Honey Pie by Donna Kauffman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Funny story: About halfway through this book I realized it was part of a series (4th one to be exact- discovered upon some internet searching). Then about 60% through this book I discovered I actually owned book three but had yet to read it. Oops. That being said, you definitely do not have to read the previous books to get this one. I have a feeling I would have actually bonded less with Honey (the heroine) if I had read the others first since she was the out of towner.

Now it really took me awhile to get into this book. I probably took about 2 months to read the entire thing because I was not drawn in and I would find other books I wanted to read first. But I am glad I kept going back, though to be honest it was Dylan that kept me coming back, not Honey.

It was a cute story, nothing phenomenal. I really do not like the paranormal aspects in my romance novels though, wish I got some warning before they got mixed in together but it seems to be a surprise every time. By the end of the story though I was ready to wring Honey's neck. I want my heroines to have some type of self confidence and not play the poor me, pity party game. I need stronger characters than that. Dylan gets a huge thumbs up from me, but how he would end up with someone as hard on herself and with such low self esteem I will never know.

View all my reviews

Love Rehab: A Novel in Twelve Steps by Jo Piazza
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My mother actually sent me this novel as a recommendation. And before I start my review I must point out a few things, I come from a very different perspective than most- I have no urge to get married someday (though a wedding does sound fun, the being married part does not interest me) and I am also a licensed substance abuse counselor (which does also include love addictions).
With that said, I did enjoy this book, though I frequently had to stop and remind myself that it was fiction and not a self help book as I was getting affronted at some of the preposterous notions as self help. SLAA (Sex and Love Addictions Anonymous) is a real thing and I do hope this opens the eyes of many women in terms of help that is out there. I feel like so many women have addictions to what we see in every rom-com. Even I have that problem, I feel like my life should end all happy with unicorns and rainbows but it won't, not without work by me and on me. The morals here were great and some of the rules (avoiding facebook anyone?) are really helpful.
Sometimes I did get a bit lost in the number of characters, I felt like I got confused occasionally on who was who. I feel as though Annie could have been fleshed out a bit more- but maybe she'll have her own novel, who knows. I did enjoy the story and think most women will too. And the nice thing is that this book reminded me I'm not alone in wanting the perfect rom-com life, and I have to remember those movies are escapism, not something to model my life after.

View all my reviews