I tried.

 

I really tried.  

 

It started interesting, but immediately the best friend became the annoying overbearing I-know-what's-best-for-you friend trope.  And then the protagonist falls for a person who had been an absolute dick to them when they first met.

 

Then the love interest turns out to be pretty okay (first meeting was still a dick move though) and the protagonist turns into a clingy, whiney, we-slept-together-once-and-now-I-want-a-committed-relationship trope.

 

I tired to hate-listen, but every one of the characters just got on my nerves and I just couldn't even.

 

I hated that the best friend got to decide when it was time for the protagonist to come out as bi or a lesbian and to immediately get out there and start dating.  I always thought every person needed to do things at their own pace.

 

I hated that the protagonist let her best friend push her into something she wasn't necessarily ready for.  And then she fell in love with the first woman she slept with, even after the woman made it VERY CLEAR that she was not looking for anything more than a friends-with-benefits relationship for various reasons, one of which was that she was always travelling for work and wasn't around long enough to commit. 

 

I hated that her new boss's wife decided to set her up with one of their friends without even clearing it with her first.  She shows up for dinner and chats with the boss while they wait for her wife to arrive.  Low and behold the wife arrives with a "friend" they've been thinking about setting her up with.  After that I was just out.  

 

This was not enjoyable for me.

Corey has a friends with benefits arrangement with her buddy, Matt.  She just does not want him to help her so much that she gets dependent.  Why is she okay to have him help her with orgasms and not other things?

 

Matt and his buddy Dylan are giving Corey a taste of the forbidden.  As they explore each other maybe all of them can learn what true intimacy is.  Matt is so devoted to all those he cares about.  Dylan has a secret that may rock their world.  

 

These characters were up to some pretty hot stuff.  I thought the heat was dialing up and up while I was reading.  Is it hot in here?  Anyway, true to form, this author had me hoping for a cool cloth while I enjoyed the escapades of these three.  Start of a great series, cannot wait to read more.  I give this a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

No Strings Attached (Pink Bean Series Book 1) - Harper Bliss 

 

I really thought this was interesting.  I don't read a ton of Lesbian fiction.  I just don't come across a lot of it, but I really enjoyed this one.  We have a non-transitional heroine in the fact that the she's 44, recently divorced with two kids, and just realizing (or should I say acknowledging) that she's attracted to women. 

 

She meets a woman who, despite a less than stellar first impression, is someone she's attracted to.  This woman, Robin, tells our heroine, Micky, that she's looking for a no strings attached affair and Micky is willing to go along with that.  But things get more complicated that either one of them bargained for.

 

Even though we have a lot of differences, I found Micky to be really relatable.  I was rooting for her.  It could not have been easy to come out at her age and tell her family that she had partly been living a lie.  Robin's character grew on me.  I didn't much like her in the beginning but by then end, I thought that she was the perfect partner for Micky.

 

The book centers on a coffee shop called the Pink Bean, and I loved those secondary characters that came along with it: Amber, Micky's best friend; Josephine, the young barista;  and Cheryl and Kristin the couple who owns the Pink Bean.  They along with Micky's family really helped round out the story.

 

Overall, I like the book.  It was sweet, hot, and memorable.  I definitely will continue on with the series.  I was able to get this one on audio through my library and the phenomenal Angela Dawe was narrating so that was an extra special treat.

Strings Attached - Nick Nolan,Luke Danie...

Audible

I decided to mark my audio books with an extra sign, because I don't want to mislead you.
As I've noticed, audio books that I enjoyed make often a different impression on my GR friends when they pick up an eBook after reading my review. No, it is not an excuse for loving a book, that someone might not, but just an attempt to explain that I have other criteria in rating an audio book, comparing to an eBook. A good audio book is for me 60% a plot and 40% a performance.

And [b:Strings Attached|108296|Strings Attached (Tales from Ballena Beach, #1)|Nick Nolan|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1388518659s/108296.jpg|104356] had all my attention during listening to it. Yes, thanks to a terrific narration by [a:Luke Daniels|2978188|Luke Daniels|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1331514576p2/2978188.jpg]. He created a wonderful movie in my head, that had everything I needed to enjoy it. Let me say so: it started like a family drama, changed to Disney sweet tale, and then turned suddenly into a thriller, with a mystery part, that normally would make me roll my eyes. But here it was just about right. I totally bought it and ate up without hesitation. A poor boy who suddenly became a rich boy, whose life changed from one day to another, but who kept his heart at the right side.

A charming, sweet, quick pacing and multifaceted story-line, well-developed characters, many touching moments, not without a Disney influence, and an excellent narrating. What do you need more?!