Review: Three Sisters by Susan Mallery

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Remember how I decided to quit the Fool’s Gold books? That decision stands, but Ms. Mallery’s Women’s Fiction novels are a different story altogether. I really enjoyed the previous two and I had high hopes for this one, and although things were a bit touch and go there for a second, overall I enjoyed it a lot.

Three Sisters is the nickname of three neighboring houses. You can probably guess that three houses means that we get three main characters, each quite different from the other and with a unique set of problems to solve.

The first house is in shambles and was recently acquired by Andi, whose fiancé left her at the altar. Brokenhearted and humiliated, she decided to take all her money, move to the island, buy the practice from the local pediatrician and restore the dilapidated house. But unlike what the blurb says, Andi has her act together and only needs a bit of courage to rebuild her life, her new home and maybe her love life.

Review: 33 Valentines by Stephanie Monahan

What a mixed bag this book was! 

I have a thing for unrequited love stories where the heroine is in love with her best friend, but he doesn’t know it and already has a girlfriend or starts dating someone else. It’s probably because a long time ago this happened to me, but I didn’t get a happy ending, so I really enjoy the part where the heroine gets the guy, but even more the part where the guy dumps the other woman. Clearly, I have issues. So yeah, once I read the blurb, I got the book and didn't put it down until I finished it. Unfortunately, this only reflects my own reading preferences and not the actual quality of the book, which I found mostly lacking, although it’s not without some merit.

Something happened to Sophie that made her hate Valentine’s Day. So every year she gets together with her best friend, Sam, to watch crappy movies. But this year Sam cancelled because he has a date with a woman he thinks has the potential of being the one. The news are particularly bad for Sophie, because she just realized that she’s in love with him, and everything gets even worse when she falls and breaks her arm.

Review: The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I don’t know what to do with this book. It’s one of Ms. Higgins’ most entertaining, fun novels in a long while, especially since she made the transition from Chick-Lit to Romance, but it’s deeply flawed, and in many ways, unforgivably so. When I was done reading it, I was left with a bad aftertaste that did nothing but get worse the more I thought about it. 

Faith, as is the case with most of Higgins’ heroines, has the worse luck with men, which is unfortunate since all she wants to do is settle down, marry and have kids. She was in love --or at least thought she was-- with her high school sweetheart, Jeremy. They were the town’s golden couple; the prince and princess of their own perfect fairytale. But during their wedding ceremony they were interrupted by Levi, the Jeremy’s best friend and best man, who couldn’t let them get married, because he knew the groom was gay.

Winner! Four of Susanna Kearsley's Fabulous Books

The lucky winner is cyn209

I've already emailed you, so check your inbox.

As always, many thanks to everyone who took the time to enter the giveaway. Even if you didn't win, I hope that you still want to give Ms. Kearsley's books a try.

Also, thanks to Sourcebooks for providing the prices and letting us be part of the blog tour.

Review: The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

Source: A review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I decided to read this book because it seemed to center around a mother-daughter relationship, a premise I found compelling. It certainly delivered more than I expected, and although there are plenty of clichés in the story, it was actually quite refreshing.

Devan has lived in the Midwest with her father and her stepmother her whole life. She’s never met her mother, and until recently she didn’t even know who her mother was. But one serendipitous day she came across a book by famous author Reece Malcolm, a book that was dedicated to her. So after some digging, she finally knew who her mother was, and she even managed to make a short list of all the things she was able to find out about Reece, minor things like where she went to college or how she likes her coffee. But when Devan’s dad dies she has to go live with her mystery of a mother in L.A. and her life suddenly becomes a huge question mark.

Lovely Excerpt from Susanna Kearsley's The Firebird & Awesome Giveaway of Four of Her Books. Four!

Have I told you how much I like Susanna Kearsley’s books? Yes I have. Multiple times, actually. But I’ll say it again: Ms. Kearsley is one of my favorite authors. Her books are filled with magic, interesting characters, delicious angst and lots of swoon-worthy romance. So it’s no surprise that her upcoming book, The Firebird, is one of my most anticipated books of the year. This is why when Sourcebooks asked if I wanted to be part of this mini-tour I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

We have an exclusive excerpt to whet everyone’s appetite and an awesome giveaway for those who have yet to read her books.

Review: Sold to the Enemy by Sarah Morgan

ETA: I forgot to mention that I received a review copy from the author.

You guys know how much I like Sarah Morgan (and if not, now you do), so I’ll skip that part and go directly to the review.

The plot is quite simple: Selene is a sheltered young woman with an abusive powerful father. She has dreams of escaping, but she can’t do it because she has no money, her father is super evil and her mother is too afraid. So she comes up with this plan that takes her directly to Stefan Ziakas.

And who is this Stefan? I’m glad you ask! He’s a player with a secret pain that killed his soul and turned him into a ruthless man.  He’s also Selene’s father’s nemesis. Years ago he was nice to her, because he’s not as dead inside as he would like us to believe. So she has nothing but fond memories of him. She tells him her plan, which involves a very simple business idea as well as the necessary loan. After a lot of convincing, Stefan agrees because he likes her and helping her would mean getting some revenge on her dad.

Review: The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This book caught my attention because of its interesting premise and because I seldom read Sci-Fi. The blurb did mention a love story, but we know that when the book isn't a romance, love stories tend to end tragically, so I wasn't expecting a happy ending. It took a couple of chapters for me to realize that as much as I wasn't expecting anything, what I got wasn't what I was expecting at all. 

The Best of All Possible Worlds tells the story of Dllenahkh. It’s not clear whether the book is set in an alternate universe that looks futuristic, or if it’s supposed to be a very distant future (1). Regardless, what we do know is that there are different planets and different types of humans that have some genetic differences between them that manifest in their appearance and some psychic traits. 

Review: Time Dancer by Inez Kelley

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I’ve been known to really enjoy Ms. Kelley’s Contemporaries, but what you probably don’t know is that I’m also a fan of her Fantasy trilogy of which Time Dancer is the last installment. Each book takes place in the same universe but features a different leading couple, yet they don’t stand alone that well, especially this book. You could read the first two in any order, but this one ties everything together and brings the series to a closure. Maybe this review will tempt you to try the books!

The setting is a fantasy land that somewhat resembles medieval Europe, but with magic. Jana, the heroine, has some magic but it’s fairly useless because it only gives her insight into the past, and even then, she’s not that good at it. But when her best friend, who happens to be the prince and heir to the throne, receives assassination attempt after assassination attempt, she asks the prince’s mother, a powerful sorceress, to create a spell to protect him.

Review: Addition by Toni Jordan

Warning: There will be spoilers.

Kaetrin reviewed this book a few weeks ago and it sounded interesting and unique, so I bought it. I’m glad I read it. For the most part I found it entertaining, and it has stayed with me after I finished it. But I also keep having more and more issues with it, so this review will be mixed at best.

Grace’s life depends on number. It’s obvious to the reader that she suffers from some type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, even if she doesn’t admit it. Yet she’s quite frank about how numbers dominate her day and how she has rearranged her life to fit all the numbers in it. 

Counting, mathematics, weird trivia and numbers rule her life, but she’s comfortable and somewhat happy with it, because they also ground her. There are certain longings and thoughts that sneak in and wreak mini havocs at times, but she’s very good at keeping them at bay, so it’s hard to tell whether she’s miserable, content or happy.

Same New, Same New: Social Media, Hype, Book Discoverability, ARCs and Blog Homogenization

Source: Someecards
Sounds random, but it's somewhat related if you think of the Hype-Machine.

The past week the blogosphere had an interesting conversation about social reading, hype and over-promotion. The general consensus seemed to be that too much of anything is never good, and that constant talk, as positive as it may be, can be overwhelming and off-putting. To anyone who habitually reads review blogs or actively uses Twitter, it’s fairly evident that trending authors and books routinely take over these mediums and that the noise they generate can be louder than any other book talk simultaneously taking place. It only takes not being part of the buzz (whether because we disagree with the majority or because we aren’t familiar with the subject) to notice how annoying it can get. Yet, I’m sure we all have been guilty of doing it at least once. After all, it’s difficult not to talk about a book we feel passionate about, especially when we are in the business of talking about books. 

Review: Trick of Time by JL Merrow

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Ms. Merrow is one of my favorite authors, so every time she has a new book out I do a tiny happy-dance. I admit, though, that I prefer her straight contemporaries over her PNR’s, so I was just a bit apprehensive about this one. But I ended up enjoying it a lot. 

Ted is a widower whose husband and parents died in a car accident over a year ago. He works as assistant in a small theater in London and deals with his grief as best he can, but mostly by ignoring it. One night during the show he goes out for a smoke break and finds himself in Victorian London. He meets a rent boy named Jem, they have a sexual encounter and when he goes back to the theater he realizes he’s back in the present. At first he thinks he was hallucinating, but he can’t stop thinking about Jem, so the next night he goes out again in the middle of the show, and finds himself, once again, in the past. Ted and Jem develop a relationship, but is there any hope for them? Of course there is, this is a romance, after all, but it’s a very clever resolution.

Winners: Crystal Cove and Dead in L.A.

I have a couple of winners to announce, but first, thanks to everyone who took the time to visit and comment.

The winner of Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas is: Ronnie Buck

The winner of Dead in L.A. by Lou Harper is: Anon comment #2

Congratulations, guys! I'm emailing you right now.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Lou Harper for providing the prizes.