Book Review: Windfall

Author: Nora Roberts
Title: Windfall
Publisher: Silhouette
Publish Date: Septemeber 2009
Rating: 3 Stars
Book Blurb:  Impulse


For once in her life, Rebecca Malone decided to follow her impulses, jettison the familiar and head to Greece to find adventure! So when a sexy stranger began to romance her, she couldn't resist playing the sophisticated, well-traveled woman. However, falling in love with Stephen Nickodemus was not part of the plan! How on earth could she explain to the man she'd given her heart to that she wasn't the woman he'd believed her to be? And then convince him that she was still the woman he loved….

Temptation

Socialite Eden Carlborough didn't expect running a girls' camp to be easy, but she never thought she'd literally be run up an apple tree by the little monsters. She was equally surprised to come crashing down into the capable arms of orchard owner Chase Elliot. While her handsome neighbor's overbearing ways were highly irritating, his touch ignited feelings she'd never known. She never imagined she'd be so very…tempted!




Review: Windfall is a sweet set of early Nora Roberts stories for Silhouette. Both Impulse and Temptation are very sweet love stories, the kind that just about anyone can read without worrying about any real "smutty" scenes.

Impulse is a scant 95 pages. It is barely enough time to get to know Stephen and Rebecca, let alone believe in their happily ever after, but that's the point of these two stories in this book. These are love at first sight books and with Impulse that's what you get.

Rebecca is that kind of heroine that can only exist in a Silhouette Romance. She's in her twenties and has sold all her possessions to travel the world because she thinks she's too dull.  Ah, if only that were possible in real life.  I would give anything to go to London, Paris and Athens...and meet a rich guy and fall instantly in love.

This story is just a little bit too unrealistic to be great, but it is a sweet story and a very quick read.

Temptation is the story that makes this compilation novel worth reading.  It reads almost like a situation comedy at times. Eden is a rich girl, turned poor, who gave her last dollar to invest in her best friend's summer "girls" camp, which she's a riding instucture.

There's loads of fun with the girls at camp, specifically a 12 year old named Roberta, who it is impossible not to fall in love with. She stirs up all kinds of fun trouble and really is instrumental in getting Eden and Chase, the "apple man" together.

This story may not quite be love at first sight but the two get together over the summer, and nothing is easy for them. At first Eden is ready to try for a relationship and then her aunt shows up with her ex-fiance in tow. It makes for some interesting arguements and it was great to see Eden handle them like a strong woman and not some wishy washy girl out to do what might be best for her family's tattered image.

As always, there's a happily ever after that will make you smile.

Windfall was a cute set of stories by Nora Roberts and well worth reading.

Book Review: With Open Arms

Author: Nora Roberts
Title: With Open Arms
Publisher: Silhouette
Publish Date: May 2004
Rating: 4 Stars
Book Blurb: Available for the first time in over a decade, two classic novels of heartwarming romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts

Song of the West

The towering mountains and windswept plains called to her. But she'd never intended to stay forever -- until Jake Tanner stirred her emotions like a summer tornado and made it impossible for her to leave. But no man was going to seduce Samantha Evans to give up her dreams. Even a cocky cowboy who made her blood go hot . . .

Her Mother's Keeper

She'd left town a starry-eyed innocent headed for the big city. Now Gwen Lacrosse returned home a savvy, sophisticated woman. But her mother's maddening new boarder enticed her as no one had before. Luke Powers was reputed to be an expert in both words and women -- and soon he was turning Gwen's cool reason into something else entirely . . .

Review: These were 2 really cute and sweet books that Nora wrote early in her career for Silhouette. Both were written in the early 80s. Song Of The West was published originally published in 1982 and Her Mother's Keeper was originally published in 1984.

If you don't know that going in, these stories will be a culture shock for you. There's a lot of innuendo but this was a time when the "Romance" lines were about as clean as any YA novel.

Of the two books included in this anthology I'm partial to Song Of The West. I really loved Samantha and Jake and all the family and friends that surround them. I loved Sam's innocence that wasn't overwhelming.

I often wondered how Sam could just up and leave house and home for several months to take care of her sister. What plant did she live on, and did she not have bills?

That was really my only problem with this story. But hey! It's romantic fiction. Life is different in these stories!

Her Mother's Keeper wasn't nearly as good as Song Of The West. Both books suffered from "jumping to conclusions". In Song Of The West, Sam assumed Jake wanted to marry Lesley, even though he was obviously attracted to her. Now in Her Mother's Keeper, that's stepped up a notch. Gwen thinks Luke is involved with her mother, even though at every turn he's trying to get her in bed.

I had quite a few problems with this story and most revolved around Gwen, who was supposed to be ultra sophisticated at 23. Uh 23 in the 80s and working for Style magazine in a good position.

HOW! She would only have been out of college for a few years? That's quite a rise! Plus her actions were far from sophisticated, as her dealings with her ex Michael and Luke prove.

Then there's her mom, who is 47, and she treats her like she's 87! I had to keep reminding myself of when this was written because a 47 year old women dating a 35 year old wouldn't be a great issue today. Personally I find the opposite more annoying the 23 year old with the 35 year old.

This story just made me wonder what the characters had in common other than a mutual attraction.

Still, the stories Nora weaved here are show how great she was even in the beginning.

Book Review: McCade's Woman

Author: Rita Rainville
Title: McCade's Woman
Publisher: Silhouette Romance
Publish Date: March 1985
Rating: 4 Stars
Book Blurb: She thought Jake was a swaggering cowboy. He thought Shanda was a snooping iceberg.

Shanda St. James made documentary films in L.A. Usually her subjects were mere sparks for her creative imagination.

But a trip to Oklahoma's sprawling oil country revealed an intriguing--and personal--story.

Jake McCade, heir to the McCade oil fortune, knew his family secrets, and was determined to keep them in the family. But Shanda posed a threat to his-privacy, as she delved more and more into the past. Her curiosity brought out more than family history--it made him determined to make her McCade's woman!

Review: For an old Silhouette this was really a great read. So great that it was reissued in the 90s in a series called Western Weddings. This was really a cute story. Shanda makes documentaries and her aunt is deeply into geneaology. Thanks to an injury, Shanda finds herself on her way to the McCade's to look up old family history.

What really made this story was the heroine's ability to not fall into bed with Jake in the first 50 pages. Actually, since this was an old romance line book, they didn't fall into bed at all!! And that wasn't for want of trying on Jake's part, and that really made the story funny.

Shanda was really a strong character. She stuck to her values and was a real career woman, not letting her hormones get in the way. She wasn't a prude though, she just had good values and also a really good sense of humor and she gave as good as she got with both Jake, his father J.B. (there's a really funny part when she calls him by his real name which is quite feminine) and her ex-Lee.

The only thing about the characters that really freaked me out was when they were discussing their musical tastes at one point. Willy Nelson and Roger Whittacker!!! OMGWTFBBQ! I can understand Willy, especially as this book was set in the south, but Roger Whittacker! He was a little out of the norm even in the 80s.

Other than that little thing, this book definitely stood the test of time and is one worth reading if a copy falls into your lap!

Book Review: Desert Devil

Author: Rena McKay
Title: Desert Devil
Publisher: Silhouette Romance #92
Publish Date: July 1981
Rating: 3 Stars
Book Blurb: FORBIDDEN LOVE

Juli Townsend was sure that Thorne Taylor, the dynamic, arrogant owner of Taylor Electronics, had cruelly wronged her family. She was convinced that he had stolen the profits from her brother's secret invention for his company and had never acknowledged it.

Determined to challenge Thorne with her suspicions, Juli drove all the way to Cholla, Arizona to confront him in person. When she demanded satisfaction, Thorne dismissed her. He even angrily accused her of blackmail.

But Juli refused to leave Cholla. She would find out the truth--even if it meant losing the only man she could ever love.

Review: This story was very cute, though there were several things about it that drove me nuts. Juli was 22, and she acted like she knew everything, which is typical of a 22 year old, but most 22 year olds wouldn't try to go head to head with the president of a big company.

The relationship that develops between them is strained, at best, but isn't that what we like the most about romances? Thorne is a bit arrogant and isn't very trusting of Juli, but by the end of the story, we can completely understand his reasoning. It is also hard to dislike a man that took time out of his busy day to deal with her nonsense.

I wish there would have been more communication between the characters. It would have made the story better. Even if they would have developed the relationship with Brian, the employee who took her cousin David's place in the company it would have made things more interesting, as it was, the modern reader feels like she was using him in some way.

This wasn't the greatest read, but it was entertaining at times.

Book Review: And Then Came Dawn

Author: Sondra Stanford
Title: And Then Came Dawn
Publisher: Silhouette Romance #33
Publish Date: July 1981
Rating: 2 Stars

Alex and Suzanne should have married four years ago, but a betrayal got in the way of their love. Now Suzanne has returned to Miami for the funeral of her sister and Alex's brother and she learns she has custody of her niece Tiffany, and Alex is in charge of the trust fund. Well what else can they do for the sake of the child but get married?

This story should have been much better than it was, but everything about it went the road of the obvious. As soon as we are introduced to Monica, it becomes apparent she's the evil one and the cause of the couple's problems. What is terribly unbelievable is that Suzanne was so gullible that she took her word as gospel and Alex was an idiot for not standing up for himself. That part really didn't make sense to me, because Alex was a definite alpha male. You wanted to like him, but most of the time you wanted to shake him, and Suzanne for their stupidity.

When they finally admit to their love you are more relieved than happy for them. This was an ok read that borderlined on terrible

Book Review: Married In The Morning

Married In The Morning is pretty much a comedy of errors and the errors are all made by the heroine and hero, Gina Martin and Gerrick Green, who end up eloping in Las Vegas during a wild weekend celebration of Gerrick's new job.

The elopement itself would make for a great story, but Susan gives it a bit more Oomph, by making sure their nuptials aren't discovered. When the couple returns, with Gina already having second thoughts, she learns her father has suffered a serious heart attack.

From that point on, Gina and Gerrick can't seem to get it together. They get close and then they get pushed apart. It almost seems like they shouldn't be together.

This story is so well-written and the characters are so likable that you want to shake each of them, for keeping each other from what would make them the happiest, being together.

I think of the two, Gina is the most frustrating, because she tries to win Gerrick back after pushing him away only to spoil their relationship again and again. You want to take her aside and ask her what she really wants.

Married in the Morning is a great light read, that will definitely brighten your day. Its got romance and humor and family all in equal measures. This is one of those books that remind me of why I read romance.