3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

To contact us Click HERE
Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.(Synopsis from B&N.com)

Hardcover, Random House, 448 pages

Poppy Wyatt’s day is really going badly.  She has lost the antique betrothal ring her fiancé Magnus gave her and her phone has been stolen.  She thinks her luck has changed when she finds a perfectly good phone stuck in the waste bin and so she confiscates it.  The phone rings, she answers it pretending to be an automated reply, listens to a cryptic message, and writes it down on an old Lion King program.The phone belongs to Sam Roxton ( or his PA) and he lets Poppy know that he wants the phone back but she refuses.  She agrees that she will forward all of his messages until she no longer needs the phone.  Thus begins a relationship that is quirky to say the least.  As Poppy gets more and more into Sam’s life via his phone, she starts meddling with good, and sometimes bad, results. In the meantime, Poppy is dealing with the lost ring, her not so happy future in-laws, and a bridal planner from h*ll.Sam helps with the ring debacle and little by little Poppy becomes part of his life. Sam has some heavy stuff going on at his workplace which Poppy may be able to help him with. There are some interesting twists towards the end of the book.This is a lovely story of two people literally falling into love.  There is sweetness to the relationship which makes the story easy to read. Both characters are likeable (maybe not Sam at first) and they find themselves leaning on each other for support with their problems. The secondary characters are fleshed out and add a lot to the book.  I especially liked the little footnotes on the bottom of the pages. This is my favorite Kinsella book since Can You Keep a Secret.

The Garden of Happy Endings by Barbara O'Neal

To contact us Click HERE
After tragedy shatters her small community in Seattle, the reverend Elsa Montgomery has a crisis of faith. Returning to her home town of Pueblo, Colorado, she takes refuge in a local soup kitchen. Preparing nourishing meals for folks in need, she keeps her hands busy while her heart searches for understanding.

Meanwhile, her sister, Tamsin, as pretty and colorful as Elsa is unadorned and steadfast, finds her perfect life shattered when she learns her financier husband is a criminal. Enduring shock and humiliation as her beautiful house and possessions are seized, the woman who had everything now has nothing but the clothes on her back.

But when the going gets tough, the tough get growing. A community garden in the poorest, roughest part of town becomes a lifeline. Creating a place of hope and sustenance opens Elsa and Tamsin to the renewing power of rich earth, sunshine, and the warm cleansing rain of tears. While Elsa finds her heart blooming in the care of a rugged landscaper, Tamsin discovers the joy of losing herself in the act of giving—and both women discover that with time and care, happy endings flourish.(Synopsis from B&N.com)

Random House, Trade Publication, 418 pages    5/5 bookmarks

Wow, what a thought provoking book this is. Elsa is a minister in a Seattle church who finds herself questioning her calling after the murder of one of her parishioners.  Elsa has had a long history of being disappointed by God, starting with her run in with a misogynist Catholic priest in her youth.After being told by her church council that she needs to take a sabbatical, she ends up working with her lifelong friend, Joaquin, now a priest in their home town. She has a history with Father Jack, which led to one of her breaks with God, but they have both worked through it... or so they think. Elsa finds herself working on a community garden and developing an attraction to Deacon, the landscaper who is helping the church set up the garden.I read this book the same week a young child was killed in a horrific accident in our state. I had a discussion with two co-workers about how hard I found it to believe that God would have a plan for us that could include such a terrible thing. Elsa has the same questions in this book.  She has kept her faith in God for most of her life even when it has been hard to do so-she has turned her back on Him but came back every time. I think that Ms. O’Neal does an excellent job in portraying the anguish that a person with a religious calling would have when they question whether their own faith is strong enough to keep going.  That said the book is hopeful and positive even as Elsa is struggling.There is a side plot involving Tamsin, Elsa’s sister, who loses everything overnight when her financier husband disappears and is subsequently discovered to have bilked people out of millions of dollars. Tamsin has a crisis of physical loss-she has no money, no home, no job and no hope of getting any of those things in the immediate future.  Her daughter is overseas and has no idea of what is happening so Tamsin has the additional burden of keeping her circumstance a secret from her own child. As always, Ms. O’Neal gives us a story with many layers that we can relate to even if our situation is not the same as the main character. Her characters survive life’s vagaries and find their own brand of happiness.  Isn’t that what we all strive for?


Ain't Misbehaving by Molly Cannon

To contact us Click HERE

Marla Jean Bandy might be down, but she's not out. Even though her no-good ex-husband left her for another woman - a Bookmobile-driving librarian twenty years her senior - Marla Jean won't settle for another lonely night. She's not ready for Mr. Right, but why not have a little fun with Mr. Right Now? The only wrench  in her plan is her childhood crush. Jake- and the memory of the one toe-curling kiss they shared on a hot summer night years ago. ( Synopsis from MollyCannon.com)
Paperback, Forever Press, 374 pgs.




Marla Jean is determined to move on with her life after her husband ditches her for the town librarian- a woman 20 years older. She goes out and decides she is going to have fun with local Lothario Donnie Joe, only to have her hot and heavy make out session interrupted by her childhood crush, Jake. Jake is also her brother Linc's best friend and has committed to keeping Marla Jean safe while Linc is away. Both Marla Jean and Jake fight their obvious attraction through most of the book with occasional sexy lapses.

Being a librarian of a certain age, I have to admit I was intrigued by the premise of the book but disturbed by the way it seemed that the whole town had just forgiven the two cheaters and left Marla Jean with virtually nothing- both financially and in terms of her self respect. The issue does get addressed later in the story in a way that is satisfactory for the reader. Jake is in a double bind, having feelings for Marla Jean and being the nephew of the librarian. It was interesting to read a book where you had some sympathy for the other woman because you saw her through her family's eyes.

Jake is a genuinely nice guy who takes his friendship with Marla Jean seriously and Marla Jean is a sweetie who has had a rough time and deserves someone sexy like Jake to make her see that there is still a life out there for her.

 I especially enjoyed some of Marla Jean’s creative cursing. How often do you hear a character say “ poop faced son of a dodo bird”.  This was a fun read with a nice romance and a happy ending all the way around. ( Just a note-Donnie Joe has his own book coming out April of 2013 and it looks pretty good from the excerpt.)







Summer Nights ( Fool's Gold # 11) by Susan Mallery

To contact us Click HERE
Horse whisperer Shane Stryker is done with passion. This time around, he’s determined to meet someone who will be content with the quiet life of a rancher’s wife. And the fiery, pint-size redhead who dazzles him at the local bar definitely does not fit the bill.Small-town librarian Annabelle Weiss has always seen herself as more of a sweetheart than a siren, so she can’t understand why Shane keeps pushing her away. Shane has formed the totally wrong impression of her but only he can help her with a special event for the next Fool’s Gold festival. And maybe while he’s at it, she can convince him to teach her a few things about kissing on hot summer nights, too—some lessons, a girl shouldn’t learn from reading a book!Synopsis from susanmallery.com


Paperback, Harlequin, 381 pgs.
This is the second book of the latest Fool’s Gold trilogy about the Stryker brothers. Shane Stryker has come to Fool’s Gold to start a horse ranch adjacent to the property his mother and brother Rafe own. Shane is divorced, having been in a hellacious marriage, and wants his next serious romance to be with a nice, faithful woman. Annabelle Weiss is the Fool’s Gold Librarian and is also divorced from a man who belittled and controlled her.  She is looking for someone to love her unconditionally.  Unfortunately for her, the first time Shane meets her is when she impulsively jumps upon the bar in Jo’s place to demonstrate the dance of the happy virgin from the Maa-zib. Shane immediately paints with the same brush as his ex-wife.  When Annabelle turns up at his ranch for riding lessons, Shane manages to insult her in short order. He apologizes and the riding lessons continue and they get to know each other as time goes along.  Annabelle does find immediate unconditional love from someone on the ranch- a beautiful horse named Khatar!Both of the people in this romance have baggage from previous relationships that shapes how this one develops. Shane is definitely interested but he keeps acting like a jerk and messing things up. Annabelle has feelings for Shane but she keeps getting rebuffed and forgives him but then it happens again. Both people get lots of advice from well- meaning friends but the changes have to come from inside for the relationship to really work out.  Fool’s Gold works its magic again with Shane and Annabelle.  Favorite characters from previous books make frequent appearances and we get to see how their lives are progressing which is always nice. We also get a hint of who the next lucky couple will be. This is a great summer romance that has a little drama, a little humor and keeps the readers interest all the way through.

Angels' Dance E-Book

To contact us Click HERE
Look! The gorgeous cover for the US/Canada version of the e-book for "Angels' Dance". I adore it! 

This is Jessamy and Galen's story, originally part of ANGELS' FLIGHT. So if you bought Angels' Flight, you already have the story - this is for folks who only wanted this novella from the anthology. Release date: December 31st

In other exciting news, my UK publisher will be re-releasing ANGELS' FLIGHT in January, so if you're collecting the UK editions, you can grab the book then for a matching set.

There's no date yet for the stand-alone e-release of "Angels' Dance" for the UK & Commonwealth, but I've made the request, so watch this space!

2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba

Angels' Dance E-Book

To contact us Click HERE
Look! The gorgeous cover for the US/Canada version of the e-book for "Angels' Dance". I adore it! 

This is Jessamy and Galen's story, originally part of ANGELS' FLIGHT. So if you bought Angels' Flight, you already have the story - this is for folks who only wanted this novella from the anthology. Release date: December 31st

In other exciting news, my UK publisher will be re-releasing ANGELS' FLIGHT in January, so if you're collecting the UK editions, you can grab the book then for a matching set.

There's no date yet for the stand-alone e-release of "Angels' Dance" for the UK & Commonwealth, but I've made the request, so watch this space!

Spanish Cover: Hostage to Pleasure

To contact us Click HERE
 PRESA DEL PLACER
Febrero 2013
La científica Ashaya Aleine, que vive separada de su hijo de cuatro años y enfrascada en la creación de implantes cerebrales que supondrían la efectiva esclavización de su raza, es la psi perfecta: fría, imperturbable, sin sentimientos… O eso aparenta aunque en realidad lucha desesperadamente por salvar a su hijo y huir con él de la PsiNet. Pero cuando surge la oportunidad de escapar, Ashaya se encuentra a la merced de un cambiante enemistado con su raza.

Dorian Christensen, francotirador del clan de los DarkRiver, siente un profundo odio por los psi desde que uno de ellos asesinó a su hermana y, aunque es incapaz de transformarse en su encarnación animal, sin duda tiene alma de leopardo. Su rabia acumulada alimenta una sed de venganza arrolladora. Sin embargo, no solo es el encargado de proteger a la psi rebelde y a su hijo, sino que al ver a Ashaya y detectar el aroma de exótica feminidad que emana, siente el irrefrenable deseo de hacerla suya.

Poco a poco la naturaleza felina de Dorian entrará en juego para intentar derribar las defensas de esa enigmática mujer. Y juntos comprenderán que el verdadero enemigo a veces puede ser alguien que llevamos dentro.

«Presa del placer es lectura obligada para todos los aficionados a la literatura romántica paranormal.» Night Owl Romance
Serie Psi/Cambiantes, 5

Psy/Changeling, Audio, & Declaration of Courtship

To contact us Click HERE
I'm currently trying to clear my emails - huge apologies if you've emailed me and had to wait ages for a reply. I promise you I was spending the time well, writing!

While going through them, I've been surprised at the number of people who are worried Psy/Changeling #12 (June 2013) will be the last book in the series. I was also asked the same question on Twitter yesterday, so I thought I'd better clear things up.

The Psy/Changeling series is not coming to a close. I have, in fact, been heard to say that I'll be writing it until I'm ninety-five. That might be *cough* a slight exaggeration, but I have lots of plans for this series.

There is a major overarching plotline as you all know, and that will come to an end, as giving readers a satisfying conclusion is very important to me. However, after we reach that point, I have lots of ideas to explore other parts of the world, as well as characters we haven't seen as much in the main storyline. For example, we might explore the falcons, or perhaps the water changelings. There are tons of possibilities!

~~~
For audiobook lovers: My North American audio publisher, Tantor, is currently having a 50% off sale on all formats, with free shipping on orders over $25. And on Friday, I've been told Tantor Downloads will be $4.99.

Here is the link to their website.

~~~
I posted this snippet from Declaration of Courtship (part of WILD INVITATION) on Facebook, and thought thought blog readers might enjoy it, too. (And yes, if you already have the other stories in Wild Invitation and just want the two new novellas, they will be available in electronic format a little while after the paperback release).

Don't run from me, sweetheart, he thought as he took the final steps to her, I only bite a little. Not quite true, but he was planning to be on his best behavior until she trusted him enough to handle the aggressive sensuality that was an integral aspect of his nature. "Grace."

- from DECLARATION OF COURTSHIP (in Wild Invitation - out March)

~~~

Last but not least, I'm doing a final edit of "Christmas in the Kitchen", the short story that'll be going out in the newsletter on Friday (U.S. time). If you haven't joined up, the signup form is on the sidebar of the blog, and on the front page of my website.  
~~~
Phew, that was a long post! I hope you're all well. What are you up to as 2012 draws to a close?

Dead Man's Folly, by Agatha Christie

To contact us Click HERE

TITLE: Dead Man's Folly
AUTHOR: Agatha Christie

COPYRIGHT: 1956
PAGES: 240
PUBLISHER: William Morrow

SETTING: 1950s England
TYPE: Mystery
SERIES: None, really, other than being a Poirot novel

Sir George and Lady Stubbs, the hosts of a village fete, hit upon the novel idea of staging a mock murder mystery. In good faith, Ariadne Oliver, the well-known crime writer, agrees to organize their murder hunt.

Despite weeks of meticulous planning, at the last minute Ariadne calls her friend Hercule Poirot for his expert assistance. Instinctively, she senses that something sinister is about to happen...
Mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver is worried. She's been engaged to plot a "murder hunt" for the Nass house fête, coming up with a plot and clues the participants must follow to find a body and discover who the killer was. She's got it all plotted out, but she feels something is off, something she can't quite put her finger on. Clearly, the only thing she can do is call in her friend, Hercule Poirot.

By dint of mysterious hints and direct orders, she gets Poirot in, supposedly to hand out the prizes. And it turns out that Mrs. Oliver was right to be worried, because when they go during the fête to check on the young girl who's volunteered to play the part of of the victim, they find that the dead body really is a dead body. Not to mention, the lady of the house has disappeared.

This was definitely not Christie's best. I liked the premise and the first half or so of the book, and the mystery and characters did hold my attention, but there were flaws. The solution was ingenious, but it came out of left field a bit. Usually whatever happened kind of fits with the way Christie has build the characters, and felt natural, but that wasn't the case here, and the whole thing felt rather contrived. It simply stretched credulity.  I also found it disappointing that the whole premise of the murder hunt, which I thought was really cool, becomes completely irrelevant as the book goes on. As does Mrs. Oliver, actually, who is by far the most interesting, engaging character in the sections she's in.

There's also the fact that this is very much a book of its time. I almost always enjoy that about Christie's books, and appreciate the glimpse of a world long gone. However, this is a world with some very ugly attitudes. Sometimes I can easily let that slide completely and enjoy the book as what it is, and as simply reflecting the attitudes people would have had at the time. Sometimes it's harder, though, and this was one of those. The xenophobia is painful to read, as is the way everyone is constantly and cavalierly commenting on whether a particular character is simple / subnormal / dimwitted. I found that really shocking. And it was just as shocking to read the section where, when discussing whether the crime could have been committed by one of those newfangled "sex maniacs", the policemen dismiss the possibility, because the victim had been rather plain. Christie tends to have the worst prejudiced views voiced by unsympathetic characters, indicating these are not views she, herself, holds, but I still kept flinching as I read, and that wasn't fun.

MY GRADE: A C+.

AUDIOBOOK NOTES: The version I listened to was narrated by David Suchet. Suchet is a very good Poirot on the TV series, so I was thought I was in for a treat when I saw his name on the box. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed. He did ok in the non-dialogue bits, but the dialogue was excrutiating. He hammed it up to a point where I wanted to scream. He basically made every single character, even Poirot, sound preposterous and ridiculous. I think what annoyed me the most was that he went far beyond what the text revealed about the characters who were speaking, inserting way too much of his interpretation into his reading.

I'm a bit worried, since a lot of the Poirot audiobooks my library holds are narrated by Suchet, but someone on Goodreads mentioned this was one of his earlier ones, and implied he did go on to get more comfortable with the format. So I guess I'll try another one and see. Otherwise, I guess I'll devote myself to Miss Marple for a while!

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

To contact us Click HERE
TITLE: A Christmas Carol
AUTHOR: Charles Dickens

COPYRIGHT: 1843
PAGES: 110
PUBLISHER: Listening Library

SETTING: 1840s London
TYPE: Fictin
SERIES: none

On the night of Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three Christmas spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past confronts Scrooge with his youth, the Ghost of Christmas Present reveals the Cratchits struggle amid poverty, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come harrows Scrooge with dire visions of the future if he does not learn to treat his fellow man with kindness, generosity and compassion.

.

We always try to choose something Christmassy for my book club in December, and what could be more Christmassy than A Christmas Carol? Knowing that Dickens's stories were often read out loud (including by the author, who was famous for it), I borrowed the audiobook from my library. It was performed (and that is very definitely the word) by Jim Dale, famous for being the voice of the Harry Potter books.

Everyone knows the storyline of this one, and the first thing to note is that there were absolutely no surprises for me here. The reason I remark on this is that my experience with the previous classic that we'd read for book club, Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, had been just the opposite. I thought that I knew the story well, but on actually reading it, it became clear that my memories, beyond the well-known plot twist, were distorted impressions, nothing more. So I guess that I was surprised by the lack of surprises in A Christmas Carol. Surprised and, unfortunately, rather bored.

Objectively, it's a good story, made all the more vivid by Jim Dale's excellent narration. The thing is that the lack of surprises and relative shallowness in the characterisation, combined with the fact that I just cannot stand Victorian sentimentality (I may be a horrible cynic, but the descriptions of Tiny Tim made me want to puke), meant that I didn't enjoy it all that much.

Also, I was wrong when I said there were no surprises at all. There was one, an unpleasant one, and it was the completely revolting way in which Dickens describes Scrooge's nephew's wife:
She was very pretty: exceedingly pretty. With a dimpled, surprised-looking, capital face; a ripe little mouth, that seemed made to be kissed--as no doubt it was; all kinds of good little dots about her chin, that melted into one another when she laughed; and the sunniest pair of eyes you ever saw in any little creature's head. Altogether she was what you would have called provoking, you know; but satisfactory, too. Oh, perfectly satisfactory."
All those "little this" and "little that", and the way he calls her "provoking" just gave me the creeps. Patronising, dirty old man!

MY GRADE: Since I grade purely for my enjoyment of a book, C+.

1 Ocak 2013 Salı

Grease Monkey Jive, by Ainslie Paton

To contact us Click HERE

TITLE: Grease Monkey Jive
AUTHOR: Ainslie Paton

COPYRIGHT: 2012
PAGES: 130K words (a bit over 500 pages, I'd say)
PUBLISHER: Escape Publishing

SETTING: Contemporary Australia (Sydney)
TYPE: Romance
SERIES: None

A romance about changing the game, finding the truth, and fancy footwork.

When ballroom teacher Alex Gibson dances with Dan Maddox she's reminded of the time she stuck a knife in the toaster, gave herself an electric shock, and saw stars. He's precisely the type of man Alex's mother warned her off - a player, like the father who abandoned her.

Dan Maddox comes from a long line of men who were hiding under the hood of a beat-up car when the 'successful relationship' gene was given out, but he was first in the queue for an extra jolt of chick-pulling power.

The chicks in Dan's life are universally gorgeous, random, and disposable, until one drunken night when he picks the wrong girl, hurts a good friend, and realises that unless he does something to change, he'll end up like his violent, unstable father.
Yep, I'm one of the many, many readers who bought Grease Monkey Jive after seeing the interviews with the publisher at Dear Author and SBTB (those interviews have probably sold a lot of books for Escape Publishing, I've bought 4 of their titles so far!). The way the book was described was as a romance "that mixes Strictly Ballroom with Pimp My Ride", all set in Australia. That sounded right up my street.

It was. It wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed it.

Our two protagonists are two very different people. Dan Maddox is a total player. He can attract women just by crooking his finger at them, and he does hookups, not relationships. His life is all about his mates, surfing, sex, and his low-stress work as a mechanic. He parties like there's no tomorrow, and he does so frequently. And then, one night, he does something very stupid, and realises he's turning into his father.

Now, that is a shock to him. His father is a bitter, ugly drunk, a violent man who beat him up as a child, after his mother's death. Dan really doesn't want to be anything like him, and he decides that he needs to change, especially to start relating to women in a different way.

One of his nicest childhood memories is of his ballroom dancer mother, and with the help of a bet, he and his friends end up taking classes at a nearby dance studio. One of their teachers is Alex Gibson. Alex is an excellent dancer, but she's also doing a business degree, as she feels she needs to be sensible about her career. This is therefore the last year she participates in a dance competition, with her partner and fellow teacher, Scott. They've got a very good chance of winning, and the prize money will be extremely useful in helping her pay for the rest of her degree.

And then Scott breaks his ankle. Due to a loophole in the rules, they can bring in another partner for Alex until he recovers, but all the good pros are otherwise engaged. Dan, who's actually a naturally good dancer, is their only hope, especially because the chemistry between him and Alex is explosive, on and off the dance floor.

The chemistry might be explosive, but we don't get immediate satisfaction. The romance here is slow and gradual. Alex has a boyfriend (who's quite an arse, actually), and Dan really is determined to change the way he relates to women. He and Alex become friends first, and their relationship takes a while to move to the  next level. It's very, very satisfying, especially to see Dan open himself to a type of relationship he'd always completely dismissed.

So the romance at the centre of the book is great, but what I also really liked was that the book is wider than that. Friends and family are well drawn, and Alex and Dan's relationships with them are important, and well-developed. These people around them have a big influence on them, and this is acknowledged.

The other thing to say is that, the premise might sound a bit preposterous, but when you're reading the book, it's actually believable. It helps that Paton doesn't even try to pretend that an inexperienced, if gifted, dancer like Dan could do what has taken pro dancers years of hard work. The whole thing works for him and Alex only because they play up the attrction between them and get lots of extra points for the entertainment value, but even then, they only get enough points to barely hang in the competition without being eliminated.

The book's also got a great sense of place, and I enjoyed the Sidney setting and that it really felt Australian. The language is not made neutral, and I loved that. I actually had to look up a couple of terms that I couldn't figure out from the context (like "ranga", who knew?), but you know what? I'm a grown-up, I can handle that!

Unfortunately, as I said, it's not a perfect book. The big conflict in the romance, when it comes, didn't feel completely natural. It relies on a character pushing the other one away for reasons that didn't convince me, and the resolution of this is pretty drawn out. Which brings me to my other issue: much as I liked the wide focus of the story, it did feel a little bloated, like it needed some editing to tighten it up and trim some of the flab. That could have been done without losing the gradual feeling of the romance.

On the whole, though, this was great, and I'm glad I took the plunge and bought it (it was a really reasonable price, too!). I'm now looking forward to trying the other books I bought on my binge!

MY GRADE: A strong B.

Body Heat, by Susan Fox

To contact us Click HERE

TITLE: Body Heat
AUTHOR: Susan Fox

COPYRIGHT: 2012
PAGES: 320
PUBLISHER: Kensington Brava

SETTING: Contemporary US
TYPE: Romance
SERIES: None

On the cusp of her thirtieth birthday, Maura Mahoney has yet to date a man who really excites her. Her quiet routine as a director at the retirement community Cherry Lane is disrupted by the arrival of Jesse Blue, a bad boy on a motorcycle who roars into her life. Jesse has agreed to avoid jail time by serving community service at Cherry Lane. Instantly attracted but wary of Jesse's checkered past and youth, Maura puts him to work in the garden. Despite the growing sexual tension between them, there are many things keeping Maura and Jesse apart, chiefly their own assumptions about one another. But appearances can be deceiving and Maura and Jesse must overcome the expectations of those around them to find their happy ending...
Maura Mahoney is an accountant at a retirement home, a job she loves, even though her domineering parents feel she's wasting her education on it. Maura lives a nice, quiet life, which suddenly changes with the arrival of motorcycle-riding, leather jacket-wearing bad boy Jesse Blue.

Jesse's been ordered to do community service (don't worry, it was for a completely commendable crime, of course), and the retirement home's HR manager agreed he could do his hours there. Right before he arrives, though, the woman has to take some urgent time off, and Maura gets saddled with the duty of supervising Jesse. She takes it very seriously -at least, that's the excuse she gives herself as to why she spends so much of her time watching him through her window while he does sweaty gardening work!

I will admit, my expectations were sky-high when I started this. Susan Fox wrote two of my favourite books last year, the amazingly wonderful Love, Unexpectedly and His, Unexpectedly. They had grown-up characters who actually talked to each other, and this let me see exactly how well they fit together and completely buy that they were falling in love. Body Heat was nothing like those books, nothing at all.

Now, Jesse is a very nice hero, and I liked how he is completely gone over Maura from the start. To him, she's not boring, she's scorching hot, and he's convinced she's out of his league. A beautiful, clever, elegant woman like that, interested in a blue-collar guy like him, who can't even read properly? I did like seeing him begin to recognise his worth, and stop putting himself down.

But Maura, oh, dear. It wasn't that I didn't like the character, it was that she was completely unbelievable. Seriously, we're talking about a woman who's mortally embarrased about liking TV and movies. Not just trashy TV and crap movies -I could definitely understand someone watching and loving reality TV and feeling embarrassed about it (that was me last year, when I got ever-so-slightly addicted to X-Factor), or pretending they only like art-house cinema, but Maura just makes blanket statements about TV and any movies in general. Seriously, woman, who are you? And this is from someone who much prefers books to either of those media and would 99 times out of 100 read a book than watch TV or a film!

Maura also seems remarkably clueless about way too many things. One of my "favourite" scenes was when she was worried at her sudden constant horniness since she met Jesse the day before. She's never masturbated in her life (she calls it "the M word", in fact), and has never felt particularly aroused, even with her two previous lovers, so it's a big change. She decides to do some research to check whether it might have something to do with having just turned 30 the day before. Yep, because maybe it's like throwing some sort of switch, you know. And wait, there's more. She googles "female sexuality" and panics because she gets 5000 results! Ohhh, she has no idea where to start! (For the record, you get over 28 million results, 1.3 million if you use quote marks).

Unrealistic or not, she did kind of grow on me, and the last part of the book actually worked ok for me, because she gets to act a bit more believable. Those sections were fun, and quite hot. The first sections, though, induced quite a bit of eye-rolling. Additionally, those first sections were not sexy at all, which is clearly not what the author intended. It was sex fantasy scene after sex fantasy scene. I expect Fox must have thought it was a way to make the book "hot" without having her characters fall into bed straight away, but it just didn't work for me in any way. I guess, at first sight, a sex scene is a sex scene is a sex scene. All the sex scenes in a book are imaginary, made up by the author, so having one imaginary character imagining one should be just as hot as a having the imaginary characters actually doing it. It isn't. It just isn't. If it wasn't actually happening, I wasn't interested and tempted to skim. Also, these constant fantasies made Maura and Jesse look like idiots, mainly because they tended to happen in the most inappropriate places. Jesse has two of them (two, count them!) while driving his motorbike!

MY GRADE: A C+. I was very generous and gave it a B- in last month's summary, but on reflection, I think that was too generous.

The Crossing Places, by Elly Griffiths

To contact us Click HERE

TITLE: The Crossing Places
AUTHOR: Elly Griffiths

COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: 303
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

SETTING: Contemporary England
TYPE: Mystery
SERIES: 1st in the Dr. Ruth Galloway series

When she’s not digging up bones or other ancient objects, quirky, tart-tongued archaeologist Ruth Galloway lives happily alone in a remote area called Saltmarsh near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants - not quite earth, not quite sea.

When a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach nearby, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help. Nelson thinks he has found the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing ten years ago. Since her disappearance he has been receiving bizarre letters about her, letters with references to ritual and sacrifice.

The bones actually turn out to be two thousand years old, but Ruth is soon drawn into the Lucy Downey case and into the mind of the letter writer, who seems to have both archaeological knowledge and eerie psychic powers. Then another child goes missing and the hunt is on to find her. As the letter writer moves closer and the windswept Norfolk landscape exerts its power, Ruth finds herself in completely new territory – and in serious danger.
The Crossing Places introduces us to forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway. Ruth is a lecturer at the University of North Norfolk, and as an expert on bones, she's asked to help the police when some are discovered in the nearby salt marshes.

The policeman in need of her help is DCI Harry Nelson, who thinks the bones might belong to a little girl who disappeared about 10 years earlier. Nelson is still haunted by that case, and half-hopes, half-fears he'll be able to give the girl's parents some closure by confirming that she is dead.

The bones Ruth examines turn out to be a couple of thousand years too old to be of any use to him, but her involvement in the case doesn't end there. Someone has been taunting Nelson with letters about the case for the past 10 years, letters full of all sorts of references, some of them archaeological, and with which Ruth is able to help. And then another little girl goes missing.

It's an interesting mystery, with very well-done characters. Ruth, especially, appealed to me. She's at a stage in her life where people insist on pitying her for being single. Everyone seems to think that because she's 40, overweight, and lives alone with her 2 cats, Ruth must be this miserable, pityful person. Well, she isn't. She's a wonderfully independent character, and though yes, she has her moments of self-pity herself, her life is one she has chosen. Her cats are not children substitutes, and she's not alone out of lack of choices.

I wasn't as convinced about her relationship with Harry Nelson, though. Nelson is, as Griffiths reminds us over and over, an "unreconstructed Northerner". He can be quite nice and considerate, especially with Ruth, but I got a bit of a feel that the author was contrasting his kind of almost brutish masculinity with what she calls "reedy academics", and finding the latter wanting. Of course, all the academics in this book are on the amoral side, with unattractive personalities, and therefore look a little bit like straw men to me.

Harry Nelson is also married. Well, pretty much all relationships we hear about in this book involve someone who's already married. Adulterous relationships are not something I completely refuse to read. I'm ok if they're handled sensitively, but this felt pretty sordid.

I think I'm still interested in these characters, though, so I might actually read the second book. It seems to be set in the same area, which is described very evocatively, and there's a certain development in Ruth's personal life right at the end of the book which has the potential for much drama. Might be good, might be awful, but I'm kind of convincing myself to find out.

Oh, before I forget, a word of warning: this is not one to read if you're disturbed by bad things happening to animals. There's a pet who meets a sticky end here, and it was a very sad moment.

MY GRADE: A B.

AUDIOBOOK NOTES: It was this version, read by Jane McDowell. I liked her voice, it sounded very "Ruth" to me. She wasn't great at accents though. The accent she did for Harry Nelson didn't really sound like someone from Blackpool, it sounded much more like someone from the Northeast to me, but that's a relatively minor issue. The "Norwegian" one for Erik, though! Just completely off.

January 2013 wish list

To contact us Click HERE

I'm going to go bankrupt, so many books from autobuy authors, and just after Christmas, too!

Books I'm definitely planning to get



The Madness Underneath, by Maureen Johnson (Jan 2)

I loved the previous book, The Name of the Star, and this one sounds promising. No Ripper here, but Rory, with her newfound powers, gets involved with a string of unexplained murders in London.




The Other Side Of Us, by Sarah Mayberry (Jan 2)

To be perfectly honest, the plot summary is not one that would normally tempt me in the least. This is Sarah Mayberry, though, and whatever she writes, I will happily read.




Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz (Jan 8)

Still hanging in there with JAK, hoping for another great one. The last one I read did have a nice romance, and the blurb on this one goes on about “primal attraction”, which doesn’t sound very JAK-these-days, so I’ll hope against hope.




Be Mine by Jennifer Crusie, Victoria Dahl and Shannon Stacey (Jan 22)

I really disliked the one Shannon Stacey book I read, but I love Victoria Dahl and the Jennifer Crusie story, although already published, is one I haven’t read yet.




The Firebird, by Susanna Kearsley (Jan 28 in the UK)

Not technically on my wish list, as the wonderful Susanna Kearsley was kind enough to send me a review copy a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to mention it, if only to remind UK-based readers that it's coming out. It’s wonderful, BTW.




A Woman Entangled, by Cecilia Grant (Jan 29)

A Lady Awakened was one of my favourite books of 2012, and it landed Cecilia Grant straight on my autobuy list. This one sounds great, too.




That Scandalous Summer, by Meredith Duran (Jan 29)

I love Duran’s writing, and the sound of this one. A belle of the ball heroine who’s secretly lonely, a scandalous hero... yum!




Crazy Thing Called Love, by Molly O’Keefe (Jan 29)

The plot sounds kind of meh to me, but I’m buying this just on the strength of O’Keefe’s Can’t Buy Me Love, which I loved (and which I really need to review soon).



Books that interest me and I'll keep an eye on reviews for



Show and Tell, by Kate McMurray (Jan 8)

I saw this one at the Dear Author promo thread for authors, and liked the sound of it. Reincarnated lovers, antiques, sold!




Unforgivable, by Joanna Chambers (Jan 15)

I’m not sure about this one. I liked Chambers’ The Lady’s Secret and want to read more by her, but I HATE stories where there’s a separation in which the hero whores around like mad and the heroine stays all nice and chaste. So I guess I’ll wait for reviews.




When She Said I Do, by Celeste Bradley (Jan 29)

I enjoyed Bradley’s The Pretender many years ago, but haven’t read her in ages. This Beauty and the Beast plot might tempt me to try her again.

December 2012 reads

To contact us Click HERE
I've been having some relatively mediocre months lately, but December was just fantastic. I read more than I have in years, and there were some brilliant, brilliant books. I don't think I've had so many A books in a month for ages!



1 - The Firebird, by Susanna Kearsley: A-
review coming soon

 Nicola's psychometry tells her a small sculpture of a firebird is authentic, but she needs tangible proof in order to help the owner. She appeals to a friend with even stronger powers: my beloved Robbie, from The Shadowy Horses, all grown up! Beautiful, evocative story, also with ties to The Winter Sea. I loved it. It comes out in a couple of weeks here in the UK, but unfortunately, those of you in North America will have to wait a bit longer.





2 - The Duchess War, by Courtney Milan: A-
review coming soon

 A duke who happens to be one of the most politically radical characters I've ever read in a romance novel, a heroine with secrets which threaten to be revealed by the duke's activities. Great romance, with wonderfully individual characters who fit together perfectly.






3 - Restraint, by Charlotte Stein: A-
review here

 Very short, but packs a punch. Mallory has always thought Artie hates her and is put off by her outrageousness, but she discovers that's not quite the case. Plenty of steaminess, but also genuine romance and raw emotion, and Stein has a very distinctive voice that I really loved.







4 - Suddenly You, by Sarah Mayberry: A-
review coming soon

 The hero decides to help out his mate's ex, who was left high and dry by said mate when she became pregnant and decided to have the baby. But spending time together leads to some truly toe-curling attraction. Lovely, lovely romance, sweet and hot and with as much humour as it's got angst.






5 - Easy, by Tammara Webber: A-
review here

 Audiobook. My first New Adult, hero and heroine in university. Really liked it, it's got loads of emotion and romance, but also a very female-positive message. It would probably have been my favourite book ever if I'd read it in my late teens/early 20s.





6 - Demon Bound, by Meljean Brook: A-
original review here:

Part of my Guardians reread. Puppy-dog Jake and creepy Alice are a fantastic couple, and there are some fantastic revelations. Love it!







7 - Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes: B+
review coming soon

 Audiobook. Young woman takes a job as a carer for a quadraplegic man, and their relationship changes the lives of both. Very emotional book, but in an honest, completely non-manipulative and non-maudlin way. Really good.






8 - They Came To Baghdad, by Agatha Christie: B+
review coming soon

 Audiobook. Plucky heroine travels to Baghdad, chasing after a man, and gets accidentally embroiled in an international conspiracy. This is Christie doing a spy caper, rather than a traditional mystery, and it's good fun, with a really cool, plucky heroine. Plus, great setting!





9 - The Mephisto Club, by Tess Gerritsen: B+
review coming soon

Audiobook. After a body is found horribly dismembered, with evidence suggesting a Satanic ritual, Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles come across the Mephisto Club, a group of well-heeled intellectuals who say they study evil. Some of it was a bit much, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.




10 -Shattered Silk, by Barbara Michaels: B+
review coming soon

Reread of one of my fave Michaels. Karen has just been left by her husband and her self-esteem has taken a big hit. Going back to her aunt's in Georgetown, she starts to live her life again, including setting up a business, dealing in vintage clothes. Atmospheric, with excellently drawn characters and a really cool plot.





11 - Grease Monkey Jive, by Ainsley Paton: B
review here

 A player hero who wants to reform, a dance teacher heroine, and a ballroom dancing competition. Really nice, gradual, and completely believable romance, and a book that felt fresh. Unfortunately, it also felt a bit bloated and in need of editing.



12 - The Rescue Man, by Anthony Quinn: B
review coming soon

 Set in Liverpool at the start of WWII and in the 1860s. The main character is a man fascinated by the city's architecture, who becomes a "rescue man", helping save people from collapsed buildings once the German bombing starts. He also becomes interested in a revolutionary architect from the previous century. A big part of my interest was because it's set where I live and the setting is really vivid, but it's a good story, too.



13 - The Crossing Places, by Elly Griffiths: B
review here

Audiobook, 1st in series featuring forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway. Brought in by the police to help with bones just discovered, she gets involved in a child disappearance case. Interesting case and great sense of place (the Norfolk salt marshes). The personal stuff kept my attention, but felt a bit sordid.



14 - Unmasking Maya, by Libby Mercer: C+
review coming soon

Maya is an artist, starting anew in San Francisco after her high-flying career in New York was destroyed. She's commissioned to create some art for a software millionaire, who turns out not to be the weedy nerd she was expecting. It's got a nice sense of place and I liked Mercer's voice, but the plot felt unfocused, with thread after thread popping up and then never going anywhere, and the romance wasn't developed enough.



15 - No Strings Attached, by Bridget Gray: C+
review here

The heroine saved the hero's life during the Asian tsunami, but when they meet again, he doesn't remember her. Not wanting him to feel he owes her, when they've just started dating, she doesn't tell him. Meh. The execution felt a bit off. Plus, we get 3 different romances in a shortish book, and all feel underbaked.



16 - A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens: C+
review here

Audiobook. Read for my book club. It's a good story, but I just cannot stand Victorian sentimentality, so I didn't particularly enjoy it. Jim Dale's narration was really good, though.



17 - Gallows View, by Peter Robinson: DNF
review coming soon

Audiobook. Mystery set in a Yorkshire village in the late 80s, starts a series featuring Inspector Banks, who's just moved up North from London. The case(s) involve(s) a peeping Tom and a series of muggings, and I was hoping for a good connection between all the strands. Interesting plot, but the sexual politics were so dated and appalling that I had to stop reading it.



18 - Leave Me Breathless, by Cherrie Lynn: DNF
review here

Opposites attract-type erotic romance. Macy is an all-country riding instructor, Seth is an all-heavy metal tattoo artist. The characters didn't appeal to me, and the first third or so that I read is sex scene after sex scene, and those didn't really appeal, either.



19 - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith: DNF
review coming soon

Everyone seems to love this series, about Precious Ramotswe, and her detective agency in Botswana, but I couldn't get into it. Possibly McCall Smith's writing, I've liked other books of his, but he does a faux-folksy voice here that just annoyed me.




20 - Demon Forged: still reading
original review here:

Only just started it, but enjoying it as much as I did the first time around!