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REVIEW: Confetti Hearts by Lily Morton
Confetti Hitched: Confetti Hearts – Lily Morton
Joe Bagshaw doesn’t believe in love or marriage anymore, which is rather a hindrance for a wedding planner.
His own marriage was a whirlwind affair that ended before the ink could dry on the wedding certificate. Nevertheless, even with his divorce pending, he’s getting by. Or at least he was until he finds himself snowed in at a remote Scottish hotel with the wedding party from hell, a terrible ABBA tribute band, and his soon-to-be ex-husband.
Lachlan has missed Joe from the second his husband walked away. He wants Joe back and is prepared to do anything to get him. Being snowed in together seems to offer the chance Lachlan needs, but does he have what it takes to get Joe to trust in love and their marriage again?
From bestselling author Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy about love, matrimony, and the best of second chances.
This is the first book in the Confetti Hitched series.
One of my favorite tropes is the second-chance romance between estranged husbands. There’s not a lot of that around, so when Confetti Hearts was released, I was ecstatic!
Confetti Hearts is the opener of Confetti Hitched, a wedding planning company. Joe Bagshaw is one of its top wedding planners, spectacularly adept at putting out fires and averting impending bridal disasters. His biggest secret is that he and his husband, forensic accountant Lachlan Moore, is about to be divorced a few months after a whirlwind romance and a Vegas wedding. Not something someone in the business of making happy ever afters want known.
The story is told mostly in Joe’s POV, with a couple chapters in Lachlan’s. Right from the get go, Joe had my sympathies. Our boy was thoroughly swept off his feet. He threw himself wholeheartedly into the relationship and only pulled back when he felt he was being shut out by Lachlan. The other shoe dropped when he discovered Lachlan and his PA kissing.
For second chances for estranged husbands to work, I need both parties to be worth rooting for. Sadly, Lachlan didn’t do it for me. His character lacked depth. Sure, he was making all these grand gestures and saying romantic things, but I didn’t feel any genuine spark between him and Joe.
Add to that him being describe as capable of charming everyone, including Joe’s anti-social cat, but being a twat to Joe in private, I don’t know, but the word sociopath came to mind. And if it was by design that his character had his wall up in the first parts, I’m still left unconvinced in the latter parts despite him supposedly a changed man and making all these grandiose vows.
Another issue I had with their relationship and the story, as a whole, is that Joe was such a doormat. The “power dynamics” was heavily skewed in Lachlan’s favor. And it irritates me how Joe and the story were oh so quick to absolve Lachlan of any wrongdoings, despite not redeeming himself satisfactorily. He needs to grovel more, damn it!
I think the book could benefit from more of Lachlan’s POV. Having his perspective could also give his character dimension. The main conflict here is miscommunication, one of my least favorites. Knowing Lachlan’s side sooner might make him more sympathetic. And I think the plot and Lachlan’s secret scheme to get Joe back could work better with this, rather than keep things in the dark until the end.
I also wasn’t a fan of the dialogues. Snark is the author’s signature, but here, I feel the characters talk for the sake of being snarky. I didn’t find any of their lines particularly funny. This was the same issue with another book by the author, which I couldn’t finish due to the dialogues.
Confetti Hearts wasn’t quite what I expected. I was prepared to squee but, instead, ended up wanting to yeet the damn book out the window. Our boy Joe was the only reason I kept going, plus I really like the book model as him on the cover. Joe deserves better!
Rating:
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn bookSoundtrack: Confetti
Artist: Grand Lotus
Album: The Vibrant Migrant
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CONFETTI HEARTS: Kindle | Audiobook
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BLOG TOUR: The Orc and the Manny by Chloe Archer (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: Fakers With Benefits by Willow Dixon
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RELEASE BLITZ: Discovering Damon by Cora Rose & Nicole Dykes
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BOOK BLAST: Tea and Antipathy by Meredith Spies (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Puzzle for Two by Josh Lanyon
Puzzle for Two – Josh Lanyon
It was like those crazy detective novels he read as a kid…
Fledging PI Zachariah Davies’s wealthy and eccentric client, toymaker Alton Beacher, wants to hire an investigator who can pose as his boyfriend while figuring out who is behind the recent attempts on his life. And Zach, struggling to save the business his father built, is just desperate enough to set aside his misgivings and take the job.
But it doesn’t take long for Zach to realize all is not as it seems (and, given that it all seems pretty weird…). The only person he can turn to for help is equally struggling, equally desperate–but a whole lot more experienced–rival PI Flint Carey.
Former Marine Flint has been waiting for Zach to throw in the towel and sell whatever’s left of the Davies Detective Agency to him. Still, he’s unwillingly attracted to the game but inexperienced accountant-turned-shamus, and can’t help offering a helping hand when Zach runs into trouble.
Especially when it’s hard to imagine any worse trouble than having your client murdered.
Puzzle for Two is a standalone novel by Josh Lanyon. It has a contemporary setting but also that Golden Age noir vibe that the author loves to reference in many of her books.
The story is from the POV of accountant-turned-PI Zachariah Davies who, along with his sister Brooke, is struggling to keep the family’s PI business alive. Then, wealthy toymaker Alton Beacher waltzes in, offering $12,000 for Zach to play his boyfriend to find out about the death threats to the already married businessman. Smelling the fish from a mile away but unable to say no because they had ZERO clients, Zach very reluctantly agrees.
The case is more complicated than Zach bargain for. Realizing they need more people to cover the investigation, he begrudgingly hires their rival, the more experienced ex-Marine-turned-PI Flint Carey. The man was willing to help, but was also quick to berate Zach for taking a case that is so patently bogus AND kept pushing offers to buy their detective agency.
The two men were polar opposites. Zach is inexperienced, a little too naive, and the type who avoids telling the truth so as not to hurt. If I’m feeling charitable, I would say he’s the type to see the good in others, but he tested my patience. There were high-tension scenes that could have been resolved had he just been more upfront.
Conflict came from the his interactions with his manipulative ex, Ben. This pest just wouldn’t stop inserting himself in Zach’s life while making it all about himself, AND blatantly ignoring the fact that they already broke up 4 months ago. Had Zach just told him point blank he has no feelings for the guy anymore, it would have saved us from all that drama. Their scenes were not pleasant to go through, and the plot could have done without.
On the other hand, Flint is not really a cynic but more of a realist due to years of experience. He’s blunt and antagonistic with Zach, who returns snark for snark. A typical Josh Lanyon love interest but nicer. A guy who says what he means, doesn’t play games, and always willing to lend a hand to a struggling rival.
I thought the mystery was pretty straightforward but trust the author to throw me in for a loop with twists and turns, suspense, and a whole bunch of questionable characters. While the book isn’t my favorite from the author, I was still completely absorbed because the storytelling is very engaging.
Puzzle For Two has all the usual Josh Lanyon elements but is far from stale. While it had its share of self-absorbed exes, it’s also highly entertaining, humorous, and fun. All in all, a satisfying comfort read from a go-to author.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Puzzle Pieces
Artist: Tiger Trap
Album: Tiger Trap
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PUZZLE FOR TWO: Kindle | Audiobook
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COVER REVEAL: Bellamy by Linden Bell
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BLOG TOUR: Point Blank by Morgan Brice (Giveaway + Guest Post)
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RELEASE BLITZ: On The 2 by Felice Stevens
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RELEASE TOUR: Kicking It In Vegas by Riley Long (Giveaway)
