Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Glitter Baby is a reissue of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ first novel, originally published in 1987, and is set in the 1950s, ’70s and ’80s. I think as a hangover from the 1970s bodice-rippers, romantic fiction from the 80s (the little I’ve read of it anyway) seems to require hard-edged and even harder-won sophistication and a loss of innocence, which can make the book quite heavy, especially for someone who discovered romance in the late 90s.
I can understand why this book has been out of print for so long: it’s a time capsule from decades past and is likely to sell again today primarily because of Phillips’ name on the cover. Or at least that’s why I bought it. But even the publishers seem confused as to how to market it for today’s readers. The front cover and spine describe the book as “fiction” or “women’s fiction”, but the quote on the back calls the book a “sweeping romance”.
It definitely doesn’t fit today’s typical structure for a romance novel. The first chapter shows Glitter Baby Fleur Savagar’s tentatively successful attempt to return to the spotlight after a mysterious fall from grace,
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Fit To Be Tied by Karen Kendall
Fit to Be Tied by Karen Kendall doesn’t begin like a conventional romance novel—it starts with a proposal. When Tom proposes to Jen, it should’ve been one of the happiest days of her life. But instead of ending the day having great monkey sex, Jen breaks the happy news to her parents just after they announce that they’re getting a divorce.
The story skips to the wedding where a frazzled Jen is trying her hardest to cope with various things going wrong on her big day—one of her shoes goes missing, her hair is horrible, she’s breaking out in hives … and Tom seems to be more than a little tipsy. But that’s nothing compared to discovering that Tom had been married before. And that his ex-wife is trying to crash the wedding party. And that he wasn’t actually divorced yet when he’d started dating Jen.
To cut a long story short, Jen decides she wants a divorce. While they’re on their honeymoon.
If you think the plot is ridiculous, that’s because it is. If it sounds a little funny, that’s also because it is
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The New Man by Janice Kay Johnson (Super Romance)
The New Man by Janice Kay Johnson isn’t my cup of Super Romance, but there’s a gentless in the story which may appeal to other readers.
Helen Schaefer lost her husband after a long illness and she’s wary of getting involved with Alec Fraser. She’s had enough of loss and is unwilling to let herself be vulnerable to that kind of grief again. Alec is a widower and knows all too well the devastating grief of losing a spouse. And while he’s open to starting a new relationship, he has his own issues to sort out with his family—particularly his son, Devlin.
The pace of this novel was too slow for me. Johnson fleshes out Helen’s character beyond the romance, but for the most part, I found those bits boring. More interesting is Alec’s home life and his struggle to communicate with Devlin. Johnson evokes the love, frustration and helplessness Alec feels when his efforts fail repeatedly, and his family situation comes across as real and honest. Disappointingly, the resolution of his conflict with Devlin is much too abrupt.
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John Riley's Girl by Inglath Cooper (Super Romance)
Back in high school, Harlequin Mills & Boon Super Romance was my particular brand of crack. I loved these books. I inhaled them, and even though I’d occasionally dabble in Blaze or Temptation, I always came back to Super Romance. John Riley’s Girl by Inglath Cooper took me back to those days of pretending to listen to our Spanish teacher while surreptitiously reading a romance book hidden behind a stack of textbooks. That said teacher was a nun only made it more daring. We bookworms can be rebels, too.
Olivia Ashford hasn’t been back to her hometown in fifteen years after a deeply painful event in her childhood. But a phone call from an old friend stirs up memories and curiosity, and on a whim she decides to return for her high school reunion. Olivia hopes that her visit to Summerville will help her find closure to old wounds. But John Riley, her high school sweetheart, isn’t willing to forget–much less forgive–the fact that Olivia abandoned him without so much as a goodbye. So when the reunion ends up being held at his farm, there’s no way to avoid the confrontation between them.
From the very first chapter, it’s obvious that there’s a huge misunderstanding
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The Spaniard's Baby Bargai by Helen Bianchin (Modern Romance)
Realising that I haven’t made a dent in the The Harlequin/Silhouette Romance Reading Challenge, I made it a point to grab a handful of HMBs on my last library visit. I picked up The Spaniard’s Baby Bargain by Helen Bianchin because it’s part of the Modern Romance imprint (to which the Rugby Union related books will belong), it’s set in Sydney, and it’s written by a New Zealand author. I was disappointed by the awkward prose and hugely contrived set-up of the story, but there were moments in the second half of the book that I thought were done well, so it wasn’t a total write-off.
When Ariane Celeste interviews billionaire (AUD or USD, I wonder?) Manolo del Guardo for a TV documentary, she finds herself staying on as a temporary nanny for his daughter. But Manolo finds the arrangement so satisfactory that he asks her to marry him–he gets a wife and a mother for her child, and she gets the child she’s always longed for and his protection against her stalker ex-husband.
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As Darkness Falls by Bronwyn Parry
The first I heard of As Darkness Falls by Australian author Bronwyn Parry was a small blurb in the Dymocks Booklovers catalogue. I was intrigued because it sounded like a romance (just because the catalogue says it’s romance doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be genre Romance), it’s set in Australia, and it looked meaty. When I finally got my hands on the book, the cover promises: “If you enjoy reading Nora Roberts you will love…” That is a big call, I thought, especially since it’s the author’s first novel. But after reading As Darkness Falls, I think it really is a book that Nora Roberts fans might like. It’s a shame, then, that so few Australian romance bookstores have it in their catalogues.
As Darkness Falls centres on Detective Isabelle O’Connell, who has isolated herself from society to recover from some serious personal trauma resulting from an investigation into a child killer. Not only had she been unable to find the killer in time, she had been unable to protect a local suspect from falling victim to an angry mob. But when she receives a visit from Detective Chief Inspector Alec Goddard informing her that another girl has gone missing in her hometown of Dungirri, Isabelle is compelled to go back home and help solve the case.
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Suzanne by Michael Betcherman
When I was offered a review preview of Suzanne, I was quite excited because I’ve always felt that modern storytelling has so far underutilised the power of multimedia. Suzanne is an epistolary story told via e-mail (as in actual e-mail sent to the reader) over three weeks. It’s an interesting experiment–one which had mixed results for me.
The heroine
Suzanne Braun is a not terribly successful single mother struggling to recover from the debts left behind by her late husband. She’s shunned by society and considered a gold-digger after refusing to marry an older businessman who insisted that she sign a prenup.
The hero
Mark Rogers is recovering from the break up of his 14-year relationship. A successful businessman, he’s coming back home to start afresh.
The setup
Suzanne has been invited by her in-laws to a spend the summer at their cottage in the swanky community of Lake Joseph, and she’s planning to use the opportunity to check out potential husbands with the means to help her out of her bind.
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Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
I’m not gonna lie. I love this book. Mine doesn’t seem to be a popular opinion when I look it up on the blogs, but J. T. Wilder is just … swoonable. He’s just so … manly. And no flowerly dialogue, thank god. (Also, I learned a new word: clusterfuck.) I wish we had more men like him in romance.
It took me ages to warm up to Lucy, however, and that’s unusual for a Crusie heroine. I found her slighty shrill and felt that she didn’t really change much during the book. Some of her scenes with Wilder were so melodramatic, I felt like rolling my eyes. Still, a bad Crusie heroine is far from a write-off, and I loved some of her conversations with the movie crew.
I also loved the tight writing–every scene here has a purpose, even though it got farcical at times. This isn’t your typical romance, and the “I love you” comes out of the blue. Best if they hadn’t included it–I just read through and ignored that bit. But this book is a keeper because of Wilder. As a result, I may have a teeny-weeny crush on Bob Mayer.
If you’re thinking of picking up a romance(ish) novel that a guy might like, try this one. Click here to read the first chapter.
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Gimme an O! by Kayla Perrin
Kayla Perrin’s Gimme an O! starts off with some witty dialogue and an engaging heroine. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sustain the pace, and while the romance is sweet, the main characters make dodgy decisions throughout the book. I guess the back blurb does warn that it’s a “harebrained plan”, but I ended up irritated by the silliness of it all.
The love scenes are also frustrating. There’s some great sexual tension and then … slam! The sound of the bedroom door being firmly shut. I don’t have a problem with keeping the sex off-page, but with such a strong build-up, it’s jarring to get to the next paragraph and find out it’s all over.
Finally, the heroine is a sex therapist, but she has hang-ups that I don’t seem to suit her character.
Overall, I was disappointed with this book because I thought I’d enjoy it more than I did. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t live up to the promise of the first few chapters. Read an excerpt here.
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