The Evolution of the Small Town Romance: Shannon Stacey’s New Series

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It’s no secret that I have a love-hate relationship with Small Town Romance (STR) and that one of the authors on the love side is Shannon Stacey. This year she published two new series, one with Carina, one with Berkley, and I wanted to talk about them, not because I loved them, but because I admire what Ms. Stacey is doing with the familiar sub-genre. Also, I have three review books, and everyone knows that the opinion post is the lazy reviewer’s shortcut to multiple reviews!

Review: All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacey

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

All He Ever Dreamed is the last book in the newest Kowalski trilogy, and as usual, the best brother goes last. It’s a strong addition to the series, perhaps not the best in this new trilogy, which I think ended up being the second book, but it maintains the quality Ms. Stacey has us used to. At this point I should be ready to say goodbye to the books, and making noises about never-ending series, but I think this one still has a few more books in it.

We met Josh in the previous book, but for those new to the series, he’s the youngest brother, and as such, he was saddled with the responsibility of having to take care of the family home that also acts like their business and legacy. All the other brothers left town as soon as they could, but Josh couldn’t leave because there was no one else left, so he put his dreams on hold and progressively became more frustrated and unhappy. A few months before this book begins, he had an accident that forced his brothers to come home and realize that Josh wasn’t happy and something had to be done with the house and the whole situation. So when the book starts, the family is getting ready to sell the house and Josh is getting ready to leave. The problem is that he’s not counting with all the attachments he has to the house, the town, and to his best friend Katie.

Review: All He Ever Desired by Shannon Stacey

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

The Kowalski books keep getting stronger. This new trilogy almost feels like a different series, maybe because it features a new set of brothers living in a different town. I’m very glad because it keeps the books fresh. This new installment also features a role reversal in the main couple, and a heroine that pushes some genre boundaries, or at least has a set of goals that are quite uncommon in Romance.

Ryan Kowalski left town and never looked back. But unlike the typical Romance hero, wanderlust had nothing to do with his decision. The real reason he never came back was because the woman he loved married his best friend, and it was too painful for him to live so close to them. He did make a last effort to lure her away, but she shut him down because she was truly in love with her husband. So right there you have the role reversal: the hero is the one suffering from unrequited love, and she never saw him as anything but a friend. He became successful in his profession, whereas her personal life imploded.

Small-Town Romances: How Many is Too Many?

LOL by Lilyofthevalley

I’m a fan of Small-Town Romances. The main reason why I like them is because they tend to be character-oriented stories that mostly focus on the romance. They deal with a variety of subjects that go from the hilarious to the dramatic. The secondary characters are interesting, as they should be considering their main role is to keep us interested to read the next book. And overall they feel like comfort food; they make me feel good and, well, comforted. 

However, the same reasons why I love Small-Town Romances are the reasons why I dislike them: the characters can be repetitive; the lighter tone means that the subject remains underdeveloped; the secondary characters overtake the story; and comfort food becomes boring after eating it repeatedly. I've noticed that these issues tend to develop when the series extends beyond the third book. What starts as a trilogy, becomes a sextet, and in Robyn Carr’s case, twenty books and counting. 

One example of this is the Fool’s Gold series by Susan Mallery. The first book was fantastic, and even though the next two weren't as good, they had fully developed characters and interesting, albeit incredible, stories. But the series kept growing and the stories and characters started to blend in together. And the last set of books was so appalling that I decided to quit the series. 

Review: All He Ever Needed by Shannon Stacey

Source: We received a copy of the book from the publisher for review. 

Shannon Stacey is one of my favorite Contemporary Romance authors, and that love is all due to the Kowalski family. Her blend of hilariously male heroes and charming heroines makes for great stories, and I’m happy to see the family back.

Mitch Kowalski is a demolition expert that spends his life traveling. It’s a great lifestyle for someone like Mitch who doesn’t want to settle down in one place. But now he’s back home to help his injured brother. He isn’t happy about that because the town doesn’t let him forget about all his indiscretions, and being a ladies’ man, there are a lot of indiscretions to remember.

H&H: Contemporary Romance Edition

I have a new post over at Heroes and Heartbreakers. This time I’m talking about my favorite current Contemporary Romance authors, which means that you won’t find Nora Roberts, Jennifer Crusie or Susan Elizabeth Phillips on the list. Instead, I mention authors that may not be as famous or whose careers are relatively new, but that I consider some of the best people currently writing Contemporaries. I know I’m leaving lots of people out, because lucky for us, there are many great authors out there, so I would love to hear your thoughts, if you have read any of those authors and who would make your list!

Review: Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I’ve been meaning to read one of Shannon Stacey’s books for quite some time now, but I always ended up getting sidetracked and so she remained on my TBR list. When I saw this book on NetGalley I took a chance and requested it because it would give me the perfect excuse to finally read on of her books.

I don’t normally read series out of order but Yours to Keep sounded really interesting so I just dove into it. I think it stands alone perfectly fine, it didn’t spoiled the other books for me and the only problem I had was that sometimes I had problems keeping up with all the family members, and I think that had I read the books in orders this wouldn’t have been a problem. Apart from that I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I can’t believe it took me so long to discover this author.