Wednesday, October 30, 2013

50 Shames of Earl Grey

50 Shames of Earl Grey
by Fanny Merkin
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
As someone who has no intention of reading the 50 Shades franchise, I found this book pretty hysterical. Actually, I've read the last 20 pages of the first 50 Shades book. So I don't really know that much about the franchise except what I've seen in popular culture. The author is able to poke fun at the books specifically, but also encompasses tons of pop culture and romance-novel-culture too.

I traded off reading this book and a regular romance novel at the same time and I found it sort-of hard to go between the two. This book pokes fun at everything and when I'd go back to the other book, I'd have to remind myself that these romance phrases are meant to be more serious now.

Anna was mostly, completely stupid. She knows almost nothing about life and her internal monologue is ludicrous. “I gaze into his gazing eyes gazingly like a gazelle gazing into another gazelle's gazing gaze.” Part of poking fun and very funny to read.

But what I loved more was some of the “more serious” silliness. Kissing after eating: “Perhaps we shouldn't have started kissing so soon after eating. Your mouth tastes like you ate an entire garlic bulb.” When Anna has some stinky feet: “'I love your scent, Anna' he says, placing his noise an inch away from my toes and inhaling deeply. His eyes grow wide with surprise. 'But perhaps, I shall start with your knees. Good idea.'” You find that in romance novels so often; that people never smell stinky or anything. It's just so funny and laugh out loud to have someone poke fun at that. But that was definitely the hard part alternating with a “serious” romance novel.

If you remember from the first 50 Shades book, the last little bit is the big spanking scene. This book takes that scene and makes it completely hysterical. One of the times that Anna seemed totally real and intelligent. Instead of being dark and heavy, this one completely turns it around and gives everyone the silly absolution they need.

Bottom line, you can't go into this book expecting a serious take on 50 Shades. It's a silly book, meant to make you laugh and be totally over-the-top insane. I'd compare this book a little bit to the Scary Movie franchise, but it also reminded me a lot of Douglas Adams. Will I buy the second book in this parody series? Maybe, but probably not for full price.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Heating Up The Holidays

Heating Up The Holidays
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
Play With Me by Lisa Renee Jones
I had trouble reading this story. The initial third of this story seemed so complicated, trying to lay the ground work for the intrigue. I had trouble keeping everything straight. There were a lot of names and hints but no real clear path of what the story is going to turn into.

This story was written in first person, so it was a little harder to understand the Instra-Lust that Kali and Damion were generating. These two barely speak to each other after their initial meeting and they still just know somehow that they're attracted to each other. I felt that through Kali's eyes, these two were barely ever on the same screen at the same time. I didn't really feel like I knew Damion at all.

I ended up not really caring for Kali that much. There was this whole complicated mess of “things aren't what they seem” and Kali needs to watch and report, but don't trust anyone, but you haven't even actually started your job yet. She's supposed to be all tough and assertive, but it felt like she really just let everyone push her around.

And this story has so much setup: lots of characters, lots of intrigue. Then it just seemed to sort of end. “These are the greedy bad guys. Now we have love. All is great.” I felt it was a lot of lead up that I had to slough through without any real payoff at the end.

Snowfall by Mary Ann Rivers
I think this story just took more concentration than my brain wanted to put in. It was interesting and the characters were well written, but there were so many technical biological science terms that I had to read each word really slowly to understand what they were talking about. If you're a medical or biological science professional, you'll probably have a really good time with this one. Once the setup was finished, the story started to pick up and be a lot more interesting and I really do like the writing.

Jenny is a very charismatic, emotional character from a Barbra Streisand movie. She emotes so clearly with all of her being. Whether she's feeling depressed, angry, needy or happy, it comes through loud and clear in the story. Not just the writing itself but the actions behind each emotion are really clear. It is hard that for the bulk of the story she is very sad and depressed. It really wore down on my own mood while I was reading.

Evan is a good solid character. Sort of vulnerable and a straight up kind of guy. He didn't have as large of a presence to me as Jenny did. But he'd totally fit in to my movie mind with Jeff Bridges.

I'm pretty sure my movie roles are a bit too old for this book, but it did remind me a lot of The Mirror Has Two Faces, baring the whole medical verbiage. It's good when you're ok feeling sad and nice to have a happy resolution at the end, but most likely you'll still leave feeling down.

After Midnight by Serena Bell
This one was definitely my favorite story in the collection. Nora and Miles were the most relatable to me. They could have benefited from a longer story (this one felt like their relationship was a bit rushed). It felt like they jumped really fast from “we barely know each other” to “I'm somewhat co-dependent”. But I liked how their relationship blossomed and they were both very likeable. I liked how the story ended and how each of the characters were able to own their problems and deal with them.

In the middle of the story when Nora was being all co-dependent, I was starting to cringe about how they were going to resolve their issues. Sort of an “oh no, now she's going to subsume her existence into his because 'he needs her'”. But it didn't go that way and I was so proud. Nora was strong enough to stand up for herself at the end and figure out who she was. Both Nora and Miles were able to get to the point where they healed themselves, but liked being together.

So, I think overall these stories were too short. For the first two, they would have benefited from being able to spread out the information dump over more time so I wouldn't have felt so overwhelmed. For the last story, it would have been nice to see them interact in a healthy way over a longer period of time.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Dirty Trick


Dirty Trick
by Christine Bell
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was a scorching hot book. I loved it. Grace and Trick were wonderful characters and I really liked Christine Bell's voice. I ended up getting some unexpected laughs when I went back and forth between reading this one and one of the 50 shades parodies. Not that there was something spoof-like in this book, but going back and forth makes you realize some of the phrasing that we normally just skim through is actually pretty silly if you look at it expecting a parody. I had to remind myself that this was a more serious book and snuggle in for the fun, sexual fantasy ride.

Grace is a matchmaker who gets “tingles” whenever she meets a set of soul mates or compatible people. She doesn't feel like trusting that instinct for herself, seeing that her tingles are for her best friend, Trick, who she considers a player. Grace had a lot going for her; she's pretty, intelligent, has a job she loves and she's got some great friends too. She's got some relationship hang-ups from her ex that are really wearing her down. But she seems pretty happy with where her life is. I didn't feel like she was missing anything at the start of the book. It's just her sense of sexuality that's missing. When she starts exploring her sexuality with the disguised Trick, she blossoms so much and seems to just explode with light inside.

Trick is another great hero. He's got the whole SWAT team toughness, but underneath he's been in this vulnerable place waiting for Grace to see what they could have together. It's always so nice to see a hero who's not scared and running away as the heroine gets close to him. He seems to know exactly what Grace needs and while his choice seems a little shady to Grace, it's somehow exactly what she needs in order to open up. And Trick is totally happy being with her. He hasn't been “on the market” and you know, if something comes up he'll go out with her. He's already settled down with Grace, she just hasn't realized it yet.

The story moved very quickly and never felt boring or dragging. The characters were articulate and intelligent. Each of the characters that Grace and Trick interact with were good, solid personalities in their own right. We get just enough of a taste of Serena and a couple others, that I know I'll have to look up the other books in this series because I liked who they were here.

I'd say almost half of the book was sexual in nature. Mostly expected in a Entangled Brazen book. The sex scenes were very hot and well-articulated. These were two characters who were totally involved and enthusiastic to be with each other sexually.

If there was one thing I felt was missing on this one, it's just that it was too short. I wanted more Grace at her job, more Trick being awesome, and more of the two of them together. As it was, I felt like I barely got a taste and then the book was over. I mean, the taste was totally wonderful, but I really wanted more.

This is one that I will definitely read again and I'll be looking for more by this author.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Redemption

Redemption
by C. J. Barry
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review:
I just finished reading C.J. Barry's book, Unchained, when I started this one. The writing style is so wonderful that I just couldn't put it off until the next day. I think I finished this one in 2-1/2 days, reading whenever I had a free moment and staying up late to keep the story going. Hello, awesome Urban Fantasy! This one is set in New York and is a sort-of Spiritual Urban Fantasy. The ultimate battle between good and evil, angels and demons, different dimensions, even some Atlantis thrown in. It was totally compelling and somewhat creepy. The kind of book that I need to stay up late for just because I can't leave it at a creepy part and expect to sleep.

Reya is a Redeemer. She's given the information of when/where some “bad guy” will die and it's her job to see if he'll repent before he dies. It's a very grey area sort of book. Her job is not to stop their deaths, but simply to give them the opportunity to say “sorry” before they die. She's tough, kick-a** and sexy and it appears that every person she approaches brushes her off because they're so evil.

Thane is his own sort of vigilante. He's a cop that does what's necessary to make the bad guys pay for their sins. Planting evidence, “accidental” shootings, lying on the witness stand – he will make sure the guy pays for what he's done. He's hot and sexy, but that's almost not the point. He and Reya are each other's destiny and even with free will these two are metaphysically connected.

Neither character is hugely like-able to start out with. They both walk that border between good and evil, light and dark. They fulfill their jobs in the way they see is best, but neither one is fulfilling the intention behind the job. In fact, in some cases you really want to dislike them, but they are so sympathetic that you know exactly where they're coming from and wonder if you'd have the ability to do any better than them in their situations.

The action is pretty much non-stop and nothing simple or predicable (besides the requisite “end of the world” sorts of danger). Each individual piece of the plot is not so complex that you're left feeling confused, many ideas are common enough that you've probably heard some variation, but woven together, it's a pretty awesome take on the world of urban fantasy and it definitely took some higher brain power to put the pieces together as they appear.

I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book, especially as I got closer to the end. There were a bunch of plot twists and some tears from me, but everything worked out spectacularly in the end.

I've read pretty much all of C.J. Barry's books and this one will keep me looking for more, and probably re-reading some of the others in my collection. She has an awesome voice and when you need smart, intuitive characters and a sweeping storyline, this is one of the books you should choose.


I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Unchained

Unchained
by C.J. Barry
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review:
I was getting bored with contemporary and historical romances, but I didn't really want to veer over to vampires and shapeshifters. When I saw this one free for Kindle, I knew I'd have to read it again to see if it was as good as I remember (I already have the paperback). Sometimes you just need a good space-opera.

This one didn't disappoint. It's raw and gritty and sometimes violent. You jump around perspectives pretty often, but it never felt confusing. The violence was suspenseful and I didn't really want to turn off the light as I was reading it, but it wasn't so graphic that you have nightmares or something. This is an adventure that centers around a romance, but it's about so much more than just these two characters.

The world-building is complete, but not overwhelming. We don't get information dumps, everything just organically flows together and it's easy to grasp where each element fits together. It has a bit of a Star Wars feel to it, using some standard space travel words like hyperspace and Servo-Unit, but it felt original and fresh.

These characters don't have trouble caring about each other. Cidra and Grey have real reasons for their hesitation to get involved, but it's not because they just can't emotionally connect. They have a huge emotion connection that is incredible and they see early on that they're soul mates. I had almost forgotten how much I love these sweeping adventure-romances that are nearly ethereal. I love stories where the characters have an almost psychic intuition and things just mean more in that world.

One of the best things about this book is the friendships behind it. Although the villain is all bad, every character associated with Cidra and Grey are three dimensional and a huge part of the story. Cidra kicks butt and is an awesome heroine, but she can't win this alone. Each of her friends, and Grey too, have a pivotal role to play in this story and I believe they each understood that they had no way of getting through without everyone playing their part.

I believe this is the first in a series of interconnected books, although I can't remember if these characters make appearances later or if the world itself is the connection. I think I'll have to go through and re-read the rest of the series just because this one was so good. Also, C.J. Barry's newest book, Redemption, was just released and I had to start that one immediately after I finished this one because I like her writing so much.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Nameless

Nameless
by Claire Kent
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
I picked up this book a while ago because I liked Claire Kent's other book, Escorted, so much. But the description for this one really didn't do anything for me so I put off reading it for a while. The description feels like pretty much any Harlequin romance – unexpected pregnancy, rich businessman, average any-girl. I kept picturing Diane Palmer's “The Case of the Mesmerizing Boss”. The description of the book is accurate, but wow was this book compelling.

Be prepared that this one is really long. Like, you really can't stay up late ONE night and read it. This one took me three or four nights of staying up moderately late to finish. There's no real external conflict in this book, so you'd think it would start to drag eventually, but it didn't at all. It was so fascinating that you just keep reading and reading to see what else these characters will do.

Erin was a little hard for me to decode. On the one hand, she's had a bad marriage experience so she's not into this whole idea of love and she really doesn't trust people/men. But she's got a really great family who cares about her and is totally great. She interacts with them in a healthy way and seems to get how to be in relationships with people. It's just the idea of romance that's messed up for her. And it's confusing because she acts in a perfectly healthy relationship way. She just can't seem to get through this idea of “Love” with a capital L. Caring, sex, dates, etc. is all fine but she nearly gets hives if you mention the L word or the R word.

Seth wasn't much better at relationships, but at least he had a better excuse. He's not working with simply one failed relationship, he's going off his whole formative years with no real caring. He just lost the only person who really tried to care about him and he feels like he failed at his one chance to love and be loved.

One of the most compelling things about this book is that we only get Erin's perspective. It's still written in third person, but we're never inside Seth's head. Erin is not hugely perceptive, so we see very little of Seth's reasons for doing stuff. There's the occasional mysterious eyebrow raise or half-smile, but we're left guessing a lot. I was unable to put the book down, often because I just wanted to see what was going to happen with the mystery of Seth.

There were a couple things I felt were eluded to that never panned out into anything. I totally thought there was going to be some significance to Erin and Seth's first sexual encounter resulting in a pregnancy. I really thought it was going to turn out that Seth got Erin pregnant on purpose and/or purposely hid a condom failure or something in order to give fate a hand in providing him with a relationship. I mean, there were some (I thought) significant actions that happened during their first encounter that would have had some explanation later, but it didn't turn out to be part of the story line.

The sex scenes were wonderful and raw and really awkward. This was not a book with ephemeral, cloud-nine sort-of sex scenes. Everyone was satisfied, but it was gritty and messy and rather ungainly. I liked it and it fit the flow of the book. Erin was really self-assured when it came to sex and I liked how she was unashamed of her own sexuality. Seth was considered to be slightly in the sex-god category, but he felt less sure of himself during the sex scenes. He stayed back most of the time and seemingly trusted that Erin would say if she wanted something from him. It's not very often I see that in romance novels, but it was a nice change even if it did mean that most of the time Seth was not trying to attract Erin sexually.

I was surprised and pleased that Ms. Kent was able to keep the angst and tension so high throughout this whole book. I really thought I would burn out halfway through. I can't say that there was some huge problem these two were battling besides their own inability to trust and give themselves permission to accept love, but it also didn't feel like they just spun in circles the who time. It was all so fascinating and heartbreaking. I ended up crying a couple times. These two characters were large enough for me to be completely sucked in.

I don't think this is a book I could read everyday. By the second or third day of reading, I was feeling rather depressed for these two and it was hard to pull my own emotions out of the book. It's the mark of a well-written book when that happens, but it is difficult to interact in the real-world without those emotions spilling over. This isn't a happy-escape book, but it is it's own wonderful world. I will definitely keep looking for more books by this author.

Friday, October 11, 2013

What Not To Bare

What Not To Bare
by Megan Frampton
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was a sexy, quick-witted historical with lots of fun dialogue. It had a similar feel to some of Suzanne Enoch and Elizabeth Boyle's older historicals. The characters were happy and fun and didn't take themselves too seriously. There wasn't any terrible, suspenseful angst – it was more of a fun, lighthearted read. I enjoyed Charlotte and David's banter and their confidence.

Charlotte dresses the way she wants, speaks her mind always, and is confident that she'll never marry. She admits to herself that she dresses outrageously because it keeps the men from looking at her as a meal ticket instead of seeing the person underneath. When she decides to seduce David, there's no question in her mind of if she's making the right decision. She knows what she wants and goes after it. I could really respect that she wasn't wishy-washy and even with the virginal heroine trope, she really goes out on a limb to do what she wants. Some parts of her felt very mature, while other parts including most of her vocabulary made her seem extremely young.

David is newly back from India and trying to stay out of scandal so he can go back there as soon as possible. His boss (Charlotte's uncle) gives him the assignment to pay attention to Charlotte to help her marriage prospects. Because David is insanely attractive. He's known as Mr. Gorgeous. Him paying attention to this plain nobody with make Charlotte more attractive to other men. He really wants to be seen as more than just a pretty face, but goes along with his assignment in order to get back to India. David is a hot, sexy character, but he's very passive and doesn't really seem to care about much. He is intrigued by Charlotte, but wouldn't pay attention to her if not for his assignment.

Charlotte full-throttle goes after David and has this innocent seduction thing going for quite a while before David puts any effort in of his own volition. It was fun to see Charlotte's unrestrained self, but sort-of sad when a hero can't really find nice things to say about the heroine. In the first part of the book, the best David could offer was “you're not ugly”.

While the main characters were very large in the book, the secondary characters felt pretty flat. Each of them is only there when needed to carry some plot point. Charlotte's parents are seemingly nice, loving and indulgent, but as soon as the plot needs a kick to it's backside, Charlotte's mom turns the screws and acts shrewish and authoritarian. At the beginning of the book, it's implied that Charlotte is just meeting this girl, Anne, and has some hope that she's spunky enough to be friends, but later in the book they're besties who's moms have been friends for years. The villains of the books had a couple nasty lines to say and that was about it.

The story itself flowed pretty well, but my biggest complain with this book is the lack of angst or real conflict kept the characters simply spinning their wheels for a long time. They had lots of fun banter but they never really went anywhere. I felt like I read for ages and I was only through 25% of the book. At 50%, I couldn't really see why they just didn't marry and be done with it. Once I finally got through 75% of the book and they still hadn't actually had sex, I started to think they were going to leave things old-school and keep the sexual tension high through the very end. They did end up having sex, with some of the more provocative language, so don't be surprised when you finally get to it.

I felt like this wasn't a hugely informative historical. The language didn't feel like it had that older style – it felt like it was simple contemporary wording. With the length, I had trouble keeping myself from noting the feeling of inconsistency for a historical. Like how Charlotte kept going on about people controlling everything about her life, but through the whole book she wears whatever outrageous thing she chooses. She's been through three seasons and her mom wants her married, but we're never told why her mom just lets her wear whatever she wants and just rolls her eyes about it. We have no idea how Charlotte can just “sneak out” of her house in broad daylight, in her outrageous clothing, with her maid, and go to David's house without anyone finding out. We don't get any background about how Charlotte is actually Lady Charlotte, but her parents are totally fine marrying her off to any Mister that needs the money from Charlotte's trust fund. Most historicals have at least some desire for the daughters to marry in a similar station, but this one doesn't mention it at all.

I enjoyed reading this book and I was glad that I didn't felt like I missed out on any of the jokes and banter, but it felt like it just kept going on and on without getting anywhere. There's so much witty dialogue that we miss out on having more background about the world these two characters live in. When you're looking to just sit back and read and not think too hard, this is a great book to relax with. If you're looking for a quick read, this isn't it. If you're looking for a rich historical English world, this isn't it either.

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Mistletoe and Magic

This book releases on October 14, 2013

Mistletoe and Magic
by Katie Rose
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was my first foray into the Appleton sisters stories. So I missed out on Jennifer and Winnie's journeys. With this being a novella, I was concerned that I'd completely lose the story arc details by not having read the other books first. I'm happy to say I didn't feel lost at all. All the necessary details were there and I didn't feel like I missed out on the plot by reading this one first. Of course, I think I would understand a little more of the undercurrents by reading in order.

Penelope makes/made her living with her sisters as a spiritualist. It's all a sham, but in a helpful way to the people that come to them. They justify the ruse because they feel they simply help people find peace. The only thing is, Penelope really can see the future. She occasionally has visions that always come true. Somehow she's been able to hide the extent of her talent from her sisters for all these years. It felt like she was rather naïve and silly, but very caring and loving. She was emotionally weighed down keeping the weight of the world on her shoulders and the feeling that she alone knew if her family would be happy, but she was also rather beautiful and flighty. Her decisions seem only vaguely thought out and have this sense of emotion behind them without much reason.

As soon as Penelope attends her first party, all the males want to claim her because she's just so beautiful. But when Jared sees her, he will do anything he can to win her. No matter than he's been a certified rake, he's ready to go on the straight and narrow to have her. This is one of those areas that maybe would make a little more sense if I read the other books first. I have no ideas about Jared besides what's written in this novella, but I'm not sure how one goes from no feeling for someone (that you have previously met) and you're chasing everything else in skirts, to “this is the only girl for me even though she won't give me the time of day”.

Don't get me wrong, Jared's resiliency and persistence were quite inspiring and heartfelt. He really put all of himself into proving that he loved Penelope. I said “aww” every time he did something above and beyond to make things better for Penelope and anything or anyone she found important. I just didn't see that jiving with the idea that he hadn't noticed and wanted Penelope and only Penelope before the start of this book.

The descriptions in this book were wonderful. I really felt like I could see exactly what things looked like and what was going on. The dresses and locations were so well written that I really felt like I was there.

I can't say I know that much about how people in New York at that time spoke, but I found it really funny when the doctor diagnosed Penelope as follows:

She appears to have suffered trauma and is in a catatonic state.

It just goes to show how the fervency behind everything these characters experienced was so large. Penelope isn't just beautiful – she is just so strikingly lovely, like an angel come to earth. Jared doesn't simply fall in love with her, but his first glance tells him he must possess her and “protect her from now until eternity”. They can't just be sad about something – Penelope goes catatonic.

I had fun reading this book, but I think I would have started getting irritated with Penelope if this book were much longer. I liked Jared for the most part, but I'm not sure that I can say all portions of his character mesh together. This was a book who's prose was much larger-than-life and I loved the sense of place but I didn't feel draw in to the characters emotions because of their almost frivolous attitudes. It was nice to read a high society type of historical, set somewhere other than London. I think I may have to go back and read the other books in the series to find out more about the Appleton sisters.

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Always On My Mind


Always On My Mind
by Jill Shalvis
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
I don't think I can made it through life without reading Jill Shalvis books. Even when I'm not totally happy with them, I need a hit whenever a new one comes out. They're so great to just sit and relax with. This one is no different. It was a nice, comfortable book with a good storyline and relatable characters.

Leah was a wonderfully complex heroine. She is caring and warm to everyone, but keeps people at a distance. She's still trying to figure out what to do with her life, even though we all sort-of know what she should be doing. She doesn't feel like she's ever accomplished anything, but she's pretty much perfect at everything she does. She's got the secret crush going which is very cute.

Jack is a tough firefighter who takes care of Leah and his mom and even a cast off dog that gets into lots of trouble. He's a hero that everyone likes and he's really hot. He takes the gossips in stride, doesn't have a temper, is secretly sentimental, and has loved Leah forever. He's so sweet and perfect, but he doesn't want to “find love” because he's afraid he'll die. He had some growing to do, but for the most part this felt like a book for Leah to grow more so than Jack. He has a few issues to work out, but mainly he's been waiting for Leah for always. I liked how much he cared for everyone and how he could play the hero without being reckless. He may live in his dad's shadow, but he doesn't need to go out looking for danger.

I felt a little like Jack and Leah both didn't quite line up with the image I had of them from previous books, but I can't say for sure what it was that was different. I liked who they were and I liked who they became but it felt like there was something significantly different. Maybe I will figure it out one day when I go back and read the whole series in a row.

We get a lot of the extra Lucky Harbor characters showing up in this book. For most of them, I think they were thrown in just to give the book a sense of place. Most of them didn't figure very prominently in the storyline. Even Lucille, the facebook gossip junky, was only mentioned a couple times. The main secondary characters, like Jack and Leah's family members and the other firefighters, were well written and kept the story well-bounded.

Some of the sexist talk still bothers me. I honestly don't know anyone that talks that way – calling someone a vagina, for example. It feels like that idea that you can't be an “alpha” unless you belittle femininity. I don't get it and I see so many great authors that write alphas without this, but I try not to let it get to me because I really like the writing and it's so nice to curl up and lose myself for a little while with one of these books.

I can't say I laughed out loud at these characters' antics and I did guess who the “villain” was within the first part of the book, but I had a smile on my face through the whole thing. I liked seeing where Leah and Jack would go. I felt like I was a part of their life and had a stake in their future. I was happy they worked out their problems and I liked seeing them each grow and sort through their issues.

This is a perfect book to pick up when you're waiting for the kids, in the middle of cooking dinner or when you just need some time to yourself. It's the kind of book I grab when I'm on the go. I know that I can pick it up and read a few pages and not get lost if I have to put it down again. I felt good every time I read it, even if I only had time to catch a few more pages before I was needed again. I'll look forward to the next installment of the characters from Lucky Harbor – and anything else Jill Shalvis writes in the meantime.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Accidental Cowgirl


Releases this Tuesday - October 8th, 2013
Accidental Cowgirl
by Maggie McGinnis
Rating: 4 of 5 stars


My Review:
For a rollicking, fun adventure, definitely check out this book. It had a kick-ass heroine (who reminded me of a female Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis) and a fast-paced, sweet story.


Haley has been through so much in the last year, her friends want her to have a chance to relax. The cowboy ranch vacation seems like an odd choice at first, but we soon start seeing how well that fits Haley's personality and what she needs. She's tough and needed that connection to some of her roots and happy memories after the hell of the last couple months. I didn't really think that Haley felt things too deeply. She has a fear of horses that is pretty much overcome in seconds. She also has a painful leg that she still needs physical therapy exercises and hurts all the time, but it's only mentioned every now and then and never stops her from doing something. She's been having panic attacks that feel pretty real to the reader, but I wasn't often pulled into her emotions all that much. The book felt more like it was focused on the adventure and healing rather than introspective emotions.


Decker has a solid head on his shoulders and is doing everything he can to save his mom's home. It takes him a long time to figure out that it's his home too and where he belongs. He has women throwing themselves at him pretty constantly because of how handsome he is, plus the dude ranch is billed as having hot cowboys. I liked how he didn't have hangups about being tender and caring about people. He was strong and tough, but was capable of empathizing and was a nice, helpful, caring guy. He took a bunch of time ruminating about the past without sharing his problems with his family. We get a sort-of overview of how he's handling the problems at the ranch and in his life, but again, this story is an adventure not a deeply detailed book so we don't see too many specifics.


Haley's friends and Decker's family were good sounding boards for the two main characters. They were nice and caring and felt just as real as Haley and Decker. They brought some nice humor to the story and they kept both characters on the path to healing.


I would compare this story to a Lynn Kurland book. Sweet and adventurous, with a PG rating. The number of injuries suffered and the continuing resiliency of Haley reminded me so much of Mel Gibson and Bruce Willis from their 80s action-adventure movies. Doesn't matter how many times Haley gets hurt, even if she can barely walk and was unconscious only hours before, she's still going to save the day. It was cute and fun to see, but you also roll your eyes a little bit if you try to take it all too seriously.


I did get frustrated with the number of fade-outs. All this exciting stuff happening and then, poof, end of chapter, cut to next scene. A couple times I was ready to throw my Kindle because I couldn't believe the scene would just end and leave me hanging with a small flashback thrown in later. The other times it was just “aww...it would have been fun to actually see the rest of that”.


I hesitated every time I had to put this book down and finished it with a smile on my face. When you're looking to enter a romantic adventure that doesn't cut too deeply, Accidental Cowgirl is a good choice.


I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

How should the every-heroine look?


Lately I've seen a lot of talk about how authors should be careful about making romance heroines too beautiful. They should show that every person is deserving of love and happiness, even if they're not model-perfect. People should be drawn in all shapes and sizes in romance novels because everyone is worthy of love.

It's not that I disagree with that idea, but in an attempt to do this, I've started seeing a different pattern in romance novels too. In trying to describe the “every woman” as a heroine, these heroes describe women as “not beautiful”, “not exactly pretty”, or even “somewhat mannish”. Things like “their features separately are nothing special, but the whole package is rather intriguing”. I can understand what's being attempted here, but I feel like it's going a little too far.

See, I want to read a romance novel and take myself to a place, not where every sort of woman is worthy even if they're “not beautiful”, but a place where every woman is simply beautiful. I don't want a guy, even a romance hero, to fall in love with me because he got to know me and was attracted to the whole package even if he didn't care for the parts initially. I want my hero to fall in love with me because he thought I was perfect-looking to him, because every woman is attractive, no matter what.

They don't need to be described as models, but can't we put a positive spin on the way a hero sees each of us, instead of having him narrate his not-quite-attracted-to-us thoughts? I know women often lament our own body types and self-flagellate all of our imperfections. And I'm not saying this idea should never be in a book. But I feel less invested in a heroine's happily-ever-after if the hero can't see from the start that this person is physically attractive.

Plus, even when the authors describe the heroines in this way, the heroes are still show to be super-mega hunks. Yes, we want our heroes to be attractive, but I also want something else from how these heroes think of their heroines.

That's one of the things I love about Charlotte Stein's writing. In each of her books, it doesn't seem to matter what anyone looks like. In fact, many of her characters describe each other in not-very-flattering terms, but she's able to paint it in such a way that you know each of those people secretly loves exactly what they're saying they're repulsed by.

So yes, don't describe every heroine as a skinny, blonde model. But really, tell us how awesomely attractive each woman is, no matter what their body type or physical attributes. Tell us how the hero fell for her the first time he saw her because of exactly who she is. Let us live the romance of it all, instead of trying to bring things down to earth by letting us all know how unattractive the heroine really is – but even they can find a happily-ever-after eventually. I want the music and the sweeping crescendo for every woman, not the slightly creaky, out-of-tune melody as we try to knock some sense into the hero. Every woman is beautiful and worthy to be a romance heroine and I hope to read more novels that show that, without having to get over that hump of tearing the women's description apart to make her “seem more real” before we can prove that she actually is still attractive to someone.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde
by Frank Cammuso
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
I started out making my almost-second-grader read this book out loud to me, but eventually he liked it enough that he was reading it on his own. In fact, he's now working on reading it a second or third time on his own – in just 2 weeks of having the book. My son's a pretty reluctant reader, but he has a high reading vocabulary for a 1st grader, so I'm really happy that he likes this book and is willing to pick it up and read without me even suggesting it.

My son laughs out loud throughout the whole book. He loves the faces that Salem makes, he loves what the characters say to each other, and it seems he really gets what's going on. Word choice seems to be pretty good. Not too many big words that my son couldn't figure out on his own.

My one concern would be: with the font style, some of the 'i's are hard to see, so my son misses some of the words if he has to sound them out and isn't sure of the vocabulary. Something like “seriously”, is hard for him because the 'i' looked a little hidden and he hasn't read that word very often yet. I'm not sure if he had trouble with any other words, but he seemed to get most of the story.

In the end, 4.5 stars for this book. It got my son reading more without being forced, it works well on the iPad, and it was a cute, fun story. My son is pretty serious, so for him to be laughing multiple times while reading, it has to be pretty good.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest review.