Miss Kane’s Christmas
This novella is basically the kind of premise that would you find in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Santa Claus’ daughter is tasked to bring back the Christmas spirit to a widower by posing as his kid’s new nanny.
Short, super fluffy and free from all major e-book retailers.
Since I’m a Hallmark christmas movie junkie this suited me as a momentary diversion.
How To Save The World
The latest in Dunne’s superhero series finds our protagonist estranged from the Davenport corporation and attempting to go back to her normal life. Of course a crazed supervillain puts a spanner in the works…
This one is clearly designed to take the premise of the series into a direction that can continue for more volumes. It’s still entertaining and well worth your time but just that little bit less satisfying than the previous volume.
Supervillains Anonymous
In super-max supervillain prison after the events of the previous novel our heroine finds herself caught up in plot masterminded by one of the greatest supervillains of them all.
This one is just as much fun as the first book in the series with the added bonus of an actual ending with a resolution and everything.
Superheroes Anonymous
This is a highly enjoyable contemporary superhero tale about Hostage Girl (that is – the girl always kidnapped by the supervillains) when she’s kidnapped and ends up with superpowers of her own.
Great characters, moves a great pace and it draws you right in. The only problem is the cliffhanger ending. I’m docking a half point for that one.
Maskerade
This book from the Witches sequence is a parody of The Phantom of the Opera – both the original novel and Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical. As you may know the original West End Phantom was played by Michael Crawford. His big breakthrough in the UK was playing the hapless boy-man Frank Spencer. One of the characters in this book is basically Frank Spencer but from Ankh-Morpork.
This is middling Discworld. It’s still very entertaining but doesn’t hit the astonishing heights of the best of the series.
Obviously I’d still highly recommend that – if you haven’t already – get started reading the complete Discworld as soon as you can. As I’ve said before on this blog and elsewhere – no writer has informed my thinking in the same way as Pratchett has and I laughed my head off at the same time.
Heroine Complex
Evie Tanaka is the sidekick of San Francisco’s beloved superhero Aveda Jupiter (formerly Annie Chang and Evie’s best friend from school).
When Aveda is injured and has to rest up for a couple of weeks Evie is persuaded to take Aveda Jupiter’s place in public.
Of course Evie has superpowers of her own that she’s suppressed for years and when danger strikes during at an event she’s forced to use them to save lives.
A very enjoyable story of self-discovery, healing sibling and friend bonds featuring several very kick-ass Asian-American ladies.
What’s not to like?
I’m definitely looking forward to whatever Kuhn releases next.
One Con Glory
Geek culture journalist Julie attends a comic-con with two purposes in mind.
The first to interview one of the stars of comicbook based TV show without insulting him…
The second is to win at auction the rare action figure of her all-time favourite superhero Glory Gilmore.
Needless to say this plan doesn’t run as smoothly as she’d like.
This is a thoroughly entertaining novella even if everything that happens is entirely predictable.
The Boss’s Fake Fiancee
Another bad fake married book.
Our heroine has started a new life at a very successful tech firm after being dumped by her older boyfriend for her best friend.
Coming across her ex at an event she implies that she’s with her boss.
When this is leaked to the press his deathly ill Gran believes that they’re really engaged.
So our heroine agrees to pretend to be engaged until his Gran is recovered from illness.
Of course things don’t quite run smoothly.
Wife By Wednesday
Utterly forgettable fake married novel.
Our heroine runs an ultra discreet matchmaking service for the super wealthy.
Titled and super rich the lead male needs a wife to collect his full inheritance.
Turning down the offered matches he instead asks our heroine to be his fake wife for a year.
Of course things don’t quite run smoothly.
The Puffin Island Trilogy
This trilogy of romance novels are mainly set on the idyllic holiday spot of Puffin Island located on the North East coast of the US.
Book 1 is First Time in Forever which follows Emily as she takes custody of her recently deceased movie star half-sister’s child. They move to Puffin Island to hide the kid from the paparazzi. It’s a perfectly competent romance novel even if the lead character is a bit of a wet blanket. This one I read as an ebook. Rated C+
Book 2 is Some Kind of Wonderful. This one follows Brittany as she returns to her native Puffin Island afer breaking her arm while working at an archaeological dig in Crete. On the journey back she discovers that her ex-husband from a ten day teenage marriage is back in town.
This one has much better leads than the first book. Rated C+
Book 3 is Christmas Ever After and it is the best of this series. It tells the story of Skylar and what happens to her after rejecting a public marriage offer from her distant politician boyfriend and is left alone in London at Christmas time. I really like the couple in this book. Rated B-