The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia

Summary: "Romeo and Juliet meets The Fast and the Furious in this edgy romance set in the suburbs of Washington, DC."

Well, I LOVE The Fast and the Furious, so I was quite anxious to get my hands on this one! The Lovely Reckless was also recommended by Katie McGarry, and I can see why! The angst and romance were very similar to Katie McGarry's plot and story-telling style. While I enjoyed myself throughout this book, it left a little to be desired.  

I'm sure you could predict the entire thing!



374 pages

"The Game Changer" by Kay Simone

This is the second Kay Simone book that I have read, and although it felt very different from the first ("The Company We Keep," which was great), I really enjoyed it.  Malcolm Rodgers is a professional quarterback who's having a very bad week.  First, he's injured in a game that will require him to undergo weeks of intensive physical therapy causing him to miss at least six games in the season.  Second, his fiancee calls off their wedding and breaks up with him for reasons he can't quite comprehend.  Malcolm ends up spending most of his time with Vance Coberly, his team's head physical therapist, just trying to get his leg back in shape as fast as he can. Although different in the way they approach life, the two men become friends.  However, when the seemingly straight Malcolm kisses the out-and-proud Vance, the two will never be the same.

This novel was about a lot of things: self-discovery, family obligations, friendship, homophobia, professional football, and love.  The author takes time to flesh out the two main characters, why they are the way they are, their fears, and their faults, which doesn't always happen in character driven novels.  This was another winner from Simone that had me hooked from beginning to end.  403 pages (Kindle edition).

"A Restored Man" by Jaime Reese

This is the third book in the Men of Halfway House series and focuses on Cole Renzo, who has spent the last two years in prison for car theft.  He moves to Halfway House to finish his sentence but must find and keep a job.  He gets a position at a car restoration shop owned by Ty Calloway, brother of Aiden Calloway, a Miami detective who is trying to keep Cole in line.  Cole notices that the two brothers are very different and have a fractured relationship due to an accident in the family a couple of years ago that physically and emotionally damaged Ty.  But Cole's non-stop mouth and overconfidence help Ty come out of his shell, much to the brothers' surprise.  However, someone from Ty's past is trying to blackmail him and force him out of business.  Can Cole and Aiden help him defeat his blackmailer and find happiness again?

This is the best book of the series (so far) with two main characters whose personalities are very different but complement each other.  Ty and Cole have both suffered personal losses and have families that love them but don't always know how to show it.  There were well written secondary characters, especially Cole's siblings and Ty's main mechanic, who added layers to the story.  It was also great to see Julian and Matt, who run Halfway House.  I can't wait to read the next in the series.  362 pages.

The Car: The History of the Automobile by Jonathan Glancey

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

The auto started as basically a horseless carriage.  With bigger and powerful engines and design improvement cars became as big as Cadillacs and Dusenbergs.  With the further improvement  the cars became smaller like the current Fiats, Mini Coopers, and Smart Cars.  Cars with better millage, what a cycle.  251 pages.