Tag: fashion

REVIEW: Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik

REVIEW: Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

The crew of Starlight’s Shadow is in a holding pattern while they try to get answers about the people behind the job they just finished in Valovian space (Hunt the Stars). And since Tavi and Torran had a new relationship to distract them, they weren’t as antsy about the delay as Kee was. But as their information person, Kee was frustrated by the lack of progress.

Kee decides to take a room for a few weeks at Bastion to get closer access to the information they need. The space station should be busy enough to allow her some anonymity.

The time away should also give Kee emotional space from Varro, the Valovian weapons specialist who  makes her heart race. He’s been abundantly clear that he doesn’t feel the same way about Kee. So she’s grateful for some space from him, too.

But Varro shows up on Bastion, insisting on watching her back and keeping her safe. And before long, things are so out of hand, she’s grateful to not be working alone.

Review

This is a great second book in the Starlight’s Shadow series, full of will-they-or-won’t-they romantic tension, political intrigue, and danger. It was a delight to spend more time with these characters again!

I think Tavi’s story in Hunt the Stars was a better fit for me than Kee’s, but I enjoyed getting to know Kee better. You really get a feel for how her skills have been so helpful to the crew. And there’s a great emphasis here on Kee and her resilience when some might dismiss her that I really enjoyed.

There’s a lot of back and forth with Varro – miscommunications, misunderstandings, assumptions – that helps draw out the tension between them. The resolution of their back and forth was satisfying.

What’s not satisfying is the political situation. We wrap up this book with tons of new questions but not many answers. So I would like to have book 3 in my hands right. now! I think it’s likely that the focus of the next book will be the two members of the crew off working another angle during the action of Eclipse the Moon. And I am here for their story! The glimpses from Hunt the Stars reminded me of the main characters of Aurora Blazing, book 2 in the Consortium Rebellion series (♥♥♥♥½), which I adored.

I think these are best read in order, especially for the world building and the political plot development. Science fiction/romance fans should not miss this series! (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

REVIEW: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Swoon Reads in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Once the semester is over, Edie is off for Paris. She’s planning to stay for first semester next year, too. She’s studying fashion. Paris is where she NEEDS to be. She also needs to pass FR102, not only for the grade but also to function in Paris for the next several months. The problem is her auditory processing disorder (APD or CAPD). Problematic enough with English in the “right” circumstances – crowded, loud places with lots of distractions, etc. Even worse in a foreign language.

Enter Hudson, the TA in Edie’s FR102 class. When her professor refuses to let her record his classes as an accommodation, Hudson volunteers to tutor her.

After a few false starts, they begin to work together. And things start to heat up between them. But Edie is only focused on passing the class and getting to Paris. She already broke off one relationship rather than take the chance of it distracting her from her goals. She will NOT be giving into these feelings for Hudson, either. Paris…. Paris…. Paris….

Review

I was hooked from the start when Edie was explaining her CAPD to her advisor – who did NOT get it. By the time we meet adorable Hudson, and the relationship between them starts to warm, I didn’t want to put the book down.

The chemistry between Edie and Hudson is delightful. Even in all of Edie’s resistance, you can feel them being drawn together. The other characters are mostly there to move Edie and Hudson forward or round out some of the story. The focus, though, is on this relationship. I liked that this YA story is about college students instead of high school students. It made for a nice change of pace for me.

There’s not a lot else to the plot. This is 80% will-they-or-won’t-they give into their feelings and commit to seeing where the relationship goes. The French class, the roommates and friends, and the CAPD swirl around the couple, but they are not the focus.

My only complaint is the abruptness of the ending. It wasn’t so much “I want more” but “Wait, that’s it?” It felt like a momentary scene rather than a definitive statement on where things were going from there. I guess readers will get to decide for themselves how things wrap up in the end.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

BONUS REVIEW: Murder Wears a Little Black Dress by Debra Sennefelder

BONUS REVIEW: Murder Wears a Little Black Dress by Debra Sennefelder

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Kelly is back in her home town, Lucky Cove, following the death of her grandmother. Kelly’s grandmother left her a consignment shop. The timing is actually pretty perfect as Kelly just lost her New York fashion job and needed somewhere to land. But Kelly’s uncle is pressuring her to sell the place, and her one employee is resistant to any changes Kelly wants to make in the store.

And then there is the “murder dress.” A local “psychic” comes into the store, tries on a little black dress, and has a vision of murder. Before Kelly can get a handle on things, the story drives customers away, and she becomes the suspect in a different murder.

Kelly is determined to get to the truth before someone else is killed or her grandmother’s business is ruined. But a fashion buyer might not be well equipped to find a murderer, no matter how many Nancy Drew books she read as a kid.

Review

I enjoyed the mystery in this one! The solution was a nice surprise, and the whole case kept me guessing. While there is a supposed psychic in this as well as an impromptu seance that Kelly disbands rather quickly, there isn’t a “paranormal” vibe in the story. It’s a fairly straightforward cozy mystery.

The characters developed slowly for me. There’s a lot of history with some of them from long before this particular story, but I didn’t feel like it was thoroughly explained. It didn’t impact the mystery, but considering the impact of the event on the whole town, I wanted the full scoop. Supposedly the “whole town” blamed Kelly for an accident in her youth. But the details on how they determined Kelly was “at fault” by NOT being there and why some characters even had a stake in the event wasn’t clear. And then there wasn’t a lot shown in the story to back up this idea that the “whole town” blamed Kelly. It was just stated a lot.

I was happy to see some of the secondary characters call Kelly out on her rescuing behavior and poor boundaries as this case developed. She didn’t know any of the folks involved in the case, but she is all in on protecting someone who seems to only cause her trouble. Kelly’s friends are very forgiving even after calling her out. I hope in future books she’ll be a little more careful. This was another part of the story that diminished some of my reading enjoyment. Boundaries are a big deal.

I’ll stick with this series at least through another book to see how the story and characters develop, especially since the romance angle was only teased in this book. As I stated earlier, the mystery itself was great!

Rating: ♥♥♥½