Review - The Bride

The Bride is February's book for Nath's Re-read Challenge. I had a poll posted on my sidebar and this one was the most popular, although it was a close race. The Bride was one of the first romance books I ever read and I just fell in love with it. I originally gave it a B+ rating. I went on to glom many of Julie Garwood's other books. After reading The Bride for a second time, I find that it just doesn't hold the same magic for me that it once did. I believe my tastes have evolved and what once worked for me doesn't now. I will try to explain in my review below.


Title: The Bride
Author: Julie Garwood
Publication Date: 2002
Genre: Medieval
Rating: C+
Sensuality: Hot

Alec Kincade is a very important Scottish laird. He has been ordered by his king to choose one of Baron Jamison's very English daughters. Alec immediately comes to the conclusion that Jamie, the Baron's youngest daughter is the prize out of all the sisters. He chooses her and sets back for Scotland right away. Jamie has a feisty spirit and is well matched with Alec. He has never had a woman look him in the eye, let alone stand up to him as Jamie does.

When I first read The Bride a few years ago, I was completely engrossed in Alec and Jamie's story. I very quickly read through the book almost non-stop, without any breaks. While with the second time it easily held my attention, I didn't read it with the same enthusiasm. I started noticing little things, negative things. I came to realize that Jamie and Alec are far too perfect and seem almost fairy-tale like. Jamie can do no wrong and everybody is easily captivated and won over by her. Alec is the epitome of patience and understanding. It bordered on syrupy, and overly sweet.

I realize that this can be appealing, especially as an escape from reality. Once upon a time, it did appeal to me. Now, however, I want a little bit more realistic characters in my story. I think I would categorize this book under a guilty pleasure read. A guilty pleasure read for me is defined as a book that creates an escape from reality. It's not a book that is a great literary masterpiece. It is just easy, mindless entertainment.

Other parts of the book I found humorous then and I still did this second time around. Jamie has a way of doing things a little differently than others. This leads to Alec's exasperation, but the reader will get a kick out of it. There is a villain in this story. It's laughably ridiculous. It's supposed to add tension, but the villain is cartoonish at best. The villain's part is small, so the annoyance is relatively minor.

Review - Three To Get Deadly

Title: Three To Get Deadly
Author: Janet Evanovich
Publishing Date: 1997
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B
Sensuality: Kisses

Three to Get Deadly is the third book in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Bounty Hunter series. Stephanie is to bring in Uncle Mo, who skipped out on his court hearing after he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. In New Jersey, there is an unwritten law that some rules are meant to be broken. Most citizens think that carrying a concealed weapon is a stupid law and are outraged about the fact that their "Saintly" Uncle Mo was even arrested. Mo has been around since the late 1950s when he opened up his ice cream/candy shop. When Stephanie goes to apprehend Mo she discovers that he is missing. Things aren't adding up and she is on the case.

Three to Get Deadly is basically more of the same from books one and two of the series. The same quirky characters are present and Stephanie still has a nose for trouble. Lulu, the former prostitute from book one is now a bounty hunter in training and tags along with Stephanie for this case. Lula adds a lot of silliness to the story but it's a little over the top for me.

So far, it's the third book in the series and things are progressing very slowly between Stephanie and Joe. I am waiting for their relationship to move forward. The mystery is more main course of the book and the romance just a side dish. I, however wish it was the other way around. I am hanging in there though, because I enjoy the storytelling. It is very entertaining and fun.

One quibble though, how is it humanly possible for Stephanie, who only weighs 125 pounds, to eat the amount of food she does and weigh that little? In one scene, she orders a double cheeseburger, fries and and a chocolate milkshake, only to eat a couple of cream filled donuts a couple of hours later. At this rate Stephanie should be weighing in at 230 pounds. What kind of world is she living in and why can't I exist in it too!

Review - Sunset Bay

Title: Sunset Bay
Author: Susan Mallery
Publishing Date: March 2009
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Hot

Megan Greene's life is going just the way she wants it. She has a successful accounting job at a prominent firm, and she is getting married in two weeks to a handsome cardiologist. Her mother is a self-centered hypochondriac, but that's okay because she has her father to make up for it. They have always had a very close relationship. Just as Megan thinks how perfect her life is, she gets an unexpected visit from a lawyer and receives the shock of her life. Right before her very eyes, all she holds dear is falling apart.

Megan had a short affair with bad boy Travis Hunter. He was her first love at eighteen. Things didn't work out for them. They were young and in love, but Megan was too young to see things through and it ended badly. Now ten years later, she is reevaluating everything she knows. Megan takes a good hard look at her life, maybe things could have been different.

Sunset Bay was a very griping emotional read. From the first few sentences I was entranced with Megan's story. Her mother is a total bitch. I'm talking Wicked Witch of the East here. The stuff fairy tales are made of. Her Mom is constantly beating her down emotionally. But Megan is a survivor. She has her father to lean on and get support from. I really connected to Megan early on in the story.

Sunset Bay is all about Megan working out her relationships with her fiance, Adam and her lost love Travis. It is about Megan dealing with her relationship with her father, mother and sister. It is a life affirming story of one woman's struggle to deal with what life has dished out for her and none of it is easy. Megan is a fighter and this is her journey. There is a reality to this story in the relationships Megan has with everyone. Her problems are those that anyone could have and probably has had to deal with.

There is an underlying theme about unconditional love throughout the book that really got me thinking. It was cleverly done by using Megan's relationship with her sister and parents and also Travis's relationship with his Mother and Father. It was interesting to see how Megan's and Travis's relationships with their parents strained their ability to work through their own problems. Megan and Travis stumbled around a bit before finally figuring out how to make it work.

I couldn't read this book fast enough. My one complaint would be at what asswipes Megan's parents are. They really made me angry at how selfish they acted. I guess that is a testament to how well Ms. Mallery wrote them, because my emotions were definitely engaged in the Megan's plight. There is a small secondary romance involving Megan's sister Leanne. I enjoyed this brief portion of the story, as well. I would definitely recommend this story to fans of contemporary romance or women's fiction.

March Releases!

I am looking forward to several books this month. This first one Vampire's Claim is the third book in Joey Hill's Vampire Queen series. I reviewed the first two books and really enjoyed them. This book centers around Lady Daniella, who is another vampire whom readers were introduced to in The Mark of the Vampire Queen.






I was asked if I would like to receive an ARC of Sunset Bay and after reading the synopsis it sounded like something I would enjoy reading, so I quickly agreed. I have read several of Susan Mallery's books in the past. Some of which I loved and some were just, meh. I have a review of this one coming up shortly. Let's just say, I was pleasantly surprised.






I have been reading Christina Dodd ever since I first started reading romance. She is just one of those authors who I connected with instantly. Her writing style is very easy and her characters just pull me in. However, her last two books I was less than thrilled with. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact they were paranormals instead of her usual contemporaries. I do know that I am going to give her another shot and read her latest which is the final book in not one, but two of her series, Lost Texas Hearts and Fortune Hunters Brothers.




Dark Victory is book four in Brenda Joyce's Masters of Time series. It is actually part of the Rose trilogy within the series. I just realized I haven't done a Series Sunday post on this favorite series of mine. I'll have to remedy that soon. These are warriors who can travel through time. Some of the books are set in present day and some are set in medieval times. I am a sucker for time-travel books. I just love the juxtaposition between a modern woman and and old fashioned, alpha man. Yum!




Desire Unchained is the second book in Larrisa Ione's new medical/demon paranormal series. While the first book Desire Unbound wasn't without it's problems, I thought it was an interesting premise for a series and I could see lots of potential. I am definitely up for giving this new author another try. What's nice too, is the third book Passion Unleased will be released in April. I just love back to back releases.

Review - Living with the Dead

Title: Living with the Dead
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: November 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses

Living with the Dead is book nine in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. It follows closely on the heels of the previous book Personal Demon. There are several narrators in this story in the third person point of view: Hope, Robyn, Finn and Adele. Hope Adams is an Expisco half-demon who senses chaos and negative thoughts. Robyn, one of her good friends from high school was recently widowed. She moved to L.A. to make a clean start with her life. Robyn is working as a PR rep for a young socialite, Portia Kane, until Portia ends up dead and Robyn is the prime suspect. John Findlay, better known as Finn, is working the case. Finn has a little help that most people don't know about. He can communicate with the dead and one special ghost is helping him with this case.

Living with the Dead is another strong addition to this already immensely popular series. The storyline jogged along at a very brisk pace. I think the whole story only takes place over a couple of days. The world building and plot was nice and tight, with an excellent execution. I think some readers might be critical of the varying points of view, but in my opinion, it helped to enhance the urgency and suspense of the volatile plot. What would happen is the reader would be following along with one character and right at the moment of high tension, the chapter would end leaving a huge cliff hanger. The next chapter would begin from someone else's point of view and eventually circle around back to the same cliff hanger of the previous chapter. This technique enhanced the suspense and just made me want to read as quickly as possible.

The romance was definitely not the focus of this story. There was some romance threaded throughout, but it wasn't as strong as previous books in the series. Hope and Karl's relationship is already established, but they still have to work out some issues. Hope is struggling with relying too heavily on Karl and it scares the living daylights out of her. Robyn is a new character and human to boot, which means she is unaware of all the supernatural beings in her world. There is a small thread of romance with Robyn that I can't really disclose without giving too much away. Let's just say that by the end of the book, Robyn is starting to pick up the pieces of her life again after her husband's death. Some issues were left open at the end of the book with a lot of room for new story threads for future books. This series is staying strong and fans have a lot to look forward to in future years.

Here is what others had to say:

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Series Sunday - Rothwell Series

Madeline Hunter is one of my favorite authors. Her books are very easy to read and yet there is a depth to them that keeps me thinking long after I have read the story. Her most recent series of books revolves around a group of brothers, the Rothwells. Set in regency England, each brother receives his own story. It also coincides with the Longworth family who are introduced through Alexia in Rules of Seduction.

The Rothwells are a prominant family with Christian, the eldest brother being the Marquess of Easterbrook, followed by Hayden and Elliot. Each brother finds love in the most unlikely of places and Ms. Hunter weaves a masterful, solid tale. If I understand correctly from Madeline's website, Sins of Lord Easterbrook completes this series.

I believe these books can be read in any order. Each stands on its own. However, here is the series reading order:

1. Rules of Seduction (Hayden and Alexia)
2. Lessons of Desire (Elliot and Phaedra)
3. Secrets of Surrender (Roselyn and Kyle)
4. Sins of Lord Easterbrook (Christian and Leona)

Review - Wicked Game

Title: Wicked Game
Author: Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush
Publishing Date: February 2009
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: C+
Sensuality: Warm

Twenty years ago at a private high school in Oregon, a young teenage girl went missing. Her friends all just thought she ran away, but the cop investigating the case always believed there was foul play involved. Now, present day, the school is going to be torn down and human bones are uncovered. Are those bones Jessie's? Becca Sutcliff was a part of the group of friends who hung around Jessie. Now, slowly one by one they are dying in horrible accidents.

I just love the premise of this book. A bunch of kids in high school all brought together by tragic, mysterious circumstances. There is even a unrequited childhood love story to go along with it. The suspense portion of the story was much more prominent than the romance portion of the story. I think it's a little misleading to label this a romantic suspense. I think it would be better classified as a thriller. Indeed, the mood of the story was very dark and suggestive. The atmosphere the author created was spooky, to say the least.

The mystery/suspense part of the book was excellently done. I loved the attention to detail and I could clearly picture certain scenes in my mind. Where the book was lacking for me, was Becca and Hudson's relationship. There wasn't any real emotional development to it. Don't get me wrong. I liked both Becca and Hudson's personalities, but I didn't feel connected or invested in them as a couple. That could be because of their relationship developing off page. I think fans of suspense or mysteries will enjoy this book. Die hard romance fans might be disappointed though.

Here is what others had to say:

Popin's Lair
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