Tag Archive | love story

Perfect fit romance

Synopsis:

Gabe was burned by a woman he thought he loved when she left him for her ex-boyfriend. Sage was burned by her father and fiancé on the same day. It was a double whammy. Hence the reason Gabe and Sage are perfect for each: they are both emotionally damaged goods

While Sage has condemned all men as being untrustworthy, Gabe is searching of a woman with no issues. Both are reluctant to begin a relationship. Of course, their attraction to each other is greater than their willpower.

Opinion:

This story was longer than most of the Brenda Jackson books that I have already read. I think it was the most different as well. Most notably, there were not that many steamy love scenes in this book. The focus was mainly on the external forces that created the emotional trust issues for each character.

It especially dealt with Sage’s lack of confidence that a man could be trustworthy. If she was going to fall in love, she was going to have to resolve a lot of issues. In her defense, if my fiancé betrayed my trust like hers did, I would feel like I had been kicked in the stomach. And while reeling from that, her father’s actions were equally debauched. I would be sick, disgusted, and done with men in general.

It seemed that Perfect Fit was the most realistic love story from Brenda Jackson in the sense that the fairy tale element was missing. Two very imperfect characters, with so many trust issues, did not want believe that the other person was sincere. But when they finally opened their hearts to each other, they could be happy ever after.

Over all, Perfect Fit was not the hottest romance, but most true to life.

Click any of the links to buy Perfect Fit on Amazon

Her foolish not wicked ways

Feb15

Her Wicked Ways (Secrets & Scandals) ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Miranda is a bored, spoiled girl from a rich family. Her parents find her misbehavior unbecoming of a young lady and banish her from London to the countryside to stay with her cousin and learn some propriety. She is supposed to stay until she has learned her lesson.

Foxcroft (Fox) is trying to manage a massive house with hundreds of acres and an orphanage using little income. He resorts to illegal means and justifies his spoils since he is like Robin Hood. He needs to marry an heiress to have the funds to support all those in his care.

My Opinion

The book should have been called “Her irresponsible/foolish/imprudent ways”. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but in Miranda’s case, it almost ruined her reputation. There was no explanation into her foolhardy behavior. Since she was determined to do what she was previously told not to do, she had a penchant for getting into sticky situations without thinking about the consequences. Miranda was a self-centered brat that was used to getting her way and hoping that her parents would overlook her indiscretions.

I do not know what to say about Fox. He had noble goals but I think he could have gone about it a different way.

In the end, Miranda was less self-centered due to her interaction at the orphanage. As for the romance, I did not think that Miranda was mature enough to handle a relationship. Fox was a little endearing since he was caring for the orphans, but that is about all he had going for him. Why Fox fell in love for such an immature chit of a girl is beyond me.

Her Wicked Ways was not too long, probably taking about a day to read. The story was okay. Not the best, but not the worst either. Miranda’s character lacks common sense, so that might annoy some readers. A few times, I thought she was an idiot for her behavior. However, if you are looking for a Victorian-era romance, you might like this book.

Another fine Westmoreland romance!

Jul30

Canyon (The Westmorelands) – another Westmoreland romance!!! ♥♥♥♥

Canyon is an attorney that is determined to plead his case with his ex-girlfriend Keisha. She caught him in a compromising (very damning) situation with her best friend and was convinced that he was cheating on her. Canyon knows he was not cheating and he wants her to see reason.

Keisha knows what she saw and accepted her friend’s tearful apology. However, she will not tolerate being in love with a man who has been unfaithful. Her distrustful attitude towards men has a lot to do with the grudge she hold against her father for not acknowledging her when her mother told him about the pregnancy with Keisha. To her, it seems that men in her life continue to disappoint her.

Although Canyon would like to try to hate Keisha for not believing him, he cannot. He loved her then and still loves her. If only he could convince her to take him at his word. At some point in the story, I got the impression that he would probably still accept her even if she had those doubts about him. That is not the optimum way he wants the relationship to go, but he was borderline desperate to have her in his life. The attorney in him could not give up on the relationship without a giving closing arguments to wrap up his case.

All the while, Keisha is struggling with her own questions “What is truth?” “Could he be telling the truth?” “If he is, did she overreact?” “Could they have a future together anyway?”

I loved Canyon and tolerated Keisha. Canyon was an overall good guy. Keisha had so many trust issues that she was a little bitter. She is holding so many grudges that it colors her judgment. She made some bad decisions because of that but I am glad that she acknowledged her faults in the end.

Seriousness aside, there is also a lot of funny moments and conversation that add depth to the characters’ personality. The funniest part of this book to me was part where Canyon was trying to explain why following Keisha was not stalking. I was laughing out loud because he was bordering on creeper and trying to justify why it was a good idea. His brothers/cousins/friends were sure he was going to end up in jail. The only reason why I did not get annoyed (because I do not think any guy should force himself on a woman for the sake of a relationship) was that he prevented a crime from being committed and probably saved her life. But he was walking a fine line for a minute there.

I am not usually one to read so many books from the same series. Nevertheless, I have read many of the Westmoreland, Madaris, and Steele series books (15 so far) because Brenda Jackson rarely disappoints with the storyline. My favorite series is Westmoreland. The plots are variations on the same type of scenario but each has its own special twists that keep me entertained. I enjoy all of the books in this series, but I especially like it when the couple has history. The love-at-first-sight scenario can get played out. As in the case with Canyon (The Westmorelands), when the couple has history, one or both of the main characters have trust issues. Good thing there are enough Westmoreland family members around to talk logic and reason into them.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Romance in Paris and NYC? Yes Please

Jul15

Brianna and Colin meet in Paris while both are there on business. The attraction is so strong; Brianna changes her plans to return home so she can have an extended weekend fling. Trying to ensure that her wild and crazy spontaneous behavior does not follow her home, Brianna’s only condition was that they would not reveal their last names. While the fling was supposed to be a fun diversion from reality, it becomes indelibly imprinted on both of them.

As serendipity would have it, they meet again when they get back home to New York. Colin is part owner to a major luxury hotel chain. And Brianna is daughter to a famous clothing designer. Why the two have never met before Paris or even knew what each other looked like is beyond me. It seems that they ran is the same circles. They were both strikingly good looking people and successful in their fields. The paparazzi seemed to have no trouble getting her picture, so why did she not have a familiar face to Colin? But I digress since I am over-thinking the plot line.

For me, this romance was about average. They went from being strangers to I-need-you-in-my-life in a few weeks. In my opinion, Brianna dropped the L-word too quickly. I guess all those private plane trips gave them ample time to talk and get to know one another.

In typical romance book fashion, there is a secret that almost threatens to tear the couple apart. When the truth comes out, I could not understand why Colin did not say something sooner. I do not think it would have been that big of a deal. Brianna had her secrets too, but at least she did open up to Colin.

My only real complaint was with the unsolved mystery. The couple’s issues are resolved but there are still lingering questions about the incident involving her sister. I guess that will be addressed in the following book? This is the first book I read from this author, so I did not know if that was supposed to be part of this particular story or part of the series’ story.

Overall, the story was entertaining. This is a nice light romance read for one afternoon or while on vacation. The love scenes are not too scandalous but still quite steamy. I would read another book by this author. I like Brianna’s family and would read their romance stories too.

I received a copy of Designed by Desire (The Hamiltons: Fashioned with Love) from Netgalley for an honest review.
You can click any of the links in this post to buy Designed by Desire (The Hamiltons: Fashioned with Love) on Amazon

An innocent trying to seduce a man is hilarious

Jul5

Scale of 1 – 5: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

In the prologue, Emma is almost the victim of a sexual assault. That changes her from a fun loving adventurous young girl to a jaded and somewhat bitter person. With some reluctance years later, her parents allow her to have a season in order to find a husband.

Sebastian, also known as “Angel Duke” since his reputation as a buffer proof, is looking for wife. He needs to choose but he is bored with his choices of immature debutantes. He meets and is drawn to Emma. She acknowledges the attraction but does not even feel she is a worthy contender for marriage considering her perceived sordid past. He is a duke that is above reproach and she is supposedly “tainted”.

Side note: it is sad to me that when a woman is a victim of a sexual assault, people still judge her as if she caused it to happen. No woman asks for it. As in Emma’s case, it is usually a mentally twisted man whose desires motivate him to take by force what is not belong to him.

Back to the story…

Emma and Sebastian have a similar goal: get married. They agreed to help each other find spouses. This was funny to me since it is obvious that they want each other. There was plenty of back and forth funny banter between the two of them. I was laughing out loud at Emma’s so-called efforts to try to seduce Sebastian. She was such an innocent that it was cute.

In the end, Sebastian and Emma confront their respective demons and are able to resolve the issues holding them back from acknowledging their love for each other. This was a great story!

To buy The Seduction of Sebastian St. James (House of Renwick) on Amazon click any of the links in this post