TheLibrarian Listens…Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

So I’m still running. After my half marathon in January I enjoyed it so much I decided to sign up for another one this May in Pittsburgh. This means months of long runs and the same neighborhood/beach loops…217 miles and that means roughly 2,170 minutes too! Whatever shall I do to break the monotony? Why, listen to audiobooks of course!

Without Further Ado…Cinder

BookTalk

Cinderella’s got some new shoes to fill…

New Beijing is a leading empire in this futuristic world. And it’s leader is dying of the plague…In fact, more and more citizens of earth are falling prey to a deadly sickness that can kill is as long as a few days and as little as hours. Young Prince Kai, every girl’s dream, is standing at the edge of his childhood and looking out toward a future as Emperor …

Cinder is New Beijing’s leading mechanic. Holding court at a storefront in the rambunctious Marketplace she’s the go to girl to fix everything from a Netscreen to the family Android. When Prince Kai sweeps in to drop off a broken Android of his own and stays to flirt, Cinder can’t believe her ears…

But what would be every girl’s dream in New Beijing, is the impossible for Cinder. Not only is she adopted from mysterious origins, she’s shunned by her remaining step-mother and step-sisters, she’s covered in grease, and she’s part-cyborg herself. Yep. Cyborg. Cinder’s got a mechanical foot and hand and no hope of being accepted by the royal heart-throb…But as the city begins to crack under the pressure of the plague and of the Lunar Princesses’s evil presence, Cinder is about to find she plays a bigger role in this new world than she ever believed…

Review

I’ll admit I watched this book for a bit before picking it up. There was talk of weak world building; about the similarities between the android and cyborg conditions. But when I received the audio Cd’s in the mail from fellow blogger Bookgoonie I thought, obviously, this was a sign I was meant to do this book…

And I sooo enjoyed it.

First off, I knew all the twists before they happened. ALL OF THEM.

Second, this in no way hindered me from enjoying this book.

I didn’t see as many issues with the world. I loved the addition of an ancient plague (we’re talking about the genesis for Ring Around the Rosie here people, the dark ages are back!). Is it wrong to say I loved the inclusion of a Pandemic? A relic from Medieval Europe rearing its ugly head. It added a desperation and a seediness to the feel of New Beijing. And it furthered a theme of ancient-meets-futuristic that played throughout the text…Though, you’ll have to suspend belief for a minute that in a society as advanced as New Beijing they have yet to find a cure.

As far as the android vs. cyborg debate. I could tell the difference. And I loved Cinder’s personal android pal Iko. Iko was hilarious! By far my favorite character of the book. She was so sweet, such a good friend to Cinder. I loved that Iko was there to keep Cinder acting like a teenage girl from time to time. And to care for her in ways that the evil step-mother cliché banns the family from doing.

The other side character that I loved was the Doctor. I thought his placement in the plot was a good one. I wasn’t sure in the beginning what direction his character would take. But in the end I thought it was very smart, what Ms. Meyer did. Very interesting indeed. But I’ll let you read it yourself and figure it out.

As far as experiencing the story as an audio book I have to say I loved the character voices that the narrator did. The changes she made to her voice were just right for each character. My favorite was Iko’s voice. Perfect. But the audio itself kept me really interested. The plot was rewarding. I liked that the romance with the prince was spread throughout the story (honestly ‘fist-pumped’ while running a few times due to romantic happenings). Learning about Cinder’s cyborg system and her history was peppered across the story as well…it made me want to run longer just to lean more!

Rating: 4/5 A futuristic version of an ancient tale where eternal themes of society still sing strong. 

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Hana (Delirium #1.5) *Spoilers* by Lauren Oliver

BookTalk

“I dream about sledding. That’s what it’s like to barrel forward toward September, to speed toward the day when I will no longer be troubled by amor deliria nervosa. It is like being on a sled in the middle of a cutting wind. I am breathless and terrified; I will soon be engulfed by whiteness and suctioned into another world.

Good-bye, Hana.” (7, Scribd ed.)

In Delirium Hana was the wild child, the best friend…a girl who, in her last summer of Love, began to fall away from Lena. We knew Hana was a party girl. She’d become addicted to the thrill of the underground parties, the beat of forbidden music, and the kisses of a man. Hana was striving for the love she knew would be forcibly removed from her in September.

What we didn’t see through Lena’s eyes was the destruction Hana’s new life was causing. That like so many sufferers of amor deliria nervosa Hana may have placed her faith and her kisses with a boy who wasn’t worthy. And if a broken heart isn’t bad enough…she’s now staring at love’s perfection, in the form of her best friend’s new relationship. It’s easy to see through Hana’s eyes how someone would want to rip the ability to love from another. If only to make them hurt as much as you…

Review

Geeze! If you weren’t pumped for Oliver’s second installment: Pandemonium (coming to a bookstore near you in just 1 week!) the novella “Hana” is sure to get you salivating.

I just want to take a second right now and remind you all that the novella is Free Online right now. If you don’t mind reading from your computer. Though from personal experience I can tell you it makes it a lot easier to read at work *wink*

But back to the story. This novella gives insight into Delirium. I thought I had Hana pegged. I thought she was a wild child who didn’t really have the guts to go wild or, err, into ‘the wilds’. I thought she was a little rich girl playing with the idea of revolution before heading back into the ranks of good society in September.

Who knew Hana was really off having her heart-broken and her ideologies of love beaten up. Seeing the story through her eyes busts apart what you thought was going on in Hana’s world. And it leads to a cliffhanger I didn’t see coming. I can’t go any further without revealing some spoilers. If you’re now dying to go out and read this one. The Link is Here.

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Honestly, what Hana goes through in this book is so very normal; downright average for our society. It’s all about Hana flirting and going to second base with a guy. Steve to be exact. Hana is dreaming of rainbows, unicorns, and escaping to the wilds to live on love. Steve just wants in her panties.

Ouch – For Hana’s heart and her panties as Steve is not the smoothest maker-outer

But Steve remains a sketchy dude, in part because that’s exactly what he is, but also because he never becomes a fully formed character in our eyes. We see that Hana is pinning her heart on a man who really isn’t in this for the long haul with her. We’ve all watched a girlfriends go through this same process…Wondering why she can’t see a booty-call for what it is…

But in a society where your shot at love is so brief, mistakenly choosing the wrong guy is akin to love-suicide. There will be no second chance.

“Suddenly all I can think about is a line from the book of Lamentations: What glitters may not be gold; and even wolves may smile; and fools will be led by promises to their deaths.” (26, Scribd ed.)

This is about the point that Hana hits her wall. You can see it all fall apart. Her view of the party raid is terrifying. Followed by learning that Lena is secretly in love…The loss of her romantic hope and her best friend is too much. Ending in that cliffhanger! Why Hana? Did you really? WTF?

Dying for Pandemonium next Tuesday!

Rating: 5/5 A little novella that rips what you thought you knew wide open. 

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Blameless (The Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger

BookTalk

Alexia Tarabotti is terribly inconvenienced.

Infant-inconvenienced to be exact.

A woman whom no one would call maternal, when Alexia married Lord Maccon, head of the Woolsey werewolf pack, she thought children weren’t an option…her husband had been, technically, not-human for a few hundred years or so. That does not mean that Alexia was unfaithful in any way. Her dear husband should realize that unexpected does not mean impossible…

But the inconvenience of a child that can’t be explained instead sends Conall Maccon into a tail-spin of formaldehyde induced drunkenness. He’s left his Beta to hold down the fort at the worst possible moment for Lady Maccon has absconded to Italy, Lord Akeldama has fled town in pursuit of a stolen item, and the rest of the supernatural society has decided that Alexia and her infant-inconvenience need to die.

The question of the hour is how long will it take for Lord Maccon to come to his senses and beg for forgiveness. Because, Alexia is a little busy fighting off Vampires, Templar Knights, and mechanical ladybugs. A husband by her side would be a great help…

Review

This book is a necessary evil. It reads as a linking book. Almost like a bridge between books two and four. Because, while the text was filled with Carriger’s trademark wit and tongue-and-cheek steampunk creations the plot itself is a bit ‘light’. I’ll say ‘light’ and not ‘weak’ because it’s a necessary story for Alexia and Conall. At the end of book two we find Alexia pregnant and it is (apparently) un-explainable between her and Conall.

My hunch was that the curse breaker plague was going to be the explanation. I mean, it did turn all supernatural completely human…doesn’t that mean reproductive functions will work again as well? Seemed simple enough to me. Heck, even if Carriger didn’t want to take it that far I was willing to accept that given the uniqueness of their relationship (preternatural and supernatural are never to mix in this society) that no one had attempted to cross-breed. Alexia’s touch makes Conall mortal – thus he functions as a mortal man whilst having relations with his wife. This would make a baby possible, no?

No. Apparently not. My mind is not intelligent enough for Carriger’s aether-theory. I guess it’s far more difficult than my pedestrian ponderings. And I’ll admit that by the end of this installment I was still quite confused as to how it scientifically happened. Even Meyer gave me a vampire baby-making explanation I could accept. Forget that part during your reading? Yeah, I got it off her website. Don’t judge. You know you were curious too.

Curious, because you need these fantasy worlds to be completely rational if you are going to accept them. The author needs to build rules and stick to them. You can break them only if there’s a super secret Plan B rule that will make even more sense than Plan A did. I won’t say that Carriger’s pregnancy explanation broke her world for me. Finding and explaining the pregnancy was one of the two reasons for this novel. It was more like I started skimming the explanation. I ‘Smile and Nodded’ at the explanation and politely waited for it to stop talking. Like math involving more than basic addition/subtraction…or integers higher than I can count on my fingers…I just stopped trying to understand and accepted that it did in fact make sense. Someone clearly smarter than myself obviously figured it out. Time to move on now, blah, blah, blah…

It may seem like I harp on this issue a bit, but understand that aside from Lord Maccon’s issue of sobering up and apologizing to his wife…this is the entire plot of the story. The mysteries of the Templar Knights were simplified. The issue of the child’s supernaturality (word?) is simplified. Even the tease of finding out more about Alexia’s father is in the end simplified and then forgotten about. So the complexity of the one thing I thought could actually be simplified was an issue for me.

I still enjoyed the read. I was in the mood for witty Victorian conversation. That play between manners and the absurd that Carriger does so well. Snappy dialogue and chapter titles abound. Just know that in this series the third title is just a hop skip and a jump away from the fourth. I’ll just say that the fourth should pack a bit more of a plot punch to pick up the ‘lightness’ of the third.

Rating: 3.5/5 Proper, polite, and just the right bit of the absurd save this tale of marital discord…Because without it, it’s 200-odd pages of waiting for an apology…

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Loving the Highlander (Highlander #2) by Janet Chapman

BookTalk

Sadie Quill is a woman driven by the ghosts of her past. Sadie ties the loss of her sister and father to a house fire she believes she started by leaving a candle unattended in the family study. Sadie was rescued from that fire but not without the pain of a lost sister and burn scars to physically remind her of something she’ll never allow herself to forget. Now she’s on a mission to build a national park in their honor…and find the gold mine her father searched for until his death.

Morgan MacKeage is just an ancient Scotsman trying to make his way in a modern time. Unable to let go of a fierce possessive streak and a penchant for naked swimming. This goes far in explaining why Sadie Quill, during a business hike, felt the need to take a few photos of Morgan MacKeage in all his glory…and why Morgan MacKeage then felt the need to chase Sadie down, pin her to the ground, and kiss the living daylights out of her.

So begins the story of a man who just wants his woman…and a woman who needs to let go of her walls to find a love she never thought she’d have.

Review

I had high hopes for this book in the beginning. I liked the idea of Sadie Quill’s character. A woman who was not only decently haunted but also physically scared. Sadie is very conscious of her scars. A beautiful woman naturally she now has scars covering her entire back and one arm. Because they extend to her hand some are always visible.

I liked that Chapman created a character who was haunted by something realistic (the deaths of her sister and father) and also a woman who was dealing with a real physical flaw…Not just clumsy-ness or a slightly more endowed waistline like most other ‘slightly-flawed’ romance heroines.

Then it all just went paranormal; ‘magical’ if you will. You know the Highlander series is going to be about time-travel, quick marriages, and lots of magic sprinkled in its pages. But Chapman went and messed with the scars. Used magic on them and then took magic away from them. Stop here if you plan on reading this one…because the next paragraph is going to get spoiler-y…

I thought that when Chapman took away Sadie’s scars with healing magic it was a cop-out. I wanted Sadie to have to deal with this physical manifestation of her issues. To realize that she was beautiful and desirable with or without this flaw. To find the self-worth she had been lacking for so long. I thought that was going to be the point of the scars. Morgan’s love was just going to reinforce…push her toward the edge of seeing herself in a new light.

Nope. Magic Morgan accidentally ‘heals’ said scars and then even wishes himself that Sadie had fallen in love with him pre-healing so she’d know he loved her with or without them. Now, here’s where I’m going to get a bit edgy. First, Morgan’s a bit of a wank for thinking he wished she had her scars. I mean, doesn’t the girl deserve the perfect skin magic accidentally gave her? Especially if he only wants her to have them to prove what a good man he truly is.

Except…

I kinda wanted her to still have the scars too. It felt too easy that she could give it all up. Hide her past trauma so easily…never having to deal with it emotionally. So what is an author to do? Apparently create a situation where Sadie has to give some magic back (yep, you can do that with magic…just trade it off) to save Morgan but in exchange those scars are coming back.

Bam. Take that Sadie. Coming off the euphoria of losing the scars. You almost lose the new hubby and then gain those emotionally charged scars back. Talk about getting hit hard. I think the book would have been stronger had Sadie simply had to deal with her baggage based completely in reality. In order to accept the rushed marriage, magical elements, and a burl of wood that heals when hit with water…I need my characters emotions to be based in reality. Insta-love aside, I need all baggage to be handled with care and realism.

Rating: 2/5 The way the scars were handled bothered me too much.

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This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman

BookTalk

Life is nothing but a house of cards.

The Bergamots are an average American family. Richard, an executive at a large New York City University and Liz, a PhD-turned-soccer-mom are parents to the societal perfection that is the two child household; one boy and one girl. Attractive, intelligent, and seemingly on the rise. This family has just made the transition from sleepy college town middle-class to upwardly mobile with a Manhattan apartment and exclusive private school for the kiddies.

While it can be said that everyone is just getting settled into their roles in this new world. Each member of the family seems to know their place. Until fifteen year old Jake forwards an email. An email that goes viral. An email containing inappropriate and potentially damning content. A single click akin to the flick of a finger it would take to bring down a house of cards.

Review

I had to sit with this book for a few days after I finished it. I had one of my teachers come to me, book in hand, requesting that I do the read. This teacher had been browsing the Top 100 Notable Books of 2011 and picked this book from the one sentence summary:

THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE. By Helen Schulman. (Harper/HarperCollins, $24.99.) A family’s Manhattan life comes apart when their 15-year-old forwards a sexually explicit video made for him, unsolicited, by a girl two years younger.

Yeah, if you didn’t get the picture from the booktalk above, this one’s heavy.

Why you want to sit with this one for so long after you read; why your mind will percolate with thoughts and ideas isn’t because of the sex tape (though, that one’s like a train wreck you can’t look away from) nor, is it about the actual ramifications of the video going viral. This book expertly lays an average American life before the reader. It’s a life with real people, real troubles, and real hope. Then with one move of a young boy’s finger Schulman collapses their world.

You’ll read on in the beginning waiting for the legal fallout. You come into this read fueled by news headlines and lifetime movies featuring underage children indulging in sexual games most adults don’t care to play. And, every one of those stories seems to end entangled in courtroom battles or suicide. We’re a society that expects the sensational. Instead, you’ll find what psychologically sticks with you are the truths this tale points out about our lives. For example, discussions of men vs. women. Jake himself ponders the ethics of making-out with Daisy, pre-video:

“His mom was like stuck back in the seventies, all her crap about feminism and the way girls dressed these days…but what if the girl wants the hookup? If she begs for it? Did his mom ever think about that?

It never would have occurred to him to hook up with Daisy if she hadn’t thrown herself at him.” (67-68 Hard Back ed.)

And before you have the knee jerk reaction to that statement above see below what happens only 10 pages later:

“Jake had been heading out of the building and toward the gym…still pretending to himself like it had never happened…when he saw Daisy Cavanaugh for the first time ever in school. He saw her down the hall.

She was autographing baseball bats.” (79, Hard Back ed.)

To fully understand the ramifications of the quote above you must know that Daisy uses a toy baseball bat as a prop in her video. In ways that Shusterman allows you to imagine all the more graphically due to her fade-to-black scene.

“She was famous now. He’d made her famous. She was autographing the bats and smiling a big, broad, winning smile.” (80, Hard Back ed.)

The mother becomes obsessed with the video, the younger sister begins to imitate the sexual dancing that she sees all around her. Even the paragon of intelligent beauty that is Jake’s crush reveals her own thoughts about female sexuality and they’re far harsher than Jake’s rosy crush on her has led us to expect. It’ll make you think about what influences us today as women…and what the men in our lives expect from us as well.

I could have done without portions of Liz’s (the mother’s) character. She’s one of those used-to-be-smart-but-was-a-bit-lost-so-she-had-kids-now-what mothers recent literature is so fond of. She fits the cliché from artistic but useless PhD to smoking pot in the bathroom to face the overwhelming ordeal that is an elementary school recital. Liz is, basically, that woman who has hit a turning point in her life and looks back at her youth and sees a haze of hope and missed opportunities, rather than what was truly a lack of passion and indecision.

Women like this annoy me. And they scare me. Because if they’re this prevalent in literature…could I become one of them? Yet another sticking point of the novel.

At the end you’ll circle back. You’ll stare at each character and try to find the mistake. The lost moment that would have held Jake’s finger from clicking send. Find the scene when the appropriate word or hug could have held this family together. Because trust me. After you read Daisy’s older point of view you’ll see that the Bergamots are an average family, and one that is completely unique, at the same time.

Rating: 4.5/5 A masterfully realized story of social issues and a family; held from perfection by a tired characterization of the mother. 

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Charming the Highlander (Highlander #1) by Janet Chapman

Summary from GoodReads: Because they make this book sound far more tempting than I was in the mood to!

A feisty beauty tempted by a bold Highlander’s touch…When a plane crash strands brilliant scientist Grace Sutter on an icy mountaintop in Maine, she finds herself alone in the wilderness with the only other surviving passenger — Greylen MacKeage,a sexy, medieval warrior who’s been tossed through time to find the woman he’s destined to love. Forced together to survive the harsh, wintry landscape, neither expects the fierce passion that flares between them. But Grace is not used to letting her heart take control, and Greylen will settle for nothing less than her heart’s surrender….

Review

This romance happened sooo quick. Like 6 days start to finish. Granted the whole shebang starts off with a tragic death, instant attraction, babies, and a dramatic plane crash…that’s like 6 years of action tucked into less than a week of time…guess they didn’t need day seven, but hey, don’t we all need a day of rest?

Though it was fast I found myself very wrapped up in the action. I liked the survival aspects of it all. It was a lot of emotion very quickly, but this served to enhance (or excuse) the insta-love. I mean if a huge Scottish warrior saves you and your 4 week old nephew from certain death in a plane crash, then from being frozen on a mountain top in Maine, I might fall a little in love too. Especially if his kisses were as good as Grace claims.

I loved Baby, he was the sweetest addition to the cast of characters. Watching all those Scottish warriors fall for him was one of my favorite parts of the novel. My only hesitation was that I couldn’t quite connect with Grace’s inability to tell Michael that he was Baby’s true father. I thought it was pretty obvious from the start that not only was Michael a good man (Grace was concerned about this) he was hurt and lonely after losing the woman he loved. Baby would have gone a long way toward easing this man’s pain from the very beginning.

This is a quick formula read. If you’re in the mood the instant attraction, fast plot, and dramatic situations this read will drag you in pretty quick. Just don’t be surprised when it’s all over faster than a Kardashian marriage…In both situations the key is to enjoy the absurdity and remember that you’re enjoying characters that never exist in real life.

Bring on the massive, time-traveling, Scottish warriors, lol.

Rating: 3/5 Leave your critic and logic behind; it’s a bit of fluff (and Scottish muscle!) to fill a wintry afternoon. 

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Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy

BookTalk

This is a no-holds-barred account of what you can really expect when you’re expecting. Jenny McCarthy will lead you on an honest romp through short and funny chapters with titles like, “Honey, Your Sperm Really Do Work! (Pregnancy Tests)” and “Granny Panties (Letting Go of the G-String)”

For a woman who became famous for her body (Hello, Playmate!) and endeared herself to America via MTV and forthright potty mouth, Jenny comes off like a girlfriend telling hilarious and real stories. Have no doubt, these are truthful tales. Always tempered with humor and at times advice for a different course of action, the less attractive qualities of pregnancy never seemed so funny. This one is worth an hour of your time for anyone pregnant, thinking of getting pregnant, or any woman ready for a good laugh. In the end you’ll wish you could invite her over for a play-date of your own!

Review

No one get excited. There is no little librarian on the way. I read this one because my friend Tara (who has her own ‘green’ themed blog GreenCycledDesigns) checked it out of the library. Having finished said book ridiculously quickly, she dropped it off in my library with the enticement of at least an hours worth of laughter to be found in the pages.

She wasn’t lying! Even with no plans on the horizon to start my own family I couldn’t seem to put this book down. It’s not a masterful work of literature, it’s even better…An honest-to-goodness conversation with your funniest girlfriend. And while the laughter you’ll have over picturing Jenny McCarthy herself pissed at her husband for wanting to watch Playmates on a TV reality show in the chapter entitled “Die, Model B*tch, Die! (Hating Skinny People)” you’ll forgive her for being one of those genetically blessed people in her 9 to 5. Especially after she admits:

“…I couldn’t take it. He said I was being silly, considering I had been a Playmate once myself. Well, if I had known what the sight of a Playmate did to women during pregnancy, I would have done us all a favor and been the fattest and hairiest Playmate of all time.”

And while her dear, loving hubby still refuses to change the channel after some not-so-good-natured tantrum throwing Jenny follows up with sage advice:

“…so I resorted to the only thing I knew would work. I began crying. It worked. We switched to the Disney channel.

Another effective strategy and one that feels devilishly good is this: While your husband is getting undressed at night, look in a magazine and shout out, “Damn! That George Clooney has a fine a$$!” See how he likes it.”

Let me tell you, this is by far the tamest of her anecdotes. I won’t even begin to quote the chapter on pregnant sex which involves an analogy involving pigs, pastures, dogs, and farmers…honestly laughed for a good 5 minutes after that. Or when she goes to see a “butt doctor” when concerned about her bodily functions; Tears, I tell you, Tears from laughter.

This one is worth picking up. If a girlfriend has it, or you see it in your local library take a few minutes and give it a little look. The 3 page chapters and conversational voice will have you at hello. Take the hour (and a glass of wine if you’re not carrying your own bundle of joy) and listen to a funny girl tell her story. This book isn’t the most informational…but I’m willing to bet it’s the most honest and enjoyable.

Rating: 5/5 It was funny, scary, then hilarious again. Like chatting with your funniest girlfriend!

*P.S. If you do decided to spend the cash and purchase your own copy, know that a portion of the proceeds are donated to The Candies Foundation which educates teens about the consequences of teenage pregnancy*

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Temptest (Tempest #1) by Julie Cross

BookTalk

When Jackson Meyer hit his late teens he discovered he had the ability to travel through time…With a few restrictions:

• When he travels his body stays in the present time.

• When Jackson’s shadow body spends time in the past…no one will remember him, and any change he makes won’t stick when he returns to the present.

• A trip that lasts hours in the past means only seconds of a catatonic state in present time.

Until now Jackson has been playing with time travel. He performs silly experiments days in the past with his genius BFF, Adam. It’s really all fun and games, not much of a useful ability, until the day the love of his life is shot.

Now Jackson is forced to expand his time-travel abilities, and fast. Because when he lost Holly something changed. The world of time-travelers is bigger than he thought, and those closest to him are not what they seem. In addition to being part of a global conspiracy Jackson is also stuck in the past. His senior year of high school to be specific. Holly is still very much alive, and while he’d love to change the future he can’t keep himself from dabbling in the past…

Review

I liked this book the same way I liked I Am Number Four. Once the action started I was hooked on seeing “what happens next”. Which means I spent the first half the book wading through some pretty poor writing before the mystery/action scenes distracted me from the bad dialogue.

My biggest issue was that Jackson didn’t sound like a teenage boy. I think it’s why he’s so hard to connect with. There’s no reality in his thoughts or actions. They really do sound like a woman attempting to talk/think like a young man. And it’s really not working. And when the main protagonist of the story doesn’t ring true…it’s hard to accept the world building in the rest of the plot.

The main female lead, Holly, is better conceived. Her dialogue seems realistic, as do her choices during the plot. But Holly obviously goes through a major change in the few years between High School Holly and College Holly because they’re practically two different people. And while I like to think that as I age I mature and change as well. I’ve never switched from spunky and outgoing to reserved in a matter of two years. Not without a major life changing event. Though, Cross could be building up to that in her future installments.

For me, the only though provoking statement in, almost, the whole book is when Adam questions why Jackson thinks he’s even in love with Holly. When Adam says it I thought “Finally, someone is going to mention the elephant in this room book.” This statement alone pauses our hero and causes him to redefine his relationship with her…look below the surface. I like that he took this criticism to heart. It was one of the best things Jackson did in the whole book. Because before he was so unconnected to his feelings. Very wooden in his actions. The character was claiming to feel things I didn’t really feel as a reader. Adam’s protective query redeemed, slightly, Cross’s writing. It made me think she might actually have a plan for this whole shebang.

Ultimately, what bothers me most is I don’t know why this is even a book. Most reviews say that this book would be better as a movie. Why not just write the movie?  Is it the desire for sales across both genres? Was the book just a foot in the door for a movie deal? This is just another case of a decent idea gone unfulfilled. Had Cross spent more time in the writing phase of her book we’d end up with better characters and a more substantial plot this could be an interesting tale. As it stands it just left me with a cliffhanger that will force me to read the next book…or just watch the movie…

Rating: 2/5 Wait for the silver screen. The plot will be enhanced with visuals and access to popcorn…

*Book received for review from The Midnight Garden Book Tours via St. Martin’s Griffin ARC, Thanks!*

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Holiday Kisses by Shannon Stacey, Jaci Burton, HelenKay Dimon, and Alison Kent

Holiday Kisses is an anthology by Carina Press full of delightful Christmas-time tales. As it’s getting closer and closer to the big day I’ve broken this review down story by story. So those of you who were early birds and finished shopping in October can Click Here to purchase the full eBook version of the anthology. Those of *cough* us *cough* who may have forgotten how quickly 25 days go by may want to invest in the titles individually. You know, for that quick hour to be found while waiting in line at the mall…

…Don’t judge, you know you’ve seen me reading in the checkout line and though longingly of your own Nook waiting for you at home…Shop Prepared People! lol…

Simply click on each title to be directed to the Carina Press page where the ebooks can be purchased for about 3 dollars a copy. That’s less than a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Latte! And much more relaxing…especially if you splurge on the Starbucks as well 😉

Without Further Ado…Holiday Kisses…

This Time Next Year – Alison Kent

Brenna Keating is on her way to spend Christmas with her grandmother when treacherous roads and a skittish deer put her car in a ditch. Riding to the rescue—literally—is Dillon Craig, a reclusive doctor who insists she weather the storm in his cabin.

Since returning from Afghanistan where he treated wounded soldiers on the front lines, Dillon’s made it a point to avoid any emotional involvement. But his unexpected guest has him dangerously close to breaking his own rules.

Brenna has a plan for her life—until she’s stranded for three days with Dillon. Soon, the chemistry sizzling between them forces her to reexamine her priorities. The man is gorgeous, if taciturn, and a true hero in every sense of the word. No woman in her right mind could resist him, and so Brenna doesn’t—even though she can’t stay…

This title was the perfect opening to this anthology. I really found myself wishing this was a full length story. Because, even with the constraints of a novella Kent really took the time to give them full personalities. Brenna and Dillon were complex. She’s torn between a lifelong dream and the reality she may not want to leave behind. Dillon is recovering from tours in Afghanistan, haunted by those he was unable to save as a medic in the Army.

I liked Brenna and Dillon together. I could tell that they were the perfect fit to heal each other’s wounds. I just wish that they had been given a full story to flesh out all the complexities Kent gives them. While the novella felt complete…the reader in me itched for a little more time. Maybe Kent will re-release in time as a longer work. I’d like to know more of their histories, spend some time with the mountain people, watch Dillon work on his woodworking craft shirtless…And I’d really love to see some of the love letters the characters sent to each other…Hint, Hint! lol.

Rating: 3.5/5 If only we had a little more time with their love…

A Rare Gift Jaci Burton

With a disastrous marriage behind him, Wyatt Kent has no interest in getting involved with any woman, let alone his ex-wife’s younger sister. But when Calliope Andrews hires him to build an addition onto her day care center, Wyatt can’t help but notice she’s a desirable woman, as warm and funny as his ex was cold and aloof.

Calliope fell hard for Wyatt the first time he walked through the door of her family’s home, and can’t believe her sister let him get away. He’s still the star of all her fantasies, and she’s determined to prove to him she’s nothing like his manipulative ex. Wyatt may be all business, but Calliope sees the way he looks at her when he’s supposed to be working…

It’s not long before Wyatt and Calliope are keeping each other warm on cold December nights. But it’s going to take a Christmas miracle for Wyatt to put his trust in love a second time.

Can I tell you how much I loved this story? I really felt like the characters had time to circle around each other. I didn’t feel like their romantic progression was rushed. And can I just tell you how cute this romantic progression is? Calliope is a quirky girl who knows what she wants and sets out to get him. The potential awkwardness that could result from a woman dating her sister’s ex-husband is dispersed by Calliope’s enthusiasm. Just watching Wyatt’s bear-like nature melt under Calliope’s love and attention was lovely 😉 Too cute. I wanted to eat this story up. It was so good, I need to stop myself now before I continue to gush…One of the best of the book for sure.

Rating: 5/5 Potentially awkward romance gives lots of wonderful love instead. 

It’s Not Christmas Without You by HelenKay Dimon

Carrie Anders officially broke up with Austin Thomas when she accepted a dream job in the city. Unofficially, she misses him and is tempted to sneak back to her West Virginia hometown to see him. That’s why this year, she’s not going home for the holidays. Her heart can’t take any more mornings-after where nothing has changed—and Austin has made it clear he’s not interested in relocating.

Austin’s been waiting for Carrie to realize she can’t live without him. But when he hears she’s not coming home for Christmas, he decides to take action. If Carrie won’t come to the country, he’s going to bring a piece of the country to Carrie—in the form of a Christmas tree lot just minutes from her apartment. He’s certain daily meetings will entice her to come home with him, this time for good.

Their attraction is as hot as ever, but with such contrary Christmas wishes, can either of them get what they really want this year?

I’ll admit, I could have skipped this tale. It’s about a relationship that has been on hiatus for roughly 6 months. This is after dating for years: think high school, college, and beyond. Carrie has moved to D.C. because Austin won’t compromise. Austin can’t understand why Carrie would like to have her own hopes and dreams fulfilled working in a prestigious museum rather than a small tourist trap in West Virginia. Silly man, the answer is Duh. What girl doesn’t want all her dreams to come true…even those that don’t include a man.

What bothered me was that in the end, I don’t think Austin got it. He openly hated Carrie’s job and spent the majority of the novella waiting for her to come to her senses and come home. While the do eventually reconcile and “compromise” it’s not in any way I see working in the long run. I wondered if maybe Carrie should have given the big city boys a chance…because Austin’s not giving up anything for her dream.

Rating: 1/5 I didn’t like their relationship…If Carrie was my girlfriend I’d tell her to move on…

Mistletoe and Margaritas by Shannon Stacey

Claire Rutledge still believes in love, despite losing her husband. So, after two years, she’s not surprised by the steamy dreams telling her it might be time to start moving on. But she didn’t expect her friend Justin to have the starring role.

Justin McCormick has loved Claire since the moment he first saw her, but his best friend got there first. Now that Claire is ready to move on with her life, Justin is finding it harder than ever to hide his true feelings. And when they both get caught up in the holiday spirits at a party, their simmering mutual attraction boils over into a night neither of them can forget…

Can I start by saying how much I love Shannon Stacey’s writing. When I interviewed her this summer she let it slip that this story would be out around the holidays. You don’t even want to see how excited I got when this collection went up on NetGalley. E.X.C.I.T.E.D. doesn’t even do it justice.

Stacey didn’t disappoint. Her characters, as always, were down to earth and funny. You hit this relationship not at its beginning but close to its boiling point. You’re literally waiting for these characters to implode! They’ve spent so much time trying to resist each other because of the nature of Claire’s first marriage that the tension is through the roof. Their relationship, both physical and emotional, comes together very realistically. Though this is the shortest title in the collection I never felt as though the progression of their relationship was rushed. And they were given time to deal with the emotional ramifications of their attraction. When this one ends you’ll find a Happily Ever After, not just because the Author tells you there will be one…but because you can see it for yourself in the character’s new-found understanding.

Rating: 4/5 Mistletoe spurs yet another relationship…Because something had to break that tension! 

*Book Received from Carina Press via NetGalley…I was in no way compensated for my review beyond the gift of a free book…Thanks!*

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Her Christmas Pleasure (The Merry Widows #2) by Karen Erickson

BookTalk

Mistletoe is a dangerous thing. That small ball of leaves can spring up out of nowhere and change the course of lives.

Lady Danvers and Damien Morton have been friends forever. Damien was the best friend of Lady Danver’s, Celia’s, husband. Since his death Damien has become an integral part of Celia’s life. He’s been a shoulder to cry on, a friend, and a father figure for Celia’s young son. Until now, Celia has managed to ignore the fact that Damien is head-over-heals in love with her. Sure, she’s noticed the long lingering stares, the warm touches, and the love blooming between her son and her friend. But, attraction is easy to ignore in the society of the Ton especially between a Lady and an untitled man.

Until that sneaky ball of greenery. This kiss underneath the mistletoe may very well bring two people together in the magic of the season.

Review

If you’re looking for the perfect way to pass an hour with a glass of wine this Holiday Season look no further. Her Christmas Pleasure is like a Christmas cookie, a little bon-bon, a piece of fudge. It’s short, sweet, and yummy…

I didn’t realize when I requested this book that it was a novella. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the length when I opened the ebook…

Short doesn’t usually mean good in the Romance genre…

It usually means underdeveloped characters I don’t connect to…

It means I feel gypped by a lack of fleshed out relationships and bedroom scenes that seem rushed and [pardon the pun] unfulfilling.

I could not have been more wrong in my prejudice of this book. I’ve waited a bit to write this review trying to figure out exactly how Erickson gave so much body to such a short book. Right from the start I felt involved in Damien and Celia’s lives. Probably because Erickson throws you right into the middle of things. The middle of a Christmas celebration, the middle of their relationship, and in the middle of Damien’s decision to stay by Celia’s side and fight for her affections…or run away to a new job and a new country. These characters have a history and you feel that connection and the tension right from the start.

By the time Damien and Celia make it to their first bedroom scene you’ll be thinking “What took you two so long?!” even though you’ll only be, like, 30 or so pages in! Erickson is just that good at setting her scenes and forming her characters. I was amazed to find that the novella was over. I think I kept clicking after the final page just hoping for a magical continuation of their story (hey, I’m sure some of Santa’s elves specialize in Romance novels…they’re the naughty ones 😉 Sorry couldn’t resist!)

Anyway, know that I wasn’t sad this book ended so quickly because the story wasn’t complete. Nope. Damien and Celia’s story comes to a satisfying conclusion [again, me and the puns today!]. I just wanted more because I loved the characters so much. I wanted to follow them into their happily ever after. I wanted more from their newly formed family.

Honestly, treat yourself to this little Christmas nugget. You’ll thank me for the hour you spent in the company of Her Christmas Pleasure…It’s the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the season.

Rating: 5/5 Still in awe of so much love in such a short package

*Book received from Carina Press via NetGalley for review…Thanks!*

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