some similarities, it is distinctive enough to stand on its own and I found it a much better read than 50SoG. From the instant Eva and Gideon meet, sparks fly. But both have their own issues and troubled pasts, which might prove insurmountable for the pair.
Recommended by Rosie




Willing Victim by Cara McKenna
Laurel meets Finn, though it’s anything but a typical rom-com meeting. Rather, the first night she goes up to his apartment, she watches him have a BDSM scene with another girl and is then offered the opportunity to try it out for herself. It makes for a captivating book, with a likeable heroine, interesting love interest and clever writing. With it being barely longer than a novella, it’s a quick and fun read. Warning: it contains a consensual rape-play scene.
Recommended by Marta

The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed

A classical erotica book, if you’d like to put it like that, with a classical plot: that of a male escort and the woman who will revolutionise his life. Regardless, it’s an engaging read. It flows easily and smoothly, as the romance is backed up with a plot that manages to add depth to both characters. The sex scenes are, perhaps, mild in comparison to current books, but they make up for it by being exquisitely sensual.

Recommended by Marta

Rough Riders series by Lorelai James

This is a series that follows the younger generation of McKay’s; a ranching family from Wyoming. Each novel is filled with beautiful romantic moments, sweet family moments as well as scenes of hot, knee buckling sex scenes (that should really come with a NSFW warning!). James allows us to fall in love with the entire family as we watch them fall in love and battle with themselves as the days of the bad boy, bed hopping McKays slip away and they become parts of their own families. With it being a series, your favourites from previous novels pop up and James entices this with novellas that allow us future glimpses. James’ writing makes me forget about the days where I wanted Prince Charming and find myself wanting a silver-tongued cowboy.
Recommended by Helen

Heartsick (Gretchen Lowell #1)

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Age: Adult
Category: Crime
Rating: 5 stars

Helen Thinks: For ten years, the Beauty Killer haunted both America and Detective Archie Sheridan, racking up a body count that no one could ever believe. In a turn of unseen events, the Beauty Killer turned out not only to be a woman but a beautiful one that Sheridan had become close to as she had infiltrated the case and he was to became her last victim. What no one was expecting was for her to torture and abuse Sheridan for ten days before releasing him and handing herself in. The question on everyone’s lips was why? Heartsick is set two years after these events where Archie Sheridan is back leading a task force as another serial killer stalks the streets of Portland. Archie finds himself shadowed by young journalist, Susan Ward, who is doing a piece on the Detective that faced the Beauty Killer and lived to tell the tale but also finds himself dealing with his demons as he realises that only one person can help him understand the killer stalking his city...

Crime books are one of the biggest selling genres in the world and just when you think they’re about to become cliché, Chelsea Cain creates the Gretchen Lowell series that is introduced here in Heartsick. Never during my years of reading crime books have I ever felt myself being charmed by the serial killer and yet that’s exactly what Cain achieves with Gretchen. Stockholm Syndrome is a mysterious and intriguing phenomenon for most people and I believe that Cain creates it perfectly by illustrating the surreal relationship between Detective Sheridan and Gretchen as well as how he struggles to form bonds with the people already in his life and new relationships he makes.

Cain has created a page-turner in Heartsick with an original plot, characters that are perfectly flawed making them three dimensional, and it’s the introduction to a series that I know will have you hooked with every installment. Heartsick is a captivating novel that I have found myself reading over and over again, enjoying it just as much as if it was the first time.