Anyta Sunday - Cancer Ships Aquarius

Dumped by the fifth girl in two years and abandoned by his best friends, Reid Glover is alone and in need of a home.
Desperate, he interviews to become a live-in manny aboard widowed Sullivan Bell’s yacht, the Aquarian.
The job? Not to look after thirteen-year-old Joanna. No, this child-mastermind needs Reid to befriend her dad, urge him to participate more in family life, encourage him to date, oh, and become his closest confidant and help him unleash his bottled emotions.
No pressure.
At least he’s not entirely out of his depth.
Okay, so he may have a slight aversion to the ocean. And possibly attract more than his fair share of misadventure.
But he is a pro at crying.
Watch out, Sullivan. Reid is on his way with a family-sized carton of tissues. He will help Sullivan through his fears. Will help him find love again.
Will absolutely not fall for him in the process . . .
 

Comment: This is the 5th installment in the Signs of Love series by author Anyta Sunday. As I did with the previous books, I also liked this one but, all things considered, this one wasn't as addictive to read as I expected.

In this story we meet Reid, a man who has had plenty of rejection in his life but he hides his hurt under a lot of quirkiness and smiles.

His girlfriend dumped him, his best friends are going on a journey around the world which means he is about to become homeless so he replies to a manny announcement. The "child" he is supposed to take care of is actually 13 year old Joanna, is a clever mastermind and lives with her father in a boat.

The problem is that Joanna doesn't need a manny, she has accepted that fact in order to actually find someone to befriend her father Sullivan who, since becoming a widow, hasn't had a lot of fun.

Through misunderstandings, crossroads and presumptions, will Reid and Sullivan really be a good match?

This story has enough elements to make it a successful one. It also follows all the rules one might expect after having read the previous books:

- Somewhat oblivious/clueless main character ✓

- Mysterious/serious second protagonist ✓

- Weird dialogue filled with innuendo ✓

- Missed opportunities to clarify the situation the characters see themselves in ✓

- Obvious connection between the protagonists only they don't see ✓

- Supposedly funny situations ✓

- A sweet slow burn romance with a romantic HEA ✓

Having all these things should be enough ingredients to create a wonderful plot and they do work. 

I think, since we are sent on a specific path with these characters, they have to work out, there's no deviation from that. Sullivan and Reid complement each other, not only because they clearly have opposed personalities but mainly because we see through their scenes together and their sharing of personal stuff, they found their match.

I think, for me - and after reading all the other similar types of plot, the problem here was that everything was very predictable and often some scenes seemed quite forced. They didn't feel as spontaneous nor as realistic as in the other books. It felt as if we had to be convinced they were put in the right spot at the right time but in fact those two didn't seem to be that way naturally.

Since Reid is the narrator here, I couldn't help but compare him with all the other quirky/funny narrators in the series. All share a certain vulnerability that makes them be eager for roots, for a connection, for a relationship that feels right. The thing is, for me, Reid seemed a little too needy and way more dependent on someone else's approval to be happy. I can understand why, he does explain it through the novel, but... then, it made me think his actions and reactions were a little too much, too dramatic, too extreme. I didn't see him as a "twink" but getting there and I think often his behavior was rather childish.

Unlike the protagonists of the previous books, I couldn't really match properly the two sides of him: the baffled guy who couldn't understand why life was causing him trouble with the responsible adult he is also supposed to be.

The interactions between characters make sense within this rather crazy plot. All the talk about the boats and such were a novelty but it wasn't always easy to imagine it.

Joanna is a cute character, she behaves a lot more maturely than a 13 year old should but I could put that aside.

The other secondary characters weren't really memorable for me.

The romance follows the pattern of all the others, they keep the innuendo strong, Reid is unaware of how hos words can be interpreted and I cannot imagine a relationship like this being that common. It's one thing to be naive or to not really believe you could entice someone else like that, especially if you don't have such a high self esteem or impression of yourself. But to talk to someone like that and not realize it? I found the relationship between Sullivan and Reid to be a little unlikely.

At the same time, of course I was happy for them and glad they found each other.

Like I said, this book is good to read, particularly if one already enjoys these type of funny plots. However, in terms of overall impressions, I think this one didn't quite reach the mark as the others did. I'll keep reading the author's books, though, so this grading doesn't mean I dislike what she wrote, only that in this book the mark wasn't quite there.

Grade: 6/10

Anyta Sunday - Pisces Hooks Taurus

Zane has it all planned out: land the perfect Meet Cute, fall in love, and live happily ever after.
Should be simple enough if he put his mind to it. A little creativity and some thinking outside of the box, and voila, he’d be married to the woman of his dreams.
It would be perfect.
And it would be before his visa ran out.
But why are his feelings running wild now that the pressure’s on? Why is his picture-perfect plan turning into a muddled mess of morphed metaphors he can’t make sense of anymore?
Just as well he’s met an English professor to help. And even though their first meet is anything but cute, this down-to-earth teacher may just be the realist Zane needs to ground him and give him a shot at love after all.

Comment: This is the fourth installment in the Signs of Love series by author Anyta Sunday. I liked the previous installments so I'm going to keep reading the series as long as it gets published. 

Once again, the author picked her favorite type of story, a slow burn one, and presented two characters that might not seem the best match but ed up finding a lot in common...

In this story we meet Zane as the focus protagonist and narrator, meaning that although this is written in third voice, we only get to follow the story through the eyes of one of the characters.

Zane is from New Zealand and is in America because his brother married and just had a baby, whom Zane is hoping to visit before his visa runs out. The thing is, Zane feels very alone back in New Zealand and he still struggles to feel others like him despite his obvious deficiencies in learning. He wants to be close to his brother, someone who has always showed Zane what it's like to have a support system and someone who truly cares. 

When the story begins, Zane is being told he needs to leave the room where he's been staying in because it will be necessary for someone else. Zane ends up on the street with nowhere to go since his brother lives in a ranch at some distance. On the phone, Zane's sister-in-law mentions Becky as possible helper and  Zane text messages this Becky to see if there is room available. What a surprise for Zane to discover Becky is a diminutive for Beckett but he is still determined to be the best possible roommate so he can have the time to find love and stay in America...

 This was a cute story. I liked Zane and how vulnerable he seemed to be (through hints here and there) but he never let what he assumed were his deficiencies stop him from being kind, helpful and even more, hopeful he would find someone he could love and who would love him back. Although he talks about girls from page one, his slow developing friendship with Beckett and also how she starts to feel attracted to him without being aware were situations I could be convinced of being realistic.

In fact, putting aside some coincidences (like Beckett's ex being in the same store at the exact same time just because Beckett thought he might.. can only be plot suiting) explored in the novel, pretty much everything felt it could be genuine and realistic somehow. 

I loved how both characters felt shy over what they assumed to be issues, things clearly out of their control but which every human person would potentially feel (we all have stuff we feel vulnerable for, even if rationally we can know we wouldn't have to) as being a negative aspect of their personality.

Zane is super friendly and dedicated to what he feels is the best path for him: to find true love. He dates some women who are an obvious "tool" to show how people would see Zane only for his good looks but ignoring he might have deeper wishes than just random sex by app dating. Only by having a more profound connection with Beckett, initially a friend/roommate, did he realize you don't need a cliché to find what you really need and the end of the novel was more realistic than what I imagined it would, just expecting a romance from the start.

Beckett, I felt, was a bit more obvious. While we inferred some of Zane's self esteem issues by how he reacted to this or that, we can immediately tell Beckett feels somewhat unworthy because of how he and his ex divorced. I can also see how easy it was for Beckett to feel confused over Zane's initial behavior towards him (a little clueless but funny) but he still kept his more serious personality in check, hoping but not acting on something he wasn't certain of. I could totally understand Beckett's personality and expectations. I probably would act as cautious as him were I in the same type of situation. This means the romance is a slow burn and it's convincing it has to be so.

I'd say my biggest issue is that from the moment Zane's feels attracted to Beckett, things progress very smoothly and very quickly in the intimacy department but I wasn't completely convinced Zane was really interested in Beckett for those reasons. I could see he was in love but for a man who had never been attracted to guys suddenly feel so comfortable with one to the point of sexual intimacy, without even being aware he could have bisexual inclinations... I mean, I can accept the notion of being attracted to the person and not the gender but... it still feels a little unlikely.

Nevertheless, I think this was a successful story. I was captivated by every little step and action the characters tool, I liked how there were serious matters in play but not in a way that would steal the attention from the story. It was more like one being able to read between the lines.

I'm hoping the author continues this signs series for there are yet four zodiac signs to go.

Grade: 8/10

Anyta Sunday - Gemini Keeps Capricorn

Sometimes, one stubborn Capricorn is all it takes… to drive Wesley Hidaka to crazy, flirtatious lengths.
Wesley loves annoying his RA, Lloyd Reynolds. He just can’t help it. Lloyd is focused, decisive, grounded. He has this amusing ability to follow rules.
Of course Wesley wants Lloyd to break one… or three hundred.
Sometimes, one smirking Gemini is all it takes… to have Lloyd laying down the law and marching Wesley straight back to his dorm room.
It doesn’t stop Wesley teasing again. And again. And again…
But damn. Lloyd doesn’t crack easily. He’s full of principles. He’s unshakable.
He’s the perfect friend to have when Wesley needs help. Like with his truant brother and his old high school principal.
Sometimes, one little lie is all it takes… to find Wesley fake-engaged to his off-limits RA.
What can he say? It seemed like a good idea at the time…


Comment: This is the third installment in the Signs of Love series by author Anyta Sunday. I really liked the first book but the second was a little weaker (even though I liked it too). I didn't have high hopes for this one because it's a friends-to-lovers story and these can go quite wrong. Thankfully, it wasn't the case of this book.

In this book we meet Wesley Hidaka, a funny guy who is studying law to honor his late father, who was a renowned judge. Wesley is living in the dorm whose RA is a guy he really looks up to. Lloyd is a serious but fair RA and someone with whom Wesley can't help but flirt all the time. They are friends and not only because Lloyd takes his responsibility for the residents under his care as a serious task.

When a situation regarding his brother Cal gets tricky, Wesley asks Lloys to pretend they are engaged and the attraction and flirtation go up another notch. 

Lloyd, however, doesn't break his principles by acting on his attraction for someone he is supposed to be responsible for but there is so much a guy can take... will these two find a way to be together without breaking any rules?

I had a great time reading this book. Although it had a trope I'm not usually such a fan of and a first person narrator that more times than not gets on my nerves when it comes to romances, I think the author did a good job depicting the friendly relationship between two people that don't share a lot but still make them closer than they imagined. I also think this story was balanced between funny and (subtle) serious content and the tone matched this too.

Wesley is one of those characters that could very easily turn into annoying or bothersome because he acts a way that could be seen as that of someone who wishes so hard to impress or to be funny that those around wouldn't be able to endure their presence for long. I'm very glad the author has found a way to not make Wesley an overconfident person because those people can get on someone's nerves. I think this was achieved by letting the reader get glimpses of Wesley's vulnerabilities, such as his relationship with his mother and the way he thinks some people might look at him. I liked we were made aware he knows he could be misunderstood due to his sunny disposition.

Lloyd is a little more difficult to read, we don't have his POV after all, but he is someone others can trust and that is visible in several moments when someone needs his help. I liekd that he had the willpower to fight Wesley's more obvious advances sometimes but always with a sense that he isn't always so certain about how real the attraction between them is. The fact they get to be friends and trust one another before they give in to their attraction made me like Lloyd a lot more.

Actually, I'm glad the "friends-to-lovers" trope wasn't based on a lifelong or a childhood friendship crossing borders now they are more mature. Those are the stories that make me wrinkle my nose because I can't help thinking things inevitably change and that can't go right all the time... from personal experience, having a very close friend and starting to change things never ends well... therefore, it was great to see they only started to become closer friends in the college setting, thus not that long.

The plot is filled, as any reader can imagine, with funny/cute scenes mixed with some more serious content and ideas but nothing too angsty or complicated to go through. I assume one of the purposes of these stories is to showcase how a place/setting can be friendly, secure and even fair for people to be themselves and become better people with time and space to learn/to improve.

There are some scenes where the protagonist don't seem to know they are falling in love and that can be a little too unrealistic but I also think the way the story is developed highlights this so that the end can look even more special. The reality is that I had a great time reading this story despite some less than interesting moments/situations and it was so cute at times, I devoured it. I'm now eager to get to the next one!

Grade: 8/10

Anyta Sunday - Scorpio Hates Virgo

Percy Freedman is not grieving. Absolutely not, take that back at once. No, he’s entirely sure that selling his dead aunt’s home and leaving the neighbors he’s known for years is the sane thing to do. Who in their right mind would keep the house that smells like all the hugs he’ll never have again?
Nobody, that’s who.
Well, except his cul-de-sac neighbors. They all seem to think some paint and new furniture will clean the emotional slate. They all want him to stay.
Even his nemesis, Callaghan Glover.
Especially his nemesis, Callaghan Glover.
Lured into a game of Sherlock Gnomes, Percy finds himself hanging out with his neighbors more than might be considered healthy. Along with juggling new and surprising verbal grenades from Cal, and his burgeoning friendship with Gnomber9, Percy is starting to wonder if selling might have been the grief talking after all . . .

Comment: After having enjoyed the first book in this Signs of Love series by author Anyta Sunday, I was very eager to read this second book that, despite being a sequel doesn't rely completely on the first and both can be read as stand-alones.

In this second story we have Percy and Cal as the main characters. Percy has recently lost his beloved aunt Abby and he is thinking about selling her house, his inheritance because he needs money and he feels there's nothing for him in the cul-de-sac street where the house is. However, his neighbors have always been a part of his life and he feels bad about leaving. He especially doesn't want to let go of Cal, the neighbor he developed a sort of hating relationship which, in reality, is just the mask for a strong attraction he feels for his straight neighbor. 

While dealing with his own emotions and mourning and going though how helpful he can be to those around him, Percy sees his sarcastic communication with Cal change but is he reading the signs well, will he find what he wants so nearby after all?

I had some good moments reading this book. It's definitely interesting and even more so when we can separate the nerd scenes/situations from the secondary things. I liked reading about these characters who, for he most part. are quite different from any other characters in contemporary m/m stories. At least that I have read recently.

There was a detail, though, that truly annoys me and I can understand why authors use this technique but it's so limitative and except in thrillers or books where we are supposed to be as blind as the characters sometimes, which is the drawback of having only the POV of one character. This is mostly a romance so why having things only through Percy's eyes? Besides, as it happened with the first book, I'd definitely change this detail because it's too silly to have the characters get to a point of total misunderstanding. Ok, this makes the story drag longer, makes it possible for the characters to engage in situations where we can see their reactions and emotions but come on, are they all so clueless for so long? 

I love slow burn stories but this doesn't mean the stories need to take ages to happen, only that the relationship takes time to be strengthened. However, having just one POV makes things too much one-sided and this feels unfair and boring. To me, of course. Oh well, it's seems it's a trend in some authors so better get used to it...

Percy and Cal are a cute couple and although it was sort of weird everyone (practically) could tell they were attracted/in love before they did, the way they trust each other and feel safer with the other made their relationship feel stronger. I liked they were not going through an easy spot in their personal lives, things weren't magically solved but that only added some realism to their being together in the end. The way we are told about them makes them look like people that would be interesting to know in real life.

The story isn't complicated but I admit there were some scenes a bit more boring than others or perhaps it was just my lack of attention at times. Some of the cute details could have easily been too weird to fully appreciate the way things happened but for the most part, it was good. I'd change some things, yes, but this book did feel a lot more solid than some other stories out there that also try to convey specific types of relationships and not the same thing over and over. 

I still hope, though, that the next story can portray attraction, desire and eventually sexual tension a little better than this one.

Grade: 7/10

Anyta Sunday - Leo Loves Aries

A new person will enter your life in the early year, Leo. Look past any moments of frustration they might bring and laugh—this could be the start of a thriving friendship.
Theo Wallace usually laughs at the horoscopes his mom sends. Still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and practically friendless, this one begs him to reconsider. Because a friendship that stuck, that thrived…
Well, that would be a reason to leave past pains behind and look to the Bright Future.
When his sister Leone challenges him to find her the perfect date for a spring wedding, Theo uses it as a chance to make new friends. Theo’s ex economics tutor and newest roommate Mr Jamie Cooper seems to be a possible and convenient match. Real convenient. Like written in the stars, convenient.
All he has to do is make sure this Jamie is good enough. Could really be the one for her, and the friend for him.
But watch out, Leo, the stars have a surprise in store…

Comment: After seeing the recommendation for this book at a message board I usually participate in, I thought this would be a good story to read and I added it to my TBR. I got it some time ago and this month, I decided it would be a good choice to add to my May list.

In this book we meet Theo, a college student, and a very smart and extrovert person. Theo lives in an apartment with his sister Leone, also a student. They are both down because their respective exes decided they were a better with one another and now Theo and Leone got an invitation for their wedding. The siblings also need to rent one room to someone, to help with expenses and by luck, Theo finds the perfect candidate, Jamie Cooper.

Jamie is a tutor at the university and he teaches some classes, among them one Theo attended and where they met. Jamie is the perfect roommate, he cooks and he is considerate of Leone, who is practically blind. Theo thinks Jamie and Leone would be a great couple and he also becomes an amazing best friend. But Is Theo really just looking at things through a friendship perspective or is Jamie turning out to be something much more important than a mere friend?

Apart from one or two not-that-important details, this book is very close to be perfect. I really had a great time reading about Theo, Jamie and Leone and the secondary characters that do make things look even more adorable.

And I think "adorable" is a good adjective to describe this story. Every situation is described in such a way that this is simply cute and adorable all the way through.

This story is very sweet and told in a narrative I found very appealing. The writing was easy and accessible and managed to highlight the important things quite well, something we always dread not having in a new author.

I think the problem is how, being this a 1st person POV, we loose interesting points in the relationship development. Yes, I can understand the purpose but the reality is Theo, as the narrator only presents his own thoughts. There are some situations where it would great to have more than just one POV, for certain.

Theo is the only narrator so, except when he's talking to someone or thinking, we don't get access to others' ideas. This wouldn't be such an issue for me if Theo weren't such a clueless character for most part of the book. Yes, I can see why but... it delays the romance a lot and not always in a smooth way (as one would expect from a sexually tensed situation).

Despite the changes I'd make, this is still a great story, where Theo doesn't become gay just because he is attracted to Jamie. I liked this idea that we can fall in love with that person and adjust our desires and wishes according to that. It's not an easy concept, we are educated to think black and white when it comes to sexual orientation but it really shouldn't be such a big deal and in this novel we can have an example of that.

The romance, apart from Theo's lack of focus, is very cute, all the scenes between them are obvious signs where things are going and I wanted their coming together at last to be epic but I feel it could have been better than what it ended up being. But the situations that led to their final reunion and declarations of love were well entwined with the plot and the scenes of their daily lives and routines.

I'm very satisfied with this book and I do plan on reading more by the author, even if only in this series. I'll find time to add her work to my TBR and reading eventually.

Grade: 8/10