This series is really hit or miss and this one was a miss.  For whatever combination of reasons, I just did not find any of it sexy or believable or even that interesting.  I was hard pressed to even pay attention to it.  Definitely skip it.

Do not recommend.

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I think this was supposed to be an historical fiction gay romance, but it failed so colossally on so many levels that I just don't even really know what it was trying to be. It wasn't even clear what time period they were in.  The legal aspects of the case made no sense.  I did not even buy the relationship as being compatible, let alone romantic.  It just was not enjoyable.  

Do not recommend.

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It is billed as a romance and it is for sure the best kind of trashy romance novel, but it is also a fun little murder mystery cross-over plot that held up remarkably well under the circumstances.  A serial killer, a murder mystery novelist, everyone lying and having secret agendas.  It was relatively light (especially given it involves a serial killer, a killer, and some trauma), but the self-awareness of the hunky man steps in to protect a damsel concerned about her personal safety as a trope was refreshing. I found myself quite enjoying the whole thing.

Recommend.

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Super cute little YA romance full of stereotypes and tropes, but harmless and sweet.  Self-centered appearing hockey player jock  and hard working figure skater still grieving the loss of her professional hockey playing dad get thrown together for a fundraiser to save the rink...yada yada.  But, I can't not recommend it just for the light and lovely YAness of it.  

Not not recommended.
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This book is a cross between Under The Whispering Door and Let's Pretend This Never Happened.  It is a very hyper read, with a high energy, scattered, neurotic narrator whose prose reflects their whirlwind existence.  Filled with demons and death hounds and the grim reaper, who haplessly and unknowingly kills people and animals by just pointing to them, the storyline itself is just weird, with even weirder characters.  I love quirky, but this is a quirky beyond what I could keep up with, as the storyline gets more bizarre and harder to follow.  Some parts are admittedly clever--like the whole concept of the "beta male" who is definitely not the alpha male, but who is doing all right in the wake of the alpha males.  I was never quite sure if the main character was really experiencing becoming a "death merchant" or if the whole story was goin to end up being a grief induced hallucination.  I'm actually still not sure, but since there is apparently an entire series, I suppose if this question haunts you after the first book, you could keep reading.  I, however, could barely tolerate the disjointed hyper-ness of volume one, so this is one series I will not be getting sucked into. I do know one Jennifer Lawson fan I will be recommending this to.

Side note: While there is a short-lived subplot that makes reference to a trans woman one of the characters is romantically corresponding with, there is some transphobic content that I thought was unnecessary and crass.
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​If this book is for you, you can click here to purchase this book and support My 50 Bookish Friends blog project.  For Under Whispering Door, click here and Let's Present This Never Happened, click here.

This book is incredibly depressing.  The complexity of backstory of the main character, Eleanor, is impressive and the way it unfolds and is revealed reflects the strong writing here.  But the book is sad, sad, sad as it follows the growth of a woman whose childhood trauma has stunted her emotional development in painful ways that leave her isolated and alone as a result of her lack of social skills.  She has carved out a living and something akin to a life when the book begins, but a friendship with a co-worker results in her reaching for more.  There is a lot of depth to the book, but it doesn't show up until after I had started to lose interested in the plot.  I typically don't love a "happy ending" in a book like this, with so much unresolved childhood trauma, but the lack of a happy ending here also left me uneasy.  All in all, I just can't recommend it, but I also cannot not recommend it because it really is an interesting and well-written narrative about a hard life.

Not not recommended.
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Click here to purchase this book and support My 50 Bookish Friends blog project.