Romance

Review of His Reluctant Bride by Sheena Morrish

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His Reluctant Bride
By Sheena Morrish

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 179

Date Started: November 12, 2015
Date Finished: November 13, 2015

Synopsis:(From Amazon)23343260
Katy has been betrothed to Tariq since she was a young girl and has spent her whole life rebelling against it.

She moved as far away from her home country of Darlaya as she could and has dedicated her life to being independent. She thought that she had won her freedom. Until the day that Tariq showed up and showed her how wrong she was.

Now she is back in her homeland with a man she hates who insists they must marry and the worst part is that the more time she spends with him the more she finds herself falling for him.

Find out just how far Tariq will go to tame his reluctant bride.

Review:
Though this book did end up with three stars, I will say that it is a very low three.  The idea that this novel seems to present from the blurb on Amazon was enough to intrigue me into purchasing it, but that is as far as it goes.  There are far more questionable parts of this novel than there are pleasurable ones.  Blanket statements such as making love “in a rhythm as old as time” are both unimaginative and quickly pull one from the novel.  Though I can understand wanting to use fancy or uncommon words for things (I had been quite a fan of tresses instead of hair), the amount of times Katie plaited (aka braided) her hair was irritating, and was likely used to make it seem like she was doing something special.  There was a plethora of run on sentences and poor grammar, denoting that the book was poorly edited.  The most common and annoying lack of grammar was seen when talking of more than one mistress, in which case you would say mistresses, not mistress’s.

While I thought the overall idea of the novel was sound, the full product seems to be lacking.  Katie is supposed to be seen as an independent woman, yet caves in whenever Tariq kisses her.  Instead of talking to him and confronting him about her suspicions about Amber, she makes snide remarks without ever stating what she believes.  In the end, I am left with two questions relating to the content of this novel.  Did she ever go see her supposed friends Daniel and Gareth again, and pay them back for the money they lent her when she ran away to Paris?  Did she ever bother to tell Tariq she prefers Katie, not Catherine?

There are so many amazing books out there, and this is not one of them.  I suppose I was bound to buy a poor book being promoted by Amazon some day.  Definitely skip this.

Author Bio:
Sheena Morrish has no author biography up on Amazon, therefore there will not be one here.

 

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Review of Love on Laird Avenue by Cindy A Christiansen

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Love on Laird Avenue
By Cindy A Christiansen

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 211

Date Started: 10/22/2015 (rough guess)
Date Finished: 10/24/2015 (definitely when I finished it)

Synopsis:(From Amazon)laird
Tatum Stewart is trying to make it on her own
without her over-protective father. She starts a new computer consulting business and buys a new bungalow on Laird Avenue in Sugar House, Utah. She has no idea that the forces of evil are working against her that is, Burke Woods. His grandfather owned the home during Prohibition, and Burke wants the valuables stashed in her basement. Tatum’s dream home soon turns into her worst nightmare requiring her to hire the local renovation expert, Ryan Bulldarren. Who knew he would come with his own protection manual when he buys her a Bullmastiff dog as her new security system and sets about sabotaging her dates. Can these two quirky individuals figure out what Burke’s up to before it’s too late? Can they manage to keep their relationship strictly business?

Review:
This book is one of the best romance novels I have ever read, and I didn’t want it to end.  While Tatum was originally annoying and hard to relate to the reasons why made a lot of sense, and it was great seeing her overcome her problems and hangups while trying to become a responsible adult.  While Tatum was a bit hard to like it was impossible not to love Ryan from the start.  Ryan has some legitimate problems that he could have fixed, but his brother and father didn’t realize the amount of strain they put on him by demeaning his intelligence instead of looking for a reason Ryan couldn’t seem to do certain things well.  Together Tatum and Ryan learn that sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, and sometimes an unlikely ally can turn out to be one of the most inspiring people you have ever met.

This book is so incredibly real.  I absolutely love Christiansen’s explanation of Ryan’s life and the tribulations he has had.

MILD SPOILER AHEAD!

Christiansen makes having a disability relatable in a way that not many others could.  There are many people who have likely been in situations like Ryan growing up, and there are probably still thousands of people who have never been diagnosed with learning disabilities and are instead thought of as lesser of a person.  Ryan overcoming his disability and learning how to cope is inspirational to those who may be in similar situations or know people who have been.  Most realistic of all is the fact that Ryan could very well be a real person, who really went through this and learned, finally, how to live life to the fullest.

I really think this novel could have an amazing novella follow up, and I’m sure anyone who reads it would know exactly what I’d like to see!

christiansenAuthor Bio: (From Amazon)
Cindy A. Christiansen writes sweet romance with humor, suspense…and dogs! With over thirty health issues and two autistic children, she struggles to write but finds it cathartic. She loves going where only her characters can take her. She loves dogs and always includes them in her books and features them on her covers. She donates time and money to organizations that help abused and abandoned dogs.

Although she’s an LDS Christian author, she finds writing about a character’s relationship with God as private as she does bedroom scenes. She chooses to let the morals of her characters speak for them.

She lives with her wonderful family and delightful dogs in West Jordan, UT.

Check out Cindy A. Christiansen’s Amazon page.


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Review of Bewitching by Jill Barnett

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Bewitching
By Jill Barnett

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 464

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)bewitching200
What’s a duke to do when a carefully selected bride rejects him rather than marry without love? He salvages his pride by marrying the next woman who falls into his arms. Joyous Fiona MacQuarrie bewitched the Duke of Belmore the moment she appeared from nowhere and knocked him over…literally. Joyous MacQuarrie is a Scottish witch whose powers of white magic are not always easy for her to control. When Alec’s pride makes him choose to marry her, Joy turns the life of the most serious and snobbish duke in England upside down. Too soon Alec finds his well ordered and controlled life a mess, because he married a witch–one who turns him to fire when he kisses her, who charms everyone around her, and threatens to destroy both their lives as scandal looms over her. Too late, Joy discovers she’s desperately in love and not even the strongest magic can seem to turn her into a proper duchess, or make her husband love her. Passion holds them spellbound in an irresistibly funny and tender tale of two opposite but lonely hearts.

Review:
Joyous was quite easy to relate to, as many of us have had things we have wanted to badly to be good at and yet fail, despite our best attempts.  Schooling is quite reflective of Joy’s trials, since many have a subject they simply cannot master, even if they are interested in it.  While necessary, I found the opening chapter of the novel tedious and a bit boring, though that could be seen as how life seemed for Joy as she tried to master her magic.  Once past the beginning I couldn’t help but become enthralled within the story, but I had to push myself over that hump to get into the meat of the tale.  Nothing is as it seems within the depths of Bewitching, and with great use of foreshadowing and hidden agendas, it is impossible not to fall bewitched yourself.

41xswK+IwUL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)


Check out Jill Barnett’s Amazon page.







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Review of Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward

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Stepbrother Dearest
By Penelope Ward

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 246

Season Read: Late Spring/Early Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)stepbrotherdearest
You’re not supposed to want the one who torments you. When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be. I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him. At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. But things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night. Then, just as quickly as he’d come into my life, he was gone back to California. It had been years since I’d seen Elec. When tragedy struck our family, I’d have to face him again. And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane. I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again.

Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel. **Contains graphic sexual content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+

Review:
This book is a doozy!  There is so much in this novel that it is, indeed, a true piece of art.  Though it is a romance novel, there are so many other underlying events tackled and experienced that one cannot help but fall in love with Elec a little.  Elec hasn’t had an easy life.  He’s never had a normal life.  While trying to get used to the hardened guy is hard, learning why he became so standoffish and cool is easy when one understands his family life.  Though he and Greta have their differences, it’s impossible to deny their forbidden romance is completely perfect, and one can only hope for a happily ever after.  Well written, this book will have you reading into the late hours of the morning.

AuthorPenelopeWard Bio:
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and an 8-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life. Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island. She is also the author of My Skylar, Jake Undone, Gemini, Jake Understood and Sins of Sevin due out in 2015.

You can also find more of Penelope Ward’s works on her Amazon page
.


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Review of Victoria House by Denise Moncrief

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Victoria House
Haunted Hearts Book 2
By Denise Moncrief

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Supernatural/Paranormal, Murder
Number of Pages: 359

Season Read: Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)Haunted by a dark mystery in her famcoverLH2-1ily’s past…

When Tori Downing takes possession of the abandoned Hamilton estate on the longest peninsula on Lake Jefferson, Arkansas, she avoids revealing her connection to the ill-fated Hamilton family. Is the glowing image that shimmers in the second floor window of Victoria House the ghost of Victoria Hamilton? Can Tori handle moving into a house with paranormal activity…again?

Tormented by a scandal she thought she’d left behind…
Until she leaves her career at the Arkansas State Crime Lab behind, she never even considers moving to Lake Jefferson, but the fallout from scandal gives Tori a very good reason to escape to Hill County and refurbish and restore the old family mansion. She settles into her new life…until the old accusations from her past start resurfacing.

Attracted to a man haunted by secrets of his own…
Drawn together to solve the murder of Jared Crenshaw, Tori and Lt. Grayson of the Hill County Sheriff’s Department dive into a tangled web of jealousy, deceit, and revenge as they attempt to solve both crimes, Jared’s death and the mysterious death years ago of Victoria Hamilton. Grayson’s past keeps interfering with his present, causing turmoil in both his professional life and his personal life. Can their love survive revealing the truth—from both the past and present—surrounding the tragedies at Victoria House?

Review:
I read the first book in the Haunted Hearts series, Laurel Heights, a while back.  This book, while entertaining, seems to merely fill in bits and pieces of what happened in Laurel Heights from the standpoint of other characters.  The plot overall was good, but I felt as if all the mentions of Laurel Heights were tedious as I had already read them.

When confronted with Victoria House’s own peculiar problems, I was enraptured.  There were so many twists and turns that I truly wasn’t sure who the bad guy was until near the end, and even then, the “why” was always a bit out of reach, never to be found.  A good and quick read, but would have been nicer if it hadn’t been so entwined with a previously read book.

 
MoncriefAuthor Bio: (From Amazon)
Suspense, She Writes

Where the road to happily ever after takes a suspenseful detour.

Want to know a little bit more about Denise? She’s a Southern girl who has lived in Louisiana all her life, and yes, she has a drawl. She has a wonderful husband and two incredible children, who not only endure her writing moods but also encourage her to indulge her writing passion. Besides writing romantic suspense, she enjoys traveling, reading, and scrapbooking.

Accounting is a skill she has learned to earn a little money to support her writing habit. She wrote her first story when she was a teen, seventeen handwritten pages on school-ruled paper and an obvious rip-off of the last romance novel she had read. She’s been writing off and on ever since, and with more than a few full-length manuscripts already completed, she has no desire to slow down.

Learn more about Moncrief and her books by visiting her Amazon page.


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