Wicked Games by Jill Myles

GENRE: romance, comedy

Woefully Reviewed Rating: Woeful (0.5) by Inga

Abby Lewis never pictured herself on the survival game show, Endurance Island. She’s just not the ‘survival’ type. But when her boss offers her a spot on the show and the opportunity of a lifetime, she packs her bags and heads to the tropics to be a contestant. Once in the game, though, it’s clear that Abby’s in over her head.

No one’s more competitive than sexy, delicious – and arrogant – Dean Woodall. Sure, he’s clever, strong, good at challenges, and has a body that makes her mouth water. He also hates Abby just as much as she hates him. That’s fine with her; she’ll just ignore the jerk.

But the rules of Endurance Island are working against them. Abby and Dean are teamed up – alone – on the beach. It’s either work together, or go home. Stuck with no one’s company but their own, they learn they might just make a good team after all.

And Abby learns that with just a little bit of kindling, the flames of hate can quickly turn to flames of passion…

I feel a little like I'm betraying the Woeful Sisterhood here to start off with something I loved but I'm drunk and probably not thinking clearly.

I love a good love/hate romance. And I love comedy. Basically, I love things that keep me from weeping, and this book has it in spades. Sharp wit, well-drawn and likable characters. There are the common tropes of a romantic comedy of errors: the conniving side characters, the big misunderstanding (and ohhh poor Abby kept going deeper with that one to the point I wasn't sure she'd climb her way out again), etc, but it never felt like a tired or worn out cliche.

Abby gets roped into a Survivor-esque TV show, which I found to be a unique premise, and the book follows her POV so we're treated to her strong, humorous voice throughout. Glimpses are given throughout from Dean's diary. Oh, Dean. I've come to have good associations with this name.

You're welcome, world.

If I ever leave my husband, it'll be for a guy named Dean.

I admit I didn't watch Survivor; I DID watch Temptation Island when I was a teenager and it scared me off of dating for a long time because it was like STDs R' Us (it didn't stick, obviously, as now I have Satan-spawned children who don't even know how to make Mommy a martini yet).

I digress.

Anyway, Wicked Games brings the sexy times with hot, emotionally charged scenes; Abby and Dean have scorching chemistry built at just the right pace. I recommend this as a light, fun, smexy read with just the right dose of drama to keep it interesting without bogging down the book with angst.

Since it didn't annoy me at all, it gets 0.5 martini glasses (out of five).

I'm sorry, Lisa. I'll try harder to uphold our mission statement next time.

Shine by Lauren Myracle

GENRE: YA, Mystery, LGBTQQ

Woefully Reviewed Rating: Pathetic (1) by Lisa

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. 

 Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

While the writing in this book is excellent, I had a few issues with the story itself. The huge traumatizing event that drove Cat into her shell to begin with wasn't, in all actuality - once I got to that part that had been alluded to REPEATEDLY - as traumatizing as I expected it to be. The author made it seem like something utterly, horribly, terrifyingly horrific happened, when it wasn't anything a hundred guys do to a hundred girls every Friday night. He didn't hurt her. He didn't rape her. All he did really did was scare her, for the most part.

I guess her big trauma came from her aunt watching it and doing nothing about it, but you'd think she'd be upset and withdrawn from her aunt then, not the world. I'm not condoning it as acceptable, but it certainly wasn't enough (in my opinion) to warrant the complete withdrawal from society and fear of her one-time-for-a-couple-minutes-hormonal-teenage-boy-not-really-an-abuser that Cat displayed. We (as readers) are led to believe something akin to what happened to her best friend was done to her, and it was a huge - I hesitate to use the word "disappointment" in reference to a vaguely sexual abuse scene, but that's the only one I can think of that's appropriate. All I could think when I got there was "That's it? That's your big trauma? Your horrible abuse? That? HE DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING TO YOU!" Maybe it was the idea that he would have continued onto actual rape if he hadn't been interrupted, and that was the big trauma. Or maybe I just missed the point entirely.

I reread the abuse scene a few times just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Maybe he really did hurt her. Maybe there was more I missed. But no. Nope. Maybe I'm just callous, but I've worked in the social services field and believe me this was nothing. That Cat reacted to something so benign so strongly really made me lose respect for her as a character. She's built up so well and we're supposed to be proud of her for coming out of her shell to fight for her friend, but once I learned she was basically traumatized over nothing, I just shook my head. But enough about that.

I'm not a huge fan of mystery stories, but I do like LGBTQQ and I was really pleased when I read a blog post about this book. I bought it because it addressed the LGBTQQ hate that goes on in the South and elsewhere. The reason I'm not a fan of mysteries is because I can usually solve it in the first 100 pages or less. This leaves almost 2/3rds of the book to prove my conclusions. This book was no different. I had this book pegged immediately.

I finished it to the end in one sitting for two reasons - 1) the writing was good and 2) I wanted to confirm my suspicions. I knew what had happened, knew who had committed the crime, etc. etc. There wasn't one single surprise or curveball. I knew the red herring the moment I saw it.

Good writing doesn't make up for lack of storytelling, and while this story had potential, it missed the mark in my opinion. The story was so lack-luster that I couldn't even remember the narrator's name, and it was written in 1st Person! I had to go back to the cover flap to find out what it was, and I was 3/4 through the book. That's bad, when you're almost to the end of the book and can't remember the main character's name.

They say never give criticism without praise, so here's some praise: I loved Christian. I loved Jason. I loved Robert. I loved Patrick even though he was in a coma. I loved Kid. I even loved Tommy after a bit.

This is the first book I've read of Ms. Myracle's, and she is an excellent writer. Good character development, good pacing, good plot arc from beginning to end. Ms. Myracle knows how to tell a story.

 She just doesn't tell this one very well.

Pathetic