Since my BeBook arrived, I’ve been devouring Harlequin ebooks. As I’m still struggling to keep up with my review back log – even more so now that I’ve committed myself to the Book in 3 Months Challenge – I felt another mini review post was called for.
This collection of mini reviews is a mixed bag. First up is Trish Milburn’s Her Very Own Family. It was my first Harlequin American Romance. While I didn’t love it, it was an enjoyable read with sympathetic characters and a heroine with a particularly interesting past. For those readers who avoid Harlequins featuring children, this book is a kid-free zone.
Less successful was Jo Leigh’s Blaze title, Ms Match. I’ve heard many positive comments about this story, but it just didn’t work for me. The premise of the plain heroine and the playboy hero is one which I enjoy if it’s done well. However, I wasn’t convinced that the hero in this book was truly less shallow at the end than he had been at the beginning.
I liked Cara Colter’s Harlequin Romance, Winning a Groom in 10 Dates, better than Ms Match, but it was still only a C+ read for me. It’s a cute story involving a heroine who’s had a crush on the hero since they were teenagers. In typical Harlequin fashion, the title is misleading.
The final mini review is of Mia’s Scandal by Michelle Reid. It’s the first book in Mills & Boon’s new Balfour Legacy series featuring the eight daughters of the billionaire, Oscar Balfour. The books are set to be released individually over eight consecutive months starting in July 2010. However, they can already be purchased as an ebook bundle on the M&B site.
HER VERY OWN FAMILY (2009) BY TRISH MILBURN
Blurb: Audrey York isn’t letting the scandal in her past stop her from making a fresh start in Willow Glen, Tennessee. And now, with the help of a kindhearted neighbor, she’s getting the chance to build her dream café. Then she meets her neighbor’s sonsexy, single carpenter Brady Wittwho makes it clear he doesn’t trust her one bit.
Someone has to protect Brady’s father from women out to hook a lonely widower. Only, the beautiful blond restaurateur doesn’t fit the profile. In fact, she isn’t like any woman Brady knows.
Just when Brady’s starting to believe in her, Audrey’s past comes barreling back. Can she trust Brady with the truth? Or will she lose the family she’s found at last when he discovers who she isand what she’s running from?
My Thoughts: I liked this book. Audrey’s Big Secret is original and her fraught relationship with her mother adds a touch of poignancy to what is otherwise a very cute story. Brady annoyed me at one point in the book, but he did manage to redeem himself. B
MS MATCH (2008) BY JO LEIGH
Blurb: Waking up in a hotel room next to a nearly naked Gwen Christopher is a shocker for Paul Bennet.
Hmm, one too many the night before? After all, he’s rich, successful and looks more like one of his movie-star clients than their PR rep. Paul can have any woman he wants. Any woman–except Gwen’s smokin’-hot sister. Taking plain-Jane Gwen out as a favor was supposed to be his ticket in.
And okay, sure, Gwen’s fun and smart and interesting–and absolutely amazing in bed. But she’d never fit in with his parties-and-paparazzi lifestyle. This is a total mismatch.
So why’s he so ready to dive back into bed with Gwen first chance he can?
My Thoughts: Gwen was a likeable heroine but I so wanted her to end up with a hero less shallow than Paul. In order to believe in the HEA, it’s necessary to find Paul’s transformation credible, and I did not. He goes from a guy who only dates supermodels and schmoozes with Hollywood A-listers to a man who suddenly likes hanging out in sports bars with regular folk. That’s in between lusting after Gwen’s beautiful sister. Hmm… C
WINNING A GROOM IN 10 DATES (2010) BY CARA COLTER
Blurb: As a teenager, geeky Sophie adored gorgeous Brandon. He protected her from the bullies, but was too tough for the sweet small-town girl to crack. Then he left for the army….
Now the rebel’s back—just in time to rescue Sophie from attending her ex-fiancé’s engagement party alone. He’ll be her stand-in boyfriend and convince everyone they’re wildly in love!
My Thoughts: While this is a sweet romance kept me turning the pages, I found both the hero and the heroine annoyingly perfect. My favourite aspects of the story were Brandon’s difficult relationship with his father, and also the romance between his father and Sophie’s grandmother. C+
MIA’S SCANDAL (2010) BY MICHELLE REID
The Premise: This is the first title in M&B’s new eight-book Balfour Legacy series. When his family is rocked by a series of scandals, wealthy Oscar Balfour decides to force his pampered daughters to stand on their own feet for a year. He picks tasks for each of them which will best test their individual personalities.
Mia Bianchi-Balfour is the newest addition to the Balfour clan, but even she is not exempt from being forced to prove her worth on her own. Mia is Oscar’s illegitimate daughter. She recently arrived from Italy to confront him and found the Balfour household in turmoil.
For her “test”, Oscar sends her to work with his protégé, the handsome, moody Nikos Theakis. Mia and Nikos take an instant dislike to one another, but naturally this is only because they are in denial of their mutual attraction.
My Thoughts: I quite like the premise of Balfour Legacy series and I’m curious to read some of the other sisters’ books. However, Mia’s youth bothered me (she’s 21), and I think Nikos took advantage of her. I realise this is a typical Harlequin Presents/M&B Modern Romance set-up, but I found it difficult to believe in their HEA. However, if you’re in the mood for some glitz and glamour this summer, the Balfour Legacy looks set to deliver. C+
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What I particularly liked about the Milburn story was that she avoided all the obvious pitfalls. No third party spills the Big Secret to the hero before the heroine does, and when the hero does behave like a jackass – it only lasts a page or two and isn’t dragged out for several chapters. Well, all that coupled with the interesting (and different) Big Secret and frankly I just flat-out liked all those people
I remember hearing a lot of good things about Ms. Match, but I just couldn’t seem to get past the plot description. The hero who is lusting after some other chickie when he hooks up with the heroine (especially when the chickie and heroine are blood relatives!) is a bit of a hard sell for me.
@Wendy: I saw the Trish Milburn book mentioned in your recent post, which is why I read it. Thanks for yet another successful recommendation! Yes, they are nice people who behave like adults. I hate it when characters spend most of the book fighting over a silly Big Misunderstanding.
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