A kiss for Midwinter

Synopsis

When the book begins, Lydia is 15, unmarried, pregnant, and at the doctor’s office with her parents. Jonas is the doctor’s intern, there only to observe. Years later when he takes over the practice, he sees Lydia again. She remembers how they know each other and assumes he thinks the worst of her. Instead of choosing one of the women that obviously fancies him, Jonas is trying to figure out how to breakthrough Lydia’s wall of distrust.

Opinion:

Courtney Milan creates very complex characters her books. Her women are strong but usually damaged in some way. That is the case with Lydia. She was an innocent who suffered because she trusted someone who took advantage of her naivety. She had a great deal of self-recrimination that she had to come to terms with before she would be able to trust again.

Jonas was my type of guy. As a doctor, he was interested in honest, open communication, even when that meant explaining bodily functions and responses. Speaking frankly about intimate matters without attaching any stigma was important in helping Lydia to believe that he was sincere in his affections. If there had been more doctors like him during that time, I think there would have been less sickness and unwanted pregnancies.

Overall, I liked A Kiss for Midwinter because of its interesting characters. The story emphasizes an important lesson in love: forgive yourself first for past indiscretions before trying to love another. Sometimes it is nice to read a romance novella with such a positive message.

Handsomest man in the country

Jun30

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.

Patricia Wexler face serum

Jun20

I bought this from Bath&Body years ago. When I ran out, I did not buy it again because of the high price tag. I thought I could achieve the same results with less expensive products. I did okay of a while.
However, I always remembered that I was constantly receiving compliments about how smooth my skin looked.

I am African-American and have very sensitive skin and had an allergic reaction rash on my face a couple years ago that left my skin uneven. My pores seemed to be too open and not smooth as it once was.

Everything that I tried these last few years was not working. I decided to bite the bullet and buy the serum again.

After a few weeks of using it every night (using twice a day was too strong), I can see that my skin is regaining its glow and looking smoother.
I did find that I have to make sure that I use sunscreen or else my skin gets a little red on my cheeks.

Overall, I am so glad that I bought Patricia Wexler M.D. Skin Regenerating Serum, 3.4 oz.. It only takes a small amount on the tip of my index finger to cover my whole face. The 3.4 oz will probably last about a year or so. That means it really is only costing pennies a day.

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.