This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I liked this one even though it wasn't the kind of book that I would normally pick up. I did have some issues with the book but nothing too overwhelming. I have had a review copy of this book for over five years but put off picking it up during that time largely due to the fact that this is the third installment in the Beautifully Broken series and I worried that it wouldn't work well as a stand-alone. I had no reason to worry since this book told its own story and read just fine without any knowledge of the rest of the series. 

This was a pretty dark romance. The romance was a lot more erotic than I usually read. I am not opposed to either of those things but this book did take me out of my comfort zone just a bit. One thing that I really don't enjoy in a romance is seeing one of the main characters engaging in sexual acts with someone else. I really do prefer stories to focus on the two main characters and their relationship with each other. I do have to admit that some of the acts in this book left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth because I felt like one party was destined to be hurt.

Dominic and Jacey are the focus of this story and they both have dealt with some terrible things in their past. Dominic is a famous actor who refuses to get close to each other but doesn't hesitate to get physical with others when he feels the need. Jacey seems to always pick the wrong guy but she is trying to start over when she meets Dominic.

Dominic and Jacey are forced into a situation that requires them to spend time together. They do have a lot of chemistry together. Their problem is letting each other in and trying to trust each other. As things about their past were revealed, I did understand why they acted as they did. I actually found myself liking this book more and more as the story progressed and I think that was largely due to the fact that I started to understand the characters, although their behavior did also change. 

I decided to listen to the audiobook version of this book and I thought both narrators did an acceptable job. I did prefer the female narrator over the male simply because of some of the voices that were used. I did think that they both did a good job overall and I am glad that I decided to listen to the book. 

I would recommend this book to readers who like a darker, more erotic romance. I found this book to be a good way to mix up my reading just a bit and try something a little different. I would definitely read more of Courtney Cole's work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Initial Thoughts
This is not the kind of book that I normally pick up but I did like it. This was a darker romance between two characters dealing with some pretty big issues. I liked this book more as it progressed but had some issues with some of the earlier sections. I listened to the audiobook and I thought that the narrators did a good job. I preferred the female narrator's overall performance. Some of the female voices that the male narrator used could have been better.

Book: Today, I read Amelia: An Autumn Bride (Brides for All Seasons #7) by Hildie McQueen (autumn colors).

Task #1

The three books I am most thankful for reading this year are:

1. To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild

          This is what I would recommend to anyone, but especially non-history readers, if they wanted to read one book about World War I. 

2. Hamilton's Battalion: A Trio of Romances by Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, and Alyssa Cole

              I'm not a fangirl of Hamilton or his musical (although I do listen and enjoy the soundtrack), but getting new material from these authors was enough for me to buy it. Courtney Milan's story was my favorite, but Rose Lerner's and Alyssa Cole's stories were wonderful as well. 

3. Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story by Kurt Eichenwald

             This book was a door stopper, but read so much like a novel that it didn't feel over long at all. This is the true story of the rise and fall of Enron.

Honorable mention: The Lotus Palace and The Jade Temptress (Pingkang Li Mysteries #1 and 2) by Jeannie Lin.

Task #2

My perfect meal, created by a chef and his/her/their team, is inspired by my Italian heritage. It would be time and resource intensive, ergo I would never make it for myself.

1. Starters - Caprese salad and friend calamari

2. Main - Zuppa di Pesce e Frutti de Mare (just a ton of seafood in a clear broth)

3. Sides - Baked Fennel with Parmesan and Mushroom risotto

4. Dessert - Tiramisu

Task #3

The book I read this year with the most "stuffing" was Once Upon a Spine (A Bibliophile Mystery #11) by Kate Carlisle. Details about the most mundane things with boring vanilla characters and constant wedding talk - and the murder mystery was an afterthought until the very end. 

Task #4

Honestly, I can't remember all the freebies I download in a single month, let alone in a year. So here is what I bought this month:

1. Bitch Planet Volume 1 and 2 by Kelly Sue DeConnick et al (from Foyles)

2. A Nightingale Christmas Carol and Nightingales Under the Mistletoe by Donna Douglas (from a charity shop)

Pretty average month, mostly in the 2.5-3 stars range; however it was productive, thanks to COYER, BoB Cycle 21, and 24 in 48 challenges. The books attached to this post are my highlights for the month.

Challenges

BL/GR: 13/52 (25% completed)

COYER Winter Switch

              The Strict: 6 read this month; 10 books read overall for this phase

               The List: 6/30 (5% complete); 2 DNF

Participated in Bout of Books Cycle 21

Participated in 24in48 Read-a-thon

Read:

1. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill - 3 stars

2. Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flatts by Kristen Iverson - 3 stars

3. The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses and Changed the Workplace by Lynn Povich - 3 stars

4. Dark Tide: The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo - 4 stars

5. The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking - 2 stars

6. Triangle: The Fire that Changed America by David von Drehle - 2.5 stars

7. A Right Honorable Gentleman by Courtney Milan - 1 star

8. Ms. Marvel, Volume 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson - 4 stars

9. Love is Love by Various Authors - 3.5 stars

10. Hamilton's Battalion: A Trio of Romances by Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, and Alyssa Cole - 4.5 stars

11. The Lotus Palace (Pingkang Li Mystery #1) by Jeannie Lin - 4 stars

12. The Jade Temptress (Pingkang Li Mystery #2) by Jeannie Lin - 4 stars

13. Agnes Moore's Wild Knight by Alyssa Cole - 2.5 stars

DNF:

Something True by Karelia Stetz-Waters at 18% because I only liked one MC and the side characters were extremely annoying or stereotyped.

Currently Reading:

Gambled Away by Various Authors

The Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

The Siege of Yorktown 1781. Colonel Hamilton has his army in place and is just obliterating the small town while awaiting for reinforcements. Two of the stories arise from the battlefield; the third is tied to the descendant of someone at Yorktown. They share their stories in letters and interviews with Eliza Hamilton as she writes her husband's biography after his death (roughly in the late 1810s and early 1820s).

Promised Land by Rose Lerner - 4 stars

Rachel faked her death to run away from her marriage and towards Washington's army. She meets up with her husband (one of Washington's spies) at Yorktown. I love a good "can this marriage be saved?" trope in historical romance and this one delivered. Both MCs are Jewish and the story really shined with the choice to have the MCs be of a religious minority; certain scenes that depicted how the Jews dealt with Jewish law and customs while also serving in the military were used to deepen their relationship. I thought the one sex scene was shoe-horned in and didn't add to the story, but by the time it happened I was already rooting for Rachel and Nathanial's HEA. This was my first time reading Lerner, but it won't be my last.

The Pursuit of.....(Worth Saga) by Courtney Milan - 4 stars

This novella falls third (or maybe #2.5) in the Worth Saga series, but you don't have to read the first two books to understand what is going on in this story. John Hunter is an ex-slave (ran away from his master, then returned to rescue his sister and mother) living in Rhode Island when the call for black men to enlist in Washington's army comes with an entitlement to freedom papers after the war. John's sister is married to enslaved man, so to keep her man at home while also earning his brother's freedom papers, John enlists in his stead. At Yorktown, he meets British Lt Henry Latham (see post from last week). John helps Henry escape from the British army; in return, Henry accompanies John on his way back to Rhode Island and his family. I love road trips, although this one is longer due to being on foot. There is stinky cheese, the sexual politics and morality of slavery, plus actual courting after John is reunited with his family and Henry goes back to Britain. I loved John and Henry, and seeing them as older men (thirty or so years after the HEA) was a real treat. The Milan magic is in full force here.

That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole - 4 stars

This novella ties into another of Cole's stand alone novellas, Be Not Afraid (from the anthology For Love and Liberty). In this novella, Andromeda Stiel (granddaughter of Elijah and Kate Sutton from Be Not Afraid) visits The Grange in her grandfather's place to give his story of serving under Hamilton (both in New York and Yorktown) to Eliza. It is at The Grange that Andromeda meets Mercy Alston, the maid and secretary for Eliza. I finally get a Boston marriage-style HEA! This is the shortest of the stories, as there is no military action or duties to add to the story. It also has a mostly fade to black sex scene.

I gave a half star more because of the authors' notes found in the back of the book. The authors tell the readers where they got their inspiration (each acknowledged Lin-Manual Miranda and his show) and historical research, plus what drove them to put the project together in the first place.

*bookish meme created by Nothing But A Good Book

As I said in my previous post, this has been a week. As such, I am finding only pockets of time to read. So I am still reading Hamilton's Battalion, but I just started the last story and hope to finish it sometime tomorrow.

Then it is off to start the Pingkang Li mystery series by Jeannie Lin, starting with The Lotus Palace and The Jade Temptress. I already read the prequel novella, Capturing the Silken Thief, a long time ago and the last novella is in the anthology Gambled Away, so that will hopefully take me into next weekend's 24 in 48 Read-a-thon.