Love Romance Passion » 2.5 Stars http://www.loveromancepassion.com Because Books Don't Fall Asleep Afterwards! Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Review: Dylan by C. H. Admirand http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-dylan-by-c-h-admirand/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-dylan-by-c-h-admirand/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:54:47 +0000 Susan S. http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13380

Reviewed by Susan S.

Summary: The Secret Life of Cowboys Trilogy, Book Two

Her Plan

Veronica (Ronnie) DelVecchio is determined to thwart Dylan Garahan’s advances and avoid the family curse. The one about DelVecchio women falling for Irishmen only to end up carrying not one, but “two” buns in the oven. Nuh-uh! No way. She will remain strong! Even if he is the sexiest tall drink of water in all of Texas.

Is Not Working

What with Dylan repairing her shop and her cooking at his ranch, Ronnie’s resolve is fading faster than the paint on the cars at a junkyard. Who is she kidding, though? The man dances/strips at the Lucky Star. Hello! His body can’t be resisted. By anyone. Will Ronnie be quick enough to duck when he tries to lasso her heart, or will she realize that you can’t outrun a family curse?

Review: With Dylan I felt the characters’ emotional shifts happened too quickly and too often; throwing me out of the story. One second there’s pure rage, the next-there’s laughter. And I’ll admit, the humor was lost on me.

Too much testosterone is not necessarily a plus. The Garahan brothers (Tyler, Dylan and Jesse) have trouble verbalizing their feelings. That’s understandable. Some men aren’t very wordy or expressive. But the fact that they physically go to blows all the time? That was unappealing. To me.

The second half did seem more comfortable in its skin. And I did enjoy the idea of three brothers working hard to maintain the family ranch.

What I enjoyed: Dylan’s one-armed push-ups. Yum.

My Favorite Character: An elderly widow named Mavis. She’s a wonderful friend.

Disclaimer: I received this novel via NetGalley and free of charge by Sourcebooks Casablanca (in exchange for my honest review).

What’s Next? Jesse. The story of the youngest Garahan brother releases in July of 2012.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: Dylan

Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc., Copyright 2012, ISBN-13# 978-1402258077.

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Before you start: Have you read Jane Eyre? Did you like it? Well The Forbidden Wife followed Jane Eyre to a Tee, which is great if you love Jane Eyre (which I do) but awful if you’re looking for new surprises (I was and there wasn’t any).

Heroine: 18 year old Ashley Jones is an orphan who grew up in the foster care system. She’s got lots of debt and so desires jobs that include room and board. She’s pretty perceptive and has a lot of insights on people’s behavior because of her upbringing. Working as Jack’s live-in assistant at Blackwood Manor is her ticket for something better, even if it’s located out in the middle of nowhere on the moors.

Hero: 30 something Jack Marchant is working on a novel about his experiences in the military where something bad happened (but is never explained). He suffers a lot from bad dreams which might be indicative of PTSD (but again never specifically stated). He wants Ashley, his little oddball, something fierce, but the trick is making her realize she wants him and can have him.

Wife in the Attic: Or in this case the cruel wife in a coma. She tricked Jack into marriage with a fake pregnancy, which he honored even after finding out because he didn’t want her to swindle him out of money for a marriage that was only 3 months old and also because his pride demanded he make it work anyway.

Review: I wanted Forbidden Wife to do more. If it explored more emotional depth out of Ashley and Jack it could have been a solid update on Jane Eyre. I found this review of the story hilarious because it really tells it like it is.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: The Forbidden Wife (Harlequin Presents)

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Genre: Non-Fiction look at Romance Novels

Who is Sarah Wendell? She’s one of two romance bloggers behind Smart Bitches <3 Trashy Books. She knows her stuff. You should listen to her. She’s funny too!

Who Should Read This Book? Non-romance readers wanting to know what’s the big deal about this genre.

Who’s in the Book? Big name authors and you! Readers of Smart Bitches’ romance blog who answered questions while Sarah wrote the book. Sharon S. from LRP is in it too! See page 108.

A Chapter of Note: "We Know Good Sex" describes how romance novels and erotica romance has taught women to love themselves, their bodies, and sex. Several readers share how romances changed their opinions and views about sex and took charge in the bedroom and out because of them. One of their stories might resonate with you.

Review: This book is an important contribution to the genre, but I felt it wasn’t really aimed at me, a romance reader, but more to enlightening people about romances. That I believe is the main and foremost goal of the book and I did not take away from it as much as I did from Sarah’s first book which shared some fun things about the genre itself.

Additionally, the beginning of the book seemed overly defensive of our reading choice, but that could just be me. I got the feeling while reading (and this is my own words) that the standard phrase was “I know I won’t get a multi-gazillionaire, super hot, ex-pirate, tycoon who owns his own Greek island paradise with a hoard of servants, but I’ll get a guy who can be my own heavily flawed hero...” with an underlying “So back off!” and “See? I’m not a delusional female with a hoard of kittens in my cupboards.” Exactly the opposite vibe the book was trying to send. So while I liked parts, there were parts that I didn’t like so much too.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-everything-i-know-about-love-i-learned-from-romance-novels-by-sarah-wendell/feed/ 0 Review: Dark Awakening (Dark Dynasties, Book 1) by Kendra Leigh Castle http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-dark-awakening-dark-dynasties-book-1-by-kendra-leigh-castle/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-dark-awakening-dark-dynasties-book-1-by-kendra-leigh-castle/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:00:00 +0000 Sharon S. http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12640

Reviewed by Sharon S.

This story is set in a closed world. Vampires have divided into dynasties based on a powerful ancestor. Each dynasty has its own special powers and a distinctive mark that appears when you take their blood. The vampire society as a whole functions like a caste system with the “Highbloods”, the aristocracy, and the “Lowbloods” who are treated as slaves. The lowbloods are considered tainted blood and the lowest are the Cait Sith, a cat shifting vampire. Someone is killing off one of the oldest and most powerful dynasties and it looks like the Draculs (yes, Vlad is the head of this dynasty) are behind it, and a brutal war is about to erupt.

This story didn’t ever grab me. The overall plot was predictable and moved in a linear fashion. No plot twists or big reveals, especially considering how complex the world building was. A lot of research went into setting up the dynasties based on actual ancient characters, but I was never able to really buy into it and unfortunately I can’t give you any concrete reasons other than it just didn’t work for me.

Lilly, unknowingly, is a descendant of the ancient dynasty of Lilith that had been wiped out because of jealousy by another dynasty. Our hero, Tynan belongs to the Cait Sith race of vampires and they are considered nothing more than slaves. He is sent to bring her to his Queen to help in the fight against the Dracul. You have a destined queen and a lowly slave whose love will bring back the old ways where everyone is treated equally (expect for the werewolves who are in the next book). The romance between Lilly and Ty never captured my interest. Nothing set them apart from all the other stories out there.

It might just be the author’s writing style didn’t mesh well with me, but this just wasn’t a book for me. I suggest checking out other reviews to see if this one is for you.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: Dark Awakening (Dark Dynasties, Book 1)

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Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

Genre: Paranormal Romance

In Kathryn Leigh Scott’s story, she puts a new spin on what a vampire is. We meet Meg as a young girl trying to act as “normal” as possible. Meg is different from most vampire characters than I have read in the past. She is a vampire that can talk to dead people.

I did love how Kathryn put a different spin on our vampire. Meg grows up in the year 1962 and becomes a Playboy Bunny. I also loved the fact that Kathryn references actual historical events instead of making up history to fit her story line.

As I start getting into the story, I read more about Meg’s “Bunny” lifestyle and her trying to become an actress then I do about her being a vampire. There were times that I felt that the character, Meg, could just have been anyone and not someone with special “gifts”.

A personal tragedy occurs and then we start to see Meg thinking about her vampire powers. But so far she doesn’t really act on them. Kathryn also gives us a look into more of what Meg’s childhood was like.

Every once in a while we do get a glimpse of the vampire – we see Meg “feed”. In most vampire stories, our vampires “feed” from humans but Meg uses alternatives. This makes Kathryn’s story a little different from most.

I found that the first couple of chapters were moving a little slow. Kathryn is giving the reader a lot of information about what is going on in Meg’s life. Sometimes I felt that it was a little too much.

Then we see Meg become a member of a soap opera entitled “Dark Passages”.

I do like that Kathryn is very descriptive. It helps the reader get an idea of what is going on in the story. But I also think this works against her because it makes the book hard to read because the scenes move so slowly. It also makes the reader feel that they are watching an actual soap opera - albeit a slow one.

And we haven’t even seen the romance end of it yet. Who is her love interest? Will we ever find out who he is? I’m hoping by the start of chapter 4 that the love interest will show himself and then maybe the story won’t appear so slow. But I was to be disappointed.

In chapter 5, Meg mentions a guy named Eric who appears to be special to her. We have to take her word for that because there is no mention about him in previous chapters. I felt he was “plopped” into the story line because a love interest had to show up somewhere. But I didn’t feel a connection between the two characters. Then we find that Meg has a crush on another actor. This just confuses the reader as to who her love interest is.

Kathryn wrote a beautiful love scene between Meg and Eric. But when it came, it was a surprise. I didn’t expect it because I don’t see a past romance between the two. And they don’t even stay a couple.

Meg gets a “lucky charm” from a very dear friend. One you don’t think she will ever give up. But then we see that she gives it away. Can’t be much of a “lucky charm”.

We then find out that Meg’s nemesis, Camilla, joins the cast of “Dark Passages”. Now we get into a story of good versus evil. It isn’t until chapter 18 that we see what type of vampire Meg really is. It takes Meg’s mother to let the reader know why Camilla hates Meg so much. This conflict between the two of them is what brings out Meg’s powers that we haven’t seen before.

And still at this point I don’t see any real romance. Romance grips you and you can feel the chemistry between the two characters. I don’t feel that anywhere in this book. There is plenty of suspense but the romance is lost in the story line. Usually the romance builds through the book and sometimes they “live happily ever after.” Maybe I missed something but I just didn’t see that here.

I got to a point in the book that I had a hard time concentrating on the story. I found that I had to keep putting it down, go do something else, and then pick it back up again. I didn’t feel that the story picked up until a few chapters from the end. It took me the longest time to read this book (the first time ever).

A lot of my good paranormal romances I have read more than once. I’m sorry to say that once was enough for this book. You as the reader will have to decide if you agree with my feelings about this.

When I received the book “Dark Passages” I was very interested to see that the author was on my favorite show when I was growing up. I always looked forward to watching “Dark Shadows”. It was like an addiction. I had to watch it every time it came on. That was when I first fell in love with vampires.

I had such high hopes that Kathryn would grab my attention right from the beginning but this book failed to deliver. Maybe if the book had fewer pages it would have helped. But I don’t know if that would be true or not. It is not a book that I would go out and buy but I would recommend that if you want to read it, get it from your library.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: Dark Passages

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by Aggie S., guest reviewer

Summary: Christina Murray recently divorced decides to go to Scotland after receiving a letter from Ellen Maxwell asking her to come. She had been visiting various parts of Scotland throughout the years and this was an invitation to come to the oldest manor in Scotland that has survived 800 years. Upon her arrival Ms. Maxwell dies without telling Christina why she invited her. Christina learns that she is to inherit Traquair House.

Traquir House is open to the public for tours, but Christina decides to cancel those for a brief time after she starts having dreams of being back in the 13th century. The one servant, who lives at the house, seems efficient enough in her job that Christina lets her stay. She meets one of the neighbors and falls head over heels for him right from the start. He apparently feels the same way. She shares her dream with him and they decide to pursue the meaning of them. Kate, the servant and Ian are working together to uncover and discover truths behind Tranquair House and it's curse.

Review: This book is interesting, but not one I would consider to be a steady read. There is so much bouncing between the dreams and reality it is hard to sometimes differentiate between the two and the dreams seem to be dragged out more than necessary. What finally worked for me was that the end of the story was not quite what I expected.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: Legacy

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Hero: Ethan Gray has pledged his life to the People (Cheyenne) and when they need him he goes straightaway to the council where he’s given his orders. Ethan is a time-traveling shifter who can transform into a raven. When he returns to the past to lead the Cheyenne’s Dog Soldiers he melds perfectly into their lives. They never know he’s just a temporary visitor. His Cheyenne name is I Am The Wind or Meko.

Heroine: Francesca Duvall's life changes in an instant when I Am the Wind appears before her in a clearing during an Indian attack. He captures her and her brother is capture by another. Cesca’s life hangs in the balance and so does Marsh’s. Lucky for her, Meko wants her as his wife. Not so lucky is Marsh’s treatment at the hands of his captor. Saving him, means risking herself, but Cesca will do it nevertheless.

Review: The overall writing quality is excellent and if two initial plot points hadn’t occurred I would have been swept away into the story without a word to the contrary (except for the many Indian names, which sometimes appear only once or twice and never again).

As it was, I found it hard to swallow the instant lust/love on Cesca’s side. Meko’s attraction and love yes, because the author built up that he dreamed about her as Ethan, but for Cesca she’s much too strongly opposed to the Cheyenne and Meko at first to believably fall head long over heels for him. I feel this should have dragged out a little longer, but the author was working a long timeline with many things to fit in and the initial stirrings suffered for it.

The other plot point ties into this one and its Cesca’s initial feelings and prejudices for the Cheyenne seem to disappear rather too quickly for someone who didn’t want to change into their clothes or initial partake in their life. Because of the initial start as a reader I kept pulling out of the story trying to logically figure out the relationship pacing and when the angsty moment came for their temporary breakup (a part I usually love) I just wanted to smack Cesca upside the head. She’s nearly raped and then blames Meko for saving her of all things because it got too messy for her (you know with killing the evil white soldiers.)

I did like the ending and how the time travel was handled... unexpected and fun! This is an epic feeling novel compacted into a few hundred pages. I enjoyed the story and wouldn’t mind following another time traveling shifter Native American back into the past as the world building by Diablo is very well done and likeable. Perhaps Marsh’s tale?

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Buy: Where the Rain is Made

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Summary: Hannah Robinson gets dumped by her longtime boyfriend days before she’s going to open her new shop, Cupcakes on the Corner. Even though he’s told her he’s leaving her for another woman she can’t quite believe it’s happened. Everyone loved Patrick, including her, she didn’t even know things were bad with them… and even her mother was certain there would be wedding bells before long. What a nightmare! Her best friend, Adam, gives her his birthday as the deadline to get the shop up and running and successful, which she’s determined to do, even if Patrick’s new girlfriend is pregnant and bombshells keep landing on her head and the lives of those around her, specifically family friend Alice.

Review: Semi-Sweet switches POVs with several characters examining all aspects of love and romance across several different couples. You get inside cheating Patrick’s head (props for this), sweet Adam’s mind, the nervous wreck of Hannah’s, and also into a slew of other side characters including Patrick's new girlfriend, Adam’s sister, Hannah’s mom, the new girlfriend's mom, Hannah’s mom’s friend/boss Alice, and so on, which can a little confusing as sometimes you don’t know which head you pop into for a sentence or two.

Life isn’t easy for the characters as you watch them muddle through their relationships in this small Irish town where everyone knows everyone. Other people’s problems cut into Hannah’s new romance and among them are alcoholism and a child’s death, which turned the novel into a downer for me personally.

Recommended: If you read chick-lit novels, contemporary women’s fiction, books on love and loss, or want to simply find out just how much scum Patrick is, this book is for you.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: Semi-Sweet: A Novel of Love and Cupcakes

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by Karin, guest reviewer from Savvy Thinker

Driftwood Cottage hooked me into the story in the first few pages.  I really enjoy the characters that Sherryl Woods creates.  On the other hand there were issues I had from the beginning.

Story: Heather Donahue is a single mom to a young son. Her son's father, Connor O'Brien, is a divorce attorney in Baltimore who has made no secret that he intends never to marry. Heather knew this from the start, and it wasn't a problem until their son was born.

Even though they love each other, Heather leaves him for a new life without him. She chooses to live in Chesapeake Shores, where his large family lives and embraces her fully. She opens a quilt store, which affords many interesting encounters in the story.

The negatives: One huge negative to me is that she leaves her baby son for weeks with O’Brien’s family while she tries to figure out her next step (to move near them and open a store.)

I find it highly unlikely that a mother with a heart for her child would do this and risk being charged with abandonment and so lose custody -- or that there wouldn't be repercussions with her child exhibiting issues of abandonment.

There was no mention of the number of weeks or if she ever saw her child during this time.

For all the mention of how much the two of them loved their son, there was an awful lot of handing him off to others.

And I have to say all the conversations about Connor not wanting to marry got very tedious, even if they were explored up one side and down the other.

The pluses: I really enjoyed seeing how Connor's family was always conspiring to change his mind about marrying her.

Of course, the course of true love never runs smoothly, but you know it will end well.

I loved the interaction with friends and family and the quilt store.

I love the idea that other peripheral characters may well have a book of their own. It is a testament to Woods' writing skills that we care so much about them and want to see more of them.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ because of my negatives.

Have you read it?

Buy: Driftwood Cottage (Chesapeake Shores)

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by Isabel G., guest reviewer

Alice is on a slightly altered adventure in this twist on a childhood classic. The accident that sends Alice to Wonderland makes her question more than just her surroundings; it makes her question if she’s still alive. She finds herself craving meat from both the living and the walking dead. Yes, it seems most of our favorite characters have either perished, are in the process of dying, or killed as the story progresses. Could there be an upside? They come back as zombies!

I liked how the story began and it had a lot of potential. The idea of Alice being in the graveyard and following the black rat was brilliant. The part with the baby turning into a zombie, however, was creepy even for this story. It’s interesting that some of the material can be considered humorous while other sections are too gory and dark to be part of the same story. By the way, Alice is a bit of a hypocrite about the other characters eating each other, when she herself, indulged in some cannibalism at the Tea Party. The best part is how Alice’s own sister thinks of her. At the end of the story, Alice’s sister was as rotten a person as any zombie Alice dreamed up.

Besides the nonsense that’s normally attributed to any version of Alice in Wonderland, the Alice in Zombieland story had a few adjectives that seemed out of place. Some of the wording chosen didn’t make sense in certain sentences. For example, on page 236, “Its rotting head collapsed around her huge horny fist…” What is that? How does the word horny factor into the sentence?

Weaknesses: Getting past the back-to-back run on sentences was an uphill battle. The book came perilously close to taking flight…straight into my bedroom wall. The hope it would improve was still alive…and so, I continued. To my relief, the story and writing improved enough to keep me reading.

Strengths: Hello! Zombies, Alice, the Mad Hatter, all of our childhood favorites. Well zombies were part of my childhood at least; I loved/still love those horror movies.

Recommendations: If you generally read mash-up novels such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, and Little Vampire Women, then you’ll find this an enjoyable read. But if on the other hand, you don’t read mash-ups, and are a stickler for good grammar, you may choose to bypass altogether.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: Alice in Zombieland

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN# 978-1-4022-5621-9
Copyright 2009, 2011
Genre: Humor
Pages: 240

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