Love Struck

Love Struck
by Chantel Guertin
280 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5


On the day that Poppy Ross discovers that her husband Parker is having an affair, she is informed that she must get to the hospital: Parker has been struck by lightning. The good news? He has no memory of the previous three months. Those three months include the time he spent in his affair.

So Poppy is on the horns of a dilemma: tell Parker what she knows, resolve to forgive and forget and renew her attentions to her marriage, or try to make over herself into the image of Parker's side piece.

Poppy of course chooses Door Number Three.

And here is where she becomes a somewhat unlikable character. Her decisions are so half-assed that you find yourself getting angry with her. When we're supposed to be on her side, we actually begin to think she's nuts and not worth our time.

Yet if she fessed up and bared her sins to Parker, she risks sending him back to his other woman. That motivation we can understand. She loves him, as she tells us several times. We may not see much evidence of it - she seems to spurn his attentions at nearly every opportunity - but she says she does, and we have to believe her.

I wasn't always sure what book Chantel Guertin was writing here. I had the same problem with her previous novel, Stuck in Downward Dog, which I did not enjoy at all. Is this a romance? A comedy? A searing examination of what women will do when they are desperate to keep a man?

The problem is that the book reads as all the above, never quite certain which it wants to be. Poppy is entertaining, if not completely enjoyable. Parker comes across as somewhat daft, but I liked him. Half the time I couldn't blame him for seeking out the companionship of another woman. In fact, Poppy herself acknowledges the cracks in her marriage, yet she does absolutely nothing to rectify them. If anything, she continues to perpetuate them.

Despite all of that, the book is not terrible (unlike Stuck in Downward Dog). You find yourself invested in the characters, somewhat against your will, and you want them to be okay. Happy and okay.

But with a premise like this one has, the book could have been much better.

All Dressed Up

All Dressed Up
by Lucy Hepburn
Published by Diversion Books
331 pages
Genre: chick lit; romance
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3.5 / 5


We all know someone, whether it's a sibling or a parent or a friend, who thinks the world revolves around them. That they are the center of the universe. Aren't we so lucky that we get to spend time with them? Aren't we? Sure we are.

For Molly Wright, that center is her older sister Caitlin, who is in Italy preparing to marry her somewhat older, far wealthier, and extremely famous fiance. Despite Molly being an aspiring fashion designer, her sister hired a Parisian haute couture genius to do the job. Molly's dream is to live in Paris and design clothes, but her initial visit to the city proves to be less than fulfilling: she gets dumped by her boyfriend of five years, a man she thought was going to propose.

When Caitlin calls in a fit of hysteria over her dress not having been shipped to Italy, Molly volunteers to pick it up and take it herself. She and Pascal, the designer's assistant, hop on a plane and head to Venice.

Alas, things go horribly awry.

But the good news is that Simon, the hot Englishman sitting next to Molly on the plane? He might make all of this awfulness go down a whoooole lot better.

This is a book that alternates between slapstick silliness and dramatic sadness. In the midst of all of that overwrought emotionalism, though, are some sweet moments. Molly and her mother share a heartfelt talk in the back of a car, allowing Molly to say things she should have said years before. Her mother, too. The quiet moments between Molly and Simon are lovely, as are those between Molly and Pascal. There is a fantastic auction scene that tells us more about the characters than any of the frivolous scenes.

The romance is sweet. Molly and Simon are adorable, and Simon helps Molly see the difference between someone who appears to be good and someone who truly is. He and the ex-boyfriend are in the same line of work, but whereas Reggie makes movies based on fictional stories, Simon makes documentaries. He's real. And Molly needs real. If it all wraps up a little too neatly, then so be it. This isn't a book that wants to leave you with a cliffhanger. It wants to leave you happy and warm and fluffy and all that sort of stuff.

Fortunately, the scenes that matter and that affect us most are able to overpower the scenes that drive us nuts.

E for England

E for England
by Elisabeth Rose
Published by Escape - Harlequin Australia
231 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3.5 / 5


Annie's husband left her and their two young children nearly a year ago, leaving behind only a note saying he needed to find himself. He has sent a few postcards, but no money, relegating Annie to moving in with a frisky coworker. She had to give up her plans for an MBA as she struggles to provide for her children.

Yes, life looks a bit challenging for her. The last thing she has any interest in is dating, so of course she meets Hugh, a handsome doctor living in the same apartment building. The two are attracted to each other, but Hugh refuses to have children and Annie refuses to make hers anything less than all of her top ten priorities.

The challenge for these two is to overcome their resistance. Hugh has his reasons for not wanting children, even as we - and Annie - can see that he's mistaken. Annie, meanwhile, convinces herself that dating Hugh would be a huge mistake. She needs to focus on her children, not a man, and besides. He doesn't want kids, and she has two.

Then there is the ex-husband, who isn't quite an ex-husband just yet. What if he were to show back up in their lives? And where on earth is he?

This is a cute romance, but one tinged with sadness and melancholy. Hugh is well acquainted with love and loss, with life and death, both personally and professionally. We understand why he's reluctant to be a father, both because of what he experienced in the past and because he encounters death and blame frequently in his job. He needs an orderly, quiet life, not one disturbed by rambunctious children.

Annie's marriage is also cause for a twinges of sadness. We do learn why her husband left, which makes us feel for her and her children (and even the husband) ever stronger. As much as we want Annie happy, and as much as we think she could be with Hugh, we know that happiness for her will be hard fought. Does she even have time for such a fight?

This story is presented fairly realistically, and the characters are people we relate to, largely because they know, as well as we do, that nothing magically happens in life. Sometimes the pacing feels off, though, and the ending seems a bit too neat considering the messiness that preceded it.

Lovestruck in London

Lovestruck in London
by Rachel Schurig
Published by Amazon Digital
Genre: chick lit, YA
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5


A common fantasy for young girls (or .. ahem ... slightly older girls) is commoner-girl-meets-rich-and-successful-man. We saw it in Pride and Prejudice when two middle class Bennet sisters married wealthy men. Then there is Kate Middleton, who either did us a favor or ruined us forever when she married Prince William. See? She proved that it can work!!

In this play on the fantasy, we have middle class Lizzie (named after the Darcy marrying Miss Bennet), a Detroit-born middle class daughter of Mexican immigrants who heads to London for a graduate degree in literature. Only a few nights into her nine month-trip pass before she meets Thomas Harper, a co-star in a wildly successful Twilight-type movie franchise. Thomas is taken with Lizzie, in part because she has no idea who he really is. He looks familiar, but she isn't a fan of his popular movies. She comes to him with no preconceived notions of what he's like or what she thinks he's like.

The two begin a courtship, and the nine month gestational period is probably not accidental. Only after the nine months, the love their birthed will either be abandoned (when Lizzie returns to Detroit) or nurtured. Of course, this relationship does not come easily to either of them. Lizzie feels beholden to her parents and five older siblings, and staying in London to date an actor is not on her family's list of Things to Do. For Thomas, acclimating Lizzie into his life requires patience, to say the least.

Will true love conquer all? Will Lizzie and Thomas find a way to stay together?

You probably already know the answer to that, but the book is fun to read anyway. If it seems a little familiar to those of us who read Tina Reber's Love Unscripted and Love Unrehearsed, then so be it. The two do share some similarities. Fortunately, Thomas and Lizzie are entirely likable and relatable. And lucky. Not many of us experience a fast-paced love affair like these two do, and their problems seem almost forced and inconsequential. We get it. Lizzie feels guilty over the London schooling and for not having the same ambitions for herself as her family does. But at the same time, she's a reader. She knows that life is unpredictable and that love is worth pursuing. Thomas is a good guy, but Lizzie occasionally gets frustrating.

What becomes more frustration, though, is a lack of tension. Yes, there is Lizzie's obligation to her family, but it almost feels forced. One of her siblings is so mean and derisive that she appears to be a caricature of an evil stepsister.

The good news is that despite her occasional "what in the world is she thinking?" moments, Lizzie is darn adorable. You become invested in her and her story, and she will make you enjoy this book, even if it is devoid of any mystery as to its outcome.

Recipe for Disaster

Recipe for Disaster
by Nina Harrington
Published by Harlequin UK
231 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5


What you have here is a cute story with characters you'll enjoy, spoiled by a "what in the world?" sex scene.

Bunty Brannigan inherited her parents' deli and is determined to make it successful, despite having been disowned by her mother's successful Italian family, they of the Caruso cookbooks and pastas. Bunty ghost writes her cousin's cookbooks, helping generate even more money for the Caruso coffers. When she turns thirty, she is awarded a secret inheritance, one that throws the Carusos and Brannigan's Deli into disarray. Fortunately, there is an attractive Italian lawyer to help her adjust to her new surroundings.

So a cute premise. Bunty has the requisite merry band of friends to support her, and Fabio Rossi turns out to be a comely solicitor who truly solicits. Ba dum dum.

The problem is that there is a sort of sex scene that proves to be a head scratcher. It is completely unnecessary and serves to do nothing other than throw the story off its stride. Yeah, I know. Me? Complain about a gratuitous sex scene? I am all astonishment. Well, I am too, but use this as an example of the nearing apocalypse. I'm all for rocking the headboard, but this scene is just ill-conceived.

Otherwise, it's a capable tale and a nice choice for some light summer reading.

The Life List

The Life List
by Lori Nelson Spielman
Published by Bantom
378 pages
Genre: chick lit, literature
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview
5 / 5


I have mother issues. I'll admit that straight away. I don't know if it's because I'm adopted or if my mother was not all that fabulous or what, but I have mother issues. When I read books with good mothers in them (and I'm looking at you, Mrs. March), I get wistful and flat out jealous. I wish I'd had a good mom. I wish I could be a good mom.

So as I read this book, I found myself wondering how you get to be the sort of mother who just knows what your child needs, who knows what your child is thinking before the child is even aware of what's going through her mind. Gosh, do I wish I had a mother like that. And gosh, do I ever wish I could be that mother.

When Brett's mother dies, she is bereft with grief. And then she becomes confused and a bit angry, because Mom's cosmetics empire is not left to Brett, but rather her imperious sister-in-law. Everything else apparently goes to Brett's brothers, and all Brett is left with is a list. Not just any list, but a to-do list that Brett created when she was a girl. Mom refuses to leave any inheritance to Brett until she completes the to-do list, and she has one year to get it done.

Brett is stunned. One of the things on the list is to buy a horse. Another is to have a relationship with her father, and that one is particularly problematic because dear old Dad is dead. Fall in love? Brett thinks she has that one, thanks to her boyfriend Andrew. Have a baby? Does Andrew want kids?

There are ten things in all that Brett must do, and of course as she completes her tasks, she receives the greatest inheritance her mother could leave: Brett becomes the person her mother knew she could be. Along the way, much of what Brett thinks she knows is proven wrong, just as you'd expect would happen.

This is written so clearly and enjoyably that you can't help but get hooked on Brett's story. We see some of the solutions to her task before she does, much like her mother could do. But we also find ourselves in Brett's shoes, thinking we know how something will turn out, only to have life zig when we expect a zag. Brett is not perfect; there are times she is agonizingly blind or nearly insufferable with self-righteousness. But she's so darn likable that she invests you fully and completely in her story. At one point, I found myself crying, and I wasn't even sure why. I just wanted her to find love, and every time it seemed as if she had, circumstances would change. I don't just mean romantic love, either. Her relationship with one of her older brothers is prickly at best, and then there is that whole dad thing.

You may find yourself thinking about the you you wanted to become when you were fourteen. Are you that person? Would you want to be? And if you aren't, what's stopping you?

I Wished for You
by Amy Huberman
Published by Penguin
436 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5


Do you ever read a book and think to yourself, "This author is trying WAY too hard?" Perhaps there is too much - too much plot, too much sex (wait ... what?), too much cuteness, too much effort. There is a prevailing sense of desperation to make you laugh or think or cry or something.

Such is the case with this book.

The premise is solid: Grace is a bridesmaid in yet another wedding, and as she approaches thirty, what everyone wants to know is when she'll be the one in the fluffy white dress. She and solid boyfriend Robbie bought a house together, he keeps saying they will get married some day. But ... when she catches the bouquet, she sees Robbie's face fall. Doubts creep in, even if Grace is unaware of them. Does she want to marry Robbie after all? And so she heads to a kitschy place in Ireland where one makes wishes that will come true. Is Robbie who Grace wishes to have, or is there another man out there who will capture her heart?

See? Solid premise. The problem is that Huberman TRIES TOO HARD. The little stories that populate this book, whether from explaining how Grace nearly drowned in a fountain or how she and Robbie came to have a cat, get tedious. Just when you get into the rhythm of the story, here comes Huberman with another cutesy memory of Grace's, another "gosh, aren't we fun!" story, that serves no purpose other than to annoy us readers. Grace is lovely. Her friends are a bit cookie cutter-ish in that friends-with-quirks kind of way, but that's not so bad, actually. We can't get to know them, truly, because the pacing keeps getting interrupted. What clearly is meant to draw us closer to the story and characters instead pushes us away.

At times it almost reads like you're watching a stand up routine at Vinnie's Yuk Yuk Club, and I found myself wondering what this book would have been like without all of the blatant attempts at humorous shtick. Yes, parts of it are funny. Yes, parts are sweet and heartwarming. Yes, parts sort of break your heart. Yes, yes, yes. But wrapped around this book is an overwhelming sense of Try Hard.

And it doesn't work.

Kiss the Bride

Kiss the Bride
by Jody Wallace
Published by Entangled: Ever After
115 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
4 / 5


Did you happen to see the Patrick Dempsey movie called "Made of Honor"? If so, this book will seem a bit familiar. Even so, as far as fun books are concerned, this one fits that bill just fine.

Caroline and Herman Edward Heckley, III, aka "Heck," have known each other their entire lives, and for those thirty-four years, Caro has loved Heck. But he considers her his BFF and nothing more. A girl can only wait so long, however, and since Caro's boyfriend asked, she decides she might as well get married, even if it's to the wrong man. A girl typically asks her bestie to be her maid of honor, though, right? So Caro asks Heck to stand in for her. Naturally, during this process, Heck discovers that he might not want to be just friends.

Yes, it's completely transparent, but it's fun and silly and worth the $1.99. Another one of Caro's friends sees what Caro and Heck won't admit to each other and conspires to force them to face reality, and that part gives you the meat of the plot. There is a hot - and I mean nice and hot - bit of headboard rockin', such that you will wonder how any woman with half a brain would settle for being Heck's friend, unless it's a friend with benefits. Granted, there are times that either Caro or Heck - or both - is so aggravatingly blind that you might find yourself getting frustrated with their apparent cluelessness.

This is one of those books that knows its place. You will not be asked to confront any of life's pressing questions, nor will you stay up late trying to figure out what happened (I'm looking at you, Dangerous Girls), but your time with this novella will be worth it, if for no other reason than that sex scene.

Love, Technically

Love, Technically
by Lynne Silver
Published by Entangled Publishing
95 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3.5 / 5


Mistaken identity is a common motif in books, and as done here, it's cute and fun.

Michelle has come to the big city of Chicago from her podunk Iowa hometown, searching for ... well ... she's not quite sure what. Something that isn't her podunk Iowa hometown, that much she knows. She wants to see things and experience things and live a life she knows is out there, somewhere. After a week as a call center rep at a software company, she is about to kick the printer to the curb. When a cute coworker helps her out, she's intrigued. Turns out that he's not just a coworker, he's the CEO of the company. But he doesn't tell Michelle that right away. He likes that she likes him for him, and he wants to keep it that way.

A breezy, fun read, this book doesn't ask more of you than to enjoy it. There is some headboard rockin', not the wildest or most explicit, but good.

One caveat: Michelle is almost unspeakably naive, and her obliviousness occasionally induced a little eye-rolling. But she's adorable, so you accept it. I did have a HUGE issue with the whole University of Chicago thing. That's a pretty good school, and Michelle is not presented as a genius, so that part was a bit of a head scratcher.

Love Unrehearsed: The Love Series, Book 2

Love Unrehearsed: The Love Series, Book 2
by Tina Reber
Published by Atria Books
450 pages
Genre: new adult; chick lit; romance
3 / 5


When I finished Love Unscripted, I didn't realize that Tina Reber intended to write a sequel. My initial reaction was curiosity; it seemed that Taryn and Ryan's story came to a good conclusion. They were together, we readers were happy, and that's that. What more was there to say that didn't repeat everything we just read?

Well, the answer comes in Love Unrehearsed, as we continue on with Taryn and Ryan. While I enjoyed more time with them - Ryan especially (le sigh) - I find stick to my initial reaction. This should have ended with the first book.

That is not to say that this is a bad book or not enjoyable. I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the headboard rockin'. Girls, Ryan can make it happen, if you know what I mean. No, it's more that this one essentially repeats the stories from the first book, apart from a subplot involving Ryan's bodyguard.

Taryn has joined Ryan on his press tour and then on set as he films more movies. As such, Love Unrehearsed details Taryn's attempt to assimilate herself in Ryan's life. She has to adjust to what it means to date a man with 80 million screaming fans, a man who pretends to make love to other women as part of his job, a man whose every move is scrutinized by his management, his coworkers, and his fans. It's difficult, and it requires communication with Ryan. Each of them needs to get over sticking points that caused problems when they first came together.

The biggest problem with this book is that there is no problem; there is no tension or dramatic angle. It's more of a study of a commoner dating Hollywood royalty, so to speak. In that respect, it's interesting. Taryn's mistakes, misunderstandings, and misapprehension are realistic and well written. If she occasionally comes across as a sort of film making idiot savant, we can excuse that because Tina Reber clearly loves her main character. As does Ryan, whose feelings for Taryn are quite deep and sincere. When he tells her the moment he realized he was falling in love with her, it's one of those "awwwwww" kind of things for us readers.

But ... there isn't anything new here. It's really just more of the same. Whereas in the first book Taryn battled obsessed fans, near sexual assault, a car accident, and a miscarriage, you almost feel like there was nowhere for Reber to go with this book other than the more pedestrian and mundane.

The good news is that for fans of Taryn and Ryan, you get to hang out with them some more. The bad news is that there is no real hook to this one. Oh, and more good news: the sex scenes. Yum.

Do You Remember?

Do You Remember?
by Mandy Baggot
Published by HarperImpulse
306 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5


Seven years ago, Emma Barron's life gave her her most heartbreaking times and the greatest joy she could have imagined.

Today, she's made peace with what happened at a French campground those years ago, as she and her father grieved her mother's death and she found love with Guy Duval, a promising football (that's soccer to some of you) player. She also found herself with a son, after she found Guy in a state of undress with another lover.

Emma's nicely crafted life faces some upheaval, though, when Guy, now a football star, gets traded to a local team. The two reconnect, and seven years of lost happiness - of misunderstandings and love that will not die - converge on the two of them.

Emma is sweet and lovely, and you feel for her. She's in a relationship with someone she might be settling for, knowing that she gave her heart to Guy. But Guy hurt her, and she struggles with forgiveness. Guy is also likable; and he feels just as hurt by Emma. From his perspective, she assumed facts not in evidence and ran away before she could hear what he has to say. Then there is the pesky matter of her son. Is Guy the lad's dad?

I enjoyed this book ... for the most part. I'd say that my overall reaction is one of apathy. It's entertaining in some parts and overreaches in others. The romance is sweet, and there are some scenes of sexy times (although they are not wildly explicit). But the plot twists verge on the extreme and the nonsensical. One of them fits perfectly, but the other is just too much and unnecessary.

I struggled with what rating to give this one because when it's enjoyable, it's a lot of fun to read. But when it flies off into ridiculousness, it leaves a bad taste. There are better books out there for the price, but if you can ignore the dumb stuff, this is a cute one.

Your Room or Mine?

Your Room or Mine?
by Charlotte Phillips
Published by HarperImpulse
108 pages
Genre: chick lit; romance
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
4 / 5


So you dump your boyfriend after you catch him cheating, and the two of you were supposed to get away for a romantic weekend. What do you do with that hotel room? Izzy Shaw decides to go anyway, and if she can enjoy a hot hook-up, then all the better.

This novella tells a cute story and has characters you will enjoy. Even better, it's hot.

Izzy gets her hook-up, with the adorably inscrutable Oliver Forbes, and she makes the most of it. With Oliver's help, of course. They enjoy the wrinkled bed sheets out of each other, so much so that Oliver starts to wonder if perhaps they could make their one night together into something more.

Charlotte Phillips does a nice job of letting us get to know Izzy and Oliver over this little book, and she writes deliciously hot headboard rockin'.

Enjoy this one for what it is: a fast read with good sex scenes.

Big Girl Panties

Big Girl Panties
by Stephanie Evanovich
Published by William Morrow
486 pages
Genre: chick lit; romance
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview
2.5 / 5


It can't be easy for writers to have a plus-sized heroine.

You know it's true, so don't even bother getting your hackles up. When you picture a heroine, you picture a woman with a lingerie model's physique, not someone who last wore a bikini when she was seven. You know it's true.

So imagine being a writer and wanting to do away with this mindset. Your fair maiden packs on a few extra pounds, but she's smart and sassy and vulnerable and gorgeous despite what the scales say. She deserves the hot dude. Can you sell your readers on the concept? Can you remind them every now and then that the woman they might be picturing is not the woman you're writing about? And how do you address society's perceptions of women with normal bodies as opposed to those who are genetic freaks?

Jennifer Weiner does this to perfection in books such as Good in Bed. She walks that line between pounding us over the head with how wrong it is to dismiss normal-looking women and with presenting them as heroines.

What about Big Girl Panties? Can Stephanie Evanovich (yes, her sister is Janet) pull it off? (GET IT? Pull it off? Panties. Come on, you know you're laughing.)

The short answer is: somewhat.

Holly Brennan is someone we all know. In fact, she might even be us: she uses food for comfort, increasingly so since her husband passed away. She winds up seated next to Logan Montgomery, a man so beautiful that he takes away collective breaths, on an airplane. That in itself is horrifying, because those airplane seats are not very welcoming to bigger bodies. Holly's self-deprecating wit and fragility appeal to Logan, though, and he offers her his business card. Logan is a personal trainer to famous athletes, and he offers to help Holly get physically fit.

And here is where it gets sticky. The premise is adorable, and you know exactly how it will turn out. But to get there, we have to endure Stephanie Evanovich's clear confusion about what book she's trying to write. Is it a romance? A screed against society? A self-help guide? An insightful examination of the hypocrisy of those who give voice to progress for the physically imperfect?

There are lectures a-plenty here, kids. If you don't want to sit through long speeches about loving yourself for who you are and not letting someone's physical appearance deter you from loving them, then skip on past this one. The problem isn't necessarily Holly; she's accurately drawn. We understand her need for comfort, and if her turn at fitness appears too easily done, then so be it. It's a fantasy, after all, and don't we all want to think that we can tone our bodies with only one slip-up? Her emotional journey is more hard-fought, though, and that's the more compelling tale.

Then there is Logan. Good grief. He's physically perfect, and his growing feelings for Holly are fun to read about. He recognizes how shallow he is, and he even acknowledges his hypocrisy. You might want to smack him occasionally, but he's a good guy and one worth rooting for. Oh, he'll learn you some things about fitness and food, and his navel gazing can bring the book to a crawl.

But Logan is far, far more readable than the sub-plot involving his client, Chase, and his wife. When reading their story, you get to the "What the hell is Stephanie Evanovich thinking" part of the festivities. Girl, this is not Fifty Shades of Grey, and your attempt to incorporate a BDSM storyline is beneath you and your readers. For reals, sister. Not only that, but your knowledge of it appears to be flimsy and somewhat lacking, so do yourself a favor and excise this.

The book is fun and not unpleasant to read, but there are better books out there. You want to read about plus-sized girls getting the guy? Try on some Jennifer Weiner. Or go give Dangerous Girls a try if you want a murder mystery involving teenagers.

Runaway Groom

Runaway Groom
by Sally Clements
Published by Creative Space
Genre: chick lit; romance
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5


So your sister is getting married. Happy times, right? But what if she invites the guy who seven years ago all but abandoned her at the altar?

April Leigh can't understand why her sister June (yeah ... I, too, kept wondering if we'd meet May) insists on asking Matthew Logan to come to her wedding. From April's perspective, Matthew ran off and jilted her sister. But what June wants, June tends to get, as April's friends continue to point out to her.

And there is my issue with this book: April so rarely figures out anything on her own.

She's a likable girl, and you can't help but root for her. But her life seems to have happened to her, as opposed to because of her. She's one of those people who lets life affect her, rather than the other way around. She landed in fashion design because that's how things worked out, not because she had a particular inclination toward it. She tracks down Matthew to beg him to forego attending June's wedding not because she once had a crush on him and wants to reconnect, but because she thinks it's best for June. She takes up running because Matthew needs some help with a client. She lives in an apartment located above the coffee shop where she works. As I read this book, I kept wondering what April would be like if she went out and attacked life rather than wait for things to happen to her.

So she goes to see Matthew, and let's just say that her teenage crush is rekindled. As far as Matthew is concerned, his former fiancee's little sister has grown up quite nicely. Due to quirky circumstances - again, not because of anything April does, but rather because of what happens to her - she moves in with Matthew. Separate bedrooms, OF COURSE. They're clearly attracted to each other, though, and you can imagine which one makes the first move. Go ahead. Guess.

The ending provides more of the same. April waits, and life happens.

This is a quick, fun read, and there are some sexy times. Not a whole lot, nor is there a tremendous amount of detail, but you get the sense that Matthew knows what he's doing. You also understand his concerns regarding a relationship with April, even if you want to knock him upside the head.

There are plot holes here and there, but let's face it. You don't read books like this with tremendous concern about plot coherency. You read them because their romances are cute, sweet, and maybe a little hot.

I just wish April had a little more oomph to her.

True Love

True Love
by Jude Deveraux
Published by Ballantine Books
464 pages
Genre: romance; chick lit
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview
4 / 5


This is the first Jude Deveraux book I've read. I know, right? She's über-popular, writes oodles of books, yet I hadn't read one prior to this. Am I sold on her? Welllllllll ....

Alix Madsen is fresh out of school for architecture when she is bequeathed a most unusual demand after a family friend passes away: go live in the woman's home for one year. That's about the total of what Alix is told. She is not informed that the house is haunted by a ghost who wants her to get to the bottom of a family mystery, nor is she told that the ghost only appears (supposedly) to women in the family or that her mother used to spend a month every summer in the home (she claimed to be in a Colorado cabin) or that her father mentored renowned hot architect Jared Montgomery Kingsley, a man Alix professionally idolizes.

On the surface, this is a mystery. Several, in fact. There is the task Alix unknowingly has: what happened to Valentina, the ghost's true love? Then there are other mysteries. What is Adelaide Kingsley's relationship with Alix's family? Why can Alix see this ghost? And what's going on with that ghost anyway?

The story lines will grab you. Alix is a likable character, a girl with a good amount of spunk but not so perfect that she turns you off. We can see why Jared, Mr. Commitment Phobe, is drawn to her. And we certainly can see why she likes him. He's enough to make you want to commission a design, just so you can meet him. They are drawn to each other, but wary. Does she like him because of Jared the Architect or because of Jared the Man?

This is the first in Deveraux's Nantucket Brides trilogy, and you do meet the other two future brides. The whole lot of people in this book are quirky in that New Englander way that is so typical in novels (see: Higgins, Kristan), but you will find yourself wanting to move there and be their friend. Deveraux packs this book with a LOT of characters - some predictable and way too familiar; others fresh and intriguing - and to her credit, you feel as if you get to know them. Yes, we have some questions, particularly about Alix's mother (what's up with that little activity that caused the demise of her marriage, for instance), and you get the feeling that the book could have ended about fifty pages sooner. But it's fun. And sometimes fun is exactly what you're in the mood to read.

Alix and Jared's romance is not explicit or overly detailed. We get a few somewhat tame peeks into the bedroom, and those scenes are nicely detailed and written. I know there are readers out there who do not prefer the hot headboard rocking of Tiffany Reisz or Sylvia Day (or you, Christian Grey), and for them, Jude Deveraux offers a solid alternative.

I look forward to getting to know the other Nantucket brides, and I hope that I get to see more of Jared along the way.

Love or Money

Love or Money
by Peter McAra
Published by Escape Publishing - Harlequin Enterprises Australia
132 pages
Genre: chick lit; romance
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5

What do you do if your mother desperately needs an expensive operation and you recently inherited your grandmother's beloved Australian beach home? Such is the conundrum facing Erin in this breezy book.

On the surface, it seems her decision is simple: sell the home. But in this romance novel that occasionally masquerades as a treatise on the coastal environment, Erin's apparently easy decision is made a whole lot tougher by two things: (1) Granny loved the hell out of that house and trusted it to Erin's safe keeping, and (2) there is a hot man involved who doesn't want her to sell.

The closer Erin gets to Hamish Bourke, her grandmother's executor, the less inclined she is to sell. Too bad the pesky issue of Mom's heart operation won't go away.

I'm not one who typically enjoys sweet books, but I did enjoy this one. Erin occasionally annoyed me when she became a bit self-righteous; we know your mother is dying, Erin. We know. WE KNOW. So you can quit beating that drum. I found myself not caring about her mother, though, which I suppose speaks more to my cold hard heart than it does to Peter McAra's writing. The mother is also sent up as a selfless saint, so I can understand why Erin wants to save her life. And if the ending comes about a bit too tidily, then all the better for Erin and Hamish.

Ah, Hamish. He has his own set of issues, and perhaps his reasons for wanting to control Erin's decision are not entirely noble. Or maybe they're entirely too noble? Hamish's personal life is turbulent, to say the least, so maybe he needs to preserve the beach home because he needs some sort of reliable stability. Or maybe he really is concerned about preserving Grandma's beloved homestead.

I'll admit to occasional boredom with this book, largely because every time there was dramatic tension, it was too easily resolved. Where the romance is concerned, it is very tame. If you want hot headboard rocking, this is not your book. But overall, it's cute, sweet, and enjoyable. As summer reads go, it works well.

All the Summer Girls

All the Summer Girls
by Meg Donohue
Published by William Morrow
288 pages
Genre: chick lit; women's fiction
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview
3.5 / 5


Threesomes can be awkward.

There are risks involved. Someone may feel left out, two may gang up on one, the balance is off. When they work, they work gloriously. But when they don't, well, that's where we get interesting ideas for books.

Kate, Vanessa, and Dani have been friends since high school, and although the three have gone their separate ways, the chord between them still pulls tightly. Their closeness may not be what it once was, but they are the sort of friends who, even after months or years apart, can reunite and slip back into "normalcy." Or what accounts for normalcy for the three of them.

They last were together at Vanessa's wedding to the son of a famous newscaster. Vanessa and Dani got into a vicious argument, the particulars of which we do not learn about till later. The same goes for secrets the three women hold regarding a tragedy that befell them the last summer they spent together at the Jersey Shore: the death of Kate's twin brother, Colin. Life for none of them has been the same since.

When Kate's fiancé dumps her three months prior to their wedding, she calls upon Dani and Vanessa to join her at the Shore. Secrets will be revealed, relationships tested, and friendships elasticized to embrace the changes that the three have undergone since Colin's death. Can they find their way back to each other, back to their closeness? Each needs the other desperately, as each woman faces upheavals in her life.

The story lines are interesting, if not a little predictable. Happily married Vanessa may not be so happy after all, Kate needs to feel attractive to men, and Dani needs to find herself. We've seen this before. But Donohue puts a fresh spin on the tales by unfolding her stories in a way that keeps us engaged and reading. The mystery of Colin's death directs the book, and we becomes as invested in finding out what happened as the friends do. Each thinks she knows the full story, but none do.

When you have three "heroines," the worry is that one will get short shrift. Again, the problem of threesomes. That is here to some degree. Kate is the most fully realized in that we see her not just through her own eyes but through Dani's and Vanessa's as well. She's a neat freak with OCD tendencies, a bad driver, the daughter of two loving parents, a twin without a twin. When we see her through her friend's perspectives, we feel we know her. We can't say the same for Dani and Vanessa, who appear more cookie cutter than Kate, more predictable. What we learn about them from their friends is what we expect to learn. Unfortunately, there are no surprises.

There is a little romance here, but the real romance isn't between the women and any men. It's between the friends themselves. They care about each other, and although they betray one another in various ways, their love and loyalty binds them as strongly as any romance or marriage would.

It's a good summer read. Enjoy.

Lingerie Wars

Lingerie Wars
by Janet Elizabeth Henderson
Amazon Digital Services
Genre: romance; chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
4 / 5


It's cute. Predictable, but cute.

Former model Kristy Campbell has not had an easy time of it. She was in a horrific auto accident that left her scarred and without a fiancé, so she returned home to Invertary, Scotland, to start over. She opens a lingerie shop and attempts to begin again.

But then Army vet Lake Benson shows up. His wacky sister bought a competing - and financially disastrous - lingerie store, and Lake has had to come help her with the business. He and Kristy are immediately attracted to each other, but they're at war, at least in terms of lingerie sales. It doesn't help that Lake is an Englishman. All good Scots know the English are rubbish, even if they do have a certain James Bond panache to them.

This is a book that is all in good fun, and there is considerable fun to be had. Kristy and Lake like each other, and even their battles are shaded with humor and affection. Kristy has to overcome trust issues and diminished self-worth, and Lake has to decide whether he's ready to settle down. Together, they have to figure out how to build lingerie businesses in Invertary.

There is a small mystery, easily solved by astute readers, but the focus here is on fun and romance. The sex scenes are reasonably hot, if not wildly detailed. Lake and Kristy are so darn likable, as are their fellow townspeople, that you will not read this without a smile on your face.

Good, fun summer fare.

The Unexpected Wedding Guest

The Unexpected Wedding Guest
by Aimee Carson
Published by Harlequin Kiss
224 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5


Poor Reese. She got married at nineteen, and that lasted a year. Now, ten years later, she's due to marry the staid, respectful, responsible Dylan. There she is, trying on her big pouffy wedding gown, and who should walk in, but that ex-husband of hers.

Mason is freshly returned from his third stint in Afghanistan with the Marines, but his difficulty sleeping and adjusting led a therapist to suggest he make peace with Reese. Mason also has other, um, performance issues (wink wink), and those concern him as well.

Sure. You know what's going to happen, and you are correct. First Dylan postpones the wedding, and then Mason decides to stick around to "help" Reese. And by "help," I think we all know he particularly intends to rock his naughty bits and hers against the headboard.

We are told - time and again - that under Mason's tutelage, Reese unleashed her inner vixen. Mason recalls how dirty she would get, how insatiable. Never in detail, though, and that's unfortunate. We get detail on Reese's wedding dress and some frozen ice sculptures, but aside from a couple faints mention of their past, we don't know a whole lot. We know what caused their marriage to end, and that undoubtedly is important, but aside from their sexual connection, what did these two have together?

Now, sexually, they are quite copacetic. Mason's manly appendage may not have been responsive prior to him showing up for Reese's wedding, but it sure is now. And it doesn't take long for Reese to crave the sexual intensity she shared with him. But again I ask: what else is there between them?

The sex scenes are hot, and the book is a quick, fun read. If it ends a little too neatly and easily, I wonder if I expected too much from it. The point here is to show a romance, dabble in some sexy times, and end on a happy note. This book accomplishes those three directives.

Island Girls

Island Girls
by Nancy Thayer
Published by Ballantine
320 pages
Genre: chick lit
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview
3 / 5


Rory Randall was quite the ladies' man when he was alive. He wound up with three wives and three daughters, one from each marriage. When he died, the three daughters discover that his will has one important stipulation: if you want your inheritance, you will spend the summer together in his Cape Cod home.

If this sounds similar to The Summer Girls, that's because they share a similar premise. But that's where the likenesses end.

Arden, the eldest daughter, is a New York based hostess of a television show about simplifying your life. Oh, the irony. She is unattached, and not too bothered by it. What does rankle is a young woman hired to co-host the show with her. Paging All About Eve! She gamely heads to the Cape, certain that she will secure future segments for the show and thus prove her worth.

A community college professor, Meg looks forward to spending the summer on the island, believing that the relative isolation will help her complete a manuscript on the life of May Alcott, Louisa's younger sister. She's also hoping for some clarity regarding a potential romance with a fellow faculty member.

The baby of the family, Jenny, has lived in the home that her sisters come to visit. She never truly felt a part of them, even though she and Meg are the same age. Rory left Meg's mother for Jenny's and adopted Jenny, making her not biologically his. It did not affect his feelings for her, though; it's clear that Rory loved Jenny as much as he loved his other two daughters.

Arden and Meg are returning to the Cape after the summer they refer to as The Exile, during which they were banished from the summer home thanks to a transgression Arden is accused of committing. Both women harbor some resentment, against Jenny and each other. The three sisters require considerable healing in order to broach a rapprochement.

The premise here is very solid. Three women, three different mothers - all of whom are very much alive - coming to terms with a father two of them did not know all that well and who had no role in the life of the third until she was nearly ten. There is quite a bit of accumulated animosity between the three, and each has a lot of work to do on herself.

At various times, none of them are all that fabulous. Arden is bitchy, Meg judgmental, and Jenny defensive. And then sometimes they switch, with Meg defensive, Arden judgmental, and Jenny bitchy. Like I said - there is a lot of work to be done.

While the sisters are interesting and intriguing, we also get in the heads of Jenny's mother, and that's where the story becomes muddled. You wonder why only Jenny's mother and not the other two, yet you also wonder why we need Jenny's mother at all. Another issue is that introducing this fourth point of view reveals the central weakness of the book: we don't really get to know Rory or his wives. We see all of them through the sisters' eyes, and perhaps that's the point. No one's recollection is entirely reliable, which ought to tell the sisters that they should not necessarily trust their own version of events. But you are left wondering about those four people, and you sense that knowing them better would enhance your understanding of the sisters.

The plot resolutions come too easily, especially given the complexities at play. You feel a bit cheated, especially since this is not a very lengthy book. It would have been better served by more background on the mothers and Rory and certainly by tougher struggles for the sisters to work things out.

Still, though, it's entertaining. Perhaps its lightness is a good thing, actually. Its lack of depth makes it a fine summer beach read.