Sticking to the Script

de Stella Weaver (2019) - Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Steven Thompson had a bad year. A string of mean, kinky (the alarming kind, not the good kind), and crazy dating debacles combined with a boss who appears to be experiencing male-prenatal-psychosis means Steven’s stress levels are high. They’re so high, he’s decided to quit dating and focus instead solely on his job.

Until he meets Dr. Ken Miles.

Doctor Ken Miles is having a fantastic year. His hard work is paying off in a big way... professionally. But his social life? Not so much.

Until he meets Steven Thompson.

Steven isn’t so sure about Dr. Miles, but Ken is one hundred percent certain about Mr. Thompson. And even though both men know full well that the key to getting what you want out of life is hard work, they can’t seem to make them—together—work.

Will they ever get on the same page? Or just keep sticking to the same old script?

'Sticking to the Script' is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #2 in the Cipher Office series, Knitting in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.


Pour les lectrices assidues de Penny Reid, les deux héros de cette romance ne seront pas inconnus car ils étaient tous les deux des personnages secondaires, et là enfin ils ont droit à leur moment *couinage*. Doctor Ken Miles (DKM pour les intimes) on le rencontre dans le tome d'Elizabeth et Nico, où il n'était pas présenté sous son meilleur jour mais ici il se transforme d'un coup en choupi-chou... Steven, qui travaille avec Janie et Quinn à Cipher Security (on le croise aussi dans Code of Conduct) l'est tout autant ^^.

Je dois dire que c'est la première romance M/M que je lis, ce n'est pas un genre qui m'attire particulièrement et j'ai bien fait de commencer avec une romance sur des personnages et un univers que je connais déjà :D . Stella Weaver écrit très bien et équilibre parfaitement des scènes d'humour, de couinage et d'émotion.

Je suis passée un peu par tous les stades émotionnels avec ce roman. Même si Steven et DKM vont affronter des challenges de vie pas super joyeux et que la tension dramatique est bien présente, ce roman est rempli d'humour avec des dialogues énormes et des situations cocasses. Ajoutez à cela beaucoup de tendresse, ça en fait l'un de mes favoris de toutes les Smartypants Romance. Si vous ne pouvez pas tous les lire, il faut moins lire celui-là !

For regular readers of Penny Reid, the two heroes of this romance will not be unknown because they were both secondary characters, and finally they have their moment *squealing*. we meet Doctor Ken Miles (DKM for intimates) in the book about Elizabeth and Nico, where he was not shown at his best, but here he suddenly turns into a yummy hottie... Steven, who works with Janie and Quinn at Cipher Security (we also see him in Code of Conduct) is just as good ^^.

I have to say that this is the first M/M romance I read, it's not a genre that attracts me particularly and I was right to start with a romance about characters and a universe that I already know :D. Stella Weaver writes very well and perfectly balances scenes of humor, squeakings and emotions.

I went through all the emotional stages with this novel. Even though Steven and DKM will face life challenges and the dramatic tension, this novel is full of humor with awesome dialogues and funny situations. Add to that a lot of tenderness, this makes it one of my favorites of all Smartypants Romance. If you can't read them all, you have to read this one at least !

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Weight Expectations

de M.E. Carter (2019) - Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Rian Thompson thought she joined the gym to get healthy. Little did she know she was about to add hundred and ninety pounds of swoonworthy abdominal muscles and arrogance to her life.

Every day in Rians’s life follows a predictable pattern, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s got a nice job, a nice place to live, and a nice family – even if they are a little wedding-zilla-ish at the moment.

She doesn’t need anything spectacular to be happy. She just needs to get healthy – mentally, physically. . . and maybe spiritually if that happens. But she’ll settle for two out of three until her sister finally gets hitched.

Carlos Davies thought his life was perfect. Little did he know it was about to be turned upside down by a woman who is not his type.

In Carlos’s mind, his life is damn near perfect. He’s got a great job, a great place to live, and a great stash of pick up lines that always work. It has occurred to him that maybe no one actually takes him all that seriously. But with these bulging biceps and thick, dark hair, does that even matter since he’s never sleeping alone?


J'ai eu un peu plus de mal à entrer dans ce roman, pendant une bonne moitié j'ai trouvé qu'il se passait pas grand chose, que c'était long, que les deux héros mettaient trop de temps avant de se rencontrer et à interagir ensemble... la personnalité de Rian ne m'intéressait pas et Carlos ne me faisait ni chaud ni froid. A vrai dire, pendant cette partie, c'est plus les persos secondaires qui m'intéressaient xD

et puis alors tout tourne autour de la salle de sport, et la vie perso et pro qui s'organise en fonction de quand sont les séances de cardio, j'avoue que je suis pas du tout dans l'esprit "les altères c'est la vie". alors même si pour Rian, c'est pour des raisons de santé, ça n'empêche que l'histoire se passe dans un "monde" qui me passionne pas du tout...

après, dans la 2e partie du roman, Rian et Carlos sont enfin en mode séduction ce qui a rattrapé mon avis. ils ont une bonne alchimie ensemble, et Carlos se révèle parfait dans sa la façon dont il aborde ses nouveaux sentiments pour Rian.

une chose qui m'a titillé quand même, j'ai trouvé que ce roman était un peu trop lisse dans le politiquement correct et que l'auteur hésitait à écrire les choses clairement. Rian est décrite, dès le début, comme obèse, et pour prévenir d'éventuels problèmes de santé elle doit changer certaines habitudes (manger plus sain, faire du sport) mais pas forcément dans une optique "perte de poids".

Quand Carlos rencontre Rian, il est attiré et ça le surprend car elle est pas du tout "le genre auquel il s'intéresse à la base" lui qui est habitué aux aventures d'un soir, et ça il se le répète plusieurs fois et toujours formulé pareil. sauf que le lecteur a bien compris que Carlos parle du physique comme critère premier pour aller aborder une femme... mais il se l'avoue même pas à lui-même dans ses monologues internes, alors que ça ne l'aurait pas forcément fait passer pour un plouc. Ce qui est dommage, car Carlos change, il évolue, il comprend que Rian l'attire pour des raisons plus profondes et plus sérieuses et il ne veut pas laisser passer la chance d'avoir trouvé sa moitié (voilà pourquoi j'ai mis qu'il était parfait ^^). de plus, il n'hésite pas à mettre au défis les gens qui doutent de ses sentiments car ils jugent Rian sur son physique. mais pareil, c'est écrit de façon détournée, on le comprend, mais c'est pas dit clairement...

je pense que je roman aurait été beaucoup mieux si l'auteur avait osé être plus directe dans certaines scènes, quitte à avoir des personnages ayant des préjugés au départ : la qualité principale de Carlos c'est qu'il se remet en question, et c'est bien :)

this novel was a bit difficult for me to get into, for the first half not much happened, I though that it was long, that the two heroes took too long before meeting each other and interact together... Rian's personality did not interest me and Carlos was irrelevant to me. In fact, during this part, it's the secondary characters that interested me more xD

Also everything revolves around the gym, the personal and professional life of the characters is organized according to the cardio sessions, I admit that I'm not at all in the spirit "barbells are life". so even if for Rian, it's for health reasons, that does not prevent that the story happens in a "world" which does not fascinate me at all...

later, in the second part of the novel, Rian and Carlos are finally seducting each other which has leveled up my opinion of the book. they have good chemistry together, and Carlos is perfect in how he approach his new feelings for Rian.

a thing that tickled me anyway, I found that this novel was a little too smooth in the politically correct and that the author hesitated to write things clearly. Rian is described, from the beginning, as obese, and to prevent possible health problems she must change certain habits (eat healthier, do sports) but not necessarily in a "weight loss" perspective.

When Carlos meets Rian, he is attracted and it surprises him because she is not at all "the kind that he likes", he who is used to one night stands, he repeats it several times and always with the same wordings. except that the reader has understood that Carlos speaks about physical appearance as the first criterion to go to a woman... but he does not even admit it to himself in his internal monologues, even if it would not necessarily have him pass for a asshole. This is a pity because Carlos changes, he evolves, he understands that Rian attracts him for deeper and more serious reasons and he does not want to miss the chance to have found his partner (that's why I wrote that he was perfect ^^). moreover, he does not hesitate to challenge people who doubt his feelings because they judge Rian on her physique. but here too, this is written in a roundabout way, we understand, but it is not the rights words...

I think that it would have been much better novel if the author had dared to be more direct in certain scenes, even if the characters would have had prejudices at the beginning : the main quality of Carlos is that he questions himself, and it's good :)

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