Ultra Meital Reviews: The Burnt Toast B&B (Bluewater Bay #5) [Ginsberg & Derrick] By Heidi Belleau & Rachel Haimowitz

When I started this one I really enjoyed it, I could see how fun this one would be even from the synopsis yet something somehow went wrong for me. I think it was too slow to develop or maybe too much of an inner dialogue, one I would almost predict for each of them. The story was sweet, I enjoyed seeing Derrick change and grow as a person, enabling to become more accepting of himself and through that accepting of others. I liked the fact Ginsberg was a trans, it added more dimension to the story, to Ginsberg insecurities or rather his lack of patience to anyone who can't accept him for who he is and how he is. Strangely enough, Derrick didn't mind that much he was actually wonderful about it, it was everything else he was a jerk about..

I'm in a really bad place concerning my reading. Last month was horrible, had too much on my mind, frankly I can't even remember what it was all about, but I do know the last week was horrific. Yet I found the time to finish this one because I SO wanted to get lost in a book and so I did. I enjoyed both MCs - Derrick WAS a jerk at times (more than I would like him to be but oh well..) and Ginsberg was a very interesting character, he went through quite a lot in life and yet he is such a positive people's person. I loved that about him. He was willing to tolerate a lot from Derrick but not being walked over which made the difference and mostly made him his own unique self.

I still haven't written a word about the plot.. sorry about that.. So if you've read the previous installments in the series (not a must at all) you've already met Ginsberg, he is Carter's stunts double in the Wolf's Landing TV series. He got injured and so he can't work now. Looking for the cheapest place to rent he finds the B&B Derrick's family owned. But Derrick was just about to close the business when Ginsberg arrived and so he is trying to do his best to drive him out.. Too bad he is not only attracted to him but also finds his personality compelling. Which is how Ginsberg finds his way into his life and also his heart.

Derrick was the one who had to go through the biggest journey. It showed. Ginsberg was there mostly to show him the way in a very subtle sweet way. I liked that about him. He was really sweet.

I think this is where I"m going to end this review. It was a nice enough read but for me it wasn't a great read. I"m going to continue on reading the series but I'll be doing small breaks to catch up with new books which are out this month.

Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 241 pages, 17 Aug. - 6 Sep. 2016 / On GoodReads

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Welcome to Bluewater Bay! This quiet little logging town on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula has been stagnating for decades, on the verge of ghost town status. Until a television crew moves in to film Wolf’s Landing, a soon-to-be cult hit based on the wildly successful shifter novels penned by local author Hunter Easton.

Wolf’s Landing’s success spawns everything from merchandise to movie talks, and Bluewater Bay explodes into a mecca for fans and tourists alike. The locals still aren’t quite sure what to make of all this—the town is rejuvenated, but at what cost? And the Hollywood-based production crew is out of their element in this small, mossy seaside locale. Needless to say, sparks fly.

This collaborative story world is brought by collective authors, each contemporary novel stands alone, but all are built around the town and the people of Bluewater Bay and the Wolf’s Landing media empire.

This series was a way of me getting to know a few unknown to me authors as well as enjoy some authors I've already knew I loved. Generally speaking you can pick any book in this series and read it as a standalone, just know that most of the side characters mentioned have their own book. It means that at times there are quite a lot of "name dropping". It could be fun if you're highly connected to the previous books or annoying when you're not. This is why it's hard for me to give this series an overall review as some books I absolutely LOVED and others I didn't which made the ride quite "bumpy".

That's part of the reason I decided to put this series aside after the 17th installment (with 5 unread books by "hit or miss" authors). I would have stopped a bit earlier truth being told but I DID want to give a chance to authors I already know I enjoyed, but in the end I felt a bit uncomfortable continuing to support this series - or rather its publisher - considering it's recent revealed "shade".

Books:

1. Starstruck By L.A. Witt [Levi Pritchard & Carter Samuels] (Published 3 November 2014) ★★★★
2. There's Something About Ari By L.B. Gregg [Buck Ellis & Ari Valentine] (Published 8 November 2014) ★★★★★
3. Hell on Wheels By Z.A. Maxfield [Nash Holly & Spencer Kepler-Constantine] (Published 29 November 2014) ★★★★★
4. Lone Wolf By Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt [Hunter Easton & Kevin Hussain] (Published 20 December 2014) ★★ (DNF 25%)
5. The Burnt Toast B&B By Heidi Belleau & Rachel Haimowitz [Ginsberg Sloan & Derrick Richards] (Published 11 January 2015) ★★★½
6. Lights, Camera, Cupid (Bluewater Bay #6) Valentine's Anthology (Published 7 February 2015) ★★★★
    [ Just Another Day [Levi Pritchard & Carter Samuels] by L.A. Witt ★★★ ]
[ Nascha By Amy Lane  ★★★★★ ]
[ No Easy Way [Cary Teijan & Dylan James] By S.E. Jakes  ★★★★½ ]
[ Helping Hand [Lucas Wilder & Gabriel Savage] by Anne Tenino  ★★★★★ ]
[ I'll Be There [Nash Holly & Spencer Kepler] By Z.A. Maxfield  ★★ ]

7. Wedding Favors By Anne Tenino [Lucas Wilder & Gabriel Savage] (Published 11 April 2015) ★★★★★
8. The Deep of the Sound By Amy Lane [Cal McCorkle & Avery Kennedy] (Published 13 June 2015) ★★★★★
9. When to Hold Them By G.B. Gordon [Doran Callaghan & Xavier Wagner] (Published 15 August 2015) ★★ (DNF 49%)
10. Rain Shadow By L.A. Witt [Jeremy Rose & Scott Fletcher] (Published 17 October 2015) ★★★
11. Stuck Landing By Lauren Gallagher [Anna Maxwell & Natalya Izmaylova] (Published 12 December 2015) ★★ (DNF 38%)
12. How the Cookie Crumbles By Jaime Samms [Frederic Jackson & Blaire Caruthers] (Published 13 February 2016) ★★★¾

13. Selfie By Amy Lane [Connor Montgomery & Noah Dakers] (Published 16 April 2016) ★★★ (DNF 51%)
14. All the Wrong Places By Ann Gallagher [Brennan Cross & Zafir Hamady] (Published 12 June 2016) ★★★½
15. Bluewater Blues By G. B. Gordon [Jack Daley & Mark Keao] (Published 15 October 2016) ★★★★★
16. No Small Parts By Ally Blue [Nat Horn & Rafael Cortez] (Published 19 December 2016) ★★