What Women Really Want From Men by June Stevens Westerfield

Author: June Stevens Westerfield
Genre: Self-Help
Published: March 15, 2016
Pages: 19
Goodreads

Synopsis

Are you a man that has ever wondered what women really want? Are you a woman who wonders if you want to much, or want something different than other women? 

Wonder no more. 

20 women give honest answers to the question "What do you want from the Man in your life?" 

How did this book come about? 
I’ve often watched TV talk shows or read self-help books where “experts” were expounding on healthy relationships and attempting to explain what men and women really want in relationships. Half the time the stuff is so ridiculous I think: “That is CRAP! No one asked ME!” That is where the idea for this book came from. It’s not a bunch of psychobabble. I asked real women to give me REAL answers about what they really want and need from men and relationships. 

Review

I bought a copy of this book for my husband thinking that it would be like an instruction manual (which he actually reads and uses), but I was so very wrong. He read it, and now I'm thinking I'm not actually a woman (I'm not even sure if I'm a human being! On the bright side, that means I might be Superwoman.)

Since reading this book, my husband has started wanting to spend time with me and he's started talking to me more, telling me about his day and asking me about mine. And that's just really cutting into my reading time something awful. 

To make matters worse, he's started helping out around the house too, like doing dishes which is horrible because he loads the dishwasher all wrong and he puts the clean dishes away in all the wrong places. Then I basically have to tear the entire kitchen apart the next time I go to cook a meal, just to find my pots and pans. Don't get me started on how he screws up folding the laundry (for one thing, he folds the kids laundry instead of making them do it themselves, and if he keeps that up, they're going to start expecting ME to fold their laundry too, and that's just unacceptable.)

They always say you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and they are so right. I really wish I could go back to the way things were before I made my husband read this book. 

1 star. 

Buy the Book

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About the Author

JUNE STEVENS WESTERFIELD writes romantic fiction with strong, confident heroines. Her non-fiction work includes collections of real life stories that help give other women a voice. In addition to writing, she runs two small businesses designing greeting cards and websites. When not working she can be found reading, making jewelry, or snuggling on the sofa with her husband and six furbabies binge watching Netflix.

*I was unable to find legitimate reviews for this book because it is fairly new and probably not one that really justifies spending hours upon hours querying bloggers trying to get a couple of us to actually read the book because self-help is kind of a hard genre to pitch to bloggers in the first place (but when I saw the title, it basically lit itself up in neon screaming for a satirized review.) But hey, you could always buy it (it's only 99 cents) and find out just how far off base my review is :) 

Imperfect Chemistry by Mary Frame

Author: Mary Frame
Genre: New Adult Romance
Published: April 23, 2014
Pages: 198
Goodreads

Synopsis

Lucy London puts the word genius to shame. Having obtained her PhD in microbiology by the age of twenty, she's amassed a wealth of knowledge, but one subject still eludes her-people. The pendulum of passions experienced by those around her both confuses and intrigues her, so when she's offered a grant to study emotion as a pathogen, she jumps on the opportunity. When her attempts to come up with an actual experiment quickly drop from lackluster to nonexistent, she's given a choice: figure out how to conduct a groundbreaking study on passion, or lose both the grant and her position at the university. Put on leave until she can crack the perfect proposal, she finds there's only one way she can study emotions-by experiencing them herself. Enter Jensen Walker, Lucy's neighbor and the one person on the planet she finds strangely and maddeningly appealing. Jensen's life is the stuff of campus legend, messy, emotional, complicated-in short, the perfect starting point for Lucy's study. When her tenaciousness wears him down and he consents to help her, sparks fly. To her surprise, Lucy finds herself battling with her own emotions, as foreign as they are intense. With the clock ticking on her deadline, Lucy must decide what's more important: analyzing her passions...or giving in to them?

Review

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a tip on a horse. I swear that bastard was supposed to be a sure thing. How could I have known he'd come in 6th?

I've experience my share of imperfect chemistry in my time. My junior year of high school was the worst though. I actually got kicked out of chemistry after I almost blew up half the school (it was a small school.) Who knew you weren't supposed to mix potassium and water? Mr. Stiles stopped me before I started pouring though (thankfully), but that was my last strike. They probably should have kicked me out after Wendy ended up in the hospital from inhaling the noxious fumes I created with ammonia and bleach. It's actually surprising she's the only one that had to be hospitalized.

Imperfect chemistry can also be a metaphor for personal relationships, and I've experienced some of that too. To be perfectly honest, in my youth I behaved quite a bit like lithium, bonding with nearly everything. I don't regret it much, though, because eventually it led me to the dihydrogen for my monoxide. 

While I was not reading this book, I kept picturing Lucy as Dr. Sheldon Cooper with a wig (he's not a very attractive woman, but maybe I shouldn't have gone with Danaery's Targaryen blonde for the wig color.) 

Overall I give Imperfect Chemistry 3 out of 5 stars because metaphors are cool even though I'm not. 

Buy the Book

Amazon

About the Author

Mary Frame is a full time mother and wife with a full time job. She has no idea how she managed to write a novel, except that it involved copious amounts of wine. She doesn't enjoy writing about herself in third person, but she does enjoy reading, writing, dancing, and damaging the ear drums of her co-workers when she randomly decides to sing to them. She lives in Reno, Nevada with her husband, two children and a border collie named Stella. To see what she's working on, you can follower her blog, Twitter, or Facebook. blog: marewolf.blogspot.com Twitter: @marewulf Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryFrame

Alternate Reviews

If you would like to read some legitimate reviews of Imperfect Chemistry, click any of the links below.

Shooting Stars Reviews // Get Your Smut On // Sofia @Platypire Reviews

Heckled by Valarie Savage Kinney

Author: Valarie Savage Kinney
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Published: January 8, 2016
Pages: 278

Synopsis

Drinking. Drugging. Cutting. 
Exxel Jensen has spent his life finding ways to rid himself of the Heckler, and failed miserably. 
On the surface, his future is bright: a beautiful wife, a child on the way, and a career he loves as a stand up comedian. 
Beneath the surface lurks the darkness: crippling depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. 
Helena Jensen has seen her husband spiral downward before and feels helpless to stop it as she watches him falling again. 
She would do anything to help him, anything to diminish the pain that plagues him.
Exxel knows she would, and he also knows she can’t. 
Because the person fueling his depression and addictions is someone she can’t see. 
And how can he explain the Heckler to anyone, when he doesn’t even understand it himself?

Review

I sold my soul to the devil (Amazon) for a copy of this book. I think I got the better end of that deal because my soul was pretty tarnished by the time I handed it over in exchange for this sparkly new book. 

I wasn't sure if I would like this book because the authors name appears in a vomit green font, and I'm rather anti-vomit in my personal life. It definitely started the book off on the wrong foot for me. The good news is that my opinion of the book couldn't get much lower from there. 

I found Exxel somewhat relatable. The collection of empty wine bottles in my office is rather...extensive (but I swear that's mostly because I'm just a horrible housekeeper.) That was where our personal connection ended though. The character that I really connected with was, The Heckler. 

Yes, I too have been a heckler. I can't even count on both hands the number of stand-up comedy shows I've been kicked out of for heckling. I even sought help for my problem, but my therapist refused to see me after my second appointment because I heckled her too. I barely leave my house now because I'm afraid I won't be able to control the heckling. But I'm not sure I even want to anymore. 

Heckled gets 3 Stars. 

Buy the Book

Amazon

About the Author

Valarie Kinney is a writer, fiber artist and Renaissance Festival junkie with a wicked caffeine addiction. She resides in Michigan with her husband, four children, and two insane little dogs. Author of Heckled, Slither, and Just Hold On, as well as the short stories Copper and Ailith in the KAPOW! anthologies from 7DS Books. Editor and narrator for Dragons of Faith.

Alternate Reviews

If you're interested in reading some legitimate reviews of Heckled, click any of the links below.

Fallen Over Book Reviews // Moxxley @Platypire Reviews