EVER AFTER by Jude Deveraux

August 10, 2015
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Nantucket Brides Trilogy, Book 3

According to her publisher, Jude Deveraux is the author of more than forty New York Times bestsellers and has more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide. And I’ve never read her. This book arrived at my front door and I loved the cover – that is one gorgeous dress – but it is the third book of a trilogy that I haven’t started. I contacted the publicist to see if the books stand alone or need to be read in order, and like most romances, she said go for it, you won’t even notice, and she was right.

This is a contemporary romance set mostly on Nantucket, but the setting is pretty much irrelevant to the story. Hallie Hartley lost her mother very young, and her father remarried, and when he and her stepmother die, Hallie is left to care for Shelly, her much younger stepsister. Shelly is gorgeous and spoiled, and Hallie has her hands full. She has just graduated as a physical therapist when things come to a boiling point.

Hallie inherits a house on Nantucket from a relative she’s never even heard of, and the house is seemingly haunted, which she learns after she gets there. She is offered the opportunity to work with just one patient, Jamie Taggert, who has severely injured his knee in a skiing accident. Hallie figures Jamie to be the ultimate rich playboy but a job is a job and she escapes to the island. There is an immediate attraction between them but Hallie is determined to keep things professional. She slowly realizes that there is more to this rich playboy than he or anyone from his enormous family is letting on.

The ghosts are amusing, not scary, and all the family drama adds complexity to this romance. I can see why Deveraux is so popular. Guess I’m going to have to go back and read the first two books in this trilogy.

8/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

EVER AFTER by Jude Deveraux. Ballantine Books (June 23, 2015).  ISBN 978-0345541857. 368p.

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DREAMING OF YOU by Lisa Kleypas

August 9, 2015

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I often get romance suggestions from Barbara, one of my co-workers who is a huge romance reader. She was cleaning out the paperbacks at work when she came across this title and told me to try it. She said it is old but it is one of those books that she has read and re-read, so I gave it a try. And I’m glad I did.

Sara Fielding lives with her elderly parents in a small English town out in the country. She has been hoping that a local young man would propose, but after four years she is beginning to give up. Sara is also a novelist, writing under a pen name, and her most famous book is about a prostitute.

Sara has a curious nature and a soft spot for the downtrodden, and she tries to highlight the social issues of the day in her novels. She has decided to write a new book about the popular gambling hells, and takes herself off to London to do some research. The most famous and opulent gaming hell of all is Craven’s, and the owner is reported to be one of the richest men in England.

Derek Craven came from lowly beginnings and created an empire, not an easy thing to do then. He has never married, preferring to have affairs  with married women, ending them the minute he feels they are getting too close. His childhood was brutal at best, so his rough and tumble demeanor is no surprise. What is a surprise is how taken he is with Sara and her innocence.

The innocent yet smart woman saving the damaged man is a standard in the romance genre, and this is an excellent example. I loved this book.

Note – this cover is actually an update, the book was reissued this summer and from what I can tell has been in print continuously since 2000. There are probably thousands of paperback romances that have gone out of print in that time so while that may not sound like a big deal, trust me, for a paperback romance to be in print for that long, especially to be reissued with a new cover 15 years later, is a very big deal. But having read it, I completely understand. If you like historical romance, please add this to your reading list, you will be very glad you did.

8/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

DREAMING OF YOU by Lisa Kleypas. Avon; Reissue edition (June 30, 2015). ISBN 978-0380773527. 400p.

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GREY by E.L. James

July 24, 2015
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Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian

The announcement of this new book, a mere 18 days prior to publication, took the publishing world by storm, and that includes bookstores and libraries. I had gotten an email early in the morning so I was aware, but when I got to work a co-worker told me she had been asked for the “Christian Fifty Shades” and thought there was, somehow, a religious version of the book out there! A quick internet search revealed the new book, but that sure was a fun way to learn about it.

I read the Fifty Shades trilogy back in 2012 (and reviewed here) and these were my final thoughts…and they still hold true for Grey. The appeal of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (and now just a series, I guess) lies with the characters and their great love affair. We can’t help but root for the insecure girl who lands the gorgeous rich guy, and the damaged man she brings out of the dark.

Ana and Christian save each other, inspire each other so that their sum together is greater than their parts. Their torrid love affair, the “mommy porn” aspect is candy to some, inflaming imaginations and libidos, while others will fly past those pages. Nonetheless, Ana and her 50 Shades bring to mind other great loves in literature like Romeo and Juliet, and Scarlett and Rhett, with apologies to Shakespeare and Mitchell. Most romance readers are looking for that, and those that don’t usually read romance are perhaps surprised at how they are swept away with Ana and Christian, enough to overlook the abysmal writing, the lip biting, the smirking. I know I was.

All that said, I got the feeling that James wrote Grey by pulling up the manuscript of the original, and changing the “she thought” to “he thought” and adding in a bit more of Christian’s background. But the writing seemed much better to me, not nearly so repetitive and deplete of those awful series of superlatives and multiple mentions of Ana’s “inner goddess.” So I’m thinking Random House got to put a strong editor on this since it hadn’t been previously self-published.

I liked seeing Christian’s point of view. The character development was better, the story was better if somehow still the same, and I am glad I read it. It probably helped that there were three years between books. Whatever her faults, E.L. James created a hot romance with lots of sizzling kinky sex, and that was all still there. It isn’t nearly as shocking, unless you haven’t read the other books, I guess. If you’re a fan of the series, enjoy. If you haven’t read them, this is a good place to start. And don’t get me started on the movie! (Love to hear your comments about any of this.)

7/15 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch

GREY: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E.L. James. Vintage (June 18, 2015).  ISBN 978-1101946343. 576p.

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BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES by Debbie Macomber

July 12, 2015
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Blossom Street #10

This is the latest entry into this very gentle series. It encompasses everything Debbie Macomber readers expect; women’s friendship, a sweet romance and knitting. The series is set in Seattle and centers around A Good Yarn, a knitting shop.

This time the story centers around Lauren Elliott, who works in a nearby fine jewelry establishment. Lauren and Todd, the handsome and ambitious TV newscaster, have been dating for a few years and Lauren feels like they should be ready to move on to the next step – marriage. But Todd wants to wait until he gets that coveted anchor spot, so Lauren decides to break it off.

Bethanne and her husband Max are separated – not because they don’t get along, but because they are newly married and he owns a business in partnership with Rooster in California; Bethanne’s business is in Seattle. And her ex has decided that maybe he made a mistake and wants her back.

Lauren meets Rooster at A Good Yarn, he’s a biker and totally out of her comfort zone but she decides maybe she needs to make a new list of what she wants in a man.

There is additional intrigue when baskets of yarn are found around town with notes to knit a scarf that will be donated to the homeless shelter, and the knitters are asked to turn in the finished product to A Good Yarn. But the proprietor, Lydia, doesn’t know anything about it, although she is certainly enjoying the good will and increase in business.

These women form a bond with each other and with the men in their lives, leading to a satisfying ending. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and it was completely captivating and entertaining. Narrated by Cassandra Campbell.

7/15 Stacy Alesi

BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES by Debbie Macomber. Ballantine Books (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0345528865. 432p.

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A LOT LIKE LOVE by Julie James

July 8, 2015
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I am really enjoying Julie James’ FBI/US Attorney series. I’ve read the first one, Something About You,  book 3, About that Night, book 4, Love Irresistibly, and book 5, It Happened One Wedding. I finally got hold of book 2; thank you library! Need I say I did not read these in order? Probably not, since I’m finally reviewing the second book in the series.

This is a terrific series, and one of the things I like best is that they don’t need to be read in order. But if you are one of those people that feel the need to do that, there are delicious little nods to the previous books, so go for it and enjoy.

The series centers around the Chicago U.S. attorneys’ office and the FBI agents that they work with so closely. A Lot Like Love is about FBI agent Nick McCall and the billionaire heiress Jordan Rhodes. Rhodes made an appearance in About that Night as her brother, Kyle, AKA the “Twitter terrorist” is at the center of that book. But that’s the next book in the series, so never mind…

Nick McCall has been working undercover for years, precluding any sort of relationship. His newest assignment is to help out a rookie, but when the rookie gets sick, Nick has to go undercover again. This time he’s Nick Stanton, wealthy businessman who is Jordan’s date at the swankiest charity gala of the year.

In reality, he is there to infiltrate the owner’s office and plant a few bugs that will hopefully tie up a big money laundering sting. Nick and Jordan take an instant dislike to each other; he has no use for high society, and she finds him sarcastic and thug-like. But when Nick finds out he’s being followed, he knows he needs to play the boyfriend full time.

Chicago is the setting once again, with a side trip to beautiful Napa valley. Believable characters and a suspenseful storyline make for a great read – the hot sex is just the icing on the cake. Hope there’s another book or two left in this series, I am seriously hooked.

7/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

A LOT LIKE LOVE by Julie James. Berkley (March 1, 2011). ISBN 978-0425240168. 304p.

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SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW by David Bell

July 7, 2015
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A combination love story and mystery spanning 20 years. Nick Hansen fell in love with a girl named Marissa Minor while both were in college. To get married was definitely in the cards for them when a horrible accident, a house fire, killed four girls, including Marissa. Nick, devastated, was forced to go on with his life and eventually marries another woman who has a boy from a previous marriage. Nick was crazy about the boy, but unfortunately the couple divorced.

After the divorce Nick continues working at a dead end job and trying to continue seeing Andrew, his  ex-wife’s son. One day while in the grocery he is stopped in his tracks by a girl that is the exact image of his dead girlfriend Marissa. Nick attempts to speak to her but the girl runs off.

The next day the police come to his house and indicate that the girl he tried to speak to was found dead in her hotel room with Nick’s address in her possession. Convinced that there has to be a connection between the dead girl and his old girlfriend, Marissa, Nick asks for help from an old friend of his, Laurel Davidson, who works in the D.A.’s office.

Bell is tossing a lot of people at us during the course of the book but does succeed in tying all pieces together at the end to come up with a logical conclusion to what is happening. A fast read, keeping the reader’s interest, and possibly a little reminiscent of Harlan Coben’s novel Six Years, it does stand on its own as well done.

7/15 Paul Lane

SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW by David Bell. NAL (July 7, 2015). ISBN: 978-0451474209. 432p.

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ONLY A PROMISE by Mary Balogh

July 5, 2015
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Survivor’s Club Series, Book 5

Just to recap, this series focuses on a group of men who all sustained injuries during the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke of Stanbrook, having lost his son in that war, had invited this group of men with various serious injuries, and one woman who had the misfortune of seeing her husband tortured and killed, to recuperate at his estate. They spend a few years there healing, form an eternal bond, and after they have healed enough to return to the world, they meet up once a year at the estate to renew their bonds.

By this fifth book, four of the men have married – all but Ralph Stockwood, next in line to be the Duke of Worthington. He lost his childhood friends in the war, and suffers extreme guilt that he talked them into fighting. While physically scarred from the war, it is the emotional scars that have truly crippled him.

With the Duke more than 80 years old, his mother and grandparents are pressuring him to marry quickly and produce his own heir. But Stockwood feels cold and empty inside, and hesitates to make a union when he knows he will make his bride unhappy. Nevertheless, with his title and his money, girls are lining up for him.

The Duchess has a young companion, Chloe Muirhead, who has had quite a bit of scandal and heartache in her young life. At 27, she has no prospects at all. When Stockwood arrives for a visit, he overlooks her presence and has a frank talk with his grandmother about his marital prospects. The next morning, Chloe steels her nerve and makes him a proposal –  a marriage of convenience. Neither wants nor expects love, but Chloe would like her own home and a family, and Ralph needs a wife and heir. They marry quickly, and prepare to face society.

Chloe and Ralph overcome many obstacles, which of course bring them closer together. Theirs is a slow growing love, which takes them both by surprise. The sex scenes were surprising to me, almost chaste and somehow seem fitting for the time period and this marriage – but that eventually changes.

Once again Balogh creates wonderful characters and a magical romance. I loved it.

7/15 Stacy Alesi

ONLY A PROMISE by Mary Balogh. Signet (June 9, 2015). ISBN 978-0451469670. 400p.

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BEAUTIFUL DAY by Elin Hilderbrand

June 25, 2015
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Narrated by Therese Plummer

I am (sort of) patiently waiting for the next Diana Gabaldon book on CD (A Breath of Snow and Ashes) to come in from the library, so I’m listening to other things while I wait. I really like Elin Hilderbrand’s books, at least the few I’ve read so far, so when this audio book became available, I grabbed it.

It is a heart-tugger for sure. The “beautiful day” in question is Jenna’s wedding day. The wedding is set at her family’s home on Nantucket, and the story involves everyone in the family.

Her mother Beth died while Jenna was in college, and she took off a semester to stay home with her. Beth left her a wedding notebook, basically a long letter to Jenna describing every detail of the wedding she would not be around to take part in. So of course, Jenna considers every word to be gospel, from the grassy green bridesmaids dresses to their dyed to match shoes.

Jenna is the youngest of four and the older three are much older, and therefore very close. The oldest is Margaux, whom Beth has decreed should be the maid of honor. Margaux has lots of drama in her life. She is a single mom, having divorced her surf bum of a husband, and is currently involved in a secret relationship with her father’s law partner, a man 30 years older than she.

Nick is single and a player, but nonetheless things get weird when he starts sleeping with Finn, Jenna’s best friend and one of the bridesmaids – who happens to be married but her husband is in Vegas at a bachelor party. The other brother is happily married with kids. They all squish into the Nantucket beach house they summered in all their lives and the drama begins.

There is more drama with Stuart, the groom. His mother Ann is the state senator from North Carolina and his father had left her for another woman several years earlier. They had a child together, but divorced soon after and his parents were married once again. Since his half-brother is in the wedding party, Ann decides to invite her husband’s ex, much to his disappointment. In reality, Ann simply wants to gloat that she got her husband back but of course that plan doesn’t work out exactly the way she wants it to.

I am a hopeless romantic and cry at everything wedding related; TV commercials, crazy wedding dances gone viral, and especially books like this one. I welled up on several occasions, not really a great thing to do while driving!

So much happens over this wedding weekend that the pages just fly by – or they would had I read it. Instead, I listened to it and while I really enjoyed the story, I did not enjoy the reader. I haven’t listened to enough audio books to pinpoint exactly what the problem is, so I’m just throwing that out there. I wished I would have read it instead of listening to it.

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BEAUTIFUL DAY by Elin Hilderbrand. Back Bay Books (March 4, 2014). ISBN 978-0316099769. 432p.

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FOUR NIGHTS WITH THE DUKE by Eloisa James

June 23, 2015

FOUR NIGHTS WITH THE DUKEDesperate Duchesses (Book 8)

Eloisa James is my favorite romance writer. She does historical romance, this one set in late 18th century England.

Fifteen-year-old Emilia (Mia) Carrington is in love with her father’s paramour’s son, Vander, the future Duke of Pindar. In her adolescent fantasy, she writes an incredibly sappy love poem that her father decides to share with the boy’s mother. The poem goes further than that, and Mia overhears Vander say some spurious things about her and the poem with his friends.

Fast forward several years and Mia is engaged to be married, but her fiancé strands her at the alter. Mia has lost her parents and her brother, and is guardian to her nephew but her Uncle wants to assume that guardianship and all the wealth that comes with it. The terms of her brother’s will state that she must be married within a year of his death or everything reverts to the Uncle.

Desperate, Mia blackmails Vander into marrying her. He thinks it’s because she is still in love with him and he decides teach her a lesson. He agrees to marry her but makes her sign a contract that he will only bed her four times a year and she must beg for it. And so the games begin until Mia realizes that she really is still in love with him and he slowly understands that he feels more than lust for her.

This is another wonderful romance, filled with likeable characters, enough drama to make the pages fly by and as always, lots of passion. I loved it.

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FOUR NIGHTS WITH THE DUKE by Eloisa James. Avon (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0062223913. 384p.

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LOVE IRRESISTIBLY by Julie James

June 21, 2015
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I am really enjoying Julie James’ FBI/US Attorney series. I’ve read the first one, Something About You,  book 3, About that Night, and book 5, It Happened One Wedding. I managed to get my hands on book 4, and I was very happy I did.

This is a terrific series, and one of the things I like best is that they don’t need to be read in order. But if you, there are delicious little nods to the previous books, so it’s a win-win as far as I’m concerned. The series centers around the Chicago U.S. attorneys’ office and the FBI agents that they work with so closely. Love Irresistibly centers around assistant US attorney Cade Morgan.

Cade’s specialty is bringing down dirty politicians, and anyone who knows Chicago politics knows that can be a full time job.  He has the goods on the state senator, but knows there will be a meeting at a swanky restaurant, and he wants to get that meeting on tape to cinch the conviction. To do so, he needs permission and assistance from the restaurant.

Enter Brooke Parker, general counsel for the Sterling restaurant group. Brooke and Cade are trading barbed quips from the get go, but with her help, Cade manages to get what he needs. But he owes her and she is soon collecting when her company finds out someone hacked into their account.

I love that James creates characters that we can care about. They are real people with real problems and it’s fun watching them work things out.

I really enjoyed this book and now have to hunt down the last book in the series, which is my case is book 2, A Lot Like Love. Berkley, are you listening? Stay tuned…

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LOVE IRRESISTIBLY by Julie James. Berkley; First Printing edition (March 2, 2010). ISBN 978-0425251195. 304p.

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