Flying

I am a Megan Hart fangirl.  I love how she takes the concept of "women's fiction," blends in romance and erotica, and spits out a product that is distinctly her own.  I have loved many of her books. I have squee'd from the mountaintops about many of her books.  So reading a new Hart story is always something I look forward to, something to savor.  Her latest novel, Flying is, sadly, the first of her books that really hasn't worked well for me.

Stella's ex-husband is the CEO of an airline and as part of the divorce settlement she flies for free.  Her son now a teenager, she spends some of her weekends "flying" - code for hopping on a short commuter flight to a nearby city and picking up a stranger to have anonymous sex with.  Sometimes she meets these guys on the plane, sometimes in an airport bar.

That's pretty much the entire gist of the plot.  Things move slowly, with Hart giving readers a good long look at Stella's character, although her motivations behind her "flying" remain too shadowy for me to get a real grasp on her psyche.  Eventually what happens is that Stella meets "the one" and they begin a complicated relationship - complicated because he has baggage and lives in a city hundreds of miles away.

Hart has that ability to create wounded characters and make you bleed for them.  I did get that with Stella, most of it revolving around her relationship with her son, but she remains too distant for me to care deeply for her one way or another.  The other big issue is the ending.  While I have a hard time slapping a traditional "romance" label on Hart, she does write "happy" ending - albeit not always in the traditional sense.  They're "happy endings" in the respect that I always feel like her characters are in a better place at the end of the story than they were at the beginning.

That's the sticking point here: I don't think Stella is in a "better place" at the end of this story.  I think she's settling.  I think she's spending time with someone who will never be able to, for a variety of reasons, put her first in anything.  I think Stella, while putting up a bit of a fuss, will ultimately find herself having to compromise over and over again without her "partner" meeting her halfway.  There's not enough in the final chapters to convince me otherwise.  Yeah, he makes somewhat of a gesture towards halfway, but there's not enough of his blood on the page to make me feel good about the direction Stella's personal life is headed.  I just see a lot of hassle in her future, and certainly while hassle is a part of "real life?"  She should have a partner who will carry his own weight, and this guy?  Not seeing it.  Sorry.  I'm just not.

If you've never read Hart before and have been curious to try her, this is not the book I would recommend you start with.  If you're already a Hart fangirl, I do think this story is worth reading on some levels, certainly for the mother/son dynamic alone.  The trademark gut-punching angst is still there, just not the payoff I've come to expect.

Final Grade = C

The Return of Mrs. Jones

Category romance is the one area of my reading life where I'll happily take chances on new authors without doing a lot of background research.  Chalk it up to the lower price point and shorter words counts.  It's easier to "take a chance" on a new-to-author if you're only spending around 200 pages with them.  The reason behind my picking up The Return of Mrs. Jones, Jessica Gilmore's debut novel was really two-fold: 1) one of my very favorite authors, Jessica Hart, endorsed this book and 2) it has a very intriguing reunion theme.  It's hard for Wendy to say no to reunion themes.

Lawrie and Jonas Jones married young - she an 18-year-old with white collar ambitions, he a 20-year-old surfer bum looking to prove Mommy and Daddy wrong.  It was a romance that burned fast and hot, ultimately running out of fuel as Lawrie's ambitions and Jonas' unwillingness to compromise led them to divorce.  Now Lawrie is back in their tiny Cornish town, her looking for a place to lick her wounds after her career implodes.  It's not exactly where she thought she'd be at 30.

Jonas has made something of himself.  He took his surfer dude lifestyle, parlayed it into a successful cafe business, and bought out his parents in the family's hotel business.  Jonas has a booming business, but he never emotionally moved on after Lawrie left - and now she's back in town.  Then circumstances arise that lead to Lawrie and Jonas working together, which naturally means a chance to reconnect and capture some of their old magic.  But Lawrie has plans - plans that once again include leaving the seaside village and Jonas behind.

Reunion themes, especially ones involving imploded marriages, are very tricky things to navigate.  With the added challenge of the shorter category word count, the author had her work cut out for her.  But it really works here, mostly because what drove Lawrie and Jonas apart are things that could easily be "dealt with" thanks to their added years and maturity.  They were really young when they got married, and as they "grew up," they grew apart.  Lawrie envisioned her life one way, Jonas another - and being as young as they were, with the baggage that they have, fighting to stay together was a tall order.

It's believable conflict, especially when you have two characters that come from splintered backgrounds.  Jonas with his distant and disapproving parents, Lawrie essentially abandoned by her mother.  This leads to Jonas' unflinching drive to succeed at all costs, while throwing compromise out the window and Lawrie's ambitions for safety, security and always having "a plan."

The story resolves itself fairly well.  Both characters "grow up," and unlike the old days, are willing to compromise to make their relationship work.  A solid debut, a new category writer to watch.  A nice story I zipped through while enjoying my own holiday.

Final Grade = B

Unwed And Unrepentant

We've all read historical romances where the characters behave in a manner that does not feel true to the time period.  It is the rarer historical where the author gives us an "ahead of their time" character and actually is able to pull it off.  That is what Marguerite Kaye has done with Unwed and Unrepentant, the final book in her Armstrong Sisters series.  Youngest sister Cordelia has been a shadowy figure in the last couple of entries, having run away from home to presumably elope.  She's seen what trying to please her diplomat father has done to her older sisters and she wants no part of it.  Well, now it's ten years later and the wayward daughter has come home to England - with the hopes of reuniting with her family.  The only thing standing in her way?  Daddy, of course.

Cordelia has already been in contact with two sisters, but there's an elderly aunt, two other sisters, and several half-siblings that Lord Armstrong could bar Cordelia from contacting.  So she shows up at her father's house to plead her case, such as it is.  The problem is that her father expects Cordelia to wring her hands, beg for forgiveness and be repentant.  And our girl?  Yeah, repentant isn't in her vocabulary.  Frankly, she has nothing to repent for.  She never did marry (scandalous!), but made her own money and her own way in the world.  She doesn't need Daddy for anything other than to have access to some of her family members, and that sticks in his craw something fierce.  So he tries to bring her to heel by blackmailing her.  Marry ship-builder Iain Hunter and he'll let her see her family.  What Daddy doesn't know?  Cordelia and Iain have met before and had a one-night stand.

Iain has business with Lord Armstrong.  He needs the man's connections to get his foot in the door in Arabia and with the man's sheikh son-in-law.  For his part, Lord Armstrong sees the writing on the wall.  He has sons now with his second wife, and wheels need to be greased for their futures.  And the future seems to be industry and self-made men like Iain Hunter.

The plot now set in motion thanks to coincidence (Armstrong just happens to have business with a man that Cordelia slept with years ago), Cordelia and Iain feel mighty annoyed with Lord Armstrong and agree to a "fake" engagement.  Naturally though the chemistry between them is hard to ignore.

What I enjoyed here was that Kaye writes an independent, capable heroine that still feels true to the era that she lives in.  I appreciated that she wanted access to her family and had to deal with Daddy because she had no other choice, but I also loved that she was unwilling to apologize about anything.  Cordelia wants to be, and is, independent.  She likes her life, she feels like she shouldn't have to apologize for it because why should she have to?  She's done nothing wrong, other than live her life outside of what "proper" society would deem acceptable and not dance to her father's tune.

Iain is your classic self-made hero.  He wants the Arabia business not only because it will mean money, but because it will also give him a chance to work on innovations he has in mind for ship-building.  Cordelia has him in knots - being not only beautiful, but not necessarily "needing" him.  Yes, she needs him to help reunite with her family, but she's not a little girl lost who needs rescuing.  Cordelia is resourceful in her own right.

I loved the early Victorian period, the use of a non-titled hero, and Cordelia's character.  It's pretty remarkable that Kaye has written a heroine who would be a trail-blazer in this time period and still have her feel like this is the era where she "belongs."  A nice way to wrap up what has been a good series, about sisters finding their own way outside of their father's world.

Final Grade = B-

The House On Blackberry Hill

A couple years ago Donna Alward e-mailed me about reviewing one of her Harlequin Romance titles.  I get a lot of review requests and being a one-woman blog I cannot possibly accept all of them. However, loving category romance like I do, and finding new-to-me authors within that universe is always something that flips my switch.  What happened after me saying "sure, I'll try it" has developed into me reading many of her books.  Many, many, many of her books.  While still in the Harlequin stable (although now with the American line), she's signed on with St. Martin's for her first single title series.  The House on Blackberry Hill is a small town romance (because, of course it is) and the first in a trilogy (because, of course it is).

Abby Foster finds herself in Jewell Cove, Maine looking for answers.  Her mother a "free spirit," her father dead, Abby was raised by her grandmother (also, now dead).  She always believed it was just her and Gran.  Then she inherits a crumbling mansion in Jewell Cove from a great-aunt she didn't know existed.  Her plan is to show up in the small town, sell the albatross as fast as humanly possible, and get on with her life.

Tom Arseneault is a local contractor and his dream has been to restore the Foster mansion to it's former glory.  A tall order since nobody has lived in the house for close to a decade.  Now the Foster heir is in town and he sees his chance to sell his services.  What he didn't expect was Abby Foster to be so pretty and so stubborn.  She's not exactly falling to her knees and thanking her lucky stars.

We all know where this is going, right?  Abby resists, but ultimately has to hire Tom for the job because 1) the place won't sell until it's in decent shape and 2) there's nobody else who can take on the job at that moment.  Given the mystery surrounding Abby's estranged family, plus a mansion in disrepair, there are also light (very light) Gothic tones to the story.  Plus, naturally Tom has his own baggage - all of it revolving around his estrangement from his cousin (oh, he might have been in love with the man's now-dead wife - minor detail that).

I'm a sucker for house stories, more than likely the result of reading too many Barbara Michaels and Victoria Holt books as a teen.  I also really liked the sub plot of Abby finding out the history of the family she didn't realize she had.  What I was less enthralled with was the ghost angle.  Yep, Abby finds her answers thanks to ghostly spirits.  I have never been a fan of ghosts (and believe me finding Gothics as a kid with no woo-woo in them was a TALL order!).  They always feel like short-cuts to me, and that's definitely how it comes off in this story.  Instead of having Abby do the snooping on her own, of getting her hands dirty ripping the house apart to solve the "mystery" - poof!  There's a friendly ghost to point her in the right direction.  Blah.  Chalk this one up to Wendy inhaling suspense novels in her pre-romance days.  I like mysteries where the "real people" have to do all the work.

This is a small town romance, so naturally we have a lot of secondary characters and cutesy atmosphere as the back-drop.  Most of this was pretty standard fare that will make small town fans happy, but probably won't sway the curmudgeons.  Tom's baggage is well done, and while being in love with his cousin's wife should have him coming off looking like a douche, Alward avoids that landmine by putting some thought into the love triangle.

What I was left with was a pleasant story.  I wasn't madly in love with it, but it was readable and kept me entertained during some recent traveling I did.  I'm not sitting on the edge of my seat dying to get the next book in the series, but I know I'll read it all the same.  There was enough on the page here to keep me happily chugging along.  If you adore small town romances this is a good one to try.

Final Grade = C+

Digital Review: Seduced

I love books.  I love reading.  However I'm not much for squee'ing over anticipated books I haven't read yet.  I don't really bemoan too much that Author X doesn't write fast enough or when is the next book in that series coming out already.  Frankly I have so much I want to read that waiting for a little while doesn't bother me.  That being said, when I heard that Molly O'Keefe was self-publishing a historical western I twirled around in a circle flapping my arms the whole time.  I love O'Keefe's writing and I love historical westerns more than the air I breathe.  And now she's written a western.  Seduced is a novella that clocks in around 150 pages, but heck - I'll take what I can get.

Melody Hurst was a Southern belle before the Civil War.  That is to say she was expected to look pretty, flirt outrageously, and ultimately run a household with the slaves doing most of the pesky work.  But the war has changed all that.  The slaves left, and things fell to her and her sister Annie to keep things going.  The war over, their parents dead, along with Melody's intended husband, what is a girl to do?  Well, marry.  I mean, what other options are there?  So she marries Jimmy, a boy she knew before the war and now changed by it.  Needless to say, it's not sunshine and roses.  Jimmy is now hauling them out west looking for a man who done him wrong in Andersonville.  Well he's found the guy, and after shooting him, leaving him for dead, he heads to the nearest town on another mission leaving Melody and Annie to clean up the mess.

Cole Baywood is a bounty hunter who just so happens to be tracking Jimmy.  He's actually looking for his brother (guess who that is?), who has been leaving letters in various towns looking for family members left adrift by the war.  He learns that Jimmy is picking up these letters and wonders why. Then he finally finds his brother's cabin, only to discover no Jimmy, plus two women in residence.  Where is his brother?

I know, this doesn't sound at all like a conventional romance.  Presumably Cole is the hero, Melody the heroine - and they are.  But Melody is already married, so how does that work?  Well needless to say O'Keefe makes it work while piling on a lot of believable angst for our characters to work through.

Melody was your classic pretty manipulator before the war.  She decided one day that she wanted a certain boy and used all the tricks in the book to enrapture him.  She's not terribly nice and isn't above using her feminine wiles to get what she wants.  The war puts a more desperate spin on her tendencies.  She's not above trying to bat her eyelashes (and more) at Cole when she feels the situation warrants it.  She's a woman living in fear, living on the edge, and desperate for safety.  She's not smart like her sister Annie.  She cannot be expected to use her brains.  No, she's going to use what God gave her and that's all the classic Southern belle tricks in the book.

Cole was also changed by the war.  Bounty hunting has kept him moving and the pay is decent.  But when he gets wind that he has family still alive, finding his brother is all that matters to him.  He's also a little worried that an unsavory character like Jimmy is hovering around the edge.  He takes one look at Melody and is gobsmacked.  She reminds him of everything that was before the war.  Pretty girls, good manners, small talk and flirting.  Back when his life was a lot less dangerous and much simpler.

O'Keefe packs a lot of story in these 150 pages and for the most part I felt like the length was well suited.  While there are outside factors, the vast majority of the conflict is internal.  This story is just as much a romance as it is a story of people trying to move on after tragedy.  And make no mistake - the war was a tragedy.  Where I wish this story was longer was with the actual Cole/Melody romance.  I think I needed more convincing, mostly to be sure that there were real feelings there and Melody wasn't just falling into old patterns.  Although, to be honest, given the baggage these characters are lugging around, it's hard to say if a longer word count would have satisfied me.

Like contemporary romance, small towns tend to be very prevalent in historical western romances.  And hey, I like those, but honestly my very favorite westerns are always the gritty, lawless ones.  The stories where the heroines have their backs against a wall and are not only fighting for true love, but their very survival as well.  O'Keefe writes wonderful contemporary stories, and Seduced nicely illustrates that she's capable of thinking outside that box.

Final Grade = B+

How To Lose A Duke In Ten Days

This trend towards cutesy titles tends to set my teeth on edge, but in the case of How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days by Laura Lee Guhrke, the title at least makes sense when you read the story.  The heroine has ten days and she most definitely wants to lose the duke.  Too bad he's not inclined to get lost.

While being the second entry in Guhrke's American Heiress in London series, this story stands alone quite well.  Edie Ann Jewell is the heiress in question, in London to snag a husband after her options dry up in New York.  She as no desire for a husband but has even less desire to go back to America.  She's at a ball when she overhears gossip about the new Duke of Margrave.  Stuart is the spare, and while prepared to be the duke, feels no joy for the responsibility now thrust upon him.  The coffers are bare, the holdings in disrepair, and his clueless relations expect their healthy allowances to just keep magically appearing.  All Stuart wants is to get back to Africa, where he's been living the life of perpetual explorer.

Edie hears this and thinks "Oh happy day!"  She has the gumption to proposition Stuart.  He marries her, he gets to go back to Africa, and she lives the life of independent wife while running the estate.  Oh, and she'll deal with his annoying family as well.  She gets to stay out of New York, has the protection of being married without all the marital obligation, and he gets to go back to Africa to live out the rest of his days.  They shake hands, they agree, life is good.  Until it all changes for Stuart and he comes home to England wanting to make Edie his wife in more than name only.  A development she is not terribly pleased about. 

I've seen a lot of glowing reviews for this title, and to be honest, this was a second half book for me.  It all starts out in a manner that didn't really quite work for me.  Edie, while positively intriguing in the first book of the series, is more like a little girl running scared here.  Stuart's motivations for suddenly wanting a "real marriage" didn't always gel for me and on top of this?  Edie's got a precocious tween sister who has charmingly rebellious stamped on her forehead.  The nice thing about babies in romance novels is they don't talk.  Just saying.  That said, I will admit the girl grew on me after a while, and eventually she is dispatched off page to allow the Edie/Stuart romance to blossom without her meddling.

But over the course of the early chapters things smooth out.  Edie's motivations come into stronger focus, and Stuart is your classic Hero In Pursuit, a trope hard to hate on (at least in my opinion).  Also Guhrke is one of the best dialogue writers in the business, and this story features all of her trademarks, from the banter to the flirting to the sparring to the tension and chemistry.  Edie may be running away for a good portion, but at least you understand why and she has a way of giving as good as she gets when it comes to Stuart.  Neither of these two is going down without a fight.

I ended up enjoying this story quite a bit, although the epilogue continues to stay lodged in my brain and give me pause.  It's happily not a blissfully big with child sappy epilogue, it's more Machiavellian in nature.  I'm sure 99% of readers will probably be fine with it.  There's some justice that must be mete out, and it is.  However it's the outcome of this justice, the plotting behind it, and ultimately the result that made a tiny bit of me recoil inside.  If you're a bit more biblical in that sense, you'll probably have no qualms.  As is, I'm not going to lie, it left an odd last impression for me - thereby knocking things back about half a grade.  Otherwise, an enjoyable entry in a fun series from Guhrke.

Final Grade = B-

TBR Challenge 2014: The Senator's Other Daughter

The Book: Halfway to Heaven by Susan Wiggs

The Particulars: Historical romance, Mira Books, 2001, Book 3 in Calhoun series, out of print but available digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  When it comes to her historicals, Wiggs is an autobuy for me.  Also this story features a Pygmalion theme and I tend to love those.

The Review: Let me cut to the chase: I've had this book in my TBR for an embarrassingly long time.  As in, over ten years.  The reason for this is that while I tend to enjoy Wiggs' historicals, I'm not wild about politics in my romance novels.  And this particular story is set in Washington DC during the Gilded Age.  So languish it did until finally it jumped up to bite me for this month's "classic" theme.  Now, of course, I'm kicking myself for letting it sit so long.

Abigail Cabot is the intellectual, and awkward, daughter of influential Senator Franklin Cabot.  Abigail's passion is astronomy, and she combs the night skies looking for an undiscovered comet to name after her dead mother.  As intelligent as she is, she's not much for social graces.  She's at a society wedding making a muck of things when finally the object of her secret affection, the Vice President's son, asks her to dance.  Too bad he quickly gets his head turned by Helena Cabot, Abigail's breathtaking beautiful younger sister.

Witnessing Abigail's social awkwardness at the wedding is Jamie Calhoun, a newly elected Senator from Virginia.  Jamie is the stuff of dreams for hero-centric romance readers.  He's suave, charming, and slick in a non-sleazy sort of way.  Naturally he also has a reputation as a bit of a ladies' man.  Abigail wants nothing to do with him, but thanks to sister Helena, Calhoun soon finds himself living next door to the Cabot's.  This is nice turn of events for him since Jamie is working to block a railroad bill and needs Senator Cabot's influence in order to do so.  When he learns of Abigail's crush on the Vice President's son?  He figures helping her win the poor schmuck's heart, in turn fulfilling the Senator's desire to see his daughters advantageously married off, will get him some sway with the man.

We all know where this is going, right?  Pretty soon Abigail finds herself striking a bargain with Jamie, toss in a twist of Cyrano de Bergerac, and Jamie ends up getting his head turned by Abigail even before the My Fair Lady makeover comes into play.  For her part, while Abigail thinks she's in love with Lieutenant Boyd Butler III, she soon finds that when she should be thinking about him, she cannot seem to get Jamie out of her mind.

Even with Jamie's motivation being tied directly into politics, I will say that the politics do not overwhelm this story.  Plus, it helps tremendously that Wiggs sets her tale in the Gilded Age, a terribly romantic time period in American history (well, at least I think so at any rate).  There's a nice contrast, yet warm, sisterly relationship between Abigail and Helena, and Senator Cabot is stern and seemingly disapproving without being stereotypical Evil Romancelandia Father.

My only real quibble with the story is that Abigail's "relationship" with Boyd Butler III carries on for the vast majority of the story and I would have liked more pivotal scenes between her and Jamie to further illustrate why they fall in love with each other.  I "get" that they fall in love, but I guess I just wanted more - especially since Boyd's presence lingers on the page for a while.

This book is directly related to The Horsemaster's Daughter, and I vaguely recall that story now having read it eons ago (for the record, it was a keeper for me).  Wiggs makes this story stand alone well, but part of me wished that the earlier book was more fresh in my memory bank.  Oh well.  This is your fault for letting books languish for so long Wendy, and having a TBR that can be seen from space - with the naked eye.

Final Grade = B

Reminder: TBR Challenge for June

For those of you participating in the 2014 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, June 18.  This month's theme is Romance Classics.  This is my "interpret how you will" theme.  "Classic" could mean a classic book (something Old School), classic author (ex. Nora, JAK, SEP, Woodiwiss etc.) or classic theme (secret baby, amnesia, a fairy tale trope etc.).  However, remember - the themes are totally optional and are not required.  It's not important what you read, just that you pull something (anything!) out of the TBR pile.

To learn more about the challenge and see a list of participants, please see the information page.

Retro Review: A Hitch in Time by Christine Holden

This review of A Hitch in Time by Christine Holden was first published at The Romance Reader in 2000.  I rated it 2-Hearts (D range) with a MPAA content rating of "PG-13."

+++++

Drew Montague has been given an ultimatum by his control freak of a father. Drew has been struggling with law school while trying to support his young daughter through his inheritance. Even though his mother is sympathetic and doting, his father has decided it’s time for Drew to grow up. So, he informs Drew that either he quit law school and learn the ropes on the family’s sugar plantation or lose his inheritance.

Drew is conflicted to say the least. While he has big dreams of becoming a lawyer, he has the welfare of his daughter, Teal, to think about. He’s still turning the idea over in his head, when he walks Teal’s babysitter to the bus stop. While returning home through the streets of New Orleans, he comes across a gold pocket watch hanging from a hitching post. Recalling a nursery rhyme his own nanny used to recite to him, Drew picks up the watch, only to be transported back to New Orleans, 1853!

Marianne Beaufort is a stunning beauty on her way to attend a party at the glittering St. Louis hotel. At this party, she will be announcing her engagement to Rafe Montague, a man she is none to fond of. However, when her father succumbed to yellow fever the year before, it was up to Marianne to secure her family’s survival when Rafe chose her for his bride over her older sister, Genevieve. She had resigned herself to her fate, when she stumbles upon a stranger in odd clothing outside the hotel.

Drew is confused about what has happened to him, and determined to find a way out of his predicament and back to his daughter. But he finds his thoughts wandering when he sets eyes on the stunning Marianne. Both are immediately drawn to each other, but how can they give into their growing feelings when Drew must find a way to get home, and Marianne is betrothed? Not only that, but how can Drew fall in love with the woman who is set to marry his great-great grandfather?

I really wanted to like this book. For one thing, it’s been ages since I’ve read a time travel where the hero is the one to go back in time. Unfortunately, my opinion of Drew was soured very early on in the story and colored the rest of the novel for me.

I initially thought Drew was managing just to scrape by with his finances. His mother had been giving him some money, while he’s going to school and supporting a daughter. It’s when Drew returns home and eats a meal of steak and potatoes with Teal’s babysitter that the word “spoiled” jumped in my mind and stayed there for the duration of the story.

Then there is Drew’s fondness for the ladies. He was married to Teal’s mother, who conveniently leaves her family when she realizes that motherhood isn’t for her. Right before he travels back in time, he makes a pass at Teal’s babysitter. Then once he lands in 1853, he immediately begins fantasizing about Marianne. Personally, I like my romantic heroes to pick one woman and stick with them for the entire duration of the novel.

I wasn’t as displeased with Marianne, but I didn’t exactly find anything memorable about her either. Forced to marry Rafe to support her snobby family, I had a hard time picturing her in the 1850s. Her attitudes are ahead of her time, which made the resolution of the time travel element predictable.
Also annoying was the speed in which Drew realizes he has traveled through time. The very same chapter when he wakes up outside the hotel and encounters Marianne he makes the conclusion he’s in 1853. Not only that he puts that date together with a Yellow Fever epidemic that killed thousands in the city that year. A little disbelief on his part would have been nice.

This led me to believe that Drew is a history buff, but then when he consummates his relationship with Marianne, he is stunned to realize that she is a virgin. The passion must have scrambled his brain, since after all, Marianne is a society miss engaged to be married to a member of a powerful family. The odds of her not being a virgin are a considerable long shot.

A Hitch In Time does have some neat ideas, most notably Rafe’s relation to Drew. Also, Holden does a nice job of including historical details about New Orleans, including the devastating Yellow Fever epidemic of 1853. And while the story and the characters do get more intriguing as the story unfolds, it just wasn’t enough for me to overlook my first impressions. Holden’s latest should appeal to time travel fans, but just didn’t do it for this reader.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: I remember this being a slog of a read for me.  Disappointing since, rereading my review, there were some really great elements to the story (Yellow Fever epidemic, a heroine set to marry hero's great-great grandfather, a hero who travels back in time!).  Holden was a mother-daughter writing duo.  They wrote five books together, the last one appearing in 2001.

Retro Review: A Long Hot Christmas by Barbara Daly

This review of A Long Hot Christmas by Barbara Daly was first published at The Romance Reader in 2001.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B range) with a MPAA content rating of "PG-13."

+++++

Hope Sumner is an all work and no play kind of gal. Working in the marketing department at Palmer Pipe (as in plumbing pipe) she’s one of the candidates for the vacant vice-presidency. Being upwardly mobile, she’s determined to get that job, although all her sisters can think about is fixing her up for the holidays.

Sam Sharkey is an upwardly mobile lawyer who has his eye on a partnership at his prestigious law firm. Also, all work and no play, Sam realizes that he’s going to need some “arm candy” to make it through the myriad of holiday parties he has to attend for business. Frankly, he’s tired of being eyed like a juicy prime rib by his co-workers wives and their single female relations.

Meeting through her sisters, and one of his former clients, Sam and Hope strike up a bargain. They’ll help each other out, attend their mutual holiday functions together, be each other’s bodyguards, and that will be that. However, nothing ever goes according to plan in a romance novel, and the couple soon find themselves getting more than they bargained for.

What a fun holiday read! Hope and Sam are both notorious workaholics who have managed to suck all the fun out of life. They both have goals, ambitions, and their futures seemingly planned out. Then they meet, sparks fly, and all those plans go flying out the window.

Along with the bubbling sexual tension, are some nicely done subplots that aid in moving this category along. Hope has hired a feng shui expert to redecorate her uncomfortable apartment, and gets a bit of a surprise when she meets her for the first time. There’s also a legal battle involving Palmer Pipe and Sam’s law firm, which gives the couple some added conflict, allowing them to reexamine their priorities.

A Long Hot Christmas fits the bill nicely for a fun and frothy read. A nice romantic couple, and a memorable interior decorator made for a quick read with holiday spirit. The author appears to be working on future books featuring Hope’s single sisters - here’s hoping she doesn’t make readers wait until next Christmas.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: A perfect example of an author who takes a tried-and-true plot set-up and can still spin it into an enjoyable story you devour.  I remember really enjoying this one from the now, sadly, defunct Temptation line - although a lawyer hero with the last name of Sharkey?  Uh, really?  That strains.  But obviously not enough to keep me from enjoying this or from RWA for awarding Daly with a RITA for this particular book in 2002.

Retro Review: Bride for McCain by Mary Burton

This review of Bride for McCain by Mary Burton was first published at The Romance Reader in 2000.  I rated it 3-Hearts (C range) with a MPAA content rating of "PG."

+++++

Jessica Tierney wasn’t happy about returning to Sacramento to begin with, and now she’s on the run. Returning from boarding school for the reading of her late father’s will she learns that she is to be the sole beneficiary. Of course, there’s a catch: she has to marry her father’s business partner, William Perry, within 30 days and produce an heir within 2 years. Otherwise, all of her father’s money will go to the Saint Bridget’s Orphanage in San Francisco.

William is an odious creature who is determined to get what’s coming to him. Jessica manages to escape from his clutches and hurriedly gets to the train station. Unfortunately, the train isn’t going to leave until one late passenger arrives, a Miss Emma Grimes, who has been hired as a school teacher for Prosperity, Colorado. Jessica is desperate, so she claims to be Miss Grimes and boards the train to freedom.

Of course, her deceit soon snowballs when she meets her future employer, Ross McCain. He is determined to bring education to Prosperity, and soon Jessica finds herself not only keeping up with her charade, but signing a contract.

Ross McCain is more than surprised to see Jessica Tierney. After losing the first two teachers to marriage, he was determined to hire an old spinster. But when he meets Jessica, he knows it’s all over. When the single men in town get a look at her, they’ll go back on their promises to not court the only eligible woman in town. The only way to keep the new teacher is if Ross marries her himself, but will Jessica be willing? And will Ross be able to remain aloof when he’s so drawn to his beautiful new employee?

A Bride for McCain could have been a stand out western romance, but one thing kept holding it back: the hero. Ross McCain is a take charge kind of guy, which is almost a necessity for a western, but he’s a major bully. Just because he built Prosperity with his money and mining business, he feels it gives him free reign to run the residents’ lives, and that includes Jessica. He never asks her what she feels, or what she wants, but instead tells her. Jessica spends the entire novel getting railroaded by Ross.

Normally, a bully hero would sour me on a book as a whole, but Burton saves what could have been a disaster with Jessica’s character. Granted, Jessica weaves herself into a web of lies and drags a whole town along for the ride, but she spends a great deal of time wrestling with her conscience. She knows what she is doing is wrong, but she can’t seem to find a way out, and Ross doesn’t exactly make telling the truth easy. She’s also incredibly feisty, and while Ross bullies her she does her best to stand up for herself.

The secondary characters are also well written, most notably Ross’s “maid,” Peg. Not a maid in the old-fashioned sense, but an observant and tough woman who essentially runs the whole household. There are also an array of townsfolk that contribute to adding the small town feel of the story.
Mary Burton’s debut historical romance is not without merit and shows quite a bit of promise. But a leading man who bullies his love interest just didn’t appeal this reader.

++++

Wendy Looks Back: Burton is writing romantic suspense these days but she got her start writing westerns for Harlequin Historical.  I've read several by her and she's one of those authors where I inhale her books, like them to varying degrees and then?  Have zero recall about them after I finish the last chapter.  I've still got one or two of her westerns buried in the TBR.  I save her books for when my brain is melting and real life is pulling me in a ton of directions.  They're easy reads that keep me engaged while reading them.

Remembering That Night

Stephanie Doyle is an author that I've been meaning to try for a while, so when Remembering That Night came up on Netgalley I decided to give it a whirl.  Plus, I'll be honest, the amnesia angle hooked me.  I know this is a plot device that's a no-go for a lot of readers, but I'm always intrigued to see how an author is going to tackle it, and if they can pull it off.  And after reading this?  The amnesia angle is the only good thing this story has going for it.

Psychologist Greg Chalmers is a human lie detector.  He's very skilled at reading people.  That is until he tragically missed the signs with one patient and then copes by spiraling down the rabbit hole of gambling addiction.  He now works for the Tyler Group (series alert!) which is sort of a catch-all, PI, fix-it firm that I'm convinced only really exists in Romancelandia.  Anyhoodle, he gets called in because a woman is found wandering down the side of a deserted New Jersey road, with no ID and covered in blood that isn't hers.  Oh, and just for kicks - she's claiming she doesn't remember a thing.  Not even her name.  So Greg comes in to see if he can read her.

We all know where this is going, right?  Jane Doe turns out to be Eliza "Liza" Dunning and Greg, with his white knight complex, is determined to help her.  That gets tricky though when they find the dead body that supplied all the blood found on Liza's person.  A dead body who just happens to run a casino in Atlantic City and has alleged ties to organized crime.

Before I go into Ranty McRant Pants Mode, let me mention that this story did have some good elements to it.  The amnesia angle, always a tough sell, is handled well here.  Liza's amnesia is the result of witnessing a traumatic event, presumably the murder and poof!  She's a blank slate.  She also regains her memory in bits, often times with no rhyme or reason.  For example, she remembers the first boy she ever kissed before she remembers a coworker.  This makes for a very interesting suspense thread, which is honestly the only reason I managed to finish this book.  I had to find out who killed the casino boss!

So where did it all go wrong?  Well, with everything else.  I actively disliked everything else about this book, right down to our romantic couple.  For those of you who watch The Mentalist (or have even seen part of one episode), Greg is like the Simon Baker character.  That is to say smart, handsome and a total prick.  If you don't think the Simon Baker character on the TV show is a self-congratulatory wind-bag, then you'll probably like Greg.  I loathed him from the moment he falls from grace, right up until the bitter end when he morphs from prick to white knight who thinks he knows what's best for everybody.

Liza, sadly, does not pick up the slack.  She pretty much spends the whole book bemoaning the fact that everybody wants to protect and shelter her.  She's a big girl!  She's a grown-up!  She can take care of herself!  When the truth is?  No.  No you can't cupcake.  Because this is the second time she's lost her memory.  Granted the other time was when she was a child and witnessed a horrific, life-altering event, but how can I not think of her as a victim when she's never allowed to stand up for herself, by herself.  Greg is always there acting as a crutch.  She can say she's not a victim all she wants - doesn't mean I have to believe her, which I didn't.  Then I started wondering, what if she burns Greg's toast making morning-after breakfast?  Will she lose her memory for a third time?!

Now some of you are probably reading this and thinking I'm being too hard on the characters.  It's a Rescue Fantasy Wendy!  It's a Heroine In Peril story Wendy!  You're taking this way too seriously Wendy.  And you know, what?  I was ready to chalk this up as a C read, not for me, I don't like these people but you might sort of read.  And then it happened.  Yes, ladies and gents - I got to the sex scenes.  Brace yourselves:

"Greg, please...I need you.  Please!"

"I don't have a condom."

"I don't care.  God, Greg. Now!"

Screw it.  He plunged into her and groaned at how tight she was, almost resistant, but then she was there with him, surrounding him, taking all of him inside her, deep to his balls.  He would pull out when he came.

That was what his lust-addled brain told him.  He would pull out and the chances of her getting pregnant would be slim.  For now they both needed this connection badly.

I JUST CAN'T EVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, because Lord knows the connection you share with a woman who still hasn't regained her memory is much more important than putting a stop to these shenanigans.  Because "pulling out" is such a reliable form for birth control!  Because, you know, pregnancy is your only concern here.  Never mind she could have a scorching case of herpes you moron.

But wait, it gets better.  Greg fails to pull-out in time, because honestly, OF COURSE HE DOES!

She giggled against his chest.  Giggled.  Then she kissed his neck.  "I had birth control pills in my purse.  I might have missed a few days, but I've been taking them since.  We should be OK."

I JUST CAN'T EVEN WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only thing keeping me from chucking this book out a 10-story window into blinding traffic on the street below so it could get run over by a convoy of semi-trucks is the fact that I was reading this on my Kindle.

Blind, hot, rage.  Angry.  So very, very angry.

If you could get through those snippets without 1) losing your lunch or 2) wanting to beat your head against your desk until you lose consciousness, then maybe.  Otherwise?  I just can't even.

Final Grade = D-

Retro Review:Wicked Women Whodunit

This review of Wicked Women Whodunit by MaryJanice Davidson, Amy Garvey, Jennifer Apodaca & Nancy J. Cohen was first published at The Romance Reader in 2005.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B range) with a MPAA content rating of "NC-17."

+++++

Like many readers, I enjoy anthologies because it’s a great way to sample several authors without investing a ton of time and money. Like many readers, I also dislike anthologies because they can be wildly uneven. For every good story, there tends to be one or two duds in the batch. Not the case with Brava’s first foray into mystery fiction! Every story is a solid read featuring eccentric characters, amusing hijinks, murder and mayhem, with a little hot sex tossed in for good measure.

Hot author of the moment, MaryJanice Davidson gets things rolling with “Ten Little Idiots.” Nurse and aspiring writer, Caro Swenson, was supposed to be at the mansion on an island off the coast of Maine enjoying her vacation. Instead, another guest comes out of her room, brandishing a bloody candlestick, claiming she killed someone in the dining room. The question is, who’s dead? It’s up to Caro and the other guests to get to the bottom of things.

Davidson’s wacky and zany writing style can be a little hard to swallow in a full-length novel, but in a shorter format it makes for a fun and fast read. Caro is a likable heroine, and the characters around her, including the hunky handyman, make for several amusing exchanges. “Ten Little Idiots” is Agatha Christie on acid; talk about a good trip!

Newcomer Amy Garvey’s “Single White Dead Guy” is the sole reason this collection garnered an NC-17 sensuality reading. Not only is the story a lot of fun, it boasts some smoking hot sex scenes.  Lanie Burke is suffering from a case of bad karma; so she decides to borrow a friend’s cabin in upstate New York for the weekend and get away from it all. However, thanks to a blinding blizzard, she finds herself in a local bar asking directions. There she meets hunky construction contractor Will DeMaio. One thing leads to another, and soon these two are burning up the sheets. Too bad a dead body shows up the morning after and ruins the afterglow.

Garvey writes clean and crisp, and the plot blazes along at a fast pace. Lanie is a likable gal, and Will is suitably hunky. Garvey has a full-length mystery due out this Spring 2005, and I’m anxious to see if she can repeat the magic at a longer page count.

Mystery author, Jennifer Apodaca races in next with “Fast Boys.” Tess Collins has a huge crush on bad boy NASCAR driver, Ark Underwood. She’s at the races for the weekend with her current beau, only to realize the tabloid journalist is using her to get the dirt on Ark. When a dead body turns up in Ark’s hotel room, Tess feels responsible and decides to do a little undercover work of her own.

Tess is sweet girl who’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. She’s also had a crush on Ark since he rescued her from an ocean riptide when she was a child. Her crush maybe a little unhealthy in a grown woman, and as a therapist she realizes that. But then she and Ark are thrown together, and she soon learns the real thing is a whole lot better than the fantasy.

Another mystery author, Nancy J. Cohen, rounds out the collection with “Three Men and a Body.” Heather Payne has agreed to compete in a reality show, grand prize being a bed-and-breakfast in Winter Park, Florida. However, no sooner are she and her contestants in residence than a dead body turns up and mysterious accidents are happening. Will Heather and hunky carpenter, Rex Gerard, be able to get to the bottom of things before the final curtain lands on them?

With the reality show backdrop, there are plenty of suspects and backstabbing to go around. Rex is a charming Alpha flirt, and Heather is a genuinely nice person who wants everyone to succeed – even if she wants the grand prize for herself.

All of these stories are quick and fun, making the mysteries very light. Brain-bending mysteries are a daunting task when faced with a short page count, and all the authors make the wise decision to include a healthy dollop of humor to keep the reader engaged and turning the pages. “Wicked” Women Whodunit certainly isn’t high art, but it’s a quick breezy read and a great collection to unwind with. Brava’s debut turn at mystery fiction will certainly make readers curious for more.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: I remember this being a Chocolate Chip Cookie Read.  That is to say, it was fun, I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but it didn't change my life.  There was a brief moment in time when Brava was experimenting with what I would call "sexy, fun romantic suspense" and this anthology may have been the launch for that particular concept (can't recall for certain now).  Total brain candy, what I would classify as a "beach read."

(I like my beach reads two ways - either totally fluffy or lots of gruesome dead bodies).