Hook’s Pan

08 Sunday Sep 2013

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Book Review, Hook's Pan, Kingdom Series, Marie Hall

New review is now up.

*****

Trishelle Page has experienced a lot in her relatively short life, including unspeakable tragedy, but nothing prepares her for finding out that fairy tales are real. Thanks to the magic of a fairy named Danika, Trish finds herself sprawled at the feet of the man she’s been informed is her soulmate …. none other than Captain James Hook. Although he may not be the complete villain he’s been portrayed as, and definitely not a bumbling idiot, the story tellers did get his hatred for Peter Pan right. The man-child is responsible for Hook’s greatest heartache and he’s spent a hundred years trying to make Peter Pan pay. Now, his fairy godmother is telling him that the woman before him is his long lost love in new form …. only she doesn’t remember anything of her past. While their attraction can’t be ignored, will Trish and Hook be willing to give their hearts and trust in love? Or will their pasts be too much to overcome?

Hook’s Pan is Book 5 in Marie Hall’s “Kingdom” series, but it can mostly stand on its own. I think there are some subtleties that I missed not having read the other books but it didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the book. Hall picked five of literatures “bad” boys – the Mad Hatter (in Her Mad Hatter), Beast (in Gerard’s Beauty), the Big Bad Wolf (in Red and Her Wolf), Genie (in Jinni’s Wish), and now Captain Hook – and gave them updated, sexy stories about these men finding love. I personally love fairy tale character romances , like Along Came a Spider and Charming Blue. I love the re-imagining of what life could be for them, how they’ve been misunderstood or how they have to handle living in our world, the men and women that love them and give them their HEA. Although I’ve not read any of Hall’s other stories, I have to say I’m intrigued by what I found with Hook.

Hook is a fun, bad boy – he freely admits to enjoy being a pirate and all the things that goes with it, but he also has his own moral code that he lives by. He’s sexy as only a bad boy can be and it’s wonderful to see him find love. Trish has her own problems, not the least of which is finding out that there really are such things as fairy tales. But to find out that she’s supposedly the one true love for Hook is hard to take for a woman who doesn’t believe in love.

Their journey isn’t necessarily a complex one – the book isn’t very long and it is a quick read – but it is an enjoyable one. I loved the world that Hall creates for us. It is a fluid and beautiful world, very imaginative. And I very much enjoyed seeing Peter Pan and Tink as less than pristine …. honestly, though I love Disney’s Tink, I’m really not a fan of Peter so seeing him in a negative light was a treat for me.

The Sassy Belles

07 Saturday Sep 2013

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Beth Albright, Book Review, The Sassy Belles

Review is now up.

There are only two seasons in Tuscaloosa – football and waiting-for-football. When Lewis Heart, football announcer and voice of the Crimson Tide, vanishes after an impromptu romp with Vivi Ann McFadden at the Fountain Mist Motel, Vivi does what any Southern woman would do: call her best friend, Blake O’Hara Heart, attorney-at-law.

With the town gossip swirling around them, Vivi and Blake are determined to find out what happened to Lewis and clear Vivi’s reputation. Because after all, men may come and go, but the Sassy Belles are forever.

The blurb suggests that the book is a mystery but I found it to be much more of a character piece. The Sassy Belles is perfect as an introduction to Albright’s world of saucy Southern women – it practically drips in magnolia blossoms and mint juleps and has a perfect rich Deep South setting. In this first book, readers get to hear Blake O’Hara Heart’s voice as she helps us get to know her best friend Vivi and all of their miscellaneous friends and family.

The characters are as syrupy sweet and full of spunk as you would hope for a group called the Belles. Their thick drawls practically come alive through Albright’s talent and you can almost imagine modern day Scarlet O’Haras running around. It can get a bit soap operish and, even though I wouldn’t want anything less from this group, I’m sure that is not everyone’s style.

As the first of a series it is great, but I don’t know that I would have liked it as a stand alone story. The prose, while entertaining, might have been a little verbose if I hadn’t welcomed Albright setting the stage for future books. Plus, I’m not sure I understood the whos and whys behind the disappearance of Lewis, although I’m hoping that we get more on it in the next story, Wedding Belles.

Make sure you have the time to devote to more books, because while The Sassy Belles is fantastically fun, it really needs to be viewed as the start of many … the characters are addictive enough though that you’ll be looking forward to what comes next.

Ivy Entwined – Guest Post and Review

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Book Review

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A Something to Celebrate Novel, Book Review, Ivy Entwined, Laura Simcox

See below for today’s special Guest Post from Ivy Entwined author Laura Simcox. And don’t forget there are more stops to come so check out the schedule here.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one – it’s a fun, sweet and charming read and you can find out all about it with my review below.

*****

A Day in the Life of a Small Town Mayor: Meet Ivy Callahan

Hey there. I’m Laura Simcox, author of Ivy Entwined, and I’m dying for you to meet my heroine, Ivy. She is 26 years old, and was recently elected the mayor of her small home town. She lives in snowy Celebration, NY, where every holiday is an excuse for a parade, but pretty much everybody is broke.

Wanna take a peek at what she’s up against? She could really use some advice. Thanks!

Job requirements: Mayor, Celebration, NY.

-Develop plan to revive the downtown, get the snowplow fixed, get wireless installed in city hall

-Utilize outdated desk top computer and accompanying sticky keyboard

-Manipulate duct tape as a budget-saving device

-Direct annoying ex-fiancé, who is town planner, in creating parades and festivals to keep up town spirit

-Manage four phone lines and three irritated citizens simultaneously

-Exhibit advanced skills in moderating town council meetings, especially during a donut shortage

-Acquire business associates who will benefit the town. The richer the better. If they’re amazingly handsome, so be it.

-Keep tabs on super-hot business associate so he doesn’t double cross you. Double cross him first. Celebration needs the money.

-Avoid falling in love with super-hot business associate, even if he stares at you like he’s starving. Even if you crushed on him so hard in junior high, you wrote his name in your locker in Sharpie.

-Listen to gossip, but don’t spread it. When in doubt, ask your grandma, but be careful: she’s playing Cupid. Target: super hottie with the cash.

-Put in regular appearances at the Lovin’ Cup diner: pour coffee, shake hands and eat French toast. Don’t gossip.

-Maintain a holiday spirit, 24/7, 365. It is Celebration, after all.

*****

Review:

Ivy Callahan is back in her hometown of Celebration, NY to take over for her dad as the town’s mayor. On her first day on the job, she gets a few not so nice surprises – her ex-fiance is now the town planner and her childhood crush is back trying to push Megamart, a big-box store that will destroy what is left of her town. While her ex may just be annoying, the crush is just as sexy as ever and hard to resist. As an orphaned teenager, Marcus Weaver was taken in by his drunken uncle but he couldn’t get out of Celebration fast enough. Now he’s only back because the town is his ticket to owning his own Megamart franchise. But his biggest obstacle is the new, gorgeous mayor. With the town’s future at stake, Ivy has to do something. But will their attraction get in the way of either of them getting what they want ….

I really enjoyed Ivy Entwined. There is a decent amount of business and political maneuvering, so some may find that gets in the way of the romance, but it felt very realistic to me. It has a zany, small town charm with wacky secondary characters, but it also feels like it is something that could actually happen. Both Marcus and Ivy make mistakes, sometimes they are doozies, but their reactions are very believable – full of pride and hurt, they sometimes let their emotions get the better of them, but you know that there is a happy ever after just waiting for them to grab it.

Ivy is sometimes her own biggest enemy but she tries hard to keep the town’s welfare in the forefront, even when it interferes with her growing feelings for Marcus. She is trying to juggle a lot and most of it is contradictory so her choices aren’t necessarily easy ones. I may not have made the same ones but I can definitely see why she does what she does. Marcus has some leftover resentment and anger from his childhood. He’s carried it a long time but it’s also pushed him to be successful. Now he’s at the point that he’s got to decide if that is going to be a ruling factor in his future. Can he let it go and move on?

Set during the winter, Ivy Entwined is a fun choice to get you in the holiday spirit a little early (Simcox’s writing is so well done I actually forgot it was still hot outside a few times) – full of laughter and smiles but also a few sniffles, I finished the last page with a little grin in my heart.

Just This Once

05 Thursday Sep 2013

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Book Review, Just This Once, Trish Jensen

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*****

As a minister’s daughter, Shannon Walsh was raised to say No to a lot of temptations with men at the top of that list. She’s an adult now, making her own choices, but until Mr. Right comes along, she plans to keep resisting the call of the wild. Then Rick Hardison moves in next door. The handsome rascal doesn’t appear to have spent many hours inside a church, and he doesn’t waste any time drawing Shannon inside his wickedly sexy arms. What’s a good girl to do when the man of her dreams is a very bad boy? She decides to take a chance. But just this once.

I almost found it refreshing that the woman was shallow in this one and that Jensen somehow managed to make her appealing while she did it. I felt for Rick but I kinda understood Shannon’s perspective on it too and it made me smile when she finally realized that the man on the inside more than makes up for anything that was on the outside (the epilogue made me giggle). And though I understood her reactions I also realize that they aren’t any less hurtful to the person on the other side. I didn’t quite get Shannon’s friend finding it entertaining that Rick was getting the same treatment that cliched men had been given women for years, because I think at this point that’s kind of an outdated belief – we’re definitely in an age where both men and women use’em and leave’em. But the characters were fun and the story was interesting. I loved seeing Rick struggle as he realized he’d fallen in love and Shannon’s fight to keep things light was amusing because you knew it wasn’t going to work.

Just This Once is a story of people who turned lust into love and learned that sometimes it is very hard not to judge a book by its cover.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

03 Tuesday Sep 2013

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Book Review, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Molly Cannon

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*****

Etta Green kissed Everson, Texas, goodbye years ago. A big city chef, she intends to return only long enough to settle her beloved grandmother’s estate and then hightail it back to Chicago. But Grammy Hazel had other plans. In her will, she left Etta part-ownership of a B&B that’s about to go bankrupt before it even opens. And what’s worse–Etta’s partner is Donny Joe Ledbetter, a handsome devil with some serious bad boy charm. Growing up, Donny Joe didn’t give Etta a second glance. Now, she’s got his whole attention.

A far cry from the shy bookworm he once knew, sexy, spirited Etta Green is nothing but trouble. Yet Donny Joe decides to play nice. After all, the quicker they open the B&B, the faster this exasperating–and irresistible–woman will be on her way. Donny Joe has never been a one-woman kind of man. But one crazy little moment of unforgettable desire may change his mind–if he can convince Etta to stay for good…

I wasn’t sure that I was going to enjoy Etta very much, but she definitely grew on me. She has a little of that big city edge and she’s under a lot of stress, but she quickly finds her groove in Everson. She thinks it is only going to be temporary but you so know she’s sticking around. Donny Joe is a great Texas cowboy – he’s polite but he’s got a little streak of bad boy in him, too charming for his own good but always willing to help out. He’s strong, hardworking, and honest, just like you’d expect a good ol’ boy to be. He may strike sparks with Etta but everyone knows how it’s going to end and it is fun watching them get there.

Romances based on little, country towns have a special place in my heart. I grew up in a little Midwest bump in the road and can relate so much to those tiny worlds, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love is no different. Full of small town charm and zaniness, with that perfect blend of heat and heart, Cannon gives us a sweet tale about finding your place in the world.

Surprise BRAZEN book

02 Monday Sep 2013

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Feel the Heat novel, Nicola Marsh, Wicked Heat

Who doesn’t love surprises? The people behind Brazen Books sure do – and they just couldn’t wait a whole month before putting out another book for their readers. Surprise!

Their newest book combines steamy island romance and high personal stakes. What a combination!

Competitors by day, lovers by night…

Allegra Wilks has had the worst month of her personal and professional life. To save her company, she must go on her would-be honeymoon and land the luxury eco-island resort’s lucrative advertising account. But when a lingerie mishap leads her into the arms of a wickedly distracting Australian, Allegra’s tempted to skip the trip and explore the most sensual kiss she’s ever experienced. Too bad their chance encounter at the airport is just that.

Having recently lost his company to his former best friend’s shady business tactics, Jett Halcott is headed to a South Pacific resort to secure an advertising account that will resurrect his reputation and career. Realizing the tantalizing Allegra Wilks is on his flight, Jett envisions a week filled with business and pleasure. But Jett doesn’t know Allegra’s fighting for the same account, or that there’s more at stake than his heart.

AMAZON | B&N | KOBO | iTUNES

EXCERPT:

“You should do that more often,” he said, reaching out to trace her bottom lip with his fingertip. “You’re beautiful, but when you smile? Wow.”

Uncomfortable with his overt compliments, Allegra sat there and let a guy she’d just met touch her lips with a slow, sensual caress. His fingertip traced her bottom lip in a butterfly-soft sweep that left her breathless.

Their eyes locked as he lowered his hand, and what she saw made her wish she could ditch Palm Bay and travel to Australia.

Blatant lust. Strong. Sexy. Seductive. His eyes deepened to an incredible green that matched a favorite jade pendant she wore often. He wanted her, and in this crazy moment, the feeling was entirely mutual.

He raised his beer to his lips and took a long swig, his heat-filled stare never leaving hers.

Damn, she had no idea what to do in this situation. Make a joke to diffuse the tension? Acknowledge it? Flirt?

She hated feeling out of control, had instigated steps her entire life to avoid it. Yet in a loaded thirty seconds, Jett had made her damp with just one look and made her flounder.

“Is the blatant charm an Aussie thing or is it just you?”

Thankfully, he blinked, and broke the scorching stare that made her want to grab a napkin off the bar and fan herself. “It’s me.” He leaned in close. “Time you fessed up.”

Yikes. Was her reaction to him that easy to read?

“To what?”

His lips almost brushed her ear. “You’re battling an incredible urge to drag me into the nearest janitor’s closet and ravish me.”

She laughed at his outrageousness. “Sorry. I don’t do sex in cleaning closets. Too many hazardous chemicals.”

“Yeah, those pheromones can be killer.”

She loved his quick wit and for the second time in as many minutes, wished she’d met him at a different place, different time.

“Pity.” He reverted to a smoldering stare that had her wishing she’d ordered a vodka shot chaser. “Sex in confined spaces can be fun.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Heat crept into her cheeks and she signaled the waiter for a glass of water. To douse herself with.

“Not the answer I was hoping for,” he said, shifting his barstool closer so their thighs brushed. “Would’ve been better if you’d said, ‘Sounds good, Jett, let’s go try.’”

She cleared her throat and gratefully accepted the water from the waiter, drinking it all and wishing she could run the cool beaded exterior across her forehead. “How did we get onto this crazy topic?”

“Started with you wanting to ravish me.” He clinked his beer bottle to her empty glass. “Seriously. There’s no need to hold back. I can take whatever you want to dish out.”

Along Came a Spider

01 Sunday Sep 2013

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Along Came a Spider, Book Review, Kate SeRine, Transplanted Tales series

New review is now up.

*****

When Trish Muffet is attacked at a grisly crime scene, the last person she expects to come to her rescue is Nicky “Little Boy” Blue. But since walking away from everything two years before, Nicky’s been doling out vigilante justice as “The Spider,” taking on the vicious predators of the night in hopes it’ll lead him to his ultimate target—Vlad Dracula. And he needs Trish’s help.

Although Nicky’s renegade style goes against everything Trish stands for, she’ll do what she must to bring Dracula down. With danger stalking her, Trish knows the only person she can count on is the one man who has the power to leave her breathless. There’s no way she’s letting this spider frighten her away…

I get so excited about Kate Serine’s “Transplanted Tales” series – I love stories about fairy-tale and literary creatures living in our world and Serine is one of the best at it. She not only gives you a hot, steamy romance, but also an intriguing mystery that keeps you on your toes. It should be said now that it is best to have read the other books in the series – Red, The Better to See You – because there are themes and characters that move through the stories. I don’t think it is 100% required, but you’ll likely be a little lost without them.

The focus this time is on characters we know – Little Boy Blue (Nicky Blue) and Litttle Miss Moffett (Trish Moffett) – both of whom played minor roles in previous books. I loved Nicky back in Red and I’m excited to see him back again. And while Trish has flitted around the previous books, it is nice to see her get her own story & hero. I thought it was great that while she can take care of herself to a certain point and be a strong heroine, she is still vulnerable and needs help to not only solve the mystery but to survive. And she’s such a great match for Nicky, I loved watching their relationship develop.

I thought the mystery had the perfect amount of twists and a very satisfying ending. I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of a big, bad government agency getting involved but I’m going to show a little faith and see where Serine takes us. It makes sense but I think it could easily go in a direction that isn’t fun any more – a la Buffy and the Initiative.

We also get to catch up on some of our old favorites (like Tess, Nate, Seth and Lavender), as well as meet new characters. And Serine teases a little about possible future stories just to make us want for more. If you are looking for fantasy and intrigue mixed in with your romance, Serine’s “Transplanted Tales” series has it in spades.

Eat, Play, Lust

31 Saturday Aug 2013

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Book Review, Eat Play Lust, Tawna Fenske

Cami Pressman is a yoga instructor with a lifelong secret love of junk food. Not even an irresistible man can replace the mouthwatering wickedness of her favorite foods.

Until, that is, Paul Hammond signs up for her class. He’s a gourmet chef looking to score some fitness tips, and a date with Cami. Suddenly Cami’s lust for junk food isn’t the only thing making her tingle.

When this sinful chef and hot yoga teacher eat, play, and lust together, they just might bring their obsession to a new level.

At just over 50 pages, this is a sweet little treat to wind up a hot and steamy summer. Cami is humorously neurotic about her eating and Paul has an indelicate way of keeping his foot in his mouth, but they are fun and charming and I kinda wish they’d gotten a full length story. I would have loved to see these two go on a few dates – I’m giggling just thinking about it. I think my favorite part is that these two aren’t perfect – he’s got a bit of a spare tire and she’s got some food hang-ups – but they are wonderful in their normalness and make for an appealing couple.

Being so short, it pretty much gets straight to the point. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. After some bumbling around, boy and girl get together … but the bumbling is very delicious.

If you need a great way to wrap up your summer night, grab a glass of wine and sit back – Eat Play Lust is that perfect little tidbit to finish out your day.

Stone Guardian

30 Friday Aug 2013

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Book Review, Danielle Monsch, Entwined Realms, Stone Guardian

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*****

Gryphons flying past Skyscrapers? Wizards battling it out in coffeehouses? Women riding motorcycles with large swords strapped to their backs? All normal sights since the Great Collision happened twenty-six years ago.

Well, not normal for everyone. Larissa Miller may have been born after the Great Collision, but as a history teacher who lives in the human-only city, she has never come into contact with any other race or species. That is, until one day she walks out of her apartment only to be attacked by a mob of Zombies, but then is saved by a Gargoyle.

Leader of the Gargoyles, Terak has been watching over the human woman for months because of a cryptic prophecy. Gargoyles trust no one outside their Clan, but something about this woman stirs every protective instinct within him. When he realizes the danger to her is real, he refuses to allow her to explore this new world without him at her side.

In the course of their investigation Terak becomes entranced by his little human. But when he discovers why Necromancers want her and the great reward that awaits him if he betrays her, he must choose between the welfare of his Clan and not only Larissa’s life, but the fate of this new Realm as well.

Stone Guardian kicks off Monsch’s Entwined Realms series and does it full tilt – Chapter One starts with the Great Collision and we’re pretty much thrown into it from there. She does a great job of giving readers a complex and intriguing world, one full of magic and mischief, elves and orcs and all manner of creatures, but most importantly love and family. It’s a strange world, so you definitely need to like fantasy in your love stories – after all, your hero is a Gargoyle … and amazingly sexy one too. Tall, strong, giving and honorable, he may start out just watching over Larissa but the heart has a way of taking over.

There’s a mystery involving why someone wants to harm Larissa and since this is a magical world, there are all sorts of things that could be involved. I’m always afraid that a sci-fi author will either write themselves into a corner so they too obviously have to make something up to get the story back on track or that their world will just become too big to grasp. But Monsch does a fantastic job of keeping everything moving quicklly and smoothly.

At its core, we’re given a story of duty and sacrifice, love and honor, but it is liberally doused in pixie dust and magic. There are a lot of loose ends and half-finished threads, so be prepared to leave this one wanting more. There are a ton of characters, both magical and human, who could easily make homes for themselves in future stories … and I’m looking forward to each and every one.

The Newcomer

29 Thursday Aug 2013

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Book Review, Robyn Carr, The Newcomer, Thunder Point

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*****

Single dad and Thunder Point’s deputy sheriff “Mac” McCain has worked hard to keep his town safe and his daughter happy. Now he’s found his own happiness with Gina James. The longtime friends have always shared the challenges and rewards of raising their adolescent daughters. With an unexpected romance growing between them, they’re feeling like teenagers themselvessuddenly they can’t get enough of one another.

And just when things are really taking off, their lives are suddenly thrown into chaos. When Mac’s long-lost ex-wife shows up in town, drama takes on a whole new meaning. Mac and Gina know they’re meant to be together, but can their newfound love withstand the pressure?

I love Carr’s “Thunder Point” books like I love Susan Mallery’s “Fool’s Gold” series. And the feel of the books is a lot like I imagine their respective towns to be – while Mallery’s California based town is full of light and sunshine that sometimes masks more serious depths, Carr’s little town in Oregon has times of rain but when the sun comes out it is blindingly beautiful.

In The Newcomer, we pretty much pick up where The Wanderer left off. Unlike a lot of series that finishes off with one pair and moves on to someone new, Carr’s series just continues to build. We get more on Hank and Sarah as well as the newest in Mac and Gina’s changing relationship. And we’re given Gina’s teenage daughter Ashley and her relationship with Downey as he moves away to college and she stays behind at Thunder Point High. Some may get a little overwhelmed by all that is going on but Carr’s books are all about the community and no one is an island in her stories.

I loved Hank and Sarah so having the chance to explore their relationship further is a real treat. And we’re left with a bit of a cliffhanger so I know we’ll get to see more of them in the next book (The Hero). Mac and Gina featured a bit in The Wanderer so it is great to get to see their relationship come to fruition. Both are strong, loving, family people and I enjoyed watching them figure out how to combine their worlds into one. Especially since Gina’s world is imploding with the problems Ashley is experiencing with her boyfriend. It was interesting to see, from an adult’s perspectvie, the pitfalls of teenage dating, espcially in today’s more technological times. It takes up a decent part of the book so be prepared, but it does directly impact Gina and by association Mac (and even Sarah). But that is how a small community works so I appreciate the realism.

The continuation of existing stories is one of my favorite things about Carr’s books, and although she does do a good job of giving new readers the bits of background that they need to keep up, I recommend starting from the beginning. Her characters have such rich and complex lives, with heartbreak and joy and all the complications that go along with loving and living, that you appreciate them so much more being there from the beginning.

For believable, lifelike characters and problems, delivered with Carr’s captivating style, The Newcomer is going to thrill … but be prepared to get caught up in the many lives in Thunder Point and be left wanting more.