More to Give (by Terri Osburn)

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Contemporary Romance

Callie is a specialist in renovating hotels. It’s her job to take a fading beauty and breath new life into it. But until now she has always had to play second fiddle, done the work and then sat back to watch someone else take the credit. When a job comes up on Anchor Island it seems like the perfect fit. A hotel that will lift her to the next level in the industry. The only thing standing in her way is her past history with the owner.

When Callie walks into his office, Sam immediately knows hiring her to manage the renovations of his hotel is a bad idea. But seeing her desperation, he gives her the job and resigns himself to avoiding her for the duration. Unfortunately for Sam, Callie is not someone to be ignored.

 

Every now and then an author comes along who revitalises a genre. They manage to bring back the excitement and give you a glimpse of where the genre is heading. Terri Osburn is one of those authors. In the past few years she has owned Contemporary Romance in my humble opinion.

More to Give is a proper CR, it follows all the rules of the genre, and it still manages to be refreshing and current. It’s one of my favorite books of the year from one of the few authors that leave me so happy I could jump.

Screen Shot 2014-03-10 at 6.08.18 pmMany thanks to Montlake Romance and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

Yellow, Orange, Red –– what it means: http://wp.me/P2B7b5-9l

The Hawley Book of the Dead (by Chrysler Szarlan)

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Paranormal

Reve and her husband were Las Vegas magicians. Then during a show a mysterious man, the Fetch, switched the ammunition in a stage gun and her husband was killed. Being pursued by the Fetch she bundles up her children and runs to her childhood home in Massachusetts.

There she discovers things are not as they seem and she must learn the secrets of a grimoire which has been passed down through her family for generations. But the Fetch has found her and is circling.

The Hawley Book of the Dead isn’t an easy book. It’s quite dense, there is a lot going on, and for the first 40%~50% was quite slow. Then, quite suddenly, the story crashes into you and it honestly becomes a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

Overall, I enjoyed this book despite the slow start. The second half more than made up for that.

Screen Shot 2014-02-27 at 9.12.41 pmMany thanks to Ballantine Books and Edelweiss for providing me with this ARC.

Yellow, Orange, Red –– what it means: http://wp.me/P2B7b5-9l

Without Words (by Ellen O’Connell)

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Western Romance

After gunning down Rufus Petty, Bret finds himself faced with a half starved mute woman burying an old man. His only choice is to take her with him or leave her to die, so with her broken down old horse and half wild dog in tow they set off together.  His plan is to unload her on the first willing person, but it quickly becomes apparent that life isn’t easy for a woman on the frontier and if he wants to ensure her safety he’ll need to keep her with him.  

As they travel the West, searching for bounties, Hassie finds a place with Bret. Despite the limitations of not having a voice, she is smart and recognises bounties that Bret would have missed. Gradually Hassie’s view of Bret changes. She goes from seeing him as a cold blooded killer, to a man of honour who will put himself in harms way to protect those he loves.

Before long she has fallen in love, but Bret plans to return to his wealthy family in Missouri, and they will never accept a woman like her, poor and with an Irish father, so their time is short.

western
Westerns tend to fall into one of two camps.  There is the idealised version where the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black hats –– where a bad guy gets shot and he dies without shedding any blood; and the gritty, more realistic and usually quite violent version.

What I love about Ellen O’Connell is she takes that more romantic notion of the West but overlays a layer of realism so it is somehow entertaining and realistic but not hard edged.  I’ve read three Ellen O’Connell books and I’ll definitely be reading more. This one is equal to my personal favorite, Beautiful Bad Man. 

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The One Plus One (by Jojo Moyes)

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Women’s Fiction

Jess is a single mother, working two jobs, and struggling to earn enough money to raise her two children. Despite her difficult circumstances she is relentlessly optimistic and honest to a fault. But when she finds £500 belonging to Ed, a company director whose house she cleans, she finds the temptation too difficult to resist and pockets the money.

Nicky was abandoned by his father and mother and despite not being related by blood finds a mother in Jess. But despite her relentless optimism, there are some things she can’t solve, and as the target of town bullies he struggles with depression and withdraws into himself.

Tanzie is a math prodigy and desperately wants to attend St Mary’s Private School where her talents will be nurtured, but despite receiving a generous scholarship money is still tight and they desperately need to find a way to make up the difference.

When Jess hears about a math olympiad with a prize of £5000 she sees an answer to their problems. She will solve Tanzie’s problem and get Nicky out of town and the bullies for a while. But before they have even left town, they are pulled over by police and she finds herself in even more hot water for driving an unregistered and uninsured car.

Then Ed steps in.

Ed is a founding director of a software company, but he has been suspended from work and is being investigated by police for insider trading. Everything he has built is crashing down around him but then he sees Jess who has nothing but still manages to be optimistic and he decides to help.

As they all cram into his Audi, along with the dog, they begin the road journey to end all road journeys.  Travelling to Scotland by back roads because Tanzie gets violently ill if the car exceeds 40mph.  As they travel they manage to forget their problems and Ed finds in this odd-ball family a place where he manages to fit in. But as their time on the road draws to its conclusion all their problems come crashing back in on them and it becomes apparent that a happy ending might not be possible for them.

There is a beautiful ache to The One Plus One. At times it makes you want to cry for this family who do everything right but still get beaten down.  It’s sad and beautiful, ultimately life affirming and just a really beautiful book.  Highly recommended.

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Wildfire (by Mary Pauline Lowry)

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Fiction

Railing against the path her grandmother has set for her, Julie joins a Hotshot crew, an elite team of remote area forest firefighters who use chainsaws and shovels to fight fire. At first the crew is uncertain about this woman intruding into their male dominated world but with determination and grit and a lot of hard work she manages to carve a niche for herself.

With the respect of her comrades she has everything she wants, but the job is dangerous and every time they fight fire, their lives are on the line.

hotshotsWildfire is a truly amazing book. The Hotshots are hard men and women and just like them this book is brash and occasionally crass. They speak their own language and the author has just put it out there without any explanations –– and that’s really how it should be. You don’t need to know everything to get this story.

I’m going to make the call. This is one of my best five books of 2014!

Screen Shot 2014-04-09 at 6.07.24 pmMany thanks to Skyhorse Publishing for providing me with this ARC

Yellow, Orange, Red –– what it means: http://wp.me/P2B7b5-9l

Once Haunted, Twice Shy (by H.P. Mallory)

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Paranormal Romance

In exorcising a demon from her home, Peyton found herself inadvertently possessed by the ghost of a French speaking New Orleans police officer who died in the early 20th century. Now she can connect to the spirit world and all the ghosts of the city are running scared.

It soon becomes clear that something is very wrong and the demon they exorcised has decided to make the streets of New Orleans run red with blood, starting with Peyton.

There is a lot going on in Once Haunted, Twice Shy. At times it felt like a little too much, like there were too many players. Presumably H.P. Mallory is setting the scene for future books but that busyness didn’t help this story. Added to the mix this book has a love triangle of sorts (do I have to call a four sided love triangle a square?) which is one of those tropes I don’t particularly like.

That said, despite the shaky start, the book ended strongly with a voodoo battle to end all battles. If you like voodoo, ghosts and demons in your pages, this is a pretty good read.

Screen Shot 2014-02-16 at 4.32.33 pmMany thanks to Montlake Romance and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

Yellow, Orange, Red –– what it means: http://wp.me/P2B7b5-9l

A Love to Call Her Own (by Marilyn Pappano)

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Contemporary Romance

Swamped with grief and guilt after her husband was killed in action in Afghanistan, Jessy has coped by hitting the bottle and picking up nameless men for meaningless hook-ups. The one positive in her life is the Margarita Club, a group of women who, like her, have lost their husbands.

Dalton’s wife committed suicide after both her legs were blown off by a roadside bomb. Carrying his grief he has isolated himself on his ranch and avoided people preferring the company of his animals.

Jessy and Dalton both have baggage, they both have secrets, but together they manage to find the motivation to try to move on with their lives.

 

I have a great deal of respect for Marilyn Pappano. The issues of depression, grief, ptsd which she is exploring in this series have been attempted by other authors, but I don’t think any of them get it like she does. She gets that depression doesn’t just manifest itself in one way but in dozens of ways.

There are things in this series I am not entirely comfortable with. The author is plainly a christian and that comes through in her books, but for writing these subtle and nuanced love stories I’m more than willing to choke on my discomfort. A Love to Call Her Own is another great contemporary romance in a series that are all personal favourites.

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Snow Falling on Bluegrass (by Molly Harper)

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Contemporary Romance

Kelsey is the best person to have around in a crisis. She’s prepared for just about anything and can turn a disaster into a success. But when the staff of the Kentucky Tourism Commission find themselves stranded and without power after a once in a hundred year blizzard even her organisational skills will be tested.

Adding to her problems, Charlie, the guy she has secretly loved for years has been acting strangely around her and as cabin fever hits, her co-workers go on the warpath. If that’s not enough, her ex won’t leave her alone and now that Charlie finally seems to be noticing her, a sexy ranger decides to muddy the waters and express his interest.

It’s quite difficult to review this book, not because it isn’t good, it’s very good. No, it’s difficult because what I want to say I’ve said before. Snow Falling on Bluegrass is filled with witty banter and snark. It is funny, sometimes laugh out loud funny. Molly Harper delivers a book that is cute and quirky but in no way dumb. She’s one of my favorite authors and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Screen Shot 2014-03-19 at 7.25.29 pmMany Thanks to Pocket Star and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

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Mission to Murder (by Lynn Cahoon)

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Cozy Mystery

When Jill discovered a significant historical site in her back yard she found herself at odds with Craig Thomas who takes the lions share of the towns funding for that sort of thing. With the possibly corrupt mayor siding with Thomas and evidence suggesting that the site in question was actually somewhere else things aren’t looking good for her getting the funding to preserve the site.

Then Thomas shows up dead and suddenly Jill is a suspect. It’s left to her to investigate and find the real killer before the killer turns his attention to her.

 

IMG_2704I generally read two or three books a week, but for a couple of weeks I’ve had the flu and that’s slowed me down a fair bit. I’ll literally read a couple of pages and then fall asleep. All that goes to say is that this book has been with me for a while, and if I’m totally honest it’s been a bit of a comfort to me in my miserable self-pitying state.

Mission to Murder really is like a cute shaggy dog sleeping on the end of your bed (thanks to Roscoe for a rare still moment). As a cozy mystery or a book to read on the beach, it’s kind of perfect.

Screen Shot 2014-02-15 at 8.51.33 pmMany thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

Yellow, Orange, Red –– what it means: http://wp.me/P2B7b5-9l

Accidentally Married on Purpose (by Rachel Harris)

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Contemporary Romance

After being burned by love, Sherry takes a job in Las Vegas catering a country music star’s green room. While there she meets a guy who she thinks is a roadie and after the concert they paint the town red. Two days later she wakes up with a terrible hangover and married to Tyler Blue.

Tyler Blue is a country music legend. His life is completely devoted to the music and despite women throwing themselves at him he generally brushes them off and returns to his hotel room alone. Until he sees Sherry in the green room. She’s completely different to the women in his world, starting with the purple streaked hair, her smart mouth and the fact that she doesn’t know him from bar of soap.

Sherry doesn’t fit into his plans. The simple solution is a quickie divorce. The only problem is his fans expect him to live up to his love songs and a divorce could spell the end of his career. He makes a deal with Sherry, he’ll spend a month with her playing the devoted husband before returning to the tour. Then after a bit of time has passed they can quietly go their separate ways. Despite their best efforts they come to depend on each other and fall in love. But his career is on the road and her life is in Magnolia Springs.

I honestly don’t like books set around the music industry, I don’t like the groupies and the hook ups, I don’t like that whole hedonistic lifestyle the gossip magazines pummel me with. Thankfully, Accidentally Married on Purpose isn’t about that at all. It’s a sweet contemporary romance about two people who are perfectly matched but have different goals. It gives me exactly what I want from contemporary romance, a book focused on relationships that is fulfilling and affirming.

Many thanks to Entangled Publishing for providing me with this ARC

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