Contemporary

REVIEW:  Rule of Three by Kelly Jamieson

REVIEW: Rule of Three by Kelly Jamieson

Dear Ms. Jamieson: I’ve kind of drifted away from menages but this book was free. I thought the dynamic of the three falling in love was really well done. My minus is that I really needed to see the other issues worked out – how would her family take it; what kinds of decisions would(…)

REVIEW:  Tangled by Emma Chase

REVIEW: Tangled by Emma Chase

Dear Ms. Chase: Tangled is narrated Drew, a horrible person. He says horrible things.  Thinks horrible things.  Half the time he comes off slut shaming and half the time he comes off misogynistic.  Yet, every time that I think he’s gone beyond the pale, I’m drawn back in.  At the end of the book I’m(…)

REVIEW:  Nameless by Claire Kent

REVIEW: Nameless by Claire Kent

Dear Ms. Kent: At first, I was a little distressed because the hero is a lawyer and the heroine is a legal assistant (not at the same firm, though). It’s fairly hard for me to get lost in the world of make believe when the characters are so familiar to me. However, there was not(…)

REVIEW:  Enamored by Shoshanna Evers

REVIEW: Enamored by Shoshanna Evers

Dear Ms. Evers: I think my expectations played a part in my dissatisfaction with this story.  I was expecting something a little more serious and perhaps dark and angsty; but instead the relationship between the two came off as more flippant. Marc Wilde and Mistress Lauren are very good friends. They play at the same(…)

REVIEW:  True by Erin McCarthy

REVIEW: True by Erin McCarthy

Note:  The comments are closed for this review. I’d direct you to the Dear Author Book Club pick for May for centralization of comments. Dear Ms. McCarthy: Rory  does one thing really well – school. Everything else, particularly the social scene and the interpersonal relationships with the opposite sex, she can’t quite grasp the nuances.(…)

REVIEW:  His Risk to Take by Tessa Bailey

REVIEW: His Risk to Take by Tessa Bailey

Dear Ms. Bailey: I enjoyed your debut book, Protecting What’s his, quite a bit and I was told that this novella would feature a hero cut from the same dirty talking clothe. They weren’t wrong, but this novella suffers from length related problems. Troy Bennett is a homicide cop for the NYPD, recently transferred from(…)

REVIEW:  Feel the Heat by Kate Meader

REVIEW: Feel the Heat by Kate Meader

Dear Ms. Meader: On the plus side, this is NOT a small town contemporary. Cue cheers. It’s an entirely serviceable story set in Chicago with a believable plot and likeable characters but for some reason I didn’t love it like I thought I would.  This is totally a case of “It’s not you, it’s me.”(…)

REVIEW:  Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

REVIEW: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Know When To Hold ’Em – Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie [Apologies in advance – my ebook for some reason came devoid of even pretend page numbers so I can’t reference in my usual half-arsed way] Bet Me represents my first foray into the world of contemporary romance. And I’m afraid you’ll have to forgive me(…)

REVIEW:  Down London Road by Samantha Young

REVIEW: Down London Road by Samantha Young

Dear Ms. Young: Last year’s On Dublin Street was one of my Top 10 picks of 2012, so I was most eager to read Down London Road. I’m delighted to say that I enjoyed it as much as I did On Dublin Street. Johanna Walker is a young, smart woman who has been handed a(…)

REVIEW:  By Design by Jayne Denker

REVIEW: By Design by Jayne Denker

Dear Ms. Denker: While told in the limited third person, this book read like a chick lit story reworked into a romance.  Emmie Brewster is a young interior decorator working in a small town under an overbearing boss with overblown and stifling tastes. As the story opens, Emmie is too timid to voice her ideas(…)

REVIEW:  Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

REVIEW: Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

  Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants. But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed. So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact(…)

REVIEW:  Stealing Home by Jennifer Seasons

REVIEW: Stealing Home by Jennifer Seasons

Dear Ms. Seasons: This is one book wherein I think the grade looks harsher than it really is but I had so many problems with this book, I felt like it was the best reflection of my interaction with the story.  Others may have had a much different experience. The story begins with Lorelei Littleton spying(…)

REVIEW:  Lover Undercover by Samanthe Beck

REVIEW: Lover Undercover by Samanthe Beck

Dear Ms. Beck: Part of this book was great. The other parts made me cringe and I used SHOUTY notes at points on the PDF review copy I received. BUT, I was engaged for most of the book which is more than I can say about some of the stories I’ve been reading. When her(…)

REVIEW:  Making Him Sweat by Meg Maguire

REVIEW: Making Him Sweat by Meg Maguire

Dear Ms. Maguire, I decided to read “Making Him Sweat” because I like to try new-to-me authors at Harlequin, I hadn’t read a Blaze book for a while, and I wanted to see if a book about boxers could hold my attention. I mean no insult to boxing but it’s not a sport I follow(…)

REVIEW:  Claimed By Him by Red Garnier

REVIEW: Claimed By Him by Red Garnier

Dear Ms. Garnier: I’ve been a fan of yours since “Satin Sash” for your ability to write emotionally charged love scenes and I’ve read everything you’ve written, although most of it has been shorter works including this one.  I still think you write great sex scenes but the actual falling in love and character arcs(…)