Clan Kendrick #2, This series is a spin-off of Vanessa Kelly's Improper Princesses series which was a spin-off of her Renegade Royals series this can be read as a stand alone, all the pertinent information is given in a way that works as a nice reminder for those of us who have read it. Donella was first introduced in book 4 of the Renegade Royals book, again you don't have to read it in fact if you haven't read it it gives it a bit more mystery.

After the events of her broken engagement three years ago Donella converted to Catholic and joined a convent but now, days away from taking her vows Reverend Mother is kicking her out. Logan trying to gain favor with the Earl of Riddick agrees to escort his grandniece home. Donella was nothing that he expected he was delighted with her sense of humor and her courage especially when faced with an attempted kidnapping and roughing it in the wild to escape. Even after the parted and Donella was safely home with her family Logan couldn't stop thinking about her, even with the surprise of his son showing up in Scotland with his Grandfather Angus when he should still be in Canada. Donella wants to go right back and join another convent but Riddick gets her to agree to wait six months and try to have fun before she makes any decisions. She even agrees to plan a Christmas party for Alec and Eden at their Glasgow townhouse. Eden and Alec send her down first until they can join her in the meantime she is to stay at the Kendrick home bringing her in close proximity to Logan. The threat to Donella hasn't quite gone away they just change tactics and start horrible rumors despite how she is feeling for Logan and his son she feels it best to become a nun. It's Logan's job to convince her otherwise. 

Overall, it was a great read. One thing I love about Vanessa Kelly's writing, not just her great storyline and fantastic characters, she's able to convey the feel of the time period and it's not just all the typical brogue (I'd be disappointed if a book took place in Scotland and didn't have any) but everything in general, celebrating both Christmas and Hogmanay. I enjoyed Logan and Donella story especially what they did at the end. I love all the Kendricks I look forward to the next one.   

Winter and Spencer wrapped themselves around my heart. The Winter of My Love is a complicated story of love that blossoms at the worst possible time. Strangers caught in a web of deception, find their heart's desire. Spencer is a man who seems to have it all. Haunted by a deathbed promise, he lands himself in the middle of a conspiracy that has lasting consequences for himself and the beautiful innocent that could be the key to his long- standing dream. Lora delves deep into the heartache of lost, the danger of greed and the healing balm of love. The Winter of My Love adds mystery to a stunningly, beautiful romance. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

...and I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be my last because at the very least be looking for the next book in this series.

Between running his computer programming company with his friends, being the primary caregiver for his 10-year-old niece with everything that raising a 10-year-old entails the last thing that Luke Ryan has time for is a relationship.

Finn Thomason’s new to Boston and with his hours in the ED at the hospital, trying to find himself a place to live and the whole reason he left Chicago there’s no way that he’s looking for a romance.

Yet when these two men spot each other in line at the local Starbucks and then meet again when Luke’s caught without an umbrella during a torrential downpour and stops under the awning of the nearest building to wait out the storm. Not willing to just walk away from someone that they’re so attracted to the two men decide that where there’s a will, there’s a way and some how they’ll find the much needed time to spend with each other.

I can only imagine how frustrating things were at times for Luke and Finn, since I found things to be more than a little frustrating at times. But my frustration was also due to the fact that I really like these two and I wanted to see them together as a couple.

I really can’t say that I would call this story a slow burn, it was more a case of constant progress interruptus… over and over again. You know that old saying ‘life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans’ well for Luke and Finn it was also a case of ‘Life is what happens when you’re trying to have one. While a busy life wasn’t the only problem these two faced at times there was also a definite breakdown in communication; another one of those real life things that can happen sometimes no matter how hard we try to avoid them and sometimes it seems like the harder we try the more things can break down.

Interestingly enough Luke’s niece turned out to be a bit of an emotional quandary for me.  I loved her bad jokes and while I wanted to like her I also felt like she was keeping me at arms length along with Finn and it was this same thing that had me thinking the author did an awesome job portraying her character since given her circumstances she really didn’t come across as a child who would be open and affectionate with the world. Ella knows the pain of having someone you love and who you should be able to depend on more than anyone else in the world leave, she’s not a bad child by any means just one who’s scared of being hurt again. So while I did get where she was coming from I still found myself getting a bit frustrated with her as well.

Overall I enjoyed this story there were a few moments in the pacing that just felt a bit too slow for me causing my interest to wane and ironically at the ending I almost felt like things were a bit rushed…maybe a bit of the story time could have been shifted over to add to the ending but then again if you ask me where to take that time from I’d tell you I don’t know because while there were parts of the story that the pacing seemed slow for me everything connected…so I guess when it comes right down to it, I really just wanted a bit more ending.

One of the things about this story that I actually enjoyed the most was just how easily it was to imagine a relationship like Luke and Finn’s happening in the real world…how many times have any of us made a comment like “there just aren’t enough hours in a day.” Well for some of us that could be a daily mantra and that’s the case with Luke and Finn. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series with the hopes that it will fill out the ending from this book making me a very happy reader.

*************************

An ARC of ‘Third Times the Charm’ was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

My list is short because most of my reading will be for BL-opoly. Summer COYER has no restrictions unless it is reading for the read-a-thons or the treasure hunt. I will be doing one COYER read-a-thon this month as well as setting aside time to read a book off the Nixon list I have. 

Nixon Reading List pick this month is Very Strange Bedfellows: The Short and Unhappy Marriage of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew by Jules Witcover. 

Deserted Island Read-a-thon (June 9-22, 2019) list: Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist, A Talent for Trouble (Ladies of Distinction #3) by Jen Turano, All I Am (Farmer's Market #3) by Nicole Helm, and A Gentleman For All Seasons by Various Authors.

Currently working on The Dancing Lady: The Ninth Lady (The 12 Days of Christmas Mail Order Brides #9) by Mimi Milan for BL-opoly.

Audience: Adult

Format: Audiobook/Owned

Overall I gave this book 3.5 stars. I loved The Shawshank Redemption & The Body, but Apt Pupil & The Breathing Method brought the overall score down.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption 4.5/5 stars

Book

This is an inspiring story with strongly developed characters and a distinct sense of time. This one of my favorites of King’s novellas. But, and this is quite unusual I know, the movie is just as good, if not better.

Movie

I’ve always loved this movie – no matter how many times I watch it. Tim Robbins is the perfect Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman is just amazing. The image of Andy after he crawls out of the sewer pipe, pulling his shirt off in the rain is striking. And of course, the unforgettable phrase, “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

Apt Pupil 2/5 stars

Book

I don’t remember the first time I read this one or how it affected me. But this time, it made my skin crawl. I don’t know if it was because I was listening to the audio or it was just the story. I found this one extremely difficult to get through. I didn’t like any of the characters – though I don’t think we are supposed to like them. But it wasn’t just that I didn’t like them, they disgusted me. I couldn’t bear to listen to it for any length of time and it took me a while to get through it. After I finished, I took a break for 2 days before I could listen to Muller’s voice again.

Movie 

They made major changes from the book to the movie. Todd was more passive and Dussander was more in control. In the book, Todd is more of a psycho and takes more lethal action against people. I’m guessing they wanted the audience to have someone in the movie that they thought might be redeemable.

The Body 4.5/5 stars

Book

I love this story and the audio version only made it better. It reminded me a bit of the kids in It (but this story has very little action). These kids come from different backgrounds with various degrees of difficulties in their home lives. Gordy barely exists to his parents now that his brother is dead, and the others deal with abusive fathers or violent older brothers. This is a prime example of a coming of age story and King did an excellent job putting the reader inside the mind of a 12-year-old boy. I enjoy the way King wraps this one up and allows Gordy to tell us what happened to each of the four boys.

Movie

This is a great movie and follows the book pretty closely. This is one of my favorite movies adapted from King’s books. The young actors all gave amazing performances and the story is very touching.

The Breathing Method 2/5 stars

This one was just okay for me. I didn’t look forward to listening to it, but I didn’t dread it like Apt Pupil either. It was fairly creepy but not in a way that interested me. This story made the least impression on me and I thought it was far outmatched by the others in this book.

I finished this book in March, but I wanted to watch the movies for comparison, so the reviews ended up taking a while.