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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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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REVIEW: His Voice, His Command: Naughty Nooners by Vonna Harper

His Voice, His Command: Naughty Nooners by Vonna Harper

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Not only was this incredibly boring (28 pages, and it LITERALLY put me to sleep) but it was really poorly formatted – and I bought the epub straight from the publisher.

Not memorable, not interesting, not hot. Just lame and disappointing.



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REVIEW: Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really ended up enjoying this book.

I thought that Quinn’s problem of ignoring people was actually really funny. I loved that fact that when he concentrated on something he really did it well. And he LOVED to concentrated on Lori.

Lori was a great heroine. I liked her quite a bit. She was funny and understanding, but in no way was she a pushover. She was a bit of a snob though, but I thought it was funny.

Molly was 100% more likable in this book. She is definitely meant to be a supporting character. In this book she was still driving Ben crazy – I loved it!

One thing that kind of put me off – the hero and heroine never ended up exchanging I Love Yous. The book ended with Quinn telling Lori that he liked her a lot more than he liked buildings (for him that is practically I Love You). I am kind of on the fence about how I feel about this.

I finished this book with a smile on my face; I just wish there was more.

Overall: 4 stars.







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REVIEW: Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Hmm . . .

I never really connected why Molly was so insistent about keeping her career a secret. She also lied about Cameron. That was really annoying.

I think it made sense at first, but once she started receiving threats and feeling watched she needed to tell the police who were investigating the distress – even if the police was her partner in “not dating” Ben.

I really loved Ben. He might be one of my most favorite heroes ever – definitely in at least a while! He was sexy and protective and funny. He trusted Molly and pushed her when he knew she wasn’t being honest. Ben is definitely the type of man I could fall in love with.

Just a heads up to those who are reading – this is definitely not a happy ending story; it was a happy for now book. Nothing against those kinds of books, sometime they even work a lot better. I thought the ending worked for Ben and Molly.

Next up in Lori and Quinn’s book. Weird. After re-reading Talk Me Down and being introduced to both characters, I would not have thought they would work. I am looking forward to checking that book out.

And for a bit of gripe: There was a very brief mention of a townsperson named Nick Larsen. Consider the hero's name was Ben Lawson, why were their names so close without actually meaning anything. I was so curious about that . . .



Overall: 3.5 stars



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REVIEW: Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery

Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, to start off I am going to review Almost Perfect as a stand alone book. I was originally thinking about it terms of the whole series, but really that isn’t fair to the book (or any book).

The hero of the story is kind of an idiot, and Susan Mallery does him no favors. Every time he makes a mistake or gets angry it is magnified. Meanwhile, unless it is disastrous, all his quiet good moments are “off screen.” Ethan finds out about Tyler, but the heroine (I suppose rightly) demands that he forgive her. She tried to tell him – twice! I understand that the situations were very complicated – Ethan turned his back on Liz; Liz found him “in bed” with Pia and later told his wife about Tyler, and Rayanne kept it all a secret; Ethan has a very difficult time blaming the dead. And he would also not freely throw his wife under the bus. Liz was a decent heroine. She saved her nieces from foster care. She had a lucrative career and survived a single mom. She is more or less someone to admire.

And I really enjoyed Liz’s relationship with Montana (my favorite of the triplets – though knowing they are triplets I imagine them all exactly the same and frequently confuse them).

That all being said – do any of your feel we actually read a romance? I felt that Almost Perfect was more about the reuniting of Ethan and Tyler, and how Liz must cope with that. I know that I did not read about Ethan and Liz falling in love (though, they may have still been in love from high school).

My absolute favorite part of this book was when Ethan and Liz first reunited and his mentioned how the characters she kills off in her novels have more than a passing resemblance to him – and he thinks it’s funny. What a charming moment!

After a number of disastrous Susan Mallery books, this one (actually this series) was a welcome surprise. I loved it.



Overall: 4 stars.



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Maybe it’s me.

I am reading Olivia Cunning’s Backstage Pass. One of the readers I follow on GoodReads gave it a great rating, so I thought I would check out reviews. The first review I read said that it was free earlier this week. I immediately checked out the price from my distributor, and it was still free (to celebrate the release of her second book). Anyway . . .
This book is ALL sex. I can’t even think of a single moment that was not about having sex – and it is not just between the hero and heroine. It is just a little much for me.
That being said, it was a mass market book for average price originally. I really was not expecting this.
GoodReads readers rated this book really high.
I am sorry . . . but to me this does not compare to authors like Pamela Clare or Julie James. That being said, I have no finished and I will continuing reading it.

REVIEW: Body Check by Elle Kennedy

Body Check by Elle Kennedy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While not a bad story, I am just not sure the plot was meaty enough to keep my interest or for another re-read. It was a simple story with charming characters. I enjoyed Elle Kennedy’s writing and will probably read other work by her.

I really enjoyed how we were able to read about what the couple did on their dates (in terms of skating, museum, etc.). I thought it was a nice touch and showed how both characters were (though, not admitting to) willing to compromise.

And poor Hayden – I had the hardest time remembering her name. I kept wanting to call her Peyton. I thought that both the name and character of Brody Croft were far more memorable. What a sexy hockey player!

Re-thinking this story: Was Presley’s problems ever rectified? Who did Shelia end up with? Hmm . . . And there was an epilogue, too!

Overall: 3.5 Stars



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Just a bit addicted. . .

So I am LOVING GoodReads.com

You know how some people are addicted to facebook? Well, I have not been on facebook since I joined GoodReads - FIVE MONTHS ago. I love it. I am constantly finding new books. I have not really interacted to the full extent, but I have been reading like crazy. I hope to get some new reviews up shortly.

I am not sure how authors live with this site. I am not published yet, and I am on this site for hours each day. It is incredibly distracting.

LOVE LOVE LOVE. :)

Okay, So I am a Soap Opera Addict, Even in my Romance Novels

Today is all about reading. I have read a lot this week. I think I am going to go reach way into my back pocket and talk about JoAnn Ross. Ms. Ross is a great imagist. She puts together the perfect picture using an abundance of detail.

This week I went back and purchased her Callahan series. I had read all three book before, but I was grateful to add them to my collection. I was thinking about how different the books and the characters actually are, despite being about three brothers and sharing a setting.

River Road was my favorite. Shocking, right? Okay, maybe not. It was about an FBI agent and a soap star. I loved Julie and Finn. They were a great pair. Blue Bayou was a nice story too, though extremely rushed. Danielle and Jack were great - though her father never received his comeuppance in that story, and Holly was way too forgiving. In Magnolia Moon Nate and Regan were hard to read. I don't know why. I thought she was kind of worldly for him. I just don't see why they would love each other. I even have a hard time imagining them as friends. Hmm. . .

This week I also went back and read Leslie Kelly's Harlequin Blaze Play With Me. It was cute. I loved Amanda and Reese, but was there really a plot? The real reason I went back to read it was that I read a review for it and the plot they described was not ringing any bells with me. Well, the plot they described did happen, but I am not sure that that would be the way I would have described it at all. Also, the story was not funny. It was sexy, sure. Not funny.

On Tuesday morning I bought twenty-nine (!!!) books and my wallet is still feeling the repercussions. I will have to let you know how it all goes.

Love, Adrienne

Cast Off: Julie James

I am excited to share that on late Monday night / early Tuesday morning, I got my copy of Julie James’ A Lot Like Love. To say I was looking forward to this book would be an understatement. I was thrilled when I heard that James had a new novel coming out. I was thrilled with the final results and I am trying to figure out why.

For the record, prior to read the awesome A Lot Like Love, I went back and reread Just the Sexiest Man Alive, Practice Makes Perfect, and Someone Like You.

The fact of the matter is that James does not write complicated plot. In fact, she writes rather simple ones actual (so simple, in fact, that sometimes I can’t help but think how this is a whole novel). Where James excels (farther than a lot of writers) is in her characters and dialogue. She writes relatively smart characters. Sure, they have their hands in some misunderstanding, but overall they are not dumb people. Also, pretty much all of her characters are witty. It’s exciting to read. They also all have an edge. You know how I was complaining about how Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes the same character over and over again in all her books? Well, I was trying to figure out if this was the case with James. I can’t really get the feeling that it is (though, in James’ case I want to be the female lead, not throttle her!), but I am worried that she is writing very similar characters in each book.

One really cool thing that James does, that not many authors are currently doing, is that she dates her books. In A Lot Like Love, Jordan’s brother Kyle is in prison for shutting down a very influntual website. You immediately think, oh shot! He hacked into the CIA (or, you know, something of that magnitude). Nope. He shut down Twitter. Frankly, it was hilarious. I really hate when people give more away than the back of the book already told, so I am not going to go further. Just go out! Get yourself a copy. It will be well worth it!

Also, I read James’ February 13th blog entry. She had a really cool fan make a movie poster for her first novel, Just the Sexiest Man Alive (which was original written to be a movie). At her suggestion I was trying to figure out who I would cast in the roles.

Here is who I am actually imagining, though I am not always 100% on with the character descriptions.

Just the Sexiest Man Alive
Taylor: Ginnifer Goodwin
Jason: Bradley Cooper
Jeremy: Jeremy Piven
Scott: Chad Michael Murray (Goodness, that man gives me a headache)

Practice Makes Perfect
Payton: Stephanie Gatschet
J.D.: Ryan Reynolds


Someone Like You
Cameron: Tara Reid
Jack: Jordi Vilasuso

A Lot Like Love
Jordan: Kaley Cuoco
Nick: Wentworth Miller
Kyle: Josh Duhamel

I would love to see who you all pick!

Love, Adrienne

Some Trips are Just Worth the Time . . .

Is it March 1st yet? The NEW Julie James novel is coming out!!!! I can’t wait! I love her writing, characters and voice.

So, I was reading a lot this week. I started Worth the Trip, buy Penny McCall. I am not sure where I stand on this issue, but do you think that in order to read a series, you need to read the ENTIRE series?

I love the character of Trip Jones, but I loved him in the earlier novel he appeared in as well. I love, love, love Norah. I did not expect to, but I walked away really loving her character. Anyway, the fact is, the Trip that I read in her earlier works would not have even fallen for a woman like Norah.

So I guess the point I am trying to make is what if prior experience with a character hinders the overall novel? Is that really far to readers? It is obvious that regardless of where you stand on whether or not Worth the Trip was a good novel, you will say that Trip was definitely unexpected.

On another positive note, Jack and Aubrey from All Jacked Up, appeared in the novel, briefly, as well. They were so freaking cute.

On an irritating note, what is with Worth the Trip’s sex scenes all being exactly one page? And completely out of the blue? Did anyone else feel irked by this?

Anyway, for some great romantic suspense, check Penny McCall. I own all of her books and love to read them!


PS: FIVE DAYS until Julie's A Lot Like Love! Seriously. Can. Not. Wait.

Love, Adrienne

What I Did For a Love Story

Okay, so I originally planned to write about the cute Three Kisses series by Christie Ridgway (it’s great – check it out), but I went to the library yesterday and actually thumbed through the hardcover section. I admit it, I am a paperback snob. I don’t like big, bulky books. They remind me of textbooks. You can’t convince me that there is anyone who wants to read a text book! Though speaking of textbooks, I read a paperback version of The Lexus and the Olive Tree while in college, and it was so thought provoking. I would recommend that book.

Anyway, I am strolling through the hardcover fiction section and what catches my eye? Susan Elizabeth Phillip’s Natural Born Charmer. I actually read this book when it first came out. In fact I sought after it. I think I went to four libraries looking for it. To say I was sourly disappointed would be an understatement. I could not for the life of me get into the characters. And the fact that her name was Blue was terribly distracting. Anyway, I look over it and decide to take it out again. I mean, it’s been two years! I can’t be as terrible as I remember it, can it?

Well, it’s pretty bad; not as awful, though, as I recalled it. Anyway, so I decide to take out all the SEP books that I don’t own (I am ashamed to admit I own at least nine). I have never really liked SEP books. I never saw the glamour or reality in them. I was pretty sure that every single one of her books was based on the same two characters changing their names. Anyway, I end up taking out the book What I Did for Love. I read it. I can’t put it down. It’s actually really captivating. I need to know what happens next.

Over all, I would definitely say that What I Did for Love is my favorite SEP book to date. I was trying to think of why this was, and I actually can’t think of much, which is quite shameful. I liked the hero a lot. I think it mostly had to do with the fact that he was a liar, and as the reader I knew he was a liar the whole time. I did not like the whole insinuation that Bram followed Georgie to Vegas and planned to make her miserable . . . or whatever SEP was actually insinuating. I imagined the worst, so when it was not really that bad, everything was rosy for me. I did not really care for the fact that the main character was based on a real person (please! Jen Aniston – come on!), but I took pleasure in the fact that Jade was super cold (just as I imagine Angelina Jolie would be). And poor, poor Lance (aka Brad Pitt). The heroine’s father pointed out his fatal flaw – he changes himself to fit the person whom he is with. So true!

I liked Georgie and Bram together. They had a lot of history together and that added to the story. Their animosity to one another made sense. Though, for a thirty-one year old woman, Georgie was so naive. What was up with that? Chaz, whom many reviews claim stole the novel, was flat for me. I did not connect with her on any level; same with Laura. I liked Paul and Aaron. They were good and had gentle, but important transformations. With the exception of its briefness I was thrilled with how the novel ended, though that epilogue I could have lived without.

While What I Did for Love was not the best novel ever, I would recommend it to readers. It was charming, sexy and cute. For the first time in one of SEP’s novels, I felt like the dialogue and tension were validated. Other reviewers claim that Ain’t She Sweet is SEP’s best work. Well, I am reading that on tonight. That was the first SEP novel I read, prior to realizing she was SEP. You know, I just thought she was a crazy writer who got off on humiliating and punishing woman. (Seriously, though. Does anyone else get that vibe from her novels? It super bugs me.)

Love, Adrienne