{"id":6087,"date":"2014-04-28T12:18:04","date_gmt":"2014-04-28T16:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sistahsontheshelf.com\/?p=6087"},"modified":"2020-05-07T20:40:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T00:40:30","slug":"maxis-place-volume-one-by-literary-stud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/?p=6087","title":{"rendered":"Maxi’s Place: Volume One by Literary Stud"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"Publisher\/Date:<\/strong> CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Apr. 2014
\nGenre(s):<\/strong> Romance
\nPages:<\/strong> 128
\n Website:\u00a0<\/strong> http:\/\/www.literarystud.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> \"★\"\"★\"\"★\"\"★\"\"☆\" <\/p><\/strong><\/p>\n

MAXI’S PLACE (VOL. 1)<\/strong><\/em>, a bind-up of three previously published serial e-books by Literary Stud, is mixture of love, secrets and heartbreak simmering in one spot.<\/p>\n

Yes, just like her tagline says, the popular hangout for the Dallas lesbian crowd features “good food, good music and great drama.” But the good thing is that the drama is not over-the-top, just enough to give fantastic character development and a sense that the next volume will promise better things.<\/p>\n

Last year, I reviewed both Rumors Ring True (Part 1)<\/a><\/em> and It’s Complicated (Part 2)<\/a><\/em>, and found both to be engaging.<\/p>\n

Part 1 titled Rumors Ring True<\/em> mostly surrounds hostess Ava and saxophonist Bailey discreetly flirting with each other while suppressing their mutual attraction, both wary to begin a workplace romance because of prying eyes and ears. Not to mention Maxi’s Place owner Cole wants to keep her establishment drama-free\u00a0\u2013 which means no employee fraternizing.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Cole, It’s Complicated<\/em> (Part 2) allows readers a glimpse at the woman who knows how to run a restaurant like a well-oiled machine \u2013 and her office like a sexual revolving door. Under Cole’s management, every employee knows their role except head chef Tasha, the only one who can dish flak (and her favorite sandwich) to Cole without consequences because they have a genuine friendship that goes beyond the doors Maxi’s Place<\/em>. It also acquaints us with bartender Logan and the beautiful nightmares that haunt her after her shift is over.<\/p>\n

In the most recent installment, The Lies We Tell<\/em> (Part 3), readers get a real tour of a night a Maxi’s Place<\/em>. Ava and Bailey are still in the mix, Cole and Tasha find themselves at odds and Logan is trying to get her life back on track. I won’t say anything more because it’ll give away the book’s progression, but just know that Part 3 is the best of the series.<\/p>\n

With five strong characters, Literary Stud moves from good, to great to excellent as each installment progresses. The story is stronger, as well. Where there was too much of Ava and Bailey in the beginning, everything smooths itself out, and everyone gets equal time. Maxi’s Place (Volume 1)<\/em> is a good showcase of Literary Stud’s talent, and I would love to see what she would do with a full-length novel.<\/p>\n

Reviewed April 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Publisher\/Date: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Apr. 2014 Genre(s): Romance Pages: 128 Website:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.literarystud.com MAXI’S PLACE (VOL. 1), a bind-up of three previously published serial e-books by Literary Stud, is mixture of love, secrets and heartbreak simmering in one spot. Yes, just like her tagline says, the popular hangout for the Dallas lesbian crowd features “good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"NEW SOTS REVIEW: Maxi's Place: Volume One by Literary Stud http:\/\/wp.me\/p3r7qG-1Ab @literarystud"},"categories":[4],"tags":[41,298,397,401],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6087"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7168,"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087\/revisions\/7168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}