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Edgewater #1
Shine
Maureen Baird has been listening the the velvet voice of Shine Avery on the radio for years. When they meet, there is a connection for them both. But can they overcome their fears, regrets and an old love to find a future in each other?
BadSquirrel's Page on The Athenaeum
BadSquirrel's Page on The Athenaeum
200 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2007
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79 people want to read
About the author
BadSquirrel
5 books23 followersBadSquirrel is a very popular online author. She has five novels posted on online sites.
BadSquirrel's Page on The Athenaeum
BadSquirrel's Page on The Athenaeum
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 1, 2017
4.5 stars. I never expected a novel that's available completely for free to be so good. In fact it's better than many paid books I've read in the genre.
The best part about it is the story which doesn't follow the usual tropes. It was a breath of fresh air. Both main and secondary characters are well developed and Shine's "baggage" was something new for me, can't really talk about it here without spoiling it but it was a unique approach to character building.
I also loved that it was not all stars and sunshine after they got together. They have problems but they deal with them together by compromising. It's nice to see a realistic, non idealized relationship building for a change.
As for the negatives, I guess some typos here and there but I've read paid books with more problematic grammar than this book has. And parents weirdly seem to die off left and right (happened in the past, before events in the book), can't tell if it's a trope to bond over or it really happens due to the terrible American health care system.
Overall a great read that's also free and I would pay for this if I could. Gotta check out the rest of the books by the same author, I have a feeling they'll be just as good if not better seeing this is the first book she's written.
The best part about it is the story which doesn't follow the usual tropes. It was a breath of fresh air. Both main and secondary characters are well developed and Shine's "baggage" was something new for me, can't really talk about it here without spoiling it but it was a unique approach to character building.
I also loved that it was not all stars and sunshine after they got together. They have problems but they deal with them together by compromising. It's nice to see a realistic, non idealized relationship building for a change.
As for the negatives, I guess some typos here and there but I've read paid books with more problematic grammar than this book has. And parents weirdly seem to die off left and right (happened in the past, before events in the book), can't tell if it's a trope to bond over or it really happens due to the terrible American health care system.
Overall a great read that's also free and I would pay for this if I could. Gotta check out the rest of the books by the same author, I have a feeling they'll be just as good if not better seeing this is the first book she's written.
November 3, 2017
I thought this was great. Thanks Arn for the recommend. At first I thought this was going to be an uber x/g but nope. She does have some of her stuff on PDA Fiction but it's not uber, just good lesfic. DJ Shine Avery meets head librarian Maureen Baird. The first quarter of the book was pretty unique. I don't think I've come across an ice queen quite like Shine before. Anyway the best part about this book is that it's free :) Which is why I thought it was fanfic, but there isn't any fanficary that I could find.
May 17, 2018
This is a fantastic book. Both MC have quite a troubled past that they have to work trough.
September 28, 2015
I really wish there was an online equivalent for an honesty box - it is almost criminal that a book this enjoyable is available online at no cost.
One of my favourite character types - quiet a brooding waiting for the love of a good woman to take down her walls - plays out in this book to great effect. Our other lead is warm with just enough of a hint of insecurity to not be 'too' perfect.
There is enough edge to keep the story ticking along without taking away from the romance.
This is familiar done really well - and at no cost. I'm one happy camper right now!
One of my favourite character types - quiet a brooding waiting for the love of a good woman to take down her walls - plays out in this book to great effect. Our other lead is warm with just enough of a hint of insecurity to not be 'too' perfect.
There is enough edge to keep the story ticking along without taking away from the romance.
This is familiar done really well - and at no cost. I'm one happy camper right now!
November 3, 2016
This book involves two people who are ‘messed up’ by past events. One is proceeding with life and believes they are ready to ‘live again’, while the other is still trying to hide from life as much as possible.
Maureen Baird, the one ‘ready’ to try things again, is a 30-something (just short of 40 if I recall correctly) librarian (as in the county librarian, which is, apparently, super important). Three things to know about her immediately: 1) she got absorbed into a prior relationship to the point wherein she basically lost all of her friends except for a husband and wife and their kids – and she kept them, to a large extent, because she grew up with the wife and they kind of see each other as almost sisters; 2) she’s gorgeous (apparently) but thinks she is fat and not gorgeous; 3) one and two are somewhat related – she’s had some bad relationships and hasn’t exactly had much in the way of healthy people as girlfriends – none of whom seemed to mean it sincerely when they mentioned her looks; and one of whom probably, though not outright stated, tried to degrade her on her looks (since we, the reader, know that she did outright attempt to degrade her in other means) – which leads to three – no, not that she has had some bad girlfriends, but that one is in prison now for beating Maureen to an inch of her life.
One of the things that got her through her recovery period was a specific voice that she heard on her radio. Though she’d heard it before that hospital and recovery stage. It was just there during that specific time as well. That voice belonging to one Shine Avery.
Shine Avery is the other ‘damaged’ woman in this story. Another 30-something woman. 8 years ago ‘something’ happened that caused Shine to sever all ties with friends and she hasn’t ‘been with anyone’ in the same amount of time. She has also not really felt the desire for sex in that amount of time. She’s lived a life of almost constant travel, though about . . hmm, 2? 4? Years ago she arrived in this Edgewater place. She was on the way out of town when she learned her last connection to another living person had been severed due to death. She almost continued on to her next location, but she didn’t really feel up to moving right then. Needed to recharge. So got a job at a radio station as a radio personality/DJ.
None of this is, for the most part, known by Maureen, or Jim and his family (Jim being 1) one of Maureen’s few friends; 2) Shine’s coworker at the radio station). This is important in its way, of course. So, that stuff above was unknown when Maureen asked Jim for a favor – to introduce her to Shine. Jim proceeds to invite Shine over for a meal, mentioning wife, kids, himself, and a family friend but not mentioning how it is a ‘set-up’. He fully expects, even with this modified invitation (i.e., not mentioning blind date aspect), for Shine to decline the invitation. Because that’s what she does. Always keep herself apart. But Shine accepts. Reluctantly.
So, a meal is had. More or less immediately upon Shine’s arrival at the house she senses she has been tricked and confronts Jim. She sticks around, though reluctantly. As much as possible, she attempts to avoid Maureen.
Maureen, though, is still interested. She doesn’t know what to do, though, and Jim suggests that she do what men do. Pursue the woman, wear her down. Like Jim did with his wife (is it obvious yet that I can’t recall the wife’s name? hehe). So, Maureen turns up once a week and asks Shine out. Weeks go by. Finally, ‘just as friends’ ‘something’ starts up between Maureen and Shine. A door is shoved open.
So, Maureen first had to break down the wall to get Shine to accept her in her life before even thinking about breaking any more walls to get close enough for potential dating.
For the most part, I liked Maureen, Shine, and to a lesser extent Jim and his family. It was a better than okay book but not an outstanding one. Interesting, kept my attention. Didn’t annoy me too much. Reasonable first book by an author.
Another book wherein I’m confused as to why I have access to it free as opposed to it being offered for sale. Nothing here that would limit sales. Shine has a kind of ‘Seven of Nine’ vibe in her approach to emotions, though not in 99% of the rest of her make-up (I can’t really imagine Seven of Nine being as playful and joyful as Shine is when her guard is down and/or she’s near children). That’s the only thought I had re: fanfiction type things, and I’m fairly certain that’s me noticing a similarity in one aspect of a character’s personality that has no real connection to something done by an author on purpose (as in, I’ve no idea if the author has even heard of Seven of Nine from Star Trek Voyager).
And, shockingly, no one is referred to by hair color, eye color, height, or job occupation. And considering how much Shine was kind of reluctant to have anything to do with the county Librarian, and how . . . important Shine’s job as a radio personality was to Maureen, I’d not have been too put off if one or more people did slip in a few ‘the librarian’, ‘the dj’ type references.
Basically I’m just saying that this did not seem to have anything that would keep it from being sold, as is, copyright wise, nor was there anything ‘fanfictiony’ about the book – at least in terms of the tricks that get used and or picked up from writing fanfiction (referring here to the part here I mentioned referring to people by hair, eye, height, or occupation).
A good book. My second by this ‘BadSquirrel’. I gave the first book I had read by this author a solid 5 star rating, while seeing this book here being closer to a solid rating of . . . hmm . . . 4.25.
September 20 2016
Maureen Baird, the one ‘ready’ to try things again, is a 30-something (just short of 40 if I recall correctly) librarian (as in the county librarian, which is, apparently, super important). Three things to know about her immediately: 1) she got absorbed into a prior relationship to the point wherein she basically lost all of her friends except for a husband and wife and their kids – and she kept them, to a large extent, because she grew up with the wife and they kind of see each other as almost sisters; 2) she’s gorgeous (apparently) but thinks she is fat and not gorgeous; 3) one and two are somewhat related – she’s had some bad relationships and hasn’t exactly had much in the way of healthy people as girlfriends – none of whom seemed to mean it sincerely when they mentioned her looks; and one of whom probably, though not outright stated, tried to degrade her on her looks (since we, the reader, know that she did outright attempt to degrade her in other means) – which leads to three – no, not that she has had some bad girlfriends, but that one is in prison now for beating Maureen to an inch of her life.
One of the things that got her through her recovery period was a specific voice that she heard on her radio. Though she’d heard it before that hospital and recovery stage. It was just there during that specific time as well. That voice belonging to one Shine Avery.
Shine Avery is the other ‘damaged’ woman in this story. Another 30-something woman. 8 years ago ‘something’ happened that caused Shine to sever all ties with friends and she hasn’t ‘been with anyone’ in the same amount of time. She has also not really felt the desire for sex in that amount of time. She’s lived a life of almost constant travel, though about . . hmm, 2? 4? Years ago she arrived in this Edgewater place. She was on the way out of town when she learned her last connection to another living person had been severed due to death. She almost continued on to her next location, but she didn’t really feel up to moving right then. Needed to recharge. So got a job at a radio station as a radio personality/DJ.
None of this is, for the most part, known by Maureen, or Jim and his family (Jim being 1) one of Maureen’s few friends; 2) Shine’s coworker at the radio station). This is important in its way, of course. So, that stuff above was unknown when Maureen asked Jim for a favor – to introduce her to Shine. Jim proceeds to invite Shine over for a meal, mentioning wife, kids, himself, and a family friend but not mentioning how it is a ‘set-up’. He fully expects, even with this modified invitation (i.e., not mentioning blind date aspect), for Shine to decline the invitation. Because that’s what she does. Always keep herself apart. But Shine accepts. Reluctantly.
So, a meal is had. More or less immediately upon Shine’s arrival at the house she senses she has been tricked and confronts Jim. She sticks around, though reluctantly. As much as possible, she attempts to avoid Maureen.
Maureen, though, is still interested. She doesn’t know what to do, though, and Jim suggests that she do what men do. Pursue the woman, wear her down. Like Jim did with his wife (is it obvious yet that I can’t recall the wife’s name? hehe). So, Maureen turns up once a week and asks Shine out. Weeks go by. Finally, ‘just as friends’ ‘something’ starts up between Maureen and Shine. A door is shoved open.
So, Maureen first had to break down the wall to get Shine to accept her in her life before even thinking about breaking any more walls to get close enough for potential dating.
For the most part, I liked Maureen, Shine, and to a lesser extent Jim and his family. It was a better than okay book but not an outstanding one. Interesting, kept my attention. Didn’t annoy me too much. Reasonable first book by an author.
Another book wherein I’m confused as to why I have access to it free as opposed to it being offered for sale. Nothing here that would limit sales. Shine has a kind of ‘Seven of Nine’ vibe in her approach to emotions, though not in 99% of the rest of her make-up (I can’t really imagine Seven of Nine being as playful and joyful as Shine is when her guard is down and/or she’s near children). That’s the only thought I had re: fanfiction type things, and I’m fairly certain that’s me noticing a similarity in one aspect of a character’s personality that has no real connection to something done by an author on purpose (as in, I’ve no idea if the author has even heard of Seven of Nine from Star Trek Voyager).
And, shockingly, no one is referred to by hair color, eye color, height, or job occupation. And considering how much Shine was kind of reluctant to have anything to do with the county Librarian, and how . . . important Shine’s job as a radio personality was to Maureen, I’d not have been too put off if one or more people did slip in a few ‘the librarian’, ‘the dj’ type references.
Basically I’m just saying that this did not seem to have anything that would keep it from being sold, as is, copyright wise, nor was there anything ‘fanfictiony’ about the book – at least in terms of the tricks that get used and or picked up from writing fanfiction (referring here to the part here I mentioned referring to people by hair, eye, height, or occupation).
A good book. My second by this ‘BadSquirrel’. I gave the first book I had read by this author a solid 5 star rating, while seeing this book here being closer to a solid rating of . . . hmm . . . 4.25.
September 20 2016
June 30, 2015
-I hesitated between 4 and 5-
Sweet! A very endearing couple, lots of "aww" moments. A simple story of two women with a painful past finally finding "the one".
Sweet! A very endearing couple, lots of "aww" moments. A simple story of two women with a painful past finally finding "the one".
March 14, 2021
For a debut novel, this is amazing.
Emotional, reflective and sweet.
Really good happily ever
Emotional, reflective and sweet.
Really good happily ever
May 15, 2020
There's the same lack of realism - although more in depth and with less annoying nicknames - as the other books by this author.
Some victim blaming, and all of the main characters are blameless in the mental despair of their exes. Controlling aspects and weird cousin stuff.
Otherwise temperate domestic violence tale for the era (90's).
Oh, and who lets their girlfriend sit on their hired Lexus, honestly?
Some victim blaming, and all of the main characters are blameless in the mental despair of their exes. Controlling aspects and weird cousin stuff.
Otherwise temperate domestic violence tale for the era (90's).
Oh, and who lets their girlfriend sit on their hired Lexus, honestly?
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews