Tal BauerRezensionen

Really sweet love story. I’m not a hockey fan, but I really enjoyed this book. That said, it was pretty annoying having to translate so much of the book. I probably would have had a blast if I spoke French Canadian, but alas, I do not.

How do I give a 6th star?

7 stars tbh

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this anthology for charity.

I've read all the stories in here, some I loved, some I liked and some just didn't quite resonate with me.

Lucy's at the start/end is a wonderful intro to this seasons Never Have I Ever ...

AM Arthur's contribution made my heart melt with the best friends to lovers

Spencer's novella about Never Been kissed was cool but way too short LOL

I'd mini review all but not enough time
Overall this is 4

If I could give this more than 5 stars I would. I hekking loved this story, these characters, literally everything.

I can’t wait to read the rest of this author’s writings!!!

I loved everything about this.

Okay so this is like a 4.5 for the writing and like a 3 for the story

Noah and Cole! I loved this story. The build of the relationship, the tension of the mystery, the fear during the twist, and the happiness in the end. This book is was excellent. Noah figuring out who he is and Cole finding the person who he can share a life with!

I was above average entertained, so I'm giving this 4 stars, *but* there were a couple considerable gaps in logic*, and I liked the main characters, but I wasn't as attached to them as I might have been. High steam.

* A couple examples of the sort of things that didn't quite hold water. (Significant spoilers). The MMC is convinced that anyone might be in on this presidential assassination, to the point he's practically gone rogue, but then a shady character pulls up outside his house claiming to be FBI or CIA or something (I can't remember), and he immediately trusts everything this guy says, even when it contradicts the word of the vice president whom he's also in love with, AND he confides in him all this stuff he's been keeping to himself up to that point. Why?? He knows assassinating a president at camp David while simultaneously removing documents from the White House requires at least *some* governmental insiders with high clearance, why completely rule out this total stranger? A highly placed baddie would totally benefit from giving him false clues, threatening him, trying to get him to turn on the VP, and mining what information he's gained so far. It's looney to entirely rule him out. Another example, it turns out that the president didn't share his dangerous knowledge with his best friend and VP because he didn't want to put him in danger... but also left clues for him that only he would know, so that he could try to piece it together- which is actually way more f***ing dangerous than just having the heads up about the danger to begin with! Ffs. Why be forewarned about who you definitely shouldn't trust and where to look for the evidence you'll need, when you could instead just be sent off bumbling about trying to string together some disperate clues?! Eesh. I get that if he'd just given them all the information then there wouldn't have been much of a case to solve, but the way it was just doesn't really make sense.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. The characters spent a lot of the book apart, the drama wasn't as engaging as the first book, and the conclusion wasn't as satisfying since the other book's ending actually takes place after this one. This is kind of like an expansion of the semi-time-lapsed part near the end of the previous book, so there's kind of a feeling of taking a step backwards. I prefer to read in order, and besides pausing the other book, reading this one, and then picking back up with the first, there isn't a good way to do that. Apart from that though, this did add to their relationship and I'm happy I read it.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. A bit more of a cliffhanger ending than I expected. Very little felt resolved, yet this book was also longer than average (as is the next). So the plot arcs feel a little wonky. The characters were quite daft at times as well, which felt unlike them. And the plot was a considerable stretch. Very nearly had a Romeo and Juliet ending that felt kinda facepalm, and I didn't buy the clone storyline at all. All that aside though, it kept my interest and entertained me. And I generally like these characters.

4.5 rounded up. I hadn't read a 'gay for you' romance before, it seemed like having one otherwise straight guy would be considerably less hot. But it actually forced both of them into unconventional situations that were really captivating. Ethan fell for someone he was pretty confident couldn't return his feelings, and then was willing to meet Jack where he was at, progressing very slowly. And Jack had to reassess so much of what he'd known about himself and step out of his comfort zone in a big way. I was also really impressed by the hurdles they were willing to try to overcome. Ethan was career focused and a private person, and he still pursued Jack knowing that both of those things would likely be sacrificed if the relationship went well. And Jack risked his standing and second term knowing he was living under a microscope and would be judged harshly. I believed their feelings for each other, and both their trials and sacrifices were quite romantic. There was also more action and adventure than I expected, I don't read very many political thrillers. It was a lot packed into one book without either the romance or drama being overwhelmed by the other. It definitely kept my attention and was emotionally engaging.

This is the weak spot of the bunch, which is always especially disappointing to end a good series on an off note. The main fault is that it just wasn't edited enough. Both in ideas and words. The plot lines seemed to birth other plot lines until it was just a stew of PoV characters, and locations, and terrorist machinations upon terrorist machinations. It ended up convoluted, and strained believability even for fiction. The lack of a more critical eye also left it open to plot holes.
Why even have the *staff doppleganger with the eye and hand of the president's clone go for the nukes* (side eye) when the whole world was going to be toast by that point anyway? (That's quite a bit of effort on the villains' part, and many pages for the readers to read, all for something entirely redundant.) The mastermind villain was an egomaniac on a winning streak, he wouldn't expect to fail, so it was unlikely to be a failsafe measure. I imagine Tal just wanted to give those few peripheral characters back home something to do, but I don't think it added enough to merit its inclusion. - Or why would the villains purposely plan to blow up one of their more dedicated and useful agents entirely pointlessly? (Again, they had no reason to doubt their success at certain death.) It's one thing to lose a man as a suicide bomber, but another to condemn one of their own alongside their victims 'just because'. Again, I imagine Tal simply wanted to be able to pull another double agent out of a hat in the 11th hour, but with a little push-back he might have reconsidered the method and instead left the agent at a safe distance from the blast area in order to make sure there were no survivors, and then when they did live he could have given himself a head wound and stumbled out of the trees or something like he'd been left for dead and only miraculously survived. They would have happily taken him back in, and he could have still surprised them later- but in a way that actually held water!
In the length editing area, at one point there's a submarine scene that seemed to last for an entire hour on the audiobook that was almost entirely just a play-by-play of everyone tensely waiting for missiles and the technical steps they took to try to dodge them and counter-attack... This book just shouldn't have been left at nearly 500 pages, it would have been so much stronger with the fat cut! I feel like this has to be a case of all the editors and beta readers just being huge fans of whatever Tal writes and not questioning anything, (though I suppose it's possible they brought up these issues and he just ignored them?). There were also then of course about 7 endings to try to wrap up all the various side plots (yet I didn't find the endings for our two main couples all that satisfying, which was a missed opportunity, but perhaps a natural casualty of so many ends to tie up).
I've enjoyed the other books above average, (even when book 2 kinda 'jumped the shark' with the whole 'clones' angle in the first place, which honestly was already a considerable stretch). Generally Tal is a good storyteller, and I found these characters interesting and likable, so 3 stars still.

I liked this one better than Gravity for developing the characters more fully, but some of the romance tropes were offputting and some of the plot a bit too unbelievable to take seriously.½

Meh. Even for a romance novel, there were too many things in this one that required complete suspension of disbelief instead of enjoying the book's character and plot development. So as much as I wanted to like the romance between Hunter and Bryce, the other stuff got in the way.

I’m convinced this was written on a dare.

Also can someone please write a sequel where Wes and Colton both get CTE and murder their husbands and a waiter who was bringing home their glasses?

this man loves two things: football and gay. And honestly, I'm here for it.

but there are still some issues with this book; mainly the vilification of addicts. like i like that the dead wife is a bitch but then it feels morally bankrupt to make that because she's an addict. like not all addicts or bad people and being an addict doesn't automatically make you evil. I feel like it would have been much more compelling had she actually just been a bad person (no excuses). it also just felt really shoe-horned in.

But now we get to the real issue THE NAMES:

Luke Hale and LANDON LARSEN!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!?!?!?!?!?!?

ALSO, THEY GET MARRIED SO DOES THAT MEAN THEY ARE NOW LUKE LARSEN AND LANDON LARSON??????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I HATE THIS.

I’m convinced this was written on a dare.

Also can someone please write a sequel where Wes and Colton both get CTE and murder their husbands and a waiter who was bringing home their glasses?

this man loves two things: football and gay. And honestly, I'm here for it.

but there are still some issues with this book; mainly the vilification of addicts. like i like that the dead wife is a bitch but then it feels morally bankrupt to make that because she's an addict. like not all addicts or bad people and being an addict doesn't automatically make you evil. I feel like it would have been much more compelling had she actually just been a bad person (no excuses). it also just felt really shoe-horned in.

But now we get to the real issue THE NAMES:

Luke Hale and LANDON LARSEN!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!?!?!?!?!?!?

ALSO, THEY GET MARRIED SO DOES THAT MEAN THEY ARE NOW LUKE LARSEN AND LANDON LARSON??????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I HATE THIS.

Too far over the top and horribly predictable. No more books by Tal Bauer for me.

I read somewhere someone commenting that Tal Bauer is one of the best if you don't mind a bit sappy.

Well, I guess that is true - there are sappy parts in this, (spoiler alert) like when David and Chris get married. It is over the top, but it is beautiful.

Chris is a great character and David - more of a mystery and fascinating. His devotion to Chris is liberating for David I believe - abrogation of self to the greater cause of Chris - that's how he sees. Chris who is a brilliant analyst and negotiator.½

Never Have I Ever… Fallen in Love by Lucy Lennox - 4 stars

Never Have I Ever…Cold-Called A Stranger’s Phone Number by A.M. Arthur - 2 stars

Never Have I Ever…Ridden A Bike by Alice Winters - 2 star

Never Have I Ever…Dyed My Hair Flaming Red by Daryl Banner - 3 stars

Never Have I Ever…Worn That For Halloween by E.M. Lindsey - 2 stars

Never Have I Ever…Sung in Public by Jodi Payne - 3.5 stars

Never Have I Ever…Gotten Lost by K. Webster - 3.5 stars

Never Have I Ever…Taken a Vacation by Kate Hawthorne - 2.5 stars

Never Have I Ever…Spent The Night With Blanche by Louisa Masters - 5 stars

Never Have I Ever…Had a Makeover by Mia Monroe - 3 stars

Never Have I Ever…Flown In An Airplane by Neve Wilder - 2 stars

Never Have I Ever…Gone Skinny Dipping by Riley Hart - 3 stars

Never Have I Ever…Watched The Godfather by S.E. Harmon - 4.5 stars

Never Have I Ever…Kissed Someone on the Lips by Spencer Spears - 3 stars

Never Have I Ever…Been On A Date by Tal Bauer - 3 stars
I was afraid of finding another well-written story but sinking into the ridiculousness and cheesiness that I found in [b:Enemies of the State|34664699|Enemies of the State (The Executive Office #1)|Tal Bauer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490216550l/34664699._SY75_.jpg|49030205], but this one was a pleasant surprise; maybe I'll try one of his standalone mysteries.

DNF at 62%

The writing is OK. But omg, the plot and the characters' behavior are ridiculous.

Ultimately, I have something to thank this book for: I have discovered a limit to the suspension of disbelief that I'm capable of.