This book didn’t live up to all the hype buzzing around it for me. It’s alright but more of the ho-hum average kind of book than something great and wThis book didn’t live up to all the hype buzzing around it for me. It’s alright but more of the ho-hum average kind of book than something great and wow that a lot of readers say it is.
It starts out fun enough with the heroine deciding to take matters into her own hands and get herself a husband she wants being that she’s 20 and her brother hasn’t done anything for her because he’s been busy with his own new family. Lucy sets her sights on Toby, a family friend, who she’s loved forever. Toby is a womanizer looking to settle down himself and he likes Lucy’s attentions but he doesn’t see her as anything more than a silly girl. In order to get Toby to notice her more like a woman Lucy decides to practice her seductress skills with another old family friend who’s staying at the house, Jeremy, one of those cold and jaded alpha kind of heroes. She tries to kiss him and succeeds but she treats it all like a learning experience. She lets him in on her little scheme and he reluctantly agrees to help her. Jeremy however starts to have feelings for Lucy and sees her more as a woman than the younger bratty sister of his good friend. So far so good and for a few pages it goes on with Lucy finding herself in more and more potentially compromising situations with Jeremy should they be discovered, but she sees it all in the name of making Toby jealous while ol’ Jeremy becomes more and more possessive of her.
Unfortunately as the story progresses Lucy’s headstrong character makes her look like more and more like a petulant child and your basic twit –the kind who jumps in head first without thinking so the independent minded heroine turns into a TSTL one. As for Jeremy, he’s forever apologizing to Lucy and you just wish he’d take the bull by the horns and stop being such a wuss. He says he wants her but doesn’t do anything to get her. Jeremy is an earl and Lucy is pretty much a nobody. He decides to marry her because he’s compromised her but then treats her like a nobody and acts all stupid and bossy around her. All that back and forth I’m-in-charge-you-can’t-see-your-family-anymore-because-of-your-new-responsibilities bugged me. It just didn’t work well with the story. It was like a problem was needed because it’s not the end of the story so let’s stick this in.
There is the odd emotional moment with Jeremy that may pull at the heartstrings but it wasn’t enough to keep me interested. A few other things I didn’t like:
-the always-in-way doddering old aunt who suddenly wanders off at the worst possible time. As soon as a steamy scene approached you could be sure that something happened to the aunt :-/ It’s similar to the annoying children in romances device that some authors like to use. -the irritating caper that’s been shoved in at the end as filler -too much boring narration that drags the book down -the sappy “aw shucks” ending that I just don’t like in romances
This book reminded me of the average run of the mill stories by Sabrina Jeffries or Gaelen Foley. The kind of thing you’ve seen before but better. It was meh. Not a series I’ll be continuing. ...more
Very good Halloween activity book that's fun while reviewing areas like basic math, reading, spelling, logic puzzles etc all within a Halloween framewVery good Halloween activity book that's fun while reviewing areas like basic math, reading, spelling, logic puzzles etc all within a Halloween framework....more
This was pretty good but not as much of a crazy 2am page turner as I thought it would be. It’s very brutal and at times quite chilling which isn’t somThis was pretty good but not as much of a crazy 2am page turner as I thought it would be. It’s very brutal and at times quite chilling which isn’t something I’d expect for your standard YA novel, but the writing tone is distinctly YA so you wouldn’t be mistaking it for a dystopian adult read.
Set in a very bleak future where everyone is terrified of the oppressive, ever-watching government and the majority of people struggle just to eke out a tired living, “The Hunger Games” is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen who volunteers to take her sister’s place in the government sponsored Hunger Games. It’s a kind of reality show to the extreme (like “Survivor” say) only the participants are children aged 12-18 and only one survives. They have to kill each other to win which makes it all the more disturbing because they're children. Horrible things happen to them during the games as the Game Makers try to liven things up a little throughout the show. There’s your fair share of blood and gore and gruesome endings but it’s smartly written sucking the reader in as you go deeper into the story.
The novel is told in the first person present from Katniss’ point of view which really made the action move. You feel like you’re running right alongside her or seeing things as she sees them. I’m not a fan of first person POV and even less of present only writing, but Collins did a very good job of not making the novel feel overly one sided and flat. The pacing is well-done starting with the world they live in, then how people are chosen for the dreaded games, preparation for the games, the games themselves and finally the winner. It was interesting that the author chose to tell the story like a reality show in progress which gives it it’s unique feel. Be forewarned that the ending is one where you may want to have the next book on hand if you find yourself enjoying the read at the halfway mark.
What’s missing from the book though is happiness and a fulfilling love story that’s sort of started but you don’t really know if it’s a serious one or not. It’s very action packed and go-go-go but that human connection isn’t there enough which is why it wasn’t a five star book for me. There's something emotionally vacant about Katniss that made it hard to "feel" her character.
This is definitely a different, more original take on a theme that’s been done countless times but it can leave you with an unsettling feeling because of the audience it’s geared to. ...more
Exceptionally well-written with a brilliantly fresh feeling plot that will take you up and down the emotional roller coaster ride from hell smashing yExceptionally well-written with a brilliantly fresh feeling plot that will take you up and down the emotional roller coaster ride from hell smashing your heart to smithereens only to come crashing down and smack it all back together again at the end. I loved this book :D
The writing here is so good that I would even go as far as to say that Thomas is better than Lisa Kleypas who in her own right can pack a really good gut punch. Sherry Thomas manages to weave together a story where the h/h aren’t always the focus and with quite a bit of narration –two things I absolutely hate in a romance novel-- but here her talent with the pen doesn’t even make you think twice about it all and you’re sucking back the pages like a vacuum cleaner.
Gigi and Camden married when they were quite young and on their wedding night they went their separate ways. Gigi has filed for divorce from her husband (who now lives in America) who she hasn’t seen in over 10 years. Now you know this is going to happen but you keep wanting to know the why and the how and as the secrets unravel you cringe, you squirm, you OMG no s/he didn’t (!), you get all uncomfortable and really feel like someone is pulling out your insides and mashing them all up. The things the h/h say to hurt each other will just leave you wanting to cry and physically shudder. It’s not just jabs and barbs either it’s that biting cold snap that just shuts the other person up into either a kind of passive aggressive stance or they just turn around and leave the room seething with fury or poised to cry rivers. I’ve never come across a romance like this one. The love that the two have for each other is there but they’re both too stubborn to set aside 10 years of hate and distrust. They feel like very real people which is why their story packs such a wallop I think. This is no light romance. It’s not miserable either and it easily could’ve have been. Underneath the ice of politeness is an inferno of heart-wrenching love that they both feel but it’s not one of those “oh just tell him/her already” kind of stories that frustrates the reader. The story has a smartness to it that is rarely seen in other novels.
What I especially liked was the heroine. She’s one of those rare women who doesn’t act flighty, silly, idiotic etc. She takes charge when life has handed her lemons and she does quite well for herself in the process until the hero returns and those long dead feelings start stirring again. The hero is a man of power but not an “I don’t care what you want or say” kind of alpha. At the beginning I wondered if I’d even like him during the flashback scenes where the author tells how they met and what led up to their marriage. He’s all action though when he gets back telling his wife he’ll grant her the divorce she wants on one condition and later when he changes his mind you feel so sad for them. Towards the end when he makes a last ditch effort to get her back your heart can’t help but crumble into tiny little itty bitty pieces (**sigh sigh** and **big sigh**).
The secondary story between Gigi’s mother and her neighbor the Duke at first is borderline annoying and you think it’s just filler but it has its own story that’s really good. As for the steam it’s very good but it’s the tension building between Gigi and Camden that really steals the show.
If you like a romance that will really grab you by the collar, shake you around ‘til your head hurts, throw you up against the wall and then do it all over again all in the name of getting to a fabulous ending, then this book is a definite must-read and it looks like you’d better get shopping ;-) ...more
What a bunch of hokey, half-assed, sloppy, slapstick romance “writing”:-/ Why do authors do this? Yeah it was free and I can understand if it’s not asWhat a bunch of hokey, half-assed, sloppy, slapstick romance “writing”:-/ Why do authors do this? Yeah it was free and I can understand if it’s not as polished but this was also a total waste of time.
This is supposed to be a short story about Win and Merripen’s wedding whose story is told in Seduce Me at Sunrise. Win is still the lovely (read “annoying”)delicate fairy-like creature who’s in love with that lummox Merripen. The wedding though is more of a backdrop than a story to Beatrix’s St Francis of Assisi sideshow (!) Here we get even more irritating details about Bea and how she can communicate with animals. From the wounded owl to the mistreated elephant, it’s just so eye-rollingly dumb :-/ She walks away with an elephant for ***sake and manages to hide the thing! But during the wedding (that has every inane catastrophe after another happening prior to the ceremony) the “little critter” pops up and no one’s freaking out (!) I think it was supposed to be an “awww, wasn’t that so just cute when he tugged off the veil hi hi hi” scene ---gag gag gag :-/ This is pretty much a set up for Bea’s story under the guise of saying it’s about Win and Merripen. Sure it goes back to them at the end with some gypsy wedding night tradition that comes off as lame and seriously trying too hard to “feel the luv” but it’s just so poorly put together.
Authors do such a disservice to their readers when they try to fob off any old crap thinking that it will be loved by everyone because they wrote it. Well this is a mishmash of drivel if you ask me, no wonder it’s free :-/ If you don’t read this you’re not missing a thing, except for maybe aggravation :-o
Well this sucked the big one. Why? Because there’s zero development and totally out of the proverbial left field comes this “I love you” (!) What the Well this sucked the big one. Why? Because there’s zero development and totally out of the proverbial left field comes this “I love you” (!) What the ***? I know it’s a short story and it was free on Harlequin but why bother if this is all you’re getting?
It’s starts out well with a down on her luck heroine who answers an ad for what she thinks is for a governess’ position with a family in Venice. At the interview she has a twilight zone moment when she meets a bunch of creepy guys who tell her why they want her and it’s not for any governess job either. There are some eye-popping incidents making you wonder if you’re reading erotica instead of a regency historical but there’s next to no character development, relationship development or info on what this House of Rohan is. Who are these whackjobs? The hero seems like he has potential but that fizzles fast with his I-must-be-in-love-with-you bit for absolutely no reason. The heroine could turn into one of those strong minded heroines if she had more meat to her story but she goes all doe-eyed-spastic too when he declares his “love”. Again “why?!” He’d give anyone the heebie jeebies considering the circumstances under which they met and she’s all gaga??
It was just sex for sex with gaping holes and a meager attempt at piecing together a plot. Here’s hoping that the first full-book in the trilogy is better :-/ ...more
The back blurb for this book is somewhat misleading. First off it’s not a medieval Highlander romance but more of regency kind of historical with HighThe back blurb for this book is somewhat misleading. First off it’s not a medieval Highlander romance but more of regency kind of historical with Highlanders. You’re not really told either way in the book summary but I felt that the tone leant more to the medieval side than the regency side so this was a little confusing to set the story at the beginning. Apart from that, yes you’ve got your sexy, dangerous Highlander who abducts the proper, duty bound English bride of his arch nemesis from a rival clan but what you don’t really have is the sharp-tongued English bride described. You’re led to believe that a lot of sparks are going to fly between these two because she’s supposed to be Miss Lippy and he’s supposed to be a take-no-crap alpha. Well the sparks are more like hand-held firecrackers that sputter and die more times than not so if you’re expecting a tug of war love/hate theme you won’t be getting that here. That said, it’s relatively well-written for the most part.
To save her family from ruin Emma has to marry the octogenarian laird/earl of the Hepburn clan. He’s an icky geezer and she’s a pretty young thing. While at the wedding service Jamie Sinclair from the hated Sinclair clan storms the abbey and kidnaps the bride. He keeps her in the highlands until his ransom is met. As time goes by the attraction starts to build and slowly they realize that they want to be with each other but Jamie has some nasty old ghosts plaguing him so it’s mighty hard to forget that and decide to live the HEA with Emma. While they’re dancing the “get to know you” jig, the earl is planning his revenge and he’s a slippery old goat that one with more than a few surprises in store for them .
For nearly half of the book the story moves along well, building some good sexual tension between the h/h, but once you hit that halfway marker it's very predictable and follows the same ol’ same ol’ pattern that all the other kidnapper/hostage romances seem to do. What keeps the story interesting is the mystery behind how Jamie’s parents died. That was good and quite moving at times. There are some parts that are funny and some that are a little sad or they tug at the heart strings but it’s never quite enough, only touching on something that could’ve been developed just a bit more to be really good. Sometimes the writing is a long on the narration but it’s more of a show than tell style which saved it from feeling endless. The steam scenes are very well-done with just enough description to make you catch your breath a time or two and the build-up to them will also have you sighing. Jamie is a fabulous whisperer ;) The epilogue was good in that it came full-circle and repeated the start to the book. It’ll no doubt put a big smile on your face especially the old bitties and their blow like the wind chattering.
Out of the two main characters I really liked Jamie. He’s a slow, sizzle and burn kind of hero who goes after what he wants most of the time and doesn’t let things stand in his way. There’s the odd wavering but he quickly gets back on the straight and narrow and takes matters into his own hands. As for the heroine, she has her moments but I’d have liked to have seen more independence or fighting the attraction she had for Jamie a little longer.
So the story has some good parts and if you haven’t read a lot of romances you may really like it, but if you have read “a few” you’ll likely have that tired “seen it all before” feel making this just an ok+ read. ...more
I generally really like Julia Quinn but something was « off » about this story as well as the whole Bevelstoke series when all was said and done. It’sI generally really like Julia Quinn but something was « off » about this story as well as the whole Bevelstoke series when all was said and done. It’s an okay read but when you know how great Quinn can be you’re sort of disappointed that it’s not as good as some of her Bridgerton novels for example. What I enjoy about Quinn’s stories is that you have what appears to be a light regency style romance but there’s a seriousness underneath it all which you don’t get here. This book is much bawdier than anything else I’ve read by her, almost like she was trying too hard and it bordered on the silly.
The series continues on with Sebastian Grey who you meet in book two What Happens in London. Sebastian is a devil may care kind of hero whose character reminded me of the stereotypical campy gay guy which I didn’t particularly like for someone who's supposed to be a rakish alpha. He adored women, there was no ambiguity there, but it was the way he spoke and how he went about life that I didn’t really like. Sort of like one of those guys tsk-tsking away and going around saying things like “oh pshaw dear”. Nothing seemed to bother him so it was hard to get a good feel for his character. He was too “light”. Sebastian ends up falling for Annabel Winslow. Annabel has to marry quickly in order to support her family (her dad kicked the bucket and they’re destined for the poor house if she doesn’t find a Daddy Warbucks pronto). Her grandparents take it upon themselves to find her a husband and think they found the perfect man in the very gross Earl of Newbury. This geezer is the king of pervs. He wants a wife who can pop out an heir asap so he’s checking out prospective brides in terms of their hip size, boobs and how many brothers and sisters she has. It’s all very horse breeder like and though Quinn presents it at first as funny it was a bit much and seemed un-regency like. So the h/h meet by accident one night and then later they cross paths again and exchange a few light jabs making the reader think it might turn out to be a battle of words as the story goes on but it doesn’t really happen. Then there are the grandparents who are well-drawn characters if totally detestable. Yucky people there especially the grandmother whose crass talk and attitude again added to the non-regency vibe.
Anabelle is also a list maker which is where the title comes from. The 1 to 10 lists are sometimes funny but it gets old fast and seems forced at times. The whole story is sort of like that, it’s ok but it doesn’t really hold your attention. Even the steam is barely there and once you get to it you’re not really all that interested anymore. There's an interesting secret that's revealed that added to the fun but again after awhile it just got boring.
So it’s not Quinn’s best and I hope she hasn’t lost her touch but this read was just “meh-ish" and felt like she was trying too hard sometimes to make it all work. ...more
Sherry Thomas’ second book may not be the strongest in the romance department but the writing itself is still very good. This different take on the CiSherry Thomas’ second book may not be the strongest in the romance department but the writing itself is still very good. This different take on the Cinderella story is not really believable (big stretches needed here) and the characters are missing that passionate connection that she had in her first book, however it still has you reading to the end to see how it all pans out.
Basically the story is about a woman named Verity Durant who’s leading a double life as a French chef for an aristocrat who she has an affair with in the hopes of bettering her lot her in life but it goes sour. She’s quite renowned for her cooking and her employer loves her primarily for that. He unexpectedly kicks the bucket and everything goes to his step-brother Stuart who’s a rising political star. Turns out that Stuart knows Verity from a long time ago and he slowly discovers who she really is. The story gets going with the two of them exchanging terse notes (he doesn’t know who she is during this) that are way too funny in a biting kind of way (too bad there wasn’t more of this verbal sparring), spying on each other and meeting secretly in the dark as per Verity’s demands because she doesn’t want him to know who she is.
The mystery of who Verity Durant is teases you right to the end and the author builds that up very well. The secondary characters around her also heighten the unraveling of her story. Everything about these people is key to understanding her secret. Her relationship with Stuart though is somewhat stale, that spark is missing when they finally come together. Even when they were together the first time it just didn’t really work but I’m not a fan of the “love at first sight” theme. I prefer the build-up so this could work for some readers.
There’s a smokin’ hot voyeurism scene but unfortunately Thomas skimps on the actual sex scenes between the h/h themselves which was too bad. Verity is shown as a woman trying desperately to make a life for herself in spite of her circumstances and she’s been quite successful. Stuart however was missing something, maybe he needed some more backbone. He was too career-minded and cast her aside one time too many.
The food descriptions are mouth watering especially if you’re familiar with some of the things she cooks. Thomas’ mastery of culinary language from the detailed utensils to the cooking terminology was impressive and it never felt like the story was bogged down in boring filler detail either. Her use of French was also well-done and for once there weren't any mistakes.
There are virtually no parlor room scenes but more of a dry/gray “industrial age” feel to the novel. Sometimes it almost felt like a Robin Schone vibe.
I didn’t particularly like the ending –too easy and typical romance fare which makes me waver between a 3.5-4 star rating. Having read her first and fourth book I was expecting the originality to continue to the last page. I was more interested in the mystery by the end than the love story. So it’s a fairly good book with that “expect the unexpected” tone but there are parts where the love story could have been better. ...more
Well here’s a memoir filled with sadness, tragedy and outright horror but it’s told in such a no holds barred in your face upbeat way that you really Well here’s a memoir filled with sadness, tragedy and outright horror but it’s told in such a no holds barred in your face upbeat way that you really have to give Alison Arngrim (alias the evil Nellie Oleson, Laura’s arch nemesis on tv’s “Little House on the Prairie”) credit for writing it the way she did. Memoirs tend to follow a pattern: this is why I’m writing it, my life was not normal, horrible things happened, I survived, I’m in a good place now. She does pretty much the same thing but because it’s told in such a “when life gives you lemons you make lemonade” kind of way you can’t help but admire her.
A fair portion of the book is dedicated to her life as a child actress on Little House. She was great friends with Melissa Gilbert who played Laura as well as just about everyone else on the set except for Melissa Sue Anderson who played Mary. Some jibes there throughout the story, nothing outright mean but you could certainly tell that there was no love lost between the two. There are some gossipy bits revealed about other actors and actresses she encountered during her career. She talks about her very warped family life, gives a brief history of her parents near rags to riches story, and then briefly goes into how she became a political activist, AIDS activist and child activist as an adult and still does this. She’s adamant that her role as the mean Nellie Oleson is what has opened doors for her well after the show was over and also after her acting career was over as she ventured into different areas. It’s as if she was meant to play the part so that she could eventually do what she’s doing now: helping people. She’s still quite happy to be identified with Nellie and in no way hated the character which often happens with other actors once they’re typecast.
A lot of the book talks about life over the years on the set of Little House so if you’re a fan you’ll really enjoy those parts. Each chapter starts off with some hilarious lines from the some of the episodes and there are a few sidebars in the chapters with some Little House trivia that was fun to read.
This book could easily have been written with a very serious tone similar to several other memoirs out there, just the facts would change. What makes this one stand out is that she’s very much “hey shit happens move on”. She’s very funny at times and other times a bit over the top. My one minor complaint is that sometimes she’s a little too flippant regarding some topics and it could seem like it’s a forced kind of “voice” to keep the book consistent in tone when that wasn’t always necessary.
Overall it was an enjoyable read that brought back some nice memories about a great show and under all that there’s an underlying message that seems to say you may be only one person but it takes just one person to try and maybe even succeed in changing some really big things. 4.5 stars for me. :) ...more