TBR Challenge 2012: How did this get here?

Loving Evangeline by Linda Howard
2/5 stars
Grade C-/D+ 

TBR Challenge 2012: July Category-- How did this get here?

I'm not sure why Loving Evangeline got on my to-read list, perhaps because of the author, but here it is! And it's been here for almost a year.

I enjoyed Evie, and the suspense was fine, but the manipulative bastard of a hero was too much for me. His actions were so unfeeling and cold, and I was never convinced he was sorry for them. And the "one look at her and he's got to have her even if she's guilty of treason" is way over the top.

It was okay because the general writing was decent and I liked several of the characters, but the hero was not my type at all.

TBR Challenge 2012: Personal Challenge

The Shy Bride by Lucy Monroe

3/5 stars Grade B-/C+

TBR Challenge 2012: Personal Challenge. Added to Amazon wish list Aug 9, 2010.

The Shy Bride is an unexpectedly sweet, non-angsty romance. The Greek billionaire tycoon turns out to be arrogant and somewhat controlling, but never mean or dismissive. The author write him with just enough vulnerability to make him sympathetic and likeable. The agoraphobia story line was interesting, as well.

The writing is serviceable with no major eye-rolling moments. After all, these books aren't suppose to be believable, they're contemporary fantasies. Overall a fun way to spend a few hours.

TBR Challenge 2012: Personal Challenge

A Game of Chance (Mackenzie Family #5) by Linda Howard

TBR Challenge 2012: Personal Challenge-- books on my list prior to 2011. A Game of Chance has been on my to-read list since August 2010.

3.5* rounded up to 4*
Grade B

A Game of Chance is a book I didn't expect to like as much as I did. All the Mackenzie family books have been enjoyable, but none have been great. A Game of Chance isn't great either, but it's a whole lotta fun! Even when I tell myself it's over-the-top and unbelievable, I still like it. Chance has just enough edge to be a great Linda Howard hero, but with some truly good-guy qualities that insure the reader respects him. Sunny was a well-written character with enough believability to make her a sympathetic heroine.

There was failure to communicate between the characters, but that is integral to the plot, so it made sense instead of being annoying. Good book!

TBR Challenge 2012: January Category- Series Romance

The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann

3 out of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2012: January category- Category/Series Romance. The Admiral's Bride has been on my to-read list since May 2010.

Maybe 3.5* Good solid story, with some twists and turns that take it above the "business as usual" for series romance. Brockmann does a great job with Jake's confused feelings. that was the best part of the book. Zoe is a likeable character as well, and although there is some lack of communication between them, it feels right for the story and the characters, so that wasn't a problem for me.

The actual suspense plot is weak, however, and character development for all but Jake is also on the weak side. Still, it was an enjoyable read!

2012 Reading Challenges

In 2012 I plan to do the following reading challenges:

SFR Reading Challenge 2012
I signed up for the Moon Challenge, 15 SFR books in 2012.
(Details at: http://sfrreadingchallenge.blogspot.com/p/2012-sfr-reading-challenge.html)

Speaking of Audiobooks (SOA) Listening Challenge 2012
Categories yet to be posted.

Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge:
My goal is 250 books in 2012.
(www.goodreads.com)

TBR Challenge 2012
The categories (optional):
January 18 - Category romance
February 15 - Recommended Read (something recommended by a fellow reader)
March 21 - Series Catch-Up (pick a book from a series you're behind on)
April 18 - New-To-You Author
May 16 - Old School (Publication date prior to 2000 - that's over 10 years ago now! Yikes!)
June 20 - Western (Contemporary or historical)
July 18 - How Did This Get Here? (a book you can't remember how/why you put in your TBR!)
August 15 - Steamy reads (Erotic romance, erotica, something spicy!)
September 19 - Other genre besides romance
October 17 - Paranormal or romantic suspense
November 21 - All About The Hype (a book that created such chatter that it was inescapable).
December 19 - Holiday themes (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, it's all good!)
(Details at: http://wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.com/p/tbr-challenge-2012.html)

TBR Challnge 2011- General

Anything for You by Sarah Mayberry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011: General category This book has been on my TBR list since Dec. 2010.

3.5*

Sarah Mayberry is an excellent writer and Anything for You is another success. Unfortunately, the plotting suffers because of the emphasis on sex scenes in the Harlequin Blaze line. Mayberry makes plot decisions based on getting the couple in bed multiple times instead of using the space to explore the changing relationship between Sam and Delaney more fully. This makes for a good story with a fairly high steam factor, but gives it less depth than there could have been. This also makes for some implausible situations, such as Delaney and Sam having been friends since they were 12 and him never noticing her in a sexual way. They'd been surfing together for years and he never noticed her figure in a bikini? Really? I'm not buying that. (Small nit-pick: Sam and Delaney are said to have met when they were 12, been friends for 16 years and the author repeatedly states they're both 30. You do the math. It doesn't add up.)


I also had a hard time believing two people who are as close as these two wouldn't talk things out. What did Delaney have to lose by letting him know her feelings?


Anything for You is a good book, but if you want a better book that deal with the friends-to-lovers theme try Her Best Friend by the same author. It's a complex look at a similar situation.

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TBR Challnge 2011- General

In a Class By Itself by Sandra Brown

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011: General category. This book has been on my TBR list for over a year.

I have no idea why this book was on my TBR list, but it was a waste of time. I skimmed the last half.

The heroine is suppose to be a competent woman in her late 20's, but she still can't stand up to her parents and she slinks away from the man she loves like a coward, even though she's just reconnected with him after 10 years. Her reasons for not staying are suppose to be moving and noble, but they make no sense in today's world, making this novel feel very dated.

Not recommended.

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TBR Challnge 2011- October PNR or Romantic Suspense

Hawken's Heart by Suzanne Brockmann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011- Category: September (late: catch up on a series) and October (romantic suspense). The entire Tall Dark and Dangerous series has been on my TBR list for over a year.


3.5*
Good characters, decent plot and moving love story. While not earth-shattering, Hawken's Heart was a great way to spend a rainy day. ;-)


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TBR Challenge 2011- June Category: Contemporary

Home for the Holidays by Sarah Mayberry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011- June Category: Contemporary. This book has been on my TBR list since Dec 2010.


I'll start with the caveat that I don't care for children in romance novels for the most part. It's rare that a child character is well-written or acts/talks in an age appropriate way. (FYI, some of the best children in fiction are found in Juvenile and Young Adult fiction, especially historical fiction.) In part because of my bias, Home for the Holidays was a good-but-not-great read for me.


Pros:
Sarah Mayberry is a strong writer and always packs a lot of plot and character development in her series-length books. Her dialog is strong (excluding the children in this case) and her ability to turn on the emotional angst is a plus.


Cons:
Besides the children issue, which is a personal quirk and won't effect everyone, I felt Home for the Holidays was unfocused. Mayberry has three story arcs involving the same characters, and they happen one right after the other. This type of multiple-drama story works better in longer books. Or it works better if one drama leads into the next smoothly, which didn't happen here. The three dramatic climaxes are abrupt, imo. Since we had several story lines to get to and finish, I don't feel Joe and Hannah's developing relationship got enough time.


Bottom line: Sarah Mayberry writes as well or better than any short-form writer I've read. I still intend to glom her entire backlist because a good book from Mayberry is better than many other series authors' best efforts.


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TBR Challenge 2011- June Category: Contemporary

Harvard's Education by Suzanne Brockmann

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011- June Category: Contemporary. This book has been on my TBR pile for about 6 months.


3.5*
Entertaining military suspense with good characters and a decent action plot. The writing was decent, the pacing and character development was consistent, and the plot was mostly realistic. Brockmann's brief scene outlining how racially prejudice our society can be was restrained but packed an emotional punch. While the book didn't sweep me off my feet, it didn't make me cringe, either, and that's a good thing. Harvard's Education was a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.


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TBR Challenge 2011- June Category: Contemporary

Power Play by Nancy Warren

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011- Power Play has been on my wish list for over 6 months. June Category: Contemporary



3.5*
Entertaining and humorous story with very likeable characters. The opening scene made me laugh, and set the tone for the entire book. The characters were great, but not perfect. The attraction was there, but we didn't have to read about tingling body parts every paragraph. There were several sub-plots and numerous characters that the author wove into the story quite smoothly.


The book was sexy, but not as graphic as some Blaze titles. The love scenes felt about right for the overall light-hearted story.


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Hot Island Nights by Sarah Mayberry

Hot Island Nights by Sarah Mayberry

TBR Challenge 2011- the is book has been on my TBR list since before 2011.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you read the back cover of this book you'd probably dismiss it as quick, hot romp, and you'd be partly right. It's a quick read, and it's steamy at times, but it isn't a "romp." Sarah Mayberry knows how to use her 200 pages to write well-drawn characters and emotional stories with real depth. Nate is an Australian man suffering from PTSD due to an accident. Elizabeth is a somewhat repressed English woman who has recently learned a startling bit of information about her past. These two end up together for what both thinks is a one-nighter, or at best a short affair. But as each one copes with the past, they find they also have to cope with the present, and hopefully the future. And that means both getting beyond the present pain. Mayberry makes you care about the characters and believe their stories. Nate is the most complex character of the book. He comes to life in this book and brings the rest of the story with him.


This is the third book I've read by Sarah Mayberry, and I plan to work my way through her backlist.


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Mackenzie's Magic

Mackenzie's Magic by Linda Howard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


2.5*

This book was mostly pointless. It's very short and has almost no suspense whatsoever. Instant attraction worthy of a PNR "fated-mate" moment is the order of the day. The heart-warming (tongue-in-cheek here) moments (long, drawn-out moments) with the larger MacKenzie clan take over the last two chapters of the book and have no real purpose but to showcase Zane and Barrie's daughter Nick.


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Emily and the Dark Angel

Emily and the Dark Angel by Jo Beverley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


TBR Challenge 2011-- Recommended to me in the fall of 2010.


Emily and the Dark Angel was entertaining but not unique. While the book could be rated "G" based on the interactions of the characters, I'd hesitate to recommend this to a young teen because of handling of the subject of mistresses and "whores." One conversation, started by the hero, about who would be the first to "mount" the 17 yr old protege of a well-known "loose-woman" was particularly distasteful. As I said, the language and actual scenes are kisses only, but the tone was more explicit than books by Georgette Heyer for example.


I enjoyed most of the writing, but found it got a little to sweet the last several chapters. The potential for some real angst was diffused before it could take a good hold, and all the reunions and reconciliations were a bit much. Decent book, but it didn't grab me enough to actively seek out more by this author. However, I may check my library for them if I want a quick, easy read.


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Hero Under Cover

Hero Under Cover by Suzanne Brockmann

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


TBR Challenge 2011- Hero Under Cover has been on my TBR pile since May 2010.



3.5* While Hero Under Cover had a few plot holes, and one or two "duh!" moments, it was a better than average "light" romantic suspense read. The main characters were sympathetic and the chemistry was believable. One "duh!" item was when Annie thought Pete didn't want her and he gave no explanation. Since Pete was undercover as a bodyguard, the only explanation he needed was that it's unethical for a bodyguard to sleep with the person he's guarding. I don't understand why that never occurred to Pete (or the author).


What I did like was the relationship between Annie and Pete. If the reader buys into the over-the-top attraction (which you have to in most romance novels, it seems), the interactions between the leads are believable. Pete's feelings of being trapped in a no-win situation, and Annie's feelings of betrayal are real. I was moved by Pete's sense of loss and his desire for forgiveness.


Brockmann creates believable emotions from the very first page with Annie's anger and frustration at being held up at the airport by the FBI. Recommended for fans of light romantic suspense and Suzanne Brockmann.


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Glad this one's done!

The Best Is Yet to Come / Maternity Bride by Diana Palmer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


2* for The Best is Yet to Come by Palmer. Palmer's writing is always too flowery and over-emotional for me. this book was no exception. It was also not at all unique in premise or execution.



2.5* for Maternity Bride by Maureen Child. Not a bad story, but the heroine's stubbornness about accepting the heroes words of love as truth went on way too long. The writing was okay, but there really wasn't much of a plot outside of "I love you." "No you don't, you're just saying that because of the baby!"


TBR Challenge 2011 for books that have been on my TBR list for a long while, plus Maureen Child is a new-to-me author.


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Mackenzie's Pleasure by Lnda Howard

Mackenzie's Pleasure by Linda Howard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


TBR Challenge 2011

Doesn't fit an exact category, but has been on my TBR list for a long while.



Fun, fast read. Very sexy and sweet. It's a small book, short on conflict development, but decent character development. The prologue is a somewhat boring info-dump, but it does have the benefit of bring the reader up-to-date with the Mackenzie family since the last book. The resolution to the suspense plot was abrupt and the whole reason behind it was never explained, but overall I enjoyed the book and the characters.



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Time Enough for Love

Time Enough for Love
by Suzanne Brockmann
SFR Reading Challenge 2011 (not hard science fiction--mainly suspense and romance)

Read from February 20 to 21, 2011

review

3.5* I admit to being surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. Like any time travel book, from The Time Machine to Outlander, the reader has to suspend disbelief. But once you've done that, this is an often emotional look at someone coming back into his own time line to change history, and one woman being caught in the middle, wanting to save both "versions" of the man she loves. Short, but well-done.

What the Librarian Did

Read from January 16 to 17, 2011

review

Book 1 of the TBR Challenge 2011 http://wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.c... The story had some very good moments, and the overall plot wasn't bad, but the writing and pacing was uneven and the attempts at humor fell flat. Additionally, it would have been helpful to have an intimate moment between the leads once their feelings had finally been sorted out. It didn't have to be descriptive, fade-to-black would have been fine, but some sort of encounter would've been more satisfying....moreBook 1 of the TBR Challenge 2011 What The Librarian Did by Karina Bliss The story had some very good moments, and the overall plot wasn't bad, but the writing and pacing was uneven and the attempts at humor fell flat. Additionally, it would have been helpful to have an intimate moment between the leads once their feelings had finally been sorted out. It didn't have to be descriptive, fade-to-black would have been fine, but some sort of encounter would've been more satisfying. As it was, the book included a few hot kisses, one embarrassing almost sex scene and one quick and somewhat awkward scene. 3/5 stars