Sybil’s review of Family Affair by Debbie Macomber
Contemporary Romance  published by William Morrow 04 Jan 11

This is yet another reissue of a New York Times Best Selling author in hardcover.  Family Affair was first published in 1994 in an anthology and here stands alone.  This is my first time reading the story and as it stands at under 100 pages, I don’t think it was expanded from the original.  It stands the test of time well and is a charming story.

Lacey Lancaster can’t get over her divorce and it pretty much colors all her actions: how she relates to men, her boss and her hawt neighbor who has been trying to date her since she moved in over a year ago.  She has managed to keep away from Jack, other than overhearing his fights with his girlfriend through the paper thin walls of their apartment building.  Well, she keeps away from him until his alley cat, Dog, knocks up her cat, Cleo. Suddenly Lacey finds herself with an unplanned pregnancy on her hands that she seriously didn’t see coming.  And Jack is only too willing to have Dog take responsibility for his actions, if it will help him get close to his sexy, sweet neighbor.

Family Affair is a cute short story and an amusing read.  But it doesn’t have anything new to offer and there is very little character development.

If you are a long time fan of Debbie Macomber, you will love this book.  If you like short, sweet love stories that are heavy on the ‘sweet’ side (aka the bedroom door never opens), you will enjoy this.  For an enjoyable read you will finish in an hour (and then most likely forget).  The thing to think about is the price tag.  This is a reissue in hardcover format. It resales for $16 and is currently at Amazon $9.17. I would not suggest this be your first  purchase by this author but to get it from the library or wait for the paperback.

Grade: C-

Lacey Lancaster has always longed to be a wife and mother. However, after a painful divorce, she decides it’s time to lay low for a while in her charming San Francisco apartment with her beautiful Abyssinian cat, Cleo.

Everything would be wonderful, except for her utterly impossible neighbor Jack Walker. When he’s not arguing day and night with his girlfriend, begging her to move in with him, he’s chasing down his cat named Dog, who seems determined to get Cleo to succumb to his feline advances.

Then Lacey discovers the awful truth—Cleo is in the family way and Dog’s to blame. She’s furious that neither Jack nor his amorous animal seem too upset about the situation.

But Lacey learns that things are not quite as they seem. Jack’s “girlfriend” is really his sister—and his intentions toward Lacey are very honorable. And though she’s not quite sure about Dog, Lacey begins to discover the tender joy of falling in love all over again.

Read an excerpt.

Limecello’s review of What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Contemporary romance hardcover released by William Morrow on 27 Jan 09

Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ newest novel What I Did for Love has been a long time coming. It’s set in Hollywood, loosely like her recent re-release, Glitter Baby. The stories are in no way tied together, but you might see some familiar characters. Ms. Phillips is one of my favorite authors, though I’ve noticed many of her more recent books would fall into “women’s fiction” rather than romance. (This makes me sad.) As usual, Ms. Phillips’ novel has a wealth of well developed characters, and the hero, Bram, and heroine, Georgie, are quirky and fun to read.

Georgie York is a Hollywood has been. She won her place as America’s sweetheart playing Scooter in the show Skip and Scooter. She hasn’t done anything big in seven years (since the show ended), and each film she’s been in since has been worse than the last. However, what really has Georgie down is her actor ex-husband’s actions. Georgie has surprising strength, but I felt that either she wasn’t completely developed, or I didn’t have a absolute grasp on her character. She seems to deceive herself a lot, though she does protect her emotions.

One thing I wasn’t too keen on was how Georgie often played the victim. She’s so pathetic and sad – but then in the end becomes this emotional pillar, without much of a rhyme or reason. Though I suppose that could be attributed to actually falling in love? I did, however, really like how Georgie drew on her Scooter character. It was a fun trait.

Bramwell Shepherd is a really fun hero. He played the kind and debonair Skip, but was the exact opposite in real life. Bram is misunderstood by pretty much everyone. There seem to be only two people who see Bram for who he truly is – and one is blinded by her hero worship. The thing is, Bram has changed a lot, but he acted so badly starting fourteen years ago, that nobody can look past that. (Yes, Georgie and Bram were on the tail end of being child stars.)

I liked that Bram tried, but he wasn’t desperate. It hurt, but he was willing to let everyone believe the worst of him. I think part of it was that he was so horrid before, protests to the contrary weren’t believable. Still, I found it a bit predictable. I liked that Bram was vulnerable, and human. He’s quite matter of fact, and rather revels in his nefarious characterization everyone has attached to him. It was nice that Bram was a broken character who comes into his own. And actually is pretty much changed when the novel begins. Nevertheless, Bram’s inner reprobate does still exist. His maneuvering gets him photographed at lunch with Georgie, and his machinations end up with the two getting married. He’s charmingly rogue-ish.

I liked the wide variety of secondary characters, though some, like Meg Koranda (the child of Fleur and Jake from Glitter Baby) seemed a bit superfluous. That being said, I liked Chaz (Bram’s housekeeper) and Aaron (Georgie’s assistant). And thought that their romance was very cute and sweet- and yes, foreseeable. The same with the romance between Paul (Georgie’s father) and Laura (Georgie’s agent/ex-agent). Lance (Georgie’s ex-husband) and Jade (his new wife) exactly fit the roles they were supposed to play, but Rory Keene I think was my favorite secondary character. (And dare I hope she’ll get her own novel?) Yes it does seem like all the characters are Georgie centered, but Bram holds his own. It had to be that way. (And it was nice to see how Ms. Phillips used the characters to reinforce her story line.)

I really enjoyed the themes that Ms. Phillips had throughout her novel. It was interesting to read all the subtext, and especially complicated, as Georgie generally had a Skip and Scooter script running through her head – whether an actual episode or ad libbed – concurrently with the present. It was also nice how so many of the secondary characters interacted with each other, and how they were developed.

One thing I found a bit off was the lack of romance throughout the novel. (Again – the women’s fiction angle?) I actually felt that Paul and Laura got the most for their story – and the best emotional connection, which is a bit sad because they have rather small roles. I would have liked a bit more introspection on the part of Georgie and Bram. They realized that they got along well, and were incredibly compatible sexually… but there was little emotionally. Aside from general human concern, I wasn’t 100% sure that they cared for each other until pretty much the bitter end. Still, the antics that Georgie and Bram get into are entertaining, and they draw you in. While the way the two get together is unusual, its believable and makes sense for the two of them.

The ending, however, was wonderful. I liked the dramatic finish, along with the fact that Ms. Phillips took the reader to a natural conclusion. The way she had Georgie and Bram act was very well planned, and their split might be one of my favorite parts. It was nice that all the character issues were resolved, and of course there was the requisite wild-eyed, dramatic declaration of love by the hero. Bram’s was actually rather complicated, and happened in stages.

I actually did enjoy the novel very much, and I believe read it in one sitting – it was hard to put down. I’m sure I don’t need to recommend this book to fans of Ms. Phillips – you’ve probably already read it.

Grade: B+

Summary:

It’s not easy being famous when your life is falling apart… Georgie York has been dumped by her movie star husband, her own film career is tanking, and her public image as a spunky romantic heroine is taking a serious beating.

What should a down-on-her-luck actress do? NOT go to Vegas…NOT run into her detestable former co-star—dreamboat-from-hell Bramwell Shepard…and NOT get caught up in a ridiculous incident that leads to a calamitous elopement. Before she knows it, Georgie has a fake marriage, fake husband, and maybe (or not) a fake sex life.

It’s a paparazzi free-for-all, and Georgie’s non-supporting cast doesn’t help. There’s Bram’s punk-nightmare housekeeper; Georgie’s pushy parent; a suck-up agent; an icy studio head; and her ex-husband’s new wife, an international do-gooder who just might win the stupid Nobel Peace Prize!

As for Georgie’s leading man… Bram, with his angel blue eyes and twisted black heart, has never cared about anyone but himself. Still, he’s giving the performance of his life as man in love—thanks to the half a million dollars she’s paying him. It was official. She’d married the devil. Or had she?

Two enemies find themselves working without a script in a town where the spotlight shines bright…and where the strongest emotions can wear startling disguises.

Listen to Ms. Phillips read the first chapter here.

Devon’s review of The Laughter of Dead Kings (Vicky Bliss, No. 6) by Elizabeth Peters
Mystery released by William Morrow 26 Aug 08

Recently, I wrote of my excitement upon discovering this book had been published. Finally, after fourteen years, I would find out what had become of my beloved Vicky and John. This series of slightly slapstick adventures, set in the world of art and antiquities, had been a favorite comfort read since I was a tween. I lucked into it at work, intercepting the new release cart as it came down from Technical Services. Hoorah! I eagerly sat down to this entertaining, convoluted, and rather stale novel.

Was I disappointed? A little bit, but not really. It reminded me of getting together with an old friend. It’s great to see them, and you wish them all the best, but you don’t really have all that much in common anymore and the conversation feels really forced. So much of The Laughter of Dead Kings felt so familiar. The turns of phrase, the small actions…when you’ve read the prior books as often as I have, you can tell when it’s been said and done before.

The caper, which involved the theft of the most famous mummy in the world, could have been interesting. We are reunited with American Art Historian, Vicky Bliss, and her love, John Smythe, a former art thief trying to go straight. When John is implicated in the heist of the celebrated Egyptian Pharaoh, it is up to John, Vicky, and Vicky’s employer, Herr Doktor Professor Anton Schmidt, to track down the mummy and find the real criminals.

Everyone’s acting like their old selves, if only a shadow of them. Vicky seems angry and brittle, rather than witty and charming. Perhaps she’s getting sick of John’s crap, because he was pretty damn annoying. John was always morally ambiguous, and sometimes a douche, but also charming and amusing. He was redeemed by his constant rescues of Vicky, and their awesome chemistry. In this installment, he kept disappearing and being all withholding and sketchy for no good reason. Like Vicky, he lacked his previous charisma, seeming querulous instead.

Feisal, John’s old school chum from Night Train to Memphis, was featured, along with a number of new characters. None were particularly memorable. In fact, when a character re-appears late in the story, I had to leaf back to remind myself who he was. The show belonged to Schmidt, finally getting some respect. The aging Santa look alike is laughed at by Vicky and John, but constantly proves himself to be ten times more with it than everyone else in the book.

The book was disappointing, but not terrible. There were a number of very funny moments, and I loved the ending, despite not particularly liking John or Vicky throughout the book. It just felt like it had a lot of padding, and all the padding was recycled from other books. The Laughter of Dead Kings did not attain “definite re-read” status the way other Vicky Bliss books have, but I’ll read it again, to see if I change my mind. Vicky Bliss/Elizabeth Peters fans should read this for closure, but if you haven’t, start with The Street of the Five Moons.

Grade: C+

The Summary:
Who stole one of Egypt’s most priceless treasures? That is the question that haunts the authorities after a distinguished British gentleman with an upper-crust accent cons his way past a security guard and escapes into the desert carrying a world-famous, one-of-a-kind historic relic. But the Egyptian authorities and Interpol believe they know the identity of the culprit. The brazen crime bears all the earmarks of the work of one “Sir John Smythe,” the suave and dangerously charming international art thief who is, in fact, John Tregarth, the longtime significant other of Vicky Bliss. But John swears he is retired—not to mention innocent—and he vows to clear his name by hunting down the true criminal.

Vicky’s faith in her man’s integrity leaves her no choice but to take a hiatus from her position at a leading Munich museum and set out for the Middle East. Vicky’s employer, the eminent Herr Doktor Anton Z. Schmidt, rotund gourmand and insatiable adventurer, decides to join the entourage.

But dark days and myriad dangers await them in this land of intriguing antiquity. Each uncovered clue seems to raise even more questions for the intrepid Vicky—the most troubling being, Where is John going during his increasingly frequent and unexplained absences? And the stakes are elevated considerably when a ransom note arrives accompanied by a grisly memento intended to speed up negotiations—because now it appears that murder most foul has been added to the equation.

Read an excerpt.

Connie’s review of Innocent As Sin by Elizabeth Lowell
Contemporary romantic suspense hardcover release by William Morrow 19 Jun 07
Massmarket paperback release by Avon 29 Apr 08 (book links to mmppb)

Contemporary romantic suspense often walks a fine line between the various elements that make them up. How to be contemporary without overloading on technical details. How to be romantic without sacrificing the suspense. How to be suspenseful without sacrificing the romance. This book didn’t do such a good balancing job.

All seems to be going well for Kayla Shaw until she barely escapes being kidnapped and accused of money laundering for a wealthy client. After five terrible years, Rand McCree may finally be able to get the man who killed his twin. The man who killed Rand’s brother is an international criminal and Kayla is slated to be his next victim.

Kayla decides to fight back and Rand needs her to get to the hated enemy so they join forces to stop him. Some people are realy evil and need to be stopped before more innocent people are hurt.

After more about gun-running and banking than I ever cared to know, they are trying to stay one step ahead and aren’t sure if they wil stop the evil but are willing to die trying. While they seemed to fall together pretty quickly, they forged a pretty good bond. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that believable or interesting to me.

I’d recommend this book only to fans of the author (of which there are tons – she’s a good author – better than this book indicates).

Grade C-

Book summary:

One day Kayla Shaw was an underpaid and under-appreciated private banker in Arizona. The next day, someone tried to kidnap her.One day Rand McCree was painting daffodils in the Pacific Northwest rain. The next day, St. Kilda Consulting offered him something he’d wanted for five years: the name of his twin brother’s murderer.

Kayla had nowhere to turn, nowhere to run, no one to believe that she wasn’t a money launderer hiding hundreds of millions of dollars.

She was trapped.

Until Rand McCree appeared, offering safety. For a price.

Kayla didn’t want to trust him, but had no real choice. No police would believe that she had been set up, that she was innocent. And no civilian alone could stand against the international criminal who wanted her dead.

Even her own government was suspect.

Rand trusted Kayla as much as he trusted anybody-not much-but what he really wanted was revenge for his brother’s death. Everything else came last.

Then the man who had killed Rand’s brother sent a killer after Kayla Shaw. The violence of the past exploded into the present, leaving only a future that might be too dangerous to survive….

Read an excerpt (nice long one)

Wendy the Super Librarian’s review of Twisted by Andrea Kane
Romantic suspense released by William Morrow 25 Mar 08

While most romance readers spent their teen years cutting their teeth on Kathleen Woodiwiss, Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux, I was reading suspense novels written by Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton and Mary Higgins Clark. Long-time romance readers can spot a contrived Big Misunderstanding plot ten miles off the way I can spot poorly executed suspense threads. Which is ultimately the biggest problem with Andrea Kane’s latest hard cover, Twisted.

I knew who the bad guy was well before page 50. To make it even worse, I knew this thanks to a throwaway piece of dialogue that didn’t have to be inserted into the story. The author later introduces another viable suspect as way of a red herring, but the fact remains, the bad guy can really only be one of two guys. Not exactly a brain bender.

Sadly, the romance doesn’t make up for the lost ground. Sloane Burbank left the FBI when she injured her hand in the line of duty. This injury has meant several surgeries, a lot of physical therapy, and the disintegration of her relationship with former Army Ranger, now FBI agent, Derek Parker. Their problems totally stem from them both being Type A personalities, and their inability and unwillingness to communicate with each other. Sloane is traumatized and ticked off that Derek doesn’t understand. Derek is ticked off because Sloane shuts him out and doesn’t behave the way he thinks she should.

But naturally, their sex life was off the charts.

Can a relationship between two Type A personalities work? Certainly, but I imagine it takes a lot of work. I never really felt like Sloane and Derek worked very hard at it. They do argue, hash out some of their past, and have incredible sex. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that if something “bad” was to happen to either of them again? Yeah, they’d fold like a house of cards.

All in all, this is a readable story. Even with a weak suspense thread, and a romance I didn’t completely believe in, I still kept turning the pages. It’s the kind of book that if I was stuck in an airport, waiting for my connecting flight, and this was the only book I had to read, I would be mildly entertained. That said, for a hard core suspense fan like myself, Twisted never registered above mildly diverting.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank has survived a life-threatening injury sustained in the line of duty, only to face leaving a job she loves in order to recuperate. As an independent consultant, she now uses her specialized skills to train law enforcement and private organizations in crisis resolution. But when one of her closest childhood friends mysteriously disappears, and the woman’s devastated parents beg for her help, Sloane takes the case-even though her ex-lover Derek Parker is the FBI agent in charge.

Special Agent Derek Parker, now assigned to the Asian Criminal Enterprise Task Force in the FBI’s New York Field Office, has no time to spare for a year-old case he sees as a dead end-especially since it would mean working with a woman he never expected to see again. He’s pursuing the leader of a Chinese gang and trying to solve a series of grizzly murders in Chinatown, so he initially offers Sloane the case files and minimal cooperation.

But as more women disappear and others turn up brutally murdered, Derek’s priorities shift, and he and Sloane come to the sickening realization that these random crimes are linked to the same crazed killer. No one can anticipate when he will strike again, but when Sloane becomes the target of his twisted obsession, it becomes clear that his ultimate fantasy is even more psychotic than either of them ever imagined.

Read an excerpt.