Tag: contemporary (Page 97 of 122)

Carolina Blues by Virginia Kantra, narrated by Sophie Eastlake

November 5, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: This is one from my personal library.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Jack Rossi is Dare Island’s new police chief. The laid-back North Carolina community is just what he needs to recover from a rocky marriage and a big-city police department. He’s learned his lesson: no more high-profile women or high-pressure jobs. The last thing he wants is an unconventional alt girl rocking his world.

Grad student Lauren Patterson made headlines when she kept a bank robbery from going bad. She’s fled to Dare Island to clear her head and focus on writing her story. However, sexy Jack Rossi is a distraction that’s too hot to ignore, and it’s igniting an affair too combustible to resist—or quit.

But when their pasts come looking for them, Jack and Lauren find themselves fighting for the future they deserve, whatever the price.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): It took me a while to warm up to the Lauren and Jack combination I think. I liked Lauren and Jack separately but for some reason, I didn’t feel their connection or chemistry immediately. By the end of the story I was convinced but unlike the earlier books in the series, I didn’t feel it jumped off the page (or, I should say, the iPod) from the start.
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A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

November 3, 2014 / Kaetrin

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

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Mili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America for eight months, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her.

Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. Open-hearted yet complex, she’s trying to reconcile her independence with cherished traditions. And before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis, escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding, and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I admit I’m not a big Harlequin Presents reader. While I don’t mind reading about the occasional rich alphahole, many of the HPs I’ve tried have not worked for me because the power differential in the relationship is too great – perhaps I’ve tried the wrong ones but the alphahole vs the innocent doormat ingenue mostly doesn’t work for me (Not that I’m saying that all HPs are like that. I don’t think that is the case). A Bollywood Affair isn’t a HP, but I think it’s a close cousin. It seems to me to fit within the common tropes and themes within the line, while at the same time being somewhat fresh and different to the usual fare. I didn’t personally find that it subverted tropes. It seemed to me to stick fairly closely within them but it mostly did this in an entertaining way which I enjoyed, but did not adore.
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Review at AudioGals

October 31, 2014 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Snow Falling on Bluegrass by Molly Harper, narrated by Amanda Ronconi. Kelsey finally gets her man.

Unsuitable by Ainslie Paton

October 29, 2014 / Kaetrin

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

In the interests of disclosure, the author and I chat on Twitter often and we met when I was in Sydney in March of this year. If I didn’t think I could be objective I wouldn’t review her work here. Ultimately, it is for readers of the review to decide if it has any value to them.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Can they make trailblazing and homemaking fit, or is love just another gender stereotype?

Audrey broke the glass ceiling.

Reece swapped a blue collar for a pink collar job.

She’s a single mum by design. He’s a nanny by choice.

She gets passed over for promotion. He struggles to find a job.

She takes a chance on him. He’s worth more than he knows.

There’s an imbalance of power. There’s an age difference.

There’s a child whose favourite word is no.

Everything about them being together is unsuitable.

Except for love.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I moved this one up the TBR queue when I realised it had a male nanny. Not only is he a male nanny, he’s tall and broad, so he doesn’t fit the physical picture of a male nanny one may naturally assume. That’s not me being sexist – that’s made explicit in the book. His body actually works against him when he’s looking for work in his chosen field. He doesn’t look like a thug but he does look like a muscly giant of a man. Very nice to look at in the man candy stakes but kind of incongruous when paired with a nanny role. Let’s face it, nannying is considered “women’s work” – not just by men, by almost everyone. There’s no reason this should be the case, other than prejudice but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
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Review at AudioGals

October 22, 2014 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Kiss Me Like This by Bella Andre, narrated by Eva Kaminsky. New adult romance and the first in Andre’s new Morrison series.

Review at AudioGals

October 21, 2014 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid, narrated by Jennifer Grace. I was really impressed with the narration and the story was loads of fun too. Definitely recommend.