All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins
A surprisingly sweet and funny story with some solid and charming characters.
The Bridget Jones-style beginning of All I Ever Wanted almost caused me to put this book down, but I persevered because I’d been wanting to try Kristan Higgins for some time now. I’m glad I did because the story is surprisingly sweet and funny, with some solid character development.
Callie Grey has been pining for her boss—formerly her high school crush and first kiss—and patiently waiting for the ‘timing’ to be right for their relationship. But despite one glorious five-week fling almost a year ago, Mark announces his engagement to the daughter of a key client. On Callie’s birthday. Oh, and his fiancée would now be working with the company.
Sure, she wants Mark back, but Callie gamely tries to get back into the dating pool by checking out the town’s new vet…except Ian McFarland is not exactly receptive to Callie’s charms.
It’s hard to place this book. It has a chick-lit feel and is told from the first person, but the romance features heavily in the second half of the book. It’s also not as self-centred as chick-lit tends to be. Higgins plays for laughs, but never really at the expense of her protagonist. Behind Callie’s insecurities and problems is a fairly confident, successful woman with a clear sense of who she is, surrounded by people who love her.
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The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate (Fallen, Prequel)
Enjoyable in a seedy way. If you’re looking for a book with an innocent heroine and black and white morality, you will be shocked.
Warning: If the title wasn’t enough of a hint, this story does not have a happy ending. This is a standalone novel originally published before the Fallen series and has been reissued presumably as a result of the series’ success.
Natalie Hargrove is the most popular girl at Palmetto High and expects that she and her wealthy, laid back boyfriend Mike will become Palmetto Prince and Princess (like homecoming or prom king and queen). She has worked hard to overcome her poor white trash background to achieve her social standing and isn’t about to let Justin Balmer, of all people, stand in their way, especially after their secret shared history.
After a Saturday night party, Natalie and Mike discover a drunken J. B. in drag and take him to the church to sober him up. On impulse, Natalie ties him to a tree outside so everyone can witness his humiliation on their way to Sunday services. Unfortunately, J. B. dies overnight and slowly everything Natalie has worked so hard for unravels around her.
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Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres (Night Creatures, Book 1)
A lyrical, sensual and fascinating story let down by a disjointed plot and vague world building. Your mileage may vary.
There’s something seductive about the way Marianne de Pierres writes, and although I hesitated to pick this book up—not another young adult dark fantasy novel!—once I did I couldn’t put it down…until I got to the middle.
Retra escapes her closed community to search for her brother, who ran away to Ixion two years ago. It’s a mysterious place, where everyone lives for pleasure and newcomers are urged to ‘burn bright’. It’s a place where Retra, conditioned to be silent, calm and obedient, finds herself caught up in the politics and jealousies between the Ripers who promise to guard the young revellers, the various gangs in the city, the dreaded Night Creatures, and rebel factions who know that Ixion is not, after all, just about pleasure.
De Pierres sets the story up beautifully, taking the reader on the same journey as the bewildered Retra, for whom Ixion requires a complete reassessment of everything she knows (or has been taught) thus far. But as the story progresses, De Pierres falls into the common trap of keeping details thin in order to maintain various mysteries of the world she’s creating.
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Heartless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, Book 4)
The latest instalment of the Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series proves that some things can get even better with time.
Alexia Maccon (nee Tarrabotti) has got herself into trouble again. Aside from the ‘infant inconvenience’ that has led to everyone trying to kill her—featuring, this time around, zombie, semi-mechanised porcupines—she has to solve a plot to assassinate the Queen. All while waddling about, moving, investigating her husband’s past, fussing over members of the pack and having tea.
This latest instalment of the Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series proves that some things can get even better with time. This book was just as witty and compelling as the others—I read it at every possible moment—and even more creative. (The porcupines were totally original.) Alexia, despite being preggers and totally dependent on her parasol, hunky werewolves and her unflappable butler to prop her up, still manages to save the day and pop out a baby besides. (Yes, the progeny makes its appearance in this one, which is not a spoiler since you can tell that from the size of her in chapter one.)
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Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (Elder Races, Book 1)
The perfect antidote for a paranormal romance slump. I have been sucked into another series!
Pia Giovanni has been blackmailed into stealing something from a dragon’s horde. After becoming the only being in the world to get away with it, she finds herself targeted by Dragos Culebre, a powerful member of the Elder Races. (Yes, he is a dragon. Yes, he lives in a big tower in New York.)
Dragos can’t believe someone has managed to steal from him, but instead of dismembering the thief he finds himself, well, feeling. At the same time, he knows that there’s more to this theft than meets the eye, and before long he and Pia are on the run, trying to unravel the plot against him.
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Death's Sweet Embrace by Tracey O'Hara (Dark Brethren, Book 2)
Ends with an excellent twist—one that I didn’t guess until the very end—but let down by the execution.
I’ll be honest. I thought I’d like this book much more than I did. Although the first book in the series, Night’s Cold Kiss, had its flaws, I generally enjoyed the story and was looking forward to more.
Snow leopard shifter Kitt Jordan’s dream is to be reunited with her estranged daughters and to make peace with her pack. It seems to be within her reach, until she’s called to be part of a task force hunting down a brutal serial killer. Kitt has to work alongside Raven, with whom she has a rather tragic history, and it seems that there’s still something between them. Despite the attraction, Kitt knows that getting involved with Raven again will pretty much scuttle her chances of a reunion with her pack and her daughters.
Meanwhile, the serial killer’s MO is to find young Bestiabeo (shapeshifters), paralyse them and rip out their hearts. There’s a lot of gore in this book.
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The Girl In The Steel Corset by Kady Cross (The Steampunk Chronicles, Book 1)
Delivers a good mystery at the expense of world building and character development.
This book has everything going for it. Look at that gorgeous cover. Check out the gushing reviews online. It’s teen steampunk—two of the subgenres du jour in popular fiction. I squealed in delight when the folks at Mills and Boon were kind enough to send me a review copy.
In hindsight, I should’ve known better than to raise my expectations to a level that few books could possibly attain. The Girl In The Steel Corset might have worked for me ten years ago, but now I’m just left wanting more.
Sixteen-year old Finley Jane knows something lurks inside her—something strong and dark and unpredictable. She tries to hide it, but she can’t always control it. After Finley escapes an assault, she’s taken in by Griffin and his friends. She doesn’t want to cause them any trouble…and yet they, too, seem to have their secrets. And their abilities.
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Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee (Tanner Siblings, Book 1)
A friends to lovers story that doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights—or depths—that I prefer in my romances.
I love me a good friends-to-lovers story—it’s one of my favourite pairings. In theory, Jess Dee’s story in which the hero, Daniel, decides he’s had enough of being platonic friends with childhood friend, Amy, and executes a plan to change their relationship status…well, in theory it ticks the right boxes for me. Bonus for being an erotic romance, even though, as I may have mentioned a few times before, I’m so very picky with erotica.
Well…it kind of work and it didn’t. The fact that I’m a sucker for friends to lovers probably kept my interest longer than the book should have. Unfortunately, it just didn’t have enough emotional depth for me to care much about the characters.
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Lunch in Paris: A Delicious Love Story, with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard
Well-written, poignant, and romantic. Each chapter comes with a few recipes, most of which feature in the story. I loved it all.
In line with Travel Tuesday (#traveltuesday) on Twitter, Wandergurl will review a travel book once a month.
Elizabeth Bard met her Frenchman at a conference, and later met up with him in Paris. On their first date, she slept with him before dessert. Thus begins Lunch in Paris, a beautiful story of romance, Paris, growing up and learning how to be an adult.
And, of course, there’s the food. All the glorious food. Each chapter comes with a few recipes, most of which have been described as part of the story.
And I really loved the romance:
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Home Is Where The Bark Is by Kandy Shepherd
For anyone looking for a sweet, lovely, light-hearted read. Especially if you love dogs.
Serena Oakley is an ex-model who now runs a doggy day care (with a spa!) in San Francisco. Nick Whalen is a private investigator assigned to figure out if Serena is behind an identity theft scheme. When he shows up at her shop with a Yorki-poo, she’s a bit suspicious—after all, what is this hunk of a man doing with a handbag dog? This doesn’t stop her from being attracted to him and vice versa. Will Nick be able to find out who the real thief is before super hot attraction gets in the way?
I love dogs. I’m the kind of person who says, ‘Hello, doggy!’ every time I pass one on the street. I used to volunteer at a dog shelter. Hence, there was pretty much a kind of guarantee I would like this book. All the dogs in this book were realistic and adorable and were more than just a means to further the plot along—they were pretty much secondary characters.
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