Archive | April 2015

Synopsis
Molly is a sad person who loves children but thinks she is a danger to them because of an incident when her nephew died in her care.

Ethan is a delivery man and needs to leave his baby at Molly’s house while goes and makes a delivery during a snowstorm. Once he returns, it is too perilous to try to drive home, so he stays at Molly’s house.

This begins their romance and Molly’s return to finding her faith in God.

Opinion

While I am very religious person, I do not usually read Christian romances because they can be mediocre. Like many in this sub-genre, the author depicts Molly as a lost, bitter, sad person. Then she re-discovers religion, causing her to be a better person. Happier and content. Only then is she worthy of being loved. Meh

Molly’s conflict with her estranged sister was over the top to me. If this is supposed to be a town full of a lot of “good Christian people”, why didn’t any of them help Molly deal with her grief at the time her nephew died? It was as if everyone saw the car accident, but decided to wait for the paramedics to get there instead of trying to help.

Plus, I do not think I really got over the fact that Ethan left his baby with a complete stranger. I do not care about the fact that it was in the middle of a snowstorm. Didn’t he have any friends?

It was so cheesy. I skipped over pages just to get to the end. Some parts were about as interesting as watch paint dry.

You may not agree, but that is my opinion.

Should you buy? If you want a super, scrubbed clean romance with no hint of anything to offend the sensibilities, then this book is for you. You might want to check out other Love Inspired books too. For me, I now know the code words “Love Inspired” mean that I will pass on reading that.

Book details from Goodreads
Paperback, 250 pages
Published May 1st 2006 by Steeple Hill (first published January 1st 2002)
series: Tiny Blessings #8
Available on Amazon

Blog Tour for Katia’s Promise

Apr24

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Katia’s Promise
(Shores of Indian Lake #4)
by Catherine Lanigan
Adult Contemporary Romance
May 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Katia Stanislaus is a top insurance agent in Chicago, but her company is about to fold if she can’t pull off a miracle. She convinces her boss to relocate to Indian Lake where she lived as a child and broke the heart of the one man whose account would be enough to save her job and her company. The only problem is that Austin McCreary has been a near recluse since the day Katia left him. Austin won’t take her calls and appears set on revenge for the pain Katia has caused him. Just seeing Austin, catapaults Katia back to the time when she was 16 and so very much in love. But it was just a teenage crush, wasn’t it?

Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Harlequin

TOW Opinion ♥♥♥

I thought this book was going to be the typical lost teenage love rekindled. To an extent it was, but there were enough twists in the story to make it interesting.

Katia has got herself in a bind by speaking way too fast when trying to save her job. I understand she wants her boss to see her as the savior for the company, but she was very optimistic in thinking that Austin was going to forget what happened 18 years ago as if it meant nothing to both of them. She apologized and hoped that everything would be okay. She had years to deal with what happened, but he just received the missing parts to the story.

Austin was bitter and distrustful in the beginning. That was understandable considering she broke his heart royally when they were teenagers. I was sympathetic with him up to a point. There were a lot of factors that kept them apart when they were younger. But then his frequent silent treatment spells started to wear on my nerves.

By half way through the story, I was not sure how I felt about both of them. Katia could not wait for Austin to process his emotions because she needed to make the sale. At the same time, Austin did not react like a mature adult when he felt like she was using him. Personally, I got that impression too. That does not justify his actions though.

Should you buy? Despite the minor annoyances, the book is worth reading. If I am saying that, you know that they have must have had a happy ending. A rich guy finally gets with his childhood sweetheart.The pace was well written and there was enough external conflict that helped the plot develop. I think that “heartwarming” is another way of saying that this was a clean romance. There was no foul language and love scenes consisted of nothing other than modest kissing.

FTC Disclaimer: A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

Other Books in the Series

Love Shadow (The Shores of Indian Lakes) A Fine Year for Love (Shores of Indian Lake #3)

Links for Love Shadows
(Shores of Indian Lake #1)

Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Harlequin

Links for Heart’s Desire
(Shores of Indian Lake #2)

Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Harlequin

Links for A Fine Year for Love
(Shores of Indian Lake #3)

Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Harlequin

Catherine Lanigan is the bestselling author of over thirty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, “Chocolate for a Woman’s Heart”, Chocolate for a Woman’s Spirit”. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into over a dozen languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available on audio-cassette, CD and on electronic format. A prolific writer, she is always writing wonderful stories. She has several titles only available in ebook format on Amazon.com Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine for December, 2002, and has also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference. In March, 2006 Divine Nudges: Tales of Angelic Intervention and the second in Lanigan’s Angel Watch series of books, was published by HCI, the Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher.

Website – Goodreads – Facebook – Twitter – LinkedIn – Pinterest

Tour Schedule:

April 19th – Launch
April 20th – Coffee Books & Art
April 21st – Deal Sharing Aunt
April 22nd – The Written Adventure
April 23rd – I Am A Reader & Zerina Blossom’s Books
April 24th – LeahSay’s Views & The Opinionated Woman’s Musings
April 26th – Wishful Endings & Letters from Annie (Douglass) Lima
April 27th – Christy’s Cozy Corners, i blog 4 books, & Getting Your Read On
April 28th – Mel’s Shelves
April 29th – Katie’s Clean Book Collection
April 30th – Lisa’s Research & Reviews
May 1st – Grand Finale

Cover Reveal & Tour Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card
3 ebooks of Katia’s Promise by Catherine Lanigan
Open internationally.
Ends May 8th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

U is for Under #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr24

Under the Radar (SEAL EXtreme Team Book 3) ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Ty is a SEAL pilot that was shot down in the Artic. No one knows he is down but the hostiles who shot his plane. Now he needs to devise a plan to stay one step ahead before they find him to finish the job.

Holly is a musher with dog sledding tour business but no one is signing up with her. She moved to Alaska to escape a brutal ex-husband. She is caught in a blizzard soon after a moose attacked her dogs.

Opinion

Before I even get into the review, I have to define “musher”. I did not know what this was. A musher is a person who competes in cross-country races with dog team and sled (from dictionary.com). It is admirable that Holly is trying to make her living in a male oriented business.

This book is an insta-love story with a lovable alpha-male and beaten-but-not-broken heroine. The story follows a consistent format.

When Ty found Holly, he infers a lot about the domestic abuse she suffered from the scars he saw when he rescued her. He went into protective mode.

“If she were mine, I’d show her what it is to be adored, treasured.”

Even though they did not know each other very well, their insta-love was basically summed up with this quote

“He can tell a lot about a person by the way she treated her animals.”

She was willing to drop the pants quickly too because her dogs sensed he was a good man.

I do not recommend solely using your pets as a guide to determine if a guy has no ulterior motives in real life though. I do believe there is a lot to be said about how a person treats animals, older people, and anyone in the service industry. But committing to a guy because he gave your dog a bone? That might be taking it too far.

Should you buy? It was entertaining. There was one sad part, but overall, it was fast paced with decent dialogue.

Book details from Goodreads
Kindle Edition, 118 pages
Published December 16th 2014 by Kimberley Troutte

Available on Amazon

T is for Touched #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr23

Touched By Midas (SEALs Going Hot Book 4) ♥♥

Synopsis

Michael (Midas) is a Navy Seal that is very superstitious. He sees lucky signs in everything. He credits his routines before missions with keeping his team safe.

Angie is a teacher at the Naval Station in Rota Spain. She will not give Midas the time of day. The more she shows her disdain, the more he wants her in his bed.

When Midas’ team members bet he cannot date her, he pulls out all the stops to charm her. If Midas wins the bet, his team members promise not to give him any grumbling when he forces them to follow his lucky routines. Little does Midas know, Angie resists him because of her secret identity.

“If she could get to the point where she really trusted him, she would reveal her identity.”

Opinion

Midas seemed to be a sweet, sincere guy, but I kept thinking that the only reason why he was mesmerized by Angie was because she made him chase her. While his quirks humanized him, they also detracted from his hotness. He went from being HOT to CUTE. Both are good, but, for me, it’s the difference between a book boyfriend and a book guy friend.

I just believed I friendzoned Midas.

I think that the author wants the reader to believe that Angie was this reformed wild child. I had a hard time believing she had been into anything so kinky it made her a “bad girl”. I guess I am jaded when it comes to kink. Angie so melodramatic, I thought she needed to chill.

Many of the elements of the story were predictable

Angie’s secret was not as radical as she hyped it up to be
Insta-romance: From hate to love in a week
Angie flips out over the bet – LOL no brainer there

The story was cute, but I was expecting better. I read Dagger’s Edge (by the same author) and was thinking that this book would have similar energy. I like that it was a romance featuring a SEAL but it was not steamy as I was anticipating.

Should you buy? It is light reading, without a complicated plot or conflict. In the course of a week, Angie and Midas decide they are in love but that is almost derailed when she finds out about the bet. Nothing new in the plot but sometimes (if you are like me) you might want to read something without too many surprises.

Book details from Goodreads
Kindle Edition
Published August 14th 2014 by The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
94 pages
Series SEALs Going Hot

Available on Amazon

S is for Sheikh #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr22

The Sheikh’s Bargained Bride (Harlequin comics) ♥ ♥♥

Synopsis
When Sabrina’s father dies soon after her wedding to Sheikh Adham, she is told that it is custom in her husband’s host country to allow time for bereavement. Considering how Adam was before they got married, Sabrina cannot understand his cold attitude as if he is not really attracted to her.

Sheikh Adham’s attitude has nothing to do with respecting her time for bereavement but thinking that Sabrina was deceitful, calculative, and manipulative.

Opinion
While Sabrina thought she found the love of her life, Adham gave mixed signals. His hot and cold demeanor towards her had confused me also. Even though he explains his reasons, I was still confused. He was very affectionate in public as if he was the dutiful, loving husband. However, in their home when it was just the two of them, it was the opposite at times. I would have been less confused if he had not been overly lovey-dovey in public while in private acting as if he was disgusted that he was so attracted to her.

Initially, I agree that Adham had reason to feel that he had been wronged and tricked into marriage. But he was so distrustful of her that he did not see the truth about her actions. At that point, it was not a matter of miscommunication but rather he let his emotions cloud his judgment. If he had looked at things logically, he would have figured it out sooner.

I did like the ending though. Sabrina showed that she was made of strong stuff. She was not going to allow herself to be at Adham’s mercy or whim, yearning for his affection and melting at his touch when decided to bestow it upon her. I wanted to yell, “You GO GIRL!” She had enough respect for herself not to permit Adham to treat her any kind of way. That was the only way for Adham to come to his senses and see error of his actions.