Review of Jill Shalvis's Head Over Heels

Title: Head Over Heels (Lucky Harbor #3)

Author: Jill Shalvis

Publisher: Forever

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: Purchased

Publication Date: November 22, 2011

Rating: 4 out of 5

Jill Shalvis’s contemporary romances are sweet, fun books with characters you’ll want to visit over and over again. The third book in her Lucky Harbor series, Head Over Heels, is no exception. I read the first in the series and loved it, but for some reason I didn’t read the second. I’m happy to report that I like Head Over Heels even more than I did Simply Irresistible. Despite a lack of strong conflict, this irrepressible romance was a delight, and I highly recommend it.

Chloe is the youngest of three sisters whose free-spirited mother has left them a Bed and Breakfast. Chloe was the only sister of the three raised by their mother, Phoebe, and exhibits much of her mother’s unbridled spirit and resistance to settling down. Despite her irreverent personality, Chloe has matured over the past year and she’s starting to see the attraction of remaining in Lucky Harbor and spending time with her sisters.

Straight-laced Sheriff Sawyer Thompson is the last person anyone would pair with the free-wheeling Chloe, but there’s no denying the attraction between the two. Despite numerous run-ins with Chloe and his own troubled youth, Sawyer and Chloe start an affair. But Sawyer’s involvement with a local DEA investigation and the interest in Chloe displayed by one of the men under investigation places the nascent affair under a strain. Sawyer needs to protect Chloe but wonders if he’ll be able to protect his heart at the same time.

I really enjoyed seeing how much Chloe has matured since the first book. She’s still light-hearted and carefree, but she’s less self-centered in her interactions with her sisters, Maddie and Tara. I also loved seeing how the relationship between the sisters has developed since the first book. Maddie and Tara are busy with their significant others, Jax and Ford (Sawyer’s best friends), and Chloe feels a bit left out but reacts in a mature way, which I wouldn’t have expected from her in the first book.

Chloe’s acute asthma plays a central role in the novel, particularly the romance with Sawyer, which I found really interesting. I think Ms. Shalvis handled this well, because her treatment of Chloe’s respiratory difficulties was matter-of-fact. I also thought it was clever how the asthma forced Chloe and Sawyer to be more thoughtful in their intimacy, since any physical exertion could cause a flair-up. Sawyer won major points with this reader in his sensitive treatment of Chloe’s nature and her condition.

My absolute favorite scene takes place when Chloe pushes her way into Sawyer’s house and “helps” him paint the living room. The scene is sexy and hilarious, especially when Jax and Ford discover the two the next morning, with strategically placed paint handprints. Very, very funny!

The majority of the conflict in this novel stems from Chloe and Sawyer’s diametrically opposed personalities, which made for a pleasurable, relaxed read, but there’s some tension surrounding his involvement with a DEA investigation. Unfortunately, this conflict felt a bit artificial to me, almost as though it were tacked on at the last minute, and I’m not convinced that it was entirely necessary.

I also felt that the resolution to the problems in Chloe and Sawyer’s relationship was a bit abrupt. The epilogue tied up all loose ends nicely, but I’m not sure that a Happy-Ever-After was necessary, when a Happy-For-Now would have sufficed and been more in keeping with Chloe’s character.

That said, this was a delightful read with personable characters that I highly recommend. I’ve enjoyed the few contemporary romances I’ve read by Ms. Shalvis, and I’m very much looking forward to reading more of them.

Early Review of Sabrina Jeffries' To Wed a Wild Lord

Title: To Wed a Wild Lord (Hellions of Halstead Hall #4)

Author: Sabrina Jeffries

Publisher: Pocket Star Books

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: Purchased

Publication Date: November 22, 2011

Rating: 4 out of 5

Sabrina Jeffries is one of my favorite historical authors, and her Hellions of Halstead Hall series is a hoot! I was lucky enough to find an early copy of the fourth book in the series, To Wed a Wild Lord, at the bookstore this weekend, and I devoured it in no time flat. Even if you haven’t read any of the other books in the series, you’ll easily be able to enjoy this delightful book.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the series, Lady Hetty Plumtree has grown exasperated with her five grandchildren and has issued an ultimatum. Either they all marry within one year or she’s cutting them out of her will. Since she’s quite wealthy and the principal source of their income, her grandchildren are less than thrilled with her threats. To Wed a Wild Lord focuses on the fourth of her grandchildren, Lord Gabriel Sharpe.

Ever since Gabriel’s best friend died in a horse race against him over seven years ago, Gabriel has been known as the Angel of Death for his ability to cheat Death in daring races. But no one outside his family knows that he’s wrought with guilt over Roger Waverly’s death. After Gabriel’s most recent race, Roger’s sister Virginia challenges him to a race, which offers Gabriel the perfect opportunity to assuage his guilt while meeting his grandmother’s demands by courting her.

Virginia’s grandfather, General Isaac Waverly, has always blamed Gabriel for Roger’s death, but the more time she spends with Gabriel, the more she begins to wonder about the truth behind the race. As she develops feelings for him, Virginia decides she needs answers about that race, but will the answers threaten her newfound happiness with Gabriel?

One of the reasons I enjoyed this novel so much is that both Gabriel and Virginia are rational adults and act in reasonable ways. Yes, Virginia is spirited, but unlike many “spirited” heroines I’ve read elsewhere, she doesn’t act rashly. She challenges Gabriel to a race, but she’s an experienced handler of the reins and believes that she has a legitimate chance of winning. Gabriel is also an appealing hero, as he’s clearly an honorable man who deeply regrets foolish mistakes he made years ago. We learn that his racing is actually motivated by his interests in thoroughbred racing, which gives his character depth that wasn’t apparent in earlier novels.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters in the novel. It’s difficult to revisit couples from prior books in series without distracting the new reader from the current couple, but Ms. Jeffries manages just the right balance between time spent with Gabriel’s family and that with Virginia. It was also a pleasant surprise to see Lady Hetty and General Waverly spark a late-life romance, and the author gives us hints about Lady Celia Sharpe’s romance in the next book, which I’m certainly looking forward to reading.

My biggest concern has to do with the mystery surrounding Gabriel’s parents. This might be the one aspect of the novel that will confuse new readers, because they won’t have all the background concerning the investigation that we’ve learned in earlier books. We do learn about Gabriel’s parents' murders in the prologue, and several times throughout the novel the investigation continues. However, there doesn’t seem to be any resolution in sight, nor is the mystery as integral to the plot of this book as it was in several of the other novels in the series. I’m interested to see how this part of the overarching storyline plays out in the series finale, but it seemed almost more of a distraction in this book than in others.

That said, I highly recommend To Wed a Wild Lord. Ms. Jeffries is an artful storyteller, and the romance between Virginia and Gabriel is charming. This book, along with many of her others, will definitely be added to my keeper shelf.

Early Review of Kristan Higgins' Until There Was You

Title: Until There Was You

Author: Kristan Higgins

Publisher: HQN Books

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: October 25, 2011

Rating: 4 out of 5

This contemporary romance made me laugh and cry, and I absolutely loved it! I highlighted so many different sections of the book and have re-read them so often that if I were reading a physical book instead of my Kindle the pages would be falling out. Scrawny 5’2” Posey is charmer, and you’ll fall for hottie bad boy Liam. Who wouldn’t? He rides a motorcycle, wears black leather, and only shaves every few days. Reformed bad boys make for great romance heroes, and you’ll definitely swoon for this one!

Until There Was You is a reunion romance of sorts – Posey Osterhagen was madly in love with bad boy Liam Murphy when she was sixteen, but he barely noticed her. In fact, he was indirectly responsible for her disastrous prom experience, so when he moves back to Bellsford, New Hampshire, with his 15 year old daughter, Posey tries to play it cool around her former crush. Posey runs a successful architectural salvage company in town, and she tries to keep busy to avoid him, but her adopted parents’ attempts to play matchmaker with the good-looking widower and their niece Gretchen ensure that Liam and Posey are thrown together. But Liam’s not looking for romance, and some well-meaning family members seem determined to keep the two apart. Can the bad boy and the quirky runt from high school find a way to be together?

Kristan Higgins always manages to crack me up with her humor, and despite several teary moments, this book was no exception. The secondary characters will keep you rolling in the aisles, especially Posey’s adopted parents, who are large, boisterous owners of a German restaurant in town. Posey herself has a dry wit that provides some great one-liners, and Liam’s protective instincts towards his daughter Nicole make for some hilarious moments as well. When her prom date shows up and Liam threatens him, I was crying with laughter. And Ms. Higgins clearly has teenagers of her own, as Posey uses “Oh, Bieber” as an interjection, and Liam tells his daughter, “Whatevs.” Of course, in my experience, if your Mom’s using slang in a book, it’s probably not cool anymore, but it makes for a fun read.

There’s also plenty of angst to go around, as we witness several flashbacks to Posey’s disastrous prom experience and Liam reflects on his marriage with the town’s golden girl. The relationships between parents and children are a constant theme in the book, whether those children are adults or teens, and you’ll definitely find yourself tearing up at times.

The biggest problem with the book and the reason I only gave it a four when I clearly love it is the lackluster romance between Liam and Posey. It’s clear from the beginning that Posey has feelings for Liam, but Liam’s feelings for Posey are never quite as obvious. In fact, at times I felt that he spent more time thinking about his dead wife and their marriage than he did thinking about Posey. He clearly cares for her and the ending feels like a scene from a John Hughes movie (set at prom, no less!), but afterwards when I was thinking about the book, I had the distinct impression that his wife had been the love of his life and Posey was merely second best. This is a pretty serious failing in a romance novel, so I think it speaks volumes about the book that I loved it in spite of this.

If you’re looking for a fun contemporary romance with a little angst and lots of humor, I highly recommend this one. It’s definitely going on my keeper shelf, and I suspect I’ll be re-reading it for years to come.

Early Review of Karen Hawkins' A Most Dangerous Profession

Title: A Most Dangerous Profession (Hurst Amulet #3)

Author: Karen Hawkins

Publisher: Pocket Books

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: Purchased

Publication Date: October 18, 2011

Rating: 4 out of 5

Karen Hawkins is one of my favorite historical romance authors, and I love to recommend her books, because they’re always funny and appealing. You can imagine my excitement, then, when I discovered an early copy of A Most Dangerous Profession at the Barnes & Noble this weekend. This is the third book in the Hurst Amulet series if you don’t count the prequel, Much Ado About Marriage, and even if you haven’t read any of the other novels in the series, you’ll be able to enjoy this lighthearted romance without difficulty.

Moira MacAllister has a long-standing history with Robert Hurst: she tricked him into marriage more than five years ago when he was investigating her at the behest of the Home Office. She’s joined the search for the three onyx boxes that will lead Robert’s family to the Hurst Amulet, but her interest in the boxes is fueled by desperation rather than avarice. Blackmailer George Aniston is forcing her to recover the boxes by holding captive her five year old daughter, Rowena. What Robert doesn’t realize is that Rowena is his daughter and the reason Moira tricked him into marriage all those years ago. Since Robert’s brother Michael’s safety depends on his recovering the onyx box, Robert can’t allow Moira to abscond with the relic, but he also finds it harder and harder to resist her charms. When the two decide to work together, sparks fly, giving Moira hope that the two can reunite, but as time progresses she begins to wonder if Robert will ever be able to forgive her original deception.

One of the reasons I enjoy Ms. Hawkins’ books so much is that she writes characters who aren’t aristocrats, and A Most Dangerous Profession is no exception. Her female characters are interesting and complex rather than insipid debutantes sipping tea and making social calls. Moira was born into the working class, but was raised by a gypsy, which makes it easy to understand Robert’s fascination with her. He, too, is not from the aristocracy, since he’s a son of a vicar, but he makes a living selling the artifacts that his explorer brother Michael unearths during his travels. Robert’s work as a spy also gives his character a dangerous edge, an aspect that appeals to Moira’s sense of adventure. The sexual tension between them smolders and adds some sizzle to the already fraught situation with their daughter.

While the first half of the book seemed to drag a little, the action and chemistry definitely picked up in the second half. Once they arrive at Balnagown castle to retrieve the third onyx box, Moira and Robert work together, and the book is irresistible from that point. The two work together effortlessly, and you’ll enjoy watching Robert learn to appreciate Moira’s abilities as a spy, while they grow closer together as a couple emotionally and physically.

I do have a few criticisms of the book. My first is that initially the book shares a few similarities with the second book in the series, Scandal in Scotland. Both Moira and Marcail betrayed the Hurst brothers, were quite improper, and are reunited with the brothers because of secrets in their pasts. Once I read farther into the third novel, however, the books differed enough that it didn’t bother me as much as it had at first. Another minor complaint has to do with Rowena, Moira and Robert's daughter. She barely appears in the book, which is fine, but in the epilogue she addresses her mother in a manner that seemed completely unlike a five year old, which had me checking back to see if she was actually older than I originally thought.

My most serious complaint, however, is that I want MORE!!! And I don’t mean more novels (although I definitely want more of those as well); I mean the font is so large that the book seems really, really short. I think Ms. Hawkins could have easily extended the book by including flashbacks to Moira and Robert’s time together, plus the final confrontation with George Aniston went by far too quickly, ending the book abruptly.  I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that A Most Dangerous Profession is not a complete book, because it is (and it’s completely enchanting), but I’m bothered that publishers seem to be making historical romances shorter by enlarging the font while keeping the page count the same.

That said, Ms. Hawkins is always an auto-buy for me, and this is another keeper. I really enjoy the excerpts from letters and diaries at the beginning of each chapter, since they advance the overarching story of the series. If you enjoy engaging historical romances that focus on characters not from the aristocracy, I definitely recommend A Most Dangerous Profession.

Early Review of Jessica Andersen's Lord of the Wolfyn

Title: Lord of the Wolfyn (Royal House of Shadows #3)

Author: Jessica Andersen

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne

Formats: Mass Market Paperback & Ebook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: October 18, 2011

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Gena Showalter and Nalini Singh are two of my favorite authors, so when Harlequin announced that they would be releasing a series of paranormal romances with the first and last books written by Showalter and Singh, I was thrilled. I was really disappointed in the first book of the series by Showalter, Lord of the Vampires, because it felt disjointed and rushed, but Lord of the Wolfyn was much better. Before reading the third installment of the series, I had never read anything by Jessica Andersen, but I’ll be looking for more of her books in the future, because this was a fun read, even if the phrase “wolfyn” had me cringing every time I read it.

If you haven’t read any of the other books in the series, you’ll be able to follow along with ease, as there’s a short prologue that sets up the back story. Also, each of the books is based on a fairy tale, with Lord of the Wolfyn based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. In all of the books, the Blood Sorcerer (whom we have yet to meet) attacks the Royal Castle of Elden, killing the king and queen. The parents manage to protect their four children by using the last of their powers to send the children to different dimensions. Prince Dayn, the second son, finds himself in the realm of the Wolfyn, shapeshifters who are hunted in his realm of vampires. (Quick side note – I cringe every time I write the word wolfyn – surely there was a better name for the werewolves?)  One of Dayn’s father’s last acts was to tell his son that when the time was right, they would send a guide to lead him back to the Castle of Elden. Once the guide arrived, Dayn would have four days to return to Elden and join his siblings against the Blood Sorcerer.

We then flash forward 20 years to the present in the Human realm where we meet Alfreda (Reda) Weston, red-headed cop. Reda’s in a bit of funk, because she froze when her partner was killed and has had problems with her self-confidence ever since. When she finally is able to recover a copy of an old version of Little Red Riding Hood that her mother gave her years ago, she purchases the book, little realizing that reading it would send her into the Wolfyn realm. And luckily for her, Dayn happens to be observing the portal that day, and he immediately recognizes her as his guide. Not surprisingly, Reda is more than a little freaked out at her new surroundings. Who wouldn’t be? First you’re reading a book, then POOF! you find yourself in another realm with some hottie telling you what to do. Happens to me ALL the time. Since Dayn desperately wants to be reunited with his family, he has to find a way to convince Reda to help him and in so doing give her confidence she’s lost since her partner’s death.

My absolute favorite aspect of this novel is that it is action-packed. The four day deadline adds suspense to the drama, since you’re wondering if Dayn will be able to convince Reda to help him in time to make it home before the four days are up. Additionally, there’s the concern that when he does arrive, he’ll be the only one of his siblings to have made it. We don’t witness any family reunions in the book, but the ending implies that the others are in fact in other parts of Elden, if not there during Dayn’s battles. I like that there was a resolution to the book, even if the overarching storyline about the Blood Sorcerer won’t be resolved until Nalini Singh’s book is released next month.

I also liked how the fairy tale was tied in with the story. The connection Reda feels with her dead mother and the book of Rutakoppchen with its wood carvings nicely tie the original tale of the wolf and the hunter in with the current plot. Andersen adds a nice twist to the legend by making the wolf in the novel a werewolf (or wolfyn), and Dayn’s connection to the wolfyn realm is an interesting one, especially since he’s hunting wolfyn in the prologue before being sent to the other realm.  

Unfortunately Reda is not a strong heroine. I think that we’re supposed to sympathize with her because she’s experienced so much tragedy, but her actions at the beginning of the novel make her come across as really weak. When she does become more assertive, the change is abrupt, and I found it a little disconcerting. I enjoy reading novels that show a weaker heroine finding her own strength, but Reda’s change from wimp to warrior woman occurred during her transition from one realm to the other, which left her almost unrecognizable even to the hero when they met up again.

I think the book suffers a bit from its shorter length as well, because Reda’s character issues could have been resolved if they had been spread out over more of the book. Also, there’s a period when Dayn and Reda are separated, and I would have liked to have seen Reda’s actions during that time. When the two meet up again, she’s suddenly the more confident guardswoman that you would have thought a cop would be anyway. Since this change seems to occur while she’s ‘off-screen,’ I think including that time they’re apart would have tempered some of the issues I had with her character development.

However, I very much enjoyed the book. It was a fun, quick read, and the romance between Dayn and Reda was sizzling. I’m looking forward of the conclusion to the series, and I’ll definitely be checking out more of Ms. Andersen’s books.

Early Review of Angels of Darkness Anthology

Title: Angels of Darkness

Author: Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, Sharon Shinn

Publisher: Berkley Sensation 

Formats: Trade Paperback & Ebook

Source: Purchased

Publication Date: October 4, 2011

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I totally lucked out at the local Barnes & Noble again this weekend and scored an early copy of the upcoming anthology, Angels of Darkness. This book includes novellas by three of my all-time favorite authors, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook, so I was really excited to find it early. It features outstanding writing, which I’ve come to expect from these authors, and I was pleasantly surprised by Sharon Shinn’s novella Nocturne, which is my favorite of the collection. I hadn’t read anything by her before, but I will be remedying that shortly. Here’s a breakdown of the novellas in the book.

Angel’s Wolf by Nalini Singh. This novella is set in the world of Singh’s Guild Hunter series and stars vampire Noel, who was viciously beaten by an enemy of Archangel Raphael in the second novel of the series, Archangel’s Kiss. Now that Noel’s recovered, he’s been assigned to the court of angel Nimra in Louisiana, which he initially believes reflects Raphael’s diminished opinion of his abilities. He soon learns otherwise, as he’s there to investigate an assassination attempt against Nimra. While I enjoyed another glimpse into the Guild Hunter world, I was a bit disappointed by this novella, mainly because it was so short. I like seeing what happened to Noel, but because it was shorter than the other novellas, the romance between Noel and Nimra felt a bit short-changed. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the angel and the vampire, and the mystery was resolved too quickly. 3 out of 5

Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews. This story was so different from Ilona Andrews’ other writing that I was a bit taken aback and not sure how to react to the story. It also didn’t compare favorably to their recently released enovella Silver Shark, which I just reviewed yesterday. Alphas: Origins is set in a world very different from any of the author’s other series, and at times I was a little confused about what was going on. The heroine, Karina, is driving her daughter and several other children on a school field trip when they stop at a motel so the kids can use the bathroom. Unfortunately for Karina, the “people” at the motel attack them, and Karina wakes up after the attack to learn that she’s now part of a world she never knew existed. The hormones in her blood will be used to feed Lucas, one of four alpha men who are warriors protecting humanity in a strange fight against a group of genetically altered humans. The story definitely improves as you read, because Karina is a strong and sympathetic character, but the first few chapters were confusing and none of the male characters particularly likeable. 3 out of 5

Nocturne by Sharon Shinn. I had never read any of Shinn’s work before, but I very much enjoyed this novella about a woman on the run who discovers an angel at the school where she’s working. This is set in the world of her Samaria series and takes place about 70 years after the first book in the series, Archangel. Moriah works the late shift in the kitchen at the school, and when she learns that no one is allowed to go inside the headmistress’s house, her curiosity is piqued. When the headmistress leaves for two weeks and the housekeeper sprains her ankle, Moriah steps in to help serve the guest on the upper floor. Turns out that the guess is Corban, a angel who’s been blinded and is feeling lots of self-pity for his condition. Moriah’s bracing character is more than a match for his depression, however, and soon he finds himself stretching his wings literally and figuratively. There’s a slow build to this story, but this was easily my favorite of the collection, and I’ll be looking for more of Ms. Shinn’s work. 4 out of 5

Ascension by Meljean Brook. This novella is set in the world of Brook’s Guardian series. I’ve read several of the novels and a few of the novellas, so I have a general idea of the background, even though I wasn’t familiar with these characters. I’m not sure how easily one could pick up details about the Guardians without having read another book in the series, so you might want to keep that in mind. That said, I did enjoy this novella. Like Singh’s novella, this is one of the shorter entries, but I felt that it was more fleshed out than Angel’s Wolf. Guardian Marc Revoire is investigating the deaths of several vampires in town, when he’s joined by former lover Radha. They had a hot and steamy night a LONG time ago, but she took off and he never knew why. Turns out he was a little too holier than thou and referred to her as “unclean” when praying for redemption after falling into temptation, which not surprisingly ticked her off. Fortunately, he’s more low key and less judgmental now, so the sparks fly between the two again. In the meantime, they solve the mystery behind who’s killing off the local vamps. While I like Ms. Brook’s writing, I really didn’t like Radha all that much, which diminished my enjoyment of the story. 3.5 out of 5