Reading Fanatic Reviews
Contemporary RomanceThe Fixer Upper by Maggie Mae Gallagher
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
The Fixer Upper*
Funny, Lovely Characters But Missing Tension
A fun and quirky contemporary romance that didn’t quite have enough true conflict or tension. This book is well written, so you may not be aware of its deficiencies until you give it a little thought. Abby inherits her aunt’s home and moves in while she finishes her dissertation and also tries to figure out her next move in life beyond academia. Her next-door neighbor, whom she quickly nicknames Sheriff Stud Muffin, meets her in a most amusing way. I’ve got to hand it to the author. Parts of this book are really quite humorous. Abby is a very quirky young woman with a love of 80s horror that seems to be integral to her character. It does cause some amusing moments as she lives in this beautiful old Victorian and seems to see and feel threats at every turn. Nothing too heavy or serious but in an amusing way. For instance, her aunt had a collection of porcelain dolls that Abby finds a little creepy.
There is a parallel historical love story that we see unfold throughout the book due to a discovered journal. Insights from this little book inform the characters’ thoughts and actions and may even give the reader something to think on. There’s also another small plot about break-ins going on in the area. So, between the contemporary romance, the historical romance, the criminal activity, and Abby’s attempt to understand herself and her future better, there is a lot going on in this story. I thought the book had a bit of a data dump at the beginning, which I’m not a fan of. This is actually a long book, so the author could have definitely woven in bits of backstory more adeptly throughout. There were at times some very long narrative passages, which can get tedious in a book (especially one of length). There was more profanity than I like in a book and certainly more than was needed for characterization.
But I think the greatest flaw in this book is that it felt like there were no true conflicts. This couple had instant chemistry—and it did sparkle and jump off the page. They become friendly, and then they become intimate. but it didn’t really feel like there was true tension or conflict as the plot moved along. For me, key ingredients in a romance include the All Is Lost moment towards the end followed by a Proof of Love (self-sacrifice without expectations). That didn’t happen in this book, so even though there is the HEA, it felt unsatisfying. If you don’t mind low-tension love stories, this book actually is humorous and delightful. I just wish it had a little bit more substance.
Alone for the Holidays by Vivien Mayfair
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Alone for the Holidays*
Not Alone for the Holidays
This is a super short, quick read. The heroine has gotten herself into a bit of a pickle when she invites a man she had met through a Goodreads group to spend Christmas with her. She had felt sorry for him because he had lost his wife the previous Christmas; this would be his first Christmas alone. She hasn’t been telling the truth about herself online, however. She’s a famous author but prefers to hang out on reader forums anonymously so she can just enjoy sharing books with like-minded book lovers. She’s even lied about her looks, believing that no man would be interested in a middle-aged, overweight woman. When the man shows up, she gets deeper and deeper into lies.
I thought that some of the language choices were a bit strange in places. I also felt that sometimes the writing seemed like it was trying to decide whether it was omniscient or third person. The story is so short that we can’t really get a window into the basis for their actual relationship, how they supposedly fell for each other while they were emailing back and forth. I just feel like this needed more.
Bedazzled Dreamer by Deborah King
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Bedazzled Dreamer*
Heartfelt Contemporary Romance
Such a sweet contemporary romance! This is the story of Shelby, Shane, and Shane’s son (Nate). Shane is new in town and needs a place to stay; Shelby has a room because her roommate got married. Shelby is in the midst of pursuing her dream of having her own business. The story has several themes, including pursuing your dream and letting go of the past. Shane’s son is absolutely adorable. He even speaks in somewhat of a lisp. He trusts Shelby right away, and she is a good influence on him. All the main characters are sweet, good people who deserve their chance at a deeper happiness. A lovely small-town clean contemporary romance.
Million Dollar Date by Susan Hatler
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Million Dollar Date*
Opposites Attract… Laugh-out-Loud Funny
I’m always a little hesitant when a book proclaims itself humorous in its description. Usually, the author oversells this point; perhaps she WANTED it to be funny, but can she really know if others will find it funny; humor can be quite individual. But I actually did find this book refreshingly light and funny. Oh my gosh, the heroine’s head was such an interesting place to be in. She has a unique perspective on the world, that’s for sure. And in personality and outlook, she is directly opposite from the hero. Their meeting and first date—two separate incidences—actually did make me laugh out loud. It is so rare when a book does that. These two characters are as opposite as they can be—he’s a buttoned-up, strictly by-the-rules police officer, and she is an impulsive, wear-her-heart-on-her-sleeve kind of a girl. They are both decent people at heart, just in different ways.
There were problems with grammar, punctuation, and usage, enough to be distracting on occasion. There was inconsistent use of single and double quotes to emphasize single words or phrases in sentences; it’s an unusual error; authors usually pick one or the other, but here, the marks changed from incident to incident. But the book is still crazy fun, a quick and breezy read that is an actual delight. If you are a pet lover, you will especially be endeared by this story.
Mrs. Saint Nick by Caroline Mickelson
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
Mrs. Saint Nick*
Learning More About Herself and Christmas
What an utterly charming holiday novella! I’ll admit, I had a hard time getting into it because the language seemed a little strange and simple at the beginning, but once I got used to it and got into the characters, it was fine. Holly is an efficiency expert who is hired by Santa to make things better for operations at the North Pole. She’s a very straightforward young woman who is dedicated to her job, but she has a troubled past with Christmas because of her parents. Santa has her work directly with his son Nick, who goes by Saint Nick. Holly sees him as a deadbeat, privileged son who doesn’t pull his weight. As they work together, though, things gradually change between them, but Holly nearly puts Christmas in jeopardy. In trying to right things, Holly learns more, and in a more profound way, about what Christmas truly means.
Parts of this book had me smiling because I found it fun to look at Santa’s doings as a business. Think naughty and nice reports, loading schedules, and other things like that. Nick and Holly were surprisingly well-drawn characters, and who could not love Santa? The story had more depth than I thought it was going to have. There are definitely some strange issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Comma splices were rife through the entire novella. Other commas were left out completely, like the required one between independent clauses joined by “and.” I do find these kinds of things distracting, especially when they are just so prevalent in a book. However, I did thoroughly enjoy this book and its look at the true meaning of Christmas and gift giving.
Brides and Second Chances by Ruby Hill
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Brides and Second Chances*
Heartfelt Clean Romances
This is a large collection of short novellas, some of which I had read before. I’m a sucker for Christmas-themed stories (even in August), so I particularly enjoyed A Family for Christmas. Lysander is new to the small town in Georgia but blends in well even though he comes in from across the country. He and his two children are very nearly adopted by the couple next door. Their daughter is involved in a relationship with a guy who does not appreciate her; I was actually a little surprised at how much of the novel the bad boyfriend was in. These are novellas, so there isn’t much time for complex characterization or multi-level plots, yet the author is able to bring the emotional feels for most of the stories and create tension. Each story is distinct, which isn’t easy to do in a collection. If you enjoy the kind of feel-good, low-angst romance that you see on the Hallmark Channel, you will most likely enjoy these stories.
No More Bad Dates by Kate O’Keeffe
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
No More Bad Dates*
Light on Romance, Heavy on Family and Friends
I have read the books in the previous series, the one that this is a spin-off of. I really enjoyed that set of books. I didn’t find this book to be nearly as entertaining. I think it’s because I felt it was light on the actual romance. It is billed as a romantic comedy, after all, so you would expect some good romantic aspects. Not nearly as much interaction happened between the hero and the heroine as I would have thought or hoped. It seemed to be more about the heroine and her family and friends than the romantic relationship. There is definitely some humor here, for sure, and that is enjoyable. But I didn’t feel there was a good balance between the romance and the comedy; the romance took too long to develop. It is well written otherwise. The author does have a knack for writing about groups of female friends in a way that makes them feel like they could be real women you could meet.
Out of the Blue by Jess Bryant
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, Smashwords, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Out of the Blue by Jess Bryant*
Out of the Blue
When we first meet the hero and the heroine, the author commits the grievous sin of an information dump. It is particularly bad for the hero as several pages of backstory occurred before anything literally happened. Because this is a novella, perhaps the author felt like she just had to get the information out there—I’ve seen this happen in other novellas—but I just don’t like information dumps. I normally like second-chance romance stories, but this one just fell flat for me right out of the gate. I didn’t like that the hero revealed his hand so fast, especially knowing their history. And I have to say he had some unhero-like moments that I just didn’t like. If you enjoy second-chance-at-romance stories, you might enjoy other ones better.
Christmas at Clove Cottage by Diana Bold
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Christmas at Clove Cottage*
Potential Good But Misses the Mark
For all that needed to happen in this book, it is actually quite short. It is written the dual perspectives of the hero and the heroine. She is a young woman who is working on her bucket list because she is dying from a rare form of muscle cancer. One of the things she wants to do before she dies is spend Christmas alone at a little remote cabin. Even though her family objects, that is what she’s going to do. Nixon, the hero, is really a jerk for most of the book, unfortunately. He wasn’t treated well by his last girlfriend, and he takes it out on Christmas and the world. I thought the story had too much telling rather than showing things happen. A story like this really had the potential to be one that could tug at the heartstrings, with a young woman who is dying and maybe perhaps finding the love of her life before she passes. But with so much telling, there was emotional distance. And I didn’t quite buy the insta-love, especially considering what the relationship was like before that. The story definitely needed better development of both the characters and the love story.
The Legacies of Brigadier Station by Sarah Williams
Available at Amazon, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
The Legacies of Brigadier Station*
A Book with an Exceptional Sense of Place and Relatable Characters
This is the second book I have read of this series, and I find it a pure delight. The author has done such a good job giving a strong sense of place. I have never been to Australia, but with her descriptions of the land and the use of language, I felt like I was right there. (I even had to look up some Aussie slang.) I really enjoyed this story of Lachie and Abbie’s relationship. Lachie is trying to set himself to rights as a recovering alcoholic; he wants to be a better man than his father was. Abby is a nurse and a single mother to a young girl, who is completely adorable. I am an RN myself, and I did see some issues with the medical parts of it. For instance, they would need to operate on a strangulated bowel coming through a hernia not because of the patient’s pain but because of the potential problems for ischemia (lack of blood flow) and subsequent death of bowel tissue. I can’t quite imagine, too, that it is ethical for a nurse in Australia to take a patient into her home after a hospital stay. But this is fiction, and I won’t give too much of a quibble.
The characterization in this book was excellent as well. You can get a strong sense of both the hero and the heroine, and I love the extended family of Brigadier Station. I love books that realistically portray what it is like to be in a loving, though sometimes too involved, family. While you don’t need to read any of the previous books as this one does stand alone very well, reading other books in the series will give you a firmer sense of place, this family, and all the difficulties they are facing in the Outback. Another exceptional story by this author and in this series.
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