Once Upon a Stiletto* (2006)
Shanna Swendson
Rating: 2.5/5
Not as good as the first. Mostly, because of the 150 pages in the middle where her parents were visiting. It just wasn’t that interesting. Also, I got a bit tired of the “Oh, I really like Owen, but he can’t like me because{INSERT VARIOUS REASONS}, so I’ll just go out with this boring guy instead.”
The last quarter was semi-redeeming, but I was told** I wouldn’t like the ending of the next one, so I think I’ll hold off reading it for a while.
Katie Chandler’s life is pure magic -- literally. As an executive assistant at Magic, Spells, and 
Illusions, Inc., she’s seen more than her share of fantastical occurrences. A mere Manhattan mortal, Katie is no wizard, but she’s a wiz at exposing “hokum” pocus, cloaked lies, and deceptive enchantments. And she’s fallen under the all-too-human spell of attraction to Owen, a hunky wizard and coworker. Owen, however, is preoccupied. Someone has broken into his office and disrupted top-secret files, and it reeks of an inside job. CEO Merlin (yes, the Merlin) and taps Katie and her special ability to uncover the magical mole.
Keeping her feelings in check while sleuthing alongside Owen, Katie is shocked to discover that her immunity to magic is waning, putting her in grave danger. Soon she’s surrendering to the charms and enchantments of everyone and everything around her, including a killer pair of red stilettos. Katie must now conjure up her natural instincts to get to the bottom of the break-in, regain her power, and win the wizard of her dreams.
* Finished: Saturday 7/7
** Actually, my sister was reading the next in the series, Damsel Under Stress and got to the last page and actually threw it on the floor and said (okay, maybe shouted) “That’s so stupid!” amongst other complaints. So maybe its better if I just pretend that book doesn’t exist, and live in the happy little world that is the end of book two.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Book ninety-eight: Once Upon a Stiletto
Book ninety-seven: Enchanted, Inc.
Shanna Swendson
Rating: 3/5
I loved the beginning of this, when she is wandering around the city thinking about how weird NY is, without realising that she is actually seeing magic and associated magical creatures everywhere that no one else can see.
This book is very funny, without the main character being all annoying. Which is always a good thing. I also like the use of every day things to defeat the evil wizards – and people say marketing isn’t a weapon.
Katie is still adjusting to life in the big city while working a for a nightmare boss when she
gets a fantastic offer to work for a mysterious company, MSI, Inc. Through her new job and the magical folk she meets, Katie comes to find out she isn't quite as average as she thought; and the fairy tale life she has longed for begins to come true in surprising ways. What Katie doesn't realize is how rare and important being ordinary can be. In fact, it is her ordinary characteristics that make her the perfect secret weapon for MSI, Inc. Now she has magicians and fairies meddling in her attempted romances, a secret life she needs to keep hidden from her non-magical friends, not to mention that dangerous pull she feels for Owen, an attractive but shy wizard who might be the most powerful magic man since Merlin.
Finished: Saturday 7/7
Book ninety-six: Mouth to Mouth
Mouth to Mouth (2005)
Erin McCarthy
Rating: 2.75/5
[Re-reading]
My plane was delayed. Thankfully, re-reading this distracted me and also reminded me after my recent Erin McCarthy related dissapointments, that she really is a good writer.
It was just supposed to be your average stakeout. My partner and I 
would scope out both the coffee shop and Laurel Wilkins, the latest target of con man Trevor Dean's scheme to meet women online and bilk them of their money-and everything else.
So I went inside to get a better look.
So she happened to be gorgeous with a body that made me temporarily forget how to order coffee.
So she knew my name—Russ Evans—and hugged me like we were more than friends.
So... what the $#@ is going on?
Finished: Friday 6/7
more...Book ninety-five: Something Blue
Something Blue (2005)
Emily Giffin
Rating: 4.25/5
After reading Something Borrowed, I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy a book from Darcy’s point of view. After all, she seemed like she’d be the ultimate annoying, self centred character that I hate.
I am so glad to be wrong. I was actually sad when I realised I was almost at the end of this, I would have happily kept reading about her for another few hundred pages.
Thirty years old, successful and stunning, Darcy Rhone used to think that 'being down and out' meant not finding a size four at the Barney's Warehouse Sale. Now she is pregnant, 
unmarried and recovering from a broken engagement to Dex and the betrayal of her ex-best friend Rachel, who stole Dex's affections.
For the first time in her life, she is completely alone.
Frantically casting around for help, she calls upon Ethan, an old high school friend, and convinces him to let her stay with him in London for a few weeks to get her act together. Little does she know what she's in for when she boards the plane to cross the Atlantic, but as weeks turn into months, Darcy makes a surprising discovery. Preparing for motherhood and settling into a new career, she builds herself a new life from scratch, finally finding romance - in the most unexpected place ...
For the first quarter of the book, I was really impatient for the story to begin. After all, the back cover (the evil little thing that it is) had already told me that she was going to get dumped by Marcus and run away to London. Hurry up already!
But when I got towards the end, I started to see what Giffin was up to. By showing us what Darcy was like at the beginning, we are better able to see the development of her character. Its like Emma, I think. I cringed; watching her make all these mistakes and generally be an idiot, but there is still something about her that made me want to watch her change. I wanted to hang around and see what happens to make her become more normal.
The subtly in which she shows Darcy and Ethan’s relationship develop is also really good. The thing I liked most was the difference between the one-sided conversations that Darcy has with Marcus at the beginning – when he is so obviously hoping she’d just shut up – and Ethan’s seemingly endless patience.
Except for when he yells at her after meeting his friends at the pub. I have to say, I have to agree with Darcy. Even though she cheated too, I think she had a right to know how long Dex and Rachel had been carrying on behind her back. I suppose me feeling miffed on her behalf was one of the ways Giffin created empathy – for what was at the start – a pretty vacuous character.
Now I just need to find Giffin’s latest novel, Baby Proof. But darn it, I’m not sure if its available in Australia yet? I’ve checked in every bookshop/library/random friend’s bookshelves I’ve been around lately and haven’t been able to find it. I may have to order it from somewhere.
Finished: Thursday 5/6
Book ninety-four: Queen of Babble
Meg Cabot
Rating: 3.75/5
There is a reason Meg Cabot is one of my favourite authors: her books are consistently good. I know that when I read one, I’m going to enjoy it.
I really liked this one. Somehow she has managed to create a character that is hopelessly clueless, but somehow in a sweet rather than irritating way. Lizzie isn’t stupid, she’s just a tiny bit misguided and idealistic. With a big mouth.
Lizzie Nichols has a problem, and it isn’t that she doesn’t have the slightest idea what she’s going to do with her life, or that she’s blowing her college graduation money on a trip to visit her long-distance boyfriend (of three months) Andrew, instead of using it as the down payment for the cute little Manhattan apartment everyone is expecting her to rent after finding a well-paying job in the city. Where she’s going to live and how she’s going to support herself in the fall are really the least of Lizzie’s problems right now. Not when she’s got to deal with the fact that she’s done it again.
See, Lizzie can’t keep her mouth shut. It’s not just that she can’t keep a secret—she can’t keep anything to herself. But this time when she opens her big mouth, her good intentions get Andrew in major hot water. Now Lizzie’s stuck in London with no boyfriend and no place to stay until the departure date written on her non-changeable airline ticket. What’s an American girl with a big mouth—but an equally big heart—to do? Fortunately there’s Shari, Lizzie’s best friend and college roommate, who’s spending her summer in the south of France, catering weddings with her boyfriend Chaz in a sixteenth century chateau. One call to Shari, and Lizzie’s on a train to Paris. Who cares if Lizzie’s never traveled alone before in her life, and speaks only rudimentary French? One glimpse of gorgeous Chateau Mirac—not to mention gorgeous Luke, Chateau Mirac’s owner—and she’s smitten… This was really funny, especially the excerpts from her thesis at the start of each chapter.
I bought this ages ago – before it was released in Australia – but never read it because I thought it wasn’t going to be that good, and I didn’t want to shatter my Meg Cabot = Good Book illusion.
I don’t know where I got the impression that it wasn’t going to be good from, but I was wrong.
I was disappointed to read that her next “adult” series (as in not-YA, not as in porn) is going to be about 30-somethings. No! Write more books about people in their early twenties who have no clue about what to do with their lives.
People in their 30s have plenty of books to relate too. It seems that 85 percent of popular fiction seems to be about 30-soemthings; the other 15 percent seems to be about characters 40 plus. The rare times I actually encounter characters my own age, they are usually the ditz the husband of the 30/40+-something is having a torrid affair with. Or historical romances – I have to admit most the character there are usually in their twenties. But come on, they act like they are in their thirties.
I think more representation 19-27* age bracket is required.
I suppose I will have to content myself with reading Queen of Babble in the Big City which was just released in the U.S. (No idea when the Australian release date is) and the final in the trilogy… I think it is called Queen of Babble Get’s Hitched but I think that was only a working title. Actually, I think she is still writing it?
Whatever. More books about the 19-27*** age bracket, please.
* Finished: Wednesday 4/6
** I was originally thinking 18-29, but then I remembered all those books about 18 year olds “coming of age” and 28/29 worrying about turning thirty so I cut it down some. Ha.
*** Yes, I know I just read a book about a 23 year old - Stray. That wasn’t enough. I want more.
Book ninety-three: Tantalize
Tantalize (2006)
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Rating: 1/5
Once again, an annoying main character I felt no sympathy for.
Yes, it was necessary for the plot. Yes, it was tricky. But I didn’t actually enjoy getting there.
This book feels like it should have been written from someone else’s point of view. Its like everything is happening outside of the main character, and all we get to see is her going costume shopping and being obsessed with the restaurant.
Which is disappointing, because the author has a really nice writing style and the first few chapters of the book are quite good. It showed so much promise, then crashed and burned into boring.
It also had my least-favourite kind of ending. The kind that makes the whole book feel like a waste of time because the thing you most want resolved is exactly the same as it was one the first page.
Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her hybrid-werewolf first love threatens to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. And just as she and 
her uncle are about to debut Austin’s red hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef.
Can Quincie transform the new hire into a culinary dark lord before opening night? Will Henry Johnson be able to wow the crowd in fake fangs, a cheap cape, and red contact lenses? Or is there more to this earnest fresh face than meets the eye?
As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything?
Finished: Wednesday 4/6
Book ninety-two: Natural Born Charmer
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Rating: 3/5
It has all usual elements: a chance meeting, a road trip, a disagreement, a separation, forced to spend time together, a kid, an old relationship rekindled, becoming part of the community, football.
Actually, for every element that makes up the plot, I could probably name one of
her books that also have it. I just didn’t care: it was fun.When millionaire Dean Robillard meets Blue Bailey, she couldn't be more down on her luck; her ex has stolen all her money. A football hero, Dean is taking a holiday while recovering from an injury. Despite Dean's misgivings the two find themselves thrown together and soon Blue has moved into his home and is merrily turning his world upside down.
Finished: Tuesday 3/6
Book ninety-one: This Lullaby
This Lullaby (2002)
Sarah Dessen
Rating: 1.75/5
I found this really disappointing. Probably only because everyone always goes on and on about how great it is.
I just didn’t like the main character. I thought she was mean; I just never really cared what happened to her, although I found the other characters interesting, I wasn’t that invested in whether or not she got hurt. I didn’t like watching her hurt the other characters, though.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t like it. If I had read it from the point of view of one of the characters I actually had empathy for, I probably would have enjoyed it more.
Love is a sham. At least that's what Remy thinks. Until Dexter comes crashing into her life...Can he change her mind? Remy is a cynic when it comes to love. Let down by her absent musician dad and witness to her mother's four failed marriages, she doesn't intend ever to let anyone that close. So when Dexter comes crashing into her life, why is it suddenly so hard for Remy to follow her own rules? He's everything she hates: messy, disorganised, impulsive, and worst of all, a musician like her absent father...
Finished: Monday 2/6
Book ninety: Stray
Stray* (2007)
Rachel Vincent
Rating: 4/5
The thing I liked most about this is that while it is the start of a series, the book still finished a story arc. There is nothing I hate more than a book that is so obviously just the Start of a Series.
Not so with this book. Things were different at the end – important things, not just that they caught the bad guys.
Oh, did I not mention there are bad guys?
Faythe Sanders likes to pretend she's a normal college co-ed, but that's only half the truth. It's the other half that matters when her former lover 
appears on campus, sent to pull her back into a life her classmates could never understand, or even imagine. He has come to take her home, to where hunting doesn’t involve guns, the night isn’t for sleeping, and fur is much more than just a fashion statement.
Female werecats are disappearing from all over the south, and the Pride is helpless to find its missing members and stop the stray responsible. Confined to home for her own protection, Faythe must face everything she went to school to escape: the family she left behind, the love she turned her back on, and the destiny tradition says she's bound to fulfill. And when it all becomes too much to handle, an emotionally charged error in judgment leads her into the unsheathed claws of the stray himself. Now, armed with nothing but animal instinct and a serious attitude, Faythe must free herself and stop the kidnappers before their horrific plot robs her Pride of its most valuable asset: its own continued existence.
It has an interesting plot and characters (though, I could have done with a few less brother to keep track of). And surprisingly even though I would like to give the main character, Faythe, a good shake, she didn’t annoy me that much.
Usually someone acting so irresponsibly and immature would annoy me no end, but it just seemed justified in a way. Or maybe I can just relate to her. Sure, she’s a warecat, but she’s also going through ‘normal’ things: feeling confined by her families expectations, not knowing what she wants to do with her life, dealing with mistakes she has made in the past and not knowing how to stop making mistakes right now.
I think this could have benefited from either a more original world or less explanation of that world. I think it was a little too close to Kelley Armstrong’s Broken in some aspects, but I suppose if I hadn’t of read that or other books in the genre, I wouldn’t have been able to skip paragraphs explaining the whole warecat/Pride thing and still understand everything that was going on.
Obviously now I want to read Rouge (scheduled for release April 2008) and Pride (Fall 2008**).
* Finished: Sunday 1/7
** I hate when they say “Fall”… when is that exactly? It’s too confusing.
Presumably, Autumn in the U.S., will be Spring in Australia, right? Or is that a stupid assumption?
Anyway, I’ll just go with it… so that means, sometime between September and November? October is six months after the April release of book two. So that could be right… or it could be terribly wrong.
I hardly ever see things in Australia – like movies, books, whatever – as “Summer 2389” or the like. What is it with American people and their love of seasons as a marker of time? Does everyone know which months are “Fall”? Because I have to admit, my working out when spring is (which is probably wrong) required counting. Heh.
Book eighty-nine: Bleed Dry
Erin McCarthy
Rating: 1.75/5
Annoying. The only good bit was when Corbin puts Alexis (the interfering psychopath) in her place.
Hooking up with a vampire has its risks-but getting pregnant usually isn't
one of them. Tell that to Brittany Baldizzi, who finds herself in the family way with no father in sight. After their one night of passion, vampire Corbin Jean Michel disappeared off the face of the earth-or at least off the Vegas strip...Corbin is a vampire with a cause, secretly trying to find a cure for his condition. But when he finds out Brittany is pregnant with his child, Corbin can't keep his parental instincts from trumping his bloodsucking ones. Even when showing his hand could cost him the woman he can't help but love...
Finished: Sunday 1/7
Book eighty-eight: Someday My Prince
Christina Dodd
Rating: 2/5
Alright. At least the heroine didn’t do anything overly stupid. Or not that I can remember, anyway.
Princess Laurentia leads a fairy-tale life, but she leads it alone. Until she's swept away by Prince Dominic: soldier of fortune, black sheep of his family . . . and the man hired to protect her. Has her prince finally arrived?
Princess Laurentia leads a fairy-tale life, attending glittering balls and wearing beautiful gowns. But after the ball is over, Laurentia finds herself getting into bed...alone. She dutifully agrees to choose a husband, but when she casts her eyes over her sea of suitors, she doesn't see a single man worthy enough to claim her. Then suddenly, she is swept off her feet by Prince Dominick, soldier of fortune, black sheep of his family...and the man hired to protect her. He's brazen enough to steal her kisses, yet tender enough to soothe her with one touch. He makes no promises, speaks no vows of forever...yet Laurentia can't help but hope that her prince has finally arrived.
Finished: Saturday 30/6 more...
Book eighty-seven: How to Sleep with a Movie Star
Kristin Harmel
Rating: 2.5/5
This is very much in the “classic” style of contemporary romance: nice guy, lots of misunderstandings, evil co-workers, cheating boyfriends, no declaration before the last page etc. But I still really enjoyed it.
It was interesting to read about the workings of the magazine industry – and I thought it was cute how the chapters are named like an article.
It did suffer slightly from back of book spoilage, but even if we hadn’t been told, it would have been pretty obvious that the boyfriend was an idiot.
You're sitting in a swanky restaurant interviewing one of the world's most gorgeous movie stars. He's being very, very friendly. Flirtatious, even.
What do you do?Would you: Get serious - Slide your number across the table and begin to play footsie with him; Get up and leave - You're a highly professional young journalist, and a celebrity fling is the last thing on your mind; or, Get confused - Why would such an adored (and adorable) man be interested in you? Even if he is the nicest, most down-to-earth guy you've ever met!
When Claire's glitzy job puts her in exactly this position, she's not sure what the right answer is. But then she discovers that nothing - and no-one - is ever what they first seem.
Finished: Friday 29/6
Book eighty-six: The Devil You Know
Liz Carlyle
Rating: 2.75/5
Not as good as the other book I just read by her, but still good – even though parts were slightly disturbing.
Bentley Rutledge is a rake, a rogue, and an out-and-out blackguard. Scandal trails in his wake, and fair maidens steer well clear of him.
Frederica d’Avillez knows better than to trifle with Hell-Bent, but her youthful heart has been crushed by a fickle suitor, and she burns to throw caution to the wind. Who better to burn with than that handsome, hell-bound scoundrel all the ladies whisper about?Unfortunately, Rutledge is far from the carefree charmer he pretends to be. And when Freddie’s impulsive decision has dire consequences, Rutledge forces her to choose between the devil and her freedom. Soon, an innocent young woman is battling the dark undercurrents of Bentley’s life, struggling against an evil so poignant and painful, it could undermine even the deepest devotion. No one believes this impetuous marriage has a prayer...except Freddie.
Finished: Thursday 28/6
Book eighty-five: Hex and the Single Girl
Valerie Frankel
Rating: 0.75/5
There is nothing I dislike more than a rude, abrupt main character that is supposed to be witty. I just don’t think I got the humour here.
I was reading the first chapter of this, when the main character is meeting with the client, and I was just thinking “huh? Do they already know each other? Why is she being so rude her client? That’s not going to get her any repeat business…”
There are also a few too many characters and generally forced situations, that I think were supposed to be funny.
I obviously don’t get it.
Emma Hutch is a witch who puts her supernatural powers to good use by styling herself as the ultimate matchmaker.Although she can't always promise true love, a ring or even commitment, she can guarantee that all-important first date between one of her clients and the object of his or her affections.
The problem is, she spends so much time chasing after other people's love interests, she has no time for her own. Until, that is, she meets Liam Dearborn, Manhattan's most eligible bachelor, who's intent on putting Emma under his own powerful spell.
Finished: Wednesday 27/6
Book eighty-four: Runaway Princess
Christina Dodd
Rating: 2/5
I do wish that the “runaway princess” had stopped running away from safety and into life threatening situations. That was kind of annoying.
But I did like how she kept using things she’d read in books – like martial arts. It was very cute.
An unexpected inheritance lets Evangeline live the life of her dreams -- to travel abroad as a lady of mystery. But one night a darkly handsome Crown Prince claims her as his fiancé, and he'll do anything to seduce her into his royal world of peril, promise, and passion.
English orphan Miss Evangeline Scoffield has spent her life contenting herself with dreams. But with an unforseen inheritance, she can afford one perfect summer--a summer she will spend the rest of her life remembering. She buys herself expensive clothes, travels abroad, and presents herself as a lady of mystery. But she quickly discovers her mistake, for a darkly handsome man appears at her bedroom door, claiming to be a Crown Prince--and her fiancé.
One look into her eyes, and the prince recognizes her. She is his betrothed, the runaway Princess of Serephinia. All her denials cannot change that, or alter the passion that burgeons between them. To fulfil their destinies, the prince will do anything--abduct her, coerce her, or, best of all seduce his reluctant bride into his royal world of peril, promise and passion.
Finished: Wednesday 27/6
Book eighty-three: A Woman of Virtue
Liz Carlyle
Rating: 3.5/5
A past! Angst! Mysterious plots! Danger! And… humour!
I really enjoyed this. I have only read three other books by her, One Little Sin (my favourite), Two Little Secrets, and Three Little Lies, which were pretty good. I think I will have to find some more.
In the months since her husband’s death, Cecilia, Lady Walrafen, has hidden her emptiness
by devoting herself to a charity mission for the poor women of London’s slums. But when the man who once tried to ruin her reputation turns up at the Nazareth Society, Cecilia is outraged. The womanizing Lord Delacourt is vain, vindictive, and merciless. But he’s a man who honors his wagers. And when one of them goes wrong, landing him in a charity mission for prostitutes, he comes face-to face with the young woman whose reputation he once nearly ruined—and whose lips he has never forgotten. Soon, however, evil is stalking the women of the Nazareth Society, and only Delacourt knows how to guard Cecilia from the consequences of her own principles.
Finished: Tuesday 26/6
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Book eighty-two: The Queen of Attolia
The Queen of Attolia (2006/2000)
Megan Whalen Turner
Rating: 4.25/5
Even better.
Unlike the first, this is written in third person. I like the change, as we get to see more of the other characters and of course we can be even more mislead as to what is actually going on.
I love the subtly of the relationship between Attolia and Gen.
In the firelit torture chamber the executioner's sword descends--and the Eugenides--the Thief of Eddis--no longer has his clever right hand.
The Queen of Attolia sits calmly and watches the dreadful amputation behind her carefully cultivated mask of coldness, but later agonizes over what she has done to him. At the same time, she rages at herself for not hanging her captured prisoner outright.
Finished: Tuesday 26/6
Book eighty-one: The Thief
Megan Whalen Turner
Rating: 4/5
Oh so good.
Gen is so cheeky. I really didn’t think it was possible to keep so much from the reader in a book written in first person.
The bragging thief Gen is sprung from prison by the king in order to carry out a mission-steal the precious stone Hamiathes's Gift from an impossible hiding place. If he succeeds, he'll be rewarded. If he fails, he will be killed. If he runs away, he will be hunted down. Half prisoner, half outlaw legend, Gen goes along with the king's assistant in the risky plan. Finished: Monday 25/6
Book eighty: Bit the Jackpot
Bit the Jackpot (2006)
Erin McCarthy
Rating: 2/5
A little weird. She sets up all these things that could have happened, but then seems to ignore them all and go for the easy plot. I don’t know. Just a bit annoying.
Politics makes strange coffinfellows. Vampire Seamus Fox is supposed to be the campaign manager for a vampire nation presidential candidate. But instead, he finds himself running around Vegas, keeping tabs on the candidate’s wife and female entourage.
Seamus has had his fill of women. A disastrous—and deadly—love affair has haunted him for over two centuries. Talk about baggage. But suddenly he finds himself obsessed by a mysterious stripper who dances behind a screen. The sultry—yet shy—Cara Kim whets his appetite for more. But leave it to Seamus to fall fangs over feet for that rarest of Vegas attractions: a good girl…
Finished: Sunday 24/6
Book seventy-nine: Nerds Like it Hot
Nerds Like it Hot (2006)
Vicki Lewis Thompson
Rating: 1.5/5
Still frustrating: good writing, let down weird characters and too much talking/planning/discussing.
She’s unleashed her inner vixen… 
Hollywood makeup artist Gillian McCormick wouldn’t normally be caught dead on a cruise aimed at single geeks. But as the sole witness to a murder, hiding out may be her only chance at staying alive. With P.I. Lex Manchester guarding her, and a voluptuous disguise in place of her plain-Jane wardrobe, Gillian should be safe… if she can resist a titanic attraction to Lex that’s making her fantasize about some extra-naughty cruise activities…
He’s rediscovered his inner nerd…
Lex thought he had left behind his nerdy ways, but his suave demeanour has no chance against Gillian’s bombshell image and the smart, sexy woman within. And when the scent of seduction wafts through the sea air, what’s a red-blooded male to do?
And the passion they’ve found is about to get out of control…
With a passenger list that includes a mobster on a mission, a cross-dressing sociopath, and hundreds of lusty nerds, Lex must find a way to keep Gillian safe—and prove that he’s truly her nerd for all seasons…
Finished: Saturday 23/6
Book seventy-eight: A Lady of Expectations
Stephanie Laurens
Rating: 2.5/5
Quite funny and sweet.
What Jack Lester wanted in a wife was someone rather like his sister, Lenore - attractive, capable, someone he could converse with. Impossible, given the debutantes he had seen over the past few seasons! Yet it was essential that he make his choice before the society matrons discovered that the Lesters were no longer poor as church mice.Friday 20/6
Book seventy-seven: The Trouble with Valentine’s Day
Rachel Gibson
Rating: 2.5/5
Very sweet – especially the grandfather and the poetry readings. It did have a couple of instances of background dumping, but they are forgiven because they were kind of needed.
I didn’t realise that this was written by the same author as I’m in No Mood for Love when I was reading it. Which I guess is a good thing. They were different enough that I didn’t connect them. I liked this one better, though – its plot isn’t as wandering.
Valentine's Day sucks. And this year it's worse than usual for Kate Hamilton as she tries to seduce a handsome stranger in a motel bar -- only to find out he, unfortunately, has other ideas!Escaping from embarrassment to her grandfather's tiny town of Gospel, Ohio, she's determined to relax and enjoy some good, clean, small-town fun. What she's not expecting is a reunion with Mr Handsome Stranger, aka Rob Sutter, who, it just so happens, lives in the town.
But then Rob and Kate find themselves in an compromising position in the local store after hours, giving the phrase "clean-up in aisle five" a whole new meaning and, in the process, causing a whole lot of gossip in Gospel!
Finished: Thursday 19/6
Monday, July 9, 2007
Book seventy-six: In the Bed of a Duke
In the Bed of a Duke (2006)
Cathy Maxwell
Rating: 2.25/5
Cathy Maxwell is evil.
Okay, maybe not. But she has a slight habit of not resolving things in her books. Once again, relationship is all fine and dandy (come on, this is historical romance, that wasn’t a spoiler – its an expectation) but the other plot – the mystery – is up in the air.
I know that there is likely another book out there, probably about the duke’s twin brother. And I know that to find out what happened to the evil laird I will have to read it. And this is why Cathy Maxwell is either evil or very smart. Or possibly both.
The distressed traveler Charlotte Cameron encounters on a rainy Scottish night is absolutely the worst man she could have invited into her carriage! It is Phillip Maddox, the 
reprehensible Duke of Colster, who brought the full weight of the ton's fury down upon her - simply because Charlotte encouraged her sister not to wed the powerful peer. And now the seductive devil responsible for her social ruin is sitting close enough to kiss...
I’m pretty sure that this is some kind of series I have read completely out of order. They keep talking about characters from Temptation of a Proper Governess. Oh, well. I’ve never been good at reading things in order.
Finished: Wednesday 20/6
Book seventy-five: Heaven, Texas
Heaven, Texas (1995)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Rating: 2/5
I have to admit that I am always disappointed by Susan Elizabeth Phillip’s books. None of them have been as good as the first I read, Ain’t She Sweet, which is sweet, witty and not obsessed with football.
That being said, this is alright. Though “Bobby Tom” could do with a few hard slaps. He would be the better for it. Plus, I had to stop myself from reading any clothing descriptions. It was too traumatising otherwise.
Gracie Snow is determined to track down the legendary Bobby Denton and drag him back home to Heaven, Texas, to begin shooting his first motion picture. But despite his good looks and killer charm, Bobby has reservations about being movie star - and no plans to cooperate with bossy little Gracie, whom he can't get off his mind or out of his life.
Finished: Tuesday 19/6
Book seventy-four: Night of the Huntress
Night of the Huntress (2007)
Kathryn Smith
Rating: 2.5/5
Good characters, good plot. I liked this better than the first - Be Mine Tonight - mostly because it didn’t go on and on about the crusades or whatever the people in the first book were obsessed with (I have tried to block it the details of their obsession from my memory as best I can).
When the vampire Bishop returned to Romania for the first time in centuries he never imagined he would find himself the prisoner of a vampire slayer. Nor did he expect to risk his own life to save hers. Marika has spent most of her life killing monsters like the one who killed her mother, and hiding her most dangerous secret. She would use Bishop to her own advantage, but when Marika's own life is threatened she realizes Bishop is her only ally -- and the one man who has ever laid claim to her heart.
Finished: Tuesday 19/6