Full Exposure by Thien-Kim Lam

It’s been almost two years since I read the first book in the series, but it was wonderful to return to the girls of the sex positive series. Josie is a boudoir photographer but she’s been feeling burnt out. Plus it may be a steamy business, it’s not always a booming business.

Josie wants to get a little more prestige with her work. Maybe get a gallery exhibition but those kind of photographers rarely get exhibits so she heads down to New Orleans for new material.

Where in a painful meet cute, she nearly bowls Spencer down during a Mardi Gras parade.

Spencer is in a similar position to Josie as he just quit his boredom-inducing corporate data analyst job to make a documentary. It’s fulfilling, but he can’t quite quit the feeling that he’s letting his family down by quitting a stable job to follow his dreams.

I loved how by meeting each other, Spencer and Josie become braver people. There’s something about talking things out with a stranger that’s easier than discussing your problem with family. There’s less expectation and judgement. Especially since some of their burn-out stems from their family with Spencer feeling major child-of-immigrant syndrome, and Josie feeling responsible to be there for her chronically injured sister.

It’s a plus that Kim doesn’t have them get into a third act fight that splits them apart. Rather they both knew their time in New Orleans was limited and must work out the logistics of how they’re gonna feel professional fulfilled and see each other too.

Top it all off with how Lim uses Spencer’s family documentary to show off the little-known but close-knit Vietnamese community in New Orleans and uses the opportunity to have a good discussion about racism between Asians and blacks. Also she highlights the empowerment of bordoir photos that the photo world doesn’t respect and how it turns the stereotype that Asian men aren’t sexy on his head.
I can’t wait to read Lam’s next book in the series coming out on my birthday month-Something Cheeky!

Accidentally in Love by Danielle Jackson

Like above, I read the first in the series two years ago. Now we’re back with Buxom Boudoir’s office manager Sam who is also dealing with burn out. Not because of her job. She loves showing off the inherant sexiness of plus-sized bodies and getting others to feel good in their skin.

She just doesn’t feel very good with her own. She hasn’t danced or posed since she recieved her Graves disease diagnosis and had it flown into a flux. Plus her father recovered from a heart attack and the parents that never stayed in the same city have suddenly announced that they’re officially together. It’s a lot, but Sam keeps it bottled up. She keeps lists, she keeps up her work, and nothing gets in her way.
Except the cute yet irritating Russ. She knows he’s interested but he’s always on the road, and admits to being an erractic traveler. She can’t trust him to stay.

But stay he is. Since the events of last book, Russ has realized that he wants to take the chance and stay in Chicago. Get his relationship with his brother back on track, get his food truck business started up. Finally get a date with Sam.

Unfortunately, I found his story not as compelling as Sam’s. Her arc had plenty of twists and turns and the Graves disease was something I never heard before (outside of commercials but who pays attention to those) so I felt I learned something as Sam learns to love her body again.

His arc was predictable in comparison. He’s a nomad so now he is adjusting to living in one place, and forming attachments which freaks him out because he fears getting close and getting hurt like when his parents abandoned him and his brother.

But there’s still plenty to enjoy like the fun of the Chicago festival circut like Lollapalooza and the variety of mouth-watering food descriptions. Plus the always engaging grumpyxsunshine dynamic that is gender-reversed with a side of longing on Russ’ end.

Hopefully Keisha’s story gets highlighted in the third book but no news for now.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

I really enjoyed Ryan’s book last month so I had to go read the others that were available. Which turned out to be one but it’s like wham!

We meet Yasmen and Josiah in the back of a car at college, young and in love. First chapter, they’ve been divorced for several months, and have finally reached a stage of peaceful co-parenting although Yasmen is starting to have jealousy rear its ugly head when she finds out Josiah is dating again.

After all, they never lost their love for each other.

The dissolution of their marriage came from the hardest events. Josiah’s Aunty Byrd, the woman who raised him, dies followed shortly after by Yasmen nearly dying when she delivers a stillborn.

Though these are contemporary romances, Ryan never shies away from the difficult issues in life and it’s in mining that layered emotions in marriage that Ryan creates fully realized characters that you love and root for.

Yasmen’s depression brought a loss of herself, and her family. She didn’t want to wake up and continue, and she couldn’t fight for her marriage and for herself. She’s in a better place now, but she still struggles especially with her daughter’s resentment.

This intense depression bumped up against Josiah who couldn’t communicate and distracted himself from his grief through work. In a way, he felt he couldn’t grieve. He was the man of the house, he had to keep it together, get to work so they could keep a roof over their head. Part of him felt that in Yasmen’s grief and desire for divorce, he was doing all the fighting for the marriage and she just gave up. . . like his love wasn’t worth it.

The angst!!!

But Ryan never has the two blame each other. They get angry but they don’t go full-on bitter blaming each other. Rather she shows the remarkable journey of them learning to communicate and find each other again. It’s realistic and intense because feelings are messy. They still love each other but what if these feelings are some sort of need for closure? Do they want to get back together? Can they work on it?

Well, it is a contemporary romance so you can probably guess the answer but it’s a gripping, and emotionally complex novel that is worth every page. I can’t wait for her next book also coming next year.