Calliope

Review: The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins

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5 stars for this October 29 release!

I’m a romance junkie, and after reading so many, I’m hard to impress. The Perfect Match totally impressed me. This novel has it all – sweetness, complications, misunderstandings, true love, misgivings, honesty, and family loyalty. Higgins writes a complex, well-thought-out story with multi-layered characters and relevant subplots. I’m telling you, this is one of my favorite romances of 2013!

So now that you know the writing is awesome, here’s a little bit about the story line and characters:

Honor is a hard-working woman who takes care of her immediate family’s needs before her own. She also has had a 15-year crush on an old friend that she hooks up with once in a while. When he rebuffs taking the relationship seriously, Honor shifts her focus to finding pretty much anyone to marry – so she can settle down and have a family of her own.

Enter the meddling grandparents setting up a date for Honor and a visiting Brit named Tom. Unbeknownst to the matchmakers, Honor and Tom have already, embarrassingly, met. They do end up in a relationship, albeit an unconventional one. And then the reader is on the journey with Honor and Tom to see if love will grow and thrive.

Higgins masterfully weaves Honor’s low self-confidence into the story without making her seem pitiful. She writes Tom’s character as sweetly, appealingly arrogant in some ways, and sad and lonely in others. The brothers, sisters, friends and children are all real – whether we see jealousy, sullenness, anger, reluctance or joy.

When I opened The Perfect Match, I expected a typical, light, enjoyable romance. What I got was so much more. The Perfect Match is brilliantly written, complex, and emotional. And the bits of Brit-speak were lots of fun, too.
Love, love, love it!

-Calliope

Buy it now (preorder before 29Oct) The Perfect Match

Review: Candlelight Christmas by Susan Wiggs

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20131022-173802.jpg Release date October 29. 4 stars!

Want to feel the magic of Christmas? Complete with snowy mountains, a house full of loved ones, peppermint hot chocolate, and walks in a winter wonderland? Susan Wiggs delivers all that and more in Candlelight Christmas.

Darcy meets her best friend India’s brother Logan and it’s Like At First Sight. When she sees him again at Thanksgiving, sparks are flying. By Christmastime, they know they have to decide whether or not to pursue a relationship.

Between Darcy’s ex and her demanding family, and Logan’s hard-to-please dad and beautiful son Charlie, the pair have many outside influences. Together they figure out how to overcome the family challenges so their relationship can grow. As Darcy and Logan find out, the spirit of Santa Claus doesn’t only touch children at Christmas. The magic is alive and well in romance too.

I love this book for the Christmas romance, but I appreciate it even more for the family dynamics. Wiggs achieves realistic holiday scenes, positive and negative. We see arguments, hugs, dumb moves, apologies, honesty, bluntness and forgiveness.

I bawled my eyes out during the scenes with Logan’s son Charlie, and sighed with a bursting heart more than a dozen times. Candlelight Christmas is joyous, real, and touching. I’d read another Susan Wiggs novel in a New York minute.

-Calliope

Pre-order and it will appear on your kindle October 29.
Buy it now Candlelight Christmas

Review: Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

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20131021-222044.jpg Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor line of romance novels win my heart every time, and Always on My Mind doesn’t disappoint. As a matter of fact, Shalvis threw in some crime/suspense as a bonus, and I loved it!

Leah and Jack have had a thing for each other FOR-EVER. Due to guilt and work issues and being too chicken to “risk their friendship,” they’re not honest with each other about their true feelings. Enter the “let’s pretend” concept that eventually morphs into a very real happily ever after.

I liked Shalvis’ authentic “guy” scenes where the firefighters are busting chops and being competitive — but always having each others’ backs when needed. The scenes with female friends having girl talk didn’t seem as natural, but were still fun to read.

Jack is of course the hero in this novel, but before he can save Leah from herself, they both have to figure out who is committing some local crimes. Jack and Leah have the help of some local amateur sleuths, and I was entertained by their capers.

Shalvis gives us enjoyable subplots – a grandmother and a middle-aged mom each embark on budding romances, a bakery and other small-town businesses evolve, and Jack and Leah’s friends are set up for what I hope will be the next installment of a Lucky Harbor love story.

Always light and fun, Lucky Harbor romances include likable characters and loyal friendships. Four big shiny stars for Always on My Mind!

–Calliope

Buy it now Always on My Mind

Pre-order the next Lucky Harbor book, coming in February Once in a Lifetime
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Price Drops on Some Favorites!

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Waking up on the weekend to price drops on books by a favorite author … sigh … It can only be beat by a lovely cup of coffee. 🙂

Julie Carobini writes sweet, charming beach reads. I’ll be picking up a few more today for $0.99!

Enjoy!

-Calliope

20131019-073717.jpg Buy it now Chocolate Beach

20131019-073726.jpg Buy it now Truffles by the Sea

20131019-073737.jpg Buy it now Sweet Waters

20131019-073747.jpg Buy it now Fade to Blue

20131019-073755.jpg Buy it now The Spa at Winter Beach

Review: Where the Mountains are Thieves by David Marion Wilkinson

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20131018-100349.jpg This dramatic novel set in the deserts of west Texas is about a man trying to find the best life for himself, his wife, their marriage, and their son. The problem is, he doesn’t have a whole lot of ambition, and his myopic focus sabotages his efforts.

The first two-thirds of the book is description. The narrator/protagonist describes his failures, marriage, travels, new home and feelings about the new home, desire to be a good husband and father, and finally, his baseball team. Well, the baseball team he helps coach.

I struggled through this descriptive section. It was rambly, depressing, and sloooooowwwwww. I almost quit reading. But since I was interested in whether this guy was going to get a life — and how his wife and son would fare — I trudged on.

The last third of the book is full of action: A dalliance, an accident, a success, a failure, another move. I was on the edge of my seat, wiping tears from my eyes and giving the protagonist a stern talking-to. Wilkinson made the book come alive, and thank goodness he did.

I was about to give this novel 2 stars — but the last part of it is worthy of 4. So if you think you have the patience for 300 pages of 2 star material, you will be treated to some excellent writing and dramatic action in the last 150 pages.

If only the publisher demanded the first 300 pages be edited down to half that, Wilkinson would have a 4-star novel on his hands… reminiscent of a Pat Conroy read.

I’m glad I read Where the Mountains are Thieves. Just wished it didn’t take so long to get to the good stuff. 🙂

-Calliope

Buy it now Where the Mountains are Thieves

Review: Holding Out for a Hero by Amy Andrews

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20131014-151939.jpg Ella remembered her school years with tears and a hard heart. Her mother was an outcast and she was treated like one too.

Jake had similar bad memories – a drunk, neglectful father gave kids fodder to tease Jake – and a reason for Jake to be sullen and rebellious.

Fast forward 20 years when Ella is the principal for a low income school, and former rugby player Jake is a philanthropist under the guise of the local pub owner. Ella needs Jake’s help to save the school … and while they’re working that out, they’re also working out some romantic tension.

I loved that Jake was a humble, honest guy who felt protective of Ella and her brother. He was an appealing alpha hero who stood up to idiots who disrespected women.

Ella might appear as somewhat of a crybaby to some readers, but I saw her as a strong woman who had shouldered so much in her life, accomplished so much, and finally felt safe enough with someone (Jake) to grieve for her childhood and her mother.

The truly beautiful thing about this book was the exploration of appealing subplots: Rosie the goth chick dates Simon the straight laced politician. Rosie’s aunts try to save their house from developer’s greed. Rosie and Ella celebrate their friendship on a daily basis.

The facets of Holding Out felt real. I felt like I was Ella, crying my eyes out to my man one minute, trying to straighten out a teenager the next, having a cocktail with my best friend later on, and finally looking for solace with my aunties across the table.

Holding Out for a Hero is a romance, but it’s also a commentary on friendship, staying true to yourself, and not letting your perception of the past color your future. Amy Andrews gives us all that, plus a hot rugby player hero and a happily ever after.

–Calliope

Buy it now Holding Out For a Hero

Review: Stirring Up Trouble by Juli Alexander

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5 stars!

If you’re looking for a fun, young romance for a teenage girl to read (or if you yourself want to wax nostalgic), this is it! I’ll tell you upfront, there’s a lot of teenage kissing and a little bit of hand-wandering. Other than that, clean clean clean. Perfect for ages 13 and up.

Zoe is the magical daughter of a magical mom and a scientific dad. They’re divorced. Zoe has one magical friend, Milo, and regular friends Anya, Jake (who used to date Anya), and Camille.

The book centers on Zoe figuring out what to do about her crush on Jake, how she’s going to avoid getting into trouble with her magic, what to do with her annoying dad, and how she’s going to balance her friendships when her girlfriends are a little crazy sometimes.

Juli does a WONDERFUL job writing realistic teenage dialogue, describing awkward relationships with parents, showing how a teenager’s behavior doesn’t always match her thoughts, and using magic as the vehicle for moral lessons (greed, selflessness, kindness, honesty).

The story is super fun, light, and funny. It’s like a rom-com for teenagers with some potions and spells sprinkled in. I’m no teenager, but I loved it!

–Calliope

Great price: $2.99!

Buy it now Stirring Up Trouble
…and the next in the series Trouble’s Brewing

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Review: Operation: Date Escape by Lindsey Brookes

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Kelsie Collins had a bad marriage, an emotional divorce, and a plan for a bad date escape book. Her best friend Nanci and her mother Melinda helped out by setting up blind dates just a little too often.

When Kelsie tries to escape from an especially horrifying blind date, she gets rescued by hunka hunka burning love firefighter Cole. And then it happens a second time – a bad date, fudged escape, and rescue by Cole. It has to be fate!

Kelsie and Cole go through customary ups and downs in their short but intense relationship before a delightful, realistic happily ever after.

The novel is funny and fresh. Lindsey Brooke writes a straightforward romance with easy, natural dialogue — especially between Nanci and Kelsie. She writes an awesome subplot, too: Nanci and Cole’s friend Joe hit it off in a different but still big and romantic way.

Operation: Date Escape is great fun… lighthearted chick lit romance with realistic characters and laugh out loud moments.

-Calliope

P.S. The cover doesn’t do the book justice.

Buy it now Operation: Date Escape

Review: Lock, Stock, and Over a Barrel (a Dear Daphne novel) by Melody Carlson

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20131005-230242.jpgThis is a charming novel set in the fictional small town of Appleton. Daphne grew up there, and after more than a decade in New York City, she moves back to Appleton due to a death in the family.

Daphne doesn’t expect to fall in love with her hometown, nor does she expect to fall in love with a man. But Daphne does realize she is surrounded by loyal friends and family — as well as several potential suitors. While Daphne negotiates the terms of her aunt’s will, she begins to appreciate old friends, fresh faces in town, and the start of a new career. She meets more than a handful of attractive men – and has to decide just how much flirting she’s going to do!

Lock, Stock, and Over a Barrel is a straightforward, quaint story of a contemporary 30-ish woman’s life. Carlson shows us broken hearts, jealousy, discontent, the need to refocus as life throws curveballs, and finally, the benefits of simple living.

Lock, Stock is the first in a series. I want to read the next one to find out who Daphne falls in like with, how Daphne’s writing career takes off, and how the little town of Appleton continues to grow.

If you’re a Melody Carlson fan, liked the “Green” series by Judy Christie, or the Aggie’s Inheritance books by Chautona Havig, you’ll enjoy this!

–Calliope

Buy it now Lock, Stock, and Over a Barrel