The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O'Neal

The Basics:
The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O'Neal
Bantam
Romance
Published March 4, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

It sounded so happy and upbeat, I couldn't resist.

The Best Thing I Never Had by Erin Lawless

The Basics:
The Best Thing I Never Had by Erin Lawless
HarperImpulse
Chick Lit, Romance
Published December 5, 2013
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Blurb:

‘So much more than a love story, more of a life story.’

Five years ago they’d been six friends at university that laughed hard and loved harder.

Nicky and Miles, the couple that were always meant to be… Leigha and Adam, maybe not.

So when Harriet and Adam grew close, during those long summer days in the library and too many seminars they (well, Adam) hadn’t prepared for, they did the one thing that changed everything. They kept a secret. And when it came out, the trust was broken.

When the day comes for bridesmaids to be chosen, and best men to fulfill drunken promises, Nicky and Miles’ wedding isn’t just a wedding, it’s a reunion – loaded with past hurts, past regrets, past loves.

Can you ever relive those uni days – or would you ever want to?

The Best Thing I Never Had is in turns funny and sad, but always honest, about friendship in all its forms and the practicality of second chances.

Why I picked up this book:

The buzz was pretty positive, and I liked the idea of a book about the relationships between a big pool of people in university.

My thoughts:

I loved this book. Personally, the characters really resonated with me. It's easy to sympathize with the ups and downs of close friendships, the trials and tribulations of wanting to date within your pool of friends, the drama of crushes alongside the difficult process of making life-altering decisions about career and family. 

I found reading the material about the university years a lot like slipping on a favourite pair of slippers - cozy and warm and snuggly. Yes, there's a lot of hurt and stress and Drama! but there's also a lot of joy and discovery and potential. My first impressions were rapidly sundered as my heart started to break for one of the characters.

The chapters involving the wedding were also excellent. I've experienced that feeling of picking up right where you've left off - unfortunate that for so many of the characters involved that meant emotional pain and having to revisit old wounds. Certainly a little bittersweet, but hopeful, I think. Sometimes it just takes a little faith and a willingness to look through someone else's eyes. 

Lawless packs so much into each chapter - the only way you might consider this a quick read is if you get as hung up on it as I did.

I was left thinking about whether or not it's possible to go back and recapture friendships from our youth, what moments we can revisit and which are lost to the distance (in years). 

Bottom Line:

I couldn't put this down! Buy it! Read it! Love it! This book is a steal at ebook pricing. I'm already thinking about re-reading it.

After I finished The Best Thing I Never Had. I thought about how this was another story that toyed with the idea of communication - how much is too much/too little.... Now I'm trying to think of books wherein poor communication is not a part of the central conflict. I think I might have to go to a different genre for that....

5 stars
For fans of good books.

Dr No Commitment by Virginia Taylor

The Basics:
Dr No Commitment by Virginia Taylor
Random House Australia eBooks Adult
Romance, Women's Fiction
Published December 2, 2013
Amazon.ca  Kobo.com

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

A mischievous romantic comedy, about a man who’s always run from love and the girl who just might catch him.Ally was warned about Rohan Sinclair when she first moved to town – and she is determined she won’t let this gorgeous, model-dating doctor distract her from being the best nurse she can be. Problem is, this bad boy just happens to live in the room next door . . .It’s hard enough to resist his persistent charm at home; almost impossible when they are thrown together at work . . . But a little innocent flirting never hurt anyone, right?Wrong. Ally knows it’s a terrible idea to fall for a man who will never commit, but what if in every other way he’s her perfect guy?

What worked for me:

There's some sweetness in this tale of a young nurse trying to avoid embarking on a relationship with her new housemate. He's presented to her as being both commitment-phobic and apparently in a relationship.... Regardless of that confusing bit, I did like the slow dance that Ally and Rohan did. 

I also kind of liked that I didn't have a good read on Angus through most of the book. As the meddling housemate/cousin of Rohan, he was sort of all over the place for me, until near the end when I realized what his deal was.

There's plenty of foreplay in this book, because of the slow, teasing escalation of the relationship, and I liked that. A genuined, good-natured, long tease is often missing in these books, and while it wasn't deliberately that, the pacing of the relationship worked out that way (for me, at least).

What didn't work for me:

There wasn't a lot of hearty plot here beyond the romance, and there wasn't a whole lot standing in the way of the romance either, other than the need to open up the lines of communication.  

Ally seemed pretty naive about things - I'm not sure how she managed to avoid knowing who Rohan was, but she was so blinders on about it and the comments dropped by people around her, not to mention the clues around the house (and pool). It seemed to me that she should have picked up on things a bit more quickly.

Bottom line:

A non-memorable medical romance, I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't stick with me. I didn't dislike it, but there's nothing to rave about here either. A light read for a rainy afternoon, perhaps? 

3.5 stars
For fans of medical romances, light reads.