Category: B reviews (Page 46 of 74)

Married for Christmas by Noelle Adams

December 26, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: After seeing Kati D’s glowing review over at Dear Author, I thought I’d give this one a go. It was only 99c from Amazon so I thought it was pretty low risk. Plus: Sexy pastor FTW!

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) After years of dreaming, Jessica is finally getting married, but the marriage isn’t exactly what she thought.

Daniel is her best friend, and she’s known him all her life, but he’s never gotten over losing his wife two years ago. His dream is to become the pastor of the church in their hometown, but the small-town congregation keeps balking over calling an unmarried minister. Since Daniel needs a wife and Jessica wants a husband and family, she proposes an arrangement that benefits both of them.

They can get married. They can build a life together. They can celebrate Christmas as a couple. It’s fine that he doesn’t love her. And it’s fine that she’s not exactly suited to be a small-town pastor’s wife. And it’s fine that she’s more attracted to her sexy, brooding husband every day.

Jessica can be practical about this marriage. She knows what she’s getting into, after all…

This book includes fully-developed sex scenes between a husband and wife.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I liked the idea of a modern day marriage of convenience and here, the reasons for it make sense. I don’t go to church these days but I didn’t have any trouble buying that a small community would want a married man as its pastor rather than a young single one. Jessica is largely a loner and even though she has feelings for Daniel, she doesn’t think he could ever return them, especially given how much he loved his first wife, Lila. They are however, good friends and Jessica thinks this will be her only chance for marriage, family and children. Her mother is in a nursing home and her condition is deteriorating – it was never specified but it seemed like some kind of Altzheimer’s/dementia-related illness. Jessica has no other family. Even though she is often happy to spend time alone or with her Samoyed dog, Bear, she still wants to have a family and connection and, as Daniel needs a wife to win his dream job, it seems like a good idea.

In the Clear by Tamara Morgan

December 22, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the author via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Fletcher Owens is full of secrets.

Few people know he spends his nights volunteering for a Search and Rescue team, saving lives while risking his own. Even fewer know he’s in love with his best friend’s sister. And since he’s not willing to give up their friendship for a chance at something more, that’s exactly how things will stay.

Lexie Sinclair has nothing to hide.

The zany daughter, the wacky sister, the quirky fundraiser for a children’s charity — Lexie couldn’t hide her true self even if she wanted to. So when her brother’s best friend is revealed to be a local hero, she’s determined to stand up and prove she’s ready to be more than just friends.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): This novella was a lot of fun. It is also a good example of self publishing done well. The cover looks professional, the formatting and editing was good – tick, tick, tick.

Lexie Sinclair is a vivacious, enthusiastic young woman who is also a bit of a klutz. Her twin brother Sean makes fun of her pretty much all the time and even though she’s accomplished in her job (as a fund-raiser for a children’s charity), he’s not alone in doing so. Lexie is treated by most everyone as someone whose heart is in the right place but who screws up all the time. While it’s sort of true, it’s also unfair. She has landed in a role which is perfect for her. She can charm and manipulate money out of rich people like nobody’s business and her friendliness is genuine, which makes the wallet-loosening easier to bear.

Fletcher Owens is Sean’s best friend and has been part of Lexie’s life since they were children. He is a dear friend and she’s a little jealous that Sean seems to get most of his attention. Fletcher sees Lexie in a different way to her brother and her co-workers. He doesn’t see her as a screw-up in need of a keeper. He’s in love with her but he’s too afraid that doing anything about it will mean he won’t even have her as friend, so he says nothing.

How I Met Your Father by LB Gregg

December 13, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I’m a big fan of this author’s work so it was a lovely surprise to see a new release.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The man of your dreams could be sitting right next to you.

Former boy band member Justin Hayes isn’t looking for a man. He just wants a quiet, scandal-free Christmas at home in Chicago, out of the public eye. But his best friend and bandmate is subjecting everyone to his destination wedding, and Justin can’t dodge the “best man” bullet. All he has to do is get to the island on time, survive the reunion, and get Chuck to the altar with as little drama as possible. What could possibly go wrong?

Jack Bassinger’s own plans for a quiet Christmas have been dashed by the summons to his daughter’s hasty wedding with a man Jack has hardly met. On the bumpy flight to the island, he finds himself comforting a nervous—and extremely attractive—young man. One hasty sexual encounter in an airport bathroom later, they both feel much better. No one ever has to know, after all.

Now Justin and Jack must find a way to explore their attraction, despite the distractions of disapproving family members, unexpected announcements, an impromptu concert, and an island paradise that proves there’s no place like home.

20% of all proceeds from this title are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.” To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visit http://www.aliforneycenter.org/.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): At first I wondered if Justin was a bit of a jerk – his behaviour as he left the plane at the start of the book wasn’t great. But what happened next revealed a slightly different take than my iniital one so I went into the rest of the story a bit more open-minded about him.

Justin and Jack meet on a flight to San Juan – unknown to both, they are connecting to Nevis where they are attending the same wedding – of Jack’s daughter to Justin’s best friend and fellow former-boy-band member, Chuck. An airport hookup leads to Justin feeling pretty embarrassed when he realises who Jack is. Jack is more assured and seemingly not at all phased by it – I admit I would have enjoyed more of him in the story; as it is told in first person by Justin, we don’t get any of his point of view. He is a slightly older man (44 to Justin’s 29) and he certainly comes across as being very self-assured and confident in what he wants and in his homosexuality. Justin and his friends Matt, TJ and Chuck were all members of a boy-band, Rhythm Method when they were teens and they grew up in the spotlight. Their image was very carefully crafted and Justin coming out would have had a significant negative impact on his friends, their careers and finances. So he has remained in the closet and paranoid about the media finding out. The band split some six years prior to the events of the novella but Justin is still hiding in his closet for the same reasons – although, do they really hold true any longer?

The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles

December 8, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I heard a lot of buzz from trusted blogger and Goodreads friends about this book by debut author KJ Charles, so I bought it. Of course.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.

A Charm of Magpies, Book 1

Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn’t expect it to turn up angry.

Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude…and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.

Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn’t the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it—they’re both going to die.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): There were many things I liked about The Magpie Lord – I thought the concept was interesting and unique (at least to me), the build of dramatic tension toward the final denouement was great and the world building was deft. I didn’t feel bogged down by a lot of details but I understood what was going on and there was enough to give me a picture of a very different Victorian world than I’m used to reading about. There was only one place I was a little confused but that became clear very soon after so it was not a big deal.

November Round Up

December 2, 2013 / Kaetrin

on Paper/eBook

**NB This review first appeared in the November ARRA newsletter.**

I Dream of Johnny by Juliet Madison – B- This short story wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it would be funny and it was but I also thought something different would happen with the Geek God Mandy conjured with her modern magic lamp. To know what actually happens, you’ll have to read the story to find out. The Geek God Jonathan Fortran Schnecklmyer, is every geeky nightmare of bad fashion, bad hair and bad taste one could imagine. But even he has his good points. The story is probably more “chick-lit” than romance, with the focus being more on Mandy’s journey of self-discovery but it has a hopeful romantic ending and it was certainly a bit of fun to while away a half hour.

BUY IT:
AMAZON KOBO

Coming Soon

I’ll have reviews of Ripped by Sarah Morgan and How I Met Your Father by LJ Gregg up in December as well as a post about my most romantic scene.

Scenes of Peril by Jill Sorenson

November 25, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the author. This brand new novella is being packaged with a re-release Silhouette title from Suzanne Brockmann called Scenes of Passion. The anthology is called Passion and Peril and releases on November 26.

I don’t remember much of Scenes of Passion – I read the original category a few years ago which I picked up at my local UBS. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads so I gather from that I thought it was okay but nothing amazing.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The snowstorm forecast says it’s a big one, but wildlife photographer Paige Dawson is prepared. Until a terrible car accident brings a sexy stranger to her remote mountain cabin and the bad weather strands them together . . . for days. The heat between them is like nothing she’s ever known — incendiary, undeniable. And just as she begins to hope for something real with Colin Reid, after the snow melts, he remembers what caused his accident . . . and it may be too late for them both.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): While I thought the beginning of the story was a little overdone (too many exclamation marks), things really picked up in chapter two. Paige and Colin had a lot of things in common and their connection and attraction was obvious. I thought Colin in particular was pretty funny in the way he thought about things. Some of his musings regarding a naked Paige made me chuckle. The novella is only about 70 pages long, so there wasn’t a lot of time in which to draw the characters and make me care about them, but by the end of chapter two, I did. There’s not time for deep character exposition but the essential parts of them were on the page and it was clear that their connection was based on more than mutual lust.