Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Sit and Stay Awhile: Unusual Historicals for March 2024

Settle in folks and be prepared to stay awhile because this month's Unusual Historicals post is 14 titles long. It's so long that Blogger told me I hit too many characters when inserting tags on this post. Grab a beverage of your choice, put your feet up and prepare to dive in - because I guarantee there has to be something for everyone this month.

The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel 

It is 1666, one year after plague has devastated England. Young widow Cecilia Thorowgood is a prisoner, trapped and isolated within her older sister’s cavernous London townhouse. At the mercy of a legion of doctors trying to cure her grief with their impatient scalpels, Cecilia shows no sign of improvement. Soon, her sister makes a decision born of desperation: She hires a new physician, someone known for more unusual methods. But he is a foreigner. A Jew. And despite his attempts to save Cecilia, he knows he cannot quell the storm of sorrow that rages inside her. There is no easy cure for melancholy.

David Mendes fled Portugal to seek a new life in London, where he could practice his faith openly and leave the past behind. Still reeling from the loss of his beloved friend and struggling with his religion and his past, David is free and safe in this foreign land but incapable of happiness. The security he has found in London threatens to disappear when he meets Cecilia, and he finds himself torn between his duty to medicine and the beating of his own heart. He is the only one who can see her pain; the glimmers of light she emits, even in her gloom, are enough to make him believe once more in love.

Facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, David and Cecilia must endure prejudice, heartbreak, and calamity before they can be together. The Great Fire is coming—and with the city in flames around them, love has never felt so impossible.

A grieving young widow, whose husband perished from the plague, and a Jewish doctor fall in love despite insurmountable odds, oh and the minor detail that the Great Fire of London is about to burn the city to the ground. I've seen this setting crop up in historical romances before, so it's not quite as rare as hen's teeth - but darn close.

The Dance of Desire by Delphine Ross 

Best friends make bad spouses . . . and worse scandals.

When Angela Bartham of the notorious Bartham family is stranded at the altar on her wedding day, she's saved from ruin by her old friend Sunny, the Earl of Sunderland. He offers a startlingly generous proposition: a marriage of convenience that will last exactly one year. Long enough for society to stop gossiping. Long enough for the press to lose interest. Then they’ll quietly annul their unconsummated union.

Left without choices, Angela agrees. But Sunny is no longer the sweet but awkward boy she grew up with—and who once loved her. A mysterious trip abroad has transformed him into a surly, secretive beast of a man who can’t seem to stand the sight of her. Nor is Angela the romantic girl who once danced all night under the moon. She’s a heartbroken beauty trapped in a fake marriage that can’t end soon enough.

To avoid the chattering crowds, Angela and Sunny flee London to spend their year of marriage in Paris. But what they don’t take into consideration is that emotions aren’t particularly rational . . . especially when there’s only one bed in the gothic feline-laden chateau they’re stuck inside near the Bois de Boulogne. Forced proximity reveals hidden depths, turning their marriage of convenience into a messy affair of the heart. Will Angela and Sunny's dance of desire come to an end, destroying everything they hold dear—including their friendship?

Beauty and the Beast with a marriage of convenience thrown in between a ballerina and the Earl who was once infatuated with her. Oh, and they leave London for PARIS! This is the second book in Ross's Muses of Scandal series.

Obsession at the Opera by Delphine Roy

She’s the only woman he cannot resist.

Jerome Saint Yves has always put duty, hard work and family first. Just once, on the eve of returning to his homeland, did he heed his desire and spend an unforgettable night in the arms of a ravishing opera singer. Now his only goal is to make a name for himself as a Parisian architect. But the woman he thought he would never see again is much closer than he believes.

Stella Cardinelli is a woman on the run. Pursued by a wicked lord determined to possess her at any cost, bound by a promise made to a dying friend, she flees London and crosses the Channel with a stolen heirloom in her pocket. The prestigious opera houses of Paris offer a fresh start, until she comes face to face with Jerome, the only man who made her understand the true meaning of passion.

Once again, Paris! This time our hero is an architect and the heroine is an opera singer with a stolen heirloom...and a stalker.  This is the second book in Roy's Bleu Blanc Rogue series.

The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett

When Lucinda Peterson’s recently perfected formula for a salve to treat croup goes missing, she’s certain it’s only the latest in a line of misfortunes at the hands of a rival apothecary. Outraged and fearing financial ruin, Lucy turns to private investigator Jonathan Thorne for help. She just didn’t expect her champion to be so . . . grumpy?

A single father and an agent at Tierney & Co., Thorne accepts missions for a wide variety of employers—from the British government to wronged wives. None have intrigued him so much as the spirited Miss Peterson. As the two work side by side to unmask her scientific saboteur, Lucy slips ever so sweetly under Thorne’s battered armor, tempting him to abandon old promises.

With no shortage of suspects—from a hostile political group to an erstwhile suitor—Thorne’s investigation becomes a threat to all that Lucy holds dear. As the truth unravels around them the cure to their problems is clear: they must face the future together.

Corporate espionage in a Victorian era apothecary means that in order to save her business the heroine has to turn to a private investigator hero. Then things get complicated (as they do).  This is the first book in the author's Damsels of Discovery series.

The Viking and the Runaway Empress by Sarah Rodi

Bound by duty

Tempted by desire

Guard to the Byzantine emperor, Viking warrior Destin is tasked with delivering his sovereign's runaway bride-to-be to Constantinople. Abandoned at birth, Destin has spent years making something of himself, and with this final task comes the promise of land and riches. Only, the fiercely beautiful Livia refuses to be wed! Destin must return her unharmed—and untouched—but the closer they grow on their journey, the harder it becomes for him to hand her over…

Viking warrior for hire falls for the runaway bride he's supposed to deliver to his boss in Constantinople. Minor complication that. Also, it's a road romance. Gimme!

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man by Violet Marsh

Lady Charlotte Lovett should have never run away upon discovering her betrothal. But when one has been promised to a man who, rumor has it, killed his previous two wives, one does what one must. The only thing that can get her out of this engagement is proving that Viscount Hawley is as sinister as she thinks he is. And the person who would know best is his very own brother.

In many ways, Dr. Matthew Talbot is the exact opposite of his sibling—scholarly, shy, and shunned by society. But like his brother, he has secrets, and he doesn’t need Charlotte exposing them in her quest to take down the viscount. It only seems prudent to help her while keeping her from poking her nose in all the wrong places.  But as they put their hearts at risk to grow closer to each other, they are also getting closer to a dangerous confrontation with Hawley.

The publisher is literally marketing this for fans of "...Evie Dunmore, Enola Holmes, and Netflix's Bridgerton!" AND IT'S A GEORGIAN! It's set smack dab in the middle of the 18th century. Ugh. I hate everything.  Anyway, a heroine determined to not marry a cad turns to the only one who can help, his shy, scholarly brother (as you do). 

Lord Ashley's Beautiful Alibi by Cerise DeLand

Augustine Bolton lives amid the social whirl and treachery of the stylish court of Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte. When Gus’s dearest friend, Amber, disappears, Gus must find her before the deputy chief of police finds Amber and carts her off to his bed—or to la Force.

But Gus’s means are few and her own duties as an agent in Amber’s network mean she is also suspect. Gus needs help.

Kane Whittington is just the man for the job.

He has worked for London merchant-cum-spymaster Scarlett Hawthorne for years and welcomes Scarlett’s call to build a large espionage network in Europe. His first task is to find the missing head of Scarlett's espionage network.

The best person to help him is the lady’s best friend whom he’s never met. But when he sets eyes on ravishing Augustine Bolton in Josephine’s salon, Kane recognizes the black-haired beauty as the one he kissed years ago on the road to Malmaison during a botched abduction of Bonaparte.

Kane must persuade the beautiful Gus to allow him to help her. He suggests the cover for their escapade is simple: They show the gossipy Parisian court they enjoy a mad love affair. Thus, Gus gains an ally—and Kane acquires an alibi.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE'S COURT!!!!!! A hero and heroine both embroiled in espionage join forces to find a lost agent. To do that our hero needs an alibi and what better than a steamy fake affair?  This is the first book in the author's Scarlett Affairs series.

A Housemaid to Redeem Him by Laura Martin

An exiled gentleman’s world…

collides with Cinderella’s!

After receiving news of his father’s ailing health, Richard Digby must leave his self-imposed exile and return to the town that holds haunting memories. He forms an unlikely connection with his father’s intriguing and defiant housemaid, Rose, who also finds herself on the fringes of society after her troubled past. Richard is intent on leaving again, but keeping his distance from Rose while they’re in such close quarters is proving harder than he ever imagined! 

The Prodigal Son returns when his father falls ill but has no intention for staying long - so needless to say his attraction to his father's housemaid is most unwelcome and not exactly practical.  Oh, and naturally she has secrets - because of course she does...

Not Quite a Scandal by Bliss Bennett

An inheritance lost. A betrothal threatened. A scandal brewing…

Outspoken Quaker Bathsheba Honeychurch knows how difficult it is for an unmarried woman to successfully champion political change. Her solution? Wed best friend Ash Griffin as soon as he comes of age and begin remaking the world. But when Ash’s urbane, aloof cousin arrives with inconceivable news, Sheba’s future dreams are suddenly at risk…

The death of the Earl of Silliman reveals an appalling lie: it is not Noel Griffin, but his long-lost cousin Ash, who is the true heir to their grandfather’s title. Raised to place family above all, Noel accepts his grandmother’s bitter charge: find Ash, disentangle him from his religious community, and train him to take on the responsibilities and privileges of a title that Noel had been raised to believe was his. Noel certainly won’t allow a presumptuous, irritating Quakeress to thwart him in doing his duty—no matter how fascinating he finds her...

When scandal threatens both their reputations, can Sheba and Noel look beyond past dreams and imagine a new world—together?

A passionate abolitionist, our heroine gets a rude surprise when the man she had plans to marry (and aid her in her cause) turns out to be the rightful heir to an earldom - well, at least according to his cousin, our hero, who is not terribly happy about it either. This is the second book in Bennett's Audacious Ladies of Audley series.

An Unlikely Arrangement by Cindy Patterson

In 1902, Abigail Dupree is but a breath away from her grand societal failure. To save her family from humiliation and financial ruin, Abigail becomes a bargaining trade in her mother’s eyes. A bargain that will extinguish Abigail’s last hope of a happily-ever-after. If only she could return to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, she might have a chance to reunite with the only man who has the power to save her reputation.

Garrett Barringer, arrives in Charlotte, North Carolina to escape a past that no longer wants him. He takes an undisclosed position with Mr. Dupree. When it is revealed that part of Mr. Dupree’s purpose for bringing him on board is to chaperone his beloved daughter, Garrett abruptly discovers that he has taken on more than he bargained for. Abigail Dupree is more beguiling than any other woman he’s encountered, but he must resist his heart for the sake of propriety and to keep a promise made to her father.

When her father hires Garrett Barringer, a man that seems far too young to be a lawyer, and possesses far too many favorable characteristics, Abigail resists his charm but cannot deny her heart is compelling her toward him. But she will not allow the man to ruin an opportunity she has waited for nearly five years.

Garrett is suddenly aware what his life was and what it could become in the presence of Abigail Dupree. Will he be able to give up the woman who has stolen his heart, for her happiness?

Abigail stands to lose all if Garrett Barringer sees past her physical beauty and uncovers the ugliness of her imperfect past. Will Abigail continue on the condemned path she’s fashioned for herself, or trust that God wants a future for her she never believed possible?

Folks, I'm fairly confident this is an inspirational - and I typically don't feature inspirationals in these posts but early 20th century, North Carolina and a series that is titled "Brides of Biltmore."  I'll admit it, I saw Biltmore and had a Pavlovian response.  It is what it is.

Prince of Fire by Sophia Nye

Six years ago, Dallan mac Murrough fell in love with the perfect girl. Though he was young when he proposed to her, he knew she was the only woman he could ever love. For reasons she never chose to share, she denied his proposal and shattered his heart. When their paths cross years later, anger and bitterness bubble to the surface despite his best efforts at civility.

When Niamh first sees Dallan after years apart, her heart melts. He has all the same qualities as the boy she loved, except he is now very clearly a man–a strong, confident man with eyes that make her forget everything but the memory of him; a man with a gaping wound that she knows she made, and a smile so disarming she’d agree to just about anything.

Except marriage.

There’s no way Niamh will let herself give in to her feelings for Dallan. She broke his heart once because of a secret she carries, and she couldn’t bear to do it again. She loves him too much for that.

A heroine with a secret who broke his heart years ago is reunited with the hero.  Oh, and she's still in love with him. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? This is the second book in the Warriors of the Fianna series.

Duke Undone by Jennifer Seasons

Scandalous paintings of the ton are taking London by storm, and Joss Rainville, Duke of Somerton, is the latest target. Flattering as the nude is, it simply won’t do. Left a failing dukedom by his late father, Joss needs his latest venture, sole proprietorship in London’s newest theatre, to be successful. Any scandal and investors disappear—which he sorely needs. He’s going to track down this Anonymous artist and make them pay dearly. Only Joss doesn’t expect his trap to catch Lady Ceranora Castlebury, the most frustrating female of his acquaintance... and the most irresistible.

Fed up with aristocratic, over-entitled men dictating the rules of society, Nora sets about putting them in their proper place. A brilliant artist, she takes great satisfaction in painting noblemen in the nude, giving them a taste of what it’s like to be a woman, to feel exposed and powerless. When she paints the Duke of Somerton and he miraculously tracks her down, she realizes she’s perhaps gone too far. But she refuses to apologize. Men don’t, why should she? Oh no, Nora won’t apologize to the duke for the insubordinate attitude, or the argument... but she will apologize for the kiss that lands them unexpectedly in wedlock.

One passionate kiss in a moonlit garden and their fates are sealed. Forced to marry, they cannot deny their attraction. But when Nora’s secret is uncovered and revenge comes calling, they discover they cannot deny their hearts, either.

A heroine with an ax to grind against aristocratic men (girl, who doesn't?) gets caught in the crosshair's of a Duke when her scandalous painting of him threatens his latest business venture. This is the second book in The Castleburys series.

Seven Days at Mannerley by Audrey Schuyler Lancho

The suitcase she found changed everything. The contents? An elegant dress and an invitation in another girl’s name. Twenty-three-year-old Mary would go to the ball, enjoy how the rich lived just for one night, and then quietly slip back into her real life, sorting rubbish as a poor barmaid. No harm done. Of course, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell had it turned out that way.

It’s 1870 in rural England, and Mary assumes the identity of the suitcase owner, Agnes. When Mary’s one night at Mannerley estate turns into a seven-day, hilarious farce, she quickly makes friends, finds suitors, and keeps fibbing. Not only does Arthur, the heir himself, fall for her, but so, too, does Mr. Singh, his friend visiting from India, making advances in plain sight of the heir. Making matters worse, a former workmate recognizes Mary and extorts her: she must steal a golden watch from the heir for him or have her true identity exposed and risk being thrown in jail, which could mean death––and that would certainly ruin her stolen, er, borrowed ball gown.

The only way Mary can get close enough to Arthur to steal his watch is via sensuality and flirtation. But as Mary scrambles to cover her tracks, her lies and crimes compound, weaving themselves into an impossible tangle. All the while Agnes, the real owner of the fancy ball gown, is making her way ever-closer to Mannerley. Happily ever after seems as unlikely as a barmaid among dandies, when Mary's only possible escape is a confession and the hope her scandalous true love will risk his reputation to defend and forgive her.

Our poor barmaid heroine shoots her shot when a suitcase containing a fancy dress and equally fancy invitation lands in her lap. When one day turns into seven, and our heroine's cover is blown, farce and blackmail ensue. This is the first book in the aptly titled Love and Lies series.

The Falcon Laird by Susan King (Reprint)

She never expected a miracle from her enemy . . .

After burning her Scottish castle to prevent the English from claiming the ancient gold hidden there, Lady Christian is captured and locked in an iron cage. Desperately ill, she sees an archangel—but he is just the English knight ordered to move her to a convent, take her castle, and find the gold.

Sir Gavin Faulkener has secrets of his own—including a gift of healing that brought only tragedy. But the beautiful Scottish rebel unexpectedly recovers in his care and he is ordered to marry her to claim her property—only to discover that her castle is a smoking ruin overrun by loyal Scots and the gold has vanished.

Enemies to Lovers is one of those tropes that is just more delicious in medievals - probably because the stakes tend to be high (and believable...). First published in 1996 as The Angel Knight, the author has also included "added content" to this reprint edition.

Whew! I have to go lie down now.  Happy browsing y'all! What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?

Friday, March 15, 2024

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is March 20

TBR Challenge 2024


Y'all welcome to March and can I just say work has been kicking my tail for the past couple of weeks. This is has always been the start of my busy season but it seemed to go from 0 to 100 a lot faster than usual. Or else I'm just flippin' old. Probably the latter. Anyway, after a mini-slump that last month's #TBRChallenge helped pull me out of, I'm looking forward to our next challenge day which is Wednesday, March 20. This month's optional theme is Not in Kansas Anymore.

Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game on this one folks. It was a suggestion offered up in my annual theme poll. Although truly, this one isn't as complex as one might think.  My mind immediately goes to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; a heroine who finds herself in extraordinary circumstances. This theme suggestion makes me think of characters in transition - new job, new town/city, still reeling from a relationship break-up etc. 

However if you feel like this month's theme is too much like work 😂, remember that the themes are completely optional. The goal of the challenge has been, and always will be, to read something (anything!) that's been languishing in your mountain range of unread books. 

It is certainly not too late to join the Challenge (to be honest it's never too late).  You can get more details and get links to the current list of participants on the #TBRChallenge 2024 Information Page

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Review: A Snowbound Scandal

I must have been drunk when I downloaded A Snowbound Scandal by Jessica Lemmon back in 2018. I have no other explanation as to why I would have downloaded a book featuring "a Texas politician and oil tycoon" hero other than I must have been blindingly, black-out drunk. Seriously, we should all be concerned for my liver.

Chase Ferguson is one of the youngest mayor's in Dallas' history and loaded thanks to his family's oil money. However, the man has regrets - namely Miriam Andrix. Mimi is an environmentalist but that didn't stop the two from having a passionate summer fling.  Um, Chase might not have told her that he was fabulously wealthy thanks to oil money and of course by the time she finds out - they've caught feelings.  Before you think this might be some sort of conflict for our heroine - rest assured, it's not. No, Mimi is in lurve and ideals be damned.  Anyway, what splits these two apart is more the fact that they're from "different worlds."  Chase ultimately sends her away because his family has ambitions for him and he "knows" being the wife of a politician with Big Oil money will slowly kill her.  He puts her on a plane back to Montana. 

That was ten years ago and Chase, now mayor, is up for reelection.  His opponent has dug up his past with Mimi, including a lovely photo of her taken three years ago at a protest rally against Big Oil.  He's scheduled to go to his fabulous vacation home (OK, mansion) over Thanksgiving to unwind, which just so happens to be located outside of her hometown of Big Fork, Montana. The least he can do is warn her that a potential media storm is headed her way.

They run into each other, in of all places, the grocery store. Words are exchanges, sparks fly, and of course while enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with her family Mimi just can't let it go that Chase is all alone in his big, giant, fabulous mansion. So she hops in her truck to take him leftovers and pie and because she's a romance heroine, keeps going up to his isolated place even after the snow starts falling fast and furious. Because, of course. Bingo bango, she's now snowed in at his place.

It's a testament to the author's abilities that my left eye didn't twitch uncontrollably while reading this. It is competently written, the pages turn easily, and it features textbook Desire steaminess and angst. This is book two in a trilogy about the Ferguson siblings so between Chase's siblings and Mimi's family, the secondary character field is crowded, but not overly confusing or unnecessary.  

What didn't work for me is mainly a romance heroine who doesn't so much as waffle about being in a relationship with Big Money Oil Man Chase when she's supposedly so passionate about her environmentalist ideals. Like there's not even a blip there. In fact it's Chase who broke things off ten years ago to "protect" her.  Then there's Chase - reader, let me tell you I damn near guffawed when he said he wanted to be mayor because he knew he could do some good and since he was already rich that made him less likely to be corrupt and take bribes.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

I damn near broke a hip falling out of bed after reading that.

Given my intense dislike for politician characters in my fiction reading, I'm still confused as to why I downloaded this book back in 2018, but it wasn't a complete waste of my time. It's a fast, steamy read and Lemmon hits her beats in the snappy, quick Desire line. I'd read another book by Lemmon, meaning that ultimately, this was a success.

But seriously, Wendy? Why did you download this one?

Final Grade = C

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Ranty McRant Review: A Likeable Woman

Yes, I'm still making my way through some long neglected ARCs and I can tell you exactly why I downloaded A Likeable Woman by May Cobb last year. Like a fool I got sucked in by a promo email sent by NetGalley.  The fact that it was slated for July 2023 and the back cover blurb read like a primetime soap opera - I'm only human. I took a flier on what could have panned out to be sudsy, compulsive beach read.  Let's just say it was like getting stung by a jellyfish.

I can't talk about how much of a Hate Read this one turned into without spoiling damn near everything - so that's your warning.

Ranty Spoilery McSpoilerkins Ahoy!

When Kira was a young teenager her mother "committed suicide." Everyone in their small, affluent Texas town had no trouble believing that Sadie killed herself. She was flighty, artistic, prone to dramatics, and behind closed doors everybody knew Kira's father was an abusive asshole. The problem is, Kira has never believed it. She worshipped her mother. Was closer to her than anyone else. Mom wouldn't kill herself and leave her. She just wouldn't. Kira is so vehement that eventually her rich-with-oil-money Granny packs her off to boarding school.  Now living in Los Angeles, Kira hasn't been back to East Texas since and is all set to ignore the invitation to her childhood frenemy's vow renewal ceremony when Granny calls. She has something that belonged to Kira's mother, something that Kira needs to see - something that has convinced Granny that maybe Kira has been right all this time.  Sadie did not kill herself.

The plan is for it to be a quick trip. Get in, get what Granny has of her mother's, get out. Kira is stuck in her own life, marking time. She needs closure to move on and is hopeful she'll finally find some.  Meeting her at the airport is her first and only twu wuv Jack.  Also Jack's booze-swilling, pill-popping bitch of a wife and their young autistic son.  Jack, still as handsome as ever. Jack practically a goddamn father of the year.  Jack, whose wife is a bitch, but still - HIS WIFE!  This guy's life is messy as shit but that doesn't stop Kira from having to change her panties around him the whole damn book.

Folks, I thought this behavior was exceedingly gross and Kira as a character never recovers from it. I'm supposed to root for this person on their quest for the truth? Really?!

Turns out what Granny has is a book that Sadie was writing. A book that was mostly confessional diary written directly to Kira - but that somehow Sadie thought someone might publish someday.  Seriously, I hate everybody.  Anyway, what follows is Kira not dropping her life to read the whole damn book in one sitting because then this book would be 100 pages long and we flit back and forth between Kira being the dumbest dumb bunny ever and chapters told from Sadie's messy and equally dumb bunny point of view.  

The apple definitely did not fall far from the tree folks.

The readership of this blog is primarily a romance genre related one - so y'all will know what I'm talking about when you read a story featuring a heroine who is a young woman, but her pop culture references feel way too old.  The author never comes out and gives the ages her characters definitively but they feel and act like Millennials. Probably somewhere in their 30s.  The problem here is the references are very Gen X.  I'm firmly Gen X and I barely remember 8-Track car stereos. But Kira remembers her parents' car having one. She also had a poster of REM's Green album on her wall (1988) and her high school senior sister pulls on acid-washed jean shorts in one flashback scene. And these are just a few of things that didn't read "right" to me.  Even if I'm being generous - it would put Kira and all her frenemies looking down a very short hill barreling towards 50.  This book was published in 2023. It reads more like something that would have made sense to be published in the early 2000s.

Something like this though, I could look past if I'm enjoying the story and characters. Reader, the only reason I didn't DNF this book is because, Lord help me, I had to find out who killed Dumb Bunny Kira's Dumb Bunny Mommy.  And Kira, besides not reading the damn "book" in one sitting (which the author tap-dances around because golly, there's all these events planned surrounding the insipid vow renewal), is so slow on the uptake you just want to scream in her face after a while.  She starts suspecting people whose motives are weak as hell (if they have one at all).  There's a secondary character who OBVIOUSLY wants to tell her something IMPORTANT but Jack and small town gossip tell her the guy is bad news. 

Take a wild guess how that turns out?

But the thing that really got to me?  The unresolved feelings for Jack and the fact the author damn near writes it like I'm supposed to believe this is some great unrequited love.  Look, is his wife a bitch?  Yes. But, and maybe this is my old age talking, I felt sorry for her. Her son is autistic, and she's obviously still struggling with that diagnosis (this is only natural IMHO).  On top of that her husband is goddamn Mary Poppins ("practically perfect in every way") and now the girl he never forgot from high school is in the back seat of their rental car.  So yeah, Melanie may be a bitch, but maybe there's a reason for that.

It ends exactly the way I expected it would, with the Bad Guy being exactly who I expected it to be. Is this a soap opera? Yes. It ticks a ton of those boxes, and I honestly probably could have gotten behind this more if 1) the plotting was better and 2) Kira wasn't so blindingly stupid and distasteful.  It became a hate read very early on and stayed that way to the bitter end.  Damn my black soul for wanting the whodunit confirmed so I can lord over this terrible book that it didn't fool me.

Although it fooled me into finishing it - so maybe I shouldn't gloat.

Final Grade = D-

Monday, March 4, 2024

Review: The Collective

Part of my bid to clean out neglected (see: old) ARCs from my Kindle - I recently bookmarked some of the suspense titles I had languishing where I can score audiobook copies via one of my library cards.  Next up on the hit parade of this challenge is The Collection by Alison Gaylin, a book I was very excited to read when it was released back in 2021 and...here we are.  Holy crap y'all, this book was a RIDE!

Camille Gardner is a woman spiraling. Four years ago her 15-year-old daughter, Emily, went to a frat party with a boy and was found barely alive, raped, abandoned on a cold night in the woods near the exclusive private college. On her deathbed Emily tells her mother that the boy, Harris Blanchard, is the one who did this to her. When Emily dies there's a trial and Blanchard's white, privileged, monied parents buy their son's innocence by smearing Emily's name. 

Camille's marriage disintegrates, therapy gets her nowhere, and Harris Blanchard continues to live his best life, even receiving a prestigious humanitarian award from his university.  Camille attends the event and, naturally, there's a wee bit of a kerfuffle.  It's after that very public meltdown that a mysterious woman passes Camille a business card - a private Facebook support group where women share their grief and rage over the death of their children.  It's from that group that Camille gains entry into The Collective, a splinter group on the dark web who spill out their darkest fantasies against the people they feel are responsible for the death of their children. Camille thinks it's role playing, a twisted form of therapy that is actually helping her get out of bed in the morning - and then she comes to the terrifying realization that The Collective is not mere role playing.  The Collective are vigilantes.  A truth that Camille is realizing far too late...

This is most definitely a book you need to prepare yourself for prior to reading because Gaylin practically holds the reader's head under the water that is Camille's grief and rage.  It drips off the page. It's in the crevices between the sentences and smeared in the margins. You wonder how Camille is getting through her days, only to realize that it's her grief and rage that are propping her up.  It's smothering to the point of suffocation and one of the more emotional stories I've ever read.  It's just that the emotion here is blind hatred and rage.

Stories about vigilantes seldom have any heroes, and that's certainly the case here.  As the bodies start dropping it's hard to feel sorry for the victims who definitely get what they deserve in an eye-for-an-eye sort of way.  The people you do feel sorry for are the ones who make the mistake of crossing The Collective. People who step out of line and threaten the group's ability to exist and operate in the shadows.  This makes Camille an eventual problem because while, in the beginning, she does follow assignments and instructions with blind obedience, her curiosity gets the better of her. That's when she discovers how much danger she truly is in.

I'll be honest and say I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the ending.  What I do recognize is that it pushes the book firmly into thriller territory and it also features one hell of a twist. Y'all the twist is SO. GOOD!  Is it a happy, sunshine ending?  Honestly? No. But it's not like the author was making promises that there was going to be one. The raw emotion in this story, the depiction of rage, grief and hatred - to expect skipping through a wildflower strewn meadow at the end and Camille finding some peace would be unrealistic for the story the author is telling. Gaylin lays zero groundwork for this kind of thing, so it's not like I felt that I, as the reader, was being lied to, manipulated, or that a promise was broken.

It's a dark, and in many ways, challenging read.  There's a lot of unpack in this one, landing it on my short-list for thrillers that would make a dynamite book club read.

Final Grade = A

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Review: Temporary Wife Temptation

Sexy, romantic cover
Note: Temporary Wife Temptation by Jayci Lee was published by Harlequin Desire in 2020.  In 2022, Harlequin repackaged the story, slapped it with a cartoon cover I want to set on fire and retitled it The "I Do" Dilemma. You can still purchase the digital version, but only under the new cover and title, hence the link in this review directing to that edition. I'm posting the original cover to this review because it's a million times prettier and more fitting to what's inside the tin but I'll post the new cover below so we can all be outraged together.  Thanks for coming to my TED talk

+++++

One of my local libraries recently had a romance author program of which Lee took part.  Wanting to support the program, and the library staff who put it together, I attended and ended up purchasing one of Lee's single titles while there. I knew I had several of her Desires languishing in my TBR, and decided this first book in her Heirs of Hansol series was the place to start. 

This book features the kind of preposterous plot that I tend to gobble up in category romance - the modern day marriage of convenience.  Garrett Song is very close to being named the new CEO of his family's fashion empire, that is until his very traditional (and domineering) grandmother lowers the boom on him - she's arranged a marriage for him. To a woman he's never met. The selling point for Granny being that the family is the equivalent of "old money" in Korean society and her grandson needs a wife. Garrett has been bristling against tradition and family expectations his entire life and is not about to go quietly. He immediately tells Granny he can't marry her chosen bride because, well, he's already engaged to the love his life.  One minor problem with that - Garrett isn't engaged, let alone believes in love or wants to get married. He needs a temporary wife and fast - but where will he find a woman desperate (and crazy) enough to accept this proposal?

Turns out he doesn't have to look far. Natalie Sobol works in Hansol's HR department. She worked with Garrett briefly on an interim basis while he was stationed in New York and she's been in Los Angeles - but now Garrett is in LA and she gets an up close and personal view of how desperately good-looking he is. But she's determined to swallow her hormones as she's gunning for a promotion that would take her to the New York office. She needs the bump in salary and the New York home base to secure the adoption of her orphaned niece. The child's grandparents live in New York and Natalie thinks if she's also in New York they'll stop contesting the adoption. Besides the fact she has to be offered that promotion is that a husband would help her cause tremendously - showing the courts she could provide her niece with a loving, stable, two-parent home. 

We all know where this is going. Garrett proposes a temporary marriage to solve both of their problems. Of course it doesn't take long for the feelings to become all too real given the scorching chemistry pinging off both of them from the jump. These two are desperately attracted to each other, and as they pretend their way through a fake engagement, walk down the aisle, and create a happy home, they both fall hard and fast. Of course getting Garrett to admit his feelings, out loud, when he's emotionally adverse is ultimately what propels the reader to the Black Moment. 

Ugh, I hate it
A few things I really liked about this story was the setting (the author writes about Southern California well in a compact word count) and the portrayal of both sides of the coin of the Korean American experience.  Garrett's family is very traditional. Natalie is the product of a biracial marriage (her mother now gone, her father always aloof, her sister killed in a car accident) and knows little about Korean traditions. Garrett is a prototypical romance hero - the one who was done wrong by a former fiancé and therefore doesn't believe in "love," and Natalie is the soft-hearted romance heroine who recognizes her growing feelings well before he does.  I also really enjoyed that the author included the relationships the couple was building with Garrett's family and the niece's grandparents. It really rounds out the romance and helped me buy-in that these two crazy kids would make it.

That said, the hero being closed off emotionally is what leads us to the Black Moment and Third Act Break-Up.  He's one of those guys that instead of just saying "I love you, let's stay married" buys the heroine a pair of earrings and thinks she'll infer what he means 🙄.  That said, it does make for a decent grovel and declaration of twu wuv at the end.  I also felt the pacing was a little off at times - like the author didn't fully stick the landing on some of the story's beats.  Desires are short (around 200 pages) and sometimes that necessitates shortcuts, like a jump in the timeline. These weren't horribly executed here, but they could have been better blended at times.

All that said, this was an enjoyable read that I started and finished before my bedtime. Desire as a line is dead (RIP) but I'll read more Lee.

Final Grade = B-

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Mini-Review: The Dead Girls Club

In a continuing (futile) bid to clean out neglected ARCs from my Kindle, I recently looked at the mystery and suspense titles I had languishing that I could, in turn, score audiobook copies of via work. First up in this project is The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters, a suspense horror title from late 2019. 

In 1991, Heather Cole is a pretty typical pre-teen girl. She's got a best friend, Becca, and with two other girls, they form The Dead Girls Club. Like a lot of kids, they're a bit obsessed with the macabre - ghost stories, serial killers, Stephen King novels, things that go bump in the night. While there are four of them, Becca is the undisputed leader of the group, and has a love of ghost stories - which is how she starts telling the girls stories about The Red Lady, the spirit of a witch who was murdered centuries before. Heather knows these are just stories, until Becca starts acting weird, insisting The Red Lady is real.  And then, Becca ends up dead.

Thirty years later, Heather is a child psychologist, happily married, and has done everything to put that summer, Becca, and The Red Lady behind her. It's a secret she has buried deep, until one day a necklace arrives in the office mail. The other half of a Best Friends Forever necklace. The half that belonged to Becca. The half that Heather knows Becca was wearing the night she died because Heather was there.  Someone knows Heather's secret and is toying with her - but who?

Let's get this out of the way right up front - this sounds like a supernatural thriller with an unreliable narrator but...it's not. There's non-woo-woo explanations for everything, so just roll with it. Also, while Heather most definitely runs around halfcocked, calling her an unreliable narrator strains. Oh, don't get me wrong, she's Annoying AF - but she's mainly sloppy and stupid - not gorked out on pain meds and booze.

The first half of this book is really slow. The story goes back and forth in time - Annoying AF Heather in Present Day and Annoying AF Becca in 1991.  And by the end I felt bad for thinking either of them was Annoying AF, but there you have it.  It's a lot of Heather freaking out in present day and Becca telling scary stories in 1991. That's it.  I basically kept listening because I had to know what Heather's secret was and what really happened to Becca - especially once I figured out the whole "supernatural" thing was a bit of a red herring. 

However by around the 50-60% mark things really start to cook and I couldn't tear myself away.  I raced to the finish and then met my final quandary.  Yes, bad people are punished.  Just not all the bad people. The reader finds out what happened to Becca, but secrets get kept, the world keeps on turning, but justice for Becca?  At the end of the day? Only partly.

Final Grade = C+