REVIEW: First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Did you ever reread a book and go “Wow! This was so much better than I remembered?”



That has been happening to me lately; especially with Susan Elizabeth Phillips books. I think when your perspective changes, your opinions do as well. ;)



First Lady was not really a memorable novel for me the first time around. I probably read it in my fury to get my hands on all things SEP. Rereading it years later, I did quite enjoy it.



Overall, I really liked the main cast. Mat was wonderful. I loved Nealy. Lucy was probably my favorite character. Button was so funny.



The book was filled with both clever humor and clichés. I was pretty chocked up near the end of the book when Nealy went back to the Washington. I loved the light political commentary that Nealy gave throughout the book. Also, the interesting facts about the former first ladies were pretty cool, too. I thought it was interesting that the book talked about Hillary Clinton running for senator; First Lady was originally published in 2000 – the year Clinton made her decision. I am not sure what month.



I want to say that Mat was my favorite SEP hero, but honestly, as far as he wasn’t that memorable (though, frankly, when it comes to SEP heroes that is probably a good thing). I did not mind that Mat lied about his career, but I did not understand the steelworker idea. Did he just come up with it off the top of his head?



SEP writes children incredibly unrealistically and humorously. Lucy and Button were adorable. I have not read SEP’s newest novel, but I hear Lucy reappears. Is there any chance she will get a novel of her own? (also, I was wondering how old she was in that novel – and if Neal was still president? Because the last few pages of First Lady – if you do the math – took place in 2009, (so, if her inauguration was in 2009, then she would be president to the first month of 2013, assuming she did not run and win again.). That being said, little Luce deserve a happy ending!



Overall: 4 stars



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REVIEW: Backstage Pass by Olivia Cunning

Backstage Pass by Olivia Cunning

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I finally finished!

My apologies to the author (and her fans!) for my harsh words earlier. This book deserved much more of a chance. I am glad I finally gave it one.



You know what? Between all the sex there was a plot. It wasn’t great but it was there. Brian was a cool guy – actually all the members of the Sinners were pretty cool. Myrna was okay. She was a bit of a fan girl, though she wouldn’t admit that to herself.

The ending was nice, I especially liked the last few lines.



Things that were interesting: Malcolm O’Neil. Food Shopping. Jeremy. Florida. Claire Sinclair.

I liked the external and internal issues that Brian and Myrna had as a couple – and that doesn’t always happen.



Overall: 2.5 stars



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REVIEW: Money, Honey by Susan Sey

Money, Honey by Susan Sey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Could the hero be any more of a girl?



That was seriously what I was thinking throughout the whole novel. During action scenes (not that there were many), Patrick was alpha – ever other moment, not so much. But I will give credit where it was due. Patrick was a clever hero.



Liz was really interesting. I felt for her. I think Patrick was an ass when he evaluated her life the way he did. I didn’t understand the connection to dresses in her closet, given her past. The clothing thing made no sense.



I think Liz and Patrick’s take on Liz’s childhood photo was really interesting. That actually gave me a lot to consider in real life. Very intuitive, Ms. Sey.



The ending was a little too clean. There was a lot of setup for not a lot of ending. *shrugs*



I will be looking forward to Money, Shot though. (I didn’t read the teaser yet)



Overall: 2.5 stars



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REVIEW: Fair Games, Inc by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime

Fair Game, Inc. by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime




Another boring read from Wild Rose Press. *shrugs* This publishing company really let me down! (Actually, that’s not fair – some of the stuff I picked up was okay.)

Fair Games, Inc. was another book that was so boring. The characters were incredibly bland. I was not into it one bit.



Overall: DNF



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REVIEW: The Truth About Roxy by Jenny Gilliam

The Truth About Roxy by Jenny Gilliam




To be honest, there was nothing really wrong with this book – it was just boring. It didn’t keep my interest. The author had an interesting layout approach with the advice column before every chapter. That was cool. But, yeah, completely not memorable.

I do plan on going back to finish one day, though.



Overall: DNF



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REVIEW: Tangled Up In Love by Heidi Betts

Tangled Up In Love by Heidi Betts

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Tangled Up in You was kind of boring.

The plot was that two people who public hated eachother began sleeping together and fell in love. The end. Well, there were some funny lines in between, but overall I really did not care much about this book.

Dylan kept calling Ronnie prickly and fierce. His friends referred to her as the ice queen. *shrugs* Was that supposed to make me feel bad for her? Was the reader supposed to relate to her? I couldn’t. This was a poor, poor example of an author telling instead of showing.

Dylan was an okay hero – just not very memorable. But the model of him on the cover is certainly good-looking. :)

What annoyed me the most, though, were the cover comments on the book. Were they actually talking about this book? I am not really convinced. “I loved it!” (Lori Foster) “Fantastic!” (Carly Phillips) “The most entertaining romance of the year.” (Lisa Kleypas) Well, this book was published in 2009. I can think of at least five more entertaining romance novels published that year without even walking back to my bookshelf. Hmm . . .

Anyway, telling instead of showing, plain characters and lack of plot led me to give this book a low score.



Overall: 2 stars





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Kira, Kira, Kira (LOVE that Name)

So I have read a bunch of great reviews for Kira Sinclair's new Blaze. I am going to have to go back and read her older ones. I found one for August 2008 and May 2009. I am looking forward to re-reading them. Yay!
And I left a message on the Harlequin GoodReads site. I was my bundles back. Please?!?

Heartbroken.

I am heartbroken.

My life of soaps is officially over.

One Life to Live and All My Children have been canceled. I am so pissed. Ugh.

Even worse, they are being replaced by reality television – a cooking show and a weight loss show (aren’t those contradictory?).

Fuck. There is really nothing left to say.

REVIEW: Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl

Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So I was going to save this for tomorrow, but I just finished Lead Me On.

Oh, wow. For a while it felt kind of boring, but man-oh-man did I end up loving it. With about fifty pages left, I kind of spaced out and wanted to give up. I am so glad I didn’t.

I want to marry Chase. I love this man.

The last two pages of the novel made up for every thing that was wrong with it (not that I can think of anything right now, because I am on a last two page high). It was so beautiful.

Jane could have easily been really annoying because she was a major snob. I thought it was funny, mostly because Chase kept calling her one. Her family was a mess. I really liked Mac, but not really her Grandma Olive, Jessie or her mom. *shrugs*

Chase was, well, he was perfect. Read the book. Discover him for yourself. If you don’t love him . . .

Plot was okay. There is a bit of suspense in each of the books in the Tumble Creek series. I didn’t really care for the suspense in this one. I did not care if Jessie went to jail. Greg was so creepy from the very beginning. Mitch was kind of strange, too.

The women that Victoria Dahl writes about must be pretty amazing in bed. They always have some previous lover lusting after them (well, at least I think Lori did. Molly definitely did. And given as I just finished Lead Me On moments ago, I can tell you Jane did).

I am really, really looking forward to the next series. Yay!



Overall: 4 Stars



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REVIEW: Playing Hardball by Madison Hayes

Playing Hardball by Madison Hayes

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


This was obviously a continuation of another story that I did not read. Not knowing the back story, I was so frustrated that I just finally put it down. I was so disappointed.

The finally straw was when the hero claimed that he did not spend time with his wife because he did not like other women?!? Um, what?!? You make sacrifices in relationships, especially marriages.

Additionally, the brothers being names Colt, Cord and Bolt was damn annoying. I kept forgetting who the hero was.



Overall: 1 Star



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