Tag Archives: romance

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Liver Let Die & Thyme Out

 I picked up this book today and read it mainly because I had accidentally bought the second book in the series and didn’t realize it until I went to read it.  Luckily my second hand bookstore had this one, so I was able to get it.

Fun, quick read with a food related theme.  The protagonist, Jordan, is covering a food column in a small local paper while the regular writer recovers from an accident.  The story was fun and the mystery had lots of twists and turns.  The included recipes are okay, but not really anything I would make.  The theme was interesting, but I did have one issue with it.  Jordan is a total non-foodie who got roped into the food column, hence the series name A Clueless Cook Mystery.  She starts completing her column by presenting other people’s recipes as her own…hmmm isn’t that a problem??  Maybe it is just me.

Other than that I enjoyed the characters and the mystery.  I will definitely read the second one since I already have it, Beef Stolen-Off.

The second book I read today was Katie Fforde’s Thyme Out .  I will have to say that as far as I am concerned Katie Fforde can do no wrong.  I love her books and read as many as I can find here in the US.

The heroine, Perdita, is a plucky gardener making a living, barely, through her own hard work.  This is a typical Katie Fforde protagonist, women who get on with life, not necessarily glamorous or wealthy but not victims either and that is what I like about them.

Perdita’s ex-husband unexpectedly reappears in her life and that drives the plot along with a family crisis.  I don’t want to say much more.  There is the all important happily ever after at the end.

Anyone who loves romances, not the young adult kind that all seem to revolve around teens, but one with real adults will enjoy this book.

 

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Reaper’s Property by Joanna Wylde

This is a meme hosted by Midnight Book Girl to be found here

I have been marathon watching one of my favorite TV series this weekend, Sons of Anarchy.  So that inspired a search for Biker themed reading and I stumbled across Joanne Wylde’s Reaper’s Property.  The cover helped in part to suck me in 🙂

 

This is an adult romance – more plot and character than strictly erotica.  Alpha males and a light theme of reluctance is central to the story line.  I really enjoyed the world of the Reapers MC that Joanna Wylde created.  Her characters were interesting and the plot was well thought out. There were elements of danger and betrayal that added tension to the plot.  Much better quality than many adult romances that I have downloaded on my Kindle.

I found her take on women in the MC world and the different ways that this was delivered to the reader well done.   The reader sees it from an outsider’s, Maria’s, perspective, from long time Old Ladies and sweet butts points of view and from members themselves.  That part was particularly well done.

The romance had the prerequisite Happily Ever After ending that I look for when I’m buying a romance.  The couple was well matched and a pair that you will really root for throughout the story.

The next one in the series comes out in January and I already pre-ordered on my Kindle.

So a perfect book for Sundays in Bed.

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Mysteries….and a Lone Romance

 

   
   

I have been going to bed early because I am still sick, but then waking in the middle of the night and reading because I can’t sleep.  These three mysteries and 1 romance/chick lit were on the top of my stack next to the bed.  Very briefly:

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, a cute cozy mystery with an slight magical slant.  The sleuth is a big city girl who has taken a job now in a small town library.  Kathleen, the sleuth was interesting and intelligent and the cats, Owen and Hercules are great as well.  The book dragged a little in the middle, it could have done with being a smidge shorter.  The ending did pick up.  The mystery and setting were both well done.

Death Al Dente, the sleuth returns home to take over or rescue the family business, a general/food/local produce and products store.  I didn’t get into this one as much as I had expected to.  I just didn’t really care about the characters and some of the  reactions/actions didn’t really ring true.  It might work for someone else.

The Body in the Vestibule, I picked this one up out of order.  I was somewhat hesitant due to the fact that the sleuth (and main character) was a minister’s wife. I was afraid that it would have heavy religious overtones, but it didn’t.  The mystery takes place in France, I loved the setting and it was very well done!  The mystery  was full of twists and turns and lots of characters.  Well written and the pace of the plot was steady.  The only criticism was that it was slightly dated (some political references to the European Union, etc) but other than that a nice, cozy mystery.

Goodbye, Jimmy Choo, not so sure what to classify this, romance definitely occurs but there is lots of family drama and shopping as well.  I guess it is a romance/chick lit.  Well developed characters and an interesting plot.  You will have to suspend your disbelief slightly on the business portion of the book, but it is quite a good upbeat (at the end) read.

 

 

 

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Breathless by Louise Marley & A Canterbury Crime by Brian Kavanagh

Couldn’t sleep last night and decided to pull a few more books off of my Kindle.  The first was Breathless by Louise Marley.  There was a lot to like about this, a strong, interesting lead character, well built back story and setting. The plot involving Greg, Will, Zac and Drew ticks along at a nice pace.  I found a couple of the characters actions and reactions off putting or odd.  On the whole, a fun, quick romance with a dash of mystery thrown in to the mix.

 This book is 4th in a series and I did not read 1 through 3, so I hesitate to review because perhaps my thoughts are influenced by that fact.

I found the murder mystery plot interesting, especially the connections to the past and the archaeology aspects that were involved.  Other than that, I really didn’t connect to the characters and found some of parts a little heavy handed.  Perhaps I would have gotten more out of it, if I read the series in order.

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All That Mullarkey by Sue Moorcroft

 

Very light romantic read.  Interesting characters and a nice happily ever after ending.  The plot “twist” was very obvious to me early on and that took away from some of the enjoyment of the book.  I simply couldn’t understand how seemingly intelligent characters couldn’t see what was happening.

Overall, well written with enjoyable characters.

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Christmas Carol by Michele Gorman

 

A novella that I heard about on a blog and downloaded quite cheaply from Amazon.

A delightful read, touching and heartfelt Christmas story. It was laugh out loud funny in places.   I am only sorry that it was such a short story. Very mood elevating and definitely in aid of getting into the Christmas spirit.

In one scene Carol receives a massage as a gift/bribe from her sister and she is definitely not the type of person who gets massages.  She had just laid face down on the table and the masseur whipped down her panties…

Is this a back massage or is it not a back massage?  Because she’s kneading my cheeks like they’re bread dough.  I’ve watched Mum make loaves since I was a child.  I know what happens next.  They double in size.

If you need a pick me up or are just in the mood for a Christmas romance, this book would be a good fit for you.

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A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair and The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

Last night I read these two books that I’ve had stacked in my bedroom for quite a while, A Veiled Deception and The Best Man.

The Best Man was an engaging light American romance.  There are some hardships that the main character overcomes, death of her mother and being jilted at the altar in front of her whole town.  A “boy” from the wrong side of the tracks and a family full of characters who love each other and show it in their own way.  I liked the characters and the story line.  This was a light, fun read.

 

A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair is a magical themed cozy mystery, involving fashion, weddings, family, lost love, secrets, and of course, murder.  The main character is Madeira…and she has sisters Sherry and Brandy, let’s just leave that alone.

The fashion information that was incorporated was interesting to me.  I like vintage fashion and Madeira,”Maddie” is interested in fleeing from her NY designer job to open a vintage fashion shop in her home town.

Some of the dialogue was a little off, unnatural, but the mystery was interesting and involved secrets and long lost love.   The magic end was not overplayed, more psychic than witch, but I don’t know how that will develop over the series.  Overall, a fun light cozy read and I will read more in the series.

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Sundays in Bed with…Paradise Fields by Katie Fforde

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This is a meme hosted by Midnightbookgirl.com found here.  I hope this is running this week, I just have gotten used to looking forward to doing it.

Feeling very decadent this morning as I actually did not get up and go run or the gym as scheduled, this compounded by the bad diet choices yesterday is not a good thing:(  But I did get much reading done 🙂

Yesterday I read two amazing thrillers by S.J. Bolton see posts here and here, that led me to change up the pace this morning by reading the very lovely Katie Fforde’s very lovely book Paradise Fields.

I have read several of Katie Fforde’s books and have enjoyed them all.  This one was no exception, the main character Nel is a widow kept busy by the needs of 3 children, 2 in university and one about to go and her dogs and her “good works” on behalf of a children’s hospice and organizing a farmer’s market, all in addition to keeping up with a nice group of friends and a rather unexciting boyfriend.  When the hospice’s future becomes uncertain, Nel rises to the challenge.

I love how the author draws her characters, they are so real, so ordinary, you can picture sitting at the kitchen table with them and having a chat.  Nel isn’t perfect, she doesn’t leave the house perfectly turned out to run errands, she doesn’t keep her pets off the furniture, she doesn’t turn out a 3 course meal for 10 and then immediately hop up and do all the dishes by hand, in short she lives an “every woman” life.  As a reader, I felt immersed in Nel’s life and her concerns.

Very good romance with enough tension about how things will turn out to keep me turning the pages.  I highly recommend this book to romance readers.