Entries Tagged 'Virgin Hero' ↓
March 16th, 2010 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Clumsy Heroine, Contemporary, Love Triangle, Paranormal, Stephenie Meyer, United States of America, Vampire, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine, Werewolf, Young Adult
The second book in the Twilight saga is entitled New Moon and if the first book was about finding true love, then this book is about losing true love. I am not particularly fond of this book. It is because it contains so little Edward. We are introduced to the other paranormal group just up the road however. We meet those that live La Push Reservation, home to the Quileute Tribe. Some we've been introduced to before, like Jacob Black. Others are new.
If you couldn't wait for the library to hand you this next book in the series, you read the beginning chapter that was at the end of Twilight. A teaser that leaves you wondering what happens to Bella when she cuts herself at the Cullens house. Her blood makes them thirsty, none more so than Jasper who has the least control. Edward gets Bella to safety but the damage is done.
The next few days he becomes more and more distant to Bella. She's desperate to break through to Edward when suddenly he starts to talk to her again. Only she wished he wouldn't. I wished he hadn't too. He breaks it off with her at the edge of the forest. It is better than the sewers Angel dumped Buffy in, but I was heartbroken and Bella more so. Here it is, I thought, the end of a good story (but just you wait... keep reading).
So deep is her grief over losing Edward she loses herself and becomes a walking shell. It isn't until half a year later that she can even stick her head above the water. She does it only because Charlie is running scared and pulling ultimatums about going to Florida to live with her mother. Bella can't do that. Doing that means leaving the magic of Forks behind and relegating Edward to a memory and not a reality. So she asks a friend to the movies... anything without romance. She couldn't handle that. It's after the movies that the story gains interest again. She hears Edwards voice... in her head. His voice is a beautiful hallucination warning her of the danger ahead.
What follows next is a series of stupid reckless moves as Bella fights to hear his voice. She turns to Jacob Black to help her fix motorcycles, thinking the danger in riding them would provide her with Edward's voice. She becomes Jacob's friend, and over the hundreds of pages left he becomes the sun to warm the desolation of her life. I don't like Jacob. He keeps pushing the friend boundary, so certain of Bella turning to him and forgetting about Edward despite her repeated warnings that she'll never love anyone but Edward.
But then the story changes again and it's like sweet music playing in your mind because you just know Edward's coming back into the picture. And like Bella, you fear you are going to miss him, lose him again. The book ends on the sweetest note imaginable and you close this sad book feeling ridiculously happy. The ending is four and a half stars.
Rating: 3 Stars
Originally posted 2008-11-19 04:13:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 28th, 2010 — 5 Stars, ARC, Artist, Blackmail, Friends, Gentry, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Magic Users, Mystery, P-R, Paranormal, Rape/Abuse, Regency, Scarred Hero, Suspense/Thriller, Virgin Hero
by Susan S., Guest Reviewer
“Huzzah” for this Kensington Zebra debut author! Erica Ridley’s Too Wicked To Kiss is a titillating whodunit set in a London castle. There’s unlit corridors, secret passageways, stolen kisses, and a hero in cravats and breeches, “Oh my!” I may not wield powers of clairvoyance like (Evangeline) Ridley’s heroine, but I’m predicting this author will receive many calling cards from readers.
Are you going to like this historical romance? Ooo…yeah! I received the eARC for review and pre-ordered the paperback from B&N. I simply must procure the paperback for my bookshelf! Just picture me for a second, walking on hot coals repeating, “Hot, hot, hot, hot!”
Evangeline Pemberton is no stranger to heartache. Her mother has recently passed, and she’s just ran-away from her physically abusive stepfather (Neal) who aside from hitting her also entertains lascivious thoughts regarding his stepdaughter. Evangeline’s clairvoyant gift has caused her to shun both friends and the touch of others. Any touch brings about visions either past or yet-to-be along with one hellacious headache. Alone and out of options, she turns to Lady Stanton and her daughter Miss Susan Stanton. They offer to take her to Blackberry Manor in London with “one” simple stipulation; entrap Gavin Lioncroft (hero) into a betrothal contract with Susan. Evangeline’s not sure which of these three options terrifies her more: (1) deceiving an innocent bachelor into marriage with a total stranger (2) the fact that Gavin is a presumed murderer and they’re to stay in his manor for two weeks or (3) that Neal will find her.
When a murder is committed in Blackberry Manor everyone’s suspect, with at least 15 suspects and three with a motive to kill, this whodunit will leave you second-guessing the guilty party until the very end.
Evangeline finds her upcoming deception harder and harder to accomplish. Gavin is stirring passions within her both new and wonderful. Will she entrap Gavin for Susan? Or will Evangeline keep this “sinfully handsome” man for herself?
My favorite character was the hero, Gavin. What’s not to love? He’s a wickedly handsome tease. He protects those he loves; he’s passionate and goes after what he wants. Not to mention, here’s a man who knows how to apologize.
My favorite scene: In the dining room Gavin’s gaze slides down Evangeline’s body and retraces the path back up. He stares boldly and lifts an eyebrow to let her know, he likes what he sees. When she does the same to him and looks up at his face, he winks.
Too Wicked To Kiss is funny, sensual, entertaining and has a happily-ever-after. A must read!
Recommendations: If you like romances, this novel is a must read. I’m also recommending it to readers who like Sherlock Holmes, whodunits, Nancy Drew, mystery, romantic suspense, hot reads, Regency, historical and happily ever afters.
The sequel to Too Wicked To Kiss is set to release in the spring of 2011. Too Sinful To Deny is the story of a gossip-hungry heroine Miss Susan Stanton. Susan is Evangeline’s friend in book one. Something tells me there are lots of changes to come for Miss Stanton and some of which include…pirates!
Rating: 5 Stars
Buy: Too Wicked To Kiss
Zebra Books, An Imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp., Historical Romance, Regency, Paranormal, eARC, Copyright March 2, 2010, pages 451. ISBN (10) 142 010 9936. ISBN (13) 978-1420109931.
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February 22nd, 2010 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Clumsy Heroine, Contemporary, Paranormal, Stephenie Meyer, United States of America, Vampire, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine, Werewolf, Young Adult
The first book in the Twilight saga as said by the author in the Amazon interview is about finding true love and is conveniently entitled Twilight. Stephenie Meyer was partial to calling it Forks, the name of the little town Bella goes to live. Her name was chosen because Stephenie Meyer would have named her daughter that if she had one. It fit so nicely with Edward. Bella's full name is Isabella Swan.
Isabella goes to live in Forks, a little town that really does exist on the map on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Forks is full of rain. It never stops raining. It rains so much you never dry out. Isabella is horrified at the idea of returning to her childhood home to live with her father, Charlie, but she is going to go through with it. Bella is like that. Once she has made up her mind she won't change it. The agonizing and worrying and doubting happens during the decision making process only.
Bella moves to Forks so her mother Renee can move around from place to place with her second (new) husband Phil and not feel guilty. She wants her mother to be happy and by going to Forks she'll make Charlie happy. She's going to miss the sunshine and heat of Arizona. But most of all, Bella is going to miss how easily she blended despite her pale skin into the crowds of her large high school. Forks is small and can not hold a secret. Bella is afraid of her first day of sophomore year. She doesn't want to stick out like the clumsy sore thumb she is but knows she will.
At school things were going like she predicted and in ways she wasn't expecting. Boys were paying attention to her, she was the center of attention, and at lunch the most beautiful kids were staring at her. Who were they? Why did suddenly, the most handsome look up and glare at her? At the table sat the Cullens. Each was adopted by Dr. Carlisle and his wife Esme. They didn't hang out with anybody in school. Bella was told they thought themselves better than the rest.
But this did not explain the youngest Cullens' behavior. Why did he act like he couldn't stand her when she had done nothing to him? Why did he try to change out of biology before the school day was over? Why did he skip so much school? Was it to avoid her? Edward Cullens mystified Isabella Swan. That was until she found out he was a vampire. Then it made sense.
The Cullens are different from other vampires. The first of which I can't say since it is fun to hear of it in the third book. The second is because they are in their own terms, ‘vegetarians.' They choose to drink animal blood over human. You can tell when vampires shy from human blood because their irises are gold and not blood red. Bella can tell when Edward is thirsty or mad simply by the color of his irises. At first he is surprised, but then he relaxes. After all she was observant enough to notice he was a vampire when others simply ignored all the signs.
The sentence structure of Twilight is a little choppy and hard to get into. The story picks up, right where the author first dreamed about it. Stephenie Meyer wrote the scene in the meadow first and finished the story before returning to write the beginning. Beginnings are hard, and if you can push past the first one hundred to one-hundred-and-fifty pages then it gets good. That is when the story becomes captivating and hard to put down. Edward and Bella is a classic that only gets better.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
Originally posted 2008-12-01 01:36:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 2nd, 2010 — 4 Stars, ARC, Convict, Friends, Gentry, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Ranching, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Soldier, Spinster, Thief, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine
Lessons in French is a feel-good story. It’s cute, lighthearted, and full of whimsy. It was the right novel at the right time. I needed cute, lighthearted, and whimsy. I smiled a lot when reading it and rooted for both of the main characters. They’re imperfect, but that just makes them extremely likeable.
The heroine is as Laura Kinsale describes--an anti-kickass heroine. Callie Taillefaire is pretty shy. She prefers her animals to men and ballrooms. In ballrooms she’s an absolute wallflower without even trying. She was betrothed three times and all three men left her cold. The people of Shelford love her, but even they have to wonder what’s wrong with her when eighty thousand pounds won’t get a man to the altar. What’s great about Callie is that even though she’s not one of the kickass heroines running around in other romances, she can be fierce and courageous. She’ll even save the hero.
Trevelyn d’Augustin is a very interesting character. He is the son of aristocratic but impoverished French émigrés. Nine years approximately before the story starts, he was in love (or pretty darn close to admitting it anyway) with Callie. That her father did not approve of him is an understatement. One bad episode and Trev runs away to France where he does a lot of things from organizing fights, shooting at Englishmen, becoming a war prisoner, returning to England and organizing more fights, and getting in trouble with the law. He’s avoided Shelford for ages because he’s positive Callie is married with kids, but with his mother extremely ill he can no longer stay away.
They both get a second chance at first love. Trev pulls Callie out of her shell, one hilarious incident after another. Callie gives Trev comfort and quiet strength and a sense of purpose, but she can’t imagine that he feels anything beyond friendship and gratitude for her. So when her sister, Hermione gets engaged to Sir Thomas Vickery, Callie seriously entertains the attentions of an old fiancé. She won’t burden her sister and she won’t stick around with her cousin and his wife Dolly. Trev won’t pursue her romantically because of his legal troubles and because he feels she deserves more than he can offer… and certainly more than this idiot who’s back and sniffing after her eighty thousand pounds.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Lessons in French
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January 29th, 2010 — 4 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Great Britain, Heiress, Historical Romance, Mistaken Identity, Science, Spinster, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine
I literally couldn’t put Vexing the Viscount down. I devoured the book in just two days. For those on Twitter, this was the book I was talking about not too terribly long ago. So what's it about?
Romance treasure, naughty sculptures, and pagan adventures are the pursuits of the impoverished Viscount Rutland and curious Miss Daisy Duke. But even more scrumptious than the thrill of finding lost treasure is watching Daisy Duke attempts to win over the reluctant Viscount.
The man won’t budge! Ever since Lucian Beaumont's run-in with her pike while playacting when they were younger. (Despite the past acquaintance they are not childhood friends.) If her deadly aim weren’t enough of a detraction, clearly there must be something dreadfully wrong with her as she is a lovely unwed heiress… must mean she is nothing less than socially unacceptable. He needs a fortune, but he does not need hers! As if his own reasons weren't enough of a deterrent his father’s particular disliking for the Dukes, especially her uncle, must be taken into consideration.
Still, Daisy remains undaunted. Adventure she craves and adventure is what she's going to get. The girl takes the mistaken identity plot device and runs with it - playing herself by day and courtesan by night. It's wicked good fun! Plus Lucian Beaumont is a virgin hero. Yes, that means what you think it does… a virgin hero going to a virgin heroine for love lessons. Squee!
Vexing the Viscount is engaging, spicy, and delightfully intricate... a must read for the adventurous at heart.
Rating: 4 Stars
Originally posted 2009-03-28 11:58:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 19th, 2009 — About, Defining the Genre, Poll, Super Hero, Virgin Hero
There are two male extremes in romance novels. The first is the rake, who is a ladies' man among ladies' men. The second is the untested virgin hero. Both are equally well received if given the right set of circumstances, but the rake is by far the most likely hero candidate. Why? When as Jane from Dear Author points out a rake in any other romance subgenre outside of historical romance is an indiscriminate immoral playboy? Surely by comparison a virgin hero is sexier! Let’s examine how:
A Virgin Hero is Sexy Because…
- He takes the act of sex seriously or has valid reasons to abstain like being lost in a wilderness for a decade.
- He doesn’t have a bed post filled with notches.
- He doesn’t have sexual diseases.
- He hasn’t fathered a dozen bastard children.
- He has a sex drive and chooses to wait.
- He might be a super hero or alien. Or both, just look at Clark Kent.
- His heroine will be the focus of all that pent-up sexual energy. Yum.
- He’s pure, untouched, and very likely not jaded.
- He is infinitely more remarkable because he’s uncommon.
- His heroine gets to be his first.
- He could be a virginal alpha hero or a beta hero.
- He’s usually not ignorant of the act unlike his counterpart the virgin heroine.
- His POV in the love making scene is hot enough to make you melt.
- He’s king of control. (Take that rake/playboy!)
- He’ll remember
your her name.
For a list of virgin hero romance novels head over to All About Romance. Don’t forget to check out the category of virgin hero romance here at Love Romance Passion.
Your Turn: do you like your heroes virginal or rakish?
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November 30th, 2009 — 5 Stars, Book Review, Clumsy Heroine, Contemporary, Love Triangle, Paranormal, Stephenie Meyer, United States of America, Vampire, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine, Werewolf, Young Adult
Book three in the Twilight saga is by far my favorite of those books published. (Breaking Dawn, book 4, is coming out in August)
Eclipse is simply beautiful. It’s longer than the other two books but does not contain chapter one of the next book (darnit!). In Twilight, true love was found. In New Moon, true love was lost. In Eclipse true love is a choice.
Eclipse is all about Jacob and Edward and their love for Bella. Edward hates Bella’s attachment to Jacob, but he feels he should not get between. Why? Simply put, because Edward feels he should suffer the consequences of his actions last year. That having to deal with Jacob is part of the price he has to pay for his foolish decision to leave Bella.
Victoria, the vampire out to get Bella from the last book is still at large. It is Bella who puts all the clues together and comes up with the answer. Edward and Jacob and the rest of the Cullens and Werewolves have to work together to protect her. Are the dogs and bloodsuckers really going to work together? Hmm… you could say trouble is in the air.
I have three favorite scenes in this book. The first is the night Bella goes over to the Cullens for her weekend abduction (this is part of the plan with the werewolves and the vampires) and stays with Edward alone. I won’t say exactly why I like this scene, but if you could probably guess if you have read the other books by this point. I loved it. It is hands down the best scene out of all three books. I laughed out loud quite a few times because of Bella's remarks.
The second is Bella’s quasi dream where she overhears Edward and Jacob talking in the tent. Jacob asks that Edward speak plainly since he can’t hear his thoughts like Edward can hear Jacob. They talk about Bella and Edward is so noble in this scene you just want to find him and cuddle him to death. Pun intended. Their truce ends at daylight.
And lastly I loved the ending scenes from the time Bella stops crying to the very end. They feel like one big scene, culminating once again in Edward and Bella’s meadow. It is here he’s determined to be the selfless he’s ever been. He’s been watching her and it seems she’s doing everything everybody else wants, making them happy at her own expense. So he puts his wants aside and lets Bella choose how to best make herself happy. She’s happy right where she is and the other pain will fade in time… she hopes.
The point of view changes from there to Jacob’s and as I read it I was feeling vindictive. Not a very nice thing to begrudge a fictional character, but I was glad for his pain. I still am. It’s just another sign in my opinion at Stephenie Meyer’s skill at writing her own characters. We don’t get that wrapped up in the story too often. It is very rare, last seen in Harry Potter, the story of the boy wizard. I hope you will pick up this saga and find yourself as riveted by this compelling love story as I was.
Rating: 5 Stars
Happy Readings!
P.S. What book four will be about I can not begin to guess. True love is able to heal all wounds? What do you think? Leave a comment and tell me!
Originally posted 2008-11-27 10:05:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 11th, 2009 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Great Britain, J-L, Jane Austen, Regency, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine
What I love most about this book is the research and language used to express the time period. Lathan’s diction is vastly superb – I had to look one or two words up. (Romance novels have all the credit when it comes to my 750 verbal SAT score from way back when.) The way she writes is very mellow, you’re not putting the book down feeling more anxious than when you started. This is an excellent novel to curl up with before drifting off to sleep. Who doesn't love to dream of Mr. Darcy?
I am as much a fan of Pride and Prejudice as Lathan is, especially the 2005 movie rendition. I could not picture her version of Darcy and Elizabeth as Matthew and Keira after a few chapters, but I could see them in Jane’s original portrayal. Elizabeth is sometimes silly, seeming younger than she should, but I found it understandable if you remembered how young she actually was and the fact that Pemberley and its surroundings are all new to her. Her silliness does not reach at any point Lydia’s level of stupidity… more like Jane’s silliness when it came to Bingley during the hardships of their courtship. Little problems are solved quickly and easily if both Darcy and Lizzy open up to each other.
Darcy and Elizabeth are effusive in their declarations of love. I applaud Lathan for writing Darcy as a virgin hero. It's hard to imagine him as experienced even with his deep passions, because he held himself apart from society and saw their superficial actions as crude and undignified (both in Austen's novel I feel and expressly in Lathan's continuation.) He seems like the man who would wait for the right woman. He is by no means asexual as you'll find when you read this novel. They make love like bunnies, but the sex is never vulgar or overly detailed after their initial honeymoon weekend. In fact, the whole saga is about exploring Darcy and Elizabeth’s love for each other starting from the end of Austen’s telling.
What does marriage look like on the other side of ‘I do’ and happily ever after? Lathan unfolds their story slowly, taking her time, showing nights spent whispering secrets, days traumatizing Darcy’s valet, and Elizabeth’s struggles and successes in filing the role as Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Rating: 3 Stars
Originally posted 2009-03-10 05:23:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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October 24th, 2009 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Captain, France, Historic America, Kidnapping, Lisa Kleypas, Pirate, Pirate, Rogues and Rakehells, Seas, Survival, United States of America, Virgin Hero, Widow or Widower
Pirates, good/evil twins, bride stealing, quasi-spinster/virgin widow, quest for justice, nursing wounded hero, and fights to the death. There's not much missing from this set of romantic plot elements. I was left unimpressed. There was too much to juggle and for me to believe without a large suspension of belief. (I know you're thinking it's romance there is always a suspension of belief, but this was a little much.) Only with Your Love is a sequel to When Strangers Marry. We get to see Max and Lysette again this time with kids of their own. As it usually happens with sequels that feature somebody or somebodies from other books, I tend to find more negative in the sequel. It's because I develop preconceived ideas about the original secondary characters [in this case the twins] and I just don't like giving them up or letting them get their own story. Still, the story was well-written, the sex scenes diverting, and the ending neatly wrapped up. If you don't have my hangups about sequels you're sure to find this a wonderful read.
Celia Vallerand is an ex-spinster but still virgin wife of Philippe Vallerand. They are currently headed towards New Orleans from France. Celia speaks little English and is fluent in French. She's also the daughter of a doctor, the perfect companion for the charming Dr. Vallerand. Her delicate beauty and shy nature attracted Philippe from the first. She is well bred and refined, sure to fit in amongst the old blood Creole crowd. Until now he's been happy to accommodate her desire to wait on lovemaking, but he is tired of waiting... unfortunately pirates besiege the ship. Philippe is killed and Celia captured.
On the pirate island, Captain Griffin [Justin Vallerand], watches in disgust as a finely portioned, well bred miss is brought by Dominic Legare to his spoiled sexually perverted brother. She would be dead by morning or broken beyond fixing. Nobody, well bred miss or whore, should have to suffer at that man's hands. When the little miss manages to escape Andres clutches and runs into him, she begs him for help. He would give it of course... but everything changes when she says she's Philippe Vallerand's widowed wife.
Rating: 3 Stars
Originally posted 2009-02-26 15:19:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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October 17th, 2009 — 0.5 Stars, 1 Star, Book Review, Business, Divorced, Foster/Orphan, Historic America, M-O, Mistress or Courtesan, Older Woman/Younger Man, United States of America, Virgin Hero
When I was in the middle of Wild Oats by Pamela Morsi I had no strong feelings on it. It was neither good nor bad and looked to be shaping up to a solid two stars.
I did dislike all the words devoted to talk on disease. The hero was a mortician, but not inclined to it. He wanted to pass the business on to his partner. It was his partner that always talked about it – what happens to the ground with unsealed coffins, figuring out how people died based on his observations during the care of the body, etc. There was also a plague going through the territory and landed in the town. In the end it was entirely too much spent on sickness and death. Bah.
Then I began to notice after all the disease talk half of the pages were devoted to bringing together the hero’s horrible undeserving mother with his business partner. I began skipping those parts. She was completely irredeemable. The woman wanted nothing but to be crowned the biggest gossip in town. She started false rumors about the morality of the heroine until everyone in town thought her a common slut/whore. On top of that she was a smothering mother who whined and needled into getting more attention from her son and was not above guilt tripping the hero with the fact that she gave birth to him. Seriously, this lady was going to get a HEA? Double bah.
The hero and heroine when they got together were cute, but they can’t overcome the other aspects of the novel.
I finally gave up and put the book down when the preacher started to spread rumors about what he thought he saw at the heroine's house after a church service where he intended to and was on the verge of forcing heroine into a public confession of all her sinful immoral ways until more disease talk took over (both the novel and his sermon). Last and final bah + humbug!
Rating: 0.5-1 Star
Find and Buy More Pamela Morsi Books.
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September 21st, 2009 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Cinderella, Contemporary, P-R, United States of America, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine, Young Adult
I'm a sucker for Cinderella plots. My first one was long ago and on the state reading list for eighth graders, you've probably heard of it: Ella Enchanted. The movie by the way is nothing like the book. The only similarity was the names and locations, but this review isn't about Ella Enchanted or the discrepancies between a novel and its movie makeover. Suffice it to say I have followed the Cinderella tale to other novels and movies and heard about Cindy Ella through Twitter not quite two weeks ago.
Cindy Ella takes place in L.A. at Castle Heights High. I found it to be pretty cleverly written. It's stuff full with lots and lots of trivia that will date the book in upcoming years because it's not going to be universally known... the pop culture references include everything from 80s movies, 90s pop music, fashion labels, and celebrities.
Cindy Ella has the usual trappings of the Cinderella plot with a stepmother and stepsisters, but other than that Cindy is relatively normal. Her dad is still alive and in good health. Plus she has a half-brother named Spencer. Also, while Clarissa and the Clones Ashley and Britney are clueless outside of fashion, celebrities, and popularity, they aren't mean like their traditional counterparts. Through in a therapist to help sort it all out and Cindy leads a basically normal blended life.
Cindy Ella Gold is 15 years old and considers herself average. She might be average in looks and smarts, but she's opinionated and has a fairly sassy wit that she channels into writing letters to her school's newspaper editor. They're never published, mostly because she's unpopular and a sophomore to boot. Until now... her letter to the editor about prom puts Cindy on the Untouchable list at school. Luckily for Cindy she has two wonderful friends to help her get through the period where she is socially ostracized.
Cindy has three crushes and no outstanding dating experience. While her social crisis is taking on epic proportions she's finding herself navigating boy drama. The first crush is a boy on internet, with whom she writes and shares her thoughts and daily life with in a way similar to You've Got Mail except it's all done via instant messaging. He refuses to share his name or picture and first contacted Cindy when she was still running a blog. The second boy Cindy crushes on is a boy in her real life. He's into sports (both soccer and basketball) and considered to be the most popular guy in high school. Did I mention he was a senior? His name is Adam Silver. Lastly and most recently added to the list is her 23 year old male SAT tutor, Noah.
Will Cindy be able to juggle boys, high school, and the prom?
Rating: 4 Stars
Originally posted 2009-01-22 05:52:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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September 19th, 2009 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Children, Farming, Foster/Orphan, Historic America, M-O, Slow, United States of America, Virgin Hero, Widow or Widower, Working with Land
After reading Courting Miss Hattie, A.M. Hartnett recommended I try Pamela Morsi’s Simple Jess
. I really like Pamela as an author. She writes historical American romance in a similar vein as LaVryle Spencer who’s one of my favorite authors. I will definitely read more of Morsi’s writings. Any suggestions on which one I should grab next?
Apparently not remarrying is a crime in Marrying Stone. The whole town is determined to see Althea Winsloe wed by Christmas but she won’t have it. Althea is determined to remain as a widow so that her child will never feel as she did when her father remarried and moved on with his new wife leaving her behind. Baby-Paisley will never be unwanted or considered a burden.
To make matters worse the men who wanted to marry her wanted not her, but her farm land or her late husband’s dogs. She could do nothing about the first but she would do something about the second. She hires Jesse Best to help her get ready for winter in exchange for the whole set of hunting dogs.
Jesse Best is known as Simple Jess because his mind is slow. It takes him a very long time to learn something but when he does it stays with him forever because he memorized it. One of the hardest things for him to do is articulate his thoughts. When a lot of people start talking he can’t follow their conversation and can’t remember what he meant to say. The same goes when people put him on the spot or pressure him to get to the point. But Jesse Best’s heart is true and his wants very simple. He wants those dogs, he wants to own a gun, and he wants Ms. Althea for himself.
I had a hard time with the grammar. I know Pamela Morsi wrote it as the people probably spoke it back then, but country or backwater hick is not something I particularly take to. Most of the time what I wanted to do involved red ink and editing. I also didn’t particularly like the thoughts about Jesse’s simplemindedness and its genetic implications. There was too much of that.
Also I wanted more kissing – peaches or something! It’s very cute when Althea takes charge and initiates Jesse in the ways of man and woman but I was hoping for lessons! The peaches spoiled me.
Rating: 3 Stars
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September 17th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Detective, Dukes and Earls, Foster/Orphan, Great Britain, Kidnapping, Lisa Kleypas, Rape/Abuse, Regency, Virgin Hero
This story by Kleypas is an exciting adventure from start to finish. It all starts with a manhunt… or should I say a woman-hunt? Nick Gentry is looking for the wily Charlotte Howard. He has a small portrait of her in his pocket and his brother-in-law’s backing to get him into the Earl of Westcliff’s home where he’s tracked Charlotte. The Earl notices something fishy about the Viscount John Sydney and sets about unveiling the man’s secrets.
Meanwhile, John Sydney aka Nick Gentry, is prowling the premises for Charlotte and comes upon a young lady on top of a stone wall starring out across the grounds. Her foot is caught in her dress and Nick springs into action to save her… only to find the appealing woman in his arms is the very woman he’s been paid to track down.
Against all better judgment, Nick decides he can afford to stay and watch the lovely and lively Lottie. He comes to the startling conclusion that he wants her for himself and Lord Radnor can go hang before he’d ever bring to the obsessed creep a treasure such as her. Just as passion is sparking between Nick and Lottie, Westcliff pounces with the truth of Nick’s identity.
Frightened but determined, Lottie vows she will never go back to Lord Radnor. Westcliff offers to marry her to keep her away from Nick and provide protection, but Lottie turns him down. Instead she offers herself up to be Nick’s mistress which he refuses because he’d also rather have her as his wife…
I’m classifying this novel under virgin hero, not because Nick was a virgin in his relations to Lottie but because we see him lose his virginity to the Prostitute Gemma, well I suppose she was the Madam of the brothel.
This book would be rated higher, but I was a little disturbed by Radnor’s obsession with trying to break Charlotte as if she were a horse. I also didn’t like learning that her parents were okay with her being locked in a room alone with Radnor while he forced her to sit on his lap and answer to him while he touched her inappropriately… and while there was no full blown rape in the story, this qualifies to me as rape and is marked as such.
Luckily for readers Nick is a dominating force and dispels upsetting Radnor’s presence pretty easily. Oh and this is the first time I’ve seen a shower scene in a historical but Kleypas explains in her author notes why she included it based on her research. It’s solid so don’t let the idea of inaccuracy turn you away from reading this book.
Interesting term found within the prologue: buttock-and-file whore which is an old term for a street prostitute who was in connection with a pickpocket or also pickpocketed her customers. So you would pay, pay again involuntary, and perhaps gain a new venereal disease. Cool.
Rating: 4 Stars
Originally posted 2009-01-15 05:56:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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August 22nd, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, Book Review, Contemporary, Cursed Lead, Friends, Memory Loss, Musician, Paranormal, S-U, Scarred Hero, Survival, United States of America, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine, Werewolf, Young Adult
Their love was hopeless and yet they couldn’t help but hope no matter how bleak and forbidden it was.
Grace has been searching for love for six years since her attack by wolves. Her heart leaps every time she sees the gray wolf with yellow eyes that saved her from the vicious pack. He only comes in winter and that is why she loves the austere season so much, because she can watch him. She tries to lure him closer with food and quiet patience until one day he does cross the line of the woods and let’s her run her hands through his ruff.
Sam has a secret. He’s been in love with Grace for six years and he’s the wolf outside her home in the winter clinging to the memory of her scent. He’s a werewolf and his time is running out. The cold makes them change, shed their human skin, until one day the heat of the sun can no longer turn them back. When he’s shot in the woods by hunters and reverts to his human form, Sam struggles to keep it because he knows deep down inside that this is his last chance of being human. The wild is calling him and Grace is his last chance to escape the desolate future that awaits him. Grace is his sun.
The story had a surprising amount of parallels to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, but I suppose to make a story like this work there must be some similarities. Here are the ones that I remember off the top of my head:
- Ignorant parental units. Grace’s parents, like Bella Swan’s, are incapable of really being there for her which forces Grace to be extremely independent. She even cooks for them.
- Self-inflicted isolated heroines. Grace chooses books over human contact like Bella does, but Grace has real friends even if they aren’t as close as they once were. I’m surprised they let her get away with dropping off the face of the planet once Sam shows up in her life. (Yes, I know they keep asking her where she’s been and to call but they never force the issue.)
- Heroes raised in supernatural families. Sam was raised by a pack of wolves. He was home-schooled by them, taught to defend himself and survive by them, and loved them like a family. Edward can hardly remember his human life and lives with six other vampires and they are like his parents and siblings.
- Eyes. Sam’s buttery yellow eyes and Edward Cullen’s topaz eyes, though Sam’s was born with his and gets to keep them in human and wolf form. Additionally, they never turn black with hunger.
- Musically inclined heroes. Sam writes lyrics in his head all the time when he has words (wolves have images) and plays the guitar. He writes a love song for Grace.
- Bedroom window stalking. Sam and Edward both watch their loves windows, though Sam never dares to enter until he’s invited.
I had a hard time with the poetry and lyrics throughout the story. They worked and they didn’t at the same time. Sometimes the narrative broke down into them as events took place. There were the occasional weird turns of phrases that made me pause and have to go back and reread to see if it was a grammatical error or done on purpose. Overall, it was a great book. I loved Sam. He was the perfect werewolf gentleman and has restored my faith in the supernatural species. If you’re more inclined to love vampires and need a great book to introduce you to werewolves this book is for you.
Rating: 3.5 – 4 Stars
Buy: Shiver
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May 9th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Another Planet/Dimension, Book Review, Fantasy, Historical Romance, Kings, Princes, Sheiks, Chiefs, M-O, Memory Loss, Queen or Princess, Runaway, Supernatural, Survival, Time Travel, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine, Young Adult
Of Two Minds is a very deep book for kids. As an adult how it ends leads to quite an interesting train of thought I’m not sure young children will catch. This is my second time reading it. I remembered enjoying it thoroughly when I read it back in middle school. I can’t honestly say one way or another if I caught the concept revealed at the end of the book back then. I enjoyed it just as much this time around as an adult.
Lenora is a young teenage princess from a people who all have the power to create whatever they want. To imagine it is to make it be. She doesn’t understand why it’s law not to create worlds and change things to suit your will. Why were people afraid to change the color of their hair or imagine bright pink puppies?
After one incident too many her parents decide to marry her off to Prince Coren. They feel it will ground her, get her head out of her fantasies and make her a sensible woman. To that end they even plan to set a full brigade (4K-11K men) to think her solidly on the island she and Coren will make their future home, thus making escape impossible.
Angry, frightened, and confused Lenora escapes into somebody else’s world when making one of her own is impossible. Unfortunately, she also dragged the object of her distress with her. Coren, gangly redheaded and freckled, can’t even stand up without tripping over his feet. Could he be any more useless? It turns out he can – where’s his sense of adventure?
Rating: 4 Stars
Makes me want to check out the sequel More Minds
!
Buy: Of Two Minds
Spoilers:
Pg193
“I’m not dreaming?” Lenora said. “How do I know that for sure?”
“Well,” Lufa smiled, “I suppose none of us really knows that. Perhaps this is all a dream, a fantasy we will wake out of.”
…
“And if all her imaginings could be real, then who was to say that her reality wasn’t somebody else’s dream?”
…
Surely something this real couldn’t be just somebody’s imagination. Could it?
Ah, but couldn’t it? Especially in light of her adventure with Coren. Is her story her own or the very imaginings of others?
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