Jen_C’s Reviews > Unspoken Words: A Romance Compilation of Members of the LDS Beta Readers Group > Status Update

Cooler ~ Michelle Pennington. 3.75 stars
Cute high school story. Athlete dumps girlfriend for heroine and they deal with her jealous bullying attempt.

Chloe brushed by me. “Nice try. Like you’d ever go for Alecia.” “I dated you, didn’t I?” She folded her arms across her chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I shrugged and walked past, saying over my shoulder, “I guess I like scary chicks.” I heard her yelling behind me, dropping swear words like they were pennies, but I ignored her.

Friends ~ Jen Geigle Johnson 3 stars
Actors, friends to love

We fist bumped. As our hands moved apart, we recited together, “Save it for the stage.” Every Friday of high school, Dax and I wore our ‘Save it for the Stage’ t-shirts together. We joked all the way to the event.

Picturing Us ~ Sara Cardon 3 stars
Overly wordy with adjectives and a bit abstract for me. College girl wants to be runway model but not leave boyfriend.

You’re beautiful, and not for the reasons a modeling gig will tell you,” he whispered in her ear. “There’s something raw and vulnerable about you and the beauty you see in the world. It makes me want to safeguard you.” Noah kept her wrapped tight. “I also want to feed you every chance I get. More than those few crackers you sometimes call lunch.

Without Saying a Word ~ Melanie Mason

Super short story of newly deaf soldier arriving home and his girl assuring him his isn't broken. Sweetly naive.
3.25 stars

He didn’t want her sympathy. His hearing was gone, shattered in the explosion that had killed half of his men. He’d accepted the loss during the last two months in the hospital in Afghanistan. She rose to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek. When his eyes met hers all he saw was love. The emotional wall he’d built inside cracked. How he’d missed this. He held her close, praying she could accept him broken.

Seashell Secrets ~ Rebekah J. Wells
2.5 stars. She got cancer diagnosis, confessed her love, got blown off. Meet up 1 year later. Eco geeks that should have communicated better.

A realization prickled down her spine. Daniel didn’t know about the cancer. She’d gone straight from the doctor’s office to Daniel and blurted out her feelings. When he didn’t say anything in return, Jane blocked his number on her phone, hopped on the first flight home, and started chemo. She hadn’t told him anything.