Marcus is a spy assigned to investigate the murder of Elizabeth’s husband because of reasons having to do with espionage. Elizabeth and Marcus were engaged four years ago. She saw him in a compromising situation with a woman, and she ran off and married another man. Now a widow, Marcus has set his sights on engaging Elizabeth in a discreet affair.

I was super annoyed with both characters in Ask For It for these reasons

I believe that no means no. The first love encounter, Elizabeth was really playing hard to get by telling Marcus is no. But he insists. I get that she was giving mixed signals. But she is tied up at one point. Not cool! If I as the reader have confusion about it being consensual, I am uncomfortable. I continued reading to make sure it all turned out okay. Marcus showed some concern after the fact, as if he wanted to make sure she really wanted it. But he should have stopped when she said no the first time.
Elizabeth wants/loves(?) Marcus. She learns that she misunderstood the events that fateful night that changed their lives, leading her to wed another man. That being said, why does she give him grief about his love life while she was married? She did not even seem apologetic that she jumped to conclusions. Somehow it was still his fault.
Once they were married (and this was no way near the end of the story), I would have thought Marcus would have been happy. But then he started acting like more of an emotional jerk. Hot. Cold. It gave me a headache.

Overall, Ask For It was not for me. Maybe some will like the back-and-forth between the main characters. And others might like the steamy love scenes . But as for me, I found it too tiresome. And a note of caution if you decide to read this book: it contains a lot of F-bombs . Is that how they talked back then? I would not know since I am not a historical linguistics expert.

Unfinished Business – Nora Roberts

Jan12

Unfinished Business (Silhouette Intimate Moments) – Nora Roberts

Vanessa is a world renown piano player who returns to the town of her youth. Brady was her high school sweetheart, but he broke her heart when he stood her up on prom night. After her father dies, she returns to her home town for some time for reflection and to decide what she wants out of life.

As usual, for romance novels like these, Brady still loves Vanessa. She has feelings for him too, but she is upset with him for what he did to her all those years ago.

I think that there was not enough communication in this story. Brady should have told Vanessa earlier in the story the REAL reason why did not take her to the prom. And maybe I am so used to external forces causing havoc in young romances, but I could tell straight away that her father has something to do with it. He was too controlling and demanding.

And that seemed to be the elephant in the room. No one wanted to tell Vanessa that her father ruined her relationships in order to isolate her. They just made comments like “That’s odd” and dismissed it. Her father made sure that she thought he was all she had. I am sure he did it to make sure she stayed focused on her career, but it was in the attainment of goals he wanted, not necessarily the life that she would have chosen for herself.

The bright point of this story for me was that Vanessa finally got her mother’s side of what happened. She was able to deal with the bitterness she felt towards her mother and repair that damaged relationship. This also helps her to make decisions about what she wants out of life in order to be happy. The grudges she held for so long were based on distortions of the truth.

Even though Unfinished Business (Silhouette Intimate Moments) was a romance novel, I think that it was more a story about learning to forgive past transgressions and love family. It is a good, predictable book for a Saturday afternoon.

Click Unfinished Business (Silhouette Intimate Moments) to buy on Amazon

Noble Birth – Brenda Novak

Jan1

Of Noble Birth

The main characters for this romance novel are Nathaniel and Alexandra.

Nathaniel was born with a disabled arm and almost died as a baby by his father’s hands. His mother died soon after giving birth to him and so the maid took him to raise as her own child. Needless to say, he has serious emotional issues. Alexandra starts the story as a seamstress escaping a physically abusive stepfather. Her mother died leaving her with an alcoholic stepfather who was a mean drunk.

The story was very convoluted to me. The synopsis that I read on Amazon did not fully prepare me for the emotional roller coaster that was their romance. Nathaniel kidnaps Alexandra because he thought she was his half-sister. When he finally he believes she is not his sister, you can cue the romance.

Every time I thought their problems were over, something else would happened to separate the couple. Nathaniel’s main nemesis is the father that will not claim him. Knowing that your father tried to kill you at birth will do that.

This romance in a nutshell:

Found love!

Torn apart!

Together again!

Torn apart!

Together again!

Book over. The end.

Because of the highs and lows of the book Of Noble Birth, it seemed longer than it was. Their love was tested so many times that it made me tired. At one point, I was like “Something else is happening. When is this book going to end?”

However, if you like long drawn out romance novels, then you will like this book. This is the type of book you choose when you have the entire day to read.

Bachelor Undone – a Kimani Romance

Jan1

Bachelor Undone (Kimani Romance)

I was looking for a Brenda Jackson book so that I could get my romance novel fix from an author who does a good job of presenting the characters in a somewhat believable way without making the story line too corny. Instead of a Westmoreland book, I chose a Kimani romance. Darcelle “Darcy” and York Ellis are the main characters. Darcy is a city planner that is taking a much needed vacation in Jamaica. York is a security consulting expert on the job working for a client shooting a film in Jamaica.

Not surprising, Darcy and York have history. Her best friend is married to one of his god-brothers.

After an unhappy first marriage, Darcy immersed herself in work. Now she is taking a vacation and looking for some fun. Her plan is to get her “groove back” and indulge in an island romance.

York is in Jamaica on business but gets sidetracked by the fact that Darcy is there. Darcy is looking for some excitement, but York seems to take issue with the attention other men are showing her. This is humorous for the reader but confusing for York since he is supposed to the ultimate bachelor that will never succumb to tying the knot. While York sorts out his feelings for Darcy, she is trying to figure out what it is about him that makes her always want to be contrary. She has to ask herself if a relationship with York really be that bad. Even if they don’t have romantic liaison, what is preventing them from being friends? When they stop being argumentative with one another, they realize that they actually like each other and have a lot of similar traits.

Bachelor Undone (Kimani Romance) is fun. I like that it is not really a love-at-first-sight novel. Since the characters have history, it allows them to draw from previous experiences to help them to understand their attraction and develop their romantic relationship. Both characters are feisty and opinionated in their own right, which makes for a lively story. If you like any of Brenda Jackson’s other novels, I recommend you read this one also.

Closing 2012 with THE Opinionated Woman awards

Dec31

Opinionated Woman Awards for 2012

As year 2012 comes to an end, I decided that as part of my reflection over the past year I will give awards based on categories that I chose. There are two main categories: Literary and Foodie awards. I know these awards have little significance, but since this is my blog I make the rules.

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Literary Awards

Favorite author of the year – Brenda Jackson

Her books have consistency and predictability in a good way. I have liked all of her books so far. The characters were alike in many ways but different enough so it was not the retelling of the same story over and over.

Favorite book of the year – The billionaire wins the game by Melody Anne

This book is super sweet. I love the story of Amy and Lucas. They are wonderful characters and their story is heartwarming. This book has become my go to novel when I went to read something pleasant and comforting.

Favorite thriller of the year – All for one by Ryne Douglas Pearson

I had so many emotions reading this book. A bully is murdered and his victims are the suspects. Even though I wanted justice to be served, I was sympathetic to his victims and part of me did not want them to be found guilty even if they were. The author did a wonderful job of weaving an engaging story.

Hottest romance of the year – The Proposal by Brenda Jackson

It is no surprise that Jackson is bringing the heat. Jason and Bella have a super steamy romance and a wonderful story to go along with it.

Creepiest book of the year – Auld Lang Sigh by Jennifer Connor

In this story Ella and Lee hook up after she misses her bus going home. He owns a copy shop in the building where she lives. To me, he comes off like a stalker because he is super observant regarding the details of Ella’s life. He is a stranger but knows a lot about her lifestyle since he has been watching her. As he recounted many of his observations, warning bells should have been ringing in Ella’s head. Instead she sleeps with him! This is very risky behavior to me even if this is a nonsensical romance novel.

Foodie Awards

Favorite restaurant of the year – Chicago Grill

What can I say? I love the chicken Philly. The bread is wonderful, there is plenty of seasoning on the meat, and the peppers and cheese are scrumptious.

Favorite food truck of the year – Asada

Everything that I have tried from Asada has been delicious. I am following them on Facebook so that I know where they will be serving lunch when I have an opportunity to be in Greenville. And as I followed them around town, I hope that they will decide to serve empanadas that day since that is my favorite dish from their food truck.

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So even though it does not mean much, I congratulate all of the 2012 award winners. I look forward to trying even more things, reading more books, and sharing more opinions in 2013.