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Taking a Chance on Love
Officer Quincy Adams is a hero. She pulled eleven people from burning cars and risked her own life to save the twelfth—a woman trapped in a car that could explode at any moment. But the event begins to trigger flashbacks to another time. Another tragedy. Trying to avoid the depression that she’s certain is just around the corner, Quincy heads to the local lesbian bar in search of light and life. Lindy James is a loner. She’s only at the bar to celebrate her best friend’s birthday. But something about the bedraggled woman, whose image is breaking news on the TV, touches her heart and she agrees to drive the stranger home. But Quincy doesn’t want to be alone and Lindy agrees to stay as long as Quincy doesn’t expect sex or ask personal questions. One night turns into three intimate but sexless nights. Then Monday morning Quincy asks Lindy for a date. And Lindy flees. Thrown together by a devastating accident, but kept apart by fears from the past—will Quincy and Lindy take a chance on love?
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2020
17 people are currently reading
1482 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Maiorisi
23 books175 followersCatherine Maiorisi lives and writes in New York City.
Since she found her imagination, writing has been like meditating for Catherine and it is what she most loves to do. But she also reads voraciously, loves to cook, especially Italian, and enjoys hanging out with her wife and friends.
Catherine is the author of the NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli mysteries featuring Corelli and her partner P.J. Parker. There are currently four books in the series: A Matter of Blood, The Blood Runs Cold, A Message in Blood, and Legacy in the Blood.
When she wrote a short story to create the backstory for the love interest in her two unpublished Corelli mysteries, Catherine had never read any romance and hadn’t considered writing it. To her surprise, “The Fan Club” turned out to be a romance and was included in the Best Lesbian Romance of 2014.
Another surprise was hearing the voices of two characters, Andrea and Darcy, chatting in her head every night, making it difficult to sleep. Reassured by her wife that she wasn’t losing it, Catherine paid attention and those conversations led to her first romance novel, Matters of the Heart. Other romances include: No One But You, Ready for Love and Taking a Chance on Love.
The Disappearance of Lindy James is Catherine's first general fiction novel.
Catherine has mystery and romance short stories in various anthologies.
An active member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, Catherine is also a member of The Golden Crown Literary Society.
Since she found her imagination, writing has been like meditating for Catherine and it is what she most loves to do. But she also reads voraciously, loves to cook, especially Italian, and enjoys hanging out with her wife and friends.
Catherine is the author of the NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli mysteries featuring Corelli and her partner P.J. Parker. There are currently four books in the series: A Matter of Blood, The Blood Runs Cold, A Message in Blood, and Legacy in the Blood.
When she wrote a short story to create the backstory for the love interest in her two unpublished Corelli mysteries, Catherine had never read any romance and hadn’t considered writing it. To her surprise, “The Fan Club” turned out to be a romance and was included in the Best Lesbian Romance of 2014.
Another surprise was hearing the voices of two characters, Andrea and Darcy, chatting in her head every night, making it difficult to sleep. Reassured by her wife that she wasn’t losing it, Catherine paid attention and those conversations led to her first romance novel, Matters of the Heart. Other romances include: No One But You, Ready for Love and Taking a Chance on Love.
The Disappearance of Lindy James is Catherine's first general fiction novel.
Catherine has mystery and romance short stories in various anthologies.
An active member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, Catherine is also a member of The Golden Crown Literary Society.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 10, 2020
3.50 Stars. This was a good read. While I am a huge fan of Maiorisi’s Chiara Corelli Mystery series, I have not clicked with her romance books as much. I am happy to say that I noticed a lot of improvement and while I did still have some ups and downs with this book, it is my favorite romance book that she has written so far.
The story is about Quincy, an off duty cop that responds to a call of a sudden snow storm accident. The pile-up is extreme and Quincy has to risk her own life to save others. While Quincy is called a hero, she suffers from PTSD from being in the military and is on the verge of falling into a deep depression. Can Lindy, a loner and a stranger, give Quincy the light and warmth she needs or is Lindy’s own past too much to get away from?
The book started off really exciting and I found that I was hooked in the first few pages. I thought the book was very readable and I was never bored. There was a little angst and later drama that also kept me flipping the pages. I thought the pace of the book was well done.
The romance itself was slow-burn but the character formed a connection early on. It was nice to see intimacy between two people that was very strong even though no sex was involved at that point. By the time the relationship moves on, you believe in them as a potential couple because of the strong connection they do have.
While I did like a lot of this book, I did have a few issues. One of the major ones was that I felt the book got a little repetitive in parts. Quincy the hero, Quincy the hero, and guess what? Quincy is a hero. Okay, I get it loud in clear and I didn’t need to be hit over the head with it. It just became a little too much and she started to go into that too good to be true category. I personally would have edited a few parts out since it became overkill for me.
I do want to mention that this book does deal with a few tough subjects, with abuse and PTSD being the main ones. While both characters have very tough pasts that are discussed, the book has a very happy HEA. In fact I thought the HEA was a little bit much for me. Every possibly lose end is tied up in the biggest, happiest bow so that it had me rolling my eyes a bit. I love HEA endings but this was a bit much even for me.
I personally would still recommend Maiorisi’s Chiara Corelli Mystery series, starting with A Matter of Blood, the most out of all her books. But I did like this book and would recommend it to people wanting to try one of her romances. It had some bumps but it had a lot of good parts too.
An ARC was given to me for a honest review.
The story is about Quincy, an off duty cop that responds to a call of a sudden snow storm accident. The pile-up is extreme and Quincy has to risk her own life to save others. While Quincy is called a hero, she suffers from PTSD from being in the military and is on the verge of falling into a deep depression. Can Lindy, a loner and a stranger, give Quincy the light and warmth she needs or is Lindy’s own past too much to get away from?
The book started off really exciting and I found that I was hooked in the first few pages. I thought the book was very readable and I was never bored. There was a little angst and later drama that also kept me flipping the pages. I thought the pace of the book was well done.
The romance itself was slow-burn but the character formed a connection early on. It was nice to see intimacy between two people that was very strong even though no sex was involved at that point. By the time the relationship moves on, you believe in them as a potential couple because of the strong connection they do have.
While I did like a lot of this book, I did have a few issues. One of the major ones was that I felt the book got a little repetitive in parts. Quincy the hero, Quincy the hero, and guess what? Quincy is a hero. Okay, I get it loud in clear and I didn’t need to be hit over the head with it. It just became a little too much and she started to go into that too good to be true category. I personally would have edited a few parts out since it became overkill for me.
I do want to mention that this book does deal with a few tough subjects, with abuse and PTSD being the main ones. While both characters have very tough pasts that are discussed, the book has a very happy HEA. In fact I thought the HEA was a little bit much for me. Every possibly lose end is tied up in the biggest, happiest bow so that it had me rolling my eyes a bit. I love HEA endings but this was a bit much even for me.
I personally would still recommend Maiorisi’s Chiara Corelli Mystery series, starting with A Matter of Blood, the most out of all her books. But I did like this book and would recommend it to people wanting to try one of her romances. It had some bumps but it had a lot of good parts too.
An ARC was given to me for a honest review.
June 12, 2020
This is the fourth romance novel by Maiorisi, all of which I have read, and so far her best. Best, but not without the usual drawbacks. Her romances are nice, very well researched, but she tends to interrupt the flow of the narrative with too many details, too many characters, too many unnecessary repetitions. Here, the first half was mostly good in all aspects. Interesting plot, good pacing, great protagonists. And then it started with "too many" until the end. More than a few times I thought "Who is this character, anyway?" and that pulled me out of the story. Fortunately the characterization of protagonists remained stable in a good way, with great chemistry, and dealing with some tough stuff without artificial drama.
Overall, to my surprise and despite the flaws I share here, I was quite happy with this book, enjoyed reading it and would recommend it. I just hope the author's next book will be like the first half of this one in its entirety.
3.5 stars, rounded up
June 12, 2020
*A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.*
Overall, to my surprise and despite the flaws I share here, I was quite happy with this book, enjoyed reading it and would recommend it. I just hope the author's next book will be like the first half of this one in its entirety.
3.5 stars, rounded up
June 12, 2020
*A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.*
December 21, 2024
Wonderful book that made me weep: pulling a lot of strings all over the place - a new author to me but one I'll return to. Recommended.
June 18, 2020
Taking a Chance on Love by Catherine Maiorisi is both an angst-filled and a feel-good romance. That sounds like a strange combination, but it works in this novel.
Both of the main characters, Officer Quincy Adams and Lindy James, have lived through some painful events in their pasts that still affect them today. That’s where the angst originates, and keeps the two from coming together immediately, even though there is an instant connection between them. It’s going to take a lot of love, help and trust to make it possible for these two to become a couple.
I enjoyed reading this book. Quincy was easy to connect with, but it took me a little longer to connect with Lindy. I think it’s mainly because we don’t hear about Lindy’s past until almost halfway through the tale. The story itself is excellent and the romance is passionate and exciting.
The only problem I had was with the secondary characters. There were too many of them. Quite a few of them are like walk-ons in a play. You don’t really know who they are. They are just part of the crowd, but not really needed in the story. That is especially true in the second half of the story. I actually became confused occasionally when some of these characters appeared.
I want to give a couple of trigger warnings here. There is discussion of PTSD caused by past trauma in the military as well as talk of past abuse. The abuse is not explicitly shown, just discussed. This is just a friendly warning for those who might be affected.
If you like a feel-good romance with a good bit of angst running through the story, you will like this book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.
Both of the main characters, Officer Quincy Adams and Lindy James, have lived through some painful events in their pasts that still affect them today. That’s where the angst originates, and keeps the two from coming together immediately, even though there is an instant connection between them. It’s going to take a lot of love, help and trust to make it possible for these two to become a couple.
I enjoyed reading this book. Quincy was easy to connect with, but it took me a little longer to connect with Lindy. I think it’s mainly because we don’t hear about Lindy’s past until almost halfway through the tale. The story itself is excellent and the romance is passionate and exciting.
The only problem I had was with the secondary characters. There were too many of them. Quite a few of them are like walk-ons in a play. You don’t really know who they are. They are just part of the crowd, but not really needed in the story. That is especially true in the second half of the story. I actually became confused occasionally when some of these characters appeared.
I want to give a couple of trigger warnings here. There is discussion of PTSD caused by past trauma in the military as well as talk of past abuse. The abuse is not explicitly shown, just discussed. This is just a friendly warning for those who might be affected.
If you like a feel-good romance with a good bit of angst running through the story, you will like this book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.
November 3, 2020
Hmm, I struggled with this. On one hand I really loved the story premise, and also the idea behind the characters and their personalities.
However a lot of plot choices I found frustrating, and I also found the dialogue incredibly stilted and unnatural. The pacing also became tedious and repetitive, and there were too many side characters that added nothing.
I found the narrative around the main character of Officer Quincy Adams and the attitudes her friends and coworkers took to be irritating. On one hand they praise her as a strong, brave hero (hero hero hero constantly!!!) and they were happy to parade her around a media frenzy, and use her for good publicity, at meetings and greetings, and stroking her ego, and recommending her for a promotion....
But then she's pulled off her work schedule and told she needs therapy to cope, and that she hasn't been the same since she came back from Afghanistan (where she lost her lover) and all her friends are suddenly agreeing, saying she never did deal with her loss, and hasn't lived in years. So it's like, UM ok, which is it? There's a duplicit narrative going on around her and it felt strange!
I almost felt like the people around Quincy were kinda coercive and manipulative - and then ole Quincy just accepts their advice without a spine, despite previously being thought of as strong and brave (hero!). It didn't make sense.
Also - for someone who was supposed to have HEAPS of great friends how come the character has to get a perfect stranger to take her home, and stay with her for the weekend while she's recovering? The same with this idea that she's just been 'going through the motions' for years, and only NOW do her friends say something and try to hold a semi intervention? LOL What?
The plot holes kept showing up and I found myself more frustrated with the narrative being spun and questioning it more and more.
Meanwhile, Lindy, again was another character with a strange dichotomy about her. On one hand she's this free spirited dancer who embraces her sexuality, wants to have snowball fights in the park, but then she's this closed off independent person who can't do relationships and won't let anyone close. Except when she does.
Like don't get me wrong I totally understand we're dealing with flawed humans who have strange responses because of past traumas - I get that! But the fact that it was all so hard to understand or sympathize with, and only told certain things without FEELING the connection to them, tells me there's something really off in the writing. So I don't feel I could connect at all to the tale.
I'm halfway through now, and going to try and hammer through to the end, but it's honestly not looking good. If I am stopping to write a review midway through just to let out my frustrations. I'll leave any further updates in the comments.
However a lot of plot choices I found frustrating, and I also found the dialogue incredibly stilted and unnatural. The pacing also became tedious and repetitive, and there were too many side characters that added nothing.
I found the narrative around the main character of Officer Quincy Adams and the attitudes her friends and coworkers took to be irritating. On one hand they praise her as a strong, brave hero (hero hero hero constantly!!!) and they were happy to parade her around a media frenzy, and use her for good publicity, at meetings and greetings, and stroking her ego, and recommending her for a promotion....
But then she's pulled off her work schedule and told she needs therapy to cope, and that she hasn't been the same since she came back from Afghanistan (where she lost her lover) and all her friends are suddenly agreeing, saying she never did deal with her loss, and hasn't lived in years. So it's like, UM ok, which is it? There's a duplicit narrative going on around her and it felt strange!
I almost felt like the people around Quincy were kinda coercive and manipulative - and then ole Quincy just accepts their advice without a spine, despite previously being thought of as strong and brave (hero!). It didn't make sense.
Also - for someone who was supposed to have HEAPS of great friends how come the character has to get a perfect stranger to take her home, and stay with her for the weekend while she's recovering? The same with this idea that she's just been 'going through the motions' for years, and only NOW do her friends say something and try to hold a semi intervention? LOL What?
The plot holes kept showing up and I found myself more frustrated with the narrative being spun and questioning it more and more.
Meanwhile, Lindy, again was another character with a strange dichotomy about her. On one hand she's this free spirited dancer who embraces her sexuality, wants to have snowball fights in the park, but then she's this closed off independent person who can't do relationships and won't let anyone close. Except when she does.
Like don't get me wrong I totally understand we're dealing with flawed humans who have strange responses because of past traumas - I get that! But the fact that it was all so hard to understand or sympathize with, and only told certain things without FEELING the connection to them, tells me there's something really off in the writing. So I don't feel I could connect at all to the tale.
I'm halfway through now, and going to try and hammer through to the end, but it's honestly not looking good. If I am stopping to write a review midway through just to let out my frustrations. I'll leave any further updates in the comments.
June 26, 2020
What a wonderful and moving story. First part of the book will make you cry and feel sorry for Quincy. Second Part of the book will make you feel sad for Lindy but for the rest of the book you will most definitively enjoy their journey of love, happiness and shot at life together.
Both characters deal with issues and none of those are small either.
Both are excellent at communicating, once they get to the part of course.
I truly enjoyed this one from Catherine.
Both characters deal with issues and none of those are small either.
Both are excellent at communicating, once they get to the part of course.
I truly enjoyed this one from Catherine.
June 12, 2020
Officer Quincy was on her way home when a call from the radio report a massive accidents. When she arrive she immediately start pulling peoples from their cars. She became a hero that night saving twelve lives especially the woman she was willing to die with. Not wanting to be alone after what she did and the memories of the time where tragedy had struck she goes to a bar in search for living.
Lindy always been a loner she didn’t had great life growing up she ran away at fourteen and met a wonderful woman who took her in.
Quincy and Lindy meet at Maggie bar. Lindy there to celebrate her best friend Babs birthday when the owner of the bar Maggie ask her to take Quincy home at first she hesitant but when she looks at Quincy something pulls at her and she accepts.
They spent three days where Lindy help Quincy accept that she a hero especially when they visit the twelve people she saved. When Monday comes Quincy asks Lindy out for date and Lindy panicked and flees.
Quincy and Lindy both know they feels something but they both realize they need to work through their problems before they can have something lasting.
I enjoy this read love that Quincy made lifelong friends with people she saves and bond she has with the woman Grace she was willing to die with and Grace bond with Lindy. I love all characters and how they support Quincy and Lindy. I love how Grace said to Quincy you saved us and I believe Lindy save you what I like to believe is Quincy did something selfless and God reward her with someone who she needed and who needed her and they both saved each other. PS. There cameo of Renee and Darcy from her book Ready for Love
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.
Lindy always been a loner she didn’t had great life growing up she ran away at fourteen and met a wonderful woman who took her in.
Quincy and Lindy meet at Maggie bar. Lindy there to celebrate her best friend Babs birthday when the owner of the bar Maggie ask her to take Quincy home at first she hesitant but when she looks at Quincy something pulls at her and she accepts.
They spent three days where Lindy help Quincy accept that she a hero especially when they visit the twelve people she saved. When Monday comes Quincy asks Lindy out for date and Lindy panicked and flees.
Quincy and Lindy both know they feels something but they both realize they need to work through their problems before they can have something lasting.
I enjoy this read love that Quincy made lifelong friends with people she saves and bond she has with the woman Grace she was willing to die with and Grace bond with Lindy. I love all characters and how they support Quincy and Lindy. I love how Grace said to Quincy you saved us and I believe Lindy save you what I like to believe is Quincy did something selfless and God reward her with someone who she needed and who needed her and they both saved each other. PS. There cameo of Renee and Darcy from her book Ready for Love
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.
June 25, 2020
Personal issues and angst. While reading, I thought about why people do what they do and behave the way they behave. There is a reason. Although from the outside looking in, we may not appreciate or agree with the behavior. This read has at least two tough issues. Lindy James, loner, dealing with family history/trama. Lindy is interesting with her dancing and upbeat personality and she can cook. It takes awhile to learn what her story is and when you do, wow. Officer Johna Quincy Adams, is a reluctant superhero with a big heart. Quincy has issues that she is unable to deal with on her own. She is reluctant to ask for help. The supporting characters where very important as the read unfolds. It is awesome that both women have a good support system of friends that are like family. There is much to like about this slow burn story.
I like HEA and when all of the pieces fall into place, it can definitely appear to be too much and a little or alot unbelievable. You will have to read and judge for yourself.
ARC provided by Bella Books via NetGalley
I like HEA and when all of the pieces fall into place, it can definitely appear to be too much and a little or alot unbelievable. You will have to read and judge for yourself.
ARC provided by Bella Books via NetGalley
June 27, 2020
🏳️🌈👩❤👩📚⚢ 👮♀🚘🔥🌬❄️☃️⛄️🌨💕👩💻👩❤💋👩📖👭🏳️🌈
That’s in exchange of an honest review that I received an ARC of "Taking a Chance on Love" by Catherine Maiorisi from Bella Books (via NetGalley).
So, here it is !!!
It’s actually the first time I’m able to read one of Catherine Maiorisi’s books and I had some high expectations. Sadly, I’m quite disappointed.
My rating : 2 ⭐️
The story sets in Hackensack, New Jersey, and focuses on Officer (and, then, Detective) Quincy Adams & Lindy James, a scheduler for a trucking company.
As she was heading home after her shift, off duty Quincy responds to a call about a huge pileup caused by the sudden snow storm which has begun earlier in the afternoon. Quincy is the first responder on scene. After having secured the scene the best the could, she spent twenty minutes alone extracting twelve people from their burning cars while risking her own life and triggering her PTSD in the process. After the backups’ arrival, it’s a totally toast, filthy, smelly and frozen to the bone Quincy who is being sent home by her chief. But instead of heading home, knowing she wouldn’t be able to cop with being alone, the heroine of the night goes to Maggie’s Bar, her favorite bar.
This very same night, Lindy is also at Maggie’s. She was reluctant to come out for her best friend Babs' birthday but she loves dancing … And that’s what she’s doing when she caught Quincy’s eyes …Maggie, the owner of the bar and one of Quincy’s friends is worried and asks Lindy if she could give Quincy a ride home. Linsy is, by her own sayings, a loner but after talking to Quincy, she’s in total awe of her bravery & decides to drive her home, as requested by Maggie, and even to stay by Quincy’s side all the weekend long when asked by Quincy to do so …
The Pros :
° the cover, the picture is really nice
° the idea of what could have been the novel (based on the plot)
° Lindy’s job in logistics (she’s a scheduler for a trucking company). Since it’s the first time I read about a logistics related job in lesfic since I’ve begun to read lesfic novels, it’s worth mentioning it.
° Lindy’s not perfect body
The Cons : (non exhaustive list)
°°° I had a few ups (so some hope) at the beginning of this book but quickly I had more and more downs & I didn’t like the feeling, at all. All this is due to the clear lack of realism of the story which makes it totally unbelievable and not in a good way …
I wanted to fall for them and I tried very hard but because of the lack of character development & I wasn’t able to "connect" with any of the MCs. I’m an empath so I usually don’t like to neither see nor feel people struggle & suffer because I’m also suffering and struggling but when dealing with pasts like the MCs’, you need to depict their struggle, their angst, their pain, their distress while they work to come to terms with their issues … I didn’t witness any of this in there.
The too rushed time frame coupled with the definitely too light way to deal with heavy topics like grief, PTSD and the long road ahead while recovering from highly abusive relationships … It appears to me as unrealistic and even disrespectful to all those people out there (= in the real world) who face such issues.
In this case, it would have been way more interesting to have a realistic fiction :
° to witness Quincy’s internal struggle to free her true self burried deeply in the sand somewhere in Afghanistan (in the same spirit that what E.J. Noyes brillinantly did in "Ask Me Again"… Yeah, it was tough but it was also touching and beautiful to see Sabine reach the end of her VERY LONG path). As a patrol cop and, then (and maybe even more), as a newly promoted detective Quincy was probably exposed to some gruesome things, so to a lot of potential new triggers for her PTSD which, here, seems to have miraculously disappeared just after a few sessions with Dr Giles & the all-female PTSD group…
° to witness Lindy’s rebirth … I mean, it should have been this for her given her heavy backgroung => she grew up in a very religious (and highly perverted in so many ways) family where she has been repeatedly (= daily) physically and emotionally abused. She was able to escape from her living hell, then, a few years later, she has been terrorized, beaten and raped by someone who was supposed to love and cherrish her … If you also consider that Lindy ran, took a step toward recovery but stopped seeing a therapist quite early and that her crazy-ex-GF morphed into a stalker who provoked several encounters (while gleefully violating a restraining order) and became violent each time … You quickly understand that noone can deal with the mess as easily as this is said in the book because there are triggers everywhere & all the time. And to come to term with this kind of huge traumas, just for one kind it requires YEARS, not just a couple months … so for a combo of them it would probably require a life time, even with a good support system.
°°° Oh God !! Talk about a slow-burn romance … I wonder how on earth it could be qualified like this when the "I love yous"come less than three months after the first meeting (knowing that after this initial three days long platonic encounter the MCs were several weeks apart, without any contact …) and that in addition there were a "push and pull" game as well as a very quick succession of events subsequent to the MCs’ reunion. The icing on the cake being, of course, a marriage proposal four months after this very same first meeting !! Hmm, it’s definitely more in the "insta"category than in the slow-burn one … I already don’t like « insta » but, in this case, it’s even worst due to what has been forementioned.
°°° the weird and bothersome habit of regularly precise "lesbian this", "lesbian that" , "dyke" … I’m not fan of the labels. I really don’t see the point on insisting like this & I surely didn’t like the too numerous lesbian ( 😜 ) clichés.
°°° I won’t question Quincy’s bravery because, extracting twelve people from their burning cars is definitely something heroic (& probably the only realistic fact in the novel) and I can get why people would like to thank properly their savior BUT the "superhero" worship was too cheesy & over the top and it got on my nerves.
°°° the very irritating (over)use of the non-conventional "sugah" by Lindy and this from the start. Even the Internet seems to be shy about this but if I guessed properly, it’s term of endearment like ‘Sweetheart’, ‘love’, ‘darling’, etc… I just wonder why on earth someone who wants to be alone would give such term of endearment when she doesn’t even have this habits with her best friend … it seems weird, unnatural and, of course, it sends mixed signals which is even more surprising coming from a self-proclaimed loner having commitment issues (for good reasons, yes, but still).
°°° in addition of the surprising redundant method of narration—consisting of to retelling quickly what just happened before— used several times, the numerous redundancies (about several different topics), a few typos & some inconsistancies (for example : Quincy having images of their "afternoon" in the snow flashing in her mind as she loaded the dishwasher in the evening whereas the snow activities happened in the morning, before lunch … OR "Chief Connie Trubeck" is supposed to be just "Connie" in private but more than once, it was said "Chief Trubeck" in those said private moments whereas at the beginning, it was often « Connie » even whe it was about police matters…). All the above could have been taken care of with a more thorough edition work.
°°° the DEFINITELY unhygienic (so, unsafe) first intimate encounter where a dirty finger is slipped inside the other right away (and it’s not long before the others followed)…That was a total turn-off because … Damn !! They arrived from a party in a bar where they danced for hours & touched a lot of stuff and people in there (and we won’t talk about the car ride and all the things they touched since they entered the hotel). I’m so tired of this idea that, the lesfic MCs are supposedly "always perfectly sanitized"… Even with a thorough shower involved (which can be SUPER SEXY, BTW), it can be risky but, try this "get straight to the G point" with no shower / no clean-up option in real life and I'm not sure you'll stay long without a vaginal thrush or, even worse, a huge bacterial vaginosis (which is, without kidding, potentially deadly... JS) 🤢🤮
If I had to make a very short and quite different version of my review, it’d be something like this :
- Did I enjoy this book? => Nope !! It could have been touching and powerful but it's lame & totally unrealistic
- Did I find the characters believable? => Nope. How could they be ?? We don’t have any character development …
- Is this book now included in my « must be re-read »-list? => Nope …
- Will I purchase the paperback? => Nope …
- Would I read another book by this author? => Yes. Because I don’t want to stay on a miss and some of the author’s first pieces of work are in my endless TBR list since a long while, I’ll give her another try, someday…
- Would I recommend this book => I can’t. But I’ll let people use their free will to read the novel, or not …
🏳️🌈👩❤👩📚⚢ 👮♀🚘🔥🌬❄️☃️⛄️🌨💕👩💻👩❤💋👩📖👭🏳️🌈
That’s in exchange of an honest review that I received an ARC of "Taking a Chance on Love" by Catherine Maiorisi from Bella Books (via NetGalley).
So, here it is !!!
It’s actually the first time I’m able to read one of Catherine Maiorisi’s books and I had some high expectations. Sadly, I’m quite disappointed.
My rating : 2 ⭐️
The story sets in Hackensack, New Jersey, and focuses on Officer (and, then, Detective) Quincy Adams & Lindy James, a scheduler for a trucking company.
As she was heading home after her shift, off duty Quincy responds to a call about a huge pileup caused by the sudden snow storm which has begun earlier in the afternoon. Quincy is the first responder on scene. After having secured the scene the best the could, she spent twenty minutes alone extracting twelve people from their burning cars while risking her own life and triggering her PTSD in the process. After the backups’ arrival, it’s a totally toast, filthy, smelly and frozen to the bone Quincy who is being sent home by her chief. But instead of heading home, knowing she wouldn’t be able to cop with being alone, the heroine of the night goes to Maggie’s Bar, her favorite bar.
This very same night, Lindy is also at Maggie’s. She was reluctant to come out for her best friend Babs' birthday but she loves dancing … And that’s what she’s doing when she caught Quincy’s eyes …Maggie, the owner of the bar and one of Quincy’s friends is worried and asks Lindy if she could give Quincy a ride home. Linsy is, by her own sayings, a loner but after talking to Quincy, she’s in total awe of her bravery & decides to drive her home, as requested by Maggie, and even to stay by Quincy’s side all the weekend long when asked by Quincy to do so …
The Pros :
° the cover, the picture is really nice
° the idea of what could have been the novel (based on the plot)
° Lindy’s job in logistics (she’s a scheduler for a trucking company). Since it’s the first time I read about a logistics related job in lesfic since I’ve begun to read lesfic novels, it’s worth mentioning it.
° Lindy’s not perfect body
The Cons : (non exhaustive list)
°°° I had a few ups (so some hope) at the beginning of this book but quickly I had more and more downs & I didn’t like the feeling, at all. All this is due to the clear lack of realism of the story which makes it totally unbelievable and not in a good way …
I wanted to fall for them and I tried very hard but because of the lack of character development & I wasn’t able to "connect" with any of the MCs. I’m an empath so I usually don’t like to neither see nor feel people struggle & suffer because I’m also suffering and struggling but when dealing with pasts like the MCs’, you need to depict their struggle, their angst, their pain, their distress while they work to come to terms with their issues … I didn’t witness any of this in there.
The too rushed time frame coupled with the definitely too light way to deal with heavy topics like grief, PTSD and the long road ahead while recovering from highly abusive relationships … It appears to me as unrealistic and even disrespectful to all those people out there (= in the real world) who face such issues.
In this case, it would have been way more interesting to have a realistic fiction :
° to witness Quincy’s internal struggle to free her true self burried deeply in the sand somewhere in Afghanistan (in the same spirit that what E.J. Noyes brillinantly did in "Ask Me Again"… Yeah, it was tough but it was also touching and beautiful to see Sabine reach the end of her VERY LONG path). As a patrol cop and, then (and maybe even more), as a newly promoted detective Quincy was probably exposed to some gruesome things, so to a lot of potential new triggers for her PTSD which, here, seems to have miraculously disappeared just after a few sessions with Dr Giles & the all-female PTSD group…
° to witness Lindy’s rebirth … I mean, it should have been this for her given her heavy backgroung => she grew up in a very religious (and highly perverted in so many ways) family where she has been repeatedly (= daily) physically and emotionally abused. She was able to escape from her living hell, then, a few years later, she has been terrorized, beaten and raped by someone who was supposed to love and cherrish her … If you also consider that Lindy ran, took a step toward recovery but stopped seeing a therapist quite early and that her crazy-ex-GF morphed into a stalker who provoked several encounters (while gleefully violating a restraining order) and became violent each time … You quickly understand that noone can deal with the mess as easily as this is said in the book because there are triggers everywhere & all the time. And to come to term with this kind of huge traumas, just for one kind it requires YEARS, not just a couple months … so for a combo of them it would probably require a life time, even with a good support system.
°°° Oh God !! Talk about a slow-burn romance … I wonder how on earth it could be qualified like this when the "I love yous"come less than three months after the first meeting (knowing that after this initial three days long platonic encounter the MCs were several weeks apart, without any contact …) and that in addition there were a "push and pull" game as well as a very quick succession of events subsequent to the MCs’ reunion. The icing on the cake being, of course, a marriage proposal four months after this very same first meeting !! Hmm, it’s definitely more in the "insta"category than in the slow-burn one … I already don’t like « insta » but, in this case, it’s even worst due to what has been forementioned.
°°° the weird and bothersome habit of regularly precise "lesbian this", "lesbian that" , "dyke" … I’m not fan of the labels. I really don’t see the point on insisting like this & I surely didn’t like the too numerous lesbian ( 😜 ) clichés.
°°° I won’t question Quincy’s bravery because, extracting twelve people from their burning cars is definitely something heroic (& probably the only realistic fact in the novel) and I can get why people would like to thank properly their savior BUT the "superhero" worship was too cheesy & over the top and it got on my nerves.
°°° the very irritating (over)use of the non-conventional "sugah" by Lindy and this from the start. Even the Internet seems to be shy about this but if I guessed properly, it’s term of endearment like ‘Sweetheart’, ‘love’, ‘darling’, etc… I just wonder why on earth someone who wants to be alone would give such term of endearment when she doesn’t even have this habits with her best friend … it seems weird, unnatural and, of course, it sends mixed signals which is even more surprising coming from a self-proclaimed loner having commitment issues (for good reasons, yes, but still).
°°° in addition of the surprising redundant method of narration—consisting of to retelling quickly what just happened before— used several times, the numerous redundancies (about several different topics), a few typos & some inconsistancies (for example : Quincy having images of their "afternoon" in the snow flashing in her mind as she loaded the dishwasher in the evening whereas the snow activities happened in the morning, before lunch … OR "Chief Connie Trubeck" is supposed to be just "Connie" in private but more than once, it was said "Chief Trubeck" in those said private moments whereas at the beginning, it was often « Connie » even whe it was about police matters…). All the above could have been taken care of with a more thorough edition work.
°°° the DEFINITELY unhygienic (so, unsafe) first intimate encounter where a dirty finger is slipped inside the other right away (and it’s not long before the others followed)…That was a total turn-off because … Damn !! They arrived from a party in a bar where they danced for hours & touched a lot of stuff and people in there (and we won’t talk about the car ride and all the things they touched since they entered the hotel). I’m so tired of this idea that, the lesfic MCs are supposedly "always perfectly sanitized"… Even with a thorough shower involved (which can be SUPER SEXY, BTW), it can be risky but, try this "get straight to the G point" with no shower / no clean-up option in real life and I'm not sure you'll stay long without a vaginal thrush or, even worse, a huge bacterial vaginosis (which is, without kidding, potentially deadly... JS) 🤢🤮
If I had to make a very short and quite different version of my review, it’d be something like this :
- Did I enjoy this book? => Nope !! It could have been touching and powerful but it's lame & totally unrealistic
- Did I find the characters believable? => Nope. How could they be ?? We don’t have any character development …
- Is this book now included in my « must be re-read »-list? => Nope …
- Will I purchase the paperback? => Nope …
- Would I read another book by this author? => Yes. Because I don’t want to stay on a miss and some of the author’s first pieces of work are in my endless TBR list since a long while, I’ll give her another try, someday…
- Would I recommend this book => I can’t. But I’ll let people use their free will to read the novel, or not …
🏳️🌈👩❤👩📚⚢ 👮♀🚘🔥🌬❄️☃️⛄️🌨💕👩💻👩❤💋👩📖👭🏳️🌈
December 18, 2020
Good but heavy in parts working-through-your-stuff romance.
On her way home from work, former military MP and current police officer Quincy Adams receives an emergency call about a pileup on the interstate. When she gets on scene, dozens of cars and trucks are pretzeled together and fires are starting. Quincy works quickly in the snow and fire to save people from their burning cars - twelve people in all.
Despite her heroic act, Quincy is instantly dragged back to the edge of depression and despair she felt upon returning from her military tour following the violent death of her partner in Afghanistan. Instead of returning home after the crash, Quincy goes to her neighborhood lesbian bar. Gloomy, brooding, soaking wet and freezing, Quincy finds a seeming ray of sunshine in Lindy.
Lindy feels an instant connection to the stranger, and at the request of the bar owner, takes Quincy home. Though they do not have sex, the two stay together throughout the weekend, forging the beginnings of what may be a life-altering bond for both of them... if only they can work through the troubles of their respective pasts to be willing to take a chance on each other.
On her way home from work, former military MP and current police officer Quincy Adams receives an emergency call about a pileup on the interstate. When she gets on scene, dozens of cars and trucks are pretzeled together and fires are starting. Quincy works quickly in the snow and fire to save people from their burning cars - twelve people in all.
Despite her heroic act, Quincy is instantly dragged back to the edge of depression and despair she felt upon returning from her military tour following the violent death of her partner in Afghanistan. Instead of returning home after the crash, Quincy goes to her neighborhood lesbian bar. Gloomy, brooding, soaking wet and freezing, Quincy finds a seeming ray of sunshine in Lindy.
Lindy feels an instant connection to the stranger, and at the request of the bar owner, takes Quincy home. Though they do not have sex, the two stay together throughout the weekend, forging the beginnings of what may be a life-altering bond for both of them... if only they can work through the troubles of their respective pasts to be willing to take a chance on each other.
July 16, 2020
This book was a DNF, which almost never happens. Even when the book its seriously boring, I can somehow get through it. This book was boring, it started off boring and it continued. I don't even think I got halfway through it. The writing was okay, but the story was just not very interesting. The PTSD, meeting a stranger at a bar and then having that stranger stay with you all weekend are all major RED flags and not one should be forced into someone eles's PTSD no matter how kind they are. Quincy seemed selfish and like she needed some serious help, Lindy also seemed like she had too many issues. I am sure everything turns out fine in the end, but it was not a book I wanted to keep reading. I started it, and in the interim have read several other books, This is the second book of hers I have read and the second one that I did not finish. I will not be reading anymore.
This book was given to be as an ARC in exchange for an honest review by Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley.
This book was given to be as an ARC in exchange for an honest review by Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley.
June 23, 2020
It's rather strange to read a book about a snowstorm in a heatwave, but that's exactly what I did. But when you feel cold from just reading a book, you know it's good.
Police officer Quincy is on her way home from her shift when she hears about a pile-up on her police scanner. She is the first to arrive on the scene, she triages the situation and starts pulling people from their burning vehicles. One particular car scene is truly devastating, mix that with Quincy's PTSD (which she has been trying to ignore) and it's a real tear-jerker. After spending 20 minutes alone at the scene and saving 12 people Quincy is cold and dirty and is being send home by her chief. Instead of heading home, she goes to her favourite bar. She needs to see happy people. Lindy is dancing, she was reluctant to come out for her best friend Babs' birthday, but she is enjoying dancing by herself and dragging her friends to dance with her. Quincy is in shock and cold, her friend and owner of the bar asks Lindy if she could give Quincy a ride home. Lindy is not someone to connect with people, she doesn't let anyone in, nor does she want to. After talking to Quincy and being in awe of her bravery she decides to drive her. Quincy asks Lindy to stay the night just so that she isn't alone. It's a starnge request but Lindy agrees. They connect even without Lindy's permission for personal quiestions. When they spend the weekend together there is no denying their connection but Lindy doesn't want to date, she turns Quincy down flat. Unable to let go of the idea of each other they go on with their lives but are confronted with each other, their own problems and their connection time and time again. Until they figure it all out.
I would have given this book 5 stars if it weren't for the push and pull and the subsequent quick succession of events and living up to too many lesbian cliches. I like Quincy, she is nice character, brave but humble. I don't care much for Lindy, she seems to sort of string Quincy along, even though she was clear from the start. But you can't say one thing and do something different. The supporting characters are pretty solid as well. Let me leave you with this: I am very glad my friends don't give similar gifts to Lindy's friends.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
Police officer Quincy is on her way home from her shift when she hears about a pile-up on her police scanner. She is the first to arrive on the scene, she triages the situation and starts pulling people from their burning vehicles. One particular car scene is truly devastating, mix that with Quincy's PTSD (which she has been trying to ignore) and it's a real tear-jerker. After spending 20 minutes alone at the scene and saving 12 people Quincy is cold and dirty and is being send home by her chief. Instead of heading home, she goes to her favourite bar. She needs to see happy people. Lindy is dancing, she was reluctant to come out for her best friend Babs' birthday, but she is enjoying dancing by herself and dragging her friends to dance with her. Quincy is in shock and cold, her friend and owner of the bar asks Lindy if she could give Quincy a ride home. Lindy is not someone to connect with people, she doesn't let anyone in, nor does she want to. After talking to Quincy and being in awe of her bravery she decides to drive her. Quincy asks Lindy to stay the night just so that she isn't alone. It's a starnge request but Lindy agrees. They connect even without Lindy's permission for personal quiestions. When they spend the weekend together there is no denying their connection but Lindy doesn't want to date, she turns Quincy down flat. Unable to let go of the idea of each other they go on with their lives but are confronted with each other, their own problems and their connection time and time again. Until they figure it all out.
I would have given this book 5 stars if it weren't for the push and pull and the subsequent quick succession of events and living up to too many lesbian cliches. I like Quincy, she is nice character, brave but humble. I don't care much for Lindy, she seems to sort of string Quincy along, even though she was clear from the start. But you can't say one thing and do something different. The supporting characters are pretty solid as well. Let me leave you with this: I am very glad my friends don't give similar gifts to Lindy's friends.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
June 11, 2020
When I read the synopsis for this book I was immediately drawn to it and knew I wanted to read the book. One of my favorite storylines is about lost, lonely souls and both of the main characters demonstrated this trait in spades.
Officer Quincy Adams has just gotten off duty on an early October evening. An early snow storm has blown into New Jersey and she is headed home to have a drink and relax. She hears on her police scanner about a multi vehicle accident on the freeway near her current location. She can either head home as planned or try to render aid before any of the emergency vehicles arrive. She chooses the latter. She arrives at the scene first and ends up pulling eleven men, women, and children from vehicles and then attempts to rescue a badly injured woman who is trapped in a burning vehicle that could explode at any moment. This triggers a flashback from her time in Afghanistan. After a visit to the hospital she wants to experience life and excitement and decides to head to Maggie's, a local lesbian bar.
At Maggie's, Quincy visibly connects with loner, Lindy James, when she sees Lindy dancing alone from a mirror over the bar. Lindy is full of life and light. Maggie, the bar owner, asks Lindy to drive a shaken and slightly drunk Quincy home.
The story details their connection, the fight each of them tackle with their own personal demons, and what they need to put behind them so they can eventually reconnect. This story lived up to all of my expectations about two lonely people connecting after coming to grasp with their issues. The writing was very good, the storyline flowed well, and it was a quick read for me despite some of the harrowing subject matter. I would recommend this book to others. 5 stars
I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Officer Quincy Adams has just gotten off duty on an early October evening. An early snow storm has blown into New Jersey and she is headed home to have a drink and relax. She hears on her police scanner about a multi vehicle accident on the freeway near her current location. She can either head home as planned or try to render aid before any of the emergency vehicles arrive. She chooses the latter. She arrives at the scene first and ends up pulling eleven men, women, and children from vehicles and then attempts to rescue a badly injured woman who is trapped in a burning vehicle that could explode at any moment. This triggers a flashback from her time in Afghanistan. After a visit to the hospital she wants to experience life and excitement and decides to head to Maggie's, a local lesbian bar.
At Maggie's, Quincy visibly connects with loner, Lindy James, when she sees Lindy dancing alone from a mirror over the bar. Lindy is full of life and light. Maggie, the bar owner, asks Lindy to drive a shaken and slightly drunk Quincy home.
The story details their connection, the fight each of them tackle with their own personal demons, and what they need to put behind them so they can eventually reconnect. This story lived up to all of my expectations about two lonely people connecting after coming to grasp with their issues. The writing was very good, the storyline flowed well, and it was a quick read for me despite some of the harrowing subject matter. I would recommend this book to others. 5 stars
I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 28, 2020
Johna Quincy Adams, police officer
Lindy James, a truck dispatcher who helps Quincy after she rescues people from a traffic accident scene.
After suffering injuries and smoke inhalation while rescuing 12 people from a traffic accident, Quincy goes to the only place she knows she will find comfort, her friendly lesbian bar. Quincy is a mess, smoke stained, bruised, half frozen and at loose ends. Lindy is at the bar helping a friend celebrate her birthday.
Maggie, the owner of the bar asks Lindy to give Quincy a ride home. Lindy stays with Quincy that night and for the rest of the weekend, so Quincy won't be alone.
Through the trial of meeting with the press at the hospital and meeting the people she saved, Quincy isn't ready for the crush of emotions caused by the incident, and how she's starting to feel about Lindy. Lindy's cold brush-off after their warm, yet platonic weekend is mysterious.
Lindy has a past and it's keeping her from a future. Will her life with Quincy come together or fall apart?
(Ms. Mariorisi includes a couple of recipes for the meals her characters cook. They look tasty!)
Lindy James, a truck dispatcher who helps Quincy after she rescues people from a traffic accident scene.
After suffering injuries and smoke inhalation while rescuing 12 people from a traffic accident, Quincy goes to the only place she knows she will find comfort, her friendly lesbian bar. Quincy is a mess, smoke stained, bruised, half frozen and at loose ends. Lindy is at the bar helping a friend celebrate her birthday.
Maggie, the owner of the bar asks Lindy to give Quincy a ride home. Lindy stays with Quincy that night and for the rest of the weekend, so Quincy won't be alone.
Through the trial of meeting with the press at the hospital and meeting the people she saved, Quincy isn't ready for the crush of emotions caused by the incident, and how she's starting to feel about Lindy. Lindy's cold brush-off after their warm, yet platonic weekend is mysterious.
Lindy has a past and it's keeping her from a future. Will her life with Quincy come together or fall apart?
(Ms. Mariorisi includes a couple of recipes for the meals her characters cook. They look tasty!)
July 9, 2020
Sweet love story...
Received a generous ARC from the publisher via Netgalley!
Reading this book felt like I was watching a movie that I never wanted to end. Quincy was a hero to so many, she risked her life to save the lives of others and in the end she ended up saving her own life in a way. She was lost, hurt, angry and couldn't get over the death of Jen, her previous girlfriend. Then one night she met Lindy when she was at her lowest point and found the love of her life. But It wasn't smooth sailing as Lindy had her own issues to deal with, horrible issues that no child or woman should ever have to suffer. But in the end love prevailed and they were just what each other needed. This was the first book I've read by this author and I did enjoy it. The only drawback was the lack of sex scenes and the constant use of the word, sugah (not romantic). The one sex scene was so hot, I wanted more. Other than that great book to read during these crazy pandemic times. Overall 4.5 stars.
Received a generous ARC from the publisher via Netgalley!
Reading this book felt like I was watching a movie that I never wanted to end. Quincy was a hero to so many, she risked her life to save the lives of others and in the end she ended up saving her own life in a way. She was lost, hurt, angry and couldn't get over the death of Jen, her previous girlfriend. Then one night she met Lindy when she was at her lowest point and found the love of her life. But It wasn't smooth sailing as Lindy had her own issues to deal with, horrible issues that no child or woman should ever have to suffer. But in the end love prevailed and they were just what each other needed. This was the first book I've read by this author and I did enjoy it. The only drawback was the lack of sex scenes and the constant use of the word, sugah (not romantic). The one sex scene was so hot, I wanted more. Other than that great book to read during these crazy pandemic times. Overall 4.5 stars.
July 23, 2020
U recommend this book.
I really enjoyed this book. A very well written romance. The main characters are very likable. There are very likable and well developed secondary characters that we will get to see more of in the second book. Thanks for another winner.
I really enjoyed this book. A very well written romance. The main characters are very likable. There are very likable and well developed secondary characters that we will get to see more of in the second book. Thanks for another winner.
April 9, 2022
I liked the beginning of the book, but then my interest dwindled when I got further into the book. There were a few moments when interactions between the two MC’s were not realistic. Other than that, I loved the way this book was written! 4/5 for good effort and overall good plot.
January 13, 2026
⭐⭐
adele, emma thompson, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo mention 💞
adele, emma thompson, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo mention 💞
July 8, 2023
Short and enjoyable
Following the development of Quincy and Lindy as they go from meeting after a disaster through taking control of their lives after each has a traumatic past was nice. Slow paced it felt like a more realistic development of love and understanding between the two. However I found it felt a bit vague in somethings and unnecessary in others, I didn't see why the ingredients or recipe were needed and it put me of a bit but they are easily skipped.
Following the development of Quincy and Lindy as they go from meeting after a disaster through taking control of their lives after each has a traumatic past was nice. Slow paced it felt like a more realistic development of love and understanding between the two. However I found it felt a bit vague in somethings and unnecessary in others, I didn't see why the ingredients or recipe were needed and it put me of a bit but they are easily skipped.
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