https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2123196964?type=review#rating_149016760

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

I was a little wary of this book based on the title. I'm an idiot. I may not love the title, but, I definitely liked the book.

It's the story of Dawn (of the title, now I'm starting to feel self-conscious because I think I've typed title too many times), and Cam. Dawn is an artist and a gardener who avoids romantic entanglements of all types entirely. She sticks with friends and family.

Cam moves in next door to Dawn. And the sparks fly immediately. But, Dawn doesn't seem totally into it, and so after some internal struggle Cam decides to give Dawn some space and just be friends for awhile. Well, it's not surprising that that only lasts for so long, but, nearer to the end of the book we find out that it's not just Dawn who has some past to get over. She has lost her lover to death and she thinks that she's mostly over it. Is she?

They go back and forth and then Dawn's ex Lori is thrown into the mix and it becomes a total and utter mess in their lives. Yikes.

I loved all the characters. They were all very unique and I also liked how the author didn't feel the need to put in straight people just to do it. I mean, this is our (lesbian or lgbtq+) fiction right? So why can't it just be chock full of lesbians who all know each other (it was really cool seeing Jo and Rhonda again, woo!) and hang out together when they can.

I really liked this book. It was a fun read and a quick one too (I flew through it. Always a cool thing not to be able to put down a book).

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

This is going to sound weird. This book wasn't good but it wasn't bad. And, You know I have to ask .... what is it with the crazy Ex in lesbian fiction. Have we all got the crazy ex sitting in the wings?

The book does deal with the issues of death of a partner and abuse in a relationship is handled really well. With sensitivity and compassion. I found the romance a little too good to be true.The characters seem nice enough and some of the secondary characters do contribute to the story line.

I like Thomas's style of writing. Some I assume will find this book really good., But for me it was just ok. But it in no way deters me from future books by this author. Enjoy!



*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2176263915


https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2I4WW3DR7CQ7J/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I struggled a little with this book at first, it didn’t totally grab my attention. However I persevered and actually really enjoyed it. Good plot and interesting characters that you cared what happened to them. I would read this author again.

This book talked about a couple of difficult topics but it didn’t feel overloaded or that the topics were cut short. I liked the character of Dawn and her struggle seemed very real to me - I could not really relate to Cam and her struggle of having lost her last girlfriend wasn’t portrait in a way that she seemed very affected by it. There were only one or two scenes in it that she seemed upset about it and other than that it was more on the side, whereas Dawn’s problems with her abusive ex girlfriend were handled more realistic. There also weren’t sparks flying out of the pages and Cam seemed a bit too pushy at the beginning.

Dawn Oliver has pretty much locked herself away. She does her painting and gardening but her decided to never give her heart to another. Did that before only to have the love trampled on, mentally and physically. Cam Cooper who lost the love of her life but after being on her own for a while is now starting to open herself to the possibility of perhaps finding another to love. When Cam moves next door to Dawn she can’t help but to be drawn to her. One of the best things about Cam besides being a gorgeous butch, she brings into Dawn’s life her friends who quickly become a part of Dawn’s world. T J also reintroduces us to the main characters in her book “ A Reunion to Remember”. Very nice enjoyable read.

A traditional romance with protagonists that I found difficult to invest in, with the cause of Dawn's antipathy toward relationships a too often revisited plot trope in the genre and Cam's grief lacking the full exploration that I was seeking. The interactions between the two were standard and decently written, but I was left wanting more. Have read better by this author.

This was an ok contemporary romance, fine for a couple of hours of light reading, but not one I would revisit. The writing was average, the character development wasn’t deep enough for me and was full of stereotypes. I found the book to be slow at times, but I did enjoy the read overall.

This is the classic romance where the characters are too good to be true, crazy ex, instantly falling in love and denying any feelings of the other.

I would say that I didn't love this book but didn't dislike it. I did enjoy reading about both characters however I found towards the end that Cam was almost too good to be true, almost that you need to create this perfect character for Dawn to take the risk. However I will admit personally someone so perfect would ring alarm bells for me. I like that in a lot of lesfic books the characters have their flaws which makes it believable. A lot of the angst was put there as entertainment instead of allowing the story to flow and provide a realistic feel.

For me this was a quick light read, even though the topics in the book wasn't light I would say we didn't really dig into the topics just skimmed the service which kept it light for me.

This was an okay read for me. There were parts I enjoyed, others not so much. Overall, it was pretty down the middle for me. I do want to mention, I was reading this book last night. I was about half-way through, when I saw what was happening in Las Vegas, on the TV. I had to stop reading and it took me almost 24-hours to pick the book back up again. It’s so awful what happened, I’m not necessarily in the best head-space for this book. Things that might have affected me more in the book maybe didn’t because I was a little numb. Does that make sense? My point, maybe this book will work better for others.

The story is about Dawn and Cam, both women have been through a lot in their pasts, and neither is looking for love. The more time they spend together, the more feelings develop. Can Dawn and Cam find love, or will their pasts come back to haunt them?

In the beginning, I found some of the writing to be a little rough. For instance, “June headed into the backyard. Dawn followed her. Kate and Cam quickly joined them.” Why not just say “They all followed June into the backyard”? Little things like that, that just needed some more polish. I did notice the writing seemed to get better as the book went on, almost as if Thomas gained more confidence.

The romance was okay. It went at a decent pace, but just when I thought it should heat-up, it kind of stalled out. I guess I could have used a little more passion. Both characters where pretty likeable, but they didn’t really stand out, or weren’t really memorable. There is a cameo of characters from Thomas’ first book, so if you enjoyed A Reunion to Remember, you might like seeing them again.

Lastly, there were a few times I thought the angst was a little over manufactured, especially when it came to the crazy ex-girlfriend. The fact she showed up after years of no contact, was a little hard to swallow. I know Thomas was trying to add a little something to the book; I just could have done without.

All in all, the book was okay. As I said above, I may have liked it more if I was in a little better head-space, I’m just not sure. I can’t recommend this, but I won’t say stay away either. It was a pretty down the middle book, where I think some will enjoy this, others not so much. Hearing a little about A Reunion to Remember, did get me interested enough to maybe give it a try.

An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review

This book talks about two difficult and sensitive situations in life: the loss of ones partner and the abuse in a relationship (also other issue at the end of the book that I don't want to spoil). Both themes are treated with a lot of respect and tactfully and the story doesn't become unconfortable given the circumstances. The developement in the main characters relationship is uneven paced, because the doubts, inner strugling, some damage remaining makes their rols change along the story, which is confusing sometimes, but as I said before, given their personal circumstances, it can be understandable. There are some threads not fully completed, as their volunteering labour, specially Dawn's. But in resume the book is easy to read and entertaining, even the seriousness of the subject.