7/7/12

Book Review: WILLOW SPRINGS by Toni Blake

Book Summary:

THIS LOVESICK MATCHMAKER HAS FINALLY MET HER MATCH...

Amy Bright might be the best matchmaker in Destiny, Ohio, but she's desperately shy when it comes to her own love life--and helpless when it comes to Logan Whitaker, with whom she's head-over-heels in love.  So Amy decides to become Logan's secret admirer, sending him sensual love letters steamy enough to unseal their own envelopes.

After a tragedy on the job, firefighter Logan is battling demons.  Thank goodness Amy is there for him.  But when a woman from Logan's past resurfaces right as some anonymous letters send Logan's pulse hammering, suddenly he doesn't know what he needs.  One smoking-hot kiss could change everything...but will it ruin a one-of-a-kind friendship, or show Logan and Amy that they've already found everything they need right here in Destiny?

Book Review:

Oh, my.  To be terribly blunt:  there's nothing wrong with this book, but there's nothing really right about it either.  I wanted to like this one, because I love stories where the two leads discover that they're in love with each other when they've been friends forever.  

I'll be completely honest, the addition of the "woman from Logan's past" was really not necessary.  Ms. Blake sets this character up as the antagonist, when it's pretty clear by the end of the book that she's trying to set this character up to be the lead in her next book.  This woman and her backstory actually wound up taking away from Logan and Amy's romance in a not-so-good way.  Honestly, I would have preferred to see this character and her backstory be dealt with in a completely separate book.  Amy and Logan had enough issues between them that they didn't need this distraction that only served to make them both look childish.  

Had Ms. Blake focused more on telling Logan's side of the story and how he was honestly dealing with a tragic loss after a fire and how he came to see Amy as the woman he loved, this could have been so much better.  

Amy's development was actually handled beautifully, right up until the last chapter when all of a sudden Logan realizes that he's in love with her and proposes.  She finally had enough gumption to stand up for herself and tell Logan that they couldn't be together in any way if he didn't love her the way she deserved to be loved, that it's kind of sad to see the character crumble so quickly with a hasty marriage proposal.  Make him work for it  a little bit more, honey!

At least the sex is steamy. 

Recommended only for fans of Ms. Blake's Destiny, Ohio series.  If this is the first time you've read her, please go back and read the rest of the series first.  Every author has one novel that's a dud on arrival, and unfortunately, WILLOW SPRINGS is Ms. Blake's.

Two stars out of Four.

6/27/12

Book Review: MY RUTHLESS PRINCE by Gaelen Foley



This was my first time reading a book by Gaelen Foley and it definitely will not be my last time reading one of her novels!  Ms. Foley deftly uses words to paint a vivid picture of her world and draws readers in effortlessly.  I am truly looking forward to reading her back list, especially the first three books in her Inferno Club series.
Emily Harper has been in love with Drake, the Earl of Westwood since the two were children running around on Drake’s family estate.  This love has driven Emily to come to Drake’s rescue from the evil Promethians.  Believing Drake has turned his back on The Order, Emily follows him to Bavaria to try to find the good man she believes he truly is and bring him back home with her.  
Drake, finally remembering what his mind tricked him into forgetting, tries to protect Emily from danger.  At first passing her off as a servant, their time together in close quarters allows Drake to realize that Emily is the one woman he truly cannot live without.  This muddies Drake’s plan to exact his revenge on his torturers and his plot to finish off the Promethians for good.
The reader is drawn in by the adventure and passion from the first paragraph.  Emily and Drake are strong leads and the love between the two characters is strong and effortless.  I was pleasantly surprised that Ms. Foley didn’t do the usual “break them up” plot hitch at all in the story.  Once Drake and Emily admit their feelings to one another, the couple is together.  
One could quibble that at some points Ms. Foley has the characters use dialog that is a little too modern for the time period.  And that’s really the only flaw I found in the book and it didn’t really detract from the story overall.
I highly recommend this novel for fans of Ms. Foley’s, readers who love alpha male heroes and fans of well written novels.  I do caution that it is better to have read the first three books of the Inferno Club series before jumping into this one.  While I had no problem getting into the story, I feel I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the earlier novels first.
Readers, do yourself a favor and pick this book up!  Your weekend will thank you!
I was able to review this book early because I was generously approved to read an ARC from NetGalley.

Please note this review was originally published on 2/4/2012 at my old Mysterious Romance Review Blogs. 

4/10/12

Book Review: HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE by Vicky Dreiling

Book Summary:
Scandalous Desires....
Amy Hardwick has one last Season to shake off her wallflower image and make a love match.  If she can't, she'll set aside her dreams of romance and return home to a suitor who can provide security--if little else.  What she doesn't count on is the inappropriate--and irresistible--attention lavished on her in a darkened library by rake extraordinaire Will "The Devil" Darcett...

Devilish Delight
When Will is caught in a tryst with the ton's shyest miss, he knows he must offer for her hand.  Yet Amy is not the shrinking violet she seems to be.  Passion lies beneath her prim exterior and Will is eager to release it.  But winning Amy isn't simply a matter of seduction; first, Will must convince her that he's mended his wicked ways...

Book Review:


This was the first book that I've read by the relatively new author Vicky Dreiling, and it certainly won't be the last.  I will be hunting down her two previous novels and pulling them off of my to-be-read bookcase.

Amy and Will are far from perfect fictional characters, and I honestly do not mean that in a bad way.  They're regular people with flaws, struggling to overcome them.   When the two of them finally find their way to each other it's a truly beautiful pairing.

Please do yourself a favor and pick this up for a light, fun read!

3.5 stars out of 4

4/7/12

Book Review: DIE FOR ME by Amy Plum

Book Summary:


My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal.  But it only took one moment to change everything.


Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans.  We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents.  And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again.  Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet.  Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again.  But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy.  Because Vincent is no normal human.  He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day.  He also has enemies...immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart--as well as my life and my family's--in jeopardy for a chance at love?

Book Review:


Loved it, loved it, loved it!  Picked it up off of my voluminous "to be read pile" and could not put it down until I finished it!  I bought a copy of this last year shortly after it was published in hardcover and it's just been sitting around waiting, patiently, I might add, for me to pick it up.  One day is all it took for me to fall in love with Amy Plum's story about Kate & Vincent!

I liked that Vincent and his kind are not vampires or werewolves or any kind of supernatural being that is currently hot & trendy in YA fiction.  They're zombies, basically.  Not the "Must eat brains..." kind, they either go through a dormant period once a month (the only time they sleep) or after they're "killed".  Vincent was a wonderful hero and his supporting Revenants are begging for stories of their own.  I'm hoping that Ms. Plum expands upon their stories in future books.  She sets up their story and gives the reader just enough details that you're left wanting to know more about these characters.

The book's heroine, Kate, has a special place in my heart.  She, like me has lost both of her parents.  Unlike me, hers died at the same time in a tragic car accident.  This kind of a set up could lead authors to go in one of two ways:  the heroine is way melodramatic and over the top or the heroine is believable in her grief.  Thankfully, Kate is the later.  The grief she suffers at the loss of her parents does consume her and make her feel as if her world has collapsed around her.  Slowly, with gentle pushing from her grandparents, Kate begins to come back to reality and begins to explore Paris.

Kate and Vincent slowly find their way to one another and it's not easy going even after they admit their love for each other.  This is a very believable romance, a story that draws the reader in and leaves them wanting more!

Cannot wait for the sequel to this book!

4 stars out of 4

3/31/12

Book Review: I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER by Sophie Kinsella

Book Summary:
Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier.  She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her "happily ever after" begins to fall apart.  Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill, but in the panic that follows her phone is stolen.  As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can.  Finders keepers!  Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring.  Perfect!

Well, perfect except that the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn't agree.  He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages.  As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents...she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

Book Review:


Sophie Kinsella is my British chick-lit comfort author.  I know what I'm getting when I open one of her books:  a well-written, hilarious story that tries to impart some kind of life lesson in a gentle way.

Poppy Wyatt bursts off the page from the very beginning and sucks you into her world.  She's facing a situation that is familiar to most women:  a lost engagement ring and a fear of not being "good enough" for your future in-laws.  She's a woman who's found her path in life and is happy to be getting married to a nice guy.

It all starts to go awry for Poppy when her engagement ring goes missing and she's forced by circumstances and Sam to take a hard look at her life.  Sam gets her to see that it's okay to go after the things she wants and to not let anyone make her feel inferior.  Poppy helps Sam see that being so closed off to people isn't necessarily a good thing either.

As always, there is no true villain in the piece, just flawed individuals who make mistakes.  I truly loved the time I got to spend in Poppy and Sam's world!  I laughed, I cried and I laughed some more!

I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER is one of Ms. Kinsella's better works and is highly recommended for reading at any point in time!

4 stars out of 4

Book Review: THE HUSBAND HUNT by Lynsay Sands

Book Summary:
Let the hunt begin...
Lisa Madison wants a husband, and she has just the candidate in mind:  Robert Langley.  Trouble is, the infuriating man insists on seeing her as the impish girl she once was--even as every other gentleman in London has taken notice of her womanly...charms.  When her beauty lands her in danger it's Robert who comes to the rescue, only to announce his affections are not of the romantic kind!

Robert saw enough sorrow in his parents' union to know he wants nothing to do with marriage, which is exactly what he'll be trapped into if he acts on his desire for the irksome siren.  And then Lisa does what Robert least expects:  gives up on him!  As feigned indifference gives way, blistering passion burns at last.  But just before the pair can succumb to hard-won bliss, an enemy with unfinished business lurks, threatening to destroy them both.

Book Review:


THE HUSBAND HUNT is by no means a bad book, but it's nothing new either.  Lisa comes across at times as a too-stupid-to-live heroine (she's very worldly one moment, extremely naive the next), and Robert is just too dense sometimes.  His relationships with his parents and the effect their marriage had on him is not really explored all that much, despite it being the major reason as to why he just cannot commit to someone who is very obviously in love with him.  And don't get me started on the villain, who is very obvious the minute he steps on to the page.  Ms. Sands' writing is inviting, and the supporting characters are well drawn enough that I want to go back and read their stories, but she could have done a much better job on this.

I recommend it for a light beach read.

2.5 stars out of 4

Book Review: A ROUGE BY ANY OTHER NAME by Sarah MacLean

Book Summary:
What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets...

A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title.  Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance--including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more.  How lucky that her new husband has access to an unexplored world of pleasures.
Bourne may be a prince of London's illicit underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness--a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them...even her heart.

Book Review:

Sarah MacLean has yet another winner on her hands with Penelope and Bourne's romance!

Penelope Marbury is a delightful heroine whose journey is a sight to behold.  She loves her family deeply and is saddened that she has caused her family, especially her younger sisters, so much pain through her broken engagement and subsequent failures to find a suitable husband.  She is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her younger sister from having to make a marriage that is unfulfilling to her.

Penelope is stunned to be taken "hostage" by her childhood friend (and sweetheart), Michael Bourne at his family's old home, which is adjacent to the Marbury family land.  Michael has turned up again to marry Penelope, by any means necessary, because included in her dowry is his old ancestral home which he lost ten years ago in a bad gambling game.  Penelope marries Michael with the request that he introduce her two younger sisters to proper suitors with whom they may find happy marriages.  She also requests that he help her shed her respectable ways and introduce just a bit of "sin" into her life.  He agrees and their romance is off and soaring...

Through the use of old letters that Penelope and Michael sent to one another when they were younger, Ms. MacLean is able to establish for the reader that, had Michael not lost horribly in a bad bet set up by a nefarious guardian, the two probably would have fallen in love and married much sooner.  It also explains why Penelope has such faith that her bad boy husband can be redeemed through love.  It is wonderful to watch two characters deeply in love with one another help the other become a much better and fuller version of themselves.  Bravo, Ms. MacLean!

4 stars out of 4

2/7/12

Teen Reading Challenge 2012

Every February through April, I get to participate in my job's teen reading challenge.  Oh, did I forget to mention I'm a librarian?  Heh.  

What is the TRC?  Basically I get paid to read teen books for two months.  I don't mind it since it exposes me to the ever growing world of teen lit and as an added benefit, I get to read all the teen novels I might not normally be able to read in public.  I get to tell people it's for work, even though it's really just for fun!  

So be prepared to see some teen book reviews for a little while!

Book Review: ALL I WANT IS YOU by Sherrill Bodine

Book Summary:
SHE'S STEALING HIS HEART...
Vintage boutique owner Venus Smith is stunned to realize her newest acquisition comes with a larcenous legend. Stolen years ago, the antique mermaid brooch belongs to the Clayworth family. The right thing to do would be to return it, but that means facing Connor Clayworth O'Flynn, the sexy department store heir Venus has had an unrequited crush on since childhood-and the man who helped ruin her father. 

ONE KISS AT A TIME

Connor knows that Venus has never forgiven him for what happened between their families. But business isn't personal, even though Venus's father's betrayal still cuts him like a knife. So when Venus proposes a deal-she'll return his family's brooch if he helps clear her father's name-he reluctantly agrees. As action-packed days turn into flirtatious fall nights, it isn't long before old memories resurface . . . and new desires ignite. Can two young lovers leave the past behind? Or must they first admit that all they've ever really wanted . . . is each other?


Book Review:
Just a small note I must pass on before beginning the review: I loved Ms. Bodine's Grand Central publishing debut, TALK OF THE TOWN, but I must admit that I missed her previous novel, A BLACK TIE AFFAIR, which featured Venus' sister Athena as the heroine.  Please read both books before you start on ALL I WANT IS YOU.  Ms. Bodine ties in characters from both of those books in this one, and having read both of those books would give the reader a greater appreciation for the characters in this book and I suspect any future books in this series.


Sherrill Bodine hit's it out of the park on this one!  The heroine and hero are well-drawn characters with strong supporting characters to round out the story.  I was so happy to see that the first book I read by Sherrill was not a fluke!  


It is very obvious that Venus and Connor are meant to be together from the first page.  Venus is sympathetic because she's a very determined heroine out to right the wrong done to her father by the Clayworths.  She's so sure her father is innocent of the charges that got him drummed out of the famous Clayworth Department store.  Unfortunately, her hero, Connor Clayworth O'Flynn is just as convinced that her father is guilty of the charges that got him drummed out of the family business.


Connor and Venus team up to prove to the other that Alistair Smith is guilty/innocent.  The sparks fly and the reader is taken along joyfully for the ride.  


Ms. Bodine's storytelling ability is delightful.  She proves to the reader that she really knows Chicago society, and the whole story has a gossip-column like feel to it.  This is the perfect book to take along with you on a beach vacation, or if you just want something fun and quick to read.  Bravo, Ms. Bodine!


3 stars out of 4.

2/4/12

In My Mailbox (One)


I love the idea of sharing what books just arrived in my mailbox or that I just bought with people who read my blog. So I'm happily borrowing this meme from a new-to-me blog Peace, Love, Books who borrowed it from The Story Siren blog.

I sincerely hope the blog owners don't mind my borrowing!

I finally got part of my Amazon order for the February 2012 books that I want to read.  In no particular order they are:

I can't wait to get started on these!  And yes, I still have more February books on their way!  More about those later...