papercranestitches's review
4.0
*** 3.75 Stars ***
The first in a series of standalone books with intermingling characters, Bookmarked introduces readers to the fictional and extremely LGBT-friendly town of Heartsville, Illinois. With a few words (and helped along by Natasha Snow’s cover art), I found myself transported to a quaint little town where independently owned stores with old-fashioned signs line the downtown streets, and people are friendly enough to hold doors for each other and smile at total strangers just to see them smile in return.
Sorta like this:
Only with more of this:
And this:
Bookmarked is Mark and Shep’s story. I wouldn’t exactly classify it as enemies-to-lovers, but let’s just say that the earliest interactions between the struggling bookstore owner and the best-selling author who masks his social anxiety by pretending to be a standoffish a-hole don’t exactly inspire love at first sight.
Well, between the characters, that is. Personally, I found it impossible not to love Mark. The man’s smart, good-natured, close with his family and friends, and tenacious. Plus, he runs a bookstore. I can practically hear a choir of angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus in the background when I say those words, can’t you? And lucky for Shep, I’ve always had a soft spot for the gruff ones (especially when their bark really is worse than their bite).
Due in large part to Mark’s tenacity, these two eventually get a do-over and thankfully, things go a lot more smoothly the second time around. And by that I mean there were apologies and then bookstore hand jobs.
*pauses to fully appreciate the bookstore hand jobs*
The rest was pure, fluffy, feel-good reading combined with a playfully naughty streak that kept things interesting, so it’s no wonder Piper Vaughn continues to be one of my Top 5 Most Read Authors. Bookmarked is just the latest example of why I love their work so much.
I may not have a charming collection of knit sweaters and puppets, but after reading this story I think it’s safe to say:
An ARC of this story was generously provided by the author in return for an honest review.
The first in a series of standalone books with intermingling characters, Bookmarked introduces readers to the fictional and extremely LGBT-friendly town of Heartsville, Illinois. With a few words (and helped along by Natasha Snow’s cover art), I found myself transported to a quaint little town where independently owned stores with old-fashioned signs line the downtown streets, and people are friendly enough to hold doors for each other and smile at total strangers just to see them smile in return.
Sorta like this:
Only with more of this:
And this:
Bookmarked is Mark and Shep’s story. I wouldn’t exactly classify it as enemies-to-lovers, but let’s just say that the earliest interactions between the struggling bookstore owner and the best-selling author who masks his social anxiety by pretending to be a standoffish a-hole don’t exactly inspire love at first sight.
Well, between the characters, that is. Personally, I found it impossible not to love Mark. The man’s smart, good-natured, close with his family and friends, and tenacious. Plus, he runs a bookstore. I can practically hear a choir of angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus in the background when I say those words, can’t you? And lucky for Shep, I’ve always had a soft spot for the gruff ones (especially when their bark really is worse than their bite).
Due in large part to Mark’s tenacity, these two eventually get a do-over and thankfully, things go a lot more smoothly the second time around. And by that I mean there were apologies and then bookstore hand jobs.
*pauses to fully appreciate the bookstore hand jobs*
The rest was pure, fluffy, feel-good reading combined with a playfully naughty streak that kept things interesting, so it’s no wonder Piper Vaughn continues to be one of my Top 5 Most Read Authors. Bookmarked is just the latest example of why I love their work so much.
I may not have a charming collection of knit sweaters and puppets, but after reading this story I think it’s safe to say:
An ARC of this story was generously provided by the author in return for an honest review.
bookcraft's review
2.0
Decently written, from a grammatical standpoint, but there was no emotional resonance; the author never made me feel for the characters. There was very little conflict to drive the story, and what conflict there was ended up resolved quickly and easily and feeling like it had no real or lasting impact on the characters. Mark and Shepherd's romance didn't feel like it had any real basis, either; we're told that they're attracted to each other, but we never really feel that attraction. In fact, there's a lot of telling rather than showing, which keeps this story from reaching its potential.
Overall it's a bit of mildly entertaining fluff, and while I don't actually resent having spent 99 cents on it, I probably won't be buying more from this author in the future, either.
(Note: My star rating for this differs here from on Amazon, because of the difference in definition between the two sites. I'm rating it "it was ok" in both places.)
Overall it's a bit of mildly entertaining fluff, and while I don't actually resent having spent 99 cents on it, I probably won't be buying more from this author in the future, either.
(Note: My star rating for this differs here from on Amazon, because of the difference in definition between the two sites. I'm rating it "it was ok" in both places.)
marget_orange's review
3.0
Ok
So, the book was well written (both books n the sense that the dialog and descriptions were believable and that I didn't notice any poor grammar or typos) and the story was sweet. However, it was not gripping or angst filled or anything like that. This might be a personal thing as I could see some people loving the sweet storyline.
So, the book was well written (both books n the sense that the dialog and descriptions were believable and that I didn't notice any poor grammar or typos) and the story was sweet. However, it was not gripping or angst filled or anything like that. This might be a personal thing as I could see some people loving the sweet storyline.
suze_1624's review
4.0
Ah yes, a classicly lovely Piper Vaughn story!
Mark, desperate to salvage his business eats humble pie to get local star author Shep to come to his bookshop - only to be rudely rebuffed again.
But Shep is terrified of public engagements and hides behind this gruffness.
A shortish character lead story with the one dubious teenage character providing a bit of tension. Shep and Mark get it on, Shep learns to work through his chronic panic and business not quite booms but certainly gets better. Enjoyed 3.75*
Mark, desperate to salvage his business eats humble pie to get local star author Shep to come to his bookshop - only to be rudely rebuffed again.
But Shep is terrified of public engagements and hides behind this gruffness.
A shortish character lead story with the one dubious teenage character providing a bit of tension. Shep and Mark get it on, Shep learns to work through his chronic panic and business not quite booms but certainly gets better. Enjoyed 3.75*
ashleykorine's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
dejunk's review
4.0
A short and sweet story, just the trick for a lazy morning read. It's nice to see the other characters from the other books in the series.
squirrely007's review
2.0
2.5 I could not get into the romance of this. The story wasn't very exciting and the subplot with Ian was not necessary. Not my favorite.