Review: More and More by Stella Cameron

I feel badly about this. I've heard really good things about Stella Cameron. I even think I've read her books before. But I really disliked this book. A lot. There was almost nothing that made me happy to have read it. Honestly, I'm only happy to have read it so I can clear it off the shelf to make room for a book I'll like. I hate reading experiences that leave me feeling this way.

The historical-set romance opens with an unnamed narrator addressing the reader and telling of his (the narrator's) horror of the fact that his family has allowed boarders into 7 Mayfair Place and of his intention to rid the house of these undeserving, paying folk. Then the tale bumps into gear as Finch More is introduced. She is a 29 year old spinster who lives with her head in the clouds brother as they try to make their way as owners of a small import company. Their biggest client is also their next door neighbor, Ross, Viscount Kilrood. He is an antiquities afficianado but is also involved in some serious foreign intrigue that endangers both the Mores and himself and holds the fate of a small South East Asian country in the balance.

At the start of the story, Finch is accosted and given a strange message that chills Ross down to the bone, knowing that he is the intended recipient of the message. And so begins his vigil to get close to Finch, who is not only in danger but also attracts him like no other woman ever has. While he and Finch alternately argue heatedly and tease and titillate each other, Finch's brother is kidnapped by the baddies. Not content to be waiting at home to hear that he has been saved, Finch insists on helping to rescue him. Ross is dismissive of her skills as a woman but Finch is ridiculously headstrong and thoughtless as a bull in a china shop. The tension of where her brother is is broken up by incredibly steamy sex scenes. And the whole tale is this way. Ross and Finch have only known each other briefly and not well at all before they are panting and lapping at each other only to be interrupted by the pesky detail that they still don't know where Finch's brother is.

The novel as a whole only spans a few desperate days so everything about the relationship is rushed and lust-spiked. Love? Well, the narration tells us it is true love but there's no evidence of that that I read. And our initial narrator? Well, it turns out he's the ghostly ancestor of the owners of 7 Mayfair Place. He interjects himself into the narrative with regularity, making the tale choppy and just generally causing the reader annoyance. Really, this was just not the book for me and I shudder to think there might be more in the series lurking on my shelves for me to read.

Review: I'm in No Mood for Love by Rachel Gibson

Clare Wingate arrives home unexpectedly only to discover her fiance in flagrante delicto with the washing machine repairman. She doesn't have time to focus on this catastrohe because she has to act as bridesmaid to her good friend so she decides to deal with Lonny and his infidelity (and sexuality) later. But later turns out to be after an extended amount of time and drinks in the hotel bar and Clare can't remember much of the rest of her evening, knowing only that she has awakened naked in a hotel room. Worse yet, it appears she has awakened in the bed of her childhood nemesis Sebastian, now a gorgeous reporter who has chased important and dangerous stories around the globe. When she assumes that the two of them slept together, Sebastian doesn't disabuse her of the idea, thinking it's rather fun to see perfect, monied little Clare flustered.

There is a reasonable amount of friction between the two characters but there is quite a lot of time spent on each of their seperate development and growth and not nearly as much as might be expected in a romance on the actual relationship and its evolution. It is interesting that Gibson chose to make Clare a romance author who can't even command respect from her mother given her choice of subject matter despite the fact that her rather over the top prose has made Sebastian hot and bothered. The story doesn't follow the traditional arc of a romance but it also doesn't work as anything other than a romance novel and so this deviation from the conventional, instead of being a strength, ends up weakening the story and leaving the eventual resolution feel a bit rushed. It is also a tad wearying that the character who is unable to sustain the concept of "friends with benefits" is Clare, causing Sebastian to panic until he realizes that he too needs more than to stay the cliched commitment-phobic male. Romance fans will likely not be ambivalent about this one, either hating it for its tepid relationship or loving it for its ability to show major change and growth in the main characters independent of each other. Personally I'm rather wishy-washy about it, appreciating the attempt but ultimately finding that the attempt created flaws that wouldn't otherwise have been as evident.

Review: Smart Girls Think Twice by Cathie Linz

Why is it that the smart girls are always the mousy, less attractive girls? Now certainly having a smart main character in a romance means that she will in the end get the guy (hope that wasn't a spoiler for any of you devoted romance readers out there) but is it necessary to always have her be outshown looks-wise by just about everyone? Why can't women be smart and beautiful? And if they are, why do they have to be insecure enough about their brains to downplay their looks by looking dowdy? Obviously I have an ax to grind over the usual portrayals of smart women and I had hoped that this book would turn that stereotype on its head. Unfortunately I was bound to be disappointed.

Our heroine Emma has come back to tiny Rock Creek, PA for both of her sisters' weddings. She is a professor of sociology at a small school in Boston and her job in academia epitomizes the publish or perish mindset. While she's in town for the weddings and playing peacemaker between her opinionated sisters and her loud and vibrant mother, she intends to capitalize professionally by researching the reasons for Rock Creek's rebirth. Examining the reasons means she needs the cooperation of newcomer Jake. He has no intentions of cooperating or allowing Emma to dig into his past and the two fence verbally whenever they see each other; and since Jake somehow ends up being pressed into service as Emma's date to the weddings, they'll see each other plenty.

The fact that the two of them are instantly attracted to each other is fine. It's a little odd though that within minutes of meeting each other for the first time both Emma and Jake fantasize about what the other would look like ready, willing, and in bed. Their chemistry comes off as more the high school obsessive lust variety than anything that would lead to a lasting relationship, the only thing missing is Emma driving by Jake's house with a friend to see if he's home. The plotline concerning Emma's research, while carried through the novel, is mostly fairly light and inconsequential as is the plotline with Emma as family mediator, the sane one if you will. An okay enough book for the most part, this is a fluffy and fairly forgettable book that does nothing towards breaking a stereotype that really gets my dander up.

Review: How to Tame a Modern Rogue by Diana Holquist

What a great premise for a book! Ally's aristocratic, addled grandmother thinks she's living in a Regency romance novel, one of her favorite reading genres and Ally, who is moving out of state shortly, has no desire to disabuse her grandmother of this, aside from the fact that this means Granny Donny is determined to marry Ally off to a Duke. As they live in New York City, Dukes are in short supply but one roguish English ex-pat literally jumps into the masquerade as he's trying to sneak off undetected by an irate ex. Sam Carson is indeed the modern incarnation of a rogue but he's also a good enough guy that he helps Ally play along with her grandmother's delusion. So when Granny Donny insists that her horse and carriage (hired from Central Park) must take them to the country estate (no matter what NYC law says about horses on bridges), Sam smooths the way, staying in character and allowing Ally to maintain the charade for Granny Donny, even as Ally allows herself to hope against all evidence to the contrary that perhaps her long missing parents are waiting for her at the "country house." What might be waiting is a changed Sam, one willing to be a reformed rogue.

This was a cute book, playing on the conventions of both historical and contemporary romances. It was funny and sweet and clever. The characters, especially Granny Donny and Ally, were charming. Sam was more stereotypical in presentation but his conversion from playboy to solid, dependable, likable to grannies guy was natural if a little easy. Fans of both historical and contemporary romances will definitely enjoy this dip into each others' swimming pools.

Review: After the Rain by Karen White

Suzanne is simultaneously running from and towards her past when she impulsively gets off a bus in tiny Walton, Georgia. An old locket of her mother's is engraved with a jeweler in Walton's name and it is this that determines her to stay put, at least for a while, in this town so small there's not even a hotel where she can rent a room anonymously. Instead, she ends up renting an old Victorian house and sliding into the life of the town and the people in it. Mayor Joe Warner is a widower with six children whose first impression of Suzanne is not a good one. She doesn't seem to like dogs or children. But despite their rocky start and the fear (Suzanne) and sadness (Joe) in their pasts, they start to forge a connection that even Joe's kids are okay with. Add Joe's re-election campaign and the underhanded dirt bag he's running against, the mystery of Suzanne's mother's locket, and Suzanne's abusive ex to the plot lines and you've rounded out the book.

This is apparently the second book about Walton, Georgia but it stands alone just fine (and I should know, not having read the first). I generally shy away from romances with children in them because the kids take up too much of the storyline and while that wasn't entirely the case here, it did intrude as Suzanne had to develop relationships with at least a couple of Joe's children. I also find that the presence of children in romances tends to cut the sexual tension and that again seems to be the case here. It may be "real world" in its portrayal but since I look to romances for escapism, that doesn't make me a happy reader. While I was reading, the book was fine but in all honesty, I didn't remember much about it once I'd closed the last page. Mostly this is a gentle sort of romance and people who like their stories on the sweet side will appreciate this one more than those who like their stories on the sexy side.

Review: Romeo Romeo by Robin Kaye

Rosalie has just escaped from the family dinner where her Italian mama has been haranguing her to get married and have babies when she has a flat tire. She also has no spare. Furiously cursing her luck and her brother (who was supposed to have gotten her a spare), she is kicking the car when a wrecker pulls over to help her. Nick is gorgeous and charming and despite herself, Rosalie finds her hormones at attention. They spar all the way to her house and somehow end up with a date scheduled. What Nick doesn't tell Rosalie though, is that he is really Dominick Romeo, wealthy car dealer, not just Nick the mechanic.

And after their first date, it seems impossible to tell her who he really is. Not only is it refreshing to him to be wanted for himself rather than his money, but as a kid he was friends with Rosalie's older brother and the two of them were arrested together. The good news is that both Rosalie and Nick are completely against marriage, for different reasons, and they agree to keep their relationship monogamous but not serious. When it is no longer fun for one or the other, they will walk away with no hurt feelings. Of course, neither of them realize that real true love is creeping up on them. And it is complicated by Nick's subterfuge about who he is (although Rosalie knows) as well as by the fact that he is the person who had been dropping rumors about the uncertain financial position of the dealership Roaslie has just been retained to turn around and make successful again (Rosalie doesn't know this bombshell).

This contemporary romance has some pretty steamy sex scenes in it. It also has some pretty entertaining scenes in the bosom of Roaslie's nutjob family. The secondary characters really help to move the plot along and inject some levity into the story. Rosalie's reason for not wanting love and marriage is understandable but Nick's is rather sillier, highlighting a blind spot in his character that wasn't necessary. Watching Nick be stymied by a woman who is everything he purports to want (independent, casual, natural, and uninterested in anything more emotionally binding than sex) is pretty entertaining. Their chemistry is believable and with the exception of one stereotypical and unneccessary plot twist at the end, the storyline cooks along of its own accord. This is a fun romp of a romance and fans of contemporaries will thoroughly enjoy it.

Contemprary Romance Reading Challenge

When I read romance, it tends to be the historical variety. I love the whole world of lords and ladies. I would have been an insolent scullery maid back then and not the one who overcame all the obstacles to marry the lord of the manor, no, I'd be hitched to the stable boy or something so really it's the lure of the foreign with all that breeding and priviledge that intrigues me. That said, I thought I should try reading some contemporary romances and see if the world now can capture my imagination as well. Pearl's World of Romance is hosting the Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge and it looks to be just what I need to push me back into the 21st century. No paranormal, fantasy, or time-travel. Just straight contemporary romance. 10 between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31. That should be doable.

Although you don't have to list them in advance, I love to make lists so I did. Hopefully all my books are eligible (at least the backs don't mention anything that would disqualify them). Here it is:

1. Destiny Unleashed by Sherryl Woods
2. How to Tame a Modern Rogue by Diana Holquist
3. After the Rain by Karen White
4. Talk of the Town by Karen Hawkins
5. True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson
6. Baby Don’t Go by Susan Andersen
7. The Girl Most Likely To… by Susan Donovan
8. Romeo Romeo by Robin Kaye
9. Smart Girls Think Twice by Cathie Linz
10. Flirting With Temptation by Kelly St. John