One More Night (One Night #2) by A.M. Willard

Title: One More Night
Series: One Night #2
Author: A.M. Willard
Genre: Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES

My Quickie Synopsis: Angela is finally back home and she's ready to figure out where things stand with her husband. But Christopher isn't being as receptive as she would have hoped, and his secretive behavior isn't helping matters. As Logan's determination to see her again increases, Angela quickly finds herself at a cross-roads. Is her marriage worth saving, or is her future with Logan?

Enjoyment Factor: 
As a quick recap, I did a review of the first novella for this series here. I've opted to not do an overall or technical rating until the series is complete because of the length of these novellas. On to the review!
I'm still not overly impressed with the editing, but it is a lot better! My main concern is the lack of semicolons! Don't be afraid of them; they are your friend! See what I did there? I'm a semicolon pimp, and possibly a little neurotic. I'll give an example because the teacher in me demands it. I'm pulling it from the first page, so you don't have to worry that I'm spoiling anything.

"I can't think straight, I thought I would never see him again after he left my room last night."

There are a few different ways that the above comma splice can be fixed. Obviously, as a semicolon pimp, my number one fix would simply be to change the comma.

"I can't think straight; I thought I would never see him again..."

The next fix would be to use a subordinate conjunction. The semicolon actually implies it, but sometimes it's better to show the relationship between the two clauses.

"I can't think straight because I thought I would never see him again..."

Finally, you could separate the two independent clauses. I would only use this fix if the two clauses weren't related at all. That isn't the case here, but I'll show it for the sake of the example.

"I can't think straight. I thought I would never see him again..."

But enough about that! On to the good!

How I wanted Angela to respond at the end!

The writing flowed much better this time around. Instead of spending time explaining what characters were about to do, we got right into the action. And there was quite some steamy action there! The dialogue felt a bit more natural, and it was easier to focus on the story as it developed. I'm rooting for Angela; I'm not sure how I'd react in such a situation!
The ending made me laugh a little though; the word "examine" in the last sentence felt a little clinical and cold. It would have worked if I thought that Angela was truly that detached from it all, but considering the fact that she responded, I think a warmer phrasing could have been used. I know that's vague as hell, but I'm trying to avoid giving anything away; buy One More Night so you can see what I mean!


My Icing on Top:
One More Night is an example of why I generally enjoy reading from new authors, and I do mean that sincerely. When it comes to a dedicated author, you get to see incredible development sometimes. There is a great deal of improvement between the first novella of the series and the second. Could it still use work? Absolutely. However, I'm happy to see growth already! It's my hope that this pace of refinement continues into the third novella and onward. I look forward to the conclusion of the One Night series; let's hope Angela gets what she wants!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

One Night (One Night #1) by A.M. Willard

Title: One Night
Series: One Night #1
Author: A.M. Willard
Genre: Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+

My Quickie Synopsis: Angela Stephens is beginning to realize that she's at a standstill in her marriage with Christopher; their jobs have them constantly traveling, and they rarely see each other these days. Planning on rekindling her relationship with Christopher, Angela is derailed by a handsome stranger she meets on a business trip. Will she be able to resist his charm, or will she succumb to an offer of one night?

Enjoyment Factor:
I want to tackle a couple of things before I get into the reasoning behind this rating. First and foremost, I probably would not have had this novella on my radar if it weren't for a friend's recommendation. This is a new author, and I'm going to go on a limb and say that my friend is acquainted with Ms. Willard and wanted to help spread the word about her debut. Secondly, I'm not going to give One Night an overall rating or a technical rating; it isn't because I don't think it's deserving of one, but rather that I don't think there's much to go on at this point. If I read the next two novellas I'll give the full series an overall rating and a true technical rating.

I'm not trying to be a jerk; I really do understand that it's not easy to write a book!

So, why did I give this only two stars? The writing, the writing, the writing. I think the plot itself has potential, and the characters are likable enough; however, it's all wrapped up in some very awkward and stiff writing. Honestly, it was to the point where I had difficulty reading through. There was a great deal of telling instead of showing. Don't tell me what your character is going to do, just show the action. It's a waste of valuable page real estate to have a character explain what they are going to do before they do it, especially if it's something as mundane as taking a shower. The dialogue wasn't as consistent as it could have been; there were times where contractions weren't used and they should have been. It would be one thing if you had a character who never used contractions because they're supposed to be "proper," but when the voice of the character isn't consistent, it creates a stilted read. I do feel that One Night could benefit from another round of editing; misuse of commas, missing commas, run-on sentences, and a slew of other grammatical errors plagued the story. Regardless of the length, I just can't get into a story that has such rough writing.

My Icing on Top:
I really don't like giving books low ratings, especially when it's a book that comes recommended. It makes me feel like I'm being so disloyal! That being said, I do believe that Ms. Willard has potential. I think that with a bit more polish and more writing under her belt, she could really go far. I would recommend this book to fans of the adult romance genre who aren't particular about grammatical errors; as I said before, the story itself is okay, it was just the presentation that I took issue with.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K