Book Review: Home Again

Author: Mariah Stewart
Title: Home Again (The Chesapeake Diaries Book 2)
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Publish Date: July 27, 2010
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provide By: TLC Book Tours and the publisher
Book Blurb: Dallas MacGregor is living the Hollywood dream. At thirtysomething, she’s an award-winning actress beloved by the public and bound for even bigger success. But when her soon-to-be-ex-husband, producer Emilio Baird, is caught in a sex scandal, Dallas’s charmed life turns tabloid nightmare. Determined to shield her young son, Cody, from the ugly uproar, Dallas seeks refuge in sleepy St. Dennis, Maryland—the Chesapeake Bay town where her happiest childhood days were spent.

Reunited with her boisterous great-aunt, Dallas wants nothing more than to leave her Hollywood days behind. And when she crosses paths with local veterinarian Grant Wyler, her high school summer love, she finds he’s everything she remembers, and more—and that the spark is still there. But Dallas’s promising new life takes a troubling turn when the unimaginable happens and she finds herself living a mother’s worst nightmare—and Emilio storms into St. Dennis to save the day, along with his damaged career. Trapped in the unwanted glare of the limelight once again, Dallas discovers that it’s coolheaded Grant who is willing to risk everything to protect her and her son, and to secure the future they were always meant to share.

Review: I didn't think it was possible to create a better story than Coming Home, the first book in The Chesapeake Bay series, but with Home Again, Mariah Stewart did just that. This book is more relationship oriented than the first, and for me that was a good thing.

There is some drama in the last 40 pages, but it really isn't anything that affects the story much.

I loved the character's in this story...I think it is possible that Dallas, and Beryl and Cody are some of my favorites. Both Dallas and Beryl are actresses, though Beryl hasn't done much work in recent years, but you can't take the actress out of her.

She really brings excitement to the story. She's a doting aunt and she spoils the dickens out of Cody, who is one of the cutest kids in any book I've read recently.

The love affair between Dallas and Grant is one of second chances. They were high school sweethearts that parted because of Dallas' desire to act. But their's isn't the only second chance in this story.

This series reads like a small town soap opera, only with less sex. These books are very light on the romance, and high on the relationships. Once you meet the cast of characters, you really feel like you know them. In this story you get to know Dallas and Grant and their families, which means you also get to know a bit more about Steffie, the owner of One Scoop Or Two.

I devoured this book in one day, and since it was well over 400 pages, I'd have to say that was because it was such a great read!

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Lovin' Bitches Eook Tour & Review: Reality Stinks

Author: Ashlynn Monroe
Title: Reality Stinks
Publisher: Wild Horse Press
Publish Date: Feb 8, 2011
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Book Lovin' Bitches Ebook Tours and the author
Book Blurb: When Dina’s wellspring of reality television program ideas runs dry, she’s desperate to save her job. Dina’s friends are no ordinary friends. To save her job she comes up with I want to date a superhero. Unfortunately, the only superhero she knows is Zane Blair. He’s the only man she’s ever loved. Comedy hijinks ensue when you take one reluctant bachelor, ten attention seeking woman, and one very evil super villain

Review: If you are looking for something unique to read this summer, this is your book. This was one of the most original plots I'd seen in a long time when it comes to romance. Superheroes and reality tv! Who would have thought they would go together? Who would have thought they would make for a great book!

The parts of the book revolving around the reality dating show are laugh aloud funny, because they are so spot on with the dating show crap that the networks keep foisting on us. Dina is a great heroine. It is easy to understand her reluctance to get involved with Zach. At the same time you want to smack her because you know that both of them really are into each other.

The superheroes and Dina all share a similar background and they grew up together under some unusual and rather nasty circumstances. They all started out as normal kids too.  After a series of events Dina left the bunch to persue a "normal" life.

Oh and did I mention one of the original group has turned bad and wants Dina for himself?

Oh yeah!

This book has it all; superheroes, romance, an evil villian and a happily ever after. The writing was engaging and fun and at times the story was laugh out loud funny. This is the perfect book for an afternoon at the beach!

Good times!

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: Coming Home

Author: Mariah Stewart
Title: Coming Home (The Chesapeake Diaries)
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Publish Date: March 23, 2011
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours and the publisher
Book Blurb: In the wake of his wife’s murder, agent Grady Shields turned his back on the FBI—and everything else—to retreat into the vast solitude of Montana, grieve for his lost love, and forget the world. But after years in seclusion, his sister’s wedding draws him to St. Dennis, a peaceful town on the Chesapeake Bay. Though he swears he isn’t interested in finding love again, Grady can’t ignore the mutual sparks that fly when he meets Vanessa Keaton.


Although her past was marked by bad choices, Vanessa has found that coming to St. Dennis is the best decision she’s ever made. Bling, her trendy boutique, is a success with tourists as well as with the townspeople. She’s made friends, has a home she loves, and has established a life for herself far from the nightmare she left behind. The last thing she’s looking for is romance, but the hot new man in town is hard to resist. And when Vanessa’s past catches up with her, Grady finds that he’s unwilling to let her become a victim again. As together they fight her demons, Grady and Vanessa discover that life still holds some surprises and that love doesn’t always have to hurt.
 
Review: Anyone that likes Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods or  Robyn Carr, will love this book. Coming Home is the first book in The Chesapeake Diaries series by Mariah Stewart. It is part romance and part suspense, but really it is a story about relationships and families.
 
The story takes place in St Dennis, a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. This book helps to set up the next two books in the trilogy. In this book you are introduced to all the key players. The focus of this book is Vanessa and Grady. Both are wounded individuals when it comes to relationships, but something clicks between them.
 
The romance blossoms, much faster than it would in real life, but hey! this is romantic fiction. It isn't real life. Vanessa and Grady really seem to belong together, regardless of the things that happened to them in the past. The past however doesn't want to stay in the past.
 
Vanessa has a string of incidents happen that is more than just a tiny police matter, and Grady feels the need to step in.
 
This is really when their relationship blossoms, it is also when some other relationships start to mend.
 
I love the small town that Ms.Stewart created in this book. The townspeople are fun and much like those that you find all over America. This book could easily have been about my town.
 
She keeps both the romance and the suspense fairly light, making this a great read for the beach. I can't wait to dive into the next book
 
Rating: 5 flowers
 

Summer Reading

The summer reading season is upon us. And that means trying to decide which books are going to go with us....to the beach...to the lawn chair....or where ever you do your best reading in the warm months.

But do our tastes change as the months get warmer?

I think they do.

I tend to drift towards lighter, fun books in the summer months. When I had required reading for school, back in my high school days, I could never finish it. It was just too heavy to be reading while the sun is beating down upon you.

Who wants to read, Les Miserables, or All Quiet On The Western Front when you are trying to get a tan?

Not me.

When I curl up with my book...I want something like the latest Debbie Macomber, Janet Evanovich or something similar. I like books that will take me to my happy place while I'm reading them.

So what about you? Does your reading change during the summer months? What are you planning on reading this summer?

Book Review: Sunset In St. Tropez

Author: Danielle Steel
Title: Sunset In St Tropez
Publisher: Dell
Publish Date: June 3, 2003
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb:  In her 55th bestselling novel, Danielle Steel explores the seasons of an extraordinary friendship, weaving the story of three couples, lifelong friends, for whom a month’s holiday in St. Tropez becomes a summer of change, revelation, secrets, surprises, and new beginnings . . .
As Diana Morrison laid the table for six at her elegant Central Park apartment, there was no warning of what was to come. Spending New Year’s Eve together was a sacred tradition for Diana, her husband of thirty-two years, Eric, and their best friends, Pascale and John Donnally and Anne and Robert Smith. The future looked rosy as the long-time friends sipped champagne and talked of renting a villa together in the South of France the following summer. But life had other plans . . .

Just two weeks after New Year’s, tragedy strikes the heart of their close circle, as Robert Smith suffers a sudden, unexpected loss. Without hesitation, Diana and Eric, Pascale and John rally to his side, united in their support, love, and shared grief. Convinced that a change of scenery is just what Robert needs, they urge him to join them on the Riviera in August. But as they soon discover, the ramshackle old mansion they rented in St. Tropez--sight unseen--is far different from the exquisite villa and sun-drenched gardens touted in the brochure. Cobwebs hang from the ceiling. Beds collapse beneath them. All while a would-be housekeeper in a leopard-skin bikini and six-inch heels sashays through the house with a trio of yapping poodles at her heels. But the biggest surprise of all is the woman Robert invites to the villa as his guest--a lovely, much-younger film actress with mile-long legs and a million-dollar smile. Diana and Pascale hate her on sight. But the men are dazzled. And amid the crumbling furniture and the glorious sunsets, the strained relationships and the acts of forgiveness, more surprises are in store for the villa’s occupants. With the last days of summer fast approaching, each couple finds themselves changing in unexpected ways, as old wounds are healed, new love discovered, and miracles unfold...all beneath the dazzling sun of St. Tropez.

By turns wise and moving, heartbreaking and wickedly funny, Danielle Steel’s new novel is about forgiving without forgetting, about the sorrow that shadows our lives and the hope that saves us. And it is about once-in-a-lifetime friendships . . .the kind that heal, sustain, and change us forever.

Review: Every now and then I decide to read a Danielle Steel novel. There was a time when I really enjoyed her books, but I think the last one that really appealed to me was Zoya. There have been some good ones though..but there have been some awful ones too. Sunset In St. Tropez is somewhere between the bottom and the middle.

Steel spends way to much time repeating herself, as if she wants to drum the facts into the readers heads.  She does this rather than developing the characters and when there are 3 sets of main characters, this really takes away from the book.

Another problem is the length. Sunset in St Tropez is about the length of a Harlequin Romance, only poorly written and developed. At one point she skips ahead of things, and the reader is left clueless as to how a situation in the story occurred.

Then there's Robert, whose wife is the token character that must die. (There is always one dead person in a Danielle Steel novel, I swear!!) Three months later and he's falling for the actress Gwen! If I were Anne I would be haunting his sorry butt!

I shook my head many times throughout the book. I found I couldn't like any of characters. They were too wealthy and bitchy about Gwen. Gwen was too much of a goody-goody, to be believable.  The men weren't memorable either.

The ending has everything tied up nice and tightly with a surprise finish for Pascale and John...which made me groan.

I'm glad this was a library book, because I would have kicked myself for wasting money on it. Thankfully it was a quick read, so I didn't lose too much time on it.

Rating: 2 flowers

May Recap

Can I just say, WOW! I read a lot this month. I read a lot of full lengths as well as some novellas and short stories! Here's hoping I can keep it up in June. I'm still a bit behind on my reading goal for 2011. Plus I have some new goals for the month of June that I will share later today. So how did you month shape up?

Tana French - In The Woods (mystery & thriller Challenge)
Tess Hardwick - Riversong (ebook challenge)
Beverly Lewis - The Parting
Jools Sinclair - 44 novella (ebook challenge)
Samantha James - The Sins Of Viscount Sutherland (ebook challenge, historical romance challenge)
Ann Nyland - Hedgeland (ebook challenge)
Christine E. Schulze - Bloodmaiden (YA challenge, ebook challenge)
John G. Hartness - Hard Days Knight (ebook challenge, vampire challenge, mystery and thriller challenge)
Amber Scott - Fierce Dawn (ebook challenge)
Liz Crowe - The Rookie short story (ebook challenge)
Sandra Edwards - Incredible Dreams (ebook challenge)
Michelle Muto - The Book Of Shadows (YA challenge, ebook challenge)
Justine Elyot - Honeytrapped novella (ebook challenge)
Linda Hilton - Touchstone (historical romance challenge)
Stacey Kennedy - Stolen Dreams (ebook challenge)
Sara Shepard - The Lying Game (YA challenge, ebook challenge)
Evelyn Lafont - The Vampire Relationship Guide Vol 1 Meeting & Mating novella (vampire challenge, ebook challenge)
Dave Isay - Mom: A Celebration of Mother's from Storycorps
Kiki Howell - Torn Asunder (ebook challenge, historical romance challenge)
H.P. Mallory - A Tale Of Two Goblins (ebook challenge)
H.P. Mallory - To Kill A Warlock (ebook challenge)

Book Lovin Bitches Book Tour & Review: Gotta Love A Cowboy

Author: Sandy Sullivan
Title: Gotta Love A Cowboy
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Publish Date: March 16, 2011
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Book Lovin' Bitches Ebook Tours and the author
Book Blurb: Ann Marie needs a horse trainer to ready her prized stallion to run for the money. When hunky horseman Travis Brooks answers her ad, she knows he’s the man for the job. But is she willing to let go of her husband’s memory and open up her heart to Travis?
Travis Brooks knows horses. But women? He can take ‘em or leave ‘em—mostly leave ‘em—especially since his divorce. Ann Marie pushes all his buttons and he’s not quite sure what to do with her. Can a stubborn horseman and one feisty rancher find love in the heat of the Texas Plains?


Review:  I really enjoyed this story. Travis and Ann Marie had great chemistry in and out of the bedroom. There's a lot of backstory involved in this book that keep these two from admitting to their love early on. That backstory is really what makes things interesting.

This story has a really great plot, and the secondary characters really help to round things out, especially, Ann Marie's son and sister. They keep things from being all sex. And really, as much as I love a good smutty story, this one was a little too heavy on the bedroom action, more so than I thought was necessary, because the plot was so good. I wished there would have been more story action and less bedroom action. It felt like it wanted to be erotica...but it also wanted to be a more toned down romance. It lacked a little balance.

Sandy's writing style reminded me a lot of Vicki Lewis Thompson who writes a lot of spicy westerns for the Harlequin Blaze line. There really could be no cowboy sexier than Travis, and more damaged. You have to read the story to appreciate what a nasty...beoytch his ex-wife is.

I definitely would recommend this book to fans of spicier romance and westerns. Sandy Sullivan is going to be a name romance lovers will be hearing more of in the future, I'm sure.

Rating: 4 flowers



Author Info: Wesite/Blog/Twitter