Category: Reading

MJ’s Musings-Book Bingo: Pets & Romance: Ready for Love

One of the squares on my Book-Reading-Bingo board is Pets & Romance, where at least one of the main characters is a pet owner and pet ownership is a central theme to the book. Pets can include horses or other livestock, but not in a farming or ranching context. Thing “furry friend” vs. “making a living.”

The third book of Marie Force’s GANSETT ISLAND series fits the category to a tee.

Ready for Love is the story of a woman healing from the loss of her husband and children in an automobile accident. All she has left of her family is the dog.  One of the other characters has always wanted to be a veterinarian and has a pack of special needs dogs. No, the second character is not the love interest, but she plays a crucial role in the story.

I started reading the GANSETT ISLAND series because the author was a guest speaker for my local RWA chapter.  By about the fifth book, I realized I wasn’t reading a series of romances so much as I was reading a soap opera.  When I went to Goodreads to see what other people thought (and I never do this until I have my own opinion in place), I wasn’t surprised to see several others had come to the same conclusion. GANSETT ISLAND is a soap opera.

In the beginning of the series, the individual books more or less focused on one couple. As the series continues, each book tells the story of one couple, but there are multiple scenes involving past couples (usually having  sex) and scenes setting up future books.  I’m not saying I don’t like this. Heck, I’m on the 13th  or 14th book in the series. It’s just…different than what I usually read.

MJ’s Musings: SEP-What I Did For Love

One of my top three favorite Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ novels is WHAT I DID FOR LOVE. Many people refer to this book as her “Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie/Jennifer Anniston” book, and there are many strong reasons why people consider it to be so. That’s not why I love this book so much. I barely know who the aforementioned celebrities are.

The story about how the protagonist finds true love–and grows up in the process–is captivating. The hero, a bad boy through and through, has unsuspected depths and maybe isn’t as bad as we think.

But I love this book for it’s textures. The setting. The heroine’s wardrobe. The food. The characters, from the assistants to the treacherous ex and his new woman have a multitude of facets, both rough and smooth. I love details, and SEP creates a wonderfully specific world populated with  fully-developed personalities.

There was one “ick” scene involving a lingerie shop that I could have done without, but even the secondary romances in this book are riveting.

I cannot recommend the story enough.

 

MJ’s Musings: Book Bingo: Nerd Girl-DOUBLE TROUBLE

The purpose of Book Bingo is to force us out of our reading comfort zone. I might have read DOUBLE TROUBLE whether or not it fit into once of this year’s categories because I do like the author, Claire Cross (who also writes as Claire Delacroix). Many years ago, Claire turned me on to a research book that has become an invaluable tool, so I have a soft spot for her. But I digress.

What makes DOUBLE TROUBLE a nerd girl book? The heroine writes computer code for a living. She uses shady deep net contacts when she needs information. She’s no Lisbeth Salander, but she’s still a  computer geek living illegally in a converted factory loft.

I found two “ick” factors going into the book, but Cross made the fact that the hero happens to be the heroine’s brother-in-law work for this reader.  The second “ick” is the heroine’s sister happens to be an identical twin, so one wonders what’s going on in the hero’s head. Cross made that work, too.

Good secondary characters, too. I recommend this book.

 

MJ’s Musings-Thursday Thought: SEP-FIRST LADY

This month’s Susan Elizabeth Phillips book review is one of my top three favorite SEP books: FIRST LADY. My paper copy is in the process of disintegrating, which means  an e-copy is in my future.

Again, this story is not part of her Chicago Stars football series. It does introduce a character who becomes a heroine in her own book.. I’ve seen it classified as part of her Wynette, Texas series, but the connection doesn’t happen until a couple of books later, so I believe that’s a stretch.

This book manages to wring my emotions each time I read it. The major romance trope is on-the-road.  NEELY (Nell) is the widow of the assassinated president of the United States who was coerced into continuing the job after her husband’s death. She manages to escape the White House and goes “undercover,” where she runs into  MAT, a disillusioned and discredited journalist trying to find the big story in order to reclaim his career.  They each have secrets, although Neely’s are the major ones. Mat’s big internal conflict is family. The primary issue between them, however, is trust.

The book was published in 2000, which means one or two things have changed since then, but the gist of the story rings true.

There is no secondary romance in this story, which is unusual in an SEP book. The on-the-road aspect of the story doesn’t leave room for that kind of subplot. There are plenty of wonderful characters in the novel, though, and one of them–Lucy, who grows up to be the heroine of another SEP novel–will shred your heart.

If I were to give out stars on a 1 to 5 scale, FIRST LADY would receive five.

MJ’s Musings: Book Bingo: TBR Pile-WICKED GAMES

My local RWA chapter is once again running a Book Bingo challenge. This year’s Bingo board is 96% different than last year’s challenge. The only square that has not changed is the center square: Written by a CNYRW member. I think this year’s contest is going to be more challenging for me than last year’s was.

However, the first square I completed was YOUR TBR PILE (this included your Kindle version of the TBR pile).  I chose WICKED GAMES by Jessica Clare.

The novel is heavily based on the TV program SURVIVOR. I’m sure there are aspects of other reality shows mixed into the concept, particularly the “romance”-based ones.  I was surprised I liked the book as much as I did, having never watched television of this genre. Well-written and fast-paced, the story could have bogged down describing the challenges. It didn’t. Yes, important parts of the plot were predictable, but the book was still a fun read.