The Bro Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Why I read it: I saw tweets about this really funny book from a guy's perspective from Jane at Dear Author and then I saw it on NetGalley so I snapped it up.

What it's about: (This is the blurb from Goodreads) Women have been known to lament, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." For Johnny Smith, the problem is, "Always a Best Man, never a groom." At age 33, housepainter Johnny has been Best Man eight times. The ultimate man's man, Johnny loves the Mets, the Jets, his weekly poker game, and the hula girl lamp that hangs over his basement pool table. Johnny has the instant affection of nearly every man he meets, but one thing he doesn't have is a woman to share his life with, and he wants that desperately. When Johnny meets District Attorney Helen Troy, he decides to renounce his bro-magnet ways in order to impress her. With the aid and advice of his friends and family, soon he's transforming his wardrobe, buying throw pillows, ditching the hula girl lamp, getting a cat and even changing his name to the more mature-sounding John. And through it all, he's pretending to have no interest in sports, which Helen claims to abhor. As things heat up with Helen, the questions arise: Will Johnny finally get the girl? And, if he's successful in that pursuit, who will he be now that he's no longer really himself? The Bro Magnet is a rollicking comedic novel about what one man is willing to give up for the sake of love.

What worked for me (and what didn't): This book is SO funny.  I was cackling my way throught his book and I think I started laughing pretty close to page one.  Johnny is hilarious.  I actually found him to be a really nice, sweet, funny, considerate guy but most of the girls in the book didn't feel that way.  When he meets Helen, he so wants to impress her, that he decides to ditch the sports references and other things which girls are always telling him are annoying.  Helen is the District Attorney so he also has to cover up his fondness for finding loopholes in the law (he likes the puzzle solving aspect of it) on crime shows and when talking to his lawyer friend Steve.

"So let me get this straight,": she says. "It's not loopholes you have a thing for, it's ice holes?"

"Oh,  yes," I say.  "From when I was little and my dad used to take me ice fishing.  Ever since he got MS and can't get around as well anymore, I liked to remember the times  when we used to be together on the ice, sitting around the ice holes."

Well at least the part about his having MS is true.

"That's sweet,"  she says.

Hey, I'm on a roll here.

"Not only do I like ice holes," I say, "but I like sinkholes."

"Sinkholes?"

"I mean, I'd hate to get my truck stuck in one, but they're so interesting, the way they just appear all of a sudden.  And peepholes, I like those too."

"Peepholes?"

"It is always good to see who's on the other side of the door so you know whether you want to let them in or not.  Oh, and blowholes - you know, whales.  They should be saved."

"So," she says slowly, reviewing my case item by item. "you like ice holes, sinkholes, peepholes and blowholes?"

I nod.

"But not loopholes?"

I nod gain.

Hole this, hole that - even when I'm determined not to just be myself, I'm such an asshole.  I just can't help it.

Pretty soon, the girls have him watching General Hospital (the conversations about the Cassidines and the Spencers are hilarious!), redecorating his condo and even getting a cat (because, he's told,  girls like cats). So, he and his equally clueless-about-women BFF Sam go cat hunting.

"Which one should we check out first?" I ask Sam, looking over the listings.

"First? What do you think, we're going to drive all over Danbury like we're house-hunting or something, interviewing various feline applicants?"

"I'll take that as a 'we're just going to one place and take whatever they have'?"

"Precisely. Here's one.  'Free, six adorable kittens in need of a good home'."

"But I dont need six.  I only need one."

"What are you, stupid? We look at the six and pick out the one you like best. How hard can it be?"

"But is says 'good home', not 'homes'.  Clearly whoever placed the ad is looking to have all the kittens adopted at once."

"Oh, for Christ sake Johnny just get in the truck and drive."

But, as funny as this book is (Did I tell you?  It's REALLY funny), there are some really poignant moments too.  Johnny is loyal.  He goes to the local hardware store every day to buy supplies for his paint business, partly because he doesn't like being tied down by buying in bulk, but mostly because he wants to help out the local hardware store - he's not a fan of the big chains.  He goes to Leo's coffee shop every day out of loyalty to Leo rather than go to a Starbucks or similar.  He even goes to Leo's everyday later in the book just to cheer the old man up when he's not really even in the market for coffee.  

He has an "opportunity" early in the book to get laid but she's so drunk he feels uncomfortable and leaves rather than take advantage of her.  See?  I told you he's a good guy.

In the end, Johnny decides that even though he loves Helen, he has to to come clean because if he can't be himself (or a slightly cleaned up version of himself - he finds he looks good in J Crew, but he really prefers to be called 'Johnny' rather than the more mature 'John'), then she's not the woman for him.  Which is also sweet.  I liked that he came to the conclusion that he deserved honesty in his relationship.

Helen has secrets of her own and I don't think it will come as a surprise to readers that they are more suited to each other than either knows.

Because the story is told in Johnny's first person POV, we don't get to know Helen all that much but it's such fun to be in Johnny's head that I didn't really mind that.    

I would have liked to see another conversation between the couple at the end or maybe a scene showing their life as they decided to live it once all the secrets are revealed but it was otherwise an excellent read.

It's very much on the "sweet/subtle" side of the heat intensity so it is suitable for younger readers too.

What else? In the end, the message of the book is that there is someone out there for everyone, even self-confessed assholes.   Sure, it doesn't have the best title or cover in the world. But, this is a great book.  I highly recommend it.

Grade:  B+

Not Wicked Enough by Carolyn Jewel

"Am I too wicked, your grace?"        

"My love, if I may be honest-" 

"Please."

"You are not wicked enough."

Why I read it:  I won an ARC from the author.  I promised a review - no hardship really because I review every book I read.  The book is out February 7.

What it's about:  (from Goodreads) When Lily Wellstone heads to the Bitterward Estate to comfort her widowed friend Eugenia, she certainly does not have romance in mind. In fact, the playful but level-headed Lily is amused to no end when, en route, a Gypsy gifts her with a beautiful medallion, claiming it will ensnare the romantic desires of a stranger.
 

But fate has other plans in the form of Eugenia’s ruggedly handsome brother, the Duke of Mountjoy. One day at Bitterward and Lily can’t deny the sizzling attraction between her and the roguish duke. Nothing can come of it, of course. She’s not looking for entanglements and he’s practically engaged. But whether it’s her outgoing nature and the duke’s outlandish ways sparking off one another; or the mysterious gypsy medallion working “magic,”—hearts are stirring in the most unexpected and wicked ways. . .

What worked for me and what didn't:  I enjoyed this one quite a bit.  Lily and Mountjoy (oh, how I wish I knew his Christian name!) were very engaging.  The scenes where they are together (and fortunately, there are many of them, including the first one) are the best in the book.  Their attraction sizzles off the page and there is much sexy repartee and double entendre.  (In fact, I thought the Duke's very name was a double entendre).  Watching this couple fall in love was delightful really. 

"What will you do with all your drawings?" Mountjoy stayed where he was.  

...

She shrugged.  "Assemble them into a book I should think.  I'll call it A Study of England's Ancient Homes, Volume the First and publish under a man's name.  Professor L. Carter Farnsworth.  What do you think of that for a scholar's name?" ...

"That Professor Farnsworth cannot fail to find a publisher for such a work.  There must be upward of a half a dozen people in the whole of His Majesty's Empire who would put such a book in pride of place in their library."

"Would you?" She cocked her head, "Acquire me for your library?"

"My dear Wellstone, I would love to have you in my library."

"Between the royal quarto sheets, your grace?"

He didn't answer right away, because he was trying not to laugh.  "But of course."

Lily is not innocent and doesn't pretend to be.  Right from the start, she gives as good as she gets in the repartee department.  Lily is also the life of any party, the one who leads others into mischief (be careful or she may - accidentally, of course - set fire to your house) and who, seemingly effortlessly, manipulates everyone around her into good cheer.    She is also kind and generous so her managing ways are generally welcomed.  Lily is an unashamed fashionista - she likes things arranged and displayed pleasingly - herself, her food and others - Mountjoy, unfortunately could care less about clothes and Lily is, frankly, appalled at his lack of fashion sense and his carelessness of his appearance.  Given what I've said about her "managing ways" you will not be surprised that Mountjoy is much better dressed by the end of the book! 

Mountjoy came late to the title - he was found by an attorney investigating whether the line had died out.  Raised as a gentleman farmer, Mountjoy likes to get his hands dirty and work alongside his men.  He is very industrious and takes his responsibilities seriously but, partly because he wasn't raised that way and partly because of his nature, he doesn't spend much time (read, any) on the social niceties.  (Lily helps to teach him the practical value of it however.)

Because of his upbringing, Mountjoy doesn't really have any "airs and graces" like the usual kind of duke we see in romance novels.    He is entirely a gentlemen, he's not a clod or anything, but he's not stuffy.  People think him dour and serious but he's not uptight or rigid.

Miss Lily Wellstone couldn't possibly be a virgin.

Neither was he.

Wasn't that a happy coincidence?

Indeed, yes.

How refreshing for a hero to be happy about his lady not being 'pure'? *happy sigh*

Lily's first love was a man named Greer.  They were to be married and anticipated the wedding before he went off to war.  He didn't come back.  Lily is presented as someone who will not love again out of fear for her heart but really, she wasn't that careful with her heart once she met Mountjoy and I didn't find this a compelling conflict.  Mountjoy was "practically engaged" to a local girl, Jane Kirk - which just meant that everyone expected he would marry her but he hadn't actually asked Jane or made her or her father any promises of any sort.  So, again, not really a barrier.    And that for me was the part of the book which didn't work so well.  I didn't think there was any real reason for them to be apart.  In terms of birth, status, wealth, inclination and everything else, they were exceptionally well suited.  Lily's fear wasn't sufficiently explored to make it a meaningful conflict for me.  There were no flashback scenes with Greer and Lily together and I found it difficult as a reader to connect with her past relationship or feelings for Greer, especially when Mountjoy was so very present in the story.    On the one hand, I appreciated there was never any great info dump; on the other, perhaps a little more about Lily and Greer would have made me more sympathetic to this barrier to the Lily/Mountjoy match.  As it was, I felt that Lily got over her aversion to marrying too easily considering the set up.  

Lily's father was also presented as a barrier to Lily's happiness.  He had disowned her publicly after her relationship with Greer and she had gone to live with an aunt who later died and left her scads of money.  Lily's father later became bankrupt and having nowhere else to go, went to live with Lily.  They do not have a happy relationship but we never see him on the page in person.  He is only ever referred to and talked about.  I felt disconnected from this part of the storyline because he was always so far away.  I didn't understand why Lily would feel any loyalty to him such as to keep her and Mountjoy apart.  And, in the end, Lily's father wasn't actually a barrier at all and there was basically no mention of him having anything to do with their HEA (or trying to stop it).

Rather late in the story, there was a conversation Lily had with Fenris (who I suspect is the hero of the next book in the series) where she expresses, at the least, ambivalence about having children.  However, this isn't really explored with Mountjoy at all - given it was raised in the book,  I was surprised it didn't feature between the main characters as an obstacle.  I was left wondering whether Lily wanted children or not.  Perhaps this will be addressed in the next book, as the heroine, I expect, is Ginny, Mountjoy's sister and Lily's BFF - so we might see Lily and Mountjoy in that story.

There was a, sort of, secondary romance in the book which I felt was fairly obvious - again, this led me back to the not much conflict thing, but I won't say more as I don't want to give away any spoilers.

The Gypsy medallion plays a role in the story, but I never felt it was the reason Lily and Mountjoy got together.  The share some sexy dreams which lead to a bit of sexy dom/sub role play but the "paranormal" aspect to the story was very gentle.

As a story of two people falling in love, the book worked very well.  It was sexy, funny and at the same time, gentle (ie, not angst ridden).  It also has a hero who is tall, dark and brooding but also sexy, witty and comfortable in his skin and totally not an asshat.  (so rare!).

What else? I enjoyed Lily and Mountjoy very much.  I liked reading about them and their exploits and they certainly had a lot of wonderful chemistry.  However, I was never fully sold on the reasons they were supposedly unable to be together beyond a brief secret affair and for me, that meant the book lacked that "how will they manage to get their HEA by the end of the story?" angst. It was nevertheless a very enjoyable reading experience. 

She tugged on his lapels. "I wish you weren't so tall," she said. "I thought I liked that about you, but I don't.  Not in the least."

"Is this better?"  He lowered his head to hers.

At last.

At last his mouth brushed hers.

Also, I learned a new meaning for the word "fetch".  Throwing the rope to my dog will never be the same again. :)

Grade:  B/B-

Unraveled by Courtney Milan

Why I read it:  After enjoying Unclaimed and Unveiled (and Unlocked) so much, I bought this on release day.  And, may I say, what an absolute bargain at $3.99.  Also, while I'm at it, I'll mention that ebook file is excellent and self publishers (and a few traditional publishers too) could learn from this example.

What it's about:  (Goodreads blurb) Smite Turner is renowned for his single-minded devotion to his duty as a magistrate. But behind his relentless focus lies not only a determination to do what is right, but the haunting secrets of his past—secrets that he is determined to hide, even if it means keeping everyone else at arm’s length. Until the day an irresistible woman shows up as a witness in his courtroom…

Miranda Darling isn’t in trouble…yet. But she’s close enough that when Turner threatens her with imprisonment if she puts one foot wrong, she knows she should run in the other direction. And yet no matter how forbidding the man seems on the outside, she can’t bring herself to leave. Instead, when he tries to push her away, she pushes right back—straight through his famous self-control, and into the heart of the passion that he has long hidden away…

What worked for me (or, let me count the ways I adore Smite):  Smite is such an interesting character.  Deeply wounded by his mother's madness, he nevertheless does not regard himself as "broken".  He actively does not want to forget what happened to him as a child.  He doesn't want to "get over it" and put it behind him.  He does not want pity or understanding. He does not in fact, feel sorry for himself.    

There was nothing easy about Turner.  He'd fashioned himself into one hard edge.  He was all blade and no handle.  If she held him close, she'd risk being cut.

What he does want is to remember what happened to him and ensure, as best he is able, that it does not happen to someone else - his trauma has defined him (by his choice) - it has led him to the career he loves and it drives him to excellence. There is a price he pays however - nightmares, fear of enclosed spaces particularly involving water, etc.  Smite chooses to keep his nightmares because for him, they are intrinsically connected to his passion to dispense justice to others.  It is the price he feels he must pay.  

His fellow Magistrates who, for the most part, are slackers who could care less about justice (particularly if it means they need to do some actual work themselves) don't understand him.  Ash (his eldest brother) doesn't understand him.  Ash is a "fixer".  He likes to come along and solve everyone's problems.  That's what makes him happy.  But, Smite doesn't want to be "fixed" and there is this innate tension in their relationship as a consequence. (And, for fans of the series, we do see some resolution in their relationship in this book, as well as hear more from Mark too.)

How surprising then, for Smite to happen across Miranda Darling.  Someone who has seen "broken" and knows he isn't it.  Someone who doesn't judge him or try to change him. Someone who intrigues and attracts him.    Someone who will let him remain who he is.  Miranda's "fixing" is more along the lines of smoothing Smite's path - kind of like a translator I guess. She loves Smite for who he is and accepts his idiosyncracies with grace.  Sometimes a person will put up with something with the full intention of getting to it later, but I didn't feel this was part of Miranda's makeup at all.  Rather, she would take what Smite is and make it work for her but the judicious manipulation of others - people, places or circumstances.    In Miranda, Smite found a safe place to fall without it in any way unmanning him.  

Smite has a very dry (and therefore, to some of his peers, practically non-existent) sense of humour which I appreciated.  

The dog looked up in entreaty.  Liquid brown eyes begged:  Take me with you I'll be good.

Oh , the lies that dogs told.

"Ghost," Smite commanded, "you will stay."

..."Ghost.  Do listen.  In the even that I need a squirrel brought to justice, I will go to you first.  Until then..."

Smite also appears to be cold and passionless/without emotion, but he is in fact, anything but.  

He only loosened his grip when he feared he might not be able to let go of her at all.

 and this

He was drunk on the taste of her.  He'd been knocked off balance, and he wouldn't be able to walk a straight line for years. 

He has a "sentimentality quota" of 30 minutes per day (no, he really does), but it is because he does not wish to become maudlin that he has set a strict limit upon it.  It is precisely because he feels so much that he has something which, on its face, is cold and unfeeling.  He is also surprisingly affectionate:

"I do have one question," she said.

"I'm sure it's more than one.:

"When you call me Miranda Darling, are you calling me Miranda Darling as my name, or are you saying Miranda, comma, darling?"

His hand slid down her hair.  "I don't believe I can answer that question without endangering the sentimentality quota beyond all hope of repair."

I haven't said much about Miranda.  I suppose that's because, in general terms, I identify more with the hero in a romance anyway and in particular in this book.  What I say about Miranda inextricably links to Smite.  What I loved best about her was that she didn't try to fix or change him.    Miranda is the Mark Darcy to Smite's Bridget Jones in that respect. :)

But one other thing I loved about Miranda is that she asked Smite about things.  (And, Smite talks to her too.)  There were two points in the book where it started to head in to "Big Misunderstanding" territory (which I personally hate with the passion of a thousand fiery suns) and just when I was about to groan in despair (which, with Big Mis is very early on for me), Smite and Miranda HAD A CONVERSATION.  Hooray!!

 Smite is also very, very sexy.  And, quite a bit naughty.

"I want to have you very, very badly.  But as this is your first time, I'll have you very well instead."

 or

"If your point of reference is a glimpse you've caught of a business transaction conducted in an alley, I'd venture to say that you have no idea what I can do with a wall."

oh my *fans self*   I wouldn't mind seeing what he could do with a wall...   

I thought there was a rather satisfying amount of the smexxing in this book actually. :)

What didn't:  I felt the Patron's motivations, at least in terms of why all these things were happening to Miranda, was thin.  It seemed a bit convoluted to me - as if it were twisted to create the conflict rather than being organic.  I also thought Jeremy was weak and in need of a spine transplant - but, he needed to be I guess in order to fit the plot and it is not in any way a criticism of the author's work that I thought Jeremy was lacking in balls - merely an observation of what I thought of him as a character. 

What else?  As much as I thought the reasoning behind the threats to Miranda was a bit odd, I did enjoy the contrasts of the Patron's form of justice and Smite's struggle/s with dispensing justice.  I thought it made a nice juxtaposition and highlighted many of the problems that persist today with criminal matters - balancing the needs of society and the victim against the individual (and perhaps extenuating) circumstances of the perpetrator, etc. 

I can't say that the things which bothered me about this book greatly impacted my enjoyment of it.  Ultimately, what made the book successful for me was the romance.  I have read a few reviews where the reviewer felt that Smite fell in love with Miranda too quickly; let down his guard too soon.  But, I was happy to go along for the ride.  I was surprised when Smite confessed to Miranda his childhood trauma - it did seem a bit "easy" for someone so very closed off.  But, I think that because Miranda didn't judge him and didn't pity him (a very rare experience), he was more comfortable more quickly, so it made sense in my head.  

In terms of ranking, my personal favourite is still Unveiled, closedly followed by Unraveled and then closely followed by Unclaimed with Unlocked falling into last-but-definitely-not-least territory.  I really enjoyed this book.  I expect I will re-read it in the future, but my heart still belongs to Ash.

Nevertheless, I will leave you with another quote, and hope that Ms. Milan has a generous definition of "fair use". :P

"I did want that kiss,"  she said earnestly.  "It was a lovely kiss." 

He tucked the ends of her laces in, before meeting her eyes.  "Then here's another one."

*sigh*

Grade:  A-

Hot Zone by Catherine Mann

Why I read it:  I picked this one up from NetGalley - I hadn't read this author before and I really like romantic suspense and military romance so I thought this might be a good fit for me.  Also, nice cover.

I actually got a bit confused about which book to read because shortly after I saw Cover Me was on a super Kindle special so I bought it (it may have been free I don't remember but if I paid for it it was only about 99c or something).  I started reading Cover Me because I thought THAT was the NetGalley ARC and I promised to read and review it around release time.  I realised when I was about 1/3-1/2 way in that I had the wrong book (which was a bit of a relief because I was not into it I'm afraid) and put it down and picked this one up.  You probably didn't need to know that...

What it's about:  (the blurb from Goodreads) Master sergeant Hugh Franco lives only to save others, until he plucks beautiful attorney Amelia Bailey from the wreckage of an earthquake and finds himself embroiled in ways he never expected. On the run from kidnappers, Hugh must call on all his training to protect them. But Amelia's fiery touch threatens to crack his world—and his heart—wide open.

What worked for me (and what didn't): I'm sad to say that this book didn't work for me all that much.  I did like the way the book started - it's kind of my favourite thing - heroine is in a dire situation and hero comes riding to the rescue - in this case, Amelia is trapped under rubble in an earthquake an PJ Hugh Franco comes to the rescue.  I liked that intense first meeting and I liked the instant drama the opening created.  Unfortunately after that, things went downhill for me.  

First of all, I thought there was just too much going on.  There was a secondary romantic storyline between Amelia's brother and sister-in-law and then another semi-storyline involving Liam McCabe (Hugh's boss) and rescue dog-handler, Rachel.  It seems that Liam and Rachel will feature in the next book.    There was quite a bit of page time devoted to these storylines and I felt there was not enough focus on the main story.

There was this thing that happened repeatedly in the book where the scene would end at a pivotal moment (no problem with that, builds tension, I get it, great).  However, next time that couple/scene was mentioned NOTHING HAPPENED.  For example,  one pivotal moment was when Amelia and Hugh went missing and Liam and Rachel are using her dog to try and find them.  The scene was built to and ends where the dog has the scent.    So, I was all ramped up and ready to read about the rest of the search when, sandwiched quietly in between another bit of narrative a couple of pages later, we find that the dog lost the scent in the parking lot.  So all of that build, for nothing.  This was repeated over and over again in the book and it wasn't something I really enjoyed. 

The other thing which was a bit much for me was that each character had this amazingly tragic backstory.  **spoiler** (highlight to read)  for example, Aidan and Amelia's father committed suicide AFTER he'd been caught raping under-age girls (one of whom was 14 yo Aidan's 14 yo girlfriend, just to make it even worse), he makes a plea bargain and agrees to serve 5 years jail (is that realistic?) and says to Aidan he would rather die than go to jail so Aidan GIVES HIM A GUN and THEN daddy shoots himself.  ** end spoiler**  I mean, wow.  But ALL of the main characters have some SUPER TRAGIC history and backstory and it was just too much.  At least, too much for me.

Another thing is that Aidan (not suprisingly given the above) has major hangups about parenthood but he GETS OVER IT in like 2 pages in this book.  Um, no, I don't think so.

I felt the book became too unrealistic for me to go with.  I am happy to suspend my disbelief to a certain degree in my romantic suspense but this one was way beyond my personal limit and once it was reached, well, kind of everything became unrealistic.

There were some things I liked - I liked the beginning, like I said.  There were individual scenes and lines I enjoyed and I did think the scenes with baby Joshua were pretty good. Thankfully there were no sex scenes where bullets were flying - in fact, the sex scenes were quite good actually, now that I reflect on them (:D).

And, I did like this:-

"Not that I wouldn't welcome the chance to be with you again, but it's clear you need something else from me right now."  

"What would that be?"


His fingers forked through her silken blonde - dirty - locks.  "I'm going to wash your hair."

You may be surprised to know that he doesn't just wash her hair ;)

What else? Having tried to read 2 books from this author now I've come to the conclusion that her books and I just don't go together well.  I've read a few other reviews of Hot Zone - some were okay and others were really positive.  So, others have really enjoyed this one.  It may be that I'm an outlier but I don't think I'll try another one from this author.  As always, YMMV.

Grade:  D+/C-

December Reads

on Paper/eBook

Hot Head by Damon Suede - B- I liked but did not love this one.  Sarah Franz at Dear Author gave it an B+  and her thoughts so often match mine when it comes to m/m romance that I was a bit surprised actually. I felt it took too long for Griffin and Dante to actually get together, there was a bit too much 'will they or won't they'  -  even though, given it was a romance novel, I knew they would, which made the experience frustrating for me.  However, there was a lot to like, I just didn't like it as much as Sarah.

Simple Gifts by LB Gregg - B- This was a short sweet story about a lonely man who has had a crush on his best friend's older brother for ages. There is history and when he comes home from the war in Afghanistan for good at Christmas, they meet again.   I've a feeling I would have enjoyed it even more if it had been longer and I'd had more detail about the history between the two. There is also origami.

Holiday Kisses (part 2) In my November reads post I reviewed the first 2 novellas.  Here, as promised, is my review of the final 2 in the anthology.

It's Not Christmas Without You by Helen Kay Dimon - B-  An enjoyable story about a couple of love each other but want different things.  My reading was interrupted by holiday stuff so my experience and my grade may have been affected by this.  The story was very sexy and I think that an established couple works really well in such a short format.  I thought the solution to their problem was fairly obvious but I liked that in the end, the obvious problem wasn't really the only core issue - it was also Austin trusting that he was "good enough" for Carrie and that she would stick with him, which gave the story a bit more depth for me.

 

Mistletoe and Margaritas by Shannon Stacey - B+ This was the pick of the bunch for me.  It was funny and sad and sexy and sweet all at once.  Claire's husband Brendan died 2 years ago.  Their best friend Justin has been Claire's rock.  But he's been in love with her since the night he and Brendan met her (Brendan got in first) and it's becoming more difficult to hide it.  Claire's libido is waking up and she starts to notice Justin in a new way. She already loves him; they hang out, do everything together, have platonic sleepovers regularly but now she sees him as the hot man he is.  The conflict here is really Justin's guilt about cracking on to his best friend's widow.  I had much less trouble with the concept than Justin did, probably because I didn't really get to know Brendan in the story.  I did like that Brendan wasn't either villified or lionised in the story and I think my angst factor would have been increased by some of Brendan and Claire together at the start but I guess space is at a premium at this length.   I would have liked just a titch more of Justin and Claire's HEA but it was a great end to the anthology.  I liked how Brendan and Justin were different men and Claire never mistook one for the other but rather, appreciated the differences in both.    I am really loving Ms. Stacey's contemporaries and this is no exception.

Men Under the Mistletoe Anthology - B+.  See my review here. 

Bad Boyfriend by KA Mitchell - B+ KA Mitchell is back in fine form in this one.  I didn't like Bad Company as much as her previous releases (mainly because of the premise) but this was very very good.   Quinn Maloney has been in a (closeted) relationship with Peter for 10 years.  Then Peter (aka, the bastard) tells him he's leaving him for a woman who he's knocked up while he's been cheating (the bastard).  Problem is, Peter's family have become Quinn's family and letting go of Peter would mean letting go of everyone.  So he doesn't.   It sounds doormat-y but the way it's written, it comes across as very understandable.   I did wonder how Peter (the bastard) and Quinn had managed to stay together for 10 years though - I think that's maybe because he was in the Navy for a lot of it?  

Anyway, fast forward about a year and Peter's son is being christened and Quinn doesn't want to attend alone.  He meets Eli (Nate's friend from Bad Company) and he's perfect - his look screams gay and Quinn kind of wants to rub it in Peter (the bastard)'s face.  But, Quinn finds in Eli a lot more than a hot date to a christening.  I would have preferred a little more time for the relationship to grow - there was a touch of the insta-love about it which I found a bit jarring given Quinn's nature (and by that, I mean that given his history with Peter (the bastard) he doesn't seem prone to quick decisions).  Also, some of the conversations seemed unfinished to me.   I guess the author had extracted what she wanted to tell the reader but they were often interrupted rather than finished and mostly, those conversations were never revisited.  I'm the kind of person who hates that in talk shows and conversations so it's something I notice.  I would have liked to have known what became of Chrissy (Peter - the bastard-'s) wife - I felt a bit sorry for her actually.  But then, maybe she shouldn't have married someone she barely knew just to be married to the baby daddy so you know, caveat emptor.  And, after all, the book wasn't about her.

However, I loved Eli and Quinn and I loved them together and I wanted more more more.  I love KA Mitchell's style and the way she writes super hot sex and I love the way she writes the romance - "never let me leave" *sigh*.

Finally, my Sony told me that the book was 175 pages long, but the last 15 pages were excerpts.  You are warned.

Unraveled by Courtney Milan - A- full review to come.

on Audio

Can I just say I've had an AMAZING listening month - I only found time to listen to 4 books but they were all excellent and I know they will be ones I'll revisit in the future.

On The Edge by Ilona Andrews, narrated by Renee Raudman - B+.  I actually enjoyed this one better the second time around.  I can't say for certain that it was Renee Raudman's narration that made the difference for me - I think a large part was familiarity with the world of the Edge, the Weird and the Broken so that I could concentrate more on the story of the interactions between Declan and Rose, and William, George and Jack.  Renee Raudman's narration was, as usual, very very good but from book to book, unless the character has an accent (eg, French or Southern USA),  the main characters tend to sound the same.  It's not a complaint as such but I've noticed it and given that I said the same thing about Angela Dawe, I felt it only fair to mention that it's pretty much the same with most narrators, even ones as good as Ms. Raudman.    

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews, narrated by Renee Raudman - A- I think this series just gets better.  This story follows William, the changeling from the previous book, as he goes on a mission for the Adrianglian secret service, The Mirror, into "The Mire" in the Edge.  He is trying to hunt down a particularly nasty Louisania (the Weird Louisiana, not the Broken one) "Hand" operative, called Spider.  In the course of his mission he meets the lovely Cerise Mar, whose parents have gone missing, taken by the Hand.

William is a very interesting character and I loved the way the author kept him consistently changeling in nature - he was a mature man, but he had a lack of social skills and didn't understand a lot about women and this remained throughout the book - slowly improving as he came to know Cerise, but never completely going away.  It made for some amusing and "awww" moments for me.  Also, William unashamedly likes action figures - he never had a childhood and he enjoys them now and that's just fine.  I enjoyed William so much - he really carried the book for me.
Once again, Renee Raudman's narration was excellent.

Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews, narrated by Renee Raudman - A- Wow.  Kalder Mar is Cerise's cousin and he's got a vendetta against the Hand.  He's now an agent for the Mirror and he's set a task to recover a stolen item before the Hand can get their mitts on it.  Audrey Callahan is an Edger, currently living in the Broken, who has the magical talent of opening locks.  She was involved in the theft in question and Kalder tracks her down to help and hot on his heels are evil Hand bad guys, including one lovely lady who has a penchant for skinning people alive.  Then, there's George and Jack, Rose's younger brothers, who are significant characters in the book.    

Kalder is a rogue and a grifter and a ladies man but he meets his match in Audrey. In many ways, she's his female equivalent.  There is excellent witty banter between the two with various attempts at one-upmanship by each, with mixed results which makes for some really fun listening.  

Given that I'm a romance reader/listener first and foremost, you'd think it would have bothered me more that Audry and Kalder don't actually meet up until a couple of hours into the narration.  But, the world is so interesting and catching up with Kalder and George and Jack and geting to know Audrey a bit too, kept me hooked until the sparks started to fly. From the time they first meet, they are basically together, which is a very good thing as they really do strike sparks.  The romance is perhaps less obvious - there's only one sex scene really and for a lot of the book, Kalder and Audrey are flirting but not necessarily meaning it.  So, it is subtle in that respect.  However, because Audrey and Kalder are interacting  all the time (once they meet) the heat and connection between them becomes obvious, so there is definitely joy for the romance reader - I think even boys who shudder to think of reading romance could happily pick this one up.

As to the narration, it was of course, wonderful. The only thing which threw me a little, was that Renee Raudman uses a particular voice for the parts in the evil Hands operatives' POV.  Later in the book, Kalder uses a disguise to infiltrate a special gathering and he uses an upper crust Adrianglian accent - except this voice was the same as the bad guys voice - having got used to that voice equalling bad guys, it was a bit of a shock to hear it coming out of the hero's mouth. 

Serpent's Kiss by Thea Harrison, narrated by Sophie Eastlake - A  My review of this excellent book is up at AAR here.  The short version?  Loved. It.  It's my **pick of the month**.

"I will always come for you, always hold on to you.  I swear it.  I will never let go of you, never fail you, I will hold steady, no matter what."

*sigh*

In the Air Tonight by Stephanie Tyler, narrated by  Johanna Parker - C- (but B/B+ for narration) - watch out for my review in an upcoming Speaking of Audiobooks column at AAR.

And that makes 240 books (including audiobooks) read and reviewed in 2011.  Hmm.  I had thought I'd read more than that - well, there's always 2012! :D

Men Under the Mistletoe anthology

My True Love Gave to Me by Ava March B-  A hot sexy Regency.  Alexander Norton had his heart broken on Christmas Eve four years earlier by Thomas Bennett who abruptly moved to New York.  Thomas has come back at last, realising that he made a mistake in leaving and he tries to win Alex over/back.

I would have liked a little on how they were going to manage their HEA in the circumstances of their time, but otherwise, quite enjoyable if a little melodramatic (I suspect it was because they were young - only 19 when the novella commences).

Winter Knights by Harper Fox  - A   *the pick of the bunch for me* Harper Fox writes angst so very well and there is a definite bittersweet tone to this story which was just delicious.

Gavin Lowden is an historian researching Arthur and Lancelot, waiting for his lover, Piers, to join him for their first Christmas together.  But first Piers has to come out to his parents.  He bails and calls Gavin to say he's not coming and Gavin, lonely and sad, goes for a walk on the moor where he falls into a cave and is rescued by "Arty" and "Lance" who then proceed to teach him a couple of lessons about himself and about sex.  Yes, there is some m/m/m action.  :D  Strangely, it didn't feel like Gavin was cheating on Piers at all so I was happy enough to go with it.  Besides there was definitely an otherworldly aspect to the story which made it seem more acceptable.

Piers, worried that Gavin has gone missing, comes to Northumberland to find him and they then proceed to work out their HEA.

The story is a clever play on the characters of the Arthur myth and excellent use of the unreliable narrator - We see things from Gavin's POV but as Lance and Arty ask him questions about his relationship with Piers, we (as well as Gavin) see that Piers wasn't completely in the wrong here.

Just when I thought the paranormal aspects to the plot were going to unravel, Ms. Fox brought them all together so enough questions were answered that the story made internal sense and wasn't frustrating, but leaving just enough open to preserve the air of mystery which pervades the story.  

Excellent.

Lone Star by Josh Lanyon - B  Enjoyable story about a Texas Ranger and a star New York ballet dancer which was hotter than I've read from this author before (not that the two other stories I've read are necessarily enough for form an opinion about that I guess).  Having walked in on his lover with another woman, Mitchell Evans flees to Texas - ostensibly to see to his late father's estate but really to get away from the domestic mess at home.  He meets up with Web Eisley, his first love and they rekindle their romance.   When Mitch had last seen Web, they'd had a big fight when Web didn't want to come out to his family.  Mitch left town shortly after and nothing was really resolved between them.  The romance aspect was sweet and sexy but the ending came a bit abruptly for me.

There was also a nice thread running through the story about Mitch's relationship with his father which was bittersweet and added depth to the story overall.

I still don't understand the significance of the reindeer sightings, other than that it was Christmas and I'm not sure I totally bought the ending - I would have liked a bit more exposition about how it was going to work, but I did enjoy it.

The Christmas Proposition by KA Mitchell - A-  An excellent story featuring humour, scorching sex,  a nativity play and a wedding which flagged a little at the end for me (hence the minus in the grade).

Mel Halner runs the family Christmas Tree farm in Epiphany, Pennsylvania.  His small town was discovered by natural gas miners 3 years earlier and it was then he met Bryce Campion.   Bryce is a millionaire and left town when Mel said he wouldn't go with him.  Bryce comes back to town to be best man for the wedding of his best friend to Mel's best friend.  This time, he's not going to let Mel say no quite so easily.

Mel and Bryce were oh so hot together and I enjoyed reading about them.  I didn't quite get why Mel was so gun-shy and the ending  had a touch of the "big mis" which isn't my favourite.  Still, they sort things out fairly quickly (at least in terms of page time) so it wasn't a huge deal.

Favourite quotes: 

 "Since my life had gone totally to shit, it seemed like a good time to go stand in it."

and this:  

"...and put his arms around my back, locking us together in that kiss.  I wanted to climb inside him, find that place that let him be so damned self-assured and let it cover us both."

Yummy covers for all 4 don't you think?

Overall Grade: B+

Finally, I'd like to wish everyone who visits a Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas) and a safe and happy 2012.  I will be taking a short break.  Watch out for posts in the new year!!

Liar Bird by Lisa Walker

This review originally appeared in the December ARRA newsletter.   I saw another review of it over at All About Romance and the reviewer there gave it an A- so YMMV.

Why I read it:  I was offered a digital ARC by the publisher via NetGalley.

What it's about:  Part chick-lit/women’s fiction, part farce, part mystery with a dash of sweet romance on the side, Liar Bird is the story of Cassandra Daley, shining star of the Sydney PR circuit.  The story begins when one of Cassandra’s houses of spin falls in a heap, leaving her covered in scandal and persona non grata in her home city.  She accepts a job as a PR rep in the small town of Beechville on the North Coast of New South Wales, where she meets a cast of quirky characters and one grouchy wildlife ranger, Mac.  It seems that Mac, isn’t happy about Cassandra’s arrival and pretty soon, a series of unfortunate events which appear designed to force her back to Sydney occur – and all can be laid at Mac’s door.  It’s difficult to explain the story more without giving away spoilers, but let’s just say it involves feral pigs, endangered species, lies, a media circus, a flood and wild chickens. It’s the classic fish-out-of-water story, complete with a green tree frog in the toilet!  

What worked for me (and what didn't):  Cassandra takes inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass:

“Like me, my mother believes there are guiding forces at play in our lives.  Unlike me, she isn’t satisfied with allowing a children’s book to channel these forces for her.”

And there are wonderful and (in the context of this book) pithy quotes from the book interspersed with the text.  Cassandra also subscribes to the philosophy of Rene Descartes and, after meeting said green tree frog in her toilet, has imaginary philosophical discussions with Rene Treefrog.  Told in the first person, the story shines with Cassandra’s dry humour, from the discussions with her Blacktown family, her thoughts about the Sydney social sharks and her experiences in Beechville.

Where the book falls a little flat is in the romance department.  Cassandra is immediately physically attracted to Mac but they have very little interaction – Mac is taciturn, hardly talks to her at all and he gives every appearance of wanting her out of town.  The reader has nothing of Mac’s POV except through his dialogue, which is, mostly, very spare.  It was difficult for me to completely buy the level of attraction Cassandra felt for him and that made it hard to buy into the events immediately before the flood and her fast turnaround to “Cassie”.   After the flood, the story dragged a little – I felt this part could have been shorter and this would have improved the story – for me the mystery part of the story started to edge over into frustration territory. 

What else?  It’s very much an Australian story, with references to local landmarks, SBS and Home and Away and it was certainly an amusing read.  If you like stories with a bit of everything together with a touch of romance, this one is probably for you.

Grade:  C+