Tag Archives: Contemporary

Christmas for One by Amanda Prowse

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for christmas for one amanda prowse book cover

Title: Christmas for One
Author: Amanda Prowse
Series: No Greater Love #5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Christmas, Contemporary, Romance
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Head Zeus
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: Juno nodded.

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Synopsis

As a child, Meg always dreamed of the perfect Christmas…

This year, she can make it come true for her own little boy. There will be turkey and all the trimmings, a glittering tree, and a stocking hung up by a roaring fire. Who cares if there’s no devoted husband in the picture? She and Lucas will be just fine on their own.

But then a chance meeting with a stranger in New York unravels everything she’s planned. Will Meg finally get everything she wished for? Or will she be alone this Christmas after all?

Thoughts

I bought this as part of the Black Friday sales, thinking it would be an interesting little Christmas read. I didn’t realise that it was part of a greater series until I was about halfway through, but it didn’t really matter since it stands by itself beautifully. And beautiful really is the best word to describe this novel. It is simple, easy, sweet and has the picturesque backdrop of Christmas in New York and London.

A lot of the romances that I’ve been reading recently involve a paranormal aspect of some kind. So it was kind of nice to settle into a contemporary romance that didn’t require magic and mayhem to make the storyline work. Rather, it was all about the love and romance between two people. And the fact that it could truly happen to anyone made it somehow sweeter. I love the realism in the story, and it made such a great break from these tales that involve a magical mating bond and fate, and destiny…

Most romances that I read feature a young adult (normally in their mid to late twenties) who might have a history, but aren’t significantly attached to anyone or anything. Now, I am in that age bracket, and I don’t have dependents that rely on me either, so I do enjoy the ways in which I can relate to these stories. BUT it was really nice and a great change of pace to read about a woman who has a son. Not only did this romance feature her and Ed, but it also meant that there was a constant extra stake in their relationship – the son.

Although this novel features Christmas, it isn’t necessary to read at that time of year. It is a great, sweet, kind and warm-hearted story that will be thoroughly enjoyable all year round.

 <- A Little Love ReviewWill You Remember Me? Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Abby’s Christmas Spirit by Erin McCarthy

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for abby's christmas spirit book cover

Title: Abby’s Christmas Spirit
Author: Erin McCarthy
Series: Cuttersville #2.75
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas,Contemporary, Romance
Pace: Slow
Format: Novella, Poem
Publisher: Erin McCarthy
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: “Psychic visions, or just like a checklist?” Bree asked.

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Synopsis

When Abby Murphy returns home to Cuttersville, it’s to buy back her grandmother’s house that was sold… and to meet the man she is convinced is destined to be her future husband. Being a psychic gives her that crystal ball advantage and she’s seen the face of the man she’s going to marry since she was seventeen. In the years since her first vision, she has spent many a night inserting herself into his dreams in some very sexy ways. So imagine her surprise when she discovers that her destiny lies with the man she can’t stand, the man who bought her grandmother’s house, the skeptic ghost hunter, Darius Damiano.

But sometimes reality can be even better than dreams…

Thoughts

This didn’t quite go as I had expected. Where the previous two Cuttersville novellas and Murphy sisters featured a kind of slow seduction, Abby was incredibly gun-ho. She also got twisted up and confused far more than either of her sisters, and it ultimately took a lot more to get to her happy ending.

Like the other novellas I have read so far (the novels in the Cuttersville series have only just arrived on my doorstep), this story left me with a happy, contented smile on my face. It was simple, it was cute and it didn’t involve a lot of in depth thinking. The slight snags along the way weren’t completely unexpected, and they weren’t so intense that you didn’t think you’d eventually get your happy ending anyway. I honestly just love the simplicity of stories like this, and I can’t wait to go back to the beginning of the series and sink my teeth into A Date with the Other Side.

 <- Christmas Bree ReviewSeeing is Believing Review ->
Image source: Erin McCarthy

Christmas Bree by Erin McCarthy

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for the magical christmas cat book cover

Title: Christmas Bree
Author: Erin McCarthy
Series: Cuttersville #2.5
In: The Magical Christmas Cat (Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Contemporary, Romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: What the hell are you doing here?

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Synopsis

Ian has an offer for Bree’s house… but, with the magic of Christmas and a meddlesome feline, their about to find out that there is a lot more at stake than real estate.

Thoughts

If you’re in the mood for an easy, cute, a little bit funny read… then this is certainly the sort of novella you should be picking up. It’s one of those find-your-true-love, Merry Christmas type of stories that may not rock your world, but certainly leave you with a big, happy smile on your face when you have finished reading them. Which, let’s be honest, is something that we all need sometimes.

In Charlotte’s Web, there was a hint of Bree’s future beau, and I like that, twelve months later, they finally reconnect. From the glimpses in the previous novella, and Bree’s initial reactions to Ian, I was expecting a lot more reluctance and build up to the moment when the romantic leads end up together. And then it falls apart even quicker. And ends up perfect in the blink of an eye. It really is one of those stories that has an immensely fast paced romance that forms in a moment.

Not that the fast pace is a problem, but I could see how this could have almost evolved into an entire novel on and of itself. I was kind of disappointed that it ended so quickly. There was so much that happened that I finished this novella with both a smile stretched across my face, and a bemused look of what-do-I-read-next.

 <- Charlotte’s Web ReviewAbby’s Christmas Spirit Review ->
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The Nanny Diaries by Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for the nanny diaries book cover

Title: The Nanny Diaries
Author: Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin
Series: Nanny #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Contemporary, Easy reading
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Penguin Books
Year: 2002
5th sentence, 74th page: I take a little bit of pleasure from the fact that Mrs. X is forced to lean across and pin the card on Grayer herself as she has the use of all ten of her fingers.

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Synopsis

Nan has a tricky relationship with her employer, Mrs X.
A non-existent relationship with Mr X.
But she loves their little boy to pieces.

In between looking after four-year-old Grayer and running a thousand errands for Mrs X, his rich, uptight Manhattanite mother, Nan is trying to have a life. There’s college, shopping, her friends, her cat George. And the gorgeous Harvard boy from the sixth floor…

But the X family’s dramas keep intruding – visits from Mr X’s predatory mistress, catastrophic family outings and, as a final straw, the case of the marriage-drawing panties. As Divorce looms, Nan realizes how attached she’s become to the Xs’ underloved son – and how nannying has become more than just a job.

Funny, touching and true-to-life, The Nanny Diaries is a modern-day Mary Poppins story – with attitude.

Thoughts

The last few seems to involve a lot of me watching old favourite movies and realising that they were originally a novel of some kind. And The Nanny Diaries was one of these… so it was immensely exciting to find the novel and bury my nose in it.

Although the key points of the storyline kept very close to the movie, there was a lot more sass and emotional turmoil throughout the novel. Mostly I loved the sass. Nan is completely aware of the position she’s put in, and she’s not impressed. Which of course, makes her incredibly pithy and sarcastic in many of her internal monologue moments. My biggest frustration with the movie was that the main character seemed to be a little more willing to handle the craziness of the X’s. Although she’s still more than willing to put up with this in the novel, she constantly crabby and has multiple mental-break-down moments. So much more realistic (but then, the books always are).

You can tell that The Nanny Diaries is written by someone who actually used to be a nanny. There is a level of realism and authenticity to the story that I would never be able to create. And it is a great introduction to a world that I know nothing about. And, honestly, never will. Normally when I visit foreign worlds in the pages of a book, it is off to some fantasy land like Narnia or Hogwarts. It was actually incredibly enjoyable to read a story that swept me away to somewhere far closer.

 <- More chic lit reviewsNanny Returns Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Charlotte’s Web by Erin McCarthy

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for an enchanted season book cover

Title: Charlotte’s Web
Author: Erin McCarthy
Series: Cuttersville #2.25
In: An Enchanted Season (Nalini Singh, Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy & Jean Johnson)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Contemporary, Romance
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: But this is Ohio’s most haunted town according to those paranormal investigators.

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Synopsis

Charlotte has been in love with Will for almost ten years, and this Christmas, something in their relationship is going to seriously change. Hopefully for the better.

Thoughts

I keep trying to find other things to read after finishing this novella. But nothing seems to compare to the vibrant and gorgeous innocence that runs rampant throughout this. Actually, the moment that I finished this, I jumped online and bought the other stories in the series. But, since I don’t tend to like reading ebooks, I now have to wait another month or more (probably more being Christmas time) until they arrive…

I was expecting something incredibly sad with the title of this story. I am still scared from the tale of the pig and the spider to be honest. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that there was nothing sad about this story what so ever. Charlotte has been in love with Will for years, and he with her. And, somehow the combination of Christmas and yearning helps to unleash Charlotte’s inner power. Or, you know… supernatural talents.

The combination of Christmas, romance, and passionate sex made this story hard to put down. Not the overbearingly cheesey Christmas story, but one that inspires love, romance and accepting your family… even if they are a little odd.

 <- Heiress for Hire ReviewChristmas Bree Review ->
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Wolfish in Sheep’s Clothing by Marta Acosta

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of scottish romance book cover

Title: Wolfish in Sheep’s Clothing
Author: Marta Acosta
In: The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5:  5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Romance,
Scottish romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: She flicked on the light and saw a desktop with a large monitor, neat files, and a silver cup filled with pens.

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Synopsis

Kat is stranded in Scotland by herself when she comes across a dark and mysterious scottish gentleman. But will it be true love, or a calamity of mistakes?

Thoughts

This is a great modern Scottish romance. One that starts as a fling but seems to send the message that true love is possible in the most unexpected of places. Actually, I love the simple, modern story so much that I would almost give this a six out of five stars… it was just easy, sweet and actually imaginable as something that could happen in our daily existences.

I’m fascinated by ideas of The Sight, and it’s something that I do believe some people have. Both Kat and Calder are sent forth to find each other by women in their lives with The Sight, and it’s something that I know other women in my life have those “intuitive” moments.

This is one of those sweet and gorgeous stories that doesn’t really leave much to comment on. It’s just a nice, fun easy read to reward myself with in between studying.

 <- The Pagan Bride ReviewForever Knight Review ->
Image source: Hachette Australia

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

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Overview
P.S. I Still Love You

Title: P.S. I Still Love You
Author: Jenny Han
Series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Contemporary, Easy reading, Romance
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: Peter’s right.

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Synopsis

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

They had just been pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

Then another boy from her past returns to her life, and Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too.

Can a girl be in love with two boys at the same time?

Thoughts

The first half of this book I absolutely loved. It continued to build on the themes and storyline from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It starts with Lara Jean and Peter beginning their own relationship and actually making a go of it. You know straight away that Gen is going to be an issue (after all, she’s the perfect teenage girl antagonist), but at the beginning it works really well. And then I started to get frustrated…

I enjoy Lara Jean’s confusion at the two boys – John and Peter. When you’re going through puberty and just discovering what it’s like to date boys, it can be incredibly confusing. And when more than one guy shows an interest in you, it’s hard not to return the favours. Regardless of the circumstances. The love triangle also helps to add a little spice to the story as things go from sweet to rocky in her relationship.

The reason that this story frustrated me so much was the second half. Lara Jean takes control of her relationship and life, and puts her foot down on the ways that she should be treated. And then she goes back to the guy that isn’t treating her right. It almost made me scream. I understand it to a degree, and part of me still loves Peter (although that may mostly be because of the movie), but it is kind of sending a message that people can treat you however they want. I know it’s something that I would never stand for, and I would hope that my friends and loved ones would have a little more self-respect under similar circumstances. Hopefully this will all make sense in Always and Forever, Lara Jean.

 <- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before ReviewAlways and Forever, Lara Jean Review ->
Image source: Simon & Schuster

To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Contemporary, Easy reading, Romance
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: To me!

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Synopsis

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.

They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved – five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secrets letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

Thoughts

I absolutely loved the Netflix movie of this. It left me with such a happy, little feel good moment after I finished it. So I figured that the book (and as I soon found out the trilogy) would be an interesting read. And, since I finished it in one sitting, and then bought every other Jenny Han book that I could find, it was certainly an enjoyable read.

This was an easy, simple, happy read that made me incredibly happy. It was just a nice journey through a sixteen year old’s mind as she tries to navigate the trials of falling in love, becoming an adult and just generally dealing with other people. Because, as it becomes incredibly obvious throughout To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, people can seriously suck! Although, there are also moments that really remind you how awesome they can be as well. Especially Lara Jean’s relationship with her family. She obviously dearly loves her father – she constantly calls him Daddy (I actually found the constant referral, even in front of others of ‘Daddy’ to be quite annoying). She has a great relationship with her sisters. She misses Margot dearly when she’s gone and spends a lot of time with Kitty.

For as much as the relationships in this cute little romance are realistic, it’s the sisterhood bond that I loved the most. There is so much love in every moment. But there is also a lot of vindictiveness and pettiness. I have a sister. We love each other till the ends of the earth. But we would also do and say horrible things to each other. After all, we are stuck with each for the rest of our lives… and when you are with someone day in and day out, you get to a point that you kind of want to kill each other… and in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before it’s that exact revenge-driven, love you emotion that only a sister can understand that starts the entire saga.

 <- Always and Forever, Lara Jean ReviewP.S. I Still Love You Review ->
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The Zeppelin Conductors’ Society Annual Gentlemen’s Ball by Genevieve Valentine

Book Review, , ,

Overview

The Mammoth Book of SteampunkTitle: The Zeppelin Conductors’ Society Annual Gentlemen’s Ball
Author: Genevieve Valentine
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Steampunk
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: God, when we realized what was happening to us!

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Synopsis

The conductors of the Zeppelins are slightly malformed and grotesque, but that doesn’t stop them from having their own lives and realities.

Thoughts

Never judge a book by it’s cover. And never make assumptions on a person based on how they look. That’s the message that overwhelmingly resonates with me after reading this short story.

Alright, the tale is set in a steampunk world. With conductors and zeppelins and all sorts of incredible world building. But it is written from “the other” and that gives an extra bit of oomph and zing to the idea that no matter how terrible someone may look, you should never judge them for that and always find a way to move past how someone looks.

Acceptance. That is the one word that stands out in this story and the one word that helps to sum it up.

 <- Tom Edison and his Amazing Telegraphic Harpoon Review Clockwork Fairies Review ->
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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Book Review, ,

Overview

The Kite RunnerTitle: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, History
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2003
5th sentence, 74th page: And that was close as Hassan and I ever came to discussing what had happened in the alley.

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Synopsis

Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that hsi new world cannot grant him: redemption.

Thoughts

This story is one of those that hits you right in the gut. And will probably stay with you forever. I know this because I can remember reading it about ten years ago. And although I could remember the amazing intensity of the story, and the vague storyline, I couldn’t remember enough to find this book again. Fast forward the ten years, I bought a Khaled Hosseini boxset on a whim. Picked up one of the books, and lo and behold, it’s the book I’ve spent ages searching for!

I sat up all night to finish The Kite Runner. It’s a little slow to start with. But once you hit the eighth chapter, it becomes incredibly difficult to put down. And then, once you’ve finished it, there are so many feelings that linger that it is almost impossible to sleep. Or really, think about anything else for a while. This is a true tragedy, with a nice little silver lining that helps to keep you from the precipice as you read it.

There are few people in this world who are inherently good. Fewer who are put into a bad situation and are able to maintain this sense of dignity and internal strength. Yet, Hassan ticks all of these boxes. And the fact that this story features his downfall and much of his tragic life makes it incredibly painful to read of someone who just feels “good”. I also love that this goodness is reported by his childhood friend and another young man who doesn’t quit fit this bill. He is more relatable to a degree. Amir is selfish, insecure and struggling to find out who he is in the shadow of another. The combination of the two boys is both amazing and horrifying. And it makes this story well worth reading and finding a new reality and intensity to dive into.

 <- And the Mountains Echoed Review A Thousand Splendid Suns Review ->
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