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I am a big fan of Lisa Kleypas. I love her historicals. I heard about her contemporaries. I wanted to give them a try, but I was afraid I wouldn’t love them as much as I do her historicals. Contemporary novels and I have had our fair share of issues in the past. So I waited, and waited, and waited, until I finally found it in the library. Then I snatched it so fast, it made the other patrons’ heads spin.

I laughed, and chuckled, and giggled, out loud and in my head all the way through the book. Kleypas wrote a gem when she wrote Smooth Talking Stranger. I can’t possibly say enough good things about this book. The dialogue was witty, the leads had phenomenal chemistry, the path from singledom to motherhood and coupledom was breathtaking and sweet.

When I finished the book, I closed with a blissful sigh and one thought running through my head… must own my very own copy. I wanted to sing praises about this book to the nearest person I could find — and I did. It happened to be my mother. She’s now borrowing it from the library.

I’m so thrilled to be converted to the dark side (contemporaries). I’ve put my name on the hold list for Blue-Eyed Devil. I just can’t wait to read it. If it’s half as good as Smooth Talking Stranger, it’s going to be a toe-curling and very yummy read indeed.

The book pits a high society Texan playboy against a woman who has no use for his charm, wealth, or position other than forcing him to admit he’s the father of her sister’s new baby.

Rating: 5 Stars

Buy: Smooth Talking Stranger

The Heiress by Jude Deveraux started off exceptionally well in my opinion but tapered off into mediocrity and stayed there after the jumpstart. It’s too bad that it did that as my initial impressions of the novel were four out of five stars. The editing felt choppy in the middle and was completely disconnected towards the end. There was a distinct lack of transitions between scenes and as I read I felt like I was missing the good parts, the parts that tied everything together.

It was hard to feel for the characters after the initial start as well. There was no chemistry between the two of them in the end and that’s what killed the book. I kept reading though hoping it would turn around and be the amazing story it started off as. No such luck.

Axia has forever been stigmatized by her fortune. When people first meet her, they dismiss her, but that soon changes when they hear about how she is the Maidenhall Heiress. Their entire demeanor would do a one eighty. Men previously uninterested would turn fawning gazes her way and declare their undying love and devotion. For once Axia would love to be wanted, needed, and desired for who she was rather than how much money she represents.

James, call him Jamie, Montgomery is a dirt-poor Elizabethan knight. He inherited his brother’s earldom after his death to a fever. Unfortunately for James, his brother had gambled away everything leaving the family with nothing and no way to support themselves. James had responsibilities to the tenets whose land had once been Montgomery before his brother’s debts, his withdrawn mother, blind twin sister, and tomboy younger sister. So when Maidenhall offered to pay him to escort his daughter Axia to her betrothed, James said yes.

But then his sisters found out and hatched a plan to use Jame’s beauty to save them from destitution. He would woo the Maidenhall Heiress while she was under his charge and convince her to marry him instead of the man she was betrothed too. However Axia outsmarts James and convinces her beautiful cousin to play the part of heiress to allow Axia freedom on the journey. The tale is a topsy-turvy ride through layers of deception, intrigue, and desperation.

Rating: 2 Stars

Originally posted 2008-08-25 05:41:11. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Cara Lynn writes to us her first romance novel review in response to the $10 gift card contest! LRP is very happy to have her with us today! If you would like to win a copy of a book by the author of this novel please see the end of the post for more information.

It’s pretty unfair for me to review this book, as this genre isn’t my particular favorite. However, they do get published!

When Tally finds herself kidnapped by Sheikh Tair, a fierce desert warrior, she comes up against the proverbial immovable mountain. I am not surprised. Tally is a photographer, and she has taken some compromising photos, or they could be. And not only that, her translators are more than they appeared, as they are enemies of the Sheikh. He isn’t at all convinced that she is innocent. However, he is more than willing to put her into his harem and to test her loyalties more than once.

She is determined to escape, but not knowing the land, finds herself in dangerous situations, where she needs to be rescued. And you guessed it, by Tair.

Ultimately, the Sheikh marries her (as you can tell by the title) and they fall in love – or do they. Perhaps they fall in lust. As in many Harlequin books, there are banter and arguments, but underneath it is respect for the man who is always wealthy and rich. Let’s face it, who would put up with these attitudes if he weren’t! The woman is always denigrated to an extent, which grates on me after a while – or from the beginning. It seems like an intelligent woman would use that intelligence to discern what kind of man the man is and not waste her breath on verbally fighting him. Of course, part of that is supposed to be sexual tension. How to rate the sex in this book? I didn’t feel like they had any chemistry. But that’s just me. Perhaps you did. I appreciate the fact that the sex is not crude. On the other hand, she doesn’t think she’s in love with him. And on the other hand, she is not a virgin, so she knows the ropes. And they both think the sex is great.

If you want a mindless read, or if this is your genre, you will enjoy this book. I’d have preferred it, if she had determined how he governed, what his daily life was like, what the issues of survival were, how she could contribute if she were his consort. (I can’t see her ruling.) Because she is less than prepared along these lines, she finds herself kidnapped by the men who had been her translators. She is rescued in about a page. I think this could have been extended too, over some of the other things in the book. But it fits the genre. After all, the Sheikh’s mother is from the West and married his father in similar circumstances. Perhaps one of the earlier Sheikh books by another author tells the generic story of their meeting.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Thanks Cara Lynn for the review! RRN would be most happy to hear from you again!

If you’ve just finished reading a romance novel and want to write review but weren’t sure how check out LRP’s submission guidelines for tips and advice to get started.

SavvyThinker is holding a contest on an autographed copy of Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter. See her blog for more details.

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