Calliope

Review: Playing for Love at Deep Haven by Katy Regnery

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20140110-091609.jpg Wow! Playing for Love at Deep Haven is INTENSE. Like, Falling fast and hard in love with your soulmate intense. And Kept these feelings buried for a decade and now they are at the surface all at once intense. And I ran away from myself a long time ago and now I want me back intense.

This book is like a musical composition that increases in intensity and volume until you all of a sudden find the book at forte and then fortissimo. When you think you’re hearing the biggest music you’ve ever heard, it quiets. Until Crescendo. Fortississimo. Amazing.

Violet made me remember what it’s like to be yourself when you’re not trying to meet other people’s expectations. Zach made me realize that not everyone knows how to be loved. I so wanted to know what happened next that I was reading as fast as can be, but then everything I read was so good that I’d go back and re-read to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I was in it 100%. I was inside Zach and Aubrey’s heads. I could hear the music, I could anticipate the poetry. I identified with the characters’ feelings, and I cried. Decrescendo. Piano. Pianissimo. Fine.

–Calliope

Buy it now! Playing for Love at Deep Haven

Review: Once Upon a Winter’s Heart by Melody Carlson

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20140107-143208.jpg New Release!

Emma’s Poppi died, and with him all romance and true love – or so Emma thought. When she left Seattle to go home and take care of Nona, Emma was jaded as. Watching her parents’ marriage crumble and her sister Anne’s neglect of her marriage, Emma was set to start the new year in mourning.

Then Emma began helping at Poppi’s bookstore, spending time with her young nephew Tristan, and having fun with friends – especially Lane, Poppi’s protégé. She remembered Poppi’s wisdom and open heart, and tried to do what would make him proud – and make herself happy. Lane joined her on the journey.

Emma and Lane had a roundabout way of realizing that romance and true love was alive and well. Once they did, it warmed my heart. This was a well-written novella with nice, drama-free main characters, and a family feel. I especially liked Nona’s cooking lessons and the spontaneous singing of That’s Amore!

-Calliope

Buy it now Once Upon A Winter’s Heart

Review: The January Wish by Juliet Madison

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20140102-152247.jpg The January Wish is women’s fiction, family drama, and romance all rolled into one — and set in Australia. I loved the plot: Sylvia reunites with the daughter she gave up for adoption 18 years ago. And I enjoyed the subplots: Sylvia breaks up with one guy and falls in love with another; Sylvia’s daughter experiences young love; small-town citizens support each other personally and in business.

I didn’t like the characters, though. I thought they were a little wishy washy, a little boring, a little unrealistic in their behavior. For example, we hear repeatedly (too many times, really) about Sylvia’s reserved and organized life – from her wardrobe to her car to her office – and then she lets loose dancing on the bar at a bachelorette party (hen night). That just doesn’t make sense to me. That kind if thing happens more than a few times. Later in the book, two conservative characters decide to play strip Scrabble. It just didn’t seem natural based on what the author told us about this couple… So why add it?

The unnatural dialogue hurt my ability to enjoy the book as well.

“Yes, she mentioned how she quite enjoys her acupuncture sessions now… But how anyone could enjoy having tiny needles stuck into their skin is beyond me!” Sylvia managed a friendly laugh.

Even if someone were to say those exact words, I imagine them said under the breath or out of the side of the mouth, not exclaimed and followed by laughter (and this is spoken by the reserved, boring gal).

The characters and dialogue just weren’t up to par and really hindered any enjoyment of the plot. The writing was so verbose and descriptive at times, I was distracted from the plot. (Um, recurring mentions of Mr. Benson — why? How did this relate to the story?) I started skipping paragraphs just to find something related to the plot or subplots.

All in all, I didn’t like the writing, characters or dialogue. Unfortunately, they took away too much from a beautifully thought-out plot.

— Calliope

Buy it now The January Wish

Review: The Girl in the Yellow Vest by Loretta Hill

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20140103-110631.jpg Two great falling-in-love stories, a child custody case, and coal shipping on Australia’s eastern coast fill this novel with fun and adventure.

The characters of Will and Emily were well-developed, as were the secondary characters of Charlotte and Mark. Though their romances were the driving force of the plot, Loretta Hill impressed me with meaningful storylines about Charlotte’s sister Zara, Emily’s breakup with Trent, Mark’s grief, and the raucous nature of 200 men working on the coast away from their families.

Apart from the engineering and shipping explanations (they took up a lot of pages and I skipped over some), I was hooked on this novel and didn’t want to stop reading it. I finally put it down at 80% only because it was 1:30 a.m.! I was too tired to fully enjoy what I knew would be an excellent ending.

I finished the book just now with a full heart, as the characters came to heal their hearts with the love and support of friends and family — and a wild turkey. 🙂

–Calliope

Buy it now The Girl in the Yellow Vest

Review: The Holiday Survival Guide by Jane O’Reilly

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20131228-082612.jpg New Release!

This sexy novella tells the story of London tabloid writer Erica and the survival trip she signed up for in the dead of winter. Her survival guide is Nathan, whose wife she publicly, and in low tabloid style, busted for cheating.

The story was equal parts scary snow survival and steamy sex. Erica and Nathan had great chemistry and creativity. The well-written sex scenes were integrated perfectly into the plot, the dialogue was smart and natural, the characters were likable and well-developed.

I totally enjoyed this winter romp, which came with a bit of commitment and a happy ending. I’d read it again, and I recommend it even to readers who don’t usually read novellas. This is one of very few that uses its 60 pages so wonderfully!

A note to American readers: This HOLIDAY refers to vacation, not Christmas!

-Calliope

Released January 1, 2014.
Buy it now The Holiday Survival Guide

Review: Catch of the Day (Destiny Romance) by Carla Caruso

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20131229-230706.jpg Winnie was sent from Sydney aaaallllll across the country to a small Australian coastal town in the matter of a couple of days. Her chic flat, her sophisticated nightlife, and her fabulous job at a fashion magazine were replaced by temp housing in a fishing village and a startup beach magazine with 2 employees. Winnie was not a happy girl.

…Until she met Alex, buff fisherman and talented photographer. They kissed, then thought better of it. They hooked up, then thought better of it. Each time the relationship changed, it went up a little higher and down a little further. It didn’t help that Alex was hiding secrets from his past, and Winnie lacked self-esteem.

Once Winnie formed some solid friendships and work relationships, she was ready to have a real relationship with Alex– but only if he would be honest and reliable. Once Alex dealt with his family secrets and put them out in the open, he was ready to welcome Winnie into his arms.

Cute story, maybe a little drawn out in some places. Reading Alex and Winnie’s texts was fun. Winnie’s desperate neediness was annoying, but it didn’t last long. I loved the beach setting, the Australian idioms, and the magazine life! Worth the $2 for fun, “destination” chick lit.

–Calliope

Buy it now Catch of the Day

Review: The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

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20131227-125151.jpg It’s the late ’60s and five ladies who hang out with their children at a park in Palo Alto strike up a friendship. Ally, Kath, Brett, Linda and Frankie have different marriage situations, different backgrounds, and varied financial statuses, but they all want the same thing: to be noticed and appreciated.

The women decide to start writing — and sharing their work on Wednesdays at the park. As they navigate the world of literary critique without hurting feelings, they learn to love each other despite any shortcomings in their talent or personalities.

I just loved this book. It reminded me of my relationship with my sister and my best friends – always honest, sometimes abrupt or annoyed, always loving. These ladies were strong and independent, even as housewives in the 1960s. But they intelligently chose to rely on each other when a husband cheats, a pregnancy ends in miscarriage, self-esteem tanks, an old injury leaves physical and emotional scars, and breast cancer threatens to take a mother from her children. The women weren’t perfect. They judged each other silently, and supported each other out loud. But I guess you don’t really care what someone thinks of you when you’re suffering; you care how people treat you.

I think I mostly loved this book because the friendship was real – flawed and imperfect, but they always figured out what to do to move on from their mistakes. I laughed and cried at these five women sharing a relationship this special, while raising children, taking care of their homes and husbands, and dealing with the tragedies life threw at them.

The ending? Think Johnny Carson, blatant hilarity, and true love for our fellow man. I mean, woman.

–Calliope

Buy it now The Wednesday Sisters

Review: Love a Little Sideways by Shannon Stacey

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20131227-135257.jpg Seems to be a theme of strong, anti-commitment female protagonists and marriage-minded heroes these days. It’s a nice break from the traditional, and it makes for fun girls’ nights and sweet men pining for their women.

Drew and Liz were family friends back in the day, mostly because Drew was best friends with Liz’s brother Mitch. And they hooked up at Mitch’s wedding 8 months ago, which is being held as Top Secret, lest Mitch beat the pulp out of Drew. Then Liz went back to her life in New Mexico.

When Liz returns to her childhood home in Maine, she and Drew have to face the music – and each other. They have plenty of chemistry but no common goals for the future. A family camping trip forces them to make decisions about their relationship.

I liked the family atmosphere in Love a Little Sideways. On the camping trip, there were ATV rides, swimming pool games of doom, family meals, campfires, wild children, and new babies with their mamas. It reminded me of the family reunions I’ve been to in the summer, where the mothers make sure the kids are safe and the fathers make sure the kids have fun… and are worn out for bedtime! I had a ball with the Kowalskis, and totally understood how grateful Liz was to be back with her family.

Liz and Drew had obvious chemistry, and they cared for each other. I enjoyed watching them navigate their relationship, trying to find a place that fit each of their goals. The journey of this romance was super fun. The ending was romantic, but a little bit silly in light of Liz’s stance on marriage and babies throughout the story. All in all, Love a Little Sideways is a cleverly-written, upbeat romance with a lot of family fun.

Just a little aside: I have a thing for cops, so it was fun to read Drew as a young-ish police chief hero. But please note, no police officer would lie down to watch fireworks while in uniform, much less with his gun belt on! That scene made me giggle, trying to picture my favorite cop doing the same. 🙂

–Calliope

Buy it now Love a Little Sideways

Review: The Happy Endings Book Club by Jane Tara

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20131222-104759.jpg This book is weird. That’s my opinion, and it’s not to say the book is bad, because it’s not. The book is well written and clever; it’s just the quirkiest, oddest book I’ve ever read. I was slogging through it, not enjoying it at all, when all of a sudden at 75% of the way through, I got it. I understood. And I burst into tears as all the problems of all the characters met inside my mind and exploded there. I’m not sure if that made me ENJOY the book any more than before, but I sure do appreciate it now.

The Happy Endings Book Club is a group of women who need a little encouragement and uplifting. They’re fading into the background of life and need some verve. Some of the women find “life” in reality, and some find it in fantasy: fairly lands and magic.

The fantasy world in the novel isn’t isolated like Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Instead, it’s part of the regular world… More like fantastical beings existing with all their powers in the mortal world. And while that allows great freedom in the plot, it also confuses a linear realist like me!

I liked the characters, the plot lines, the endings and new beginnings. I had a tough time with the magic, the fairyland, and the special powers…. but only because those are out of my comfort zone. This clever novel opened my eyes and gave me a lot to think about.

–Calliope

Buy it now The Happy Endings Book Club

Announcing the Giveaway Winners! Muses’ Favorite Books of 2013

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Drum Roll Please….. The winners for our Best Books of 2013 Giveaway are:

Alice G for A Hundred Summers
Faith McLaughlin for Left Drowning
Sprite for I am Malala
Kimberlyn for N0S4A2
Jennifer for Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Krista Irvin for Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Congratulations!

Winners, please send us your email address here on the blog, randommusesblog@gmail.com, or via private message on the Random Book Muses Facebook page.

This weekend we will send the winners their Kindle books.

Thanks for entering! Watch for more giveaways on the blog, Facebook and Twitter.