Harlequin

Review: The Promise by Robyn Carr

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20140623-230542-83142578.jpg Robyn Carr, you’ve done it! You’ve created a Thunder Point novel that I fell in love with, just as I fell in love with the Virgin River books. The Promise was SO satisfying. From the small-town doctor’s office to the big-time ex-boyfriend cardiologist, from the romantic tension between widower Scott and newcomer Peyton to the comfortable companionship of Carrie and Rawley, I was completely taken by The Promise.

I was glad Carr took the time to give me her usual update on characters from past books, and even happier that this installment centered on a romantic relationship or two. Or three. I was pleasantly surprised to find Rawley making a move … And making no apologies for it!

Some of the most fun parts to read were of Peyton’s visits to her family farm. I could feel her joy and relief when she stepped foot on the property: a place of safety, respite, love, and dancing! Peyton’s family was warm and embracing, a lovely counterpart to the misunderstandings and dilemmas facing Peyton. And the food… Ohmygoodness my mouth was watering. I wasn’t even hungry and I was jonesing for a fresh baked baguette, olive oil, and just-picked tomatoes.

The Promise really has it all: food, family, fun, love … oh! and two new babies. Irresistible. I’ll read it again unless Book 6 is waiting in the wings.

Ms. Carr? Possible publish date for book 6? Hello?

-Calliope

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Review: The Last Word by A. L. Michael

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20140527-195639-71799185.jpg
Tabitha was playing it safe, blogging from home in her pajamas, going out occasionally with her roommates, and avoiding romantic relationships… Until editor Harry Shulman offered her a job at the newspaper doing real journalism. Tabby did everything she could to avoid the opportunity, remembering the disaster that landed on her the last time she worked for a major news outlet.

The conversations in this book are snappy! Tabitha’s convos with her roommates and Harry are quick-witted, and so are the times she’s just talking to herself… Useful characteristic for a blogger, but a little annoying when your editor is trying to ask you out on a date. 🙂

And oh how I enjoyed Harry and Tabby’s dates. Her head on his shoulder. Flirting on car rides. Restaurant debacles. The beach. Holding hands. Staring with affection and sometimes confusion. Kissing. Sigh. I was totally brought back to being in my twenties and going on fun dates and bantering and falling in love.

Every facet of The Last Word was done well. The characters were developed appropriately for their roles (Tabby’s mom was hilarious!), and, for the most part, they were likeable. (Ex-boyfriend/ex-editor was hate-able in a wonderful way.) The plot drove forward at a respectable speed. Everyone’s relationships made sense. Natural dialogue and excellent writing made for easy reading. I’m impressed, especially knowing that Carina UK, an imprint of the publisher Harlequin, is only a year old! Well done, A.L. Michael and editors.

The only interruptions to the flow of this terrific read were the drinking and weed-smoking binges. They aren’t really my scene, but I see how it could make sense if you’re in your twenties, living in the city with roommates also in their twenties.

Honestly, I know it’s a good book when at the end I shut the kindle cover and sigh with contentment. The Last Word totally did it for me. Tabitha was a spitfire sweetheart, and Harry was so awesome I could read ten books about the man! (A.L. Michael, does Harry have a doppelgänger?)

–Calliope

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Review: Before We Kiss by Susan Mallery

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20140419-225500.jpg The latest Fool’s Gold romance has girl next door Dellina trying not to fall in love with strong, silent, private Sam. Their romance starts off slow, heats up, cools down, and ends with a public announcement no one expects. I loved it!

I also liked this book for the camaraderie of Taryn and the football guys she works with, and the consistent support the women provide to each other. There’s something to be said for knowing there’s always someone to rely on, just a block or two away.

Before We Kiss has a lot of, um, instructions for intimacy. Graphic ones. Ones that will make you uncomfortable, and not always in a bad way. 😉 Sometimes Sam’s mother tells someone something no one wants to hear, and other times her candid sex conversations are quite educational. Be prepared!

If you’re an animal lover, this is the Susan Mallery book for you. A major subplot involves Larissa and her compulsion to help animals. By the end of the book, at least two main characters become grateful pet owners. Meow. Woof. 🙂

This was yummy icing on the cake of a week’s worth of reading Susan Mallery. In a few months I’ll be reviewing more, as I have a permanent place in my heart for Fool’s Gold, its caring women, and its smokin’ hot…. I mean LOVING… men.

–Calliope

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Review: Room for Love by Sophie Pembroke

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20140515-225338.jpg Well, I have never met a sweeter hero! Nate is the gardener, sure, but he’s also at innkeeper Carrie’s beck and call when her inheritance – The Avalon – endures some hilarious emergencies. He is just determined to do right by Carrie and her grandmother’s legacy, even if Carrie doesn’t appreciate him.

This guy figures out how to get exotic purple roses the day before a wedding! He takes care of the drunk and hungover stag party friends, the elderly friends of the inn, the gardens, and most importantly, Carrie. He doesn’t want anything in return, either. Well, he WANTS, he just doesn’t EXPECT. 🙂

Carrie is a workaholic, out trying to prove she can do anything, do it herself, and do it well. She can, of course…. but the handsome gardener decides to help. And that, my friends, is the start of something beautiful… Funny, crazy, nostalgic, and beautiful.

-Calliope
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Review: When We Met by Susan Mallery

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20140419-100232.jpg What a tug of war! Taryn and Angel are both tough cookies… Taryn in the boardroom and Angel in the gym. And they’re each nursing heartbreaks, though of different natures. When they meet, they use each other for a challenge, a thrill, and a distraction from reality.

The novelty of a new romance is so exciting, and Mallery conveyed the roller coaster of emotions just perfectly. From the witty banter to the teasing looks to the mysterious notes, Mallery created a romance that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the one-liners, the fashion-designer name drops, and the description of the men Taryn works and plays with. (Go read for yourself; I can’t do it justice!)

Yes, this is another Fool’s Gold romance, but WHAT A ROMANCE! The uncertainty, the tension, the climax… Well, you get the idea. 🙂

–Calliope

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Review: A Fool’s Gold Christmas by Susan Mallery

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20140419-094524.jpg I’m late reviewing a bunch of Christmas-themed romances, and I have to say I’m enjoying myself.

The Christmas spirit manifests in many ways. For Evie and Dante, newcomers to Fool’s Gold, they just want to get through the holiday emotionally unscathed. They lean on each other through Dante’s bad memories and Evie’s Christmas dance recital responsibilities. And then they lean on each other for love.

This is a typical Fool’s Gold romance in that it’s focused on the hero and heroine, there’s a wonderful sense of community, and love seems to thrive at the seasonal festivals.

But Evie and Dante’s story is original and emotional. I keep reading Susan Mallery because she knows how to make each relationship unique and compelling.

As soon as I was done with this novel, I moved on to When We Met, to be released April 29. Thank you, Ms. Mallery for providing such an authentic glimpse of fictional romances. ❤

–Calliope

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Review: The Swiss Affair by Emylia Hall

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20140403-223359.jpg I have such a list of books to read and review that sometimes I gingerly open a book expecting – but hoping not – that it will be drudgery. And so it was with The Swiss Affair. I had prolonged it so many weeks that I created false bias in my mind: probably historical fiction, I know nothing about Switzerland, there better not be spousal cheating going on, etc, etc, etc.

I was in for the surprise of my life. The Swiss Affair is so many things, wrapped up in beautiful language, distinct and varying characters, and set upon wintery white Lausanne, Switzerland.

While reading, I felt like I WAS Hadley, young British innocent. I was brought back to my university days, with eyes wide and bright, seeing more in people than may have truly been there…. A time and place where anything was possible, adventure abounded, and I lived for luxuriating in every moment.

“There’s a phrase in French, you know … Il faut profiter. It means ‘make the most of it’ … But it’s more than that. It’s about… luxuriating in a moment.”

So there’s the coming of age bit.

Then, the affair. The forbidden romance. The love story. It’s not perfect, but I love it all the more because it isn’t. And really there are three affairs – Hadley’s, Hadley’s friend Kristina’s, and the love affair with Lausanne – all worthwhile, and all bittersweet.

And there’s a murder mystery woven in The Swiss Affair. Lucky for Hadley she befriends a former detective novelist who wants to help her solve it. It’s well done with a few twists and turns, but nothing you can’t guess if you put your mind to it.

There’s skiing. There’s cognac and whiskey and beer. Hugs. Friends. And lots of snow. Walks amongst snowflakes — alone or together or in a large party. Wonder. Awe. And sadness. Guilty, heart-wrenching, lonely sadness.

I don’t remember reading anything that comes close to the well-roundedness of The Swiss Affair. It’s romance, tragedy, mystery, drama, chick lit, new adult, adventure, and literary fiction all rolled into one. It’s dark and it’s bright. And it’s dark again. And even though I’d always tell you I prefer a happily ever after, I appreciate that this ending isn’t. This ending is teary for the reader but full of new beginnings for Hadley and Henri.

–Calliope

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Review: Red at Night, by Katie McGarry

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0001 red WOW. Plain and simple. I was NOT expecting to feel like this, after reading this short story. I’ve read all of Katie’s books and I’ve loved each of them, but this book is so much more.

This story is about life and how life isn’t always what it seems. It’s about people and how the littlest things turn into the biggest things. It’s about death and how we’re never ready for it, but we need to be. And last, it’s about shoes and the magical power they hold.

I will start out be saying, besides wanting to read the book, because Katie wrote it, I wanted to read it cuz the girl has purple hair. I’m silly that way. Since I saw the cover and she has the same color as my hair, I just had to read it. Who knew this short story would be such an impact on my life.

“Hope is a deadly snake with fangs of poison.”

Stella has lived such a hard life, my heart hurts when I think of it. She has been shuffled through life, knocked down, and bullied at school and basically wants to get through her senior year and get out. Being alone, with no one to catch you when you fall, has made having hope the only thing keeping her together.

Jonah has everything he possibly needs, but he is empty. After a deadly car accident, he is no longer happy in this life. He wants to live his life right, but he’s not sure how to do that.

After a chance meeting, at a cemetery, they discover that having each other, is the change they both need.

I know I cry in most books I read, but I was shocked into tears. Big crocodile tears, falling down my face. I had no idea how this message of hope would touch my heart and soul like it did.

~Melpomene

Download Red at Night (Harlequin More Than Words)

Review: If You Were Mine (The Sullivans #5) by Bella Andre

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20140326-230926.jpg Heather and Zach pulled me right in to their anti-love story. For two people who don’t believe in love, and certainly don’t believe in forever, these two sure fall hard and fast for each other.

No amount of denial can stop the chemistry Heather and Zach have, but at every turn they try to keep things superficial. They get together because the dogs miss each other. Or they need good sex. Or they want to help a good cause. It’s never because they’re in L.O.V.E. Nooooooooo. Not the L word. Even when they meet each other’s families, Zach and Heather pretend they’re just friends.

It’s this push and pull that makes If You Were Mine so enticing. Zach and Heather have eyes for only each other, but they still try to create distance whenever they can. I loved the tension, loved the longer than usual bedroom scenes (not any more graphic than expected, but drawn out and well-written), and loved when Heather and Zach were finally honest with each other.

If You Were Mine is my flavor of the week. Try it. Taste for yourself.

Yum.

-Calliope

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Review: Kissing Under the Mistletoe by Bella Andre

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20140325-221756.jpg This 10th installment of The Sullivans is a look back into the history of Mary and Jack Sullivan, the parents of the Sullivans who star in the other books in the series.

Bella Andre takes us on a charming, sweet trip down memory lane. A box of Christmas ornaments is the catalyst for Mary to recall milestones in her life. Then she gets lost in thoughts of her romance with her husband so many years ago.

I breezed through this book, enjoying Mary’s strong will and gentle spirit, and Jack’s patience and persistence. Mary and Jack’s story is original and well-thought-out. There were chaste kisses, steamy scenes, arguments, giddiness, fun dates, a proposal, and all the trimmings of a good romance.

Now that I’ve read their history, I’m totally ready for the next present-day Sullivan romances! Soon I will review If You Were Mine (book 5, Zach Sullivan), published in 2012; and Always on My Mind (book 11, Lori Sullivan), to be published this April.

–Calliope

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