How I wonder what you are - Jane Lovering

“Maybe he wasn’t here because of the lights – maybe they were here because of him …”

It’s been over eighteen months since Molly Gilchrist has had a man (as her best friend, Caro, is so fond of reminding her) so when she as good as stumbles upon one on the moors one bitterly cold morning, it seems like the Universe is having a laugh at her expense.

But Phinn Baxter (that’s Doctor Phinneas Baxter) is no common drunkard, as Molly is soon to discover; with a PhD in astrophysics and a tortured past that is a match for Molly’s own disastrous love life.

Finding mysterious men on the moors isn’t the weirdest thing Molly has to contend with, however. There’s also those strange lights she keeps seeing in the sky. The ones she’s only started seeing since meeting Phinn … 

My thoughts:

Two people hurt by love find each other, and ha, oh how they meet each other! You have to read that for yourself. So funny, sad and weird.

Molly is hiding away in a house in a village in the middle of nowhere. She has been hurt. But why is she running from love? What happened? And we get to see issues with her love life. She needs to think about that (and does.)

Phinn has even bigger issues and is hiding away in a crappy old house he inherited. Poor guy is drinking too much and is depressed. He is also super smart and has a phd in astrophysics. 

They meet (very weird meeting.) They meet again. They meet again (ha, even stranger.) They slowly start to talk, get to know each other more. But she is hiding from something, and he is running from his own feelings. They both need to heal. And we all know how that will work, yes let them heal each other :D The road there is long, but then loves does not come easily. 

Conclusion:

An amusing book that also was serious at times. Romance and, not for be forgotten, strange lights in the sky. What are those? :)

Cover

Cute

Paperback, 336 pages
Published May 7th 2015 by ChocLit (first published November 1st 2014)
Women's fiction
Own

Falling apart - Jane Lovering

Jessica Grant liaises with Otherworlders for York Council so she knows that falling in love with a vampire takes a leap of faith. But her lover Sil, the City Vampire in charge of Otherworld York, he wouldn t run out on her, would he? He wouldn t let his demon get the better of him. Or would he?

Sil knows there s a reason for his bad haircut, worse clothes and the trail of bleeding humans in his wake. If only he could remember exactly what he did before someone finds him and shoots him on sight.

With her loyalties already questioned for defending zombies, the Otherworlders no one cares about, Jess must choose which side she s on, either help her lover or turn him in. Human or Other? Whatever she decides, there s a high price to pay and someone to lose. 

My thoughts:

Truth be told, I could not remember much from book 1. My memory is always bad, so in a way, yes it could work as a stand alone ;)

We are thrown right in. Something has happened to Sil. But what? Is he evil now? Should he be hunted down? Most of the book is about Jessica trying to find out what is going on. And we also learn some interesting facts about..ahem things. 

This is the world were everything was normal and then otherworlders showed up. You can understand the tension. Even if it has been quite some time since that.

We did not see much of Sil, a shame really. But we did see Zan instead, the leaders of the vampires and I must say, I quite fancy him more ;)

Jessica, oh I do not know. I think it was the constant Sil business, she could have thought about other things too. Even though she did but still, a bit lovesick.

Conclusion:

Anyway we have, vampire demons, zombies, werewolves, angry humans, two lovers torn apart in good old York.

cover 

too much on it

Paperback, 336 pages
Expected publication: June 15th 2014 by Choc Lit
Otherworlders #2
Paranormal fiction
for review

Review: Hubble Bubble - Jane Lovering

Be careful what you wish for …

Holly Grey only took up witchery to keep her friend out of trouble – and now she’s knee-deep in hassle, in the form of apocalyptic weather, armed men, midwifery … and a sarcastic Welsh journalist.

Kai has been drawn to darkest Yorkshire by his desire to find out who he really is. What he hadn’t bargained on was getting caught up in amateur magic and dealing with a bunch of women who are trying really hard to make their dreams come true.

Together they realise that getting what you wish for is sometimes just a matter of knowing what it is you want …

My thoughts:

I liked that you could make up your own mind about what happened in this book. Did they really do magic? Or was it just by chance? I will go with magic cos magic is always cooler.

Holly was a practical woman. She takes care of her brother. She does not do long term relationships. She does not see the big problem in her own life. But I liked that about her, it brings the drama in a good way. She needs to think about what she really is doing and then she can move on.

The love interest then, oh how these two jumped around each other and never got it done right. Kai is a journalist with issues of his owns that he is trying to deal with. 2 emotionally scarred people finding their way, and each other. It was a long way there, but for these it just could not happen fast. That would have made no sense.

Yes yes the witchy stuff. They form a circle, things gets spooky, and there are creepy men in the woods. Things gets scary too. Not all is what it seems. And maybe the circle gets some happy endings of their own too ;)

Conclusion:

Magic or no magic? Drama., love and friendship is what this book brings.

Cover

Not a fav but it works for the story

Women's fiction
Paperback, 356 pages
Published June 7th 2013 by Choc Lit
For review

Review: Vampire State of Mind - Jane Lovering

Vampire state of mind

Jessica Grant knows vampires only too well. She runs the York Council tracker programme making sure that Otherworlders are all where they should be, keeps the filing in order and drinks far too much coffee. To Jess, vampires are annoying and arrogant and far too sexy for their own good, particularly her ex-colleague Sil, who's now in charge of Otherworld York. But when a demon turns up and threatens not just Jess but the whole world order, she and Sil are forced to work together, and when Jess turns out to be the key to saving the world it puts a very different slant on their relationship. The stakes are high. They are also very, very pointy and Jess isn't afraid to use them, even on the vampire that she's rather afraid she s falling in love with..

My thoughts:

I do not which genre to put on this, perhaps cos it just feels very British, and then the UF or PNR labels does not work. It's more than just that. It's more gritty, more real, less pretty. If you compare Brit tv vs US tv you know what I am talking about. It's a paranormal book with a bit of action and romance, Brit style.

The heroine Jessica can kick ass (but she is not a katana wielding clone.) She tracks down otherworlders who has moved out of the area they should stay in. She has a crappy lovelife and wonders about the guy she can't forget.

Sil, the one we soon understand is the guy she can't forget is a powerful vampire from the area. The vamps are all very pretty and stylish. But still they are different. The whole vampire comes to be after you have been infected and a demon lays it's seed in you and a baby demon hatches in your belly..yup not pretty at all. For that the vampires were different and I liked it. They feed off sex, blood and emotions.

There are other beings too, and the whole reason they are here are because of a portal that was opened and closed. Another thing that works since it changed the whole world. No world wars, but plenty of human vs beings wars.

Conclusion:

A different sort of paranormal book. The usual ingredients are there, but the taste is just more, lol, British ;) Not your usual kind of PNR UF.

Cover:

Not a fan of the face there

Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 288
Published: August 7th by Choc Lit
Source: For review
Kindle UK / Kindle US

Review: Star Struck - Jane Lovering

Genre: Romantic Fiction
Pages: 301
Published: Sep 1, 2011
Publisher: Choc Lit
Source: For review

Our memories define us don't they? And Skye Threppel lost most of hers in a car crash that stole the lives of her best friend and fiancé. It's left scars, inside and out, which have destroyed her career and her confidence. Skye hopes a trip to the wide dusty landscapes of Nevada and a TV convention offering the chance to meet the actor she idolises will help her heal. But she bumps into mysterious Sci-fi writer Jack Whitaker first. He's a handsome contradiction cool and intense, with a wild past. Jack has enough problems already. He isn t looking for a woman with self-esteem issues and a crush on one of his leading actors. Yet he's drawn to Skye. An instant rapport soon becomes intense attraction, but Jack fears they can t have a future if Skye ever finds out about his past ... Will their memories tear them apart, or can they build new ones together?

My thoughts:

This book is not straight out contemporary romance, instead as I wrote it's more romantic fiction. The feeling of the book is darker, there are a lot of issues and people struggle. The tone is this mix of serious and more.

Skye is really messed up. She is afraid of crowds and wants to stay inside. She was in a horrible accident which killed her fiancé and best friend and the trauma is still with her. Poor Skye, so broken, and not remembering one bit about her life before. I did like her, because she was nice, I felt her pain. I understood that she could not brave the real world. But she is not in that dark hole long because she will learn to cope in this book. Her friend is taking her to this convention for a sci-fi series. Oh yes Felix, her friend, I did not know what to make of him. He was so bossy and cheerful, but he is dealing with sadness too and we will learn more.

While in Nevada she meets Jack who helps her since she was scared during the car trip. Mysterious Jack, we got a lot of hints that he was hiding something and he sure was. Everyone is a bit broken in this book. Even Gethryn who is the sexy lead actor of the show, the guy Skye has been lusting after.

But I liked that, broken people, trying to move on, trying to move past it, to cope and to survive. Some hiding it better than the rest. It made it real and the romance, well no one is falling in love at once. Skye has to deal with herself before letting someone in. But yes there is a HEA, or the road to one. There is a romantic feeling over the book after all.

Conclusion:

A different sort of romantic book. I really liked the setting since I am a nerd after all, good characters and excellent secrets.

Rating:

Nice

Cover:

Cute

Review: Please don't stop the Music - Jane Lovering

Genre: Contemporary romance  /Fiction

Pages: 304
Published: February 1st 2011 Choc-Lit

How much can you hide? Jemima Hutton is determined to build a successful new life and keep her past a dark secret. Trouble is, her jewellery business looks set to fail - until enigmatic Ben Davies offers to stock her handmade belt buckles in his guitar shop and things start looking up, on all fronts. But Ben has secrets too. When Jemima finds out he used to be the front man of hugely successful Indie rock band Willow Down, she wants to know more. Why did he desert the band on their US tour? Why is he now a semi-recluse? And the curiosity is mutual - which means that her own secret is no longer safe.

Plot:

Jemima Hutton makes belt buckles, and that leads her into the guitar store owned by Ben Davies. They both have secrets, and they both need someone.

My thoughts:

What can I say, it was real. I like this kind of romance. You know where a couple meet, are friends, and then something slowly builds up. It is real, it's life, there are doubts, and there is love.

Jemima is young woman trying to build a life. She is nice, but she is also broken. Why we do not know. But there are hints, something has happened in her past. That alone could have kept me reading, I do like secrets. Then there is Ben, a former celebrity from a band bigger than Coldplay. Why he suddenly left no one knows. He has issues too, and I though that I knew why while reading, but the truth is never that simple. His secret made me want to read on too. These two needed each other. Their way to romance was slow, but truthful, and it made me the happier when they took small steps.

There are also two side characters, Jason who shares a studio with Jemima. He was fun, and Rosie with her newborn son Harry. She was sweet and now I kind of want her story. And of course we need someone not to like and in comes Saskia, the resident bad guy. She does not want to sell Jemima's belt buckles anymore, she seems to have a stick up her ass, and she demands too much from Rosie (who makes handmade cards and sells them in Saskia's store). Something fishy is going on there, so there is a third mystery that makes the plot go forward.

This book had a mix of everything, and there was warmth, true friendship and feelings about loss and trying to hide who one really is. I could not put it down, I had to read on. It was a fast read, and wonderful read too. 

Final thoughts and recommendation:

I would recommend this one, it is not contemporary romance with whirlwind romances in a day, and big jealousy dramas. It's a more truthful look at a couple finding each other and opening up. While dealing with life. It was a wonderful book that I did not want to stop reading, and I do want to read more by this author.

Reason for reading:

I like Choc-lit books, Brit romances are fun :)

Cover:

Nice, but it does make  me think about what her belt buckles really look like with all those stones on it.