Dear Author » Boston

REVIEW: The Rebellion of Jane Clarke by Sally Gunning

Jayne — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:00:49 +0000

Dear Ms. Gunning,

You are getting quite the reputation for writing detailed, women-centric books about Colonial life in America. “The Rebellion of Jane Clarke” is the third book which centers on the people of the village of Satucket on the island of Cape Cod and it takes us ever closer to the point where Britain and her restless and unsettled colonies will come into conflict over their fate.

Jane Clarke has always been her father’s favorite which is why he’s probably so angry with her when she suddenly decides to closely question the man her father has all but picked for her husband. It’s not that Jane doesn’t like Phinnie Paine and she’s certainly aware that he’s probably the best catch she could hope for in this small community. But something makes her need to know where he stands on certain issues before she comes under his control after their marriage.

But Phinnie decides not to answer and instead quickly leaves the Clarke household. Refusing to write the apology to Phinnie her father demands of her, Jane is bundled off to look after an older, ailing aunt in Boston and discovers a town seething with thoughts of rebellion. Some colonists advocate a break with England – and will go to any lengths to instigate it – while others are horrified at the idea. When Jane witnesses a pivotal event which the would-be rebels attempt to use for their own purposes, she must decide how much she’s willing to do to see that her truth is known.

As with your other books, this one follows women of the time and how they dealt with and were dealt with by their men. A few had it good, such as Jane’s grandmother, but even she had only achieved a degree of power in her marriage the second time around. And Jane is a strong, thinking woman who would have frightened most men. She thinks for herself, reasons for herself, keeps up with what’s going on in Boston, asks uncomfortable questions and refuses to simply accept what men tell her. Not that she doesn’t make mistakes in her judgment but then she’s off the island for the first time in her life and suddenly surrounded by momentous events and people actively trying to sway her.

Jane is breaking free of restraints and control just as Boston is kicking over the traces. But she’s not some gung-ho rebel – she thinks about what’s going on and looks at all angles. She sees honor and injustice coming from both sides. Since we see things only from Jane’s POV and she’s still coming into her own, still firming her viewpoints, there are several issues and characters you keep us in the dark about. Jane’s run-ins with the various factions in Boston help her to begin to critically judge people and give her a perspective on Phinnie that she didn’t have while on Satucket.

Propaganda is a useful tool and has been for time immemorial. Jane learns first hand how it can be used, abused and manipulated to serve particular interests when she herself is involved in events which the rebels wish turn to their own advantage. This serves as yet another way to mature her in her judgment and actions. She begins as a very naive young woman who trusts that the truth can come out and be known then learns how hard it is to keep from becoming a pawn.

The time in Boston had to be such a freeing experience for Jane, even with the obligation she feels for her aunt. She’s out from under the control of her domineering father, hardly sees her brother and with her Aunt’s permission – for reasons of Aunt Gill’s own – Jane can move more freely than most young women of the time. Her choice to question her almost-fiance and halt the easy slip into the settlement of marriage took courage. Here it’s almost a done deal, arranged by the men in her life, when she decides she wants to know more about this man with whom everyone expects her to spend her life and who would assume control over her at that point. It would probably be a very unsettling thing for a man to come face to face with. Jane is not some biddable, compliant young woman, willing to accept what she’s told.

After she witnesses the “Boston Massacre,” Jane’s faced with the choice of speaking out or keeping silent. The tide is heavily against the British by then but Jane’s sense of honor won’t let her stand idly by. Her conscience demands she tell what she saw as truthfully as she can and by doing so, she remains true to the character you’ve given her. But as much as I enjoyed the ring side seat to events which I honestly have to admit that I haven’t studied much, I do wish there might have been a little more fire. Seeing both sides of a conflict is wonderful for getting a more unbiased view of it but does leave the passion that must have pervaded the times somewhat damped and lacking.

Jane’s time in Boston also shows her that maybe her father doesn’t know everything, that his judgment isn’t perfect, that what she once thought of as true might not be and that she can’t trust what anyone tells her as they all have their own agendas to push. She has to open her eyes, do even more thinking for herself and reach her own conclusions. She’s like Robinson Crusoe, cast ashore in Boston, and when she returns home, she isn’t and will never again be the same woman who left.

After just looking at a historical mystery wherein the lives of historical personages seemed to be totally reworked into deeds they never did, I appreciate the fact that when you insert actual people into your story, you take great care to use them correctly. Correct dress, correct actions, and correct language. And the truth is in this case as fascinating as any fiction could be.

Since it’s historical fiction and not historical romance, the book is mainly Jane’s path to knowledge of herself, her family and the political events of the times. There is some romance but it’s a long time in being realized and even at book’s end, it’s more open ended and a possibility than a fact.

It’s nice to see the historical detail just flow, almost effortlessly into the story. I never got the feeling that it’s being deliberately worked into the narrative or any awkward information dropping. No, “look what I found out and just have to include” moments. But what is with the cover of the hardback book? A dark haired woman in what is obviously Victorian dress and hairstyle instead of a blonde Colonial? I’ll just keep my eyes focused on the image of the harbor.

You write historical fiction from a woman’s POV which seems like it would limit how much you can get them into the action and still remain historically accurate. Yet I like to think that our foremothers were letting their thoughts be known to our forefathers even if the women weren’t front and center on the historical stage. The book is more about Jane and how the events and people around her shaped her instead of being focused on the events themselves. I would be curious to glance ahead into the future and see which side Jane supports once war breaks out. B-

~Jayne

REVIEW: Still Life with Murder by P.B. Ryan

Janine — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:00:33 +0000

Disclosure: Back in the days when pterodactyls soared across the skies (about a dozen years ago or so) I took a couple of eight week novel writing classes with Patricia Ryan. She was a wonderful teacher, and I learned a lot from those classes. Aside from those two courses, and a one day writing workshop she gave which I attended six years later, I’ve had almost no contact with her, which is why I feel I can review Still Life with Murder. I don’t think there’s much of a conflict of interest, otherwise I would not review the book, but I’m disclosing this connection so that readers can decide for themselves. — Janine

Dear Ms. Ryan,

I had greatly enjoyed your medieval romances, and hold fond memories of Heaven's Fire and Silken Threads especially, so when Still Life with Murder came out back in 2003 I snapped it up. I was glad to discover that your first foray into the mystery genre was a compelling page turner.

Recently, I heard from Keishon and Jane that you are selling both your Patricia Ryan medieval romances and your P.B. Ryan mysteries on Smashwords for a bargain price. At Jane’s request I dug up a post I wrote for a Yahoo group I belong to at the time I first read the book, and reconstituted that post into this review.

Still Life with Murder takes place in Massachusetts in the 1860s. The book opens in 1864 when its heroine, Nell Sweeney, is assisting Dr. Cyrus Greaves who has been called to deliver a housemaid’s child at a Cape Cod mansion that belongs to the wealthy Hewitt family. But there is trouble; the baby is lying transverse, and the doctor needs to perform a caesarian.

Soon after the operation is complete, it becomes apparent that Annie, the housemaid, doesn’t want the child. Her husband is away at war, and not the child’s father. Meanwhile, Viola Hewitt, the matriarch of the WASPy, Brahmin Hewitt family, has recently learned that the eldest two of her four sons, both Union soldiers, died in Andersonville of dysentery.

The grieving, wheelchair-bound Viola now wants to adopt the little baby girl Annie is determined to abandon, and after seeing Nell hold the baby lovingly in her arms, she offers Nell the position of little baby Grace’s governess. Nell, who is Irish, has just enough education to be a nursery governess. She’ll have eight years to learn what she needs to know to become a preparatory governess, Viola insists. Nell tries to tell Viola that she may be harboring illusions about Nell, but Viola replies that “Gentlewomen have no monopoly on virtue.”

Nell is thrilled not just at the opportunity to better her circumstances, but even more at the chance to have a baby to hold and love and raise almost as her own. It is something she thought could never happen, so she eagerly accepts the position with the Hewitts.

Four years pass, and in 1868 the Civil War is over and the Gilded Age is in full swing in Boston. Grace is now three and a half and known as Gracie, and Nell loves her dearly. She would do nothing to jeopardize her position as the Hewitts’ governess; nothing that is, until Viola Hewitt’s oldest son, one of the two Viola believed had died in Andersonville, turns out to be alive and in prison for a murder Viola is convinced he could not have committed.

August Hewitt, the patriarch of the family, is furious at William Hewitt for not telling his family he was alive for four whole years. He refuses to aid his son and is willing for him to hang. Therefore Viola has to go behind her husband’s back, and the only one she can turn to is Nell. And Nell suddenly finds herself thrust back into the world of thieves, prostitutes and cardsharps, a world with which she was once all-too-familiar. Now she must hide that familiarity so as not to lose her position with the Hewitts and along with it, Gracie.

This recap covers only the beginning of this rich, well-crafted mystery. I sometimes find mysteries too cerebral and not as emotionally involving as I would like them to be, but reading this book I wasn’t bored for a minute, because at the same time Nell is investigating clues, she is also learning more about what kind of men William Hewitt and Detective Colin Cook of the police department are, while they (and the reader along with them) are learning more about Nell and her past. Since this is the first in a six book series, not everything about Nell’s past is revealed, but the reader's appetite for more is whetted.

The attraction between Nell and Will, a doctor who became addicted to opium after it was medically administered to him in Andersonville, is palpable. But there are many barriers in the way of their association, not least of which are that to remain Gracie’s governess, Nell has to keep her reputation spotless, and that her employers prefer that she not marry.

While there is a lot of character and relationship development in this novel, I would have liked a bit more, because I enjoyed what I learned about Nell and Will very much. Nell is a true survivor, someone with a lot of strength and determination. These qualities allow her to get to the bottom of the truth as well as to surmount numerous obstacles. Will is perhaps more vulnerable, but like Nell, he has endured a lot in his life. If the two of them are scarred by their pasts, neither one wears it on his or her sleeve nor complains about it.

I liked the wealth of details about Boston in the 1860s, and found the description of the opium dens particularly fascinating. Although I don't know much about the setting, the book felt authentic to me.

Some of my friends refrain from reading mysteries for fear of violence and gore, so I want to assure readers that in this book, only a few details are given about the corpse, and these are not gratituous — that is, they are strictly there to identify clues like whether there was a struggle, whether the dead man was still alive when so-and-so saw something, etc.

Still Life with Murder was thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing. Many of the historical romances published when I read this book, back in 2003, were lighter in tone and set in England, so although this was a mystery rather than a romance, the difference from my usual reading was welcome. I suspect the book would hold up well and be just as entertaining today. A- for Still Life with Murder.

Sincerely,

Janine Ballard

Book Link | Kindle| Smashwords

| Amazon

REVIEW: The Billionaire Next Door by Jessica Bird

Janine — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:00:37 +0000

Dear Ms. Bird,

After eyeing it all year last year, I finally decided to sign up for Keishon’s TBR Challenge. I figured it would motivate me to dig up some of the older books that have piled up around my house which I have been ignoring in favor of the new and shiny.

Keishon’s assignment for January was category romances. I must admit that though I did have a few in my to-be-read pile, I don’t read many categories. I tend to prefer longer books. But your 2007 book, The Billionaire Next Door, has been in my TBR pile and I’ve wanted to read it for a while. This challenge was my golden opportunity.

Sean O’Banyon specializes in corporate mergers and acquisitions. Although he is now a Manhattan billionaire, pursued by women and sought after by deal-makers, Sean was once an abused child from Southie, Boston. When Sean’s once-abusive father dies, Sean, who hasn’t spoken to his father in years, travels to Boston to collect his father’s remains and get the duplex in which his father lives ready to sell.

It is in Boston that Sean encounters Lizzie Bond. Lizzie is the nurse who lives in the other apartment in the duplex, and was a friend of Sean’s father. Since Sean’s father kicked his drinking habit some time after Sean left the house and before Lizzie moved in next door, Sean and Lizzie each view the deceased Eddie O’Banyon very differently.

Though at first Sean suspects Lizzie of having tried to get her hands on his father’s money, he can’t help but be attracted to her warmth and kindness. And while Lizzie tells herself that Sean is just passing through and she is the long-term relationship type, she finds it hard to resist his good looks, his charm and his obvious vulnerability.

Then Lizzie loses her job. Before too long Sean and Lizzie are spending more and more time in each other’s company. But Sean, who cherishes being appreciated for who he is rather than for the fortune he has banked, doesn’t tell Lizzie about his true career, nor does he tell her much about his childhood. He is afraid to trust Lizzie fully, and Lizzie knows he’s holding back. Will they be able to overcome the obstacles of Sean’s present and his past?

Sean reminded me a bit of some of your heroes from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, in that for all his external power, he could be very vulnerable at times. His memories of his father’s abuse reduced him to a child whenever he entered the apartment he had lived in as a boy.

He had also exhausted himself with work, and it was good to see him relax a little with Lizzie’s help. One of my favorite scenes in the book was one in which Sean and Lizzie “play hooky” and bask in the joys of a beautiful day. It was very satisfying to see Sean learn to relax and savor the simple things that can make life joyous.

I was a bit less enamored of Lizzie than I was of Sean. She was so sweet, caring and self-sacrificing that it was hard not to feel that she was more saint than human. I appreciated that she stood up for herself in the relationship, and I didn’t dislike her, but the way she was so patient with Sean, and never pushed him to reveal what happened in his childhood, even though she could see signs that something was wrong with the O’Banyon family, did not seem realistic to me.

On one level, The Billionaire Next Door is a classic Cinderella story, in which the sweet, hardworking and impoverished heroine gets her prince. But on another level it is also a story about two people who had completely different experiences of the same man. To Sean, his father was a monster, while to Lizzie, Eddie O’Banyon was someone who looked out for her and worried for her as she worried for him.

While I liked that Lizzie and Sean viewed Sean’s father through different lenses, there were times when I felt that the contrast between the way Sean saw his father and the way Lizzie saw him was too great. Sean seemed to have no good memories of his dad whatsoever, not even from the time before his mother died and his father began drinking. Lizzie did not see even a glimmer of her neighbor’s abusive streak.

Still, I loved that Eddie O’Banyon remained partly cloaked in mystery, even at the end of the book. He was an enigma even to those who had known him best, a loner whose innermost thoughts and feelings were never expressed. The dead take their regrets to their grave, and the living can’t always know what drove them. That was very much the case here, and it made the book more lifelike and real as well as more poignant.

One of the scenes late in the book, in which Lizzie learns about what Sean suffers and they talk about it, made me cry. You made me care very much about Sean and his brothers, and I hope very much that Billy and Mac’s books are forthcoming, since I would definitely read them. As for The Billionaire Next Door, I enjoyed it and do recommend it to our readers. B.

Sincerely,

Janine

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.

REVIEW: Bound by Sally Gunning

Jayne — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:00:04 +0000

Dear Mrs Gunning,

A friend of mine told me about your first book in this series. Raved about it in fact. And I had put it down on my TBB list but just never got around to making the purchase. When Jane sent me the arc for “Bound,” I got all excited and told myself that this one would be a book I was definitely going to try.

I love how you unobtrusively slipped in the everyday details of life in mid 18th century America. From producing cloth to sailing to Cape Cod to disseminating information in a world with no Internet nor 24 hour TV newscasters. I learned a great deal about indentured servitude, politics, how important religion still was in the Massachusetts colony and the many varied ways that women could be screwed over by men and the system. Literally. It’s almost enough to make a modern girl weep.

Alice Cole has only the vaguest memories of London, nightmares about the passage to America which cost the lives of her mother and two brothers, and dreams about the life she would like to have with her father in Philadelphia. But financial realities determine that he has her bound in order to pay her passage. At age seven she begins eleven years of service of which only eight had been completed before the daughter of the house marries. Alice is sent with Abigail to her new home to finish her contract and almost immediately discovers how helpless she is in the face of the sexual abuse her new master casually inflicts on her.

When she realizes she’ll get no help from Abigail, she flees. When she finds no assistance from her former master, she runs even farther. A chance encounter near the docks of Boston determine her fate as she stows away on a ship headed back to Cape Cod. And at this point in her life, finally luck throws her a few crumbs.

Lyddie Berry is a woman who knows how hard life can be on a woman. And she senses that regardless of what Alice will admit to, life has knocked her around too. Lyddie’s boarder is less ready to trust the young woman and gives Alice all the rope needed to hang herself. But after a while, even Eben Freeman admits that Alice is a hard worker, trustworthy in all things except her mysterious past and not one to shirk a task. But how far will these two be willing go to help when Alice’s past finally catches up with her?

Alice is bound to her master as America was bound to England. Eben Freeman sues for Alice’s freedom from the laws binding her “with cause.” It ends up costing her to gain her freedom from the oppression of Verley even though she was the injured party just as it will ultimately end up costing America to gain its freedom from England. Just as I learned much about indentured servants, I discovered I still have some things to learn about American history namely about James Otis and how he helped spark the cause of liberty in Boston. As I finished the book I wondered if Alice’s mother and brothers hadn’t died, would she and her father have separated into servitude? As well, if James Otis hadn’t fanned the flames of rebellion would we have ventured down the road to independence from England when we did?

I was frankly astounded that Alice can’t speak in her own defense during either trial. Clearly I have a lot to learn about trial law in the 18th century. I wasn’t as surprised to learn that she’s subjected to men no matter where she turns – her first master turns her over to Verley who abuses her then when she runs, Verley can place ad to get her back. She must suffer the loss of her reputation due to what was done to her yet is still dependent on a male lawyer to argue for her and an all male jury to judge her. All of this reinforces what Widow Berry has already learned, that a woman’s independence is a hard won thing and not to be taken lightly. I can see the fact that Alice is still too young to realize how important that is and why Lyddie refuses to remarry.

The book is sparse in dialogue. These aren’t intellectuals who debate for fun nor hold salons. They’re hardworking people who can’t afford the luxury of endless chatter. Life is hard and you must work non stop in order to provide for you and yours. The descriptions of Cape Cod are wonderful: the land, the sea, the seasons, the flow of life there. We see neighbors pulling together (at the watermelon frolic) and sitting in judgment on each other (during trial). Church is still important and Alice is shocked when Lyddie not only doesn’t go to meeting but actually works on the Sabbath.

One question I’m still working out is why does Alice make the choice she does at book’s end? I can see why she denies her pregnancy both to herself (if I deny it, it doesn’t exist) and Widow Berry and Freeman (if I deny it, I can stay in place of safety for that much longer). But Widow has put up money and Freeman has given of his time to remove her from Verley. I suppose she’s looking to start fresh, away from the lies and judgments she left in Cape Cod.

I’m glad to have had a chance to try your work and have already purchased an ebook copy of “The Widow’s War” (love the instant gratification of ebooks!). After a trip to your website, I’m happy to see that you have further plans for novels set in this world and eagerly await them. B for “Bound.”

~Jayne

Available as a hardcover Amazon and at Powells or ebook

REVIEW: Dress Rehearsal by Jennifer O’Connell

Jayne — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:00:10 +0000

Dear Mrs O’Connell,

I’m still not sure what made me pick up your book in Waldenbooks and decide to try it. I can’t remember if it was turned out on the shelf or if it was just a lucky grab but I enjoyed reading it despite a few problems. I also intend to recommend it to a friend of mine who’s a born and raised Boston girl as it’s as much a novel about that city as it is American Chick Lit.

As much as I liked the standard Chick Lit plot which calls for the heroine to have some throw away job from which she can easily call in sick as the story demands, I’m glad to see that more and more authors are giving their heroines responsible careers. As the owner of a wedding cake boutique, Lauren’s got one of the best I’ve read about lately. Oh, what yummy cakes you described. I got hungry and bewailed my current diet while reading about the scrumptious cakes and fillings and toppings turned out by Lauren’s staff.

As for Lauren herself, I felt like she needed to get back in the kitchen and baking again even before she finally realized it herself. Her whole conviction that when her former boyfriend Neil came into her boutique to order his wedding cake with his fiancee, he was somehow coming back to her romantically was bordering on lunatic. Her powers of self-delusion were amazing. Not one time did he ever make any attempt to get her back in his life and yet she just goes on and on about how her choice is now between Neil and her new love interest Charlie. Scuze me but WTF was she smoking?

Lauren’s best friend Robin the divorcee was totally out of control. I’m surprised her ex hadn’t gotten a restraining order on her. I totally agree with Jeremy that she needed to examine what she was doing and that her friends weren’t doing her any favors by allowing her to continue harassing her ex-husband. Or maybe not allowing but certainly they should have toned her down. Way down.

Though Paige comes across as the most sane member of the trio I had my moments of doubt about her — is she really going to believe a theory about how couples act when picking out a wedding cake being a predictor of marital success? I’m glad this turned out not to be the case and agree with her choice to not fill Lauren and Robin in on her love life. And Marie might be a fantastic pastry chef but I wouldn’t want to work with her.

On the positive side, at least by the end of the book, it truly seemed that all three women were moving on with their lives, had learned some valuable lessons and weren’t stuck in their ruts anymore.

Boston — wow, the book is a wonderful travelogue for the city and it’s obvious you live there and love it. I enjoyed how you worked all this in without it becoming a “Tourist’s Guide to Beantown.” Well done. I also liked your writing style and humor even if I didn’t always care for what you made your characters do in the story.

So while this one is going to get a mixed grade (C for the characters’ actions and B for what I’ve mentioned I liked), I will be looking for your future books.

~Jayne

Dress Rehearsal is available at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble if you are boycotting Amazon.

REVIEW: Billionaire Next Door by Jessica Bird

Jane — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:00:22 +0000

Dear Ms. Bird:

One thing that seems a lost art in the new crop of romances is its failure to focus on the development of the actual relationship. Romance, at its best, is character driven with the central plot being the intersecting of two individuals to mesh into one stronger, better unit. A great category novel does this better than any book out there because the focus is solely on the relationship and nothing else. But category novels are so plentiful and the quality so varied that you never know whether you will be getting a rare orchid or common weed.

In this book, I had some trepidation but the quality of the story, the focus on the two individuals reminded me of what makes romance so great.

Sean O’Banyon is a self made billionaire. He put himself through college at Harvard, then an MBA, to become one of the top financiers in New York. Unfortunately, being rich generally means being a target. Women generally only want him for the prestige or the money so he’s made a practice of requiring all the women he dates go dutch. It scares off the gold diggers and saves himself personal hurt but it also prevents emotional attachments.

There are definitely genre cliches in this book but what makes it so brilliant is that the story transcends the cliches or perhaps shows why the cliches are so appealing. Sean O’Banyon might be made of money but inside he’s terrorized by his childhood. You show how vulnerable he is which makes his knee jerk reactions palatable. He’s not healthy emotionally and thus his intimate interactions will be unhealthy as well.

Elizabeth Bond, on the other hand, while low in funds is rich in friends and spirit. Lizzie is a nurse and works more than one job to help care for her mother who is needs financial assistance from time to time. Lizzie rented one half of Eddie O’Banyon’s duplex and in the past two years became close to them with Eddie serving as a kind of surrogate father. When he dies, Lizzie calls the contact number in Eddie’s papers which happens to be Sean, his son. Only Sean has different memories of Eddie and his emotional unrest reaches out to Lizzie. The two begin to forge a relationship but Sean’s unhealthy distrust of females, his fear of intimacy, his fears overall, cause him to sabotage their budding love affair. Lizzie, however, is no doormat. She doesn’t hesitate to show him the door.

It is Lizzie’s emotional state that allows her a position of power within the relationship. She makes Sean work for everything and doesn’t hesitate to send him packing when he can’t treat her right. This isn’t to say that she doesn’t long for him, but she doesn’t rely on him to make her a better person.

When I first read this book, I thought it was a keeper but in a second perusal, I felt that the tone was too flat. There is very little movement in the mood which sometimes feels oppressive. There is also the non stop use of brand names from the clothes, to the cars, to the restaurants. At one point, Lizzie and Sean are having a picnic and Sean reaches into the “Deluca's paper bag and took out a Poland Spring bottle.” Poland Spring? Is it really important I know the type of water that they are drinking? Regardless, this is still a very good book which focuses on the development of the relationship and had an unexpected twist to the happy ever after ending. B.

Best regards

Jane

This book can be purchased in eform from Harlequin or mass market from Amazon.com.

REVIEW: The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer

Jayne — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:00:53 +0000

Dear Mrs Strohmeyer,

I loved The Cinderella Pact and was delighted when Jane mailed a review copy of your new hardback, The Sleeping Beauty Proposal. I found it enjoyable and funny but not quite as good as the first book.

At 36, Genie Michaels is beginning to feel that she has hit the snooze button on her life one too many times. When her “commitment-phobic” boyfriend Hugh proposes on national TV–not to Genie, but to an unknown mystery woman–Genie’s wise-cracking friend Patty doesn’t hesitate to give her some tough love: “You remind me of that idiot Sleeping Beauty, lying around like a zombie waiting for your prince. Well, guess what, he rode right past your castle and now you have a choice –you can either go back to bed or you can wake up!”

Genie chooses to wake up. After some questionable advice, her first step is to allow everyone to believe she’s Hugh’s real fiance. She’ll let him be the one to explain the mistake. Naturally the good news travels fast and, in a heartbeat, Genie’s parents are booking a reception hall while friends are showering her with gifts. Genie feels bad about the deception, but at last everyone is dancing to her tune, and she can’t help but enjoy it. Particularly when a certain too-handsome-for-his-own-good Greek carpenter shows up on the scene thinking he’s hotter than Tabasco.

Genie realizes that she never needed a man to start her life — to buy a home, to get a better job, or even to wear a diamond ring. And if Prince Charming wants to show up while she’s at it, she just might teach him a thing or two.

At first glance the plot seems a bit ridiculous: 36 year old woman fakes engagement to long term boyfriend to prove a point and snag some loot. But underneath that is a story about a woman who’s been on cruise control for a lot of her adult life who finally decides to take charge, be her own woman, oh and snag some goodies. Why should we singles and non-parents have to miss out on all the gift showers? We need just as much help getting our kitchens set up, our beds spread and our lives in order. I love your idea of a “welcome to the world” party for new graduates. I do agree with unfairness of Genie’s parents spending so much on her married younger sister’s house and to finance her older brother’s business but not spending any on her. After worrying about how much money her parents might be spending on the bogus wedding, I thought you took care of the problem very neatly.

I have to say that I wish Nick had just been a carpenter. What’s wrong with that? Why does he have to turn out to be what he turns out to be? Give me a man who can fix a busted water pipe and do home repairs over some snot in a business suit. Hugh is sort of a two dimensional cipher. I did love seeing Genie at her admissions counseling job but after reading all the latest reports on how hard it is to get into a top college (or just about any college for that matter) these days, I’d hate to have it.

I think readers who liked “Cinderella” will enjoy this one. It’s funny but not as quite as funny as “The Cinderella Pact.” I’m glad to see that once again the heroine learns to love herself for who she is before she finds her Prince Charming. B

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in hardcover. No ebook format.

REVIEW: All or Nothing by Claire Cross

Jane — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 22:00:03 +0000

Dear Ms. Cross:

I read this one against my will. I had started your last book, One More Time but then stopped after the first three chapters which featured a lawyer basically throwing a case because he believed his client was guilty. When I received All or Nothing, I was sure I didn’t want to read it but I read the back blurb

Jen Maitland never had any use for handsome guys with easy charm until she met Zach. He’s the perfect fake date to end her mother’s matchmaking scheme before it starts. The only problem is that Zach isn’t as predictable as he appears…

Zach Coxwell hates commitment, but loves a challenge. Like the pretty bar waitress who turned him down flat for a date-only to invite him to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Zach knows he can make Jen smile, and he’s betting that he can unravel her mysteries.

I thought I would give it a try and read just the first chapter. The first chapter turned into three or more and I found myself lugging the book around the house and reading it covertly in my office.

Jen Maitland is a young woman who also happens to be a breast cancer survivor. While the cancer is gone, the taint of still hovers over Jean. She can’t make places for the future because she is afraid that there will be no future. Having lost a breast and a fiance, Jen hides behind a day to day routine, refusing to engage in any activity that may require long term commitment. Jen’s family loves her dearly and believes she just needs a little push to get started.

Jen is conned into getting a date for Thanksgiving by her matchmaking mama. Cin, Jen’s sister, and she cook up a plan for Jen to find the most repulsive man possible to present to her family: to wit, rich, ambitious, and carnivorous.

Zach Cowell is lunching at the restaurant where Jen waits tables. She overhears his friends call him a trust fund baby and thinks Zach is the perfect solution to her mother’s pressure. Zach, however, is not all that he seems. He is the black sheep of his wealthy family and, unfortunately, such a gentleman that all Jen’s plans go awry when her family begins to fall for him.

Zach, believing his past recklessness to be the cause of his father’s suicide, is at a crossroads in his life. He hasn’t done much in the past and he is not sure of what to do in the future, but the more time he spends with Jen, the more he sees that he can be a better person. He is happy to play along with the fake engagement as he sees it as a way to keep Jen close to him. He wants the fake engagement to grow into something more permanent. Jen’s a bit resistant. She has set in her mind that Zach, if not a pretend boyfriend, is just a fling.

There’s a great scene in the book where Zach and Jen tell some painful truths to each other but come out with a realization of the hangups that keep them from growing. It is easy to see that Jen and Zach make a better unit together than individually, that each one’s strengths complement the other’s weakness.

There are flaws, of course. The setup is a bit contrived. I.e., simply because you bring home a dog to your cat loving mom doesn’t mean she isn’t still going to try to get you to set up house with a cat. Zach’s estrangement from his family went on for at least a year and then was suddenly resolved. The biggest problem was the length of the book and the inclusion of unnecessary scenes which hampered the pacing. But, this story about recovery, growth and love was touching and I enjoyed the time I spent reading it. B

Best regards,

Jane

REVIEW: Take Me Tonight by Roxanne St. Claire

Jane — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:00:54 +0000

Dear Ms. St. Claire:

I availed myself of the Simon & Schuster early ebook release program and snagged the ebook version of Take Me Tonight (Bullet Catchers, No 3) a few weeks ago. This week, the print version makes its way into bookstores. I had enjoyed the previous Bulletcatcher books. Unfortunately this novel required one to make an incredible suspension of disbelief. I tried to make that leap but ended up falling into a crater of implausibility that was too large for me to escape.

Sage Valentine is an investigative reporter whose best friend and roommate supposedly committed suicide after a fantasy kidnapping/sex experience run by Take Me Tonight. Keisha was a member of the Blizzards dance team and as part of a bonding experience, all the dance members have to be kidnapped and then rescued. This is all orchestrated by a company called Take Me Tonight. As part of the package, the participant who gets rescued can have sex with the rescuer. Or not.

Sage is convinced that Keisha did not kill herself and tries to investigate Take Me Tonight. Despite her vaunted investigative reporting skills, Sage gets nowhere and she seeks help from her Aunt Lucy Sharpe who runs the vaunted Bullet Catchers, a security and bodyguard firm. Lucy checks out Take Me Tonight and swears to Sage that it is legit. Sage won’t give it up. Knowing this, Lucy sends out her most faithful employee, Johnny Christiano, to pretend to be a rescuer/prostitute from Take Me Tonight so that Sage doesn’t run into any harm. Lucy saved Johnny from the mob and he’ll do anything for her except keep his hands off her niece. While Sage is concerned about Johnny’s status as a, well, john, he’s too irresistible for her.

Sage is supposed to be a great investigative reporter but the skills shown were weak. For example, Sage wants to interview the dance team, but stonewalled by Glenda, the woman in charge of the dance team. When Sage does get the chance to asks questions, she clearly veers into dangerous waters in front of Glenda which puts her access to the team in jeopardy. Why Sage just didn’t seek out the dancers during their off time was never explained, even after the point was made that these women had other jobs and time which Glenda did not control. Another example was that Sage has some suspicions about Johnny’s background but when confronted with some evidence which could reveal truths, Sage just ignores it. I was never convinced that Sage had any skill in being an investigative reporter.

Johnny’s character seemed very flat. You tried to make him more dimensional by giving him great cooking talent, but I never felt like that added anything to the story. I.e., what did his great cooking talent have anything to do with his mob past, his current bodyguarding or the plotline of the story?

Much of Take Me Tonight rests on the suspense of the dancers being subject to this kidnapping plus sex routine. Without detailing the plot behind it and thus spoiling it for the readers, the purpose of the kidnapping was transparent. Further, the success of such a plot rested on the silence of all the Blizzard members. I simply could not believe that not one dancer would take this opportunity to grab her fifteen minutes of fame by exposing such an operation.

Overall, I thought the story was unbelievable, flat, and lacking in the heat that was a strength in the previous two stories in this series. While it does have action and the requisite rescuer hero which appeals to many a reader, this one failed to engage. C-.

Best regards,

Jane

REVIEW: An Affair of Honor by Pamela Cummings

Jayne — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:00:24 +0000

Dear Mrs. Cummings,

I read your novel “My Rebel Belle” (TBH, I still cringe at that title) and quickly bought the rest of your published books. I had a feeling that “An Affair of Honor” might tie in with it and indeed it does, telling the story of the US Civil War from the Northern perspective. Since most books which use this setting take place in the South, I was curious to see if this Southern girl would enjoy this book as much as your first.

Colonel Raleigh Gilmore has no idea why he’s been summoned to meet with CSA President Jefferson Davis in early 1864. When he learns the reason, he’s stunned. Davis wants him to travel to Boston, MA and instigate something which will bring England into the War on the side of the Confederacy. The tides of the war are turning and without outside help, the chances of a Southern victory grow dimmer by the day. With only the names of two operatives already in the city and a fierce sense of honor to complete the duty to which he’s been assigned, Raleigh heads via gunrunner from Bermuda to NYC to Boston.

Lydia Appleton despairs of finding a man willing to work for her as a clerk in her family’s shipping business. With the death of her father, more of the work is falling on her shoulders and despite most of upperclass Boston being scandalized by her actions, she’s determined to keep doing it. Several of the contracts the company has are for the Army and Lydia knows how important it is to deliver the supplies needed to keep the Army fighting to restore the Union.

Raleigh is at first horrified by the thought of working for a woman but quickly realizes it’s a golden opportunity to discover a way to perpetrate an action so outrageous that the English will be forced to enter the war. What neither he nor Lydia count on is falling in love. But Raleigh can’t imagine long term happiness with a woman who acts so unwomanly and besides his honor demands that he not lead her on when there is no hope of a future for them.

When I started this book I didn’t know how you would manage to get a Southern hero into Boston, explain his presence well enough to keep him from being arrested as a spy, come up with a believable plot and still include a romance. I should have remembered how well you did the reverse in “My Rebel Belle.” As in that book, the characters act like 19th century people. Honor and duty aren’t just words but codes to live by. A gentleman does not compromise a woman even if he realizes she wants him as badly as he wants her. And once he has given his word, he must honor it.

Readers looking for a period detailed look at the US Civil War that is different from the usual Northern officer hero meets feisty Southern spitfire might want to check out your stories. I’m glad I have.

~Jayne

REVIEW: Dirty Little Lies by Julie Leto

Jane — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 09:00:51 +0000

Dear Ms. Leto

It was been debated whether you write to the market or write what is in your heart. I have always voted that I want writers to write what is in their hearts because it makes for a better read. Your heart, shows through in this story and the first one in the series: Dirty Little Secrets. You make the Latino life so colorful, so passionate that I want to be part of it (you do say in your story that Latino is a culture not a race).

The members of Titan Int’l, a security corporation, are hired to oversee security at a fundraising event. During the event, Congressman Bennett is shot and would have been killed had Marisela Morales not distracted the assassin. The assassin is carrying out a revenge hit for a murder that Bennett seems to have committed but gotten away with. After the shooting, Titan is hired by the Senator’s wife to stop the assassin.

Marisela Morales is a former street gang member. This is no Stephanie Plum who leaves her gun in the cookie jar. No, Marisela Morales fought her way out of the gang and pulled herself into a better life. Part of this is owed to Titan who employs Marisela. Titan is run by twins Brynn and Ian and employs various individuals including enigmatic Max who seems to get sexier with each word he does not say. Brynn, by virtue of being born first, is really the leader of Titan. But before Brynn came stateside to throw her weight around, Ian was in charge. Ian and Marisela have been dancing a tentative and flirtatious tango that hasn’t really gotten past the intro steps.

Ian isn’t the only man in Marisela’s life. Frankie, with whom Marisela ran with on the streets and to whom she lost her virginity, is her current partner at Titan. Marisela isn’t sure that Frankie is her future. She also isn’t sure that he is her Right Now but it’s hard to resist the moves that Frankie puts on her.

The plot moves quickly and the action scenes are well executed. I appreciated that you dealt with some deeper issues such as the rightness of revenge killings and Marisela’s own questionable morality. The assassin is a fully fleshed out character and I couldn’t help but sympathize with her, just as you wanted me to. I also liked how the women play such strong roles in this story from Marisela to Brynn to the assassin. I loved the Spanish phrases used as endearments and come ons and in sexual play. It really made for a fully developed experience.

While this story is focused on Marisela, we do get glimpses from Frankie and, on rare occasions, Ian. Max is a true mystery man which makes him all the more tantalizing to the reader. I am not a big fan of the multiple partner offerings, but it works for me because neither man to whom Marisela is attracted is perfect for her. That makes it believable for me that she would be uncertain of her own feelings.

In all, this is a great action read with steaming hot scenes and wonderful promise for the future. The characters are smoking hot (think Ranger but speaking Spanish). Your voice is fresh and modern in this book. I heard that if this doesn’t sell well that you may not be able to provide us readers with more episodes in the Marisela series. That would be a crying shame. B for you.

Best regards,

Jane

Note to Jolie and Bookseller Chick: I need you to start handselling these books so the series goes on. For those readers who want an immediate fix, Simonsays sells Dirty Little Lies as an ebook for under $3.89!!!