Tag Archives: Romance

Be Proud of What You Read

Posted in For the love of books by

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My love of reading really took shape when I discovered romance novels. My whole life I liked books and reading but my passion really began to form when I was in high school and read my first romance novel. I just absolutely loved the happy ending. And all through the next four years of high school when I was that awkward teenager who couldn’t seem to figure out who she was, I was able to take comfort in the knowledge that each and every romance novel I picked up, the heroine would be beautiful and there would be a man who loves her more than anything else in the world and they would be happy together.

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And all through high school and in college, I met many people who would snicker when I told them I liked to read romance novels. I was told on various occasions that I was reading “trash” or “smut.” And I will admit, I was embarrassed. Because I was treated in a way that made me believe I should be embarrassed for the books I liked to read. And in all honesty, I liked romance novels that had a lot of emotional tension in them, not necessarily a lot of sex. In fact, one of my absolute favorite romance novelists is Kristan Higgins and her books take more of a “fade to black” approach in which the hero and heroine start getting down to business and then it pretty much moves on to the next scene. I would try to defend myself, saying that romance novels aren’t “porn” or “smut,” that they’re like romance comedies where there is a sex scene or two but its mostly about the feelings and the love story. I would still get the wary looks and the continued snickers so I would just drop the topic and talk about something else.

But really, what reason did I have to be embarrassed? I loved reading. And I loved reading more than romance novels, but even now romance novels tend to be my genre of choice in most cases. I love being able to escape to Victorian England or to another planet even and fall in love time and again. Romance novels are what introduced me to my love of reading, and I have no reason to be embarrassed. Who cares if there’s a half naked man on the cover? Does that really make you an inferior person for wanting to read it? No, it doesn’t. Does it make you less smart than people who read classics or what is known as “great literature”? Hell no. Whether you love graphic novels, romance novels, young adult novels or non-fiction, you have no reason to be embarrassed. Scream you’re love of reading from the rooftops.

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Over the last few months I’ve read a lot of articles from various sources about not being embarrassed about the books you like to read. If you’re interested, below are a few of articles that I enjoyed.

Why Smart Women Read Romance Novels by Anne Browning Walker

No, Adults Should NOT be embarrassed to read Young Adult books by Heather Hogan

Stop Apologizing For What You Like to Read by Brenna Clarke Gray

2015 Book #11 – Soft Focus by Jayne Ann Krentz

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: Soft Focus
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Date finished: 2/11/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Jove
Publication Date: October 1, 2000
Pages in book: 350
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

Elizabeth Cabot is all business. She knows how to maximize her investments and cut her losses–in both her career and her personal life.
So when she discovers that Jack Fairfax has deceived her, she’s determined to end their relationship. Putting a stop to their budding romance is easy. But breaking up their business deal will be more difficult. Despite all her efforts, she has no luck disentangling herself from Jack’s client company, Excalibur. But the situation becomes even more strained when a new obstacle emerges: a lethal act of sabotage that could put both of them out of business for good.
Elizabeth is no fool. If she can help Jack save Excalibur, she’ll recoup her substantial investment plus millions in profit. Putting her emotions aside, she insists on helping him search for the scientist who’s disappeared with a valuable new crystal that could revolutionize the high-tech industry. She’ll go in, solve the problem–and get out.
The trail leads Elizabeth and Jack to a fringe film festival, but their goal is as elusive as the shadowy black-and-white images from classic noir films. Life starts to imitate art, and double-dealing seems to be the name of the game. For these business adversaries turned reluctant partners, keeping an eye on each other–and the lid on a sizzling attraction–seems the only insurance against further treachery. But with millions at stake, trust can turn to betrayal in the blink of an eye.

My rating: 2.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Mystery or Thriller” square. Elizabeth and Jack make an interesting team in this story. He’s a little heavy-handed with the orders and she’s a little strong-willed so it makes an ok balance tension wise. There wasn’t really much depth to the characters though and there wasn’t any character growth. And to be honest, I’m getting sick of the women in romance novels always being like, there’s no way he loves me, this is surely just a fling, don’t get too invested. Realize your own self-worth woman! Gosh if  you don’t think you’re worth falling in love with, then he for sure won’t either. Just grow a pair.
The story line in itself was fine. Nothing outstanding but wasn’t awful either. I was pretty neutral to the plot. I didn’t really get excited at any points and I was honestly somewhat bored at a few points. I normally love this author but this was just not one of my favorites.

Memorable Quotes:
“A lady with a past has nothing to lose. But a woman with a future can’t be too careful.”

The bottom line:  I don’t think I would recommend this book. It was not my favorite and its not part of a series so I probably wouldn’t bother.

Author website
Link to Amazon

Friday Finds (Jan. 9)

Posted in Book memes, For the love of books, Friday Finds by

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FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by shouldbereading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.  Whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

My finds this week include an upcoming YA release, a thriller, a memoir and of course a romance:

1. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

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First off I just love this cover. Second, I love the book description. It sounds awesome. Rich girl is the key to an ancient prophecy and people are trying to kill her so she can’t fulfill her destiny? Sounds great to me!

2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

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I saw this book in the January edition of the BookPage newsletter and it was described as being “the next Gone Girl.” And I loved the Gone Girl novel so I read further into the article about “The Girl on the Train” and it sounds fascinating to me. A drunk jobless woman rides a train everyday and makes up stories about the people she sees as the train zips by. It even mentioned in the interview with Hawkins that there has been a discussion with DreamWorks but no definite plans have been made yet.

3. It Was Me All Along: A Memoir by Andie Mitchell

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This is another book that I saw in this month’s BookPage newsletter. This book about a woman’s lifelong struggle with weight and food. While I try not to consider myself fat, I can relate to seeking comfort in food. I have struggled a lot with my weight the past few years and I am really excited to read about this woman’s journey to being more healthy and learning to love every part of herself.

4. The Loving Daylights by Lynsay Sands

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I just love Lynsay Sands vampire novels. And while this may be a reprint I was excited to find something by her in the contemporary romance genre.

So those are my finds this week! Please feel free to share your finds or leave a link to your own “Friday Finds” blog posting below! Happy Friday!

2014 – Book #105

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by

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The hundred and fifth book I read in 2014 was No Strings Attached by Susan Andersen. I finished this book on 12/22/14. I rated this book 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Tasha Riordan and Luc Bradshaw. Tasha decides to go on vacation and while on vacation she meets a man that she becomes infatuated with, Luc. Luc is an undercover agent for the DEA and he gets word from his supervisor that his most recent undercover assignment might be falling apart. One of the people in the drug world where he resides as an undercover agent decides to set him up so that he falls out of favor with the head of the drug world.

Turns out though, that Tasha is alone in the hotel room when the Bahama police come to raid the room. She is arrested and kept in prison for three days, the longest three days of her life. She grows to hate Luc so big surprise when he turns out to be the long lost never known of brother to her best friend’s fiance’s. This whole plot line was a little too neat and convenient. Three half-brothers fall in love with three best friends.

Overall I was not a huge fan of this book. I found myself losing interest many times through the book and I could not seem to get myself involved in the story line. It was a cute story but it wasn’t my favorite in the least.

Link to author website: http://susanandersen.com/index.php

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Strings-Attached-Hqn-Susan-Andersen/dp/0373778872/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1419394737&sr=8-5

2014 – Book #102

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Cousins O'Dwyer series, Paranormal romance by

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The hundred and second book I read in 2014 was Blood Magick by Nora Roberts. This is the third book in her Cousins O’Dwyer trilogy. I read the first book in 2013 and it is therefore not on this blog yet, the second book I read in 2014 and you can see the review here. I finished this book on 11/16/14. I rated this book 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Branna O’Dwyer and Finbar Burke. Branna is the last of the three Dark Witches of Mayo. She has been in love with Finbar Burke since she was young but after they had sex for the first time when they were eighteen Fin woke up one morning with the mark of Cabhan.

Ever since that day, Fin has remained in Branna’s life but they haven’t been together as they both longed to be. In the previous two books we hear the story of Iona, Branna’s cousin from America, and Connor, Branna’s brother. We hear much of Branna and Fin’s back story through the first two books but we learn about some interesting developments in this third book in the trilogy. To be honest I thought it was a little weird that all of a sudden in this book Branna trusts Fin and decides to have a slumber party with him after all the inner turmoil she put herself through in the first two books.

Overall I thought this was an ok book. The ending went a little fast for me. It was a three book build up to this ending that was only about 10 pages, it just felt a little anticlimactic. It may have also been that i was looking forward to the book so much that I psyched myself up for it a bit too much. I did a WOW post on this book previously, which you can see here. And also I had trouble getting emotionally involved in the story, I didn’t feel like the characters had a lot of depth to them. Other than that it was a good read and I love the magical twist and also the glimpses into and connection with the past and the first three Dark Witches.

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

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Magick-Cousins-ODwyer-Roberts/dp/0425259870/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1416355039&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #100

Posted in Book reviews, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense by

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The hundredth book I read in 2014 was Long Time Coming by Edie Claire. This book was recommended to me by my cousin, Stephanie Gorman. I finished this book on 11/9/14. This was the first book I’ve read by this author. I rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Joy Hudson, who after 18 years away returns home to Wharton, Kentucky to care for her father and mother, both of which are not in the best of health anymore. Joy left home a long time ago and never looked back, too scarred by traumatic events that occurred at the end of her senior year to think of Wharton as home.

When Joy returns to Wharton though she is forced to face a variety of issues that she had up until then successfully avoided. Like why she feels so guilty about her best friend’s death in high school. And why she’s scared of Jeff Bradford (her best friend’s high school boyfriend) and how he makes her feel, even now eighteen years later.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I was interested in the story line and liked the mixture of paranormal and suspense in the plot. I thought that the characters could’ve been developed a tad bit more and had more depth. As much as we delved into Joy’s psyche I found her character to be a bit flat I guess. Other than that I liked the story well enough. Though I wouldn’t consider it one of my favorites, it was interesting and also free on Amazon Kindle!

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

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Time-Coming-Edie-Claire-ebook/dp/B004RJ7Y8Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415646021&sr=8-1&keywords=long+time+coming

2014 – Book #99

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

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The ninety-ninth book I read in 2014 was In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins. I have been very excited about this book for awhile (in fact, here is my “Waiting on Wednesday” post on the book) and couldn’t wait to start reading it. And once I started I couldn’t seem to put it down! I finished this book on 11/3/14. I rated this book 5 stars out of a scale of 5. This is the fourth book in the Blue Heron series. I have read the previous three books in the series as well and loved them all, though only one is discussed on this blog since the others were read prior to 2014. You can read my post on the other book in the series here. This really is just such a great series by one of my favorite authors and I highly recommend it!! I devour her books, I already can’t wait for the next in the series (hopefully Connor’s story!) to come out!!!

So, In Your Dreams is about police woman Emmaline Neal and town favorite Jack Holland. (Just for reference, Jack is brother to Faith and Honor, who were the heroines in books #1 and #2 in the series.) Emmaline had her heart squashed by her fiance 3 years ago and moved to Manningsport, NY to start over. Unfortunately, the dating pool is limited in the area so when she receives an invitation to her ex-fiance’s wedding, she has to find a man and fast. Luckily, Jack is skilled in helping out damsels in distress. He has been a last minute date for many functions in the past for various women in town, though he doesn’t expect to enjoy spending time with Emmaline quite so much.

Hoenstly I just loved this book. I literally couldn’t put it down, I read it in two nights because I got lost in the world that Higgins created. She is so gifted in character development and drawing you into the story. I love the characters she’s formed in this series and I love their individual stories. It was a great read and I would highly recommend trying it! For that matter, I would highly recommend the whole series!!

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

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Dreams-Blue-Heron-Series/dp/0373779313/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1415105684&sr=8-1

Waiting on Wednesday (4): Blood Magick by Nora Roberts

Posted in "Waiting On" Wednesday, For the love of books by

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“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

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Blood Magick by Nora Roberts

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Blurb from the cover (Amazon): 

Book Three of The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy
Blood Magick

County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna O’Dwyer fully embraces in her life and in her work as the proprietor of The Dark Witch shop, which carries soaps, lotions, and candles for tourists, made with Branna’s special touch.

Branna’s strength and selflessness hold together a close circle of friends and family—along with their horses and hawks and her beloved hound. But there’s a single missing link in the chain of her life: love…

She had it once—for a moment—with Finbar Burke, but a shared future is forbidden by history and blood. Which is why Fin has spent his life traveling the world to fill the abyss left in him by Branna, focusing on work rather than passion.

Branna and Fin’s relationship offers them both comfort and torment. And though they succumb to the heat between them, there can be no promises for tomorrow. A storm of shadows threatens everything that their circle holds dear. It will be Fin’s power, loyalty, and heart that will make all the difference in an age-old battle between the bonds that hold their friends together and the evil that has haunted their families for centuries.

Why Am I Waiting? 

This is the third book in Roberts’ Cousin’s O’Dwyer series. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, and honestly I’m eager to see the villain defeated and for Branna to end up with Fin. This series has been an interesting take on old Irish magic and I love the backstory to Branna, Connor, and Iona’s ancestors and the source of their magic. Overall a very interesting story.

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

Link to Amazon (pre-order): http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Magick-Cousins-ODwyer-Roberts/dp/0425259870/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1413987477

2014 – Book #87

Posted in Book reviews, Romantic suspense by

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The eighty-seventh book I read in 2014 was Mean Streak by Sandra Brown. I finished this book on 9/30/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book was about Dr. Emory Charbonneau, pediatrician and marathon runner who decides to complete a training run up in the mountains of North Carolina. While in the midst of her run, she is knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.

Emory wakes up in a stranger’s cabin. She has no memory of how he got there. And the man staring back at her looks far from gentle. Worried about why this strange man has brought her to his cabin, she shrinks back at first. However, after the stranger proves again and again that he won’t hurt her, she begins to relax around him. As he nurses her back to health, he tries to ignore the sparks that start to fly between them.

The thing that scares Emory the most is that this mystery man won’t tell her anything about himself, even his name. What is she supposed to tell her husband when this strange man finally returns her to her normal life? Does she even really want to return to her normal life? And then a crisis comes up and Emory and the mystery guy end up having to work together to help someone in need.

Overall I liked this book a lot. This wasn’t my favorite book of hers but the plot was interesting, it was well paced, and was even a little scary in the beginning, a good thriller novel. My only complaint is that the plot was a tad predictable. I usually can’t figure out this author’s plot twists but this one I did see coming a little bit. Was still great and I would definitely recommend!!

Link to author website: http://sandrabrown.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mean-Streak-Sandra-Brown/dp/1455581127/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1412207014&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #86

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Harmony, Paranormal romance, Rainshadow by

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The eighty-sixth book I read in 2014 was The Hot Zone by Jayne Castle. This is the fifteenth book in her Harmony series and the third book in her Rainshadow series. I finished this book on 9/27/14. I rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book is about Sedona Snow (descendant of Arizona Snow from one of Jayne Ann Krentz’s earlier novels) who was the victim of kidnapping and a subsequent awful medical experiment. After she escapes the mad scientist’s lab in the catacombs, she retreats to the island of Rainshadow to try and start over.

Cyrus Jones is the new Guild boss of the newly formed ghost hunter Guild on Rainshadow. While he is exciting to take on this new challenge, he is also there to check up on Sedona Snow. Jones is also a member of the Jones from the Arcane society. Cyrus was sent by Arcane to see if the “formula” worked on Sedona and she has developed some kind of second talent as her ancestor had also done. Multi-talents can sometimes become unstable and dangerous but Cyrus finds Sedona to be not only stable but extremely intriguing.

There’s a lot of other stuff going on in this story, all of which adds to the intrigue of the plot. I do have to say though that if you haven’t read the other Harmony books (or at least one) then this novel might be kind of hard to understand. Harmony is another planet. Apparently at some point in the future a “curtain” will open up between Earth and Harmony. Some people traveled over to Harmony to colonize it and then all of a sudden the curtain closes. The colonists on Harmony are stranded and all of a sudden when the curtain closes all their technology stops working. Also after living on Harmony for awhile amongst the Alien’s psi-strong tunnels, all the citizens of Harmony start to develop natural powers. Most citizens have low-level powers and all citizens need tuned amber to rez their talents, but Sedona and Cyrus are off the charts talents.

Overall I thought this was a really good book. I like this series a lot because its creative and interesting and completely out of the box. Who would ever think of this other planet where everyone has powers and there are underground tunnels that you get lost in unless you have tuned amber on you? Crazy. I would never think of that on my own. So, good book. Nothing outstandingly exciting but overall solid plot, well-paced, and interesting.

Link to author website: http://www.krentz-quick.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone-Rainshadow-Jayne-Castle/dp/0515154725/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411829348&sr=8-2&keywords=hot+zone