Category: Romance

allergy?

Posted on by Greig

Nearlyweds

Beth Kendrick

nearlywedsI saw bits of a film based on this on a Satellite channel the other day so I decided to check out the original novel.
This is a fun look at three women reassessing their relationships in light of their marriages being declared technically illegal after the paperwork doesn’t get completed.
The three lead characters have a bit of depth and are fun to spend time with. The secondary characters are all one-dimensional and mostly they’re despicable.
The best thing is that much of this is dealt with a degree of levity and only taking things seriously when getting to the heart of the issues with each couple.

Rating: B-

carpark?

Posted on by Greig

Clean Sweep

Ilona Andrews

Clean SweepThis is an insubstantial and cheesy bit of urban fantasy. Innkeepers run neutral waystations for travellers of a more unusual type. Dina Demille is from a line of innkeepers and is bringing a previously dormant inn gradually back to strength when a series of dog killings get her involved with the local werewolf and eventually a vampire warrior.
Yes this book has a vampire/werewolf/human female love triangle.
To be honest the only interesting thing about this was the magic as scifi tech motif, otherwise a bit crap.

Rating: C+

marsala?

Posted on by Greig

Bet Me

Jennifer Crusie

bet meMinerva Dobbs can tell when something’s a bad risk – after all she is an auditor – that’s why she breaks up with her boyfriend. Later that night she overhears her ex making a bet with a man that he can’t seduce and sleep with her. She gets so angry she goes to dinner with the new guy to spite the ex. After a tetchy date they decide to never see each other again except the universe has other ideas.
Typical Crusie – good dialogue, enjoyable characters but utterly superfluous plot and a predictable ending.

Rating: B

hairspray?

Posted on by Greig

It Must Be Love

Rachel Gibson

it must be loveJoe is a police detective investigating the theft of a Monet. Gabrielle is the business partner of the man suspected of being the fence.
One thing leads to another and Joe and Gabrielle have to fake a relationship so he can study the fence at close quarters.
Joe and Gabrielle’s fractious relationship quickly becomes something more involved and substantial.
While this romance has some decent moments of banter the rest of the book is bland and generic as they come.
It’s not awful – just completely forgettable.

Rating: C

colby?

Posted on by Greig

Along For The Ride

Sarah Dessen

along for the rideAuden is a brilliant student living with her academic mother in the wake of her parent’s divorce. She’s feeling out of sorts and lonely with her brother traveling abroad and all her friendships broken after a move to an elite prep school. She surprises herself by accepting an invitation to stay over summer with her dad, her stepmother and newborn half-sister in their seaside town.
The summer changes Auden’s life and opens her up to a whole new world of possibilities.
This YA novel is solidly written and succeeded in making me want to smack Auden’s parents heads together. Which means that it connected with me more than a lot of this teen/romance stuff I’ve been reading of late.
I would certainly recommend this if you’re into contemporary YA family relationship stories.

Rating: B

pizza?

Posted on by Greig

Will Work For Prom Dress

Aimee Ferris

will work for prom dressQuigley Johnson and her best friend Anne have a plan. They’re going to work every spare hour they have working to earn money for a truly great prom dress.
This particular YA novel is a predictable mix of teen romance and angst but it does have a dash of celebrity secrets to enliven one of the plots.
It’s a quick read and while there’s nothing awful about it the book just has nothing to recommend it.
If it sounds like your kind of thing and you have plenty of spare time to waste then go for it.

Rating: C

call?

Posted on by Greig

Charlie All Night

Jennifer Crusie

charlie all nightAllie is a radio producer. After her relationship with the morning show DJ ends he replaces her with a younger model as both girlfriend and show producer.
Allie freaks and tries to pick up the first presentable guy she spots in the bar next to the radio station. He turns out to be the new DJ for the late night show – which Allie is now asked to produce.
New in town and determined to move on in six weeks Charlie wants to lay low and not get involved in any commitments. Plans, of course, go awry.
This romance is good fun and particularly strong in terms of witty dialogue. Not unusually for a Jennifer Crusie book the plot is thin and the ending rather predictable but that’s a feature rather than a bug with this type of novel.

Rating: B

lipring?

Posted on by Greig

Keeping The Moon

Sarah Dessen

keeping the moonWhen Nicole “Colie” Sparks is farmed out to live with her Aunt in small town America for the summer by her weight loss guru mother she’s forced to look at life from a new perspective.
This YA novel is well written and features a very likeable lead character. Even though it’s a pretty entertaining read the story just seems stop rather than have an actual ending. I found this pretty annoying.
Still this does mean that it’s ripe for a follow-up with so many plot threads and character acts left hanging at the end.

Rating: B

worry?

Posted on by Greig

The Secret Diary Of Lizzie Bennet

Kate Rorick and Bernie Su

Secret diary of lizzie bennetAs I may have mentioned before (maybe more than once) I am a huge fan of the web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (just go watch – that link is a complete playlist) which is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. So what we have here is a novelization of a web series based on a novel. By any rights this should be a heinous cash in on the success of the show but somehow it turns out to be an entertaining read and offers a behind the scenes perspective that doesn’t just flesh out events but puts a new spin on things. Obviously it’s definitely not in the same league as a piece of literature as Austen’s original work.
Rorick, who is the principal writer here, wrote for the show and that results in a good translation of the characters and their personalities to the printed page. (Bernie Su was the chief writer, showrunner and director for the series and such wrote much of the material)
Overall, while the book is fun and has a couple of great moments, it doesn’t spark fully into life and frankly in places it must be really confusing for anyone who hasn’t seen the webseries. Also some of the puns don’t work if you haven’t read Pride and Prejudice.
I missed Ashley Clements – her performance as Lizzie in the show was extraordinary – and something is lacking without her to bring it to life. I guess that means I’ll have to buy the audiobook to see if her narration can take the story to another level.
As a fan I’m glad I don’t feel let down by the book and I look forward to the discussion on twitter and tumblr about some of the revelations the book delivers. If I’m being honest I suspect this is a real fans-only affair.

Rating: B+

techno?

Posted on by Greig

Just Listen

Sarah Dessen

just listenThis is an enjoyable YA book. Annabel used to be the ‘girl who had everything’ – at least on the surface – popular at school, a model away from it. Then things go wrong and she finds herself isolated at school, sick of being a model and feeling trapped by her complicated family life. She finds escape with another school misfit called Owen, whose anger management issues and vehement interest in music brings out something new in her.
This book is about learning to be honest with yourself and facing your problems. Though it’s handled with a light touch by the author there is a lot of dark stuff going on beneath the surface.
This was an entertaining, speedy, read. It just wasn’t original, exciting or eloquent enough to be rated any higher.
Defintely recommended to fans of female led, contemporary young adult fiction. Whether it appeals to anyone else is another matter.

Rating: B