Book Review: Maid of Dishonor

Author: Heidi Rice
Title: Maid of Dishonor
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publish Date: August 20, 2013
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: When she's very, very bad…...

Gina Carrington knows exactly how to have fun! But when she sleeps with her friend's brother, the off-limits Carter, she quickly discovers she's overstepped the mark.

...…life is so much more fun!

Years later, Gina sees Carter again to prepare for her friend's wedding, and she can't help but wonder what the harm would be in one more night…. He's available, gorgeous and behind that laid-back Southern charm there's a wild side even she can't tame! But Gina has secrets which she can't hide forever—will their chemistry be strong enough to keep Carter by her side when her secrets come to light?


Review:  My review for this book can be summed up in the word, ARGH!

I was having trouble finding a whole lot of good plot or substance in this story.

Gina is not the most likable heroine for a Harlequin imprint novel. She's flawed to a huge proportions, and the way we see her from the start doesn't make it easy to ever feel sympathetic to her.

Lets just say I didn't like this book. OK, I can almost say I hated this book and I don't usually say that, even if its a Danielle Steel novel.

Let me just explain why a 200 page book of fluff just didn't do it for me.

1. Gina is just not a heroine I warmed up to. She calls herself a tramp and at the onset, she pretty much lives up to that definition of herself. I've read a lot of books with "trampy" heroines. I cut my teeth on Jackie Collins. Gina is just MEH.

2. No relationship building between her and Carter AT ALL. Its basically just a sexfest, and if you like reading that kind of thing, maybe you'll like this one, but for me, it fell incredibly flat.

3. This is part of a series about a gaggle of female friends. Those friendships don't seem at all important, as again this book is mostly about Gina and Carter and there ongoing sexfest.

4. If sex is going to be the primary thing that moves the story along, it should make the reader tingly. Again, this book left me feeling MEH.

5. Going back to the beginning and Gina's genuine awfulness. The romance is based on her making her friends brother, CHEAT on his bride to be, 2 FREAKING WEEKS before the wedding. She also is a freaking cow to her friend, who happens to be Carter's sister who idolizes him, by telling  her about it.  I'm not good with the cheating trope at all. It may not have been marital cheating but when you are 2 weeks shy of a wedding that is just as good for me.

6. All the little details given to rationalize Gina's behavior.  How about she is a shitty person? Yes, she's trying to be better, but she was a shitty person.

Is that enough reasons? I could probably think of a few more.

I don't often give 1 flower reviews. I can usually find something redeeming about a book, with this one the only thing good about it is the pretty cover.

Rating: 1 flower

Book Review: What The Paparazzi Didn't See

Author: Nicola Marsh
Title: What The Paparazzi Didn't See
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publish Date: June 2013
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: The secrets behind Australia's most famous smile

Liza Lithgow has her reasons for living life in the spotlight, and they're all to do with protecting her little sister. Now she's finally saved enough money to leave the red carpet behind, what better way to celebrate than with a martini and a man?

The only problem is, the man in question turns out to be a publisher wanting her kiss-and-tell autobiography! Wade Urquart's company wants a story? Fine. If scandal will sell more copies, she'll give them exactly what they want! But what will Wade see—the glossy facade or maybe, at last, the real Liza?

Review: I usually love Nicola Marsh's books for the Harlequin Romance line, so I was excited to see how she'd do on the new Kiss imprint. I probably would have liked this book better if I hadn't read Rosalind James' books that deal with the WAG topic (Wife and Girlfriend).

I have to admit I've never heard of any celebrity other referred to that way...maybe its an Aussie thing. I actually found it drove me nuts in the book after awhile, especially since her WAG status was phony. I wanted more of her back story and there wasn't much of that given.

Liza's character lacked depth and too much focus was put on her sister Cindy that had cerebral palsy. Her sister had more spunk than she did. There was so much emphasis placed on how she had to care for her sister and not enough on why she was attracted to Wade. Their relationship started out as a one night stand, for heaven's sake.

The best part of the book was the Wag tips Liza gives you at the beginning of each chapter. I can't remember the last romance I read that had beauty tips/Martha Stewart living type tips in them. That was kind of cool, until the whole WAG thing started wearing on me and then it bugged me to no end.

My biggest problem with the book was Liza. I couldn't get attached to her. I could understand why she did some of the things she did, but other things not so much. Felt like a secondary character throughout most of the book.

It was a decent enough read, but it just didn't have the right Oomph for me.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: Her Man In Manhattan

Author: Trish Wylie
Title: Her Man In Manhattan
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publish Date: May 18, 2013
Buy:
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: Up close and personal-with her bodyguard! It seems mayor's daughter Miranda Kravitz has scored herself a new and very dreamy bodyguard! Apparently the fireworks between them are scorching, but will this tabloid darling really be willing to give up her newfound taste for freedom-no matter how gorgeous Tyler Brannigan is?

Rumor has it Brannigan hates playing by the rules and has used up all his strikes with the NYPD vice squad. So now this cop's paying his dues with a temporary assignment as babysitter. If anyone can keep this Manhattan princess in check, surely it's this tough-guy detective? Hopefully handcuffs won't be necessary!

Review: This is one of those books I'm on the fence with. It was cute at times, but at other times so unrealistic that I was shaking my head.

Miranda is the NYC mayor's 25 year old daughter, who has a security detail that is...well...very in your face. I can understand some of this, particularly a mayor not wanting his daughter out partying in clubs and getting her face all over the tabloids.

But what I can't understand is why the girl didn't have any life of her own outside of campaign functions. At 24/25 this girl should have some kind of job of her own. That's what didn't make sense to me at all.

Then there's our hero, Tyler. He's messed up, but in his own way lovable. He's always kissing her to get her out of trouble it seems. He's the tall and silent type with lots of secrets he doesn't want to tell. It is actually kind of fun watching him reveal things and watching him make Miranda behave herself. Its even more fun when she doesn't.

There's a scene in a boutique that's particularly funny.

I also liked Miranda's friend Crystal. She's a bad girl, turned good. She's a lot more grown up then Miranda, as you'll find out toward the end.

This is one of those books you can really read in about one sitting, its only 219 pages and it's a pretty breezy read.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: The Downfall Of A Good Girl

Author: Kimberly Lang
Title: The Downfall Of A Good Girl
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publish Date: Jan 22, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley

Book Blurb: 
"Why would you decide to seduce me? And why now after all these years?"
Southern debutante Vivienne LaBlanc can't believe bad-boy rock star Connor Mansfield is back in town for the New Orleans annual Saints and Sinners pageant. He has a reputation as wicked as his devilish smile, and Vivi has no intention of becoming one of his latest groupies!

He once crushed her high school heart, so playing the saint to Connor's sinner should be easy. But how can Vivi get those less than angelic thoughts out of her head—especially when Connor's so good at tempting her to be bad.

Review: I love Harlequin's new Kiss line. The stories are fun with a little bit of added spice. I'm kind of on the fence with this one. I love the plot of a good girl and bad boy getting together, but Vivi is just a hard character to relate to. I mean she was a debutante and a pageant queen. She's everything I usually hate in a woman, but she is sweet in some ways. That said, I had a hard time warming up to her. She was too superior and too snotty and her obsession with winning got on my nerves.

Its Connor that you have to love. He's not really a bad boy, of course. And he has a way of putting Vivi in her place, which makes their fights quite fun to read.

In fact, I kind of liked them fighting more than I liked them together.

Once the two of them hooked up, the story lost some of its luster for me. I liked the spark of their bickering and the only bickering that happened after they had sex involved misunderstandings.

~big sigh~

But back to Connor, he's a rock star, coming back to his home town. I mean, who doesn't dream of a sexy rocker falling for them! Plus he's really sweet.

This is the stuff of Mary Sue type fanfiction!

Now seriously, someone find me a piano playing rocker like Connor, cos I want one!

Rating: 3 flowers

ARC Book Review: Hitched!

Author: Jessica Hart
Title: Hitched!
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publish Date: January 22, 2013
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: Planning the most talked about wedding of the year is enough to make engineer Frith Taylor break out in a cold sweat. She's used to construction sites, not wedding fairs! But estate manager George Challoner's offer of help is one that's too good to resist.

George may be the rebel of the prestigious Challoner family, but his insanely good looks are giving Frith wedding fever! Charm personified, he's making her feel things she hasn't dared feel before. Maybe her little sister's wedding won't be the only one Frith's planning…?

Review: This is the second book from the new Kiss imprint that I've read, and I have to say, I think this imprint is a keeper especially if you like lighthearted contemporary romances that are really fun and just a little sexy.

The heat level for me falls between the Romance line and the Presents line, with the males not being quite so Alpha.

This book felt  like it could be a Hallmark movie. Frith (I would like to know what kind of parent names her daughter Frith) is a career minded girl. A little to career minded, but when combined with George Challoner's laid back manner, things get fun.

I loved the opposites attract nature of the story and I liked how both characters came from "money" though in different ways.

I also loved the secondary characters, Saffron, (Frith's sister) and Roley who runs the estate Frith is working for.

There's conflict, but it is never anything that would make you think that these two weren't going to get together in the end.

One of my favorite parts of the story is George and Frith's ringtones. I loved that he kept changing them into more and more absurd things. It was just a bit of silly fun. The other thing I really liked was how the sex was more alluded to, rather than in your face.

This book was pure fun. A great Sunday afternoon read. The thing that kept it from being a perfect read? I would have liked George to get his clinic for the horses, rather than have him work for the same firm Frith was.

Rating: 4 flowers

ARC Book Review: Waking Up Married

Author: Mira Lyn Kelly
Title: Waking Up Married
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publish Date: Jan 22, 2013
Buy: Amazon  (Get it free!!)

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley

Book Blurb: 

From USA TODAY bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly comes WAKING UP MARRIED, a free book in Harlequin's brand-new contemporary romance collection—Harlequin KISS. Her first thought: "Who are you?" It's the morning after her cousin's bachelorette party in Vegas and Megan Scott wakes up with the mother of all hangovers. Even worse, she's in a stranger's penthouse having woken up with something else as well—a funny, arrogant, sexy…husband! Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible—been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter…no, Connor Reed and she's gone from first meet to marriage in one night! Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor's shocking bombshell? "I don't want a divorce."

Review: Kiss is the new imprint from Harlequin starting in February of 2013. As I was reading, I was trying to figure out where this book fits in the grand scheme of things. I'm thinking somewhere between Presents and Blaze.

I love Harlequin romances. They are like candy, probably bad for you, but oh so good.

Waking Up Married follows one of the stranger overused plots, the quicky drunken Vegas wedding.

So it starts off, right away, being not so realistic, but as a lover of romance, I don't really care.

It is a cute read, and the characters are just as you'd expect them to be, but somehow, they didn't quite work for me. Connor's decision to keep up with the marriage, even as Megan, rationally says they should get a divorce doesn't make sense.

For a man that doesn't believe in love, I have to say, the man doth protest too much.

The beginning of the story is a bit confusing too, as they go back and forth between the present and the hours leading up to Megan and Connor marrying.

Still, I found I liked Megan and Connor, even though their story was off the wall. I definitely want to see what else the Kiss line is going to offer.

Rating: 3 flowers