Tag Archive | romance novel

Return of the runaway bride

Return of the Runaway Bride
by Donna Fasano

It was their wedding day in Savanna had cold feet. She told her mom she cannot go through with it. Her mom dismissed her concerns and told her not to worry because Danny would be a good provider. Even though Savanna knew this to be true, in that moment, she was feeling so smothered, that she ran away.

Fast forward six years~~~~

Savanna returns to the small town of Fulton Virginia and she is looking for resolution and forgiveness. She is hoping that her hometown can embrace her once more.

A lot has changed since she’s left. Danny now goes by Daniel and he has not even begun to deal with the emotions he felt when she left. Savanna thought he would have been okay and is ready to bury the hatchet. She wanted him to understand why she had to leave, but he was still very bitter and angry. I was thinking “Ummm could be the fact that you DITCHED HIM at the altar!”

Soon enough there is a community project that has them working together, giving Savanna a chance to prove herself (there is always something to tie the main guy/girl together). No longer immature, she is an independent woman and who is still in love with the sweetheart from her teenage years.

I agree that Daniel should not have made it easy for Savanna considering all the pain and anguish she caused him when she left. Saying “Sorry, can we be friends?” Was not going to cut it. When he alluded to the fact that she might run off, abandoning the town once more, she tried not to be hurt that he lacked confidence in her. I was on his side the whole way. She had to pay and prove herself to be trustworthy. Most of all, she had to show Daniel that she was worthy of a second chance if he is understanding enough to accept.

In the book Return of the Runaway Bride , it goes to show that sometimes two people can be in love but their timing to be together could be wrong. When Savanna left Danny/Daniel the timing might have been right for him but it was not right for her. Fortunately for her, when she was mature enough to accept the love that he was willing to give he was still available.

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.

Hired by the cowboy by Donna Alward

Dec30

Hired By The Cowboy (Harlequin Romance)

The main characters are Alex and Connor. Connor has a cash flow problem and a trust find that he can only access if he gets married. Alex is unwed, pregnant and almost homeless without many viable options. They meet when she faints on the street. There is so much attraction that they are drawn to each other. Considering the attraction between them Connor devises a plan to get to his trust fund money with Alex as his wife. This option was not on the table as it were until his grandmother suggested it.

Alex is understandably wary. Her baby’s father did a disappearing act and she does not have any family. But when she thinks about the fact that she does not have any options, this actually seems like a decent alternative.

As one would imagine, living together puts both of them on an emotional roller coaster of enjoying what they have with each other and realizing that their time together is probably temporary.

Hired By The Cowboy (Harlequin Romance) is a cute story. The characters are very likable. Alex has her insecurities and Connor does too. You can understand why they react the way that they do. Despite their problems they have a happy sweet ending. The author did a good job in explaining their background so you as the reader will be rooting for their success in life and love.

Mail order millionaire – Carol Grace

Dec30

Mail-Order Millionaire

In the story, Max and Miranda meet because he calls a compliant for a package he ordered. There is instant attraction, but their romance had a hard time because of lack of communication. Plus Miranda has this need to be completely independent and she is not having much success. She moved from New York because of bad experiences, but I don’t think she gives herself enough credit for all that she has done. I think that she set her expectation level to high. Max has his own hang ups as well. For starters, his choice of job is not conducive to having a relationship. He knows this and blames his first marriage failure on that fact.

Technically, he does not have to work since he inherited money but he likes what he does. But now that he has met Miranda, he is rethinking his whole situation, knowing things will have to change if he is ever able to offer her anything.

This is not the best story I ever read, but it is not the worst either. In my opinion Miranda did not communicate her feelings enough. That is possiblely the only character flaw I saw. However, I can understand Miranda’s hesitation to engage in any physical relationship and fall in love Max since all she will be left with are memories after he is gone. Max has to make some decisions if he wants a relationship.

Overall, if you are looking for something to read, Mail-Order Millionaire is a nice book. It is entertaining, but the characters are probably not so memorable that you become emotionally involved with them.

Inconvenient duchess came at the right time

Dec26

The Inconvenient Duchess
by Christine Merrill

In the prologue Marcus makes his mother a promise while she is on her dying bed. He promises to marry a girl who was coming because of a promise his mother made to her childhood friend. Marcus is a duke and needs to get married to produce an heir.

Miranda arrives at his door during a rainstorm. Soaked to the core, the Butler does not turn her away. While she is waiting, she meets a very charming man and is hopeful that he is the Duke. Only to find out later that he was St. John, the Duke’s brother and the Duke and St. John do not get along at all. Miranda is so naive that she does not discern the undercurrents of animosity between them. Marcus marries Miranda to save her honor but he makes it plain that he does not really want to do so.

Marcus bad attitude come about because he is quite jaded with women. In the beginning it seemed that he was still grieving his first wife, but he was disgusted with her deception and thirst for position and wealth. With all his emotional baggage, he has a difficult time understanding how Miranda can be true loyal and seemingly innocent.

After a non-eventful wedding night Marcus goes on his fact-finding mission in London to determine his mother’s sins. He wants to understand what caused her to feel so guilty to make him promise to marry Miranda. And while the Duke is away, young brother is doing his best to charm the new bride Miranda. It was like leaving a lamb in the company of a hungry wolf. She is confused because she thinks he’s being overly kind to welcome her to the family. Considering she is an innocent, she is clueless to his real intentions. As the reader I could tell St. John was up to no good.

I was wondering:

How far would St John really go?
When is Marcus getting home?
When will Miranda get a clue?

Marcus was in need of an honest woman who would live in harmony with her marriage vows. Miranda had a hard life through no fault of her own and she needed a chance to prove her worth. I got my happy ever after ending and Marcus and Miranda get what they need. St. John got some of what he deserves and a great dose of undeserved kindness.

The title The Inconvenient Duchess still puzzled me. The only thing I can think of is that Miranda arrived at Marcus’s house at an inconvenient time I’m not sure what other title I could suggest, but the title does not really give any indication of the plot. Nevertheless I enjoyed the story. I was stressing a little bit because I wanted it to work out for Marcus and Miranda and knew that St. John was the main source of conflict.