Dueling Review, Rant

Dueling Review: Hot Under His Collar by Andie J. Christopher (2021)

The Nolans, Book #3

Review of The Nolans, Book #1

No one would ‘fess up to actually requesting the ARC of this book, so we decided to read it together! (Also, the last time we read a priest book together it went really well!!!!)

Welcome to Dueling Reviews: More Priests for Everyone Edition!

Let’s start by all giving our overall rating for the book:

Holly

Heat Factor: The scene where she masturbates in the bar was pretty hot, but otherwise it’s nothing to write home about.

Character Chemistry: They really want to bone, but they can’t.

Plot: Sasha has the hots for a priest. Patrick is a priest, but has the hots for Sasha. Angst ensues. 

Overall: Honestly, the priest bit was the least infuriating part of this book (and the priest bit was pretty darn annoying).

Erin

Heat Factor: The cloud of shame over the sex really cast a pall on everything that went on.

Character Chemistry: Mostly based on them separately processing their naughty feelings.

Plot: Catholic guilt + disillusionment with Catholic doctrine

Overall: This book probably succeeds on the “processing Catholic identity as a progressive” front, but that didn’t necessarily make for a super satisfying romance.

Ingrid

Heat Factor: It’s got some hot bits, especially if you like things really forbidden.

Character Chemistry: They’ve already been swooning after each other before the story starts.

Plot: Everyone wants what they oughtn’t have.

Overall: It’s pretty classic and it certainly had an engaging plot, but I did feel like the end could have been more satisfying.

Continue reading “Dueling Review: Hot Under His Collar by Andie J. Christopher (2021)”
Author Talk

Lyssa Kay Adams in conversation with Andie J. Christopher at One More Page Books

I wandered over to One More Page Books in Falls Church last week for another fun author talk. One More Page is an indie bookstore with a relatively small footprint but an excellently curated collection of diverse books, chocolate, and wine. What else do you need? They also put sticky notes on book spines to talk to potential readers. Delightful.

Look at that excellent smut curation!

One More Page often hosts author talks and book launches for romance, but this was the first time I’ve been able to make my way across the river. 

I wandered in to find a line of book purchasers and a small group of women seated before authors Lyssa Kay Adams and Andie J. Christopher. Where were the open seats? Right up front. So I walked my awkward self up there and tried to be friendly. And before long, our author talk began. Christopher, whose next book, Not That Kind of Guy, will release in April, was a witty and playful interviewer, so the conversation was light and fun.

Lyssa Kay Adams and Andie J. Christopher

Adams released book two of her Bromance Book Club series, Undercover Bromance, on March 10, so discussion centered on the new release and the themes of the series. If you’ve never heard the series origin story (I hadn’t), it goes like this: Adams’s husband is a sports writer, so one day she wondered what it would be like if she locked her husband and a bunch of his friends in a room with a bunch of romance novels…and then made them feminist. The result is the Bromance Book Club, and many of the conversations introducing Gavin to the club in The Bromance Book Club are based on this hypothetical conversation. 

Yeah, it’s fun to get your book signed by the author, but the really fun thing about author talks is that they almost always provide insight into the author’s thoughts and goals. We can speculate about intention while reading, but knowing what an author was trying to achieve or why an author believed something was important can flip switches that change the reader experience. 

Continue reading “Lyssa Kay Adams in conversation with Andie J. Christopher at One More Page Books”
Review

Review: Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher (2019)

Heat Factor: Hawt

Character Chemistry: They click immediately.

Plot: A double wager at cross-purposes.

Overall: It was fun, but not riveting.

Continue reading “Review: Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher (2019)”