Books that make me say “Meh”

Jun25

There have been several books that I gave 2 hearts because of a variety of reasons. I did not want to spend a whole blog post on each review because I did not want to seem as if no book could satisfy my standards.
In this post, I will start with an extremely short synopsis of each book and then give the reasons why I did not give it a higher rating.

MINE FOR TONIGHT: Book One – The Billionaire’s Obsession)

Synopsis: Hero has been following heroine because he is obsessed with her. When she is without a place to stay, he convinces her to stay at his lavish apartment. Granted without his offer, she would have been on the suffering, on the street, with no place to go. But I still think that it is sad that she has absolutely no friends that she has to accept an offer from a veritable stranger. In any case, she accept and soon they give in to attraction. Cue the love scene.

My issues with this story: (1) The Hero seems to be a little creepy to me and his following his love interest is perilously similar to stalking (2) I did not like the way the book ended. If you write a novella, I do not like for the story to end abruptly as if the book is missing another chapter. The author should have made it clear in the synopsis that this is nothing more than just a prologue to the main story. I hope that the whole series is not like this book. It peeves me to no end when an author takes what could be a full length novel and divides the chapters into 3 or 4 novellas and calls it a series. It appears to me as a way to get more money and I do not like those type of marketing tactics. Plus, they did not have such a great attraction that I feel motivated to buy the second book.

Date with Destiny (A Billionaire Romance)

Synopsis: Heroine works for an escort service, but she is not any good at it so she is about to be fired. The Hero needs a date fast and she is the only escort available. During said date, it becomes apparent that she will be sleeping with him despite her protestations that she is not like that.**eyes rolling **

My issues with this story: (1) It was cheesy. It was a quick “Pretty Woman” if the man decided to date escort/prostitute after one date (2) What idiot man would introduce his daughter to his night escort? Really? I was really annoyed by that. Given that their relationship was supposed to be devoid of emotion, he should not have involved his child in the mix. (3) This girl worked for an escort service that was obviously providing more than just a female companion for events on date night. Where is the romance in Hero’s offer for her to be his girlfriend? Seems to me that he was trying to get his milk for free, as it were. With an ending like that, considering the fact that they really do not know each other besides the physical compatibility, she better save her money since it is highly likely that he will dump her in the future.

Granted I might be judging these stories too harshly in your opinion. I challenge you to read any of them and let me know what you think.
Agree or Disagree?

The lure of love

May20

The Lure of Love by Mona Ingram ♥♥♥

This story is about three friends and their individual love stories. I am not usually a fan of multiple love stories in one book but since these all happened concurrently it was okay with me. The setting for this story takes place at a fishing lodge in British Columbia.

Couple number one Craig and Jamie
Craig is a widower and documentary film director. Jamie is the owner of the lodge where Craig has come to visit to possibly film a documentary.

Couple number two Billy and Brooke
Billy is a baseball player with a reputation for being a ladies man. Brooke works at the lodge as sort of a office manager.

Couple number three Matt and Leeza
Matt is married and a real estate agent who won a trip to the fishing lodge. Lisa is the chef for the lodge.

The author did a good job of keeping their stories individualized, but intertwining them enough to create a cohesive story. As a novella, the book moves fast. That being said, each of the three couples have connections which is the reason for sharing very intimate personal baggage (and there was a lot of emotional baggage with these three couples) very quickly. The more that they share about each other provides the rationale for why they fall in love with each other so quickly. In some of Mona Ingram’s other books, I have found the stories to be lacking some feeling. However in this book, I think the characters’ story really comes out in a way that conveys the emotional situation of each person.

As a side note: I feel that I have to say something about the fact that Matt is married in the beginning of the story. His marriage is only a technicality and as you read the story you understand.

Overall, The Lure of Love was a sweet book and an enjoyable read. I finished it in a couple hours and was satisfied with the outcomes of each couple.

Victorian Romance + Bet = funny story

May10

Waltzing With the Wallflower ♥♥♥♥

Anthony and Ambrose are twin brothers that make it their aim to decide at the beginning of the Season which young lady will receive their attention. It seems that when they pay attention to a certain lady, the resulting ton spotlight make the ladies more eligible and they usually get married by the end of the Season. To make things interesting and to alleviate the boredom, they make a bet that they can make anyone popular, even wallflower like Cordelia.

Cordelia is currently out of favor with the town since she had to work as an indentured servant to pay off her father’s debts. She does not want to be noticed. Hence: wallflower. She is trying to make herself invisible by hiding behind the foliage.

Funny thing about bets and gossiping members of the town, it is a sure way for the person who would be offended (i.e. Cordelia) to find out. And that is precisely what happened. Somewhere along the way Ambrose finds that he has deeper feelings for her than he thought. But all that trash talking he was doing before he came to that realization threatens to ruin their relationship. This is especially true since Cordelia is still insecure about the fact that he has supposedly fallen for her.

I thought that this was a sweet short story. Variations of this story have been done time and time again: man there to make unpopular girl popular falls for said girl. In this version of the common plotline, the twin brothers’ bet adds some humor to the mix. After the couple fall out with one another, I like how Ambrose made it up to Cordelia. Even though it got a little sappy, it was cute. I was laughing at his antics to win Cordelia back.

But I am surprised that in the end Anthony and Ambrose would make another bet. Really? Did they not learn their lesson from the first bet gone wrong? And why did Cordelia endorse it?

All that being said, I did love Waltzing With the Wallflower and the next book in the series is on my reading list 🙂

Buy Waltzing With the Wallflower because I think you will enjoy it!

Quick and confusing love story

May5

Love in the Maldives ♥♥

Sandy and her friend Anne are off to Maldives for a much needed vacation. Sandy has had a rough time since she caught her ex-boyfriend cheating.

Once in Maldives, Sandy meets Paulo who is on vacation as well.

The subtitle on the book “Holiday romance where no one is quite who they say they are” did not prepare me for all the twists and turns the plot makes. Everything works out for Sandy and Paulo, but it is a fantastical story explaining how they get to that point. I could not even begin to explain without giving away the entire story.

Sandy and Paulo were likable enough characters for the story. There was not much depth, but I expected that since the book was a short novella. I finished the book in about an hour.

You have to suspend reality to imagine they would fall in love in such a short period of time. In my opinion, they did not do enough soul searching with one another to warrant a lifelong commitment. However, the whole story was fanciful.

Overall, this was a lighthearted, casual, and very contrived romance that could be finished while waiting at the doctor’s office or while travelling.

I even like the perfume Romance

May2

Disclaimer: This is not much of a review, but I wanted to share.

I thought it was funny that I like romance novels so much and one of my favorite perfumes is called Romance.

L-O-V-E this perfume. For me, the scent is light but long lasting. Because of that, I think it is mostly for daytime wear, especially in the spring and summer time. I spritz myself in the morning, and the scent lingers on me for most of the day.

I am a firm believer in aromatherapy and the effect that different scents can have on your moods. When I smell this fragrance, I feel energetic, happy, pretty. It is not as if I do not feel those same emotions at other times, but smelling this perfume seems to spark something within me that makes me stand a little taller, walk with more purpose, and stride across the room in my 4-inch heels.

I have never had a problem with scents like some of my friends with fragrance allergies, so I do not know if Romance is light enough for people who cannot take strong smells. But in comparison to other perfumes, it does not seem heavy to me. It is definitely not an “old lady” smelling perfume.

If you are looking for a new fragrance for the springtime, check out Ralph Lauren Romance women fragrance by Ralph Lauren Eau De Parfum Spray 1 oz . There are so many different fragrances on the market, but a lot of them smell the same or they do not have lasting scents. With Romance, you get a pleasant, lasting, unique scent in my opinion.