Tag Archives: Contemporary

Cowboy and the Captive by Lora Leigh

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Cowboy and the Captive
Author: Lora Leigh
Series: Cowboys and Captives
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Erotica
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2004

Thoughts

Alright, I didn’t love the beginning of this story. I mean kidnapping a woman with not the best intentions in mind? Yeah… not such a huge fan. Particularly the anger coming off of the lead male. It was pretty uncomfortable and problematic. But, Melina was quickly able to balance that out. Which is honestly a style I’m getting used to with Leigh’s writing.

Once I got over the nope factor of the beginning of this story, I started to really enjoy this. The passion just leaped off the pages. But, so did Melina’s strength of self and character. I mean, I totally get why she falls for the guy, but I mostly just fell for her…

The lead romance is obviously the main draw of this story. But the dog in this managed to steal the show. Which, in my opinion is what frequently happens. I’m completely obsessed with dogs… he is just too ridiculously sweet and a great comedic relief when things are getting a bit intense in the relationship department.

This was both an easy read and a bit uncomfortable in places. I think mostly because I found not only the premise that begins the relationship a bit wow. But also Melina’s family and treatment of her… that was just damn heartbreaking.

<- More Lora LeighCowboy and the Thief ->

Image source: Goodreads

The Legend of Jane by Jessica Clare

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for hot summer nights book cover

Title: The Legend of Clare
Author: Jessica Clare
Series: Bluebonnet #2.5
In: Hot Summer Nights (Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This is probably my least favourite of the novellas in the Hot Summer Nights collection. But, that’s not saying saying because so far I’ve loved them all. I think it was just the whole premise of the video blogging that had me feeling a bit “eh”.

The lead male in this, Officer Sharp, was a great and fun lead. He is very serious and straightlaced, so a little different to many of the male leads I normally read. He’s still an alpha, just a little less grey and rebellious than I’m used to. But, I think that’s why I liked him so much… he was so damn different to other characters.

Aside from the fun of the romance, I really liked the setting of this story. I was immediately drawn into the world of Bluebonnet. Putting the first few books of this series on my wishlist was by no means a chore.

<- Perfect StrangerIce Princess ->

Image source: Goodreads

What We Find by Robyn Carr

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: What We Find
Author: Robyn Carr
Series: Sullivan’s Crossing #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2016

Thoughts

It was incredibly easy to attach to Maggie in this story. She is sweet and kind of innocent / naïve in a lot of ways. But, she’s also got this amazing sense of self and strength that you kind of don’t expect. It makes you pull for her from the very beginning. Makes you want her to have her happily ever after. And, as with many Robyn Carr stories, her tale acts as a fantastic reminder that sometimes the high-powered career and what you think you want… not even remotely the path to your happily ever after.

Most definitely I am currently addicted to Robyn Carr, she is fun and writes the sweetest of books. Plus, my brain is definitely far down the baby brain track, so it’s nice to read something that is a bit easier for me to digest. Maggie and Cal are obviously going to end up together, but they also have a few moments in between that throw a spanner or two into the works.

I liked that Maggie and Cal weren’t the primary focus of this story. Rather, it was about a small community and a whole series of relationships. Particularly I loved the fact that throughout this story, Maggie was able to reconnect with her father. I can’t imagine how difficult her childhood was when different aspects came up in the story, but throughout their trials and tribulations, they’re able to find a new beginning together.

Alongside Maggie’s childhood, there is Cal’s childhood. That is one that is somewhat tragic and made my heart hurt a little bit. Overcoming a difficult past is incredible, but I love the journey that you go through to see how Cal was able to do so. And, there’s not just the tragedy of his childhood and family, but also his own romantic past. Maggie also has a tragic romantic history – both of which are able to structure this amazing relationship and create a life as a healthy, adjusted couple.

All in all, I loved this book. Visiting Sullivan’s Crossing was fun and gave me a feeling of nostalgia for a place that I’ve never actually visited. I can’t wait to go back. Back to the mountains. Back to Sully’s and just back to this wonderful little town that made me feel welcome from the very first page.

<- More Robyn CarrAny Day Now ->

Image source: Booktopia

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Author: Maria Semple
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Humour, Mental health
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Year: 2012

Thoughts

I know that this book has a lot of strong recommendations and reviews. But I honestly wasn’t expecting too much from it. Probably because I don’t often love the books that get such rave reviews. Sometimes I think that people give said reviews because they feel that they SHOULD, not because it was actually enjoyable.

Having said that. I will most definitely rave about this book. It was nothing that I expected and it drew me in from the very first moment. After all, there is a mystery to solve from the very beginning. Combine that with the ways in which Bee is able to structure and tell the story, the larger than life characters… I was completely enmeshed.

I love that this is a story about the love between a mother and daughter. It’s a reminder that real love doesn’t come with conditions, but is about accepting and loving someone for exactly who they are. Or at least, that’s how I took this story. That Bee is able to find out more and more about her mother’s flaws. But still love her.

Underlying all of this is the question of mental health. What makes someone sane? What makes them “normal”? And where is the damn line between the two? I still have no answers, and it seems that Semple doesn’t either. A perfect approach as far as I’m concerned.

<- Today Will be DifferentMore Maria Semple ->

Image source: Goodreads

Mash Up Love by Alexia Arthurs

Book Review, , ,
Overview
How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs

Title: Mash Up Love
Author: Alexia Arthurs
In: How to Love a Jamaican (Alexia Arthurs)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Race
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Year: 2018

Thoughts

It took me a little while to “click” with what was going on in this story. Mainly because the author is female, the narrator in the first story of this collection is female. But the voice of this story is male. Once the penny dropped (I mostly blame the delay on baby brain), I thoroughly enjoyed this.

I know next to nothing of Jamaica. Besides Cool Runnings, so nothing. It was fun to read a story that was set in everyday, familial life there. The simplicities of everyday life seem so simple, until you look at them from the outside. And I was intrigued.

There was such a powerful underlying pain throughout this story. It was about life and love, but there was also this feeling of being inadequate. Wondering why the good wasn’t acknowledged when the bad so often was. And how this maelstrom of emotions can combine into a complex, mash up love.

<- Light-Skinned Girls and Kelly RowlandsSlack ->

Image source: Goodreads

Hot Summer Nights by Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare

Book Review, , , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for hot summer nights book cover

Title: Perfect Stranger
Author: Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare
In: Hot Summer Nights (Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Short story collections
Pace: Fast
Format: Anthology
Year: 2013

Thoughts

I may not be entirely sure why this collection is called Hot Summer Nights. But it was definitely good fun. I had imagined that I would be reading four beach romance novellas. Or stories of summer flings. Not quite what I ended up with.

The majority of these stories have a fun and light small-town America feel to them. They’re cute and simple filled with interesting characters. Interesting characters that I want to meet again in some of the series that these novellas introduced me to. More books to add to the wishlist!!!

This was a wonderful collection that left me feeling content and happy. Exactly what you feel after reading a good romance. Or really, any good book in my case. Definitely one that I’ll be reading again.

<- Ice PrincessHope Smolders ->

Image source: Goodreads

How to Love a Jamaican Collection by Alexia Arthurs

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs

Title: How to Love a Jamaican
Author: Alexia Arthurs
In: How to Love a Jamaican (Alexia Arthurs)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Race, Short story collections
Pace: Slow
Format: Collection
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2018

Thoughts

Each and every one of these short stories is thought provoking. They all make you pause and just THINK about what, exactly, you are reading. About preconceptions and misconceptions. About what it means to move through the world. They’re all brilliant.

I have literally no personal experience with racism and immigration. I’m white, I’m Australian, I was born here. But, I did love the moments of immersion into this different reality that Arthurs provides. It’s… intense. And brilliant.

Normally with short story collections, I have to keep reminding myself to go back. With this collection, I didn’t want to STOP. Each and every tale felt like a revelation. Revelations that I look forward to rereading again and again.

I loved this collection. It was brilliant and intense. With a wonderful edge of satire and wit that I probably didn’t expect. Definitely one that I’ll be going back to in the future.

<- Shirley from a Small PlaceLight-Skinned Girls and Kelly Rowlands ->

Image source: Goodreads

Ice Princess by Erin McCarthy

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for hot summer nights book cover

Title: Ice Princess
Author: Erin McCarthy
In: Hot Summer Nights (Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I’ll read this again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Year: 2013

Thoughts

Erin McCarthy does it for me every time. She is fantastic at writing light, fun and incredibly cute romances. Ice Princess is no exception. My only feeling of confusion… why was a snow story in a collection titled Hot Summer Nights?

This novella may have one of my favourite Meet Cutes of recent. I mean, trying to jump off a balcony and falling (literally) into a gorgeous man’s arms? Yes please! The fact that the lead female is quirky and kind of has verbal diarrhoea… well, it had me giggling Kate at night when I really should have been sleeping.

The gutsy and willing to go get it attitude of both of the leads in Ice Princess is seriously amazing. I’m honestly jealous of how willing they are to take a leap. And, since this is one of those Happily Ever After stories, I love how it all turns out. I won’t ever be that gutsy and willing to jump into things. But it sure was fun travelling along and imagining that I could be.

<- The Legend of JaneHot Summer Nights ->

Image source: Goodreads

Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela

Book Review,
Overview

Title: Lyrics Alley
Author: Leila Aboulela
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Year: 2010

Thoughts

Lyrics Alley is one of those books that I’ll read again and again. There is so much going on that I found it impossible to keep up with every minutiae. And, in some books, like Lyrics Alley, I love this fact.

To be fair, even after reading this, I did look up a synopsis just to get my head further around the details of this novel. As much as I enjoyed it and found it to be wonderfully written, I did spend most of my time reading this trying to figure out if I’d missed something. And, honestly, I think that I did.

There are some books on my shelf that I consider great and genuine literature. This is one of those. It’s a read that I would read to expand my brain, not for a bit of diversion. Which means that although I plan to read this again in the future, it’ll be awhile before I feel like my brain is capable of absorbing all of the information.

<- More Leila AboulelaMore contemporary ->

Image source: Goodreads

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

Book Review, ,
Overview

Title: The Housekeeper and the Professor
Author: Yoko Ogawa
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Japan
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Year: 2003

Thoughts

I had no idea what to expect from this book. It looked pretty, and seemed intriguing. That is about the extent of my knowledge when I began this. And, honestly, this was one of those stories that so far overwhelmed my expectations that I can’t wait to read more of Ogawa’s books.

I’ve always found maths kind of soothing. There is something about the universality of numbers that makes me feel… comfortable. Ogawa obviously understands this feeling. Maths is used throughout this tale to communicate and highlight how sometimes we use different methods to communicate with one another.

Another part of this story that was strangely relatable and drew me straight in was the role of the housekeeper. Although I haven’t actually worked as a housekeeper, I have worked as a support worker for people with disabilities. The roles and the nuances of the housekeeper’s job were very similar to that role. The difficulties and the joys. The unbelievably difficult yet fulfilling role.

This was one of those stories that just made my heart soar. It was so wholesome and loving. Beautiful in a myriad of ways that I just want expecting. It definitely is the kind of novel that will stick with me for a long while yet.

<- Hotel IrisThe Memory Police ->

Image source: Wikipedia