Calliope

Review: Rome in Love by Anita Hughes 

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I loved Lake Como by Anita Hughes and was so excited for another great summer read set in Italy. 

Rome in Love is the story of Amelia Tate, movie star on location in Rome. She meets a handsome man, and then needs to resolve a couple of challenges: one, she told him she was a maid; two, she has a fiancé; three, she keeps drinking too much champagne and passing out in the handsome man’s presence. 

Hughes includes flashbacks to Audrey Hepburn via letters from Hepburn to a friend, and she also writes a subplot involving a princess who falls in love with someone other than the pre-arranged Prince-to-be. 

I loved the on-location descriptions and “seeing” the sights with Amelia, Philip, Sophie, Theo, Veronique, and Greg. Traveling in Italy was wonderful — and no jet lag for me! 

While I enjoyed all the threads of Rome in Love, it could have used some editing. It seemed every chapter began with a description of someone’s attire, with lots of brand-name-dropping… and most chapters ended with Amelia falling asleep. Too repetitive for me. Also, how many times does a young woman get drunk, pass out, and find herself in the same strange man’s apartment before she decides to stop? She was in a foreign country! I had to suspend my disbelief just a little too much.  

Nonetheless, I was so enamored with the romantic gazes over espresso and the delicious food descriptions that I’ll be reading the next Anita Hughes novel, for sure!

-calliope

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Review: Thrill Me by Susan Mallery

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Susan Mallery is a genius! She wrote Thrill Me as part of her long-running Fool’s Gold series, but it’s also part of a mini-series trio.  I love that! If you’re new to Fool’s Gold, or you don’t keep up with series, you can read the Hold Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me trio and be totally satisfied. (You can read any of the Fool’s Gold books as standalones, but they’re much more fun together.)

In Thrill Me, Maya and Del separately return to their hometown to work on a project for Mayor Marsha. Maya works in video editing, and Del is a charmer on camera. Their work chemistry is easy and natural, and even though they had decade-old romantic history together, Del and Maya renew their relationship in the form of friendship. 

Mallery impresses me by coming up with new and exciting professions for her characters. I LOVE the video production descriptions in this book.  Plus, it’s a good backdrop for Del and Maya getting close in the editing room.  😉

Maya and Del are loveable and fun characters, perfect for each other, and perfect for Fool’s Gold. Their romance was mostly in their own minds until they finally admitted feelings for each other and decided on Happily Ever After.  Another Susan Mallery winner! 
-calliope

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Review: The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy

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Only Pat Conroy can write such terrible things so beautifully. Only he can turn a phrase in such a way that he makes his point succinctly and eloquently at the same time. Conroy’s inner conflicts imbue this autobiographical work with the love and hate he has for his father, and to a lesser degree, his mother and siblings. 

I think Conroy is a master wordsmith. I appreciate the beauty and flow of his writing in all the Pat Conroy books I’ve read. But I struggle with The Death of Santini because it’s almost like hearing a child whine. I can read a spectacular passage, and then be disrupted by Conroy’s complaints and persuasion, trying to convince me that his childhood really did happen the way he says it did, that it was as bad as can be, that he is indeed telling the truth.  

I believe him. I don’t need to be convinced. I think his father needed to be convinced. I think his siblings and his extended family need to be convinced. I think Conroy is whining to the wrong crowd. 

Unless. Unless this book isn’t meant for me or you or anyone EXCEPT his family… and Conroy himself. And I think it is. 

That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. I just don’t feel like in the intended audience. I do think that if Santini admitted his transgressions while Conroy was a child, the psychological damage would have been minimized, and The Death of Santini would not have had to be written. 

The Death of Santini offers a window into the moments of Conroy’s early life that inspired his best-selling novels, and moments of Santini’s later life that inspired Conroy’s love and forgiveness for his father. 

-calliope

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Review: The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart

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Like my blogmate Thalia who reviewed The Beautiful Daughters a few months ago, I had read and loved some of Baart’s earlier novels, and so decided to pick up this one recently. 

Well. It had my heart racing. I was angry, scared, and shaking in my boots. The subtle and sick mental anguish that Adri and Harper are put through — by themselves and by others — was disturbing and heart-wrenching. 

The Beautiful Daughters is ostensibly a story of friendships and family, castles and kings. Really, though, it’s a commentary on the things we do for love, or the illusion of love. 

Despite me being a total fraidy-cat and shuddering at some parts of this novel, I stayed up past 2 a.m. more than once because I couldn’t put it down. Excellent read. 

-calliope

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Review: The Summer of Good Intentions by Wendy Francis

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Here we go! Another summertime novel set on Cape Cod. I AM LOVING these beach reads. 

In The Summer of Good Intentions, the three Herington sisters and their families spend a few weeks at their beach house on the Cape. They don’t anticipate that the gradual changes that have been happening in the past year will all come to a head right there at the beach. 

I liked these women and their families – but surprisingly I liked their spouses even more. Francis wrote sympathetic but realistic male characters, which is refreshing in a world of literary men that are either too perfect, too cynical, brutish, or just plain silly. 

There are some sad parts of this book. There’s a hint at Alzheimer’s, a house fire, the diagnosis of a chronic and incurable disease, and a death. But there’s also beautiful reconciliation of a marriage, a promising new romance, and a children’s unrivaled gift to their mother. 

-calliope

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Review: Kiss Me by Susan Mallery

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Zane is a rancher with a closed heart. He protects his family and property with stern love, but leaves no room for any other relationships. 

Phoebe is a softie on the outside but protects her heart fiercely. When she heads to Zane’s ranch on the recommendation of her best friend (and Zane’s sister) Maya, she doesn’t expect to fall into lust. Or love. 

This installment of Fool’s Gold romance included the requisite – and hilarious – antics of Gladys and Eddie. Mallery has a few other Fool’s Gold regulars make an appearance as well. But for the most part, you could read Kiss Me as a stand alone. 

You’ve got a cattle drive, campfires, sleeping under the stars, a drowned-out tent, a couple of rescues, and Pheobe talking to Zane’s steer-in-charge to get him to cross a raging river. 

That makes for many damsel-in-distress scenarios, and a few damsel-saves-the-day ones, too! 

I enjoyed Kiss Me like I enjoy all the Fool’s Gold novels. I liked reading a strong, silent hero, and I REALLY appreciated the sibling and friend relationships. I sort of rushed reading this one because I wanted to hurry and get to the HEA (I must have needed one!) … and now I’m eagerly anticipating Thrill Me!

-calliope

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Review: Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis

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Aidan and Lily are risk-takers – with anything except their hearts. So when Lily returns to Cedar Ridge for a job and heart-healing, she finds herself more likely to climb rock faces than to kiss Aiden. In the spirit of sexy, contemporary romance, Aiden gives Lily her space while he falls in love with her. And of course she can read it all over his face … and starts to fall hard. 

I love these Kincaid brothers! They pull some pretty dumb moves, but they work hard and love hard. Watching brothers and friends look out for each other in matters of life, death, and love really touched me. Shalvis writes a realistic but exciting adventure that left me breathless. Or maybe I was left breathless from the sizzle between Aiden and Lily… 

Check it out! Release date: June 30. 

-calliope

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Review: Cocktails at Le Carmen by Isabelle Andover

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Chloe’s transferred from London to Paris for a one- year work contract. And while she’s there she misses her mediocre boyfriend Scott, crushes on handsome boss Jean-Luc, and meets new confidante Rosie. All’s well that ends well, but a lot goes on in the meantime! 

This is a very light, fun story about shopping and girlfriends, cocktails and hangovers, and finding a good man while finding oneself. I enjoyed it but found some things a little disconcerting. Andover wrote in a few pages here and there that I thought were to move the plot in a certain direction, but then didn’t.  They weren’t quite plot twists, and they weren’t quite plot inconsistencies. They were just odd hints or teases that I expected to be fulfilled in some later chapter, but weren’t.  Some extra editing would have helped avoid these pointless insertions. 

Besides that, I loved the love story, the friendships and the sibling rivalry. Andover wrote a terrific male lead… who wouldn’t adore a Jean-Luc with a French accent?! 

Cocktails at Le Carmen is solid three star chick lit, and I’ll definitely pick up another Isabelle Andover… tout de suite! 

-calliope

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Review: A New Hope by Robyn Carr

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  Chalk it up to summertime, or the mellowness of school break… or let’s just give credit where credit is due and applaud Robyn Carr for establishing the perfect atmosphere in her latest Thunder Point installment. 

Ginger moved to Thunder Point in the last book, and after friends help her settle in, she finds her place in A New Hope. Ginger grieves an old relationship, questions her judgement, and mourns a lost baby. And then she meets Matt, a guy so shattered by his own past that he numbs himself with women and parties. Totally not Ginger’s style. 

Until. 

Until they become friends. And confidantes. And rescuers of each other’s hearts. Carr did an amazing job of pacing the relationship, including family and friends, and making Matt’s regression realistic.  

I love how A New Hope made me feel: relaxed and uplifted, truly full of new hope. And although Carr employed some telling-instead-of-showing, her description of the Basques was fun and endearing. Oh how I wished I was drinking wine and dancing in the fields at harvest time. 

With books seven and eight, Carr has perfected the Thunder Point groove. If you liked the Virgin River series, now is the time to give Thunder Point a try. 

-calliope

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