A 2fer review

I have been reading quite a bit lately. I seem to arrive home and immediately stick my nose in a book. Hey! Work is not a fun place to be lately. I need some escapism. Oh wait, I don't have to justify my reading habits to this group. You guys get it. :) So here are two books that I read this week. I'm not going to go into much detail with my reviews today. Just a quick drive-by opinion.

Title: Nobody's Baby But Mine

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Genre: Contemporary romance

From Ms. Phillips website:

The Plan: Genius physics professor Dr, Jane Darlington desperately wants a baby.
The Target: Cal Bonner, the Chicago Stars' legendary quarterback, seems like the perfect choice. But his champion good looks and down-home ways are deceiving.
The Explosion: A brilliant, lonely woman who dreams only of motherhood . . . A take no-prisoners tough guy who'll settle for nothing less than surrender . . . Can passion and physical attraction propel two strong-willed yet vulnerable people to a totally unexpected love?

I wrote a bit about this book a few days ago. NBBM is my second Susan Elizabeth Phillips book. I first read Match Me If You Can. I thought it was cute and fun, with a great setting. (Yay! Chicago!) I had high hopes going into this book.

I still can't decide if I liked it. For much of the book I found the two main characters, Jane and Cal, to be very frustrating. Jane set out to get pregnant. She felt that what she did to Cal lacked morals and walked around under a cloud of guilt for most of the book. I had a difficult time sympathizing with her. She got herself into this mess through her own decisions. She knew they were wrong, but did it anyway. Her whole "my baby's daddy needs to be stoopid!" argument held very little water with me. Cal, while justifiably angry, created the horrible situation by forcing Jane to marry him. They did not have to marry, he made that decision, yet he blamed Jane and struck out at her constantly. Of course, this is a romance novel, so there is a HEA. I'm just not sure that it was entirely believable. The animosity? I completely believed. (Oh man, what Jane did to Cal's Lucky Charms was priceless. Yes, I mean the cereal!) The HEA, "we are so in love" part at the end? Also could be believable. How they got from point A to point B? Not so much. It just happened too fast. The story was good. Most of the writing was very good. It just did not gel for me.

I did love the secondary characters. Cal's grandma, Annie, was a hoot. Best character in the book. Kevin Tucker? He has potential as a future hero. (I should check to see if that happens.) Jodie, the gal who helped set the whole "get Jane pregnant" scheme into motion? Completely despicable, as she was meant to be. Because of all this, I can't say it was awful, but it was not great.

Grade: C+

Title: Dancing Shoes and Honky-Tonk Blues

Author: LuAnn McLane

Genre: Contemporary romance

From Booklist

Abilene thinks it a mean joke when her brother signs her up as a contestant for a new reality show called Dancing with the Rednecks until she hears about the $50,000 grand prize. That kind of money would really help her Kentucky family out. Why, there might even be a little left over to finance her own dream, not that she minds waitressing. Tall and gangly, Abliene has two big left feet, and she's more than a bit intimidated by her tall, dark, and brooding celebrity dance partner. Rio Martin isn't happy about being involved in a spoof. He was hoping his appearance would be good publicity for his chain of dance studios. So the two do not get off on a good foot, but Rio is not immune to the leggy blonde who is too naive to realize she's a beauty. It's her spunky, down-home personality, though, that wins him, and the reader, over in McLane's comical and poignant modern-day rags-to-riches romance.

This book sounded totally cheesy, but I am a sucker for shows like Dancing With the Stars. This was a reread for me. (I had to read it one more time before I give it to my other DwtS obsessed friend.) I bought it when it first came out and I seemed to remember thinking it was sweet. If nothing else, I could read it, imagining that I am Abby and Maks is Rio. (Can I just say how sad I was that Maks was not one of the pros on this season of DwtS? It is just not the same without his hawtness!) I loved Rio Martin. I though he was a sexy character who had more depth than I was expecting. He is the Latin heart throb dance instructor that Abby is assigned to work with when she signs on for Dancing With the Rednecks. He did not realize that the show he agreed to take part in was really a spoof on reality television. Rio es no muy happy. Abby is a small town gal who helps her mom run their greasy spoon diner. How could she pass up the chance to win $50,000? That could mean sending her brother to college and making needed improvements at the diner. She is fun, but the whole "I'm a country girl who's not very smart" bit wore thin. Aside from that slight irritation, the book was just like cotton candy: sweet, fluffy, and makes me smile. If you are in the mood for an incredibly lighthearted read and are hooked on DwtS you should make it a point to check this book out.

Grade: B

Mini review: The Blackmail Pregnancy

Oh boy. Doing grades for over 700 students really kicks my butt. You would think I would have gotten used to it by now. Somehow I always think I have more time and few papers to grade.

Since I have been neck deep in eight-beat rhythm compositions and performance reflections, I have not had much time to read and no time to blog. In my last post I teased you all with what I was convinced would be a smoldering pile of poop. The foreboding sounding category romance The Blackmail Pregnancy. (see photo is previous post)

Back cover blurb

Millionaire tycoon Byron Rockcliffe storms back into Cara's life, even though their marriage is long finished. Knowing that Cara's design business is on the verge of collapse, Byron offers to save her from financial ruin by giving her the contract of a lifetime. Although he says his proposal comes with no strings, there's a catch: he's not looking for an interior designer to complete his luxury home- he wants Cara to furnish him with a baby.

Um, no strings? Isn't that whole "You must give me a baby" thing all bound up with strings?

I started reading this book with some serious dread. I am not generally a fan of category romances. They are too short, too cliched, and are usually populated with characters I can not stand. This book somehow managed to be all of that, and yet somehow entertaining. I know! I hate to even admit that I may have enjoyed parts of it. Here's a super quick breakdown of the book:

Too short: The book was not long enough to fully develop the story line. It rushed through important moments and glossed over issues. The author could not flesh out her characters enough in the short format in which this was written. (see Character Flaws.)

Too Cliched: They first fell in love at a young age. Hot, passionate, and foolish. They made mistakes that drove them apart for years. (aka: The Big Misunderstanding) Deep down they still love one another, though neither would admit it. It is only because of their hot sex monkey chemistry that they can not stop thinking of one another. Or could it be, could it be.... LOVE!

Character Flaws: He is strong, demanding, and cynical. She is feisty, wounded, and vulnerable. Her best friend is the most cookie cutter stereotype of a gay man ever to grace the pages of a novel. (Thank God for Suzanne Brockmann!) All the children are precocious. She is wounded. She plays the victim. He doesn't know when to cut his losses. Seriously, I would have dumped her ass long before the final page.

I have to say though, the sex was pretty hawt. It was even plentiful. I would speculate that there was more sex per chapter in this 187 page story than in most of the books I have read in the past year. You get a lot of bang for your buck (so did the heroine.)

Overall, it was cheesy and occasionally annoying with a heroine I wanted to smack upside the head by the final chapter. Yet, it was hawt and often times entertaining. Considering it was a category romance that took an afternoon to read, I guess it's not to horrible.

Grade: C not wretched, not good, just somewhere in the no man's land in between

On the Prowl

Title: On the Prowl (anthology)

Author(s): Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, Sunny

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy

On the Prowl is an anthology of paranormal romance novellas. Like most anthologies, there is a mix of the good and the bad. I tend to have a love/hate relationship when it comes to this format. I often feel as though I am getting stuck with someones second rate short story that the publishing house stuck in there in order to fulfill a contract obligation. Other times, I have been delighted with discovering a new-to-me author nestled in amongst those who are more established. The novellas usually seem to strike a balance with one another so that, in the end, I put the book down feeling as though the book was worth the purchase. I'm not sure I can say that with On the Prowl. Let me break it all down for you:

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs

The werewolf Anna finds a new sense of self when the son of the werewolf king come to town to quell unrest in the Chicago pack- and inspires a power in Anna that she's never felt before.

The synopsis is mostly accurate. Charles is the son of the werewolf in charge of all of the packs in North America. Bran is basically like the president of the werewolf clans. There is a deeply developed hierarchy and political structure to the world that Patricia Briggs has created. Charles comes to Chicago by order of his father, the Marrok, to investigate an issue that was brought up the the first of the Mercy Thompson novels, Moon Called. While connected to an existing series, and the springboard for another, this novella was a strong stand alone story. I must confess, I bought the book purely so that I could read Alpha and Omega. It did not disappoint. I loved it. Actually, I may need to reread it tonight!

Inhuman by Eileen Wilks

Kai has a secret gift of sensing thoughts and desires. What she senses in her neighbor, Nathan, could be dangerous. Because he has a secret gift, too, and it's about to be let loose.

This was my first foray into the writings of Ms. Wilks. It was entertaining. I felt that it was a bit unfair to have put it in the book directly following the Briggs novella. There was no way that it would live up to Alpha and Omega. That being said, I enjoyed the chemistry between Kai and Nathan. I wanted to learn more about them. The first half to two thirds of the story was the strongest (character building and crime solving.) I wasn't entirely in love with the ending. I'm not sure if the ending was the part that most pulled on the universe Wilks had developed in her World of Lupi series. Apparently, Kai and Nathan appear in the recent installment of the aforementioned series, but only in a small capacity. If they were given their own book I would be all over it. I just don't know that I am sold enough on her writing to read the four previous books in order to catch glimpses of these two folks.

Buying Trouble by Karen Chance

In a New York auction house, a Lord of the Fey crosses paths with a fiery redheaded mage named Claire. But in this strange underground society, the rarity up for sale is Claire herself.

The premise of this novella intrigued me. The potential is huge! The story started off well, but Ms. Chance had enough plot ideas to fill at least one, if not two, full books. I wanted to reign in the story, there was just too much going on. It was decently written, but burdened down by an excess of action. As a reader I simply felt overwhelmed. I did not hate it, but it did not inspire love, either.

Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny

Among the children of the moon, Mona Lisa is of a Mixed blood- part Monere, part human, and destined to be alone. Then she meets a man who could be her salvation- or her downfall.

I love to read. If not, why would I be here? I have read good books, awful books, and everything in between. What I rarely do is put down a book without finishing it. But GOOD GOD! this was awful!!! I don't think I was even able to finish the fist chapter. Where was this woman's editor? Seriously! If she did, in fact, have an editor she needs to fire them. Acuter? He "crammed" her? What??!!!?!?! The grammar was atrocious. Her word choices and the voice she has developed left me wanting to scream. I have read fanfic that was written far better than this. FAR better. I peeked at a sex scene (which I hear is overabundant) and cringed. You know, I am planning a bachelorette party for this weekend. I was going to write a Mad Libs for some entertainment. The sex scenes in this novella are so bad, I just might use one of them for the Mad Libs. Come on, ridiculous sex made hilarious through random word replacement? I think we may be able to make improvements that Sunny's editor was not able to effect.

Grade: The entire anthology- C Patricia Briggs' novella on its own- A (The last story just killed my rating of the whole thing. Just horrid!!!)

Servant: The Awakening

Title: Servant: The Awakening
Author: L.L. Foster
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Back cover:

To most people, demons look like regular citizens. But Gabrielle Cody has the ability to see these creatures as they really are-and the responsibility to destroy them. Hers is a special purpose, a divine obligation, and a heavy burden.
Detective Luther Cross finds himself attracted to Gaby even as he becomes suspicious of her proximity to a murder victim. Despite his mistrust, he tries to offer her a enderness she's never experienced and doesn't dare accept.
For Gaby senses that another malevolent presence is watching her, stalking her. As desperately as she tries, Gaby cannot find the source of this menace. But again and again, she is drawn to an abandoned hospital surrounded by an aura of sickness and suffering and something more-an unimaginable evil.

Take one serving of fantastic author Lori Foster and add three heaping cups full of paranormal action. Blend together and bake until done. Seems like a foolproof recipe, right? Then someone please tell me how this all went so terribly wrong!!!

I love Lori Foster. Her Contemporary Romances are fun, fresh and full of likable characters. You want to get to know them. You want to be like them. You want to have all kinds of hot monkey sex with them. Somehow, in changing her pen name and stepping into a new (to her) genre) she lost her wonderful characterization. OK, I will admit that Detective Luther Cross has potential. He has many of the qualities I enjoy in Ms. Foster’s writing: strength, determination, loyalty, emotion, passion. All these traits were shown to us on a surface level. There was a decided lack of depth to Cross, and other characters in the story. The one quality of his that I absolutely did not understand was the fact that he was so drawn to the "heroine." I did not like our protagonist. I understand she has The Gift and that it is a great burden. God calls her, using sever pain as a motivator, to hunt down and destroy the evil on Earth. The problem is that Gaby is so antagonistic and mean I can not empathize with her. Quite honestly, her behavior and thoughts border on scary psycho killer territory. I just could not buy into the characters or their relationship.

One other problem that I had with the book was this continuous feeling that Foster was trying to change her writing. Perhaps she wants to give her para rom books a slightly different voice. That is fine. Completely understandable. At times, though, I got the impression that she made overabundant used of her thesaurus. Seriously. Some of the word choices in this novel perplexed me. She would never choose to use these words in her other novels.

One bright note, here. I did enjoy her action scenes. She found her rhythm in those passages. There were moments of interaction between characters that I enjoyed, as well. There just was not enough depth and development of those characters. Nothing made me like them. Nothing made me feel invested enough that I will go out and find the sequel to this novel.

Ms. Foster, I beg of you, please go back to our big, hunky pro-fighter heros. Give me another Simon or Gregor. I just can’t take another 292 pages of Gaby. And for the sake of you readers, could you ask Berkley Press to label these book correctly? A Paranormal Romance this is not. You tried. Oh yes, you tried to give Gaby and Luther some chemistry. It just seemed to get buried beneath the shouting, punching, and running away.

Boy, I wish I had picked a different book for my first review. I usually love the books I read. I promise! Next time... oh next time, we shall see words of praise. Words of PRAISE, I say! (Eloisa James better not make a liar out of me!)

Grade: C-