Genre: Historical Romance

Setting: Scotland, 1793

POV: 3rd Person

Sensuality: Warm

Violence: Hero is a hangman, so, yes!

Format: Digital (reissue of a 2002 print release)

Source: A digital ARC courtesy of Carina Press via NetGalley

Why I Read It: I liked the idea of a hangman hero and a courtesan heroine

My Grade: C

My Lord Jack by Hope Tarr has a great premise, but unfortunately, the book didn’t work as well for me as I would have liked.

Claudia Valemont is a French courtesan who fled Paris in the bloody aftermath of the Revolution. Her mother was guillotined, as was her noble protector. Claudia does not wish to meet a similar fate. In desperation, she travels to Scotland in search of the aristocrat who fathered her.

Jack Campbell also bears the stigma of illegitimacy. Although his mother eventually married a local man, Jack was always labelled a bastard by his stepfather and the locals. At the age of ten, he witnessed his mother’s brutal rape and murder. After her killer was sentenced to death by hanging, Jack decided he’d found his vocation and trained to be the local hangman.

When the coach in which Claudia is travelling loses a wheel, she’s forced to spend the night in a small Scottish village. Desperate to reach her father’s residence as soon as possible, she foolishly attempts to steal a horse and is caught in the act. Claudia is sentenced to death by hanging, and Jack is the man assigned to the job. The timely intervention of some testimony which throws doubt on her intentions to steel leads the local magistrate to reduce her sentence to a period of indentured servitude. Much to his chagrin, Jack is to oversee Claudia’s sentence.

Due in part to his profession, and in part to the circumstances of his birth, Jack has taken a vow of celibacy. Being forced to live under the same roof as Claudia makes him question this decision, and it’s not long before they become lovers.

Jack’s evil step-brother is among the several villains of the piece. He has always hated Jack and is determined to cause trouble for him and Claudia. With so many people actively working against them, Jack and Claudia have to struggle to find happiness together.

Despite the interesting premise, there are several elements in this book which didn’t work for me. I never fully understood Jack’s self-imposed celibacy, especially when it didn’t take him long to succumb to Claudia’s charms. Apart from this niggle, I thought he made a convincing hero, and I liked his character.

Unfortunately, Claudia irritated me from start to finish. Her reckless endangerment of herself and others made me want to shake her on several occasions. Her tendency to run from safety into certain danger soon got old. She is the typical flighty French heroine of older historical romances.

Finally, the Scottish dialect pulled me out of the story and detracted from the author’s smooth prose style. I realise that this book was originally released at the time when the use of Scottish dialect in historical romances was very popular. Unfortunately, this style rarely works for me.

I struggled to grade this book. Although it didn’t appeal to me, I think readers who enjoy historical romances with big, brawny Scotsmen in the vein of Karen Marie Moning’s Highlanders would like this story. Claudia reminded me of Annique in Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Daughter, a book which I disliked but most readers loved. In other words, there are a lot of popular romance tropes in this story, but they’re not ones which usually work for me.

Ultimately, though, I have to grade a book according to my personal enjoyment level. While it might appeal to other readers more than it did to me, I give it a C.

Other Reviews of My Lord Jack:

Not Another Romance Blog – 3.5 out of 5 smooches

All About Romance – C

I read three Harlequin/Mills & Boon titles over the past week, all from different lines.

My favourite was The Heat is On by Jill Shalvis, which is an August release from Harlequin Blaze. It’s already on sale from the eHarlequin website, both in print and as an ebook.

Blurb: Oh, dear. Bella Manchelli is so not having a good day. First, she’s deliciously exhausted from last night’s sizzling one-night stand. Second, there’s a (gulp) dead body at her back door. Third…um, that scrumptious one-nighter is at her front door… and he’s wearing a badge!

Police Officer Jacob Madden is all about duty. Until he shows up looking for a homicide…and runs right into last night’s slice of sexy heaven! Damn, he just can’t think straight when he’s around Bella. All he wants to do is lick her up one side and down the other….

Can duty and smoking-hot sex blend for a while? Definitely! Until Jacob discovers that several of the guys Bella’s dated have turned up dead. Jacob loves being around Bella. But is he ready to be used as target practice?

My Thoughts: This is a fun story! As usual with Jill Shalvis’ writing, the sexual chemistry is sizzling. The hero is a cop. Although I’m not a huge fan of cops in real life (there’s no particular reason, I swear!), cop heroes tend to work for me in romance novels. The heroine is flighty, but she doesn’t stray into TSTL territory.

With the notable exception of a melodramatic rescue scene towards the end, the suspense plot worked for me. Despite the rising body count, it’s amusing, and made me laugh out loud on several occasions. My Grade: B

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When I blogged about the Mills & Boon Modern Heat line, a couple of people recommended the Australian author, Kelly Hunter. Red-Hot Renegade is her latest release. It’s not due out in the US until next year, but it already available from Mills & Boon in print or as an ebook. (Note: I don’t do affiliate links on my blog. If I link to an etailer, it’s because a book is hard-to-find.)

Blurb: In desperate need of protection, Jianne Xang-Bennett reluctantly turns to her estranged husband, martial arts expert Jacob Bennett, for help.  But there are problems: they’ve been separated for twelve years and cannot be in the same room together without arguing or ripping each other’s clothes off – sometimes at the same time!

My Thoughts: When I realised this book is set in Singapore and features an Australian hero and a Chinese heroine, I knew I had to read it. It’s actually the fifth book in the Bennett Family series, but it stands alone very well.

There’s a lot to like in this book. Jake is a martial arts expert, which is an unusual profession for a romance hero. Jianne is independently wealthy, and has far more money than Jake can ever hope to make. I loved the role reversal here. It made a nice change from the usual billionaire hero and his far less well-off heroine.

Jake and Jianne spend a little too much time fighting and making up for my taste, but I very much approved of the conclusion to the stalker storyline. I’d read more books by Kelly Hunter. My Grade: B-

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I’ve become a fan of Harlequin’s SuperRomance line. Unfortunately, The Groom Came Back by Abby Gaines is not one of my favourites.

Blurb: Typical. It takes Dr. Jack Mitchell eight years to pull himself away from his terribly important career abroad and come home for a divorce. And then he doesn’t even know who she is! Sure, Callie Summers—excuse me, Mitchell—was a gawky schoolgirl when Jack rescued her from a nasty family situation. But that’s no excuse for the man not to recognize his own wife.

And now the gorgeous neurosurgeon thinks he’s going to hightail it out of Tennessee with his final decree in hand. Uh-uh. Callie isn’t letting him off quite so easily. Not when she, to her utter dismay, is finding him so irresistible.

Irresistible enough to get him to tie the knot again?

My Thoughts: The problem for me was the hero. I found him unbearably arrogant, and I felt he wasn’t sufficiently redeemed by the end of the story for me to want him to have a HEA. The heroine worked better for me, even though I found her too passive at times. I just wanted her to end up with a nicer guy than the one she got. As I liked the author’s voice, I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Despite my reservations about this book, I probably will give her another try. My Grade: C

I need to do some housekeeping here at Monkey Bear Reviews. Here are a few mini reviews of books I read in June, but haven’t yet featured on the blog.

They’re a mixed bunch. I enjoyed Meljean Brook’s Demon Night, and Helen Brenna’s Next Comes Love. The Blaze anthology, Born on the 4th of July, had a fun novella by Jill Shalvis, but I didn’t find the other two stories as interesting. Jaci Burton’s Riding Wild didn’t do it for me. It’s an erotic contemporary romance set around a group of bikers, but there was too much sex and too little plot for my personal preference. Readers who read a lot of erotic romance may not have this issue.

Here are my mini reviews in order of preference.

DEMON NIGHT (2008)

BY

MELJEAN BROOK

Blurb: Charlie Newcomb worked hard to get her life back together. But all that is shaken when she’s set upon by three vampires desperate to transform her beauty into something evil. Because Charlie is the vital link to something they want—and need. It’s Charlie’s flesh and blood sister, a medical scientist whose knowledge could be invaluable to the predators.

But to get to her, they must first get to Charlie, now under the intimate protection of Ethan McCabe. As her Guardian, Ethan is attracted to her vulnerabilities—as well as her strengths. The closer he gets, the more protecting her becomes not just his duty, but his desire. But will it be enough to save Charlie when the demon night falls?

My Thoughts: Charlie is a refreshingly original heroine. She’s a recovering alcoholic with a few other kinks to her psyche. She’s needy and weak, but fights against this side of her personality. Ethan is a hero in the hot-as-hell category. I really liked him, especially his interesting back story. What didn’t work so well for me was the Charlie-turns-into-a-vampire storyline. Yes, I know: this is an Urban Fantasy. I just preferred her before she grew fangs. My Grade: B

NEXT COMES LOVE (2009)

BY

HELEN BRENNA

Blurb: Streetsmart city girl Erica Corelli spent the three best days of her childhood on Mirabelle Island. Now her sister has disappeared and Erica’s on the run with her sixyearold nephew. The boy’s father, an abusive Chicago cop, will stop at nothing to get his son back. Erica can only hope this unforgettable island paradise is a safe place to hide.

Garrett Taylor, the island’s chief of police, takes one look at Erica and thinks, Trouble. The mysterious, sexy kind that disturbs a man’s peace and instantly complicates the simple life Garrett came to Mirabelle to find. But no matter how hard he tries, he can’t keep his mindor his handsoff Ms. Couldn’t Be More Wrong for Him.

My Thoughts: This is the second book in Helen Brenna’s Mirabelle Island series, but I’m reading them out of order. This is a bitter-sweet story which has some very sad moments, but ultimately provides the characters with a credible HEA. I definitely want to read the other books in this series. My Grade: B

BORN ON THE 4th OF JULY (2010)

Blurb: Friendly Fire by Jill Shalvis
Permanently injured on a black-ops mission, Cord Madden is furious at the world. Then Lexi McGowen reappears in his life to nurse him back to health. Little does he guess that she’s about to reveal a whole new world to him, one touch at a time….

The Prodigal by Rhonda Nelson
When Rorie Beddingfield meets up with her first love, Chase Harrison, she realizes there’s no better time to find out what she’s been missing. And wow—she’s been missing a lot! Still, she’s thoroughly enjoying making up for lost time. But can she tame the battered heart of this wounded warrior…without losing hers?

Packing Heat by Karen Foley
Megan O’Connell’s letters were the only thing that kept U.S. Marine sniper Matt Talbot sane while he was overseas. And now that he’s home, he intends to get to know Meganmuch better. Too bad a lot of other people have the same idea. Only it’s him they can’t seem to get enough of….

My Thoughts: Three weeks later, the only story which sticks in my mind is the one by Jill Shalvis. The other two were readable, but Friendly Fire made the anthology worth purchasing. It introduces the Madden brothers, who will each feature in future Blaze titles. Ethan gets his story in August 2010 in The Heat Is On. My Grade: C+

RIDING WILD (2008)

BY

JACI BURTON

Blurb: He’s a Harley-riding ex-thief working undercover for the government. She’s a gun-toting ex-socialite hired to protect a valuable museum exhibit. But in her attempt to stop a heist, she never anticipated having her breath and her heart stolen…

Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But here he was, the bad boy who’d broken her heart years ago-still a thief, this time high-jacking a priceless artifact–and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.

Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl-next-door all grown up, threatening to shoot him on the spot. Little did she know she was blowing his cover-and now he had to figure out how to get her out of harm’s way without succumbing to his crazy desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.

Unfortunately, Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac. Which means he has to resort to kidnapping. Unless, of course, she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild…

My Thoughts: I really liked the premise, but the book didn’t live up to my expectations. I don’t read much erotic romance and my preference when it comes to sex scenes in romance novels is that less is more. I’m referring to frequency, by the way, not the level of explicitness. I felt the plot in Running Wild got short shrift in favour of pages and pages of sex. This book might appeal more to people who read a lot of erotic romance, but it didn’t do it for me. My Grade: C

Genre: Historical Romance

POV: 3rd Person

Sensuality: Hot

Violence: A few fight scenes

Format: Print

Why I Read It: I’ve read the other books in the Hathaway series

My Grade: C

Married by Morning is the fourth book in the Hathaway series. It is the long-awaited romance between Leo, Lord Ramsay, and Catherine Marks, the Hathaway’s governess/companion.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me. I struggled to write this review without spoilers, but in the end, I gave up. In order to explain my reaction adequately, it was necessary to include some SPOILERS, so be warned!

Leo, the head of the Hathaway family, has long lusted after Catherine Marks, his younger sisters’ companion. He has fought his attraction to her by deliberately provoking her and being obnoxious. Marks is reluctantly attracted to her boss, but she despises him for his irresponsibility and profligate tendencies.

In this book, the chemistry between Leo and Marks results in a secret affair, then a marriage proposal, followed by a refusal of said proposal, then lather, rinse, and repeat. For 350 pages.

There are a number of illogical occurrences in the story, and these added to my growing sense of frustration with the book. Firstly, we are required to believe that Catherine Marks has spent the last few years dyeing her hair and hiding from an Evil Man who bought her to be his mistress when she was fifteen. Given that Marks’ half-brother is the notorious Harry Rutledge, I didn’t understand why Harry didn’t deal with the villain years ago, especially as he had rescued her from him in the first place.

Secondly, Marks sleeps with Leo, then refuses his proposal of marriage because she will only marry for love. This is a sentiment which frequently appears in historical romances and never fails to annoy me. A single woman in Victorian England embarks upon an affair with an unmarried gentleman and refuses his offer of marriage? Seriously? What would she do if she became pregnant?

Last but not least, there is a hairbrained kidnapping plot involving an aunt rendered insane by syphilis. Yes, you read that right. By this point, I was ready to throw the book against the wall, but it was near the end, so I persevered.

In case it’s not already clear from my review, I did not like this book. So why a ‘C’, you might ask? Why not a lower grade? Well, it does have a few redeeming features. There’s no denying that Lisa Kleypas writes well. I enjoyed the cameo appearances from other members of the Hathaway family. I appreciated the fact that both Leo and Marks remained essentially the same characters they were in previous books in the series. (It annoys me when secondary characters in a series undergo a personality transplant when they finally get their own books.)

Readers who are less bothered by melodramatic suspense plots may respond better to this story than I did. Despite my reservations about Married by Morning, I’m still planning to read the last book in the series, Love in the Afternoon.

Other Reviews of Married by Morning:

Katiebabs – C+

Holly at Book Binge – 4 out of 5

Impressions of a Reader – B+

Genre: Paranormal Mystery

POV: 1st Person (Harper’s point of view)

Sensuality: Subtle

Violence: Mild (most occurs off page)

Format: Print (borrowed from a friend)

My Grade: C

This review was written for Keishon’s monthly TBR Challenge. I got the dates wrong for this month’s challenge, so I’m afraid my review is a week late!

Grave Sight is the first book in Charlaine Harris’ Harper Connelly series. When Harper was struck by lightning when she was fifteen years old, she was left with an unusual ability: she can find dead people and experience their final moments. As an adult, she’s uses this ability to her financial benefit. Harper and her step-brother, Tolliver, hire out Harper’s services to law enforcement officials and private individuals who need help locating a dead body.

In this story, Harper has been hired to find the body of a missing teenager in the Ozark mountains. When the girl’s boyfriend’s body was discovered, local law enforcement ruled his death a suicide. The assumption is that he had something to do with his girlfriend’s disappearance. When Harper locates the girl’s body, she’s certain that both she and her boyfriend were murdered. However, the locals seem satisfied with the discovery of the missing body and aren’t prepared to listen to Harper and Tolliver’s theory that there is a murderer still at large.

It soon becomes clear to Harper and Tolliver that the people in the town of Sarne don’t want them there. They’re used to being treated like lepers due to Harper’s psychic powers, but the hostility they encounter in Sarne is extreme. When Tolliver is thrown in jail on trumped up charges, Harper is more determined than ever to get to the bottom of the mystery concerning the teenagers’ deaths. With the body count mounting, she soon finds herself in a race against time.

Grave Sight was a simple mystery with a fairly predictable plot. Harper and Tolliver are sympathetic characters but I’m not convinced by the romance which I suspect is going to blossom between them. They definitely give off a brother and sister vibe and the idea of them becoming a couple is not appealing.

Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse books leave me cold, and I don’t feel particularly enthusiastic to read the next title in this series. However, I’ve heard that the Harper Connelly books improve as the series progresses, so I might give them a go at some point.

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+

Genre: Historical Mystery

POV: 1st Person (heroine)

Sensuality: Subtle

Violence: Mild

Format: Digital

My Grade: C+

And Only to Deceive tells the story of Lady Emily Ashton, a young widow in Victorian London.

When Emily accepted the wealthy and titled Philip Ashton’s marriage proposal, her main motivation was escaping her domineering mother. Emily liked Philip well enough, but felt no deeper affection for him. Upon his death in Africa just a few short months after their wedding, Emily is left a wealthy widow. Once her obligatory period of mourning is at an end, she will finally be free to live her life with a degree of freedom she has not previously known.

Colin Hargreaves was Philip’s best friend and companion on his fatal trip to Africa. Colin’s acquaintance with Emily is fleeting at best. Nevertheless, he must fulfil a promise to made to his dying friend. Consequently, Colin calls on Emily and informs her that Philip begged him to accompany her to his Greek villa on Santorini. Emily is embarrassed by her late husband’s apparent devotion to her, especially in the light of her indifference to him. Nonetheless, the prospect of visiting Greece delights her. She decides to increase her knowledge of Greece and its history in anticipation of the trip.

Emily’s growing knowledge of antiquities – one of Philip’s passions – leads her to read her late husband’s journals. Through Philip’s words and private thoughts, Emily finds herself falling in love with the man who was her husband. Soon, she stumbles upon a mystery involving forged antiquities and she begins to suspect that the circumstances surrounding Philip’s death warrant investigation.

When news reaches her from Africa that Philip might still be alive, Emily is thrown into confusion. She enlists her new suitor, Andrew Palmer, and her French friend, Cécile, to assist her in tracing Philip, and soon finds herself embroiled in a situation fraught with danger.

The premise of And Only to Deceive was both interesting and original. However, Emily has a lot of growing up to do. Her naivety and tendency to trust the wrong people annoyed me, particularly as the identity of the villain was fairly obvious from early on in the story. I also felt that some of Emily’s actions did not ring true for a widow in the Victorian era.

Despite my frustrations with Emily and the predictable plot, the author’s prose is extremely readable and kept me turning the pages. I loved the character who evolved into the hero of the story, and I’d certainly like to read more books featuring him. I plan to give the next book in this series a go.

Warning for readers: the blurbs of the subsequent books in the series contain significant spoilers for the plot of And Only to Deceive.

I am waaay behind on my reviews. This month, I am determined to review all the books I’ve read, one way or another. One convenient solution to a backlog is a mini review post. As I’ve read three SuperRomances so far this month, I thought they would lend themselves to such a post.

I’m now well and truly hooked on the Harlequin SuperRomance line. They feature real people with everyday jobs and problems I can relate to. Some of them are heavy on the baby/cute kids content, but I’ve managed to steer clear of those for the most part.

The following mini reviews feature books by three different authors, two of whom were new to me. Snowbound by Janice Kay Johnson cements my initial impression of her as an author whose backlist I definitely want to read. Baby Makes Three by Molly O’Keefe was my first book by this author. While it dealt with some serious issues, I found the heroine difficult to warm to, and the story was ultimately unsatisfying.

The clear winner of my SuperRomance glom was Helen Brenna’s Along Came a Husband. This was an impulse buy as part of eHarlequin’s eBook Boutique Sensational Series special offer. Her digital backlist is now in my eHarlequin shopping cart and I’m struggling to resist the temptation to click the ‘Go to Checkout’ button!

Without further ado, here are my mini reviews:

BABY MAKES THREE (2007) BY MOLLY O’KEEFE

Blurb: This is the first book in the Mitchells of Riverview Inn trilogy. Alice Mitchell has seen better days. But that was before the heartbreak of infertility, divorce and losing her trendy New York restaurant. Then, after five long years, her ex-husband reappears in her life. Gabe needs a chef. Alice needs a job. The attraction between them is still undeniable–and just as impossible. Even if sparks fly again, she can’t give him what they once wanted more than anything: a baby.

Creating a family, however, doesn’t always mean creating a child… Sometimes it just means allowing love to survive. But will they realize that before it’s too late–a second time?

My Thoughts: While I liked Gabe, I found his brother, Max, the more compelling character. I disliked Alice which made it impossible for me to believe in the romance and care whether or not she got a HEA. Alice spent much of the book wallowing and dwelling on the past. I wasn’t convinced that her issues were realistically dealt with by the end of the book, and I found the pregnancy subplot contrived. I don’t see how a baby will provide a magical solution to Alice’s problems, particularly her alcoholism. I have Max’s story and I will probably read it at some point as he was more interesting than either Gabe or Alice, but I’m in no particular rush to do so. C

SNOWBOUND (2007) BY JANICE KAY JOHNSON

Blurb: When a blizzard strands Fiona MacPherson and her students in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, their only hope of survival is to seek shelter at Thunder Mountain Lodge. Their host is John Fallon, a handsome, enigmatic war veteran haunted by secrets and scars that may never heal.

John Fallon never imagined he’d be playing host to this captivating teacher and her eight teenage charges. But when his solitude is shattered by their arrival, his world shifts on its axis. He needs Fiona–but does she need him? There’s only one way to find out. The ex-soldier must find the courage to reach out to the remarkable woman who has transformed his life…

My Thoughts: I loved the first half of this book and thought it had keeper potential. Unfortunately, pacing issues in the second half prevented it from being a winner. I realise that the separation of the hero and heroine made logical sense but it dragged on for too long for my tastes. That said, there is a lot to like in this story. I particularly enjoyed Fiona and John’s interaction with Fiona’s truculent teenage charges. I also thought the depiction of John’s PTSD was probably the most true to life I’ve come across in a romance novel. Love doesn’t provide a magic solution to his troubles, but it does act as the catalyst for him to seek professional help which will be ongoing after the end of the story. Janice Kay Johnson is a strong writer who creates sympathetic characters. I’m looking forward to reading more of her books. B

ALONG CAME A HUSBAND (2010) BY HELEN BRENNA

Blurb: Missy Charms just got the shock of her life. The man she thought was dead has turned up on her doorstep. Her ex-husband—Jonas Abel.

Four years ago, Missy Charms fell hard for Jonas. But his FBI job always came first. Missy only wanted—still wants—a home and family. Jonas isn’t husband material, not even close. And now his latest undercover mission has trailed him to Mirabelle Island. With both their lives on the line, Missy knows she’s been fooling herself. She loves Jonas as much as she ever did—maybe more. His return also means finally admitting the truth: she can’t lose him again….

My Thoughts: I bought this book on impulse because the blurb appealed to me. When I realised it was the fourth title in the Mirabelle Island series, I had reservations about reading it as I usually prefer to read series books in order. Thankfully, it stands alone very well. Characters from previous books in the series do feature, but only in the context of their jobs (one is the island’s sheriff, for example) and I didn’t feel lost for not yet having read their stories. In fact, I’m intrigued by a couple of them and I’m looking forward to going back and reading their books.

I’m a sucker for back-from-the-dead and marriage-in-trouble stories and this book definitely delivers on both fronts. Jonas is a hero of the hot as hell variety, and Missy is quirky and New Age in a surprisingly non-irritating manner. Missy’s complicated past is wonderfully handled, and I loved the conflict her family revelations create between her and her best friend, Sarah. Neither of them come off in a good light, but it was a realistic scenario. Although I usually dislike suspense subplots in romances which are not romantic suspenses, this one worked and was blissfully devoid of melodrama. Despite a saccharine epilogue, I can highly recommend this story and I definitely want to read more of Helen Brenna’s books.B+

Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think of them?

Genre: Contemporary Romance

POV: 3rd Person

Sensuality: Warm

Violence: N/A

Format: Digital

Source: A digital ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley

My Grade: C+

Susan Mallery‘s books are my ultimate guilty pleasure reads. I liken them to cotton candy. They can be cloyingly sweet, but sometimes they’re just what I’m in the mood for.

Chasing Perfect is the first book in her new series which is set in a small mining town located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Susan Mallery has a special website devoted to the fictitious town of Fool’s Gold and I enjoyed exploring it.

Charity Jones is the newly-appointed town planner of Fool’s Gold. Charity led an unsettled childhood. She never knew her father, and her mother loved to move around the country. As a result, Charity longs for a place to call home. She immediately falls in love with Fool’s Gold, and determines to make this move her last.

Charity has been hired to attract more men to the town to balance the population. For whatever reason, men don’t tend to stay in Fool’s Gold, and the situation is becoming dire. It is Charity’s job to make sure that male-dominated businesses set up in the town in the hope of attracting more male residents. Unbeknownst to her, the town’s mayor is harbouring a secret regarding Charity’s past…

True to his name, Josh Golden is the town’s golden boy. A former professional cyclist, Josh retired a couple of years previously after one of his teammates died in a cycling accident. Josh adores Fool’s Gold and feels a loyalty to its residents. When Josh was ten, his mother abandoned him, and the people of the town looked after him.

Unfortunately, he had a falling out with his best friend and foster brother, Ethan, shortly before he left to pursue his cycling career. Josh longs to set the record straight with Ethan, but so many years have gone by that he doesn’t know how to make the first move.

Josh is immediately taken with Charity, and she feels a reluctant attraction towards him. Charity is the opposite of the usual type of woman that Josh goes out with. Charity is well aware of this and wonders what he sees in her. She has a history of choosing men who are wrong for her, and she doesn’t want to repeat this mistake with Josh. Despite Charity’s reservations, it’s not long before their paths are crossing regularly and love blossoms.

Chasing Perfect was a cute book but not one which I will re-read. Charity and Josh are both genuinely nice people with baggage. Susan Mallery’s books sometimes feature über alpha heroes who tend to grate on my nerves. Josh is definitely not one of them. Despite his past as a professional athlete, he’s more beta than alpha.

Josh and Charity are good for one another. On the surface, it appears they have little in common, but they have similar past experiences which most other people cannot relate to. They both had mothers who lacked maternal skills, and have a strong need to belong. Josh has to come to terms with his guilt and grief over losing his team mate, and Charity needs to learn to trust others and realise that it’s acceptable to rely on someone else on occasion.

Their developing romance was particularly well done until a certain point towards the end of the book. *Spoiler Alert* I’m not a fan of unplanned pregnancies which are thrown into the story to add conflict to the relationship. This is a typical plot device in Susan Mallery’s books, along with heroines who forget to take the pill and heroes who fail to use condoms. *End of Spoiler*

Another weak point was a suspense subplot involving stolen funds. I thought this storyline was superfluous and did nothing to advance the main plot.

One of Susan Mallery’s strengths as an author is creating believably flawed families and not magically reforming them all by the end of the book. It adds a touch of realism to what are otherwise sweet, fluffy stories.

Chasing Perfect was a cute book but not one which I will re-read. My favourite aspect of the story was the town of Fool’s Gold. I loved the setting and wish more time had been devoted to its description. Despite my criticisms, I intend to read the next book in the series, Almost Perfect, which tells the story of Josh’s friend, Ethan.

Genre: Contemporary Romance (Harlequin Blaze)

POV: 3rd Person (hero and heroine’s perspectives)

Sensuality: Hot

Violence: N/A

My Grade: C

I read Just Kiss Me by Kathleen O’Reilly as part of Keishon’s monthly TBR Challenge. I bought it as part of the Dear Author Blogger Bundle from eHarlequin, and it was my least favourite of the four books included in the bundle.

Amanda Sedgewick has been the reluctant object of Avery Barrington’s affections since elementary school. She’s a blonde and beautiful lawyer; he’s a handsome and successful surgeon. On the surface, they should be the perfect match, but Amanda has evaded Avery’s pursuit as she thinks they lack chemistry. Chemistry is something she definitely feels for Avery’s younger brother, Joe, whom Avery carelessly dismisses as being beneath her as he is merely an airline mechanic.

In an effort to get Avery to stop proposing and find a woman who will return his devotion, Amanda manipulates Joe into posing as her fiancé for a few months. Joe is exceedingly reluctant to go along with the ruse, not least because he’s harboured a secret tendre for Amanda for years.

Despite finding Amanda attractive, Joe doesn’t think they would make a good couple. Amanda, on the other hand, is bent and determined to turn their fake engagement into a passionate affair. She wants to shed her good girl image for once and for all and embrace her passionate side, and she figures Joe is just the man for the job. Naturally, Joe and Amanda are soon having hot sex and somehow fall in love, in spite of Avery’s best efforts to drive them apart.

While I thought Joe made a good hero, I wished he ended up with a more worthy heroine. I disliked Amanda and I couldn’t understand how she could be so manipulative of Joe on the one hand, yet seemingly incapable of deflecting Avery’s unwanted attentions on the other. I also found Avery creepy. The author did attempt to salvage his character later in the book, but I had already filed him under ‘Stalker’ by that point.

I’ve enjoyed several of Kathleen O’Reilly’s books for Harlequin Blaze but I didn’t feel the love for Just Kiss Me.