Review: July by Audrey Carlan

Posted July 13, 2016 by Lola in Coyer, Erotica, Review, Romance / 16 Comments

LolaReview

JulyJuly (Calendar Girl #7)
by Audrey Carlan

Rating: 3 stars

Blurb:
Hip-hop, Miami heat, and the Latin Lov-ah.

The second half to this year-long journey has taken me to Magic City…Miami. I’ve been hired by the nation’s top hip-hop artist, Anton Santiago. His name is as sexy as he is, and it rolls off the tongue the same way his muscled form rolls to his music. He goes by the name Latin Lov-ah, and boy does he work that title from his rock-hard body, Latin hip-hop fusion dance moves, to the way he beds his women.

He’s raw, dirty, and one hundred percent player…and I want to wrap my naked body all over him and forget about everything.

Every word that comes out of his mouth is a siren’s song.

Every thrust of his hips draws me closer.

Every breath against my neck sends me into a tailspin of need and desire.

After what happened in June, I need to rip the bandage off. Move on. Anton could be just the thing I need to get my groove back.

I was hired to play the part of a seductress in Anton’s new music video, but, in the end, I’m the one being seduced.

***
In the seventh book of the Calendar Girl serial, Mia is sent to Miami, Florida. Still on her mission to save her father, she is hired to be in a hot new music video where her unique look and recent popularity will prove invaluable.

Each installment in the Calendar Girl Serial will release every month throughout 2015. The stories will feature Mia’s journey as an escort to twelve clients in twelve different locations.

Warning: This book is designed for audiences 18+ due to language and graphic sexual content.

My Review:
I really liked the direction this book took. With some of the previous books I had the feeling the plot got a little bit formulaic at times, but this book breaks that and I am really curious how this series will continue and take this change further. And don’t let the blurb mislead you, it sounds like things continue like the previous books, but it definitely surprised me.

This month Mia is to star in a music video with hip-hop artist Anton. They have to dance together with some back-up dancers and guess what Mia doesn’t know how to dace. I was wondering how they were going to spun this story and I was pleasantly surprised. We see how Mia struggles with what happened in the previous month and I liked how this book build upon that and showed the reader she didn’t get over it as easily as you might have thought.

This series is first and foremost about Mia her journey and this book is an important step in her journey. She makes a decision, which felt very important and I wonder how this will impact the rest of the books. I thought it was realistic to see Mia struggle with what happened last month and eventually try and give it a place. And I felt like I understood her decision a bit more. I also liked how this one tied in with the previous book(s).

Mia meets a few new friends in this book one, but while I thought they had an interesting story, the music video at the same time fell a bit to the background to focus on Mia her story and development. At times I think the novella length might be a tad too short for all the story the author tries to put in it. At times it felt a tad too rushed or like there could be a couple more scenes to get to know her new friends more. I liked the set-up for the next book and am curious how that will play out.

To summarize: I enjoyed this latest installment in this series and I like the direction this book takes. It feels like this book is a pivotal point in this series and it’s breaking the more formulaic mold some of the previous books had. Definitely curious to see how the series will continue now. It just missed that tiny bit to bump it up to a 4 star rating for me. I liked seeing Mia her journey continue, her making new friends in this book and the important decision she makes in this one. It also felt realistic to see Mia struggle with something that happened in the previous book and I understood her decision she made there a bit more. All in all a very interesting book in this series and I am curious to see what will happen next and how the events here will impact things.

3-star

Links:
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What do you think a longer series needs to have to not become formulaic?

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16 responses to “Review: July by Audrey Carlan

  1. I’m glad this installment provided a twist that re-energized your interest in Mia’s story, Lola. Formulaic can be okay but in a series, particularly one like this one is set up, formulaic can become boring (in my opinion). I look forward to seeing what you think of where Mia’s decision takes her from this point. You have me really curious about this series as a whole. 🙂
    Bookworm Brandee recently posted…#ShelfLove Discussion ~ Why Do I Read What I Read?My Profile

    • I agree formulaic can be okay, but if every book in a series follow the same formula it can get a bit repetitive. So I am glad this book broke that up. And I have to admit I already read August and really liked seeing the effects of Mia her decision. It really is a great series and I am really enjoying it 🙂

  2. That is good that this one connected strongly with the books that went before and it also keeps things fresh with the heroine learning and adapting from her earlier experiences even while encountering a new experience with the hip-hop video. I think it’s great that you felt the series was refreshed and stays interesting even if it needs more page time with this segment to develop the other characters and Mia’s relationship with them better.

    I don’t mind long-running series and I really like a few, but it’s for a variety of reasons. I like when the worldbuilding and settings continue to reveal either something new or a different facet of what’s already there. Same thing with any characters that continue through the series. I like to see that if the main character has flaws that the person changes and grows from those flaws (I hate it when the character keeps making the same mistakes over and over). I also like to see progress in the series’ main plot. Haha, guess I want a lot. 🙂
    Sophia Rose recently posted…The Job Blower by Melinda DeRoss #AfternoonDelightMy Profile

    • It was really nice to see how this book stayed connected with the previous books and also refreshing the series for a bit. It sure stays an interesting series.

      In a long series I think seeing things change and develop and having a plot that keeps interesting and characters that change and grow is really important for me too. Oh and yes having the worldbuilding or setting continue to reveal something new or different is a good one too.

    • Having a massive TBR pile is one of those tings most bloggers seem to struggle with. I do mostly read series though. It’s fun to see things develop over the course of the series. And I am happy with the direction this book took.

    • It’s a great serial! There were two episodes before this one which I enjoyed less, but from this book on it picked up again.

  3. I’m glad you liked the direction this one took and that it helped you understand her decision from the last book better. Sorry it didn’t quite make the 4 star cut for you though. Maybe the next one will be better since you mention this book impacting the next one.

    The last time I read 7+ books in a series it was Harry Potter lol, so I’m not sure how to keep a series from being formulaic, but I can see how that might turn into a problem. I think as long as the plots are somewhat different and the characters and relationships keep growing and changing, and the reading keeps getting to delve deeper, it would be ok.
    Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Bloggy Musings: 5 Ways I’ve Changed as a Blogger After One Year of BloggingMy Profile

    • Yes August actually ended up being a 4 star read for me and I liked seeing how Mia her decision in this one continued to impact her life. And the next book shakes things up even more which was nice.

      I hardly ever read very long series, but it helps that these books are relatively short. I like it when series go more into depth so character and relationship development are one of the things I really seeing in series and it also helps them from getting too formulaic. The set-up for this series seemed pretty formulaic, so I guess it’s more a problem in some series than others. But I am glad the author managed to change things up enough to prevent the series from feeling too formulaic.

  4. I think I may have enjoyed this book a little more than you – I think the Latin flavor was something that I enjoyed (my BF is Mexican and I definitely am most attracted to Hispanics). But I still had my issues – my biggest one was that she was hired to dance in a music video! Are you kidding me? How unrealistic! Lol like they’d hire someone with no dance experience (and without even checking if she has any) just for her look! But I still had fun with it 🙂 great review!
    Berls recently posted…Love at the Spinster House #reviews #coyer #2016hwMy Profile

    • I did enjoy the Laton flavor and Mia her decision. It was a good book, but it just didn’t quite reached that 4 star rating for me. And yes I also thought it was a bit weird she was hired to dance in a video and even more so because she didn’t know how to dance.

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