Yesterday's News

Not all books need to have something catastrophic or crazy happen. Or take you into the Red Room of Pain ...

Sometimes, a good book makes you feel comfortable and cozy. It makes you worry about its hero and want the best for its characters. It sticks with you. You miss the characters when it's over, and you want to find out what happens next in their lives. When I read Eileen Goudge's The Replacement Wife, I was captivated, and I was angry when it ended because I wasn't ready to let go of those characters.

Yesterday's News is along those lines. You come to care so deeply for Agnes that when Kajsa Ingemarsson ends her story, you feel empty, if not a tad aggravated. NOW? You end it NOW? But I'm not ready! What happens to Agnes?

Before you pick up this book, you first need to make sure that you have a full stomach, because Yesterday's News takes place in a restaurant. Agnes has worked in restaurants for ten years, eventually earning her way toward being a head waitress. But when her boss makes a crude pass at her and she costs him an expensive bottle of wine, it's time to find a new job. She meets up with Kalle, an old friend who is starting his own restaurant, and she agrees to join him in his venture.

The Yellow Lemon Tree will feature Mediterranean-style food, and Agnes convinces two former waitstaff pals to join her on the floor. In the kitchen are Filip and Paolo, the latter of whom Agnes recently met and spent quality time with. <wink wink> Yesterday's News takes you from the weeks before the restaurant's opening to the month or so afterwards, as Kalle and his staff struggle to establish their culinary endeavor. What would help, they all agree, is a favorable review in the local Stockholm paper.

Ingemarsson peppers her story with Agnes's family, her best friend Lussan, and a quirky neighbor given to playing Bob Dylan very loudly. And repetitively.

Agnes is a needy person, but not in a bad way. She requires order and safety in her life, all the more now that her boyfriend Tobias dumped her. A lot happens to her throughout the book, some of it good, some of it sad. Ingemarsson created a character who we like - a lot! We want Agnes to heal her broken heart, to experience success in the restaurant, and to help her family through their struggles. We want her to be happy. Agnes doesn't always make it easy; she's too quick to see what she wants to see in her friends, family and especially Tobias.

That was the kind of guy he was. Self-confident, thought Agnes. And even though she could feel threatened by his fickleness she wished that she too could let go like that. Live in the here and now, stop booking laundry times a month in advance and paying her bills on time. Trust that everything would work itself out. Tobias didn't need a fixed abode or fixed plans. He wanted to be his own mater in charge of his own time. She, who was everything Tobias wasn't - orderly, organized, structured - found it hard keeping up. 

Ingemarsson tells us so much in those lines. Clearly, Tobias is not good for Agnes, but where we see irresponsibility and self-focus, Agnes sees admirable charm. Yet we root for her, and when she leaves us at the novel's conclusion, we miss her.

Yesterday's News is a wonderful story focused on interesting characters. It's a romance, a sort of delayed coming-of-age, and a character study. It's just good, faithful readers.

Published by Stockholm Text and available on Amazon.com.

Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.

Torn

Torn is an excellent example of a book that is excellent up until its final act, when it all falls apart.

Stella Chavis is a high school senior, seemingly content with her friends, family and future. Yes, she still suffers lingering affects of her father's behavior and abandonment of his family. And, yes, she has had the same friends since kindergarten, and she sometimes resents having to take care of her younger sister and brother. But life, for the most part, is good for Stella.

Until, in a frenzied burst, Ruby Caroline enters Stella's life.

Ruby is what we call Troubled. She dresses provocatively, smokes and drinks. She's also drawn to older boys, beginning with the Notre Dame students living in the girls' town of South Bend, Indiana. Through Ruby, Stella discovers that an occasional stiff drink helps you feel better, college boys are fun (Stella meets Mike, who becomes her boyfriend), and there is a lot more excitement to life than Stella has experienced.

But ...

There is always a but.

Ruby likes to get in a lot deeper trouble, is drawn to a much hotter flame, than Stella. Yet Stella can't stay away from her. She tells herself that Ruby needs her and her friendship, that she can't abandon her new best friend, even as she abandons the friends she's had forever. As Ruby sinks deeper and deeper, Stella is there, enabling her all the way.

What author Stephanie Guerra does well with this book is create fairly realistic characters. Ruby is a little over the top, but I've seen girls like her strolling the halls of the high school where I work. She's outlandish, but some girls are. And Stella is beautifully conceived. She does not realize she is mired in ambivalence until she meets Ruby, and her reaction to this enlightenment results in fairly typical high school behavior.

Peppered throughout Torn are gentle urgings to seek comfort in God. For example, when Stella talks to Mike about applying to Notre Dame, he tries to comfort her by saying that she will get in, if 'God wants you to, you will.'" Stella's response is one we understand:

Boy, I hated when people said that. Of course it was true, but what if God didn't want me to get in? Or what if my college career was too insignificant for God to worry about? That was a distinct possibility, too.

The story chugs along, with Stella feeling the push and pull of friendship with Ruby, as well as her relationship with Mike and her family. But then we get to the last few chapters, and this wonderful story just sort of wraps up, end of scene. It's almost as if Stephanie Guerra got tired of writing, or had a word count she couldn't exceed. The rationale behind the tidy resolution of Ruby's and Stella's problems is unsatisfactory. The weakest is the playing out of Stella and Mike's courtship. What happens make sense, but not Stella's apparent emotional distance.

The thing is, this book was really good up until the end. That's what makes it frustrating, and that's why it gets the three cupcakes it does. It's a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise engrossing novel.

Published by Amazon Children's Publishing and available on Amazon.com.

Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.

The Siren's Song

When last we left the Rissa, Blade and Marisol discovered true love together, after some furious headboard rockin' both on the ship and in a cave. Now owned by Thayer Drake, the Rissa continues to be a pirate ship of sorts, although the crew calls themselves salvagers, not scavengers.

During a dark and stormy night, Gilly McCoy clings to a broken mast on the Rowena, which has crashed aground near the Rissa. Thayer rescues her, and then, in some fashion, she rescues him. Gilly is a songstress on the run from some thugs out to avenge some wrongdoing by her ex-fiance. Thayer protects her, against all his logic, and, of course, falls for her. Unlike Blade and Marisol in A Kiss in the Wind, however, Thayer and Gilly take a while to rock the headboard. Their romance is not as immediately sensual; Jennifer Bray-Weber gets us there much slower.

Like A Kiss in the Wind, The Siren's Song involves a tale of pirates and evil-doers. Thayer and Gilly must extricate themselves and the crew from one scrape after another. Fortunately, three memorable characters from A Kiss in the Wind show up here: Henri, the height-challenged chef, Sam, and William. As with Marisol, they develop a fondness for Gilly and encourage her romance with Thayer.

Jennifer Bray-Weber can write some sex scenes, even though there are not nearly enough of them in this book. I like that she writes from both Thayer's and Gilly's perspectives, especially when it comes to rocking the headboard.

Gilly's intoxicating scent drove him mad. He wanted her to enjoy this intimacy as much as he. He wanted her to feel how much he desired her. With her, he'd expect nothing in return. Having her this way was all he required. "You're so warm, so wet." Drake deepened his kiss, swirling his tongue across her wet folds, slow and gentle at first. But soon he suckled and lapped faster, unable to taste enough of her sweet juices.

Hot. Hot, hot, hot, hot, HOT.

Sometimes the swashbuckling gets a little bothersome, but only because you want to head back into the captain's quarters and get these two between the sheets. But it's a fun, hot read.

At the rate the Rissa is going, it is on its way to being the new Love Boat.

Published by Carina Press and available on Amazon.com.
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.

Reading Romances Challenge

I'm late to the party with this one, but I'm always up for a challenge. Join me, along with a plethora of other fun bloggers, in reading about romance.

So come along and have some fun and join the romance jamboree. 

This month, I plan to read some more Kristan Higgins (I've got Somebody to Love, Just one of the Guys and Too Good to be True on the pile), along with Welcome to Carson Springs by Eileen Grudge, who wrote The Replacement Wife, a book I can't let go of to save my shallow soul.  Also on tap: Yesterday's News by Kajsa Ingemarsson, Torn, by Stephanie Guerra, and Shades of Murder by Lauren Carr.

This month's challenge topics are:

TOPICS:

1) Read a book that has a reference to a fairytale, either title, character or plot.

2) Read a book that has an athlete as a character or has a sports-themed plot

3) Read a Stand-Alone book.

THEMES: 

4) Read a book that has Wedding, Marriage, Proposal, Bride, Groom or Engagement in the title or has a Wedding theme cover.

5) Read an m/m romance book or a book that has at least one prominent gay or lesbian character.

6) Royalty theme: Read a book that has the words King, Queen, Lord, Earl, Duke, or any other royal title.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

7) Repeat Day (June3) Read a book where the first letter repeats for both an author’s first and last name. (Ex. Lora Leigh, Amanda Ashley, Beverly Barton, etc)

I'm going to have to think about those and find some books in my NetGalley queue that fulfill the themes and topics. I'm sure I've got some Duke-themed bodice rippers and weddings. But an athlete? For the m/m romance, I've got another one of Ava March's Brook Street books. 


This will be fun. Any excuse to read more romance, right, faithful readers?

Guarding Jess

Jessica Pennington spends her life instructing others in proper decorum. As an etiquette consultant, she prides herself on presenting a serene demeanor, allowing nothing to rattle her cage. Until Noah Samuels, that is. His boss enlists Noah as Jessica's bodyguard when she begins receiving ominous, nasty threats. Good thing Jess's body is one he likes guarding.

If you know what I mean.

But I'm ahead of myself. And I'm certainly ahead of Shannon Curtis, who keeps us waiting a LOOOONG time for some headboard rockin' in this book. And even then, it isn't the headboard that gets rocked. 

Before Jessica and Noah engage in carnal adventures, they have to overcome the negative preconceived notions they have about each other. OF COURSE they have negative preconceived notions, because, COME ON, this is a Hot Romance Novels, and we all know that in Hot Romance Novels, the happy couple must work to be together. Jessica thinks Noah is a bit obtuse and lacking in social graces, while he thinks she's a snob. His nickname for her? Miss Prissy.

When Jessica lets down her guard, though, and confides in Noah just how upsetting this stalker business is, he softens toward her. Well, maybe internally he softens. Externally, he's all hardness.

If you know what I mean.

Noah stared at her, his mouth open. He couldn't ignore the thread of hurt underlying her words, as though his remarks had cut her deeply. Her eyes were flashing and the color was high on her cheeks. Her chin was up, her shoulders back. She was defiant. She was scared, and she'd just undone him completely with her impassioned argument.

Put a fork in him, because he's done. And as an aside: Jessica squares her shoulders very, very frequently in this book. Very frequently.

Jessica, too, is attracted to her protector. He's built like a linebacker, and she, while petite, has legs that make Noah growl.

The thing is, though, Guarding Jess gets pretty dark and violent. While on the one hand, it's the story of a romance, on another level, it's about the twisted mind of a stalker. There is a body count in this book, and Shannon Curtis is unflinching in selecting her victims.

This book has a story that hooks you, characters who make you care, and some decent sexy times. I would have liked more of the latter, but that's just me. The mystery was well done, and it's a quick book to read, making it a good selection for the beach.

Published by Carina Press and available on Amazon.com.

Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.

Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies

The title of this book is the best part about it.

There. Now you know. I'm going to go ahead and write the hell out of this review, because I love the sound of my own voice (praise Christian [Grey] someone does). But if you're in a hurry and want a quickie, you can forget about this one.

I get the feeling Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies (which sounds like the title of a Tori Spelling movie) is part of a series, but I can't find its predecessors. It seems as if it must be, because as you read the book, you feel like you're coming in the middle of a conversation. So much happened before this book starts that, even though Cynthia Cooke provides some flashbacks, you sense that if you knew more about what occurred before Genie Marsters survives a kidnapping attempt, you might enjoy this book better.

So Genie. She lives in what one character describes as a "mushroom" house, but she says it's a tree house. It's in the desert, and one day, after a visit from the UPS man (whom she greets with a Glock revolver tucked in the waistband of her pants), she sees a fleet of black SUVs roll up. This can only be bad news, so she races to the roof of her house, where she is rescued by her former lover, Kyle. Naturally, Kyle is tall, dark, handsome, and built like a brick house. He's bitter, because she abandoned him (he thinks) after a warehouse explosion. But Genie had good reasons for doing so (of COURSE she did), which she eventually gets around to telling him. In fact, Genie likes to abandon Kyle. Like, a lot.

Kyle and Genie quickly discover that danger lurks within Genie's family, particularly where the other two of her triplet sisters are concerned. (Kyle didn't know she had siblings, and he has a problem with that. Shouldn't people who love each other tell them about family? Evidently not.) The dynamic (ha ha) duo sets out to rescue Genie's family, all the while growing closer. How close? Naked close. During their first assignation, Genie is so hot for Kyle that she utters the sweet nothings that every man longs to hear: "Give it to me!" She does add a "please."

Cynthia Cooke's sex scenes are okay. Not great, but okay. The problem is that they sound like every other sex scene you've read.

As he moved, tears of pleasure and intense need sprang to her eyes. He rocked harder, taking her closer to that place of urgent, urgent hunger. That place of ultimate joy that she only seemed to find with him. Damn him. A place of warm intimacy where she felt truly loved and safe. A feeling she only had while lying in his arms, a feeling she'd missed too much.

Kyle thrusts fast and violently, Genie screams - she has a triple orgasm, natch - and finally Kyle "finds his release."

And our happy couple is reunited.

It isn't that this is a bad book - I've certainly read better - it's just that the title makes you think there will be some Hot Romance. And there is, but not much of it. Instead, there is some kind of mystery / conspiracy / spy intrigue going on here. Fine, but if you're going to call a book Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies let's have a little more loving, okay?

I guess if you're in the mood to read something with a smattering of headboard rocking, then this is your thing. It just wasn't mine.

 Published by Entangled Publishing and available on Amazon.com.
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.

18 & Over Blogger Follow # 31

18 & Over is a fun little Q&A run by Crystal at Reading Between the Wines. Each Friday, you are asked a question regarding adult literature. Come on in, dip a toe in the hot tub, and let's discuss Hot Romance Novels.
This week's question: Is there a super hawt and smexy bookthat you've read and loved but would die if youever caught your mom reading?

First of all, my mother does not read anything not written by Danielle Steele. She has no curiosity about books, which begs the question of how I turned out to be a book addict. (I'm adopted ... for real ... THANK GOD ... because if you knew that crazy broad, you would want to be adopted too.) 
But the book I read that would appall me if I caught her reading is not any of the Fifty Shades variety, but rather Bared to You by Sylvia Day. That one is more graphic than the Fifty Shades, for one thing, and for another, knowing my mother, she would have Questions. And I do not answer Questions from my mother.
So, tell me. Which book would embarrass you if you caught your mother reading it?