2014 – Book #60

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by rebeccabook17

The past couple days have been a very difficult time for me. I find most that when I am working my way through a difficult time, I tend to turn to the escape of fiction more than I might at other times. There has been something inherently soothing today and yesterday about reading beside my grandfather’s bed as I struggle to say goodbye to him. And while this may not have been the best book I’ve ever read, I am profoundly grateful that for a few moments of time I can escape to a place where there is no pain, no sadness, and only happy endings. And as this was the book that I am meeting my goal with for the year, I can’t think of a better person to share this with than my Pop-pop. So I hereby dedicate the following blog post and my accomplishment of meeting my 60 book goal for 2014 to a man who watched over and cared for me my whole life, Henry Barnum.

The sixtieth book I read in 2014 was Black Ties and Lullabies by Jane Graves. I finished this book on 7/25/14. I rated this book 3.0 stars out of a scale of 5. This book was about Bernadette Hogan, body-guard extraordinaire, and her current employer, multimillionaire Jeremy Bridges. Jeremy grew up in the slums and now that he is successful he allows himself every comfort and luxury possible. Bernadette on the other hand scrimps and saves to be able to take care of her aging mother. As his bodyguard, Bernie watches for years as Jeremy works his way through all the blonde starlets and models that life has to offer.

But on one evening Bernie decides she has had enough of trying to protect Jeremy’s life and quits. The argument and the flaring passion that ensue are unexpected and unplanned, as is the pregnancy that follows. At first Bernie decides she wants Jeremy to have nothing to do with their child, but as the weeks progress and Jeremy shows her how much this child and her both mean to him, she begins to think that maybe she was wrong about Jeremy after all.

Overall I didn’t love this book. I have liked the other books I have read by this author but this one I just couldn’t connect with. A millionaire sweeps in and says he’s just going to take away all your problems? How often does that actually happen?? And while it might be more realistic, both of the main characters had some serious insecurities that they needed to work on. That being said, it was a fairly good story and I was interested the whole time in how the book would play out. And the ending was sweet, if unbelievable.

Link to author website: http://www.janegraves.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lullabies-Central-Publishing-Contemporary-Romance/dp/0446568473/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1406318148&sr=8-1

20Jun2014

2014 – Book #54

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Contemporary romance, Rainbow Valley, Texas by rebeccabook17

The fifty-fourth book I read in 2014 was Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves. This is the first book in her Rainbow Valley series, the second book just came out in May 2014. I finished this book on 6/19/14. I rated this book 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book is about Shannon North and Luke Dawson. As teens they fell in love, but Luke was from the wrong side of the tracks and Shannon didn’t yet have the age and confidence to stand up to her mother. Luke decides that he’ll never be good enough for this town and takes off during the night after Shannon breaks his heart.

Fast forward to eleven years later, Shannon left her cushy CPA job in Houston to come home and run Rainbow Valley’s animal shelter. Between a pony that bites and spitting llamas and too many dogs and cats to count, she’s having trouble keeping her head above water at the shelter financially. Meanwhile in the past eleven years Luke has become a very well known bull rider. Through a twist of fate he ends up back in Rainbow Valley with a knee healing from surgery that he needs back at top condition for the championship bull ride competition in 3 months as well as an empty bank account after paying for the surgery out of pocket. When he sees the ad in the paper for a live in caretaker at the animal shelter, he decides to apply for the job.

As Luke becomes more involved in taking care of the animals at the shelter he realizes that they aren’t the only ones who need his care. Shannon cares so deeply for these animals that she’s on the edge of breaking and Luke realizes someone should be watching out for her as well. As their friendship once again develops into something more, Luke can’t seem to get past the town’s stigma that he’s just like his drunk no-good father. And once he reveals to Shannon how horrible his childhood actually was, is there even a chance she could love him then?

This was just such a great book. This book is just so perfectly heart-wrenching, between Luke’s childhood insecurities and all the animals at the shelter, you have to be a cold-hearted son of a gun to avoid tearing up multiple times during this story. I just absolutely loved it. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Link to author website: http://www.janegraves.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Take-Away-Rainbow-Valley/dp/1455515191/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1403270495&sr=8-2&keywords=cowboy+take+me+away

Link to Rainbow Valley, TX (not quite sure if it is a real place or if this is a Jane Graves website): http://www.rainbowvalleytexas.com/

Link to other blog reviews on Jane Graves books: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/tag/jane-graves/

24May2014

2014 – Book #42

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by rebeccabook17

The forty-second book I read in 2014 was Starry Night by Debbie Macomber. I finished this book on 5/24/14. I rated this book 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Carrie Slayton, a reporter from Chicago, and Finn Dalton, a recent bestselling author who is trying his best to stay out of the limelight. Carrie is currently writing the Society page in the Chicago Herald. Tired of writing articles without substance, her boss finally gives her a chance to write articles about more than just the comings and goings of the city’s elite. If she can get an interview with the reclusive Finn Dalton she can write anything she wants.

And so Carrie sets off on her journey to find Finn Dalton. Through a couple of lucky breaks she ends up finding out where he lives. Unfortunately she finds his house only to be dumped there at the beginning of a snowstorm, with no promise of being rescued until the following morning at the earliest, if not later. Finn is less than pleased to find a frozen woman reporter on his doorstep, and he makes his unhappiness with the situation very clear. A couple of days in a secluded cabin together though brought them closer together than they ever imagined, so much so that they can’t help but continue their relationship after Carrie goes back to Chicago.

Overall I thought this was a very cute book. It was a quick read at only about 230 pages. I liked the characters in the story and I found myself being able to relate to the hero and heroine’s long distance relationship. Beyond that though I had trouble connecting with the main characters in the book. Was a good story though.

Link to author website: http://www.debbiemacomber.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Starry-Night-A-Christmas-Novel/dp/0345528891/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1400953204&sr=8-2&keywords=starry+night

16May2014

2014 – Book #39

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by rebeccabook17

The thirty-ninth book I read in 2014 was The Dream Dress by Janice Thompson. This was the third book in the Weddings by Bella series but was the first book I’ve read by this author. I finished this book on 5/16/14. I rated this book 2.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book is about Gabi Delgado and Jordan Singer. Gabi is an alterations girl in the most renowned wedding gown salon in Galveston, TX. She secretly designs wedding gowns at night and on the weekends though. Jordan Singer is a reporter who comes in to do an article on one of the brides who is buying a dress from Gabi’s boss.

Overall I found this story very hard to connect with. The characters in the story were all nice all the time except for the one villain of course, but even he came around in the end. There was one scene where the four girls are all sitting around talking and the three girls that are currently in relationships start talking about how amazing their significant other is and they get all teary-eyed thinking about how wonderful their husbands/boyfriends are. WHO DOES THAT. The answer is no one. No one actually does that in real life. Ever. And while I like to read about romance novels because I like the happy endings, this book was just too far fetched for me.

Another piece of this book that was difficult for me to relate to was the overwhelming topic of God in this book. To be honest this book felt like it was more about Gabi finding God than about Gabi finding Jordan. Which is fine, I certainly have no problem with God. But did it really have to come up in every single conversation? And (**SPOILER ALERT**) in the end Gabi ends up this super successful wedding designer and she’s going to design a dress for someone to wear to the Academy Awards all because she prayed to God? That isn’t really how it works. I just couldn’t relate to that at all and I found it almost insulting in its lack of feasibility.

Overall I was not a fan of this book (obviously) not only because of the reasons already listed but also because I just couldn’t get into the book. The characters weren’t developed very deeply and the conversations all felt forced, awkward, and choppy. Just wasn’t my type of book I guess.

Link to author website: http://janiceathompson.com/blog/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Dress-The-Weddings-Design/dp/0800721543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400245606&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dream+dress

13May2014

2014 – Book #38

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Contemporary romance, Parable, Montana - Big Sky series by rebeccabook17

The thirty-eighth book I read in 2014 was Big Sky Secrets by Linda Lael Miller. This is the sixth and final book in the Parable, Montana series by this author (I have read the other 5 books in the series though none of them I read in 2014 so no others in the series are discussed on this blog). I finished this book on 5/12/14. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5. This book is about Ria Manning and Landry Sutton. Landry is brother to Zane Sutton who was featured in the 5th book in the Parable series. All the characters of the different books are connected which I found interesting. Got confusing by the time I got to this last book in the series though, trying to keep all the different characters from the previous books straight.

I thought this was a very cute love story. It was an easy read and I was interested throughout the book. Ria was an utterly loveable heroine and I found myself rooting for her the whole time. Landry was a tough guy with a heart of gold. The whole story was just very sweet. The only part I had trouble with was that they got married like a week after they started dating. That just seemed a little unrealistic to me. Other than that though, this was a feel-good love story with the best kind of ending, a happy one.

Link to author website: http://www.lindalaelmiller.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Secrets-Linda-Lael-Miller/dp/0373778317/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399947251&sr=8-1&keywords=big+sky+secrets

29Apr2014

2014 – Book #31

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Contemporary romance, Cousins O'Dwyer series, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense by rebeccabook17

ShadowSpell

The thirty-first book I read in 2014 was Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts. This is the second book in the Cousins O’Dwyer trilogy, I read the first in 2013. I finished this book on 4/28/14. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Connor O’Dwyer and his lifelong friend Meara Quinn.

As the cousins O’Dwyer and their friends recover from their last battle with the evil Cabhan and try to plan for their next attack, Connor finds himself attracted to his sister’s lifelong friend Meara. But Meara has scars from her past that close off her heart from Connor’s love, and leave her susceptible to Cabhan’s sorcery.

One of the things I love most about this series is the interwoven back story back to the original Three Dark Witches, children of Sorcha. The story from long ago used as a backdrop for the journey of the Three Dark Witches now is very interesting. This book was fairly riveting, I didn’t want to put it down once I started it.

Though this was a simple story, it was one full of love, friendship, and family. It was a very touching story and I think I may have even liked it better than the first in the series. I am looking forward to the third book so I can find out if Fin and Brannan are finally able to work out their issues and be together.

Link to author website: http://www.noraroberts.com/index.php

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Spell-Cousins-ODwyer-Roberts/dp/0425259862/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398736504&sr=8-1&keywords=shadow+spell

8Apr2014

2014 – Book #24

Posted in Blue Heron series, Book reviews, Book series, Contemporary romance by rebeccabook17

The twenty-fourth book I finished in 2014 was Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins. I finished this book on 4/8/14. This is the 3rd book in the Blue Heron series by this author. I have previously read the other two books in the series, though not in 2014 so they are not discussed in a previous blog posting. Other books by Kristan Higgins are discussed in previous posts though if you are looking for other reviews of books by her. I rated this book 4.75 stars out of a scale of 5.

This book tells the story of Colleen O’Rourke (co-owner of the Manningsport bar O’Rourke’s with her twin Connor) and her first love Lucas Campbell. Lucas had broken her heart 10 years ago by marrying another woman, and she’s never quite recovered. Lucas comes back to Manningsport at the request of his dying uncle, who asks Lucas to help his cousin Bryce get settled. Manningsport being the small town that it is, Lucas can’t help but run into Colleen from time to time. And while he’s hidden his feelings for the 8 years he was married (he’s divorced now), he never stopped loving Colleen either.

This was just such a fantastic story. I don’t remember laughing out loud that much with any other book I’ve read. The only thing that let me down a tiny bit in the story is that I felt like the hero should’ve had to grovel a little more in the very end, he was a pretty big jerk to the heroine but she just takes him back because he said he loved her, I felt like there should’ve been a little more there. But the emotions running through this book were just amazing. I laughed, I cried, I laughed again, I cried again. It was touching, poignant, funny, and also somehow riveting even though underneath it all it was just a normal story of love. I couldn’t put it down though. This was probably my favorite (or one of, all of hers are really good) book so far. I would highly recommend!

Link to author website: http://www.kristanhiggins.com/index.html

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-You-Hqn-Kristan-Higgins/dp/0373778589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396965283&sr=8-1&keywords=waiting+on+you

13Mar2014

2014 – Book #15

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Contemporary romance, Tumble Creek series by rebeccabook17

The fifteenth book I finished in 2014 was Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl. I finished this book on 3/13/14 (only by a technicality since I finished it at 12:09AM). I rated this book 2.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This is the third book in the Tumble Creek series by this author, I read the first two previously (See 2014-Book #5 for discussion of the 2nd book in the series, the first in the series I read in 2013).

This story is about prim and proper secretary Jane Morgan (Jane is secretary to architect Quinn Jennings who was the hero in book #2 of the series, Start Me Up). Jane is trying to hide from her shady past and has completely change her appearance and personality so that no one who sees her would recognize the angry and wild girl she once was. And Chase is exactly the kind of guy she’s trying to avoid, a bad boy with tattoos and a disarmingly charming grin. But as Jane has to face a serious family crisis, she finds herself relying more and more on Chase despite her efforts not to.

This was a very steamy novel, to warn readers its actually a steamy series I should say. And to be honest (and I had this same issue with the second book in the series) the heroine in this story is awfully mean to the hero. The heroine has so many personal issues with herself and who she is and she basically makes the hero feel like trash and uses him for sex. While the story had a sweet ending and I find it admirable that the hero stuck around through all that and was obviously devoted to the heroine, I hate thinking that you can treat someone you supposedly love that badly and hurt them that much. That was disheartening for me and I think biased my opinion over the rest of the story.

Link to author website: http://www.victoriadahl.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lead-Me-On-Victoria-Dahl-ebook/dp/B009NEERG2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1394725034&sr=8-5&keywords=lead+me+on

11Mar2014

2014 – Book #14

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by rebeccabook17

The fourteenth book I finished in 2014 was Heartstrings and Diamond Rings by Jane Graves. I finished this book on 3/11/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This was the first book I’ve read by this author.

This novel is about a woman who has been extremely unlucky in love and decides to try using a matchmaker. Her biological clock is ticking loudly and she’s in a rush to find her perfect mate and get to the altar before its too late (hey that rhymed!). When she goes to have a meeting with her new matchmaker, she encounters a man to her utter shock. Despite her initial panic she decides to give him a chance and what ensues is a fantastic romantic comedy.

I enjoyed reading this novel and found it to be of similar humor to Kristan Higgins, one of my favorite authors from a previous post. Also similarly, this story made me laugh out loud as well as brought me to tears, a telltale mark of an enjoyable book for me. I will definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

Link to author website: http://www.janegraves.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heartstrings-Diamond-Rings-Jane-Graves/dp/0446568481/ref=la_B001H9VXT0_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394554583&sr=1-8

21Feb2014

2014 – Book #9

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by rebeccabook17

The ninth book I finished in 2014 was Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins. I finished this book on 2/8/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5.

I mentioned in an earlier post that Higgins’ books are those rare kind of stories that are able to make you laugh out loud and cry your eyes out. Her stories draw emotions so easily from the reader and its impossible not to get swept up in the tension and the heartaches of the characters. This novel definitely didn’t disappoint as I found myself lost in the characters and the journey of our heroine as she falls in love with her hero.
And in this story hero is the right word for it as our lead male character, and most of the other male characters in the book come to think of it, are firefighters. Chastity is the only girl in a family of 5 siblings, who falls in love with a family friend, Trevor Meade. The only thing that bugged me about this story was that if they could’ve just communicated better they probably could’ve gotten together a long time ago. Of course, realistically men and women don’t communicate well at all so it probably makes more sense than if the guy could magically know what the girl was thinking all the time.

The family in this story reminded me a lot of my family. Chastity had 4 brothers who were all married with small children and many times in the story it talks about her interacting with the little kids. And while I am an only child, my family is very close and I see my cousins, who are all married with small children, quite often. The way Chastity described her family dinners at her mother’s house reminded me a lot of family dinners at my grandfather’s house, kids running around screaming and what-not. What the author was describing was a house full of love and it made the story all the more wonderful to read.

Overall this was a very sweet and touching love story and I would highly recommend. As I said in my earlier post on another of Higgins’ books, if you’re looking for steamy you’re not in the right place. But if you’re looking for a reminder of what being vulnerable to love and what real love is, you’ll find it.

Link to author site: http://www.kristanhiggins.com/

Link to Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Guys-Kristan-Higgins/dp/0373777035/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393023904&sr=8-2&keywords=just+one+of+the+guys