Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of The Playboy’s Gift by Teresa Carpenter
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 01 Nov 11

If any author is ever insane enough to ask my advice, it would be to write the best book you can at that moment in time.  Period.  Do not think about readers.  Why?  Because we’re nut jobs.  Seriously, we are.  Wacky pants, insane in the membrane, fickle, fickle creatures.  No matter how we may try not to, readers have a tendency to bring their personal baggage with them when they crack open a book.  And guess what?  We all have a wide array of colorful baggage, all of us being unique, shiny, crack-pots snowflakes.  It’s my own colorful baggage that led me to DNF’ing this particular Harlequin Romance by Teresa Carpenter.

Carpenter is a local author for me, so I was curious to try her latest.  Yeah, wrong book to start with.  And it’s not “her fault” – I stopped reading because I was past the point where I could be rational about the story.  I got to the halfway point, but such a big hot button of mine was pushed that I was getting angry. Hulk-like angry.

Skye Miller’s brother passed away and his wife followed him shortly after.  They left behind a toddler daughter, and naturally Skye and her brother’s BFF, Rett Sullivan have been named guardians.  The fly in the ointment?  Skye and Rett were once very much in love, Skye got unexpectedly preggers, Rett didn’t react to the news to her liking, and when she ended up miscarrying, the relationship went kaput.

OK, I’m rolling with this.  Until the other shoe drops.  Skye can’t understand why Rett would want custody of her niece until he drops the bomb that he was the sperm donor for her brother and his wife.  Skye knew they used a donor, but had no clue it was Rett – Mr. Couldn’t Run Away Fast Enough When He Knocked Her Up.

“Skye went completely still, she couldn’t have heard what she thought she did.  “Aidan was Ryann’s father.”

“No.”

Repeat after me – just because you have the ability to make babies does not automatically make you a parent.  Just because you have sperm, does not automatically make you a father.  You know what it does make you?

A guy who can jack-off into a plastic cup.

Period.

But the whole blessed set-up of this book is that Rett is Ryann’s “father.” It’s practically shoved down the reader’s throat.  Rett keeps going on and on about how he’s the baby daddy.

NO!  NO, YOU ARE NOT!  YOU ARE THE SOURCE OF DNA, NOT A FATHER! THE HEROINE’S DEAD BROTHER IS THAT BABY’S FATHER.  YOU ARE JUST SOME IDIOT WITH SPERM!

I cannot express how much I loathe this Cult Of Biology that can sometimes creep into the genre.  It drives me insane.  Probably because I have friends who are and/or have adopted.  Probably because one of my nieces is adopted.  I’ve got too much baggage to be rational when a heroine going into a blended family wails about her inability to have “children of her own” or when a hero thinks he’s a daddy just because he can make a deposit at the local sperm bank.

For that matter, I hate the implication that romance hero must equal Guy With Massive Super Sperm Who Can Knock Up The Most Hopelessly Infertile Woman On The Planet.

Yeah, Wendy not rational.  Wendy stop reading.  But if you’re a different brand of irrational than I am and this kind of thing doesn’t make you want to spit nails? Maybe this book is for you.  There is some serie-itis, but the author handles it fairly well.  Also, the writing style worked well enough for me that I’ll probably give Carpenter another go.  Just so long as biology is totally off the table.  Because seriously, I just don’t like reading angry.

Grade: DNF

Summary:

An orphan baby wasn’t on playboy Rett Sullivan’s Christmas list, but as the holidays approach, he finds himself drowning in a sea of bottles, nappies and toys!

Skye Miller was shocked to learn her late brother and sister-in-law left their little daughter in the care of Rett, her brother’s best friend…and Skye’s first love.

The only way to protect her heart is to help the novice daddy and baby bond, then make a graceful exit. But the sight of Rett’s strong arms cradling the baby makes Skye weak at the knees.…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Rodeo Daddy by Soraya Lane
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 01 Nov 11

Note to Harlequin Authors: Yes, I will stoop to this level.  If I enjoyed your previous books, I’ll read your latest release – even if the Book Gods slap you with a cringe-worthy title and cover.  A fairly new author to the Harlequin Romance line, Soraya Lane has hit the ground running, with this already being her third release.  I enjoyed her first two books, which featured military heroes, so it was a given that I’d pick up the book with a cowboy on the cover.  I’ll just pretend to not notice that cutesy kid.

When a fall ended his rodeo career and marriage, Lark Anderson moved his seven-year-old daughter halfway across the world to New Zealand, looking for a fresh start.  While driving home in some nasty weather, he sees some obviously abused horses wandering along the road.  He stops to help them, and almost lands himself in hot water with the local law.  Yeah, the horses aren’t healthy, but they also aren’t his.  Getting him out of this jam is Sophie Baxter, who is back in her hometown to lick her wounds and volunteering at the animal shelter.  She vouches for Lark, even though she doesn’t know him from Adam, and agrees to oversee his rehabilitation of the horses.  The local law agrees, and now the gun-shy single dad finds himself spending time with an equally gun-shy heroine with several Big Secrets.

This is an uneven read for me.  Lark is a hero who wants to do the right thing, and that means overcompensating for his ex-wife who has literally washed her hands of him and their daughter.  His relationship with Lucy showcases classic Beta traits, but underneath he’s classic Alpha – right down to keeping his temper in check.  There were moments when he’s a little too hot under the collar for my tastes, but at least this is a man who will admit when he’s wrong about something – which is appreciated since at one point in the story he tars and feathers Sophie with the “She’s just like my rotten ex” brush.

Sophie is a much more problematic character for me.  She’s your typical Running Away heroine.  She ran away from The Big City and her career as a surgeon when she lost a young patient on the table.  OK, that’s understandable.  The real issue is the major Big Secret in this story – a choice Sophie made when she was in medical school and is still haunted by.  I’ll admit I’m probably reading way too much between the lines, but my big red feminist button is pushed and not in a good way.  I “get” that Sophie made a choice, and I “get” that it’s not an easy choice – but the fact that she is then subsequently “punished” for that choice really irritates.

Naturally, this makes Sophie feel ill at ease around young Lucy, which Lark misconstrues and ultimately leads to Sophie running away.  Twice.  She acts so much like a teenager that I have a hard time seeing her as an adult getting through the rigors of med school, let alone being a surgeon!

In the end the author rights the ship, but between Sophie’s “punishment” and the fact that she dwells incessantly on “children of her own” (admittedly a major pet peeve of mine), this story just didn’t sparkle the same way as the author’s previous two books did.  It has its moments and the story flows well, but it’s kind of a letdown.

Grade: C

Summary:

Rodeo champion Lark Anderson lived for the sound of crowds chanting his name. Now all he hears is a small voice saying, “daddy.” A fall ended both his rodeo career and his marriage—leaving him a single dad.

The town is suspicious of its new “celebrity” resident, and town darling Sophie Baxter has been nominated to keep an eye on the hot-tempered cowboy.

But the sight of his strong arms hugging his daughter and tucking her in at night makes Sophie’s heart ache with longing. Could this little family ever find a place in their hearts for her?

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of How A Cowboy Stole Her Heart by Donna Alward
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 04 Oct 11

In the pantheon of dippy titles slapped on romance novels, this one is pretty tame.  That said, it’s almost more annoying for me to find a generic title slapped on a story that is anything but, not to mention that said title really doesn’t “fit” the story at all.  What will readers find instead?  An emotional roller coaster of a read, one that left me mentally wrung out by the close of the final chapter.

Megan Briggs is back on her family’s ranch after undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Calgary.  Meg has a supportive family, but it’s a family she doesn’t want to worry.  They have a ranch to run, and her being sick is a major wrench in the works.  So yeah, she “runs away,” even though she claims that’s not what she’s doing.  But now she’s back, minus one breast, with a clean bill of health, at least for the time being.  Cancer is something she’ll have to deal with for the rest of her days.  She also has to deal with her brother’s BFF, Clay Gregory.  A neighboring rancher, Meg has had a crush on him for years.  But between his not being happy with her Calgary move and the fact that she’s “his best friend’s little sister” – we have a major case of unrequited love.  That is until Clay starts to suspect that the reason he was so angry with Meg for leaving has everything to do with how he really feels about her.

I’ll admit that I’m a bit of an angst-junkie.  What I tend to like about Donna Alward’s HRs is that she excels at writing what I call “believable angst.”  It’s not over-the-top soap opera. No, this is stuff that could happen in real life to people you know (or even yourself).  Meg’s fears over her cancer, the aftermath of surviving this first round feel very real and authentic. I also appreciate that she’s unwilling to roll over and play dead.  She’s determined to live her life.  In some regards, this does give her an air of stubbornness.  Honestly, our girl is really stubborn.  Especially when it comes to letting people in, letting others help her, be there for her.

Clay has baggage left over from his father’s illness/death and his mother’s abandonment.  For those reasons, he’s not exactly the most emotionally open person.  He doesn’t really “see” Meg until her cancer, and then what he does see scares the hell out of him.

Sometimes with this author’s work I find that while I “understand” her characters, I still find them frustrating to the point that I want to shake them senseless.  I “got” where Meg and Clay were coming from with their respective baggage, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating at times. Readers just have to go along for the ride and trust that the author is going to deliver on the happy ending, which she does.  They also have to have a fairly high tolerance for self-sacrificing characters, especially Meg.

On one hand, I want to smack the couple and on the other I love the angsty and emotionally exhausting roller coaster ride they take me on.  If you’re looking for light and fluffy, this ain’t it.  But if you’re looking to grab a handful of tissues?  What are you waiting for?

Grade: B-

Summary:

From best friends… to bride and groom?

Clay Gregory’s known Megan Briggs her whole life, and he’s been plenty worried about her while she’s been getting medical treatment. Now she’s back home and hiding away on the family ranch.

Knowing the stubborn cowgirl won’t accept his help willingly, he invites her to a family wedding to help him avoid his aunt’s matchmaking!

He plans to remind Meg that she’s still the girl who can beat him in a horse race! But as she steps out in her curve-hugging red dress, her skills on a horse are suddenly the last thing on his mind…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Mr. Right There All Along by Jackie Braun
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 2 Aug 11

I am an unrepentant sucker for the Friends to Lovers trope.  I could blame it on the fact that I’ve been there, done that – but I think there’s more to it.  Ever notice how the characters in these types of stories tend to be flat-out nice people?  People who truly deserve their happily-ever-after?  Yeah, more of that, please.

Chloe McDaniels just got an invitation to her ten-year high school reunion.  High school was not a joyous time for Chloe, who was tormented by three pretty popular girls she called The Unholy Trinity.  The only reason she stayed sane, and got through it, was because of her best friend, Simon Ford.  They literally grew up together, living in the same New York City apartment building.  To this day they are still best friends.  Chloe doesn’t have a best girlfriend, she has Simon.  Simon doesn’t go out to the bar to watch the game with his buddies – he’s got Chloe.

Simon went from geek to hunk to successful businessman.  He thinks Chloe is still too hung up on high school but also thinks she should go to the reunion to exorcise some demons.  She might not think she’s much, but Simon thinks she’s funny, vibrant, kind, intelligent….and sexy?  Hey, where did that come from?  No, no, no.  He can’t find Chloe sexy.  Chloe is his best friend.  The last thing he wants is to muck that up!

This is a lovely, sweet story.  The very best parts for me are when the characters have to confront aspects of their pasts, as well as certain personality traits.  Chloe needs to learn to grow a backbone.  To not let people, namely her boss and sister, walk all over her.  Simon needs to work through his complicated relationship with his father, a man who disposes of wives like Kleenex.  He also has abandonment issues that have made him gun-shy over exploring a potential romantic relationship with Chloe.

I suspect if there is going to be a stumbling block for readers in this story, it will be Chloe.  Part of me thought she should “get over it” in regards to high school, but ten years would put her around 28, so I could roll with her still working through all that bullying.  However, she does come off as slightly dense in regards to the signals Simon is throwing out at her.  It’s a cute, befuddled dense, but I can seem some readers wanting to shake her until her teeth rattle.  That being said, I’ve been here, done that – and from personal experience?  It’s easy to miss that one tree in the forest, even when said tree is literally smacking you in the face with a heavy branch.

The emotional moments at the end are just the right touch, and while I suspect some readers will wish that Chloe verbally confronts her old tormentors, I love the way this book ends.  Not only do Simon and Chloe get a clue, but Chloe really seems to be ready to “let go” of the past.  For that matter, so does Simon.  I think these two crazy kids are going to be just fine.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Could her best friend be her best match?

The one thing Chloe McDaniels has always depended on is her friendship with Simon Ford. Even if it’s been tough thinking of the gorgeous guy who makes her heart flutter as just a friend! But now, with their upcoming high school reunion dredging up memories of bullies and broken hearts, she needs him more than ever.

As Chloe plans to unveil her new-and-improved self, Simon creates a plan of his own.

Step One: Show her that love is worth the risk.

Step Two: Give her the happy-ever-after she deserves.

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Molly Cooper’s Dream Date by Barbara Hannay
Contemporary romance published by Harlequin Romance 04 Jan 11

One of my duties while I was at RWA last month was to give a presentation to a group of librarians on category romance.  My partner in crime for this endeavor was a Harlequin editor, who gave a shout-out for this book while we were discussing the Harlequin Romance line.  I had it languishing on my Sony Reader, and her “sell job” for it was so intriguing, I vowed to make it my next read.

Molly Cooper has lived her whole life on tiny Magnetic Island, off the coast of Australia.  She’s hungry (desperate even) for an adventure, but money is tight.  So she hits upon the idea of a home-swap.  Her dream is to go to posh London and fall in love with a proper English gentleman.  Surely there must be a London-ite desperate to escape the city for a tiny island paradise?

That ends up being Patrick Knight, a banker burning his candle at both ends.  He has a dream of writing a novel, and Molly’s small island cottage seems just the ticket.  So the swap is arranged, and while Molly is having her adventure in London and Patrick is writing his novel on the island, they get to know each other through the wonders of e-mail.

This is the type of book that breaks several of my personal reading rules.  1) I like the romantic couple to be “on page” together early on and 2) I’m a dialogue ho.  The bulk of this story is told via e-mails, text messages, and diary entries.  The reader gets to know both Molly and Patrick this way, and it’s really a lovely, charming way to watch a friendship, then romance, unfold.

I will say that Molly, while 24, is a young 24.  She’s been stuck on that island her whole life.  London represents adventure, excitement, everything she doesn’t have back home.  Her dreams of falling for a proper English gent do come off a wee bit idealistic, romantic, and far-fetched – but again, whole life lived on a tiny island.  I never felt like she was too-stupid-to-live or dense – just young.  Try to remember what you were like when you were like Molly and….young.

Patrick is a nice guy.  Period.  He loves his mother.  He’s hard working.  He’s a thoughtful person.  When Molly finds herself overwhelmed, Patrick is there to help her out – even as he’s thousands of miles away.  He does do something rather boneheaded later in the book, and Molly does overreact just a pinch – but it gives the conflict a shot in the arm and paves the way for one of the sweeter, romantic endings I’ve read in a long, long time.  I defy anyone to read it and not sigh.  Go ahead, I dare you.

This is a gentle, sweet story about a young girl who has an adventure and the nice guy who ends up winning her heart.  It hit all the right notes for me, and it was just a flat-out happy book for me to lose myself in for a couple of hours.  It’s the perfect cure-all for just about every single one of real life’s annoyances.  God bless editors.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Pacific islander Molly Cooper has house-swapped her way into London’s exclusive Chelsea. It’s her dream to explore Britain…and meet a perfect English gentleman!

Patrick Knight is finding Molly’s chatty emails strangely compelling. The onetime city banker thought swapping his London pad for Molly’s idyllic cottage would help him write his first novel—but it’s not quite working out…

What do you do when you realize the one you want is half a world away, living in your home, sleeping in your bed…?

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of What’s a Housekeeper to Do? by Jennie Adams
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 3 May 11

What I find appealing about category is that the shorter word counts mean an immediate strong and intense focus on the romance.  Since I read romance novels for the romance, this is a major plus, in my opinion.  Do you want to know what the kiss of death is for a category romance?  No, not secret babies, billionaire tycoons, or virgin secretaries.  When the book is boring.  Shorter word counts should equate intense conflict and emotional punch.  It should not equate putting me to sleep.

Not only does Lally Douglas have no life, she lacks her own identity.  She has spent her entire adult life catering to her large family and working for them – either as child care or in their small businesses.  But now the unthinkable has happened – nobody in her family needs her.  So she answers an ad for a temporary housekeeper, thinking that once this job is over, surely someone in the family will need her again.

Cameron Travers not only works in property development, he’s a successful crime fiction writer.  Alas, right now, he’s got a lot on his plate.  He’s working on remodeling a new property, he’s got a wicked case of writer’s block, his editor is breathing down his neck, and oh yeah – he’s an insomniac.  He’s hoping that by hiring Lally to handle a lot of the little day-to-day stuff, it will help free up some of his time and maybe kick his muse into gear.  He did not bargain on being attracted to her.

The bulk of my problems with this story occur with Lally’s character.  Or lack thereof.  Now, we’ve all read our fair share of self-sacrificing heroines.  The martyr-types who routinely throw themselves on various fires.  But Lally is different.  She’s painfully vanilla.  I never got a sense that she’s her own person.  Or even that she wants to be her own person.  You know that expression about your family being your anchor?  Well, Lally has strapped that anchor around her neck and is sinking like a stone.  The worst of it is that no one in her family is evil.  They’re nice people.  But it takes them conspiring against her, and lying to her face, for her to go out on her own.

The problem is that I never feel like Lally does that.  She trades taking care of her family for taking care of Cam.  Heroines like this don’t need a romance.  It’s the bloody well last thing they need.  They need to get a life of their own.  An identity.  Something that actually makes me give a damn about them as a character.

The other edge of this sword is that this story lacks any real conflict for a very long time.  Lally has a Big Secret that could have been dynamite dramatically, but it comes off with a fizzle.  It does help to explain why she is the way she is, but the lack of urgency to what few teasing bread crumbs the author drops early on just aren’t enough to make me care.  Cam seems like an OK sort of bloke, but even with all his baggage, he never rises above mild interest for me.

At the end of the day, Lally’s bad first impression that drags on and on, coupled with the lack of urgency, and this is one deadly dull read for me.  It may appeal to those readers who find themselves burnt out on over-the-top angst or characters with so much baggage you wonder how they’re not in a psychiatric hospital.  But all the way through this one I found myself yearning for something, Dear Lord, anything to happen.  It just never did.

Grade: D

Summary:

Being housekeeper to crime writer Cameron Travers should be a pretty simple, safe job—just what Lally Douglas wants. Once burned, forever shy Lally wants to blend into the background.

Cameron Travers is attractive, intelligent, fun and very charming! Soon Lally wants to wear all colors of the rainbow and embrace life. Most of all she wants Cameron to notice her, in that way.

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Beauty and the Brooding Boss by Barbara Wallace
Contemporary romance published by Harlequin Romance 01 Mar 11

I swear I see the words “beauty” and/or “beast” anywhere on the cover of a romance novel and I go completely Pavlovian.  So while trolling around the Harlequin web site, looking to fill my virtual shopping basket with digital goodies, it’s no wonder that I was drawn to Wallace’s latest for Harlequin Romance.

Kelsey Albertelli needs an infusion of cash, so when she’s offered the job to be Alex Markoff’s assistant, at a hefty salary, she jumps at the offer.  However, she soon learns she probably should have asked a few questions about her future boss before saying yes.

Alex Markoff is a literary superstar, having written a blockbuster book that captivated darn near everybody.  However the fame, a failed marriage to an actress and the media glare have chased him to the Berkshires, where he’s living like a hermit.  His editor has been after him about finishing his long overdue next book (“breach of contract” has been mentioned more than once) and a hiking accident has left him with a broken arm.  Now he’s stuck with an assistant he doesn’t want, all because his book is late and he can’t type the manuscript (Alex writes his books out longhand).

What we have here is pretty standard Beauty & The Beast fare.  Alex is grouchy, grumpy, and annoyed that the world won’t leave him alone.  Kelsey is also a bit of a loner, having adopted a nomadic lifestyle from a young age, after being dealt a crappy set of cards.  Eventually these two find themselves attracted to each other, thanks in large part to their similarities.

Unfortunately the romance took a while to cook for me, and I never really fell in love with it.  Alex is grumpy for a little too long, and by the time these two begin spending a reasonable amount of time together, there wasn’t enough on the page to fully commit me to their romance.  Also it’s hard to sympathize with Alex’s “invasion of privacy” when he married a bloody actress!  What did he think he was signing up for?  For her part, I thought Kelsey’s backstory was interesting, until the author clues the reader in on why she needs the hefty salary Alex’s publisher is paying.  Self-sacrificing heroines are a dime a dozen in the genre, but Kelsy’s “reasoning” on why she has to pay back the debt strains the seams considerably.

Still, this is a nice story that offers a pleasant reading diversion.  There is enough here to entice me to give Wallace another whirl, and the Berkshires setting is done with a loving touch.  I’ve read better, but I’ve also read much worse.

Grade: C

Summary:

Working for reclusive author Alex Markoff sounded like Kelsey Albertelli’s dream job…until she met her new boss. Alex might be movie-star handsome, but his gruff grouchiness makes it clear that Kelsey is not exactly welcome.

Kelsey’s a fighter and she refuses to tiptoe around a man who clearly needs looking after, even if he’s too stubborn to admit it! As cracks gradually appear in Alex’s forbidding exterior, for the first time Kelsey feels dangerously close to belonging. Can she hope for her own happy-ever-after…?

Read an excerpt.

Dinca’s review of Christmas at Candlebark Farm by Michelle Douglas
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin  Romance 30 Nov 10

Usually I can read forever. I fell asleep twice reading this book. And I made it through two chapters before giving up on Christmas at Candlebark Farm. I can’t believe I am giving a Christmas story a “did not finish” grade.

I need my heroes to have a few basic social skills. Luke Hillier does not believe his 15-year-old son needs to help him on the farm but needed to be hanging out with his friends. Jason hasn’t moved away from the TV yet, but he has offered to help his dad, who keeps turning his offers away.  He feels a friendly gesture from Keire to bring him and his son together is charity. Their whole existence on the farm and with each other is dysfunctional.

Keire Keely is only 24 and has gone to a fertility clinic. If she is having problems with her ovaries, she should have stored her eggs and given a normal life a chance. She has never had a steady male presence in her life. She supposedly has come to this town and rented a room in Luke’s house to secure her future for her baby, but she hasn’t done anything but go to the store, cook, and have morning sickness.

There’s no chemistry between the hero and heroine. The pacing is much too slow to keep a reader’s attention, hence my ability to fall asleep twice in two chapters. Between his lack of social skills and her lack of common sense and no rapport between them, there’s no reason to continue reading.

Grade: DNF

Summary:

Pregnant Keira Keely is lodging at beautiful Candlebark Farm this holiday season, whilst she organizes a place of her own.

Grumpy owner Luke Hillier seems too caught up in his own troubles to worry about anyone else’s. But when Keira has a crisis Luke is amazingly supportive.

Keira’s shocked that she actually likes being looked after by gorgeous, gruff Luke. Maybe now he’ll let her help him, too…. As fairy lights sparkle and Christmas approaches, could Keira have found her perfect home?

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Mistletoe And The Lost Stiletto by Liz Fielding
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance 09 Nov 2010

I happen to be a sucker for Christmas-themed romances, and I can always count on Harlequin to give me my fix every year.  This latest from Fielding certainly fits the bill when it comes to holiday charm, complete with not one, but two fairy tale tropes.  Sadly though, I wasn’t entirely sold on the romance.

Lucy Bright is living the life of Cinderella.  Working as a low-level office drone, she catches the eye of none other than the CEO.  Before you can say bippity, boppity, boo – she’s sporting a rock of an engagement ring, has been plucked, waxed, made over, and is set to be the face of the company’s re-branded retail boutiques.  She’s living the dream, until she finds out the whole thing is a lie.  A publicity stunt.  After she confronts her sleazy finance’ at a press conference, she finds herself on the run – from him, but mostly from the press.  She scurries into a local department store, and straight into the arms of proprietor Nathaniel Hart.  Sparks, naturally, fly.

This book has all the charm and magic I want out of a good Christmas romance.  Lucy is a nice girl, in over her head.  Her life has morphed into a Cinderella-like fantasy, which in this day and age, is being played out on Twitter and the tabloids.  It’s when Cinderella’s dream comes crashing down around her ears, and she begins playing Beauty to Nathaniel’s emotionally wounded Beast that things start looking up.  Our girl gets smart, gets help, and it’s all right as rain in the end.

However, I wasn’t entirely convinced on the romance.  First, it takes a while for our hero and heroine to get on page together.  Lucy is on the run, and she’s either running or hiding for the first several chapters.  Once they do hook up, the whole affair has a very love-at-first-sight quality to it.  Admittedly, not a trope that really works for me.  Fielding writes it well though, so if it does flip your switch, it probably will here.

That all being said, at the end of the day, I’m stuck with the pacing.  Lucy literally jumps from one romance, which turned out to be a lie, straight into another one.  There’s no downtime.  The girl doesn’t even take a couple of months off to regroup.  Hey, Nathaniel is a nice guy.  I liked him loads.  But frankly, after everything, I sort of expected Lucy to be, if not jaded, at least a bit gun shy.

While I wasn’t entirely sold on the romance, this was a charming read, with a nice holiday feel.  It read very cinematic to me, and I could easily see this story being played out on the small or big screen.  If you’re a sucker for love at first sight, with a healthy dollop of fairy tale, and are craving a holiday read?  This may be what you’re looking for.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Lucy Bright can’t believe it when she’s plucked from secretarial obscurity and transformed into the pampered fiancée of a slick retail guru. But then she discovers it was all a publicity stunt! Rushing away from the media frenzy, she bumps—literally—into the arms of delicious tycoon Nathaniel Hart….

Spooked by their instantaneous chemistry, Lucy flees—but Nathaniel is determined to find his barefoot beauty. Though all he has is one very expensive red designer stiletto to help him!

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Deserted Island, Dreamy Ex by Nicola Marsh
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 14 Sep 10

Ever had a relationship just “stop” as opposed to “end?”  The difference, and an important one, is the distinct lack of closure.  Nicola Marsh explores how that can effect a person in her latest, when the heroine finds herself face-to-face with the man who broke her heart eight years ago.  And to think she’s in this pickle thanks to a steamrolling boss.

Kristi Wilde works for an up-and-coming PR firm in Sydney and has her eyes on a big promotion.  Unfortunately, it looks like getting that promotion will involve her filming a documentary with former tennis superstar Jared Malone.  The filmmaker wants to drop them off on a deserted island, alone, for one week, and film what happens.  Kristi can guess what will happen….nothing good.  Jared broke her heart eight years ago when she got too clingy and he chose tennis over her.  But dang, she could really use the prize money from this little nightmare to help her down-and-out sister and adorable niece.  Well, there’s no two ways about it.  She’s off for an island adventure, hoping this documentary won’t morph into a horror movie.  One thing is for sure, she will not succumb to Jared’s charm, wit, and sexiness.  Nope.  No way.  No how.

Yeah, right.

What follows is two characters confronting why their initial relationship failed so miserably and having to resolve those still lingering issues before they can move forward to the happily-ever-after.  Jared ran because Kristi started humming the wedding march.  His past hasn’t exactly endeared him to the institution of marriage, and he saw tennis as the only way to win approval, which he desperately craved, from two narcissistic parents.

Kristi has her head wrapped around what she feels makes a “perfect relationship.”  Her parents were deeply, passionately in love with each other, and she wants nothing less for herself.  However between her past with Jared, two failed engagements, and the mess that is her sister’s life?  Yeah, our girl has plenty of baggage.

This is the type of story where you spend a good portion of the book wanting to shake some sense into the characters, but between the excellent confrontation scenes (so fabulous!) and the growth they experience to get to the happy ending?  It makes those moments where you want to smack them worth it.

I also liked how contemporary this story felt.  Kristi has a thing for shoes, so we have some label dropping here.  But the characters also live in a fictional world that includes social networking (Facebook, Twitter, blogs) and reality television.  I’m not sure how well this book will “hold up” ten years down the line, but for now?  It was rather refreshing.  Especially since we got to read blog posts and tweets from Jared and Kristi.

This was a nice story, with plenty of tension, and a hard-won happy ending.  I have a feeling both of these characters are going to have to continue to work to keep their happy ending on the rails, but that’s as it should be.  Whoever said relationships were easy has obviously never been in one.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Kristi’s Stranded Diary: Day 1

Being shipwrecked on an idyllic deserted island for reality TV show Stranded sounded blissful. Until I discovered my Man Friday for the week was Jared Malone (aka he-who-broke-my-heart!).

I mean, of course I’ll be fine. I don’t feel anything for him anymore. Female viewers might swoon over Jared’s tanned gorgeousness, but I know he’s just an arrogant, overmuscled heartbreaker!

The cameras are rolling, so I’m off to the beach to face Jared. I just hope I look okay in this bikini!

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Wedding Date With The Best Man (Girls’ Weekend in Vegas #4) by Melissa McClone
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance 14 Sep 2010

I’m a romance reader who will travel all over the map (just kisses to smokin’ hot lovin’!), but there has been nothing more gratifying to me of late than discovering the Harlequin Romance line.  Something about these “just kisses” and “behind closed doors” stories has flipped my switch, and flipped it hard.  It could be the emphasis on sexual tension over, well, just sex.  Or maybe it’s that I’ve been really good at picking out stories with interesting, contemporary, and just flat-out nice characters.  This one from Melissa McClone is no exception.

Jayne Cavendish thought her fiance’ Rich was The One.  That is until she went to his apartment and was greeted by woman wearing sexy black lingerie.  To nurse her wounded pride, her three BFFs took her to Vegas for a “girls weekend.”  They all found men and happily ever afters.  Jayne found a new haircut.  She’s now back home in San Diego.  Alone.  And that’s where Tristan MacGregor finds her.

Tristan is Rich’s BFF and was going to be the best man at the wedding.  He met Jayne through Rich and immediately fell hook, line and sinker.  But she was his friend’s fiance’, so that means all look, no touch.  To compensate Tristan did his best to remain aloof, leading Jayne to think that he didn’t “like” her.  So she’s a little surprised to see him at her front door.

What follows is Tristan getting Jayne to break out of her shell (and her funk) and Jayne turning Tristan’s head around.  They spend time together.  They laugh.  They learn about each other.  Enough to know how truly opposite they are.  Jayne wants home, hearth, stability, and 2.5 kids.  Tristan loves travel, adventure, and when he’s not working as a photojournalist, he’s living in hotels.  Tristan teaches Jayne how to loosen up without throwing the baby out with the bath water, and Jayne teaches Tristan that “home” isn’t a four-letter word.

The obstacles to the happily-ever-after, besides the We Want Different Things conflict, is a Big Secret that Tristan is keeping from Jayne.  And once she finds out, it could ruin everything.  Especially tricky since he’s falling in love with her.

What I loved about this story was that the characters and plot were believable.  I could see this sort of thing happening in real life, especially the Big Secret element.  The opposites attract angle is also handled with a deft touch, with both characters coming to realizations and making compromises – which I loved!  I did feel at times that the three BFFs brought in a wee bit of series-itis with them, but the author keeps these scenes light, and blessedly brief, so they don’t overwhelm this romance.

I really enjoyed this story a lot.  The author uses the San Diego and Las Vegas settings to great effect, displaying a familiarity with both.  Jayne is a nice girl who I wouldn’t mind being BFFs with. Tristan is sexy and loyal, and towards the end embodies the very definition of the word hero.  If you’re looking for a quick contemporary read with plenty of sexual tension?  Yeah, look no further.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Determined not to be knocked back by her ex-fiance jilting her, Jane Cavendish went on a fabulous girls’ weekend in Vegas with her three best friends. she returned home refreshed, relaxed…and with a “no man” rule!

Except now she’s in danger of falling at the first hurdle!  Tristan MacGregor, her ex’s best friend and almost their best man, is back in town. Jayne is surprised when he makes a beeline for her. But he seems determined to put the sunny smile permanently back on her face…and it’s working!
Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Juggling Briefcase & Baby by Jessica Hart
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance 12 Oct 10

Yes, it’s come to this.  I’ve read a book with a cutesy baby and vacant looking man on the cover.  This is what I’ve been reduced to.  But honestly, I had no choice.  Harlequin Romances are quickly becoming some of my favorites, and Jessica Hart has been my biggest discovery in that line.  On top of all that?  This latest is a sequel to Oh-So-Sensible Secretary, a book that I read and loved earlier this year.  What’s a girl to do?

Lex Gibson is now the CEO of the family business, a chain of supermarkets in England.  He’s everything you would expect from a successful businessman.  He’s intelligent, exacting, focused, driven and a workaholic.  He also has a reputation for being a cold fish.  The latest project on the table is to buy-out a chain of supermarkets in Scotland.  It’s the one area of the UK that his father could never conquer, and Lex feels that if he gets this deal done that the old man will finally be proud of him.  To that end, he’s on his way to Scotland to convince the owner that he’s the guy to sell to.  Coming with him on this trip?  Romy Morrison, a temporary employee in his acquisitions department.  The fly in the ointment?  He and Romy had a brief affair 12 years ago that ended disastrously.  So disastrously that Lex has never gotten over it.  However, that’s not the worst of it.  Because of the short notice of the trip, Romy has to cart along her infant daughter, Freya.  And Lex?  Yeah, not a baby person.

The rub, of course, is that Romy has also never gotten over Lex.  However these two are so opposite, and more importantly, want different things out of life, that a relationship is seen as impossible.  Throw in commitment and Daddy Issues for both of them?  Yeah, we got a big ol’ messy pile of conflict to work through.

What we also have is a Secret Baby where the hero isn’t the daddy.  Romy had led a fairly footloose lifestyle when she ends up pregnant.  Her reasons, such as they are, for not telling the Baby Daddy straight away just further reinforced how much I tend to loathe this plot device.  Frankly, the only “good” reasons I can think of for keeping a baby secret belong in romantic suspense novels – so Romy’s “logic” was one part annoying, two parts stupid, and three parts selfish.

Readers need to get past this early portion of the story.  I’ll admit, the big reason I kept reading is because I’ve come to trust the author.  I also tend to fall right into her stories.  Her voice just works for me.  So I kept reading, and I’m glad I did.  Because this story has a granddaddy of a pay-off.

The commitment issues, the baggage both characters have with their fathers, lead to some final chapters that left me choked up.  Let me repeat that, I was reading with a lump in my throat.  I rarely get this worked up over a story.  I rarely shed tears.  I just don’t.  So when an author can get that reaction out of me?  I forgive.  I can look past some of the heroine’s actions that drove me slightly insane.

I also loved that the author didn’t gloss over the “opposites attract” stuff.  The characters stay true to who they are.  They acknowledge their differences.  The author doesn’t morph them into pod people in order to make the happily-ever-after work.  No, the HEA works because the author makes her couple sweat blood and tears over it.

Is this story perfect?  No.  It’s not.  There were elements that annoyed me.  But toss in the author’s voice that seems to sing for me, and the emotional pay-out at the end?  I was hooked.  I slept on this story before writing up the review, and my reaction hasn’t dimmed with the dawn of a new day.  Yeah, I think it might be love.

Grade: A

Summary:

Lex Gibson is…nervous. The prospect of spending a weekend working with Romy, the only woman to ever touch his legendary guarded heart, has the lion of the corporate world…unsettled.

The tension between free-spirited Romy and buttoned-up Lex simmers dangerously. To complicate things further, Romy has a tiny daughter, who has Lex confused and distracted. They say never to mix business with pleasure, but Romy’s adorable baby might just seal their very personal business deal—and change their family situation forever!

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Three Times a Bridesmaid by Nicola Marsh
Contemporary romance published by Harlequin Romance 08 Jun 10

I need to become addicted to another Harlequin series line like I need a hole in the head, but I think it’s now safe to declare that I’m hooked on Harlequin Romance.  I think it was in a comment thread here at TGTBTU that someone dropped a Nicola Marsh suggestion in my ear, and if it was you: thank you mysterious commenter!  What a delightful read this was!

Eve Pemberton has three best friends that she’s dubbed “The Bridal Babes.”  Well, Babe #3 is getting married, and Eve is desperate.  See, she’s single.  She’s not wild about being single, but she’s also not willing to suffer through multiple dating disasters just to find a tolerable guy to escort her to this wedding.  She’s also tired of her well-meaning, matchmaking friends introducing her to third cousins and old high school chums.  What she needs is some arm candy.  Some bait to throw off the scent of her well-meaning friends.  And that’s where Bryce Gibson comes in.

Bryce and Eve knew each other when they were kids.  In fact, the last time they saw each other was a disaster of epic proportions with Bryce breaking poor Eve’s heart.  So imagine his surprise when she shows up on his doorstep and proposes a deal.  In exchange for being her “fake boyfriend” for the wedding hullabulloo, she’ll introduce him to some movers and shakers in the Melbourne business world.  As the new ad executive on the block at a very competitive firm (no Harlequin, he’s not a billionaire!), Bryce could really use those contacts.

Of course any romance reader worth their salt knows where this is headed.  What I especially loved about this story was how Marsh was able to take some well-worn tropes and make them seem fresh and lively.  Eve is your classic ugly duckling who grew up to become a beautiful swan.  A brainy teenager, with no fashion sense and thick glasses, she’s made herself over to become a very successful event planner.  She’s beautiful, smart, successful, but underneath it all she’s still the same old Eve.  Will Bryce still be attracted to her when she’s lounging around her comfortable home in cut-off jeans and a ratty old T-shirt?  Will he still be interested in her even when she’s not “on?”

Bryce had his reasons for dismissing Eve all those years ago, and that bit of mystery kept me easily flipping the pages.  He’s grown up to be extremely successful, but he’s a workaholic.  A charming, sexy, handsome one, but a workaholic nonetheless.

The conflict that keeps this story chugging along is their past together, and their own personal baggage.  There were moments when I just wanted them to sit down and really talk to each other, and they do get around to that eventually.  When it does come spilling out into the open, it’s hard to not root for these two crazy kids, and be charmed by them.  Lord knows I was.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Another gilt-edged invitation lands on Eve Pemberton’s doormat. Rather than go to one more wedding alone, the practical businesswoman organizes a stand-in date for the day.

Rebel turned billionaire Bryce Gibson is almost a dream date. The only problem: he’s also the guy who broke a bespectacled Eve’s teenage heart….

On the dance floor Eve and Bryce make a convincing couple—but she’s in danger of falling for her first love all over again!

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Tipping the Waitress with Diamonds by Nina Harrington
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance 11 May 2010

Having only recently discovered the Harlequin Romance line, I’ve happily been trolling through the monthly offerings, snagging any and all books featuring book cover blurbs that tickle my fancy. This latest from Harrington has a setting any foodie should adore, and I’m a complete sucker for a reunion theme. While this story certainly has plenty of charm, from a writing style standpoint, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

Sienna Rossi is on the verge of being promoted to head waiter at Greystone Manor when her boss drops the ultimate bombshell. Her ex, the same ex who took off without so much as a “it was fun while it lasted,” is being hired as the new head chef. Sienna opts to take some time off and runs back to her Aunt Maria’s place where she can lick her wounds and regroup. Instead, when she arrives at her aunt’s dilapidated bistro, she’s greeted by her first crush, Brett Cameron.

Brett is on the verge of opening his first restaurant in posh Notting Hill, when Maria gives him a call. She had closed her restaurant while she took a holiday, but now her return has been delayed. Would Brett be a dear, reopen the place, and cover for her until her return? She needs the money, and Brett, owing Maria a huge debt of gratitude, agrees to help her out. And it’s at Maria’s tiny bistro where he runs into his former crush, Sienna Rossi.

What follows is Brett and Sienna working together to reopen Maria’s restaurant. The place has fallen on hard time over the years, so Brett hits the kitchen, coming up with new recipes, and Sienna sets about putting the dining room in order. In between they take a walk down memory lane, back to when Brett was a teenage punk with few prospects, and Sienna was the princess of the close-knit Rossi restaurant family.

This is a charming, light story with an interesting backdrop and nice characters. Both of them are on the cusp of realizing their dreams (Brett, his own restaurant; Sienna, big promotion) when circumstances throw them together and have them reevaluating. Brett is charming, sexy and can cook. Sienna is nursing a broken heart from a bone-deep betrayal. It’s really a nice read.

The problem comes in with the writing style. For those of you who regularly read my reviews at TGTBTU and my personal blog, you’ll know that I’m hardly a stickler in the grammar and punctuation departments. However, when I start noticing a copious amounts of exclamation points? Yeah, it’s a problem. Seriously! What! Seemed! Like! Every! Other! Paragraph! I wanted to shake these two character senseless and tell them to stop screaming at each other!

But for readers who can overlook the stylistic embellishments? This is a quick and oftentimes lovely read. Just prepare yourself for all the screaming!

Grade: B-

Summary:

Take one hot chef…

The world’s finest chef, Brett Cameron, has a tough choice to make. Carry on with his new restaurant dream or answer a plea for help and return to where it all began….

Add a sweet, stressed waitress…

Sienna Rossi is out of her depth trying to rescue her aunt’s bistro. The dishwasher’s leaking, there’s sauce in her hair and the frying pan’s just caught fire! Through the smoky haze she sees a vision in shimmering chef’s whites: Brett, her teenage crush!

Did the temperature just rise a few degrees?

Read an excerpt.

Warning – this is a bit of a rant.

I read Harlequin books, more these days than before. I just seem to be on a Harlequin jag right now.

Anyway, pick up a book from the Presents line (Modern Romance in the UK) and you’ll find a reference to “designer” clothes. It is really beginning to get to me. When I read about another 25 year old dressed like a 40 year old, in elegant clothes which are described as “designer,” I want to hurl the book across the room.

Maybe if you understood my background better, you might guess where I’m coming from. All her working life, my mother worked with dress designers. She was a sample machinist and pattern cutter and grader. That means she worked to take a dress off the catwalk and turn it into a viable commercial product. Before she retired, I had a lot of designer clothes, because when a company, Debenhams or John Lewis, say, bought a designer original in order to reproduce it en masse, they weren’t allowed to sell the original. My mother would take the original garment to pieces, find a suitable, more commercial (i.e. cheaper) material, turn a 3D design into a series of flat pieces, and then lay the pieces out on the chosen fabric to get the most out of it. When I visited her at work, phrases like “I can get 6 of those to the roll” and “we can change linen to cotton here,” were legion.

After the garment was put into production, sold and they passed on to the next one, the company was left with a designer garment in pieces. Which my mother, and people of her team, put back together and ‘disappeared.’ So while most of my clothes were a season or two out of date, they were designer originals—and yes, I can name the designer, although for the most part they came without labels. You really don’t need labels to name a designer. Sigh, today, I have to manage with Marks and Spencer and Monsoon, but I’ve never found it much of a hardship, because if it’s for something special, Mum will tailor it for me. And it’s a relief, in a way, because clothes by named designers have to be honoured. See what I mean when you slip on a Givenchy or a Prada.

Then there are the lucrative offshoots, which often provide far more profit for the company than clothes, which are labour intensive and expensive. Perfume, accessories, jewellery, so that we can all afford a bit of Chanel. You can get a piece of clothing with a label from most large stores these days, and they don’t mean a great deal, except that a certain designer has signed off on them. So is our heroine buying from Debenhams and calling it “designer”? She could be.

So, this is designer:

And this:

and this:

and this:

Quirky, different, special. “Designer” means attention to detail, expensive fabrics. It doesn’t mean perfectly fitted, not necessarily. The couture collections are the ones that are made to fit, and there are only a handful of women in the world who can afford to buy regularly. Pret a porter, or Ready To Wear, are the big, commercial collections, but they don’t contain bland, beautifully fitted gowns and clothes. Once, that might have been the case, but when I think of designers like Courreges and Thierry Mugler, somehow I doubt it. I do feel passionately about fashion, because I’ve seen what goes into it, how hard people work, and how committed most designers are about their collections.

(BTW I was more than sad to read about the death of Alexander McQueen. He will be very much missed).

“Designer” means nothing on its own. I can draw a stick man on a piece of fabric, and wolla, I designed it. It’s ‘designer.’

And while I’m on the subject, I would absolutely love for the heroine of a Harlequin novel to dress her age. All these 25 year olds who dress like their mothers—no, I take that back, like their grandmothers, maybe. Give them more than jeans as a token to their age. Give them decent pants, give them a sense of fashion, or a style or something. Please. If they want to dress in classic elegance, then let them be aware of it. Soft pullovers and jeans don’t necessarily make for casual. I can see what’s happening here, and why for so many years Harlequin appealed to the older reader, but these days older readers have a bit of style, too. They dress in jeans, hippy wear, because, let’s face it, they were hippies, some of them. I’m guessing that a Harlequin writer isn’t allowed to mention a designer by name, and that’s half the trouble. So make some up. Get a Harlequin fashion house, call it, I don’t know, Banel or Devenchy, and rock it.

But not just “designer,” please. It’s smacks of the “designer” craze of the 1980’s, and it doesn’t mean anything.

BTW, those designs above pair up. Two each from two designers. Can you name the designers, and say which pair goes with which? And yes, the name of the designer is in the source of the picture, but don’t cheat! (And don’t you just love that big dress at the end?)

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Oh-So-Sensible Secretary by Jessica Hart
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance 16 Mar 2010

Sometimes all I want is a nice, traditional romance.  No acrobatic monkey sex.  No serial killers stalking the heroine.  No shape-shifting vampire fairy wood nymphs for heroes.  Just boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl live happily-ever-after.  You’d think I would have caught a clue and started picking up the Harlequin Romance line before now.  But I didn’t, and that’s where Jessica Hart has been all this time.  Seriously, I could kick myself in the teeth.

Summer Curtis is an executive personal assistant and works for an upscale department store in the London.  She’s Type A, wound a little tight, and is one of those types that lives by the motto “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.”  She’s smart, she’s practical, and extremely good at her job.  She was working at the bottom of the totem pole in the CEO’s office when she gets the opportunity to work for the CEO’s younger brother, Phin Gibson.  Phin is a minor celebrity, having hosted a Survivor-like reality TV show, and has a bit of a reputation as a playboy adventurer.  Summer cannot imagine he’s cut out for a desk job, and she figures he’ll be a trial to work for, but the job comes with a nicer salary, and she’s looking to buy her own flat – which don’t come cheap in the London real estate market.

Naturally it all heads south rather quickly.  Phin is carefree, free-spirited, and not your typical executive office-drone.  Summer is the kind of person who cannot abide clutter, lives and dies with an appointment book in her hand, and is very buttoned-up.  As the reader we know that these two opposites are perfect for each other.  Phin teaches Summer to let loose every now and again, and Summer teaches him that structure and organization aren’t four-letter words.

By my count I’m one of five romance readers who adore first-person narration.  If there’s anything that’s going to hold readers back from trying this story, that would be it – as it’s told entirely from Summer’s point of view.  Here’s the important thing though: there’s a world of difference between excellent first person, and terrible first person.  Hart writes the former.  I never, for one moment, missed Phin’s point of view because the author does such a good job telling me the story from Summer’s perspective and in turn, her character does a good job of showing me Phin through her eyes.  It’s quite lovely, and the author does a bang-up job.

What I truly loved was the Phin and Summer talk to each other.  There are no silly misunderstandings, no big secrets, no nonsense mucking up the works.  The conflict is largely provided by the fact that they are so different in personality, and in a past relationship disaster that Summer is still licking her wounds from.  I also loved that by the end of the story, Summer realizes some things about herself, and that her falling in love with Phin doesn’t magically fix all of her issues.  She grows as a person, has new adventures, and falls in love, all over the course of this slim little book.  Seriously, does it get any better than that?

I loved this story.  I loved it so much I want to marry it, have babies with it, and toss all my other books out the window so I can reread again without feeling TBR Guilt.  I firmly believe that category romance, done right, is one of the most joyous reading experiences a romance reader can have.  That’s what I felt when I finished this story.  Pure, unadulterated joy.  It’s simply, breathtakingly wonderful.

Grade: A

Summary:

You know when you meet the most gorgeous guy and get butterflies in your stomach? Well, that’s what it felt like the first time I, Summer Curtis, laid eyes on my movie-star-gorgeous boss Phin Gibson. I was starstruck!

I’ve got to get a grip! Phin might be delicious, but he’s always late, totally disorganized—my complete opposite! But somehow he’s making me, the oh-so-sensible Summer, want to let down my perfectly pinned-up hair!

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Under The Boss’s Mistletoe by Jessica Hart
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance 10 Nov 2009

Sometimes the right book finds you at just the right time.  Having been mired in what I’m calling The Reading Slump From Hell for the past month, I’ve been slogging my through one book after another.  However, just as I was about to dissolve in puddle of tears, I picked Jessica Hart’s latest Harlequin Romance.  The skies parted, and I swear I heard a heavenly choir belting out a rockin’ tune.

At twenty-seven Cassandra Grey is a supreme disappointment to her family.  Her brothers and sister are wildly successful, while Cassie has flitted from one job to the next.  However she’s finally settled on a career she thinks is right for her.  She’s working for a wedding planner, although business has been a bit slow lately.  That’s when her boss gets a call from Jake Trevelyan inquiring about their services and asks to meet with Cassie.  Jake and Cassie knew each other when they were younger, and the last time they saw each other was full of teenage angst culminating in a scorching kiss.  Cassie looks back on her behavior and is slightly mortified.  But the business needs the booking, and Cassie needs her job, so she agrees to meet with Jake.

Turns out Jake isn’t getting married.  No, he’s inherited Portrevick Hall, a stately manor in the quaint small town where he and Cassie grew up.  Jake is a very successful business man, but even he cannot afford a huge English manor.  No, the Hall is going to need to pay for itself, so he has the idea of making it available to the public for various events.  Oh, like weddings.  Someone told him Cassie was in the wedding business now, so he gives her a call.  When she shows up, he discovers Cassie is still the sweet, slightly bumbling, chaotic girl he remembered.  However she has some good ideas, and agrees to hire her to turn the Hall into a venue.

In order for this story to work, the reader has to be willing to buy into a couple of things.  For one, that Cassie could work for a wedding planner.  She’s certainly a sweet, charming and lovely girl, but she’s also a bit disorganized and messy.  She’s the type of person who is always 15 minutes late, she wouldn’t know sleek and cool if it bit her in the butt, and she thrives on clutter.  This doesn’t mean she’s too stupid to live.  No, Cassie is a bright girl.  She’s just not what I would call “Type A.”  But she’s charming, delightful, and just what Jake needs in his life.  Also, the prologue of the story is a bit overwrought.  That being said, it sets up the story by showing Cassie at 17 and Jake in his very early 20s.  Overwrought with a fair amount of exclamation points is pretty much par for the course at 17.

Jake grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, so when he got a chance to escape his hometown, he took it and ran.  To compensate for a childhood where everyone treated him like trash, he became the classic over-achiever.  The right suit, the right tie, the right job, and the right girl.  Jake has attached himself to smart, cool, sophisticated women who always wear black.  Cassie is most definitely not his type.  So why is he so drawn to her?

What I liked so much about this story besides the fact that it was charming and sweet, was that Jake and Cassie spend a fair amount of time talking to each other.  After slogging through one too many romances where the romantic couple is unwilling or incapable of this it made Jake and Cassie’s interaction with each other a breath of fresh air.

What I enjoy about the Harlequin Romance line is that they’re multi-generational stories.  The type of stories that you can read and then give to your mother, grandmother or teenage daughter without missing a beat.  Under The Boss’s Mistletoe is a textbook example of this.  Read it, savor it, and then give it to your 13-year-old daughter to read.  You’ll both love it.

Grade: B+

Summary:

In high school, Jake Trevelyan was Casie Grey’s dream rebel. He surfed, rode a motorbike – now he’s her new boss! It’s events planner Cassie’s job to transform Jake’s mansion into a snow-kissed wedding venue. NOT to relive her old fantasy that they’re the ones getting married. Posing as the happy couple for a publicity photo shoot, Cassie pinches herself as Jake leans in for a show-stopping kiss … but it’s just for the cameras, isn’t it?

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of His L.A. Cinderella by Trish Wylie
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance 14 July 09

Confession time. Even though I love reading about hot, sweaty, raunchy sex – every now and then I feel like a sweet romance. The kind where there are just kisses or the author closes the bedroom door in my face. Silhouette Romance used to be my go-to Harlequin line for these types of story, but when they closed up shop a couple of years ago I found it hard to make the switch over to Harlequin Romance. My perception? A whole lot of royalty and tycoons – neither of which I’ve overly fond of. But Irish author Trish Wylie’s latest intrigued me right out of the gate. A Los Angeles set romance about two former screen writing partners who find themselves working together again.

Cassidy Malone used to have big dreams of Hollywood. She shared those dreams with her lover, Will Ryan. But when their last movie tanked at the box office, and family obligations began piling up, Cassidy gave up her dream to become a school teacher in her tiny Irish village. Will left, without a backward glance, and made it big. He now lives in Malibu, has a score of successful films based on his screenplays, and runs his own production company.

Will drops Cassidy an e-mail asking for her help. They signed a contract way back when and the studio is calling it in. Their last film that was a box office flop? Thanks to DVD sales, devoted fans, and Internet buzz, it’s generated into a monster hit. Studio wants a sequel, and Cassidy packs her bags. But how can she work with Will once again when she hasn’t written anything in years and she’s still nursing a broken heart?

I was sold on this story thanks to the interesting, and different plot. However, the style in which it was written kept me at arm’s length when it came to the romance. While not written in first person, the author spends the majority of the book firmly lodged in Cassidy’s head. This would be fine, except it gives Will the short shift. The reader is left with Cassidy’s impression of him. The lout who left her high and dry in Ireland. The guy who pursued his career and didn’t give her a second thought. It doesn’t help matters that over the course of the story he comes off as extremely ambitious, stubborn, and a touch demanding. I desperately wanted to get to know him, but the author doesn’t give the reader that opportunity until the final chapter. What we see of inside the hero’s mind in that final chapter is certainly intriguing, and I couldn’t help feeling sad that I didn’t get to know him better.

The story is engaging, the banter fast and furious, and the story itself played out a bit like a chick lit novel. It was an engaging book to read while lying in bed, and the uniqueness of the plot really elevated the story for me. That said, more hero please.

Grade: C+

Summary:
.
Cassidy Malone describes herself as a plain, slightly plump schoolteacher—totally unsuitable for Hollywood life. Unfortunately she is now at the beck and call of top movie mogul and old flame Will Ryan.
.
Once upon a time she signed a contract, in a whirlwind of youth and confidence. Now, as they write the script they never finished, Will’s devilish smile and lethal charm make her yearn for the safety of the classroom!
.
Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Diamond in the Rough by Diana Palmer
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Romance on 14 Apr 09

I think that everyone (and I mean everyone) knows that I read/like Diana Palmer’s books. At this point, even I can’t particularly figure out why. They’re so… off the wall, really. Yet there is something about Ms. Palmer’s writing that keeps me – and a number of other readers coming back for more. (Much like crack. This is book crack.) Nevertheless, I enjoyed Diamond in the Rough much more than the previous few novels by Ms. Palmer, and I’m very much looking forward to her next book, Heartless.

As usual, there is a major age difference between the hero and heroine – here, twelve years. And I actually felt pretty good about that, considering for the first four or so chapters I thought the difference might be around 17 years. Still, everything could and would have been the same if there had been only one year, or one month between Sassy and John. I felt that the age conflict was more filler/boilerplate.

I’ve heard someone say if you’ve read one Diana Palmer book, you’ve read them all. And sadly, that seems to be the truth for all the books she’s written in the past five or six years. I’ll give you the formula. Young heroine, who is not so much repressed and innocent (though both), as really ignorant. Toss in poverty, and a random tragic past.

Abused by mother/father/grandfather or grandmother/aunt, poverty stricken, and small breasted. But they’re high! She’s really smart, but not well educated. She: a. can’t afford more school or b. is too unworldly to think much of higher education – at least for herself. Now the hero, he’s generally rich. However, he’s been burned by love before, and had become a misogynist. He also thinks it is wrong that he’s so hot for a girl who is so much younger than him, but can’t help his burning lust. It’s even better/more tragic when she’s pseudo family.

Yet in every book, there’s something about the writing, situation, characters, and emotions that makes it enjoyable. Here, Sassy wasn’t a complete doormat. While she fell into a number of the characteristics I listed, she’s still quite spunky and has a lot of optimism. I liked Sassy’s positive outlook, and the fact that she didn’t brood or angst. That would’ve been overkill. Her name fits her personality as well-christened Cassandry, Sassy seems more in line with everything about her. Sassy’s a bit of a throwback, but a heroine you hope finds good things. The hero, John Taggert Callister is more a foil for Sassy. While he’s a good person and a nice man, Sassy steals the show.

John Callister introduces himself as John Taggert, in order to give himself some anonymity in the town he just moved to. John is a hero who is ready to settle down, and does what he thinks is right. It’s nice to read about a hero who is still gallant and considers the welfare of others before his own. I liked his personality, and the fact that we had a few glimpses into John’s inner thoughts.

While I did notice a few minor discrepancies with facts (secondary characters with their ages changed etc), I thought the book was well written. The relationship between John and Sassy is entertaining, and their interaction is quite amusing. Just once, I’d like something more to develop from the minor love triangles Ms. Palmer so loves writing in. However, the secondary characters are all very enjoyable, and I wouldn’t mind reading more about any one of them. The story was overall quite believable, with nothing too outrageous and it was a nice, indulgent read.

I recommend this book to any Diana Palmer fan, but especially to the readers who have wanted to read a book by Ms. Palmer but have not yet done so.

Grade: B-

Summary:
.
Sassy Peale is desperate to help her family, but her meager salary doesn’t stretch far. Then she meets John Callister, and she thinks her new friend is an honest-to-God cowboy—rugged and trustworthy.
.
But John isn’t a ranch hand, he’s a millionaire from one of Montana’s most powerful families! And when Sassy finds out who he really is, she’s certain the arrogant millionaire is just playing with her. John has to convince Sassy that he’s the man she first thought he was—a diamond in the rough.
.
Read an excerpt here.

February may be the shortest month of the year, but that doesn’t mean the Harlequin Digital Team has any shortage of exciting news to share with TGTBTU readers!  What does the team have in store for the cold winter nights?  Well how about a special coupon code for TGTBTU readers, several e-book bundles and series announcements, welcoming new authors into the fold, and a chance to escape to sunny Mexico?  Wow!  Read on to get the inside scoop…

Series Spotlight on…Harlequin Romance!
Warm your heart with the ultimate feel-good Harlequin Romance tales, our Series Spotlight for the month of February! Whether in an exotic setting or somewhere a little closer to home, you can’t miss the best in romantic fiction. To celebrate, all six books out this month belong to the special Diamond Brides miniseries – which is also available as a convenient eBook Bundle!

Plus, and a special for the Good, Bad, and Unread readers out there, we have an exclusive coupon to get 10% off Harlequin Romance books this month! Just use the coupon code SPOTLIGHTROMANCE at www.ebooks.eharlequin.com at checkout to save.

We’re romancing the iPhone…again
As part of our Anniversary celebration, we’ve partnered with Stanza, an eBook reading application, to make our 16 free titles available on the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can find out more from http://www.lexcycle.com/content/60th_anniversary_harlequin on how to enjoy these eBooks wherever you go.

And don’t forget that the free ebooks are also available at www.HarlequinCelebrates.com!

Longing for Moonlight in Mexico?
If you just can’t keep a secret, then sand-covered beaches might in your future with this sweepstakes.. The more people you tell about Moonlight in Mexico, the closer you are to your own sun-filled adventure. Visit www.eHarlequin.com/moonlightinmexico and fill out an entry. Then, pull out your address book and invite as many friends to enter as you can. Why? For every friend that enters, you earn a point and the better your chances are of winning. So, dust off your contact list and start saving up for a brand-new bikini, you could be savoring some much-needed time in the sun.

Buzz Books for February
Released this month exclusively in eBook format, we’ve got the Forged in Steele Bundle by USA Today bestselling author Brenda Jackson. You can enjoy her complete Forged of Steele series in one convenient download. As a little something extra, we’ve included the free bonus novella Never Too Late that introduces all the Steeles!

Harlequin heats up the New York Times bestseller list with two big titles this month – Susan Wiggs hit #1 with Fireside (MIRA) and Linda Lael Miller is sitting at #2 with her latest Western romance for HQN Books, Montana Creeds: Logan! Montana Creeds: Logan is also available as a special enriched ebook with bonus photos of the three Creed brothers. The next other Creeds – Dylan and Tyler — get their own books (and enhanced ebooks) in March and April, too.

A few more titles getting the buzz this month:
- The Courtship Dance by Candace Camp (HQN Book), the latest in her Matchmakers series of Regency romances
- A new installment of Robyn Carr’s Virgin River miniseries: Second Chance Pass (MIRA)
- Get hooked on sexy historicals with Charlotte Featherstone’s Spice title Addicted and Jade Lee’s The Concubine, a historical Harlequin Blaze set in Imperial China
- Harlequin Presents launches the first of an eight book miniseries International Billionaires, part of a deal with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for rugby-related romances, with The Prince’s Waitress Wife by Sarah Morgan
- Caridad Pineiro adds a new story to her vampire miniseries The Calling! This time, it’s a Silhouette Nocturne Bite Honor Calls

Welcome another to the Harlequin Family!
Congratulations go out to Lucy King, who sold her first book to Mills & Boon Modern Heat! Her book won the Feel the Heat writing contest held though our blog, I Heart Presents. Lucy joins the ranks of fellow contest winner Lynn Raye Harris, who sold her first book to Harlequin after winning the Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction Contest last year.

From Harlequin, with Love
You didn’t think we’d do a February update without mentioning Valentine’s Day, did you?! As a little gift to our readers in honor of the most romantic day of year AND our 60th anniversary, we’ll be offering a FREE eBook A Valentine For Harlequin’s Anniversary at our eBook Store (www.ebooks.eharlequin.com), containing authors’ and readers’ cherished Harlequin memories and a short story An Evening to Remember by Catherine Mann.

If audibooks are your thing, we also have a FREE download of Stranded! by Lori Foster on Audible.com, too.

And be sure to pop by eHarlequin.com for more special offers over the Valentine’s Day weekend!

Happy Reading!

As mentioned in the January 2009 Scoop column, the website celebrating Harlequin’s 60th birthday went live yesterday!  And to celebrate, Harlequin is offering sixteen titles for free!  Books can be downloaded in pdf, epub, lit or ereader.  And though it doesn’t seem o be up yet, soon the books will be available for the iPhone through Stanza.

The titles that can be downloaded are:

Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren (Harlequin American Romance)

Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly (Harlequin Blaze)             

His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls (Harlequin Historical)

Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels (Harlequin Intrigue)  

Price of Passion by Susan Napier (Harlequin Presents)        

The Bride’s Baby by Liz Fielding   (Harlequin Romance) 

Snowbound by Janice Kay Johnson (Harlequin Superromance)

Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child (Silhouette Desire)  

Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf (Silhouette Nocturne)

Stranded with a Spy by Merline Lovelace (Silhouette Romantic Suspense)

Dancing in the Moonlight by Raeanne Thayne (Silhouette Special Edition)

A Very Special Delivery by Linda Goodnight (LoveL Inspired)

Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart (Love Inspired Historical)

Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry (Love Inspired Suspense)

Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson (Kimani Romance)

Speed Dating by Nancy Warren (Nascar)

So what are you waiting for? Go! This is a great opportunity for Harlequin newbies to try it out, or to try a line you wouldn’t normally read.