Showing posts with label Reviews: Grade C. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews: Grade C. Show all posts
01 December 2011

REVIEW: Hot Zone by Catherine Mann


HOT ZONE
Catherine Mann
ISBN #: 9781402244988
Sourcebooks, Inc.
December 2011       
Romantic Suspense


BACK COVER BLURB:

DAYS FULL OF DANGER

For Pararescueman Master Sergeant Hugh Franco, it's all about saving other people's lives. Then he moves on. But when he pulls beautiful Amelia Bailey and her adopted nephew from the rubble of a catastrophic earthquake, he finds himself entangled in their lives in ways he could never have imagined . . .

AND DESIRE FILLED NIGHTS

Amelia's trip to the Bahamas to help with an international adoption has been no vacation, but the hardest part is yet to come. As Amelia and Hugh are pulled unawares into a deadly smuggling scheme, simmering beneath their growing need to protect each other in a compelling attraction they're both determined to deny.


COVER SNARK:
Generic man titty. And why is the author's name covering his face? SIGH.

FIRST LINES:
The world had caved in on Amelia Bailey. Literally. Aftershocks from the earthquake still rumbled the gritty earth under her cheek, jarring her out of her hazy micro nap.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

I wanted to read HOT ZONE because I was intrigued by the book's description. It had everything going for it and as a former Army vet, I'm a sucker for military set romantic suspense stories. Amelia and Hugh were intriguing with an unique and interesting layered background. Amelia's father had been a pedophile who prayed on her brother's girlfriend, which led Amelia to become a lawyer; Hugh's wife and child died in a plane crash, which pushed him into a career where he rescues people giving little regard for his life or his safety. This is not a spoiler as these facts are mentioned in the first or second chapter, by the way. Anyhoo, despite these interesting back-stories I had a hard time buying into their instant romance given the situation they were in.

Amelia has travelled to the Bahama's to assist her brother and his wife with the adoption of their new son. While there a major earthquake strikes and Amelia is trapped inside the debris with her nephew. Hugh comes in to save her and gets trapped as well. While they are trapped they talk to each other and a bond is formed between them. I didn't understand the sexual attraction/awareness that flared up between them. I mean, her nephew is trapped with them, his condition unknown, Amelia is hurt as well, yet they are thinking about sex and how they are attracted to the other person. The way it was written didn't ring true for me. I would've bought the attraction more if the author would've held back until they were rescued and they saw each other again. As it was written pulled me out of the story.

I loved the idea of Hugh's job and the men on his team. I felt their sense of camaraderie; however, I wish their stories were integrated more into the main plot. There was a significant side plot with Hugh's boss that in my honest opinion did not add to what should have been the focus on Hugh and Amelia. Of course, I am well known for my annoyance for major side plots that don't add to the hero and heroine's story (cough cough, J.R. Ward). I wish more of HOT ZONE focused on Hugh and Amelia fighting through their situations instead of the other characters (Hugh's boss who's name I can't remember at the moment and Amelia's brother and his wife). While cute, didn't add to the main story, IMHO.

I'm debating if I'm going to read this author again. I loved the military aspect and the unique roll the unit plays in the story. However, I was underwhelmed by romance. The hero and heroine's instant attraction and the completely predictable suspense plot. Though my love for the military plot will probably make me pick up this author again, it will because of how well she writes that world and the disaster situations and not for how she writes romance or suspense.


WHERE PURCHASED:
Received copy from publisher for review.


RATING:




















post signature
09 November 2011

REVIEW: Always You by Karen Stivali

always you
Karen Stivali
ISBN #: 9781419935107
Publisher Name:  Ellora’s Cave Publishing Company
Date Released:  September 2011
Genre:  Erotica/Contemporary
Book Format:  eBook


BACK COVER BLURB:

When Shari discovers that her fiancé has been cheating on her, she lets the wedding go on according to plan. Except while everyone else is at the church, Shari is heading to the airport to fly off on her honeymoon with her best friend, Jon.
Jon is only too happy to help Shari escape what he knew would have been an awful marriage. Plus he’s thrilled by the prospect of time alone with her in a tropical paradise. He’s always loved her, and desired her as a lot more than a friend.


A steamy, romantic night on the beach turns into a whirlwind of desire as they take their friendship to multiple new levels of passion. But when Shari’s apologetic ex tries to win her back, she must choose between the life she thought she was going to have with him and the possibility of love with Jon.


COVER SNARK:
I don’t like Ellora’s Cave covers. They are blah and they've been in the business long enough where they could be a little different. Also the couple on the cover is pasty white and they're supposed to be in Aruba. I know I'm picky, but still.


FIRST LINES:
Jon raced Shari down the hallway of the hotel, feeling as if they were back in college again. The keycard jammed the first two times he shoved it into the door.


LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
Don't tar and feather me in the comments, but sometimes a girl is in need of some light and fluffy erotica. Whenever I get that need, I turn to a book from Ellora's Cave. I don't generally categorize a publisher, but there is something about Ellora's Cave books. They're not always deep, but whenever I'm in the mood for some light, fluffy quick erotica, I turn to Ellora's Cave.

ALWAYS YOU was one of those books you read for a quick pick me up. ALWAYS YOU is a novella that I breezed through. Even though the heroine Shari was somewhat oblivious for my tastes, I liked her. I think that was because I was so that girl back in the day. I seriously had no clue that guys were into me and thought we were just friends. Now that I'm older, it's embarrassing for me to realize how many opportunities I passed up because I was such a dingbat.

The relationship between Shari and Jon was straightforward and pretty close to what was describe on the back cover blurb with some great steamy encounters that were not just about being erotic but showed the characters personality as well as having quite a bit of emotion in them as well. This is something I don't always find when reading Ellora's Cave's novels. I appreciated that very much. Despite the shot length and ALWAYS YOU being an erotic romance, I totally bought into their happily ever after.

I did have a couple issues that pulled me out of the story, but they were minor but you know me, I'm mentioning them anyway. ALWAYS YOU opens with Shari and Jon arriving to their hotel room drunk and falling asleep in separate beds. What seems like seconds later a drunk Shari is pleasuring herself with Jon hearing her in the next bed. This did not seem plausible. I went back and re-read to see if it was clear that some time had passed before Shari starting umm . . . enjoying herself and it wasn't clearly stated. The same thought occurred to me when Shari and Jon have an encounter on the beach because only moments before they were at a beachfront restaurant. Although they had walked awhile, the prose wasn't clear to me that they were alone enough to have such a encounter. It was little details like that which pulled me out of the story and had me focusing if they were really alone or if this was plausible instead of focusing on the hero and heroine.

Other than that, I enjoyed ALWAYS YOU very much.


WHERE PURCHASED:
Won copy from author in a Twitter contest.


RATING:









post signature


07 November 2011

REVIEW: Lola and The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins


lola and the boy next door
Stephanie Perkins
ISBN #:  978-0-525-42328-7
Publisher Name:  Penguin Group/Dutton Books
Date Released:  September 2011
Genre:  YA


BACK COVER BLURB:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket—a gifted inventor—steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.


COVER SNARK:
This is actually a very pretty, intriguing cover. I would definitely pause as I passed it while shopping and pick up the book to read the back cover blurb.



FIRST LINES:
I have three simple wishes. They're really not too much to ask.


LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
I really, really, really wanted to read LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR. I wanted to read this book from the moment I closed her debut Anna and the French Kiss. I must say that I'm glad that I waited until my library ordered a copy of LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR because if I had actually paid money for this book, I would've been very angry. It wasn't the writing, which was great. It was the plot and the characters that drove me crazy.

Maybe I expected too much? I'm going to try to articulate why LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR was a letdown for me. The main reason was that Lola didn't connect with me as a character. Probably because she spent the whole book lying to everyone around her and deception/lying is one of my biggest romance pet peeves. I know that as a teenager that your emotions are haywire and you often lie to yourself and others without meaning to, but that still doesn't make you the best possible choice for the heroine in a romance novel. I needed deeper motivation to justify why Lola spent so much time lying to everyone.

It wasn't only Lola that I had trouble with but I had trouble with the majority of the main characters. The book seemed forced, as if she was trying to live up to the success of Anna and having trouble doing so.

I mean really, what was wrong with Max. He started out like this great character. The only issue that seemed wrong with him was his age (he's 22, she's 17). While that is something to raise an eyebrow about, in the beginning (before the novel went down into lala land for the sake of trying to get Lola and Cricket together) I didn't get why everyone around her freaked so much about it, even she and him. Granted, I might have felt this way because when I was 16/17 I dated a guy while not 22, was 19/20 and out of school. I was annoyed that Max suddenly morphed into this bad guy. I mean really why wouldn't he, Lola had been lying to him forever. When she finally went and broke up with her and he got nasty with her, I was actually cheering for him and he was supposed to be the 'villain' in all this. LOL.

This love triangle Lola/Max/Cricket bothered the heck out of me. It was not well executed like the triangle in Anna. I think because she was working too hard to make Max appear to be a bad guy and Lola spent so much time playing games that I lost a lot of respect for her. While I see how Lola and Cricket were actually good for each other, I thought Max if she hadn't went down the very obvious are you kidding me trying to obviously make him the villain road, would have worked just as well. In the end, I agreed with Max's parting shout about Lola. In the end, with all the costumes, Lola was just a little girl with a lot of issues.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Borrowed from my local library.


RATING:











post signature
26 October 2011

16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

16 Lighthouse road
Debbie Macomber
ISBN #: 978-1551668307
Publisher Name:  Harlequin Enterprises/Mira Books
Date Released:  September 2001
Genre: Contemporary Romance    
Book Format:  Print


BACK COVER BLURB:

"Dear Reader, You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. You see, I'm inviting you to my home and my town of Cedar Cove because I want you to meet my family, friends and neighbors. Come and hear their stories-maybe even their secrets!

"I have to admit that my own secrets are pretty open. My marriage failed some years ago, and I have a rather...difficult relationship with my daughter, Justine. Then there's my mother, Charlotte, who has plenty of opinions and is always willing to share them.

"Here's an example: I'm a family court judge and she likes to drop in on my courtroom. Recently I was hearing a divorced petition. In Charlotte's view, young Cecilia and Ian Randall hadn't tried hard enough to make their marriage work-and I agreed. So I rendered my judgment: Divorce Denied.
"Well, you wouldn't believe the reaction! Thanks to an article by Jack Griffin, the editor of our local paper (and a man I wouldn't mind seeing more of!), everyone's talking.

"Cedar Cover-people love it and sometimes they leave it, but they never forget it!

"See you soon...Olivia."


COVER SNARK:
Meh.



LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
I've never read Debbie Macomber before and one of my twitter buddies suggested that I try her Cedar Cove series so I requested the first book in the series from my library.

It was interesting. The writing was emotional and compelling. When I opened the novel, I got sucked into the situation with Cecilia and Ian a young married couple having to deal with the loss of their child, their new marriage, and Ian's military career. I think those two resonated with me the most because when I was a Sergeant in the Army, I saw a lot of young couples going through the same thing (not exactly the death of a child, but all the others) while trying to adjust and fit into a military life. Even when Cecilia was annoying to me, blaming Ian for things, he couldn't change and her lack of maturity annoyed me, I still got her. I saw girls exactly like her (heck I had soldiers under me who were like her) when I was in the military.

16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD has an interesting cast of characters. From Olivia, the judge who denied a petition from the divorcing Ian and Cecilia forcing them to work out their problems, her love interest Jack who has a murky past, her best friend Grace whose husband walks out on her after thirty-five years of marriage, her mother Charlotte, and her daughter Justine. All these stories were layered and I had a hard time trying to figure out where she was going with each storyline because it was so nuanced.

Yet, despite all my praise, I had issues with 16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD. My main issue, is because there were so many characters (the story is step up as a soap opera minus the millionaires and the implausible plot lines), it was hard for me to really focus on and root for the characters. I don't know if this will be addressed in later books, but 16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD didn't seem to have an ending so you didn't get that satisfying happily ever after feel. It also took me a long time to read this book (about two weeks), because there were too many characters to focus on. 16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD was the book I picked up when I didn't have another book handy to read.

While I loved the writing and characters, I missed not having a main character or plot thread to focus on. However, since I did love the writing and characters, I will continue the series (through my library) but it's not something that I must read, nor am I interested in re-reading them.



WHERE PURCHASED:
Borrowed from the library.


RATING:









post signature
13 October 2011

REVIEW: All That Remains by Janice Jay Johnson


all that remains
Janice Jay Johnson
978-0-373-71736-1
Harlequin Enterprises
Harlequin Super Romance
October 2011
Contemporary Romance



BACK COVER BLURB:

Wren Fraser can think of better times to go into labor. Say, when she's not on the run, or when there's a hospital nearby. Better yet, when there's not a major flood trapping her in an abandoned house. She needs a rescue…now!

It arrives in one Alec Harper. Strong, competent and good-looking, the detective keeps her safe and doesn't leave her side. He even takes in Wren and the baby when they have no place to go.

For a woman wanting her independence, it's shocking how quickly she settles in with Alec. The situation seems a bit too domestic. And the sizzling attraction between them is making things worse. She keeps telling herself to walk away, yet she can't. Or should that be, she doesn't want to?

COVER SNARK:
The attic is really well done. However, I pictured Alec a little more rugged and Wren not as pretty. The come hither look they're giving each other isn't working for me given the situation they found themselves in the book.


FIRST LINES:

Gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled hands, Wren Fraser struggled to see the narrow country road ahead through sheets of rain. She'd lived in Seattle, for goodness' sake, and had never seen rain come down like this.



LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

ALL THAT REMAINS is an intelligent, emotionally satisfying romance that I zipped through. I have habit of starting books, putting them down and picking something else up and then not picking up the original book for a good long while. I never put down ALL THAT REMAINS, it captured my attention and held it.

ALL THAT REMAINS takes place in Arkansas (pretty sure it was Arkansas, but don't quote me) during one of the worst floods in a century. Wren, who comes to the state to meet up with her college roommate after running from an abusive partner, gets caught unaware by the flood. She abandons her rental car and takes shelter in an abandoned home. The water is rising quickly and she takes refuge in the attic of the home. Alec is a detective with the Sherriff's Department who is during rescue. He comes across Wren and when he tries to get her into his boat an accident happens and he ends up in the attic with her. The only problem is that Wren is in labor.

Wren and Alec bond because of their experience of being stranded together and Alec delivering her daughter. When they are rescued and Alec discovers that Wren doesn't have a place to stay he invites her and her newborn to stay with him.

I really don't have anything to say. Wren and Alec were three-dimensional characters. I understood Wren's shame at being caught up in her relationship and the feeling that she couldn't really turn to anyone. I understood Alec's withdraw and despair because of the failure of his marriage and despair of not being able to see and be a part of his kids life like he wanted to. I applauded that Ms. Johnson didn't make this an easy fix (that they make each other and all their problems magically disappeared). I loved that Wren and Alec realized that they needed some time to figure out if they could stand on their own two feet before embarking in a new relationship. That was very, very, very well done.

ALL THAT REMAINS isn't about larger than life characters or relationships that don't exist in real life. The writing, the plot, the characters were so real, that I was satisfied and I would definitely read this author again.


WHERE PURCHASED:
Received copy from publisher for review.


RATING:










(Only because despite how well written it was, I doubt that I would pick it up again and re-read it)



post signature
15 September 2011

Review: One Good Reason by Sarah Mayberry

ONe good reason
Sarah Mayberry
ISBN #:  978-0-373-71724-8
Harlequin Enterprises/SuperRomance
August 2011
Series Romance
288 Pages

BACK COVER BLURB:
Any day now Jon Adamson will pack his bags and hit the road. After all, his intention was never to hang around Melbourne once he’d settled his late father’s affairs. Yet he hasn’t moved on. And it might have something to  do with Gabby Wade. The not-so-big office manager with the really big attitude is making Jon’s days…interesting…engaging…fun. It’s impossible for him to resist her.

But he knows himself—long-term commitments and cozy family dinners aren’t his style. If that’s what the future holds, why is he still here? And why is he spending all his days—and nights—with Gabby? Because maybe she’s the one reason strong enough to make him stay.

What if you discovered that all you ever wanted were the things you’d left behind?

COVER SNARK:
Sweet cover, I'm nitpicky but they live in apartments not houses.

FIRST LINES:
Jon Adamson woke with a start. Someone was in his room. A heartbeat later, he was on his feet, fists raised, every muscle tense as he squared up to the intruder.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

Sarah Mayberry is an excellent writer. Her stories are superbly written and layered exquisitely. However, whenever this is not the first time reading a story of hers where I thought that the characters of her novels needed to be in therapy instead of the figures playing a prominent role in a romance novel.

It's great that ONE GOOD REASON seems so realistic. It is a realistic, superbly written novel, but I still had serious issues with the characters.
  • Gabby.
    • You slept with your boss. Ewww. So not professional. And you're still working for him? I mean come the F on. Why are you still working at a firm where you screwed the boss for three years, a man you still love (who in my opinion was a dork and he and his wife are oblivious freaks who are using you for their own selfish purposes and to think they were the hero and heroine of a previous book!). Really. You're an office manager, you can get another job, especially since you've been there what three years since you and Ty broke up.
    • Screwing brothers. Ewwww! And then you go and screw Ty's brother (the hero). Really. I mean no one had an ick factor where you were screwing one brother and then the other. Granted my male cousins used to pass girlfriends back and forth between each other, but they were in high school at the time and they never did it between brothers only other cousins (I come from a large family and we all lived pretty much in the same neighborhood).
    • Whine fest because you don't own the company and can't shut up and do what you're told. You are the office manager, you don't own the company what's what the hissy fit when you're boss tells someone that they can use your computer. That was sooooo lame. It's not your computer, you don't own the darn thing. He does. Also, what business is it of yours how Jon is getting paid, kept your freaking mouth shut and do what you're told. As a former senior admin this aspect hit on my last nerve.
  • Jon. Sorry man. You need therapy not a girlfriend. And why didn't you have an ick factor when you realized that your little brother had his wick in the pot you just dipped yours into? And what's up with everyone patting you on the bat for nearly killing a man. Granted something needed to be done about the situation but really? Really? The judge should have at least made you go to therapy, anger management, something if not jail.

Despite my snark. Once again, ONE GOOD REASON is multi-layered, well-written novel, but I just couldn't buy into their relationship and their happily ever after, because the hero and heroine had such deep seated issues that 200 pages couldn't solve.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Received copy from publisher for review.

RATING:
 




post signature
07 September 2011

REVIEW: Darcy on the Hudson: A Pride and Prejudice Re-Imagining

Darcy on the Hudson: A Pride and Prejudice Re-imagining
Mary Simonsen
ISBN #:  978-0615513263
Publisher Name:  Quail Creek Publishing
Date Released:  August 2011
Genre: Romance/Jane Austen Fan Fic
Book Format:  Kindle Version
Kindle Price: $3.99

BACK COVER BLURB:
When Fitzwilliam Darcy, Georgiana Darcy, and Charles Bingley set sail from England to New York, each travels with a different purpose in mind. Georgiana wants to put a particularly jarring incident involving a family friend behind her, and Charles wishes to visit his uncle in an exciting new land. For Darcy, it is an opportunity to explore the possibilities of new sources of wealth in the expanding United States, but once Darcy meets American Elizabeth Bennet, it becomes the beginning of a love story. But will cultural differences and a possible second war with England keep them apart?

COVER SNARK:
Self-Pubbed. Boring.

FIRST LINES:
Fitzwilliam Darcy was dying.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
I promised I wouldn't do this. The last time, I reviewed a self-published Jane Austen fan written sequel I got blasted by the Jane Austen Fan Fiction Community for having serious issues with one of their fellow writers/bloggers/fandom's (whatever) efforts. I said I wouldn't write another review on them.

Oh well.

I've read this author before. And while I always had one or two issues with her work, I've always enjoyed them. One of my favorites of hers is a parody of sorts of Persuasion called Anne Elliot, A New Beginning. It was written as tongue in cheek, and I enjoyed it very much. I liked the author's sense of humor.

Before I start my review, let me state that in the last month or so, I've been engrossed on documentaries about the founding of America and the Revolutionary War. Because of this fascination, DARCY ON THE HUDSON was right up there with what my reading interests are now, so for the author to add Darcy and Elizabeth in this setting was a win-win for me to click the dreaded BUY NOW button for the Kindle.

DARCY ON THE HUDSON's premise is that Darcy wanting to get Georgiana away from the aborted seduction of George Wickham takes Georgiana on a trip with Charles to visit his American relations so that Charles can check out his business interests there. As Darcy has some business interests (funding the Erie Canal – which I thought was cool), he decides to accompany him. The Bennet's are American and Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst instead of being Charles's sisters are his American cousins.

Are you with me so far?

I liked this aspect. I loved how the Bennet's were portrayed. I was getting so sick of how Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are often portrayed in most adaptations. While not the best of parents they are often routinely blasted by the fan fiction community. They weren't here. They were actually stronger, better people because they weren't weighed down by the British class system like they are in the original. Mr. Bennet free of the burden of Longborne is free to use his intellect and pursue all the varied interests he reads about, making him thought of as a genius and one of the wealthiest men in the area. Mrs. Bennet free from the worry of needing to marry her daughters off to secure her livelihood, and being a woman who lived through the horrors of the American Revolution as a child has become a much stronger and loving woman. Once again, I totally loved Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. I also loved that there was no pressure for the Bennet girls to find husbands.

So what didn't I like? It seems weird that what most drew me into the book is what annoyed me the most about it. The historical context. Though I love the History Channel, I am not a historian at all, but I do think that the author did a great job with the historical detail set forth in DARCY ON THE HUDSON. I liked all the details and it was obvious that it was well researched, but there was just tooo much of it that distracted from what should have been the main focus of the story Darcy and Elizabeth's growing relationship. It felt like the author used her love of the historical detail to give long winded speeches about American History instead developing Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship more. Despite the interesting historical details, I felt like I was reading one of those short books that you find in libraries that give the overview of a time period and how people lived during that time period, instead of a Jane Austen sequel or a work of historical fiction.

 
WHERE PURCHASED:
Purchased with my own money.

RATING:








post signature
25 July 2011

REVIEW: Lessons in Indiscretion by Karen Erickson

lessons in indiscretion
Karen Erickson
ASIN#: B004XVSU86
Publisher Name:  Carina Press
Date Released:  June 2011
Genre:  Historical Erotic Romance
Book Format:  E-book

BLURB:
Widowed Lady Julia Renwick is still young enough to crave a man’s touch; but she’s too old to think that the Earl of Bedingfield could see her as anything more than a family friend. Garrett Walker is handsome, charming and only twenty-six years old – the perfect catch for any one of this year’s debutantes.
 Garrett has no interest in the maidens vying for his attentions. He wants only Julia. With just two weeks left in the season, he makes a bold move by asking her to dance. When she counters with a shocking request of her own, Garrett eagerly agrees.
Soon, they are stealing away for passionate encounters at every society event they attend. Garrett introduces Julia to excitements she never knew existed, and her newfound confidence quickly attracts other eligible men. It’s not long before Garrett realizes he must find a way to keep the lady all to himself.

COVER SNARK:
I am very impressed with this cover. I’ve been impressed with the Carina Press covers that I’ve seen. And the man’s chest isn’t bad either if I do say so myself.

FIRST LINES:


“Care to dance, my lady?”

The murmured words tickled the skin on her nape, sending chills down her spine.


LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

LESSONS IN INDISCRETION is a short read at only 18,000 words. It’s a pretty straightforward, well-written story. If you read the back cover blurb it covers pretty much what happens in the story, no more no less. Julia has recently just come out of mourning and is feeling alone, she also has a major crush on Garrett, the Earl of Bedingfield, the son of her much older husband’s best friend. Garrett is known for his amorous encounters and Julia hopes that he would see fit to take her for a lover for the reminder of the season. In two weeks everyone will have left London for their country homes and she will be left alone. Garrett who has always had a sort of a crush on Julia agrees and they have an amorous encounter.

After this encounter is where LESSONS IN INDISCRETION lost me. While their encounter was steamy and sexy, I found myself wanting a little more after that. At first I tried to say it was because LESSONS IN INDISCRETION was such a short story. I wanted to use that as an excuse for not getting emotionally invested into Julia and Garrett, but then I recalled other short stories that had engaged my emotions and left me wanting more. I didn’t get that feeling with LESSONS IN INDISCRETION. There are several things that are hinted that are not explored and I felt that they could’ve been even within the confines of the limited word count. Julia is scared about pursuing a deeper relationship with Garrett because she is older, she hasn’t had a child with her older husband, and that she is poor. Garrett has some issues with developing a deeper relationship with Julia because of lessons he had learned from his father. I would have enjoyed LESSONS IN INDESCRETION more if Julia and Garrett had a deep conversation about these issues. As it stood, it was my impression that the only reason Garrett and Julia wanted something deeper is because the sex was great. There were hints of more, but I wished those hints were explored more.

Despite my issues with LESSONS IN INDISCRETION it is a well written, steamy story that just wasn’t about sex. For the great price, I’d recommend giving it a try. I’d be interested in reading a longer story by this author.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Received copy from publisher for review.
RATING:




 
post signature

Related Posts with Thumbnails

MY POSTS 2 YOUR EMAIL

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

MY FAVORITE QUOTES


"Do you see, Solange, that you are the only woman in my world? The one woman who can choose life or death for me. You are the center of my world and you always will be. When I tell you that your pleasure is mine, I mean that literally"— Christine Feehan

POPULAR POSTS

BLOG ARCHIVE

Powered by Blogger.

ALL ABOUT ME!

My Photo
Lynette
Mother, wife, aspiring romance writer, blogger, Army vet, book addict
View my complete profile

Blog Rating

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site

AWESOME FOLLOWERS

Blog Contest Fund

MY BLOG BUTTON (Use it)

Lynette’s Two Cents

I'm Doing This

I'm Doing This

I LOVE THESE BLOGS

MY BLOG HITS

IF YOU SEE HER Blog Tour

IF YOU SEE HER Blog Tour
Powered By Blogger