The Price to Pay by Raven McAllan

THE PRICE TO PAY BY RAVEN MCALLAN

Word Count: 55300

Heat Level: Flirty

Genre: Romance, contemporary, cougar

Publisher: Breathless Press

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Do a friend a favor? Easy. Persuade the woman she's your soul mate? Not so easy. Does this cougar romance stand a chance?

Raig was only doing a favor for a friend. Who'd have thought the mum he was "babysitting" would turn out to be the woman of his dreams?

Raig could see their future; Vairi could only see the age difference. He may say "you are only as old as the man you feel," but she couldn't do the forever he wanted. Too many obstacles stood in their way, especially when she finds out Raig has not been telling her the truth, even though she too has secrets she's not willing to share. Can they open up and put their doubts behind them to discover how satisfying a cougar romance can be?

***

Oooh, a cougar story. How fun, I thought, and it has a good looking couple on the cover. Those two things were the main reasons why I chose to read this book.

First let me start with the mechanics. If I had to grade only this part of the work, it'd end up in the low C range. It took me a little while to get into the story as I grew used to the style of writing and learning to overlook all the telling words/phrases (i.e.: he felt, he could hear, he let, etc). For my taste, I would have liked the story to have been in the heroine's POV at times and not just spoon fed through how the hero thinks she's feeling/thinking, but the story did work just in the hero's POV. There were other small errors, too, that should have been caught during the proofing (spelling, missed words, etc) and which drew me out of the story.

As for the story, whew, talk about sexy! Who wouldn't want a man treating her like a queen and lavishing gobs of affection on her, even though he's a randy one and struck with the love bug right from the start? The hero explained his quick descent into loving her from his angle, and I did appreciate the fact that the heroine addressed the "falling in love fast." I'd been wondering the same since they didn't know each other yet. I liked how humor/wit is laced throughout the story along with the fun bantering between the couple. The first radio show was quite enjoyable as was the texting back and forth later on. I also found myself trying really hard to guess what the issue was Raig was keeping from Vairi. It was built up to be this huge issue/obstacle that they needed to overcome. Yet, when it came down to it, it seemed to be quickly resolved...probably because of how Vairi felt by the end. And, no, I wasn't able to guess his issue so it came as a nice surprise. If I had to grade the story separate from the mechanics, it would have received a high B.

All in all, The Price to Pay was a good read and decent story, and with the two grades combined, it came out with a weak B-.

B-

Deaf Isn't Dumb by Tara Chevrestt

Death Isn't Dumb by Tara Chevrestt

Heat Rating: Innocent
Word Count: 30,391
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Publisher: Breathless Press

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You're stupid. You're retarded. You shouldn't have this job. These words lit a fire of determination in one deaf woman who set out to prove to the aviation world…and the world in general that deaf isn't dumb.

Deaf Isn't Dumb is a motivational story of a young woman, Tara, who faces the challenges of growing up "hearing impaired" in a hearing world. Follow her as she recounts everything from childhood bullies to work related restrictions, and funny misunderstandings from mispronounced words to fear of Federal Air Marshals. In this tale, straight from the heart, learn that simply because one is deaf—contrary to popular misconception—it doesn't mean they are dumb.

***

After reading the blurb for 'Deaf Isn't Dumb' I was quite interested in taking a look at Tara's story. Having grown up with a relative who was deaf, experiencing auditory and speech issues when I was younger and ear problems still as an adult, I related to some of the stories Tara had faced in her life, especially when it came to the childhood incidents: the operation and her reactions, the teasing by other children, the lack of peer respect and friendships. There were times I was moved and wanted to reach through the pages to give her a hug and others where I wanted to reach through and ask the people she had to deal with–like the gray-haired man in the men's store where she tried to work and Rat Bastard at another job–how they could treat anyone the way they did. She infused just enough humor into her recounting to make the serious subject of being deaf in a hearing world approachable and, aside from a few minor stylistic/editing choices, a very easy read.

'Deaf Isn't Dumb' was an enjoyable, inspirational memoir that teaches one to be more aware of who they're dealing with, that obstacles can be overcome and nothing/no one should get in the way of reaching one's dreams. Thank you, Tara, for taking a stand in your life and sharing your story with the world.

A-