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nelsonseye's review
3.0
All three stories had moments to recommend them. I think I liked the fact that all of the protagonists were adults with realistic adult problems. Not all of their problems were solved or necessarily could be solved, and they had to learn to cope with/manage these problems. But, HUGE BUT, they still had their happy endings.
poisonivy70's review
4.0
3.5 stars
Acute Reactions: The man with allergies never gets the girl, but that may change for restaurateur Ian Zamora when he makes an appointment with Dr. Petra Lale. When sparks fly, a little romance just might be chicken soup for their hearts. But do two career-driven people inexperienced in relationships stand a chance of finding the right prescription for love?
My take: Love the writing style, such a rich, diverse cast of characters. I really enjoyed that the story may have started from Ian’s POV (and man did I enjoy Ian’s “all-in” feelings for Petra), but this is definitely more of a female-centric type of series. Petra is not an easy heroine but she’s an interesting one. I would have liked a little more parity in their relationship, and it took a long while before I actually believed in her love for him. She’s a worrier-type of character and she won’t be for everyone. Also, wished there was more definite HEA feel to the ending.
4 stars
Hard Knocks: Neurologist Helen Chang Frobisher is writing op-eds against Portland’s new hockey rink to try to prevent concussive brain injuries like the one that plagues her father. Oregon Wolves player Adam Magnus is fighting to build a successful career on the ice. But while the two spar in public over the future of a sports franchise on the brink, in private, they battle an impossible attraction.
My take: Helen is the type of flawed heroine I can understand and empathize with. Adam Magnus was a nice spin on the clichéd All-Star hockey player that you see in every other hockey romance. Overall, this story is strong and really resonated with me. The grounded feel of this series is great, you can believe that these characters have full and interesting lives, not existing in some Romancelandia vacuum-sealed bubble. There is the occasional bit of continuity issues, small physical descriptions that threw me off compared to the previous book, but overall, not that bad. I do wish the ending had been stronger. It was good, but it seemed to fade out rather than really pack a punch.
4.5 stars
Clean Breaks: Sarah Soon’s brush with cancer shook this usually confident OB/GYN. Jake Li, her brother’s annoying high school BFF who betrayed her trust, is the last person she wants to see, but the now disturbingly hot social worker has begun hanging around. Newly divorced Jake knows he shouldn’t look for a serious relationship already, but he’s always been helplessly drawn to Sarah’s vivaciousness. Can he show her that he’s worthy of a second chance?
My take: I’ll admit it. I was NOT expecting it and I adored Clean Breaks all the more for it.
The mark of a talented author is the ability to take a character that I had set in my mind as a certain type, and completely flip the script on that character WITHOUT changing their personalities to fit that new image. Ms. Lang really pulled it off with Sarah. She is the one who I wasn’t sure of when I finished the first book and holy crap how much do I love her now. Peeling back the layers and learning what makes her tick was a pleasure. Jake was a solid hero whose openness and desire for change was sweet. I think all the couples in this series balance each other well, but Jake and Sarah’s history give this story that extra bit of richness that you want in what constitutes the dessert in this three course meal of a series.
I thought it had the strongest ending of all the books and really had me closing my kindle with a big smile.
The Bottom Line for the Series- 4 stars
Really enjoyed this series ALOT. The diversity of the ‘verse is fantastic, characters are smart, their lives are complicated and real without losing that special thing that I read romances for - heart. Also, yay for truly female-centric stories where the heroines aren’t just the prop for the (amazing) heroes. If you like contemporary romances with humor and heart as well as brains, I encourage you to check out this series. I’m really glad I did.
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