Handsomest man in the country

The Handsomest Man in the Country, #1 The Traherns: ♥ ♥ ♥

Synopsis:

After the Civil War, Mallory is forced to go west when her parents died. Through a series of misfortunes, she is forced to marry Trahern. Since she had to marry out of necessity, there was not any attraction between the two main characters. In fact, Mallory initially described her husband this way, “I did never seen the back end of a mule as ugly as this man”. Trahern realizes that he is a man with not many options. He is, however, willing do what it takes so that Mallory does not regret marrying him.

Opinion

This was a cute story about Mallory and Trahern getting to know each other after the forced marriage. I do not prefer stories told in the first person point of view, especially when the character is from a different era. Mallory talked and viewed the world like the backwoods, country girl she was. Some of her points of view were humorous, but at times it took me a minute to understand what she was talking about. This story was sweet enough to compensate for the fact it was told in first-person point of view.

As a novella, The Handsomest Man in the Country, #1 The Traherns is a short read for the afternoon or at the doctor’s office. The end is worth the purchase. If you do not mind first-person point of view novels, I would suggest this author’s series because I think they will all be very interesting.

To buy The Handsomest Man in the Country, #1 The Traherns on Amazon click any of the links in this post

Lonely Lords Series: Ethan

Jun25

Ethan: Lord of Scandals (The Lonely Lords) – ♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Ethan is the oldest brother to Nicholas and he is a widowed father of two young boys. Alice is their governess. (there is so much going on in this story that I did not even know where to start).

Opinion

It would seem that this story is the standard “man falls for governess” trope. While parts of the story seem to drag on (blame Victorian polite society for all the prevaricating), all of that seemingly fluff helps the reader understands why there is so much hesitation on both sides to enter into a relationship. Every scene helped me to understand the Ethan and Alice so that they were more than characters on a page. They became more 3-dimensional.

The villains caused so much drama that I wondered if the main characters would be able to overcome it all. I disliked Ethan’s wife more and more as the story developed. She did a number on his emotional state that almost ruined him for future relationships. Throughout the story, I could ascertain bits and pieces of the main villain despicable character, but the depths of his evilness were spelled out near the end. He got better than I think he deserved considering the havoc he cause on the lives of so many people.

Out of all the Lonely Lords series romances, so far Ethan: Lord of Scandals (The Lonely Lords) was my most favorite, possibly because Ethan and Alice were so damaged. I am a sucker for the underdog getting a happy-ever-after ending.

Adrift – Sci-Fi action thriller cheepie

Jun15

Adrift (Callisto Series – Book 1) ♥ ♥♥

Synopsis:

In this science fiction romance action novel, Jasmine is a journalist running from some military types that want her dead. After the bad guys killed most of the passengers on the aircraft on which she was travelling, Norik, a half-Lyrissian, half-human male, saved her. He is a commanding office of a Space Corp ship and is on leave.

There is some chemistry between the two of them that they explore in between trying to figure out how to resolve their situation without dying.

Opinion:

This story was entertaining but there were some points that annoyed me.

Considering that Jasmine was on the run, she did little to keep a low profile while in transit.

Norik was trying to mind his own business and Jasmine kept bothering him. And she kept provoking him to the point he lost control.

I do not mind interspecies-human romances, but the Lyrissians were not a particularly amorous race or tender in their affections. The one love scene was borderline violent and painful sounding. Norik tried to warn Jasmine off, but she would not be deterred. She wanted him to lose control and he did.

Despite those issues, the action in the plot-line gave the story promise and by the end I was looking forward to reading more books in the series. When I looked on Amazon and found other books, the next book in the series was a prequel. No matter how great that story might be, in Adrift, the reader finds out what happens to Norik’s parents and it is not a happy ending. For the one book that is supposed to be after the time period in Adrift, I was disappointed that it appears that Norik and Jasmine were no longer together. That was a letdown for me.

Note to Author Erica Conroy if you are reading this: Once the book ends, there is a supposition of a “happy ever after” ending if the main characters are together. It is not a good idea for those same characters not to be together in future books. That cheapens the ending of the original book because that means their love did not last. It is a warm, fuzzy feeling to read sequels where the I know the history of the secondary characters, how they got together, and their quest to find love.

Overall, Adrift (Callisto Series – Book 1) is a great story on its own. I think it is a one-hit wonder for this series. As long as you remember that it is mostly sci-fi action than romance, you will enjoy the story.

Full Circle by Mona Ingram

Jun10

Full Circle ♥♥

Synopsis

This book covers a time period of 20 years. Unwed mother Bella moves to California to make a life for herself and her daughter. To earn some extra money, she sells clothes with her friend in Santa Monica. Because their business is so successful, it catches the attention of Rafael. He becomes a partner in their growing business.

Fast forward to the present. It is implied that Bella and Rafael have been fighting their attraction to each other the entire time. Meanwhile the business is booming to such an extent that they need a manufacturing plant. It is decided that the perfect location is Bella’s hometown. Here Bella has to come to terms with all of the reasons why she left in the first place.

Opinion

The story was okay. After reading it, I felt like saying “Meh”.

For me, there is something about Mona Ingram’s style of writing that makes me think of news reporter’s delivery. She gives the facts. She tries to describe the feeling and emotion, but to me it falls a little flat. Maybe I am used to a more animated style of writing.

In this story, I do not know why but it annoyed me that it took so long for Bella and Rafael to get together. Neither one of them could have a serious relationship since they were in to each other. It seems that the main characters put their love life on hold in the time it took them to figure out that they wanted each other. It took them 2 decades to figure it out!

I am a BIG fan of open communication even it if is “I like you. Do you like me? No pressure if you do not.” The loving-from-afar gets old after a while. Thinking about all the lost years of emotional limbo is depressing to me.

facepalm animated GIF

So much of the main conflict for the plot was internal. However my personality is more of a grab-the-bull-by-the-horns and face your problems head on. I believe that life is too short to let chances at happiness pass us by because we are afraid of rejection. Wondering what could have been is far more miserable to me than rejection.

All that being said, there are probably people that will find Full Circle wonderfully romantic.

Cyborgs need love, they just do not know it yet

Jun5

C791: Cyborgs: More Than Machines ♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

X109GI (named Joe) is a cyborg being held by the military. There is a war going on that began when the cyborgs decided that did not want the military to tell them what to do. Their free will from when they were 100% human was reawakened but the military wants to silence them as if they are just robots that need to be shut down.

While incarcerated, Chloe is assigned to collect body specimens from Joe. At times, Joe seems really human. Though Chloe cannot stop herself, she begins to have feelings for him. Logically, Joe does not understand how Chloe causes him to react irrationally. Maybe his humanity is not all lost.

Opinion

When I think “cyborg”, I think of “resistance is futile” from Star Trek: Next Generation. In this book, the military implants electronic chips and nanobots in humans to cause them to be more like bionic, super soldiers.

Joe is hot, buff, and super sexy. His logical brain makes him say some outrageous things at times. Good thing that Chloe does not hold it against him. While he is not that great when it comes to speaking with tact, the robotic side of him is good when it comes to memorizing how to pleasure his lady.

The twist the author put in the story at about 65% was TOTALLY unexpected. Loved it. I was screaming “WHAT? REALLY? OMG!”

I am not usually one who always appreciates a twist in a story, but this one was so unexpected and a delight at the same time. While I was in shock, I also wondered why didn’t I see that coming.

Overall, the steamy cyborg love scenes are more human than robotic. I like Joe’s alpha male struggle to come to terms with his ability to love even though he did not think it was possible. Chloe was a strong woman dealing with facts that challenged all her preconceived notions about what was true. Together they made a good team against the villainous military that threatened to strip people of their humanity and lives of those they deemed undesirable.

After reading C791: Cyborgs: More Than Machines, I was so pumped for the next in the series. I want all these hunky cyborgs to meet their love match.