4/05/2020

Weekly Book Wrap-Up #110 – Easter Within Reach

With the Weekly Book Wrap-Up, I give you a bit of an insight into all the new books that have arrived at my place. No matter if I won a giveaway, got approved for a reviewer´s copy, an ARC or just bought one myself. Everything that I add to my shelves, in what way ever and read during the past week or am still reading, I will write about it.  And maybe I tell you a bit about the upcoming things on Inkvotary, that is if I don´t forget it and have something to share with you *smile*

I am linking up with Tynga´s Reviews and Caffeinated Reviewer and hope you´ll have fun reading it and maybe get the one or the other book inspiration.

Stacking The Shelves #110

I´ve got some free kindle books for my kindle app on my smartphone. Please check them before you one-click them because I don´t know if they are still for free. The publisher Penhaligon made me very happy on April 1st when I found Five Dark Fates in my mailbox. Woohoo!

     

Review Copy

 

Sunday Post #67

The last few days have shown that the warmer and sunnier the weather gets the more people are out and about. Most of us keep the required 6 ft distance but some don´t. I now have to carry not only my personal ID and drivers-license with me when I go out for a run but also got advised by a neighbor to have the town registration with me. Because the police are checking parks and other open space and the numbers of people who received a criminal complaint has gone up.

Somehow, I finally found the space and time to start a new book. I was able to do some blogging and making slow progress on changing the style of the older blog posts so that they fit the newer ones. But at some point, during the day I have to go outside for a run or long walk to get some oxygen into my body and feel better.

I´ve got informed by some publishers that they do what they can to get out the new releases to us bloggers but that it will take up to four weeks before the books will arrive at our doorsteps. I don´t mind although it is kind of strange when you see the date the book was given to the DHL and compare it to the date you received it. That is a process that usually takes only a few days. But I am absolutely thrilled that they still do what they can to get the new releases out in the open.

I started to look for cloth masks because for a few days the rumor is getting around that the government might order us to wear one when we go outside. I have to buy one because I don´t have a sewing machine. I know that it is only the psychological effect of why people wear it, but it works. Every time I see a person wearing a mask I automatically step away and bring some distance between me and the other person. Crazy, huh? *smile*

And now something fun.

A little foretaste of the little animal that will soon be hopping through almost empty places. I thought I cheer my parents up a little bit by taking this picture. It worked. 

And again, some pictures from the Blühende Barock Ludwigsburg. The pictures were taken by the director of the Blühende Barock Ludwigsburg in Germany, Volker Kugel, and give you a little impression on how this park looks at the moment. I don´t know how many people were involved to create those huge Easter eggs and the butterfly but it is sad that we can´t go there to see them live. The Blühende Barock is a huge park around the Ludwigsburger castle (Ludwigsburg was once the residence castle of King Wilhelm II) where the season 2020 was about to start. Pictures copyright ©Volker Kugel Blühendes Barock Ludwigsburg.

Stay safe and healthy!


Happy reading

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4/03/2020

Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

I like to finish a series or in this case, trilogy, and so it was clear that I would read this book too. Usually, I don´t like to read novels that have a setting in the Erotica genre. Mostly they are kitschy, describe things in a very flowery way and are far from being a good reading experience. But somehow the author managed to write this second book without diving too deep into the cliché box and gave her characters a surprising profoundness.

Fifty Shades Darker*

by E. L. James 

Fifty Shades Trilogy #2

Publisher Vintage on April 17, 2012

Genre Erotica

Pages 532

Format Paperback

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶✶ 

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But the desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades. While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront her anger and envy of the women who came before her and make the most important decision of her life.

Story

Ana tries to build a life without Christina again – with moderate success. The pain and shock of their last encounter are still too fresh, and Ana is still struggling with horror. Unfortunately, her best friend Kate is on vacation and the new boss isn´t exactly a harmless creature either. But Ana is determined not to let her grief flow into her work, even if Christian is always noticeable. Sometimes he sends flowers, sometimes he sends an e-mail, yes and then there is also the exhibition of José´s pictures, and Ana had promised to appear – with Christian. What was meant to be a harmless companion of Ana quickly turns out to be a delicate matter, and Ana is completely surprised by Christian´s offer. The only question is: Will she accept it?

Style

The words flow easily, peppily and in places very ironically in front of the reader´s eye; and pull it through the first-person perspective of protagonist Ana into a magical world of eroticism, passion and power – the power Christian has over Ana and she over him. While the first part was almost exclusively shaped by Christian´s dark, magical side and Ana´s curiosity about his world, the author in the second volume of the Fifty Shades Trilogy opens up a practically completely different world to the reader. 

The two main figures try to live the normal everyday life of a normal relationship with flower sex and everything that goes with it (apart from the fact that Ana doesn´t have to take care of anything in the apartment, the service spirits are always available). An undertaking, which is not easy. Christian´s views on Ana´s security is still extremely strict and radical, and his dominance remains unbroken. But the author also brilliantly understood how to give her two main characters enough space for themselves and the others and to capture their opposites on paper in an exciting way. For me, it was a feast for the eye to witness the further development of Ana and Christian and their relationship. E. L. James put it in words!

Characters

Full of heart, charm, and assertiveness has E. L. James created her characters. You believe every word; you can understand their actions very well and you experience a profundity that touched me in many places. Christian´s inner changes alone are a real pleasure. Ana´s stunned and horrified exit from his “playroom” (at the end of Fifty Shades of Grey) triggered a kind of emotional about-face in him. Suddenly he begins to understand how much he needs this woman, what she gives him and that he needs exactly that to live. Christian Grey is a lot, but he never will be a pure house-man – thank God!

Ana knows very well that she cannot give Christian what he needs – in terms of his inclination of “his lifestyle”, as he likes to call it – and yet she is ready to enter this world every now and then. This is not always easy and every day with gray is exhausting and means a kind of degree hike for Ana. Christian´s mood can change from one second to the next, which is not always an advantage for Ana. But she knows how to assert herself and how she can make her priorities and views clear to him and represent her without having to give up too much of herself.

Conclusion

Full of tension and eroticism. Again, this second book will polarize too. You either love what you read or you don´t. For me, it was a gripping and captivating novel that is filled with incredible highly erotic and tingling scenes and that has entertained me very well. E. L. James has managed to bring eroticism at the highest level stylishly and with a wonderful elegance to paper – and without making any compromises. Highly recommended! But judge for yourself. 

Happy reading

*I read the German edition released by Goldmann on September 5, 2012

E. L. James

The British author E.L. James was an employee of a TV station in London. Her “Fifty Shades” trilogy, which has sold more than 150 million copies globally and has been translated into 52 languages, was initially published by a small Australian publisher and became the most sensational international book success of recent times through word of mouth. The first volume, “Fifty Shades of Grey” was on the Spiegel bestseller list for 147 weeks. And the film versions of the three volumes broke all records. E. L. James lives in West London with her husband, writer and screenwriter Niall Leonard, and their two sons.  

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4/02/2020

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

It was the cover that made me want it in the first place. The summary sounded promising too, but the red rose caught my attention first. It was a great read, and I hope that one day I will be able to read the other book in Tessa Gratton´s The Blood Journals duology. For all those, who haven´t read a book by the author yet, this is a great opportunity to start with.

Blood Magic

by Tessa Gratton

The Blood Journals #1

Publisher cbj on July Day, 2011

Genre Young Adult 

Pages 443

Format Hardcover

Source Publisher 

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶✶ 

Draw a circle… place a dead leaf in the center… sprinkle some salt… recite a little Latin… add a drop of blood…
Maybe that last part isn´t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parent´s horrific deaths. She´s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family-even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep … and spill some blood. The book isn´t the only recent arrival in Silla´s life. There´s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She´s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick´s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can´t deny their attraction. And they can´t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby – waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Story

Silla, once a fun-loving and happy teenager, is now completely withdrawn due to tragic circumstances. A letter and a notebook full of spells, sent by a stranger, make Silla familiar with a side of her family she did not really know until then - blood magic. On the one hand, she is fascinated, on the other hand, repelled by what she must experience through magic, and she trusts in her brother Reese. But then Reese dies cruelly during a magic ritual, and blood magic becomes an absolute nightmare for Silla. The evil becomes a great danger to her, and she comes in the person of Josephine, who has been close to her family in the past and knows the secret of Silla´s father.

Style

A fascinating plot takes place by means of two storylines. One tells the plot by Silla and Nicholas, which contemplate each other harmoniously and with a wonderful atmosphere. The second strand of action lets the reader experience events beginning in 1904 in the form of diary entries by Josephine. Both storylines move towards each other and then meet in a rather unusual way in today´s action.

The language alternates between a quick-witted, eloquent and witty youth language of today and the twentieth century, by Josephine – and made, for me, the special appeal of the story. As the story progresses, you can see Josephine´s style slowly changing emotionally. Linguistically, she remains very chosen and discreet. At first, she was still reserved in her way of speaking, but she became increasingly impatient, angry and full of hate. 

A person must give if that person wants to take from magic and vice versa. The greater the giving, the stronger and more powerful the magic. A kind of barter that can become dangerous and should only be done wisely. The author also shows very clearly that life and death are basically not susceptible to manipulation. If they are manipulated, the consequences can be or become cruel and the influence is often short-lived.

Characters

Tessa Gratton draws here figures by using only a few words. They are very convincing, full of surprises lively characters, extremely profound and versatile. But also, very idiosyncratic. 

Silla lets her curiosity run the way through the book, but when it comes to life and death and things get tougher, her belief in the people, her principles and her love for her family take control and dominate her thinking and acting. Nicholas is similar. Only that he is already well acquainted with the blood magic since childhood and the magic reluctantly returns to his life. A conflict that he can not easily solve and brings back the long-forgotten childhood memories in him.

Conclusion

What an incredible book. Madness! Sluggish at the beginning, but then a gripping story develops. I did not think so, but this book is a real page-turner, who develops his own magic in the reader. Highly recommended.

Happy reading

Tessa Gratton

Tessa Gratton was born in Okinawa, Japan, when her father was serving the US Navy there.  She is the author of the Blood Journals duology, Gods of New Asgard series, and two books on writing fantasy for teen writers. Tessa Gratton lived all over the world, traveling with her family, before returning to her prairie roots in Kansas with her wife. She studied at the University of Kansas and currently works for Serial Box Publishing as a lead writer on Tremontaine.

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4/01/2020

Waiting On Wednesday #128 – The Shape Of Night by Tess Gerritsen

is a weekly event that was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This meme is a place that spotlights upcoming releases that we´re eagerly anticipating with pure joy. 

There are a lot of new books coming out each year and some of them catch my attention and will get a spotlight in my Waiting on Wednesday post. While some of them will finally end up here at my place, others won´t. I am joining Tressa at Wishful Endings and her meme Can´t-Wait Wednesday.

I don´t know whether the German edition will be published on its today known release date, but I am putting it in a Waiting On Wednesday post anyway. As an old Tess Gerritsen fan, I am very curious about how this new one will be. 

Das Schattenhaus-The Shape Of Night

Author Tess Gerritsen
Publishing Date April 27, 2020
Publisher LIMES
Format Softcover
Goodreads

Ava Collette is punishing herself for an unspeakable tragedy. So she flees Boston and rents an old home named Brodie’s Watch on a remote coastal peninsula of Maine, hoping to work on a cookbook inspired by New England cuisine that she’s been trying to finish for months. She immediately feels at peace in the isolated house–until she starts to hear strange noises.
Rumor has it that a sea captain named Brodie has haunted the house for decades. Then, one night, Ava is awakened to find herself face to face with an apparition who looks–and feels–all too real. Meanwhile, there’s been a series of accidental deaths nearby that don’t add up. And as Ava starts to check into the previous renter’s mysterious disappearance, she starts to realize that there’s a disturbing secret some in town are desperate to keep hidden.
Soon all of Ava’s waking hours are consumed by her investigation, and her nights are ignited by Captain Brodie’s ghostly visits. But even as she questions her own sanity, she knows she must uncover the truth before a killer strikes again.

And what are you waiting for? Let me know your thoughts about this one or leave me the link to your WoW and I check it out.

Happy reading & waiting on

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3/31/2020

Twisted by Emma Chase

One of the books I´ve read some time ago. It wasn´t as much fun as the first book and turned out to be only a bit above average for me. Sad, but that is how I feel about it. If you want to know what my thoughts are on this one, keep reading.

Twisted*

by Emma Chase

Tangled Series #2

Publisher Gallery Books on March 25, 2014

Genre Novel

Pages 272

Format Paperback

Source LYX 

Goodreads

✶✶✶½ 

There are two kinds of people in this world: The ones who look first, and the ones who leap. I´ve always been more of a looker. A planner. Cautious. Then I met Drew Evans. He was so persistent. So sure, of himself. He made it easy to leap with him. Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after? So did I. But life is about choices and Drew already made his. In fact, he tried to decide for the both of us – but you know that´s not my style. So I came back to Greenville, to spend some time alone … sort of. Because old habits die hard, and sometimes you have to go back to where you began before you can move ahead again. 

Story

Kate and Drew live and enjoy their happiness to the fullest. Sex is hot, they are more successful professionally than ever and everything else just fits perfectly. But then Kate realizes something, and an appointment leads Drew to wrong conclusions and there is a fatal misunderstanding. Because Drew demands the impossible from Kate. Injured and deeply affected, Kate withdraws and has to deal with the shards of her relationship, good or bad.

Style

The story takes place around two years after the end of the first volume and begins with a scene where Kate tells the reader where she is from the first-person perspective, suggesting that some unsightly events have brought her to this point. The reader immediately recognizes which scene led to the following difficulties of the two. Unfortunately, Kate´s view is not half as mocking or ironic as Drew´s view of things, which gives the novel a somewhat stiff character and a very subtle note. 

Towards the end, Kate arrives in the presence of action and shortly before the end Drew takes over again and things are described from him in the first-person perspective. And with that, the ridicule, sarcasm, and irony are restored, and the action becomes easy and wonderfully amusing again. 

Characters

This volume impressively shows how different the views of men and women can be and are. Compared to Drew, Kate almost appears to have swallowed a stick. She only gets really relaxed when she is on the road with her childhood friend and ex-fiancé. A fact that Drew doesn´t like at all. 

Emma Chase also shows in this novel that men and women are anything but the same and still somehow do it. With irony, charm and a pinch of with, she stages the individual characters and expresses violent contrasts. Delores is such a candidate. For my taste, she often reacts too violently to the things that happen, and her answer reminded me more than one of that of a defiant toddler. 

Conclusion

Honestly? This second volume is not half as amusing and beautiful as the first part. No question, it´s often wonderfully atmospheric, but I really missed the joke and the often more than mocking sayings and views of Drew. Kate is too stiff. But if you want to know what happens to Kate and Drew, you simply cannot avoid this volume.

Happy reading

*The German edition of Twisted.

Emma Chase

By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother who resides in a small town in New Jersey. By night she is a keyboard crusader, toiling away the hours to bring her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. Emma Chase writes contemporary romance filled with heat, humor and heart. Her stories are known for their clever banter, sexy, swoon-worthy moments, and hilariously authentic male POV’s. Emma lives in New Jersey with her amazing husband, two awesome children, and two adorable but badly behaved dogs.  She has a long-standing love/ hate relationship with caffeine.

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3/30/2020

Fifty Shades Of Grey by E. L. James

This book was brought to my attention about ten years ago. One of the women I shared a classroom with, asked me if I had read it and if yes, what I thought about it. Back then it was totally new to me and so I asked for it. And to be honest, this is one of the few books I know where I can say it polarizes its readers. You either love it or not. To find out how I think about it, keep reading.

Fifty Shades Of Grey*

by E. L. James

Fifty Shades Trilogy #1

Publisher Vintage on May 25, 2011

Genre Erotica

Pages 356

Format Paperback

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶½ 

When literature student Anastasia Steel goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana´s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too – but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey´s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family – Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey´s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Story

Ana takes on an important appointment in Seattle for her sick friend Kate and finds herself just hours later opposite Christian Grey, who is as mysterious as he is fascinating. The interview with him turns out to be one catastrophe for Ana – she has no idea who she is actually dealing with, and Kate´s questionnaire doesn´t make things any better. But somehow, she survives the almost embarrassing situation and is happy when she finally arrives back in Vancouver in her own world. Her exams are pending, and she has a lot to learn. If only there weren´t those grey eyes of a certain Christian Grey – eyes Ana just can´t get out of her head, even if she knows exactly that the man is not her league.

Style

E.L. James has written an extremely effective novel in a simple if direct, language, which takes its readership into a world full of eroticism and skillfully plays with the opposites of its characters and two worlds. Fifty Shades of Grey brings the subject of bondage & discipline, dominance & submission, sadism & masochism to the reader in an incredibly atmospheric and extremely sensitive way.

Through the first-person perspective of protagonist Ana, the reader immerses himself in a world that is characterized by deep fears, lust, passion, uncertainty, power and naivety and involuntarily experiences this up close. On the one hand, the main character enters a world that is completely unknown to her – that of passion – but on the other hand, she is also able, even if only by email, to express her wishes, views, and opinions. 

The style of writing and speaking is simple, very direct, sometimes ironic without becoming obscene – at least that´s how I feel – and presents the novel in a light, almost swinging tone. Sure, there are repetitions of words and sentences in some scenes and passages, but that didn´t disturb me much. The special thing about the novel: Ana is not degraded to a sex-willing object of desire, but she remains herself, remains human or woman and is not a puppet that is at the service of the dom without her own will. 

Characters

It´s no secret that the two main characters are originally Bella and Edward from the Twilight series – just presented a little differently – and do so deliberately. The author skillfully plays with the opposites of her performers, creates a wonderfully dense and crackling atmosphere in the plot through her completely different perspectives and reveals essential characteristics of Bella and Edward. 

On the one hand, there is Christian´s way of driving his hair through when Ana confronts him with something (which is usually not so pleasant for him), or Ana´s habit of nibbling on her lip when she is busy. These features are expressed in different scenes – sometimes in dialogues, sometimes in the plot itself – but are never boring or annoying for the reader because they simply belong to the character. 

Ana is absolutely convinced that she is unassuming and unremarkable, especially in the eyes of a man like the divinely attractive and incredibly dominant Christian Grey. In a direct comparison with her friend Kate, Ana may have an inner strength in spite of all naivety and inexperience when it comes to sex, which impressed me very much. She manages to stand up to Christian in a unique way without giving up on herself as a person. She is ready to venture into new territory, to try out, to test her limits – both moral and physical – and shows it more than clear when she is no longer willing to go beyond it. 

Christian is practically the opposite of Ana. Rich, outrageously attractive, equipped with a smile and a charm for which he would actually need a gun license, and he radiates something dark. But not only does he have a lot to offer on the surface, but he is also an absolute masterpiece internally: his past, his inner demons with whom he has to struggle every day and his low self-esteem – all this makes this character a very special experience for me.

Conclusion

It happens very, very rarely that a book can really surprise me, but Fifty Shades of Grey did a wonderful job. The novel is wonderfully atmospheric and undoubtedly polarizes – either you love it, or the opposite is the case. There is no middle thing here. As a reader, it is difficult to evade its dense atmosphere, but who wants that? I have never had a story in this genre in mind that the delicate degree hike – not to slip into tasteless clichés and instead present delightful appealing eroticism to the reader – was seen as brilliantly implemented as E. L. James did with this title. The book is just fantastic reading material – not just for women.  

Happy reading

*I read the German edition released by Goldmann in August 2012 

E. L. James

The British author E.L. James was an employee of a TV station in London. Her “Fifty Shades” trilogy, which has sold more than 150 million copies globally and has been translated into 52 languages, was initially published by a small Australian publisher and became the most sensational international book success of recent times through word of mouth. The first volume, “Fifty Shades of Grey” was on the Spiegel bestseller list for 147 weeks. And the film versions of the three volumes broke all records. E. L. James lives in West London with her husband, writer and screenwriter Niall Leonard, and their two sons.  

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3/29/2020

Weekly Book Wrap-Up #109 – Very Quiet Spring Week

With the Weekly Book Wrap-Up, I give you a bit of an insight into all the new books that have arrived at my place. No matter if I won a giveaway, got approved for a reviewer´s copy, an ARC or just bought one myself. Everything that I add to my shelves, in what way ever and read during the past week or am still reading, I will write about it.  And maybe I tell you a bit about the upcoming things on Inkvotary, that is if I don´t forget it and have something to share with you *smile*

I am linking up with Tynga´s Reviews and Caffeinated Reviewer and hope you´ll have fun reading it and maybe get the one or the other book inspiration.

Stacking The Shelves #109

I´ve got some free kindle books for my kindle app on my smartphone. Please check them before you one-click them because I don´t know if they are still for free.

        

        

Sunday Post #66

We had fantastic spring weather, although our nights were very chilly and still are. I tried to enjoy the bright sun as much as possible and went out for some walks. It is still totally surreal that places that are usually packed with people are now empty. Even the path along our small river where I go for my walks, is almost empty and if somebody is coming towards you, you can easily step away a few steps to keep the ordered distance of 2m (I guess 6ft?). I had to go to the supermarket and was both times very surprised to see the building filled with people and only a red sign at the front door which tells you to keep your distance from others. We are now asked, no matter if it is fresh fruits and veggies, stuff from the bakery or already packed goods like chocolate or cookies, to only touch the goods we want to buy and take with us. I was surprised to see the signs because I thought this is the normal way you do your grocery shopping. A least that´s how I do mine for ages now. Well, for others apparently not. 

Besides all the madness going on in the world, I continued to clean my household, took care of my plants and was on the phone with my parents. I still have not read a single book but was able to do some blogging. And to my absolute delight, I found out how to upload covers to my blog. With Mozilla Firefox no chance but with Google Chrome it works *smile*

One TV channel called ZDF shows in its media center old shows and series from the eighties and nineties among all the new stuff. It is such fun to watch some of those oldies again and get your mind off of all the other stuff.

Stay safe and healthy!

Happy reading

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3/28/2020

Tangled by Emma Chase

I guess it was the fun-sounding summary in combination with the cover design of the German edition, which made me want it (see end of review). The summary promised a fun story with some hot elements but the cover didn´t look like it at all. I was curious and asked about it. That was some years ago. I still own the book so why not put my review online? Yep, that´s what I thought too. 

Tangled

by Emma Chase
Tangled Series #1
Publisher Gallery Books on January 14, 2014
Genre Novel
Pages 256
Format Paperback
Source LYX
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶

Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion-dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? He’ll tell you he has the flu. But we all know that’s not really true. Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating. Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able to untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life? Can Drew Evans win at love? Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

Story

Drew meets Kate in a bar and immediately knows: I want her. There is only one catch, because Kate is the new employee in his father´s company and if Drew has a principle that he doesn´t do anything to the women in the office – under no circumstances! But fate seems to have a different idea, and his father, in particular, sending Drew and Kate into a competition to acquire a new client. And this competition soon degenerates into fierce arguments between the two, albeit in a completely non-verbal manner. And the fact that Kate is engaged doesn´t make the game any easier. So Drew reaches deep into his bag of tricks and makes a very banal game of erotic roller coasters for himself and Kate.

Style

The reader is drawn into an amusing story about two people who have been fascinated from the first moment. The main figure, Drew, gives the reader an unvarnished and unfiltered insight into his way of thinking, his way of life, what he thinks of things and why he handles things the way he does. The pitch ranges from sarcastic and cheeky to ironic to dripping mockery.

With a wink, Emma Chase describes how men approach the conquest of a woman, garnishes the entertaining plot with a love story and crowns the whole thing with a few very hot sex scenes. But if you now expect a sophisticated novel with complex characters, be warned: This novel is an absolutely superficial - if very enjoyable - novel, which has no depth and really only serves for pure entertainment and the fun of reading.

In this story, the author mixes both sides when it comes to the age-old game between man and woman. She shows that of the man through Drew´s direct narrative perspective, that of the woman through the behavior of Kate. The world of finance brings color and practically forms the background for the story about the two main characters. Emma Chase uses a short and uncomplicated writing style. Her descriptions are short but sufficient, both in terms of the characters themselves and the locations.

Characters

The author skillfully stages the typical male way of looking and acting. The author does not dwell on great figure descriptions. A few words are enough for her, and the rest does the reader´s imagination. In characters, there is pretty much everything the world has to offer in this novel. Strong women, cute little girls and confident men who consider themselves the navel of the world. Emma Chase has some surprises in store, and all together offer a wonderful interplay. She does not miss anything, grants the male protagonist his passionate triumph only to make him suffer soon afterward and to bring him to his knees with the arms of a woman. It is really a pleasure to keep track of what the masters of creation can come up with to make the lady of their hearts feel good again.

Drew is one hell of a character and one hell of a handsome man for sure. Spoiled till nowhere, the baby of the family, a caring uncle (which is kind of the best part of him) and a boss who has one great set of beliefs: never ever start an affair or one night stand with staff – brings only complications with it. Not for him, of course, but for the female who´s involved. The way he tells the reader that is enjoyable, as Emma Chase´s writing is in general. At some point, she reminded me of Alice Clayton in her writing style.

The best figure in this hilarious novel is, no doubt, Mackenzie – Drew´s little nice. She wraps him around her finger like nothing – I think about her way of getting a horse or the one when you read in a dialogue between Drew and his elder sister every second line the words: tap tap tap (that´s when Mackenzie uses the calculator Kate gave her). Why she does it? Well that you have to figure out yourself.

Conclusion

If you´re looking for the perfect beach lecture – this is it. Reading Tangled means great pleasure, your brain can stop thinking and you can just relax and have a good time.

Happy reading

The cover of the German edition.

Emma Chase

By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother who resides in a small town in New Jersey. By night she is a keyboard crusader, toiling away the hours to bring her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. Emma Chase writes contemporary romance filled with heat, humor, and heart. Her stories are known for their clever banter, sexy, swoon-worthy moments, and hilariously authentic male POV’s. Emma lives in New Jersey with her amazing husband, two awesome children, and two adorable but badly behaved dogs.  She has a long-standing love/ hate relationship with caffeine.

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