Reading Fanatic Reviews
Romantic FantasyA Prince of My Own by Stacy Reid
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
A Prince of My Own*
Lovely Hero and Heroine; Ghastly Mother
Her mother has told Lady Miranda from nearly the second she popped out of the womb that she was destined to marry a prince or a duke. Her mother has even tried to place her in compromising positions to force a marriage between her daughter and the upper echelons of aristocracy. On a trip to a house party where Miranda will meet her mother’s next quarry, the family gets into an accident. The mother sprains her ankle severely. Dr. Simon Astor is at close at hand, and after examination, he declares that she cannot move for at least a week or two and offers them rooms in his home. Simon is the third son of a duke (unknown to Lady Miranda and her family for a while) who, while he is a physician, has a good allowance and has been able to buy a lovely estate which he has partially turned into a hospital.
Simon is a dedicated physician and an all-around decent man. He enjoys spending time with Miranda, and she soon begins helping him with his patients. This isn’t always easy for her as she is a gently bred young woman, so Simon sees and appreciates her strength and compassion. Considering that the book is relatively short, their progression from friendly acquaintances to love is believable, natural, and quite sweet to read.
Lady Miranda’s mother, on the other hand, is a real piece of work. Before the carriage accident in an early discussion between her and Lady Miranda, the mother comes across as over-the-top and melodramatic in her desire to see her daughter wed to a man of the highest station. In fact, it was so over the top that I almost quit reading because it was just crazy. But I had read good reviews of this book, and I was curious to see the relationship between the principals, so I kept going. Lady Miranda’s mother doesn’t care for her daughter’s happiness whatsoever; marrying the highest title is the only thing that does. Her mother sets in motion something drastic to get her fondest wish realized, and when it happens, it is ghastly and heartbreaking.
The only other fault that I see in this book is that it ended too soon. The ending is one of the most abrupt I’ve seen in a romance. Things are barely resolved when—BOOM!—the book ends. I would have liked to have seen a little more about what happened afterward, both in the main line of the story and in an extended epilogue. The hero and heroine are excellent characters who deserve each other; they also deserve for their story to be more fully told.
Lantana Island Romantic Comedy Box Set by Talia Hunter
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Lantana Island Romantic Comedy Box Set*
Uneven Collection of Romance
This collection is the three books of the Lantana Island Romance series, Boss with Benefits, The Devil She Knew, and The Engagement Game. I’ll give you just a little information about each book:
Boss with Benefits: In this serious exploration of the relationship-with-the-boss and enemies-to-lovers tropes, Rosa is escaping a stalker and helping her best friend by agreeing to manage her resort on a small island. Her friend, Tiny, has recently had a stroke and cannot run her business. Tiny’s brother, Dalton, wants nothing more than to sell the place and use the money for better treatment for his sister in Sydney. Dalton and Rosa are at odds; Rosa firmly believes that Tiny should make decisions about her life and business for self. As you might imagine there is an attraction between Rosa and Dalton. What will happen to the resort? Will Tiny get to choose our own destiny? The book is told from alternating perspectives, and Rosa was often quite humorous in her thoughts and speech. She is an enjoyable character to watch. Dalton, especially at first, comes across as a bit of a jerk.
The Devil She Knew: In another enemies-to-lovers story, Suzie and Nate have a bad history going back to high school when he started a vicious rumor about her that she couldn’t get past for years and she gave him a nickname that he didn’t like. They meet again at Suzie’s sister’s wedding, and sparks fly. They both still have a lot of anger and resentment toward each other. Due to circumstances beyond their control, they get stuck on a yacht and are forced to confront their issues. I just couldn’t get into this book, and I definitely didn’t feel any chemistry between the two main characters. What Nate did to her back in high school was pretty awful, and he doesn’t treat her very well when they meet again at the wedding. I just don’t like it when the hero is such a jerk. When an author makes someone is icky as Nate, she needs to do a lot of work to rehabilitate him, and there is not enough rehabilitation in the world for me to like this character.
The Engagement Game: After being disappointed in the previous book, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. It explores the tropes of friends to lovers and fake engagement as well as looking at personal insecurity issues due to body type. The couple had been friends for a long time before becoming a part of a reality TV show meant for engaged couples. The woman’s insecurities are unfortunately all too believable in our society that puts so much importance on looks. But her playboy-but-I-want-to-be-a-better-man best friend Jake sees all that she is and likes it. They come to a better understanding of themselves and each other in this book, and there is some fantastically witty banter between the two of them.
I think it is strange that the author calls this a romantic comedy collection. While the books do have elements of comedy in them—and some delicious comedy—the concept of a romantic comedy is broader to me than that; the story itself should be light and fun, a beach read. The first book’s background—of the sister/friend having had a stroke—is nothing that’s as light and airy as I would hope a romantic comedy would be. The second book had so much nastiness that I wouldn’t call it a romantic comedy at all. The third book would be the only one that I would call a true romantic comedy and a good beach read.
Hide from the Heart by Jessica Lynch
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Hide from the Heart*
A Perhaps TOO Modern Retelling of Myth
I’m a sucker for retellings of ancient myth, particularly that of ancient Greece and Rome. So I was very curious about this retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche. I haven’t read the other books in the series, so I may have been at a disadvantage reading this fourth book. I definitely felt like I didn’t understand key concepts of the world and the relationships between the characters, even though the author did a little bit of an information dump at the start of it.
Something about this book just didn’t sit right with me. For a book telling of the reincarnations of the ancient gods and goddesses, the language felt jarringly modern. I guess the author wants it to be that way, but it diminishes these larger-than-life characters by making, say, Psyche/Jolie talk and think like an immature valley girl at times. And I totally don’t want to hear Eros/Sebastian talk about certain bodily effluents when he saw a python. I’ve been reading another series that blends the modern world with the ancient Greek gods and goddesses, and my positive thoughts about those books are making me see this one in a more negative light because this author has not carried off the concept as well as the other one.
Still, I did find the story of Eros and Psyche working through their issues and coming together again to be a fascinating one. I just wish I wasn’t so distracted by all the modern talk.
The Stress Eating Solution by Laurel Mellin
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Stress Eating Solution*
Rewire Your Brain
This book purports to help you quit stress eating—which the author loosely defines as eating nonhealthful foods when you’re not hungry for emotional reasons like pleasure, comfort, love, or fear—by using the brain’s inherent neuroplasticity to rewire itself into more healthy, authentic constructs. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of neuroplasticity, it simply means that our brains are more adaptable and easier to change than we think. The brain has billions of neurons that make physical connections that allowed us to think, feel, move, and do everything in life. These neurons fire together in patterns to bring up memories, make us move, and organize our thoughts, amongst other activities.
I am an RN, and neuroplasticity was something that interested me while I was in nursing school. I read quite a bit about it. Our brains are amazing organs that have truly untapped potential.
So, when I found out this book had to do with neuroplasticity and what the author calls “emotional brain training,” I was curious. In the Welcome section of the book, she describes some structures of the brain and recent thoughts on brain science. She credits those from whom her ideas spring. While she tries to simplify it, the descriptions do get a little technical at times. In this Welcome section, she also set up some concepts like a joy inventory. Before you start the first 30 days of the program, she also has you tell your story of weight and overeating so you can work with your personal narrative in the pages that follow; she then tells you how to set up the practice that you will be following over the two months of the program and afterward.
The work that is meant to be done over the first month takes up the bulk of the book. In this section, she gives you tools to better understand yourself, to incorporate joy, and to work on specific circuits that have to do with eating and releasing weight. Each day is divided into a mini-essay about the topic of the day, why it is important, how to do, other little tips and insights, and a checklist of what precisely you should do that day.
The scientific aspect of the work is not the only potentially difficult concept that you will have to work with. It is clear the author has been working with this training for a long time—I believe she is one of the founders of EBT—so she has created a lot of jargon and buzzwords to describe EBT concepts, tools, and practices. Even some regular words, like sanctuary and freedom—are given special meaning within this system. The book, I believe, really needs a glossary so that you can more easily dial in on the precise definitions of these concepts as you are working through them each day. I found this particularly confusing in the Using Tech to Connect section, where she tells you ways to connect (which appear to be an integral part of the process). There is a lot of jargon there that has not been introduced so that it is actually meaningless to read it before you dive into the rest of the book. A brief glossary in that connection section would have been helpful or a few words that describe each EBT buzzword or phrase within the suggestions themselves would be useful as well as a glossary at the beginning or end of the book that can be easily flipped to.
At the beginning of the book, she states that each day’s work on this process should take about 10 minutes. This is definitely not true. It might take you that long or less to read about the days topic but to actually implement it will often take continuous work throughout the day or more than 10 minutes at a given time.
The book has some of the common problems with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The book is said to have two editors, but I am curious whether there was an actual copyeditor and/or proofreader.
One thing that the author should fully disclose on whatever book sites she sells this on—and I am letting you know here—is that her website in support of this book is a membership site. While the connections that she says are essential to this process can be made if you find like-minded people interested in the program, she definitely promotes her website’s telegroups and app. I’m not sure if the app is free, as I haven’t looked at it, but nothing else is. At the time that I write this, the price for different levels of what you might need or want range from $39 to $699.
All that said, I find the concept of this book fascinating and wonder at its efficacy. I am tempted to try it out—my own personal free version—but I am unsure if I will truly be able to devote the time that I believe it will actually take to do correctly.
Waiting on You by Lisa Freed
Available at Amazon only
Not with Kindle Unlimited
Waiting on You*
Tight, Well-Written Novella
What a delightful novella! The author has clearly had multiple bad times with line cutters, and everything she has the main character Terrin feel or think seems wholly accurate to my experience of that kind of frustration. The author gave a level of detail I was not expecting in such a short a book. I felt myself nod several times as I read Terrin’s experience. The author brilliantly turned this nugget of an idea into a short romance. While Terrin is imagining what she can do to this guy who has cut in line twice when she is picking up her friend’s son, she literally bumped into the bad guy at the grocery store. She lets him know what she thinks of his boorish behavior. They strike up an interesting friendship. Will it lead to more?
Again, for such a short story, the author did a good job with the backstory for the four main characters, the conflict in the meeting between the two principals, their misunderstandings, and the development of the friendship of these two unlikely people. This was a great, under-an-hour read. If you like clean contemporary romance with a little bit of humor and a whole lot of heart, you might enjoy this story.
Pocahontas and the English Boys by Karen Ordahl Kupperman
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Pocahontas and the English Boys*
Insight into Early Colonial America
Pocahontas and the English Boys gives a unique perspective on the earliest days of the English settlements in North America. As the title suggests, the lens is on a group of young people, and these children acted as go-betweens between the adults of both of their cultures. Pocahontas, as the beloved daughter of Chief Powhatan, was often sent to the English settlements as an emissary and message bearer. The English boys referred to in the title are less well-known to history. These young boys were specifically given to the Native Americans. Usually, these children were seen almost as adopted children of the tribal leaders and were treated with kindness and honor. In fact, there is some description of how these children would join the tribe, learning the language and culture and even dressing as Native Americans. They were treated well by the Native Americans, probably better than they would have fared in the English settlement, where they would have been seen more like servants.
Despite the title of the book, very little emphasis is actually given to Pocahontas and the English boys. Much of the book sets up the historical and cultural contexts of both the peoples (English and Native American) and the places. There is some discussion of the social milieu of England itself, the structure of Native American culture around the Jamestown area and the Algonquin tribes, and descriptions of early life in a variety of settlements, including some predating Pocahontas. Interactions between the native tribes and the Europeans are described in detail, with quotes from the sources themselves.
I found this to be a very fascinating look at the very earliest days of European settlement on the Eastern seaboard.
The Exodus Hour by Will Steadman
Available at Amazon only
NOT with Kindle Unlimited
The Exodus Hour*
Race Across Europe
The book starts with Brandt cooling his jets at home in the Bay Area when the Deke calls him about a new assignment. It’s supposed to be a relatively straightforward job, and he’ll be able to work with his girlfriend, Casey. But things, of course, can’t go easy in a spy thriller. Soon, they and those they are to protect are in danger and another agent is missing. What follows is a trans-European journey in an attempt to stay ahead of the killers who want to thwart their mission.
I really enjoyed the opening of this book where Brandt is just lying in bed wondering if that how it feels to be on a morgue slab! Perfect thought for a spy. While the officer didn’t spend much time in the San Francisco Bay Area, I loved that little bit about it because I grew up in that area. His description of the fogbank remaining over the ocean is one I remember seeing often. I like Brandt’s easygoing narrative perspective; his is an interesting head to be in, that’s for sure. The book felt a little slow right at the beginning, but as soon as they were in Europe, things heated up quickly, which is just the way it’s supposed to be in a good thriller. The pace was tight, making it a good page-turner, as I was curious to see where they would go next and what would show up to give them a problem. Both Brandt and Casey seem like real people, and I especially love their discussions about what all was going on.
The author’s writing style is very accessible and easy to read. He has a good balance between thoughts, dialogue, narrative, and action. If you enjoy spy thrillers with an element of terrorism as well as a Russian component, you might enjoy this page-turning read.
A Morning Routine by Lola R. Marie
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
A Morning Routine*
Start the Day off Right
The author shares her thoughts and ideas about the importance of the creation of a good morning routine. In the introduction, she states that she has struggled with her daily routine in general, but setting up a solid morning routine has been helpful. She’s open about her successes and failures; she tested out a variety of ideas while she was figuring this out in her own life. The latter half of the book is meditations that you can incorporate into your morning routine. The first section is eight chapters that first discuss the waking up process and the benefits of a morning routine. She spends some time discussing the sleep environment because good sleep is the foundation for a good morning. As an insomniac, I can tell you that it is true. Then, she starts talking about the elements of what could make up your morning routine, like waking up your body with exercise or your mind with meditation or journaling as well as some thoughts on grooming. She wraps up this section of the book by discussing how to create your own personal routine and telling you how you may be able to extend the routine to others you happen to live with.
When I first started reading the book, I almost felt a little overwhelmed at all she suggested, with the chapters on fitness/exercise, meditation, and grooming as well as the meditations. That’s a lot to pack into a morning! Luckily in the Creating Your Routine chapter, she suggests starting small, maybe first waking up just a little earlier or adding one concept to what you already do. She states throughout the book that setting up a morning routine actually makes her later day more productive. Not only because you might opt to prioritize your day during your routine, but also due to the fact that if you give structure to the start of your day, then you flow naturally into having more structure as the day progresses.
This is a fascinating concept. I do have a semi-routine for when I awaken but hadn’t really thought to nail it down precisely and follow it more days than not. I find myself intrigued as to whether or not the benefits she suggests are real, and I might be tempted to give this a try.
Building Forever by Cat Cahill
Building Forever*
Courting Not Allowed in Morals Clause
Emma decides to go west and become a Gilbert girl to support her family; her father has recently passed, and her mother is ill, so she cannot work. Gilbert girls work in the dining rooms of the Gilbert hotels. The Gilbert family employees well-brought-up young ladies for these jobs, and there is a strict moral code for the term of the contract: the girls cannot be courted until their contract is up. While Emma will miss her family, she is looking forward to the adventure. Hartley is a builder who has only worked on smaller projects previously but has managed to talk his way into working on one of the bigger Gilbert hotel complexes in Colorado. He and Emma have an almost instant attraction, even though that first interaction has a measure of embarrassment for Emma.
What an enjoyable book! Emma’s kindness and compassion in her desire to help her family pulled me right in. She is plucky and adventurous as well. The writing is easy to follow, and the characters the author has created—especially all the Gilbert girls themselves—are uniquely individual. By making them so three dimensional and distinct, the author has set up the basis for a good series as we follow the life and experience of each of the girls. I like that this book gave a glimpse into what was probably similar to endeavors that actually happened across the west in those early days.
If you enjoy western romance, you will most likely appreciate this well-crafted, clean story.
Love Me Now by Cate Tayler
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Love Me Now*
Billionaire Fake Engagement with Good Interaction between Hero and Heroine
Calista is doing her best to help her family keep their Greek diner open in small-town Connecticut. A storm has damaged it, and unfortunately, the bank has not come through was a loan to get it back in shape. Miles is the heir to a family fortune, but in order to assure his succession, he needs to convince the board that he is stable. On the spur of the moment, rather than accept his parents’ desire for him to wed his dead brother’s fiance, he tells them that he is engaged to a waitress that he met at a Greek diner. After some convincing—and a financial deal that will save the diner—he does talk Calista into being his fake fiance until he can become CEO in a month.
As you might imagine, this book hits all the notes we’re familiar with for fake fiance romance and billionaire romance. There’s the evil ex-girlfriend. The couple starts developing feelings for each other right away. His family is opposed to the match. What sets this book apart, though, is Miles and Calista’s early interaction. It is quite humorous at times, but there are moments when they both are vulnerable to each other. That kind of give-and-take—humor, fear, and poignancy—felt realistic. Both had difficulties to overcome that made sense in the context of their characters and within the plot of the story. Of course, you know before the end that there has to be a bad break-up before they can come together again, and I wasn’t particularly wild about the way the author chose to do it here. She had made Miles a relatively sensitive guy, so it seemed out of character for him to act as he did. I didn’t like that the resolution had to take so long within the story’s timeframe, but it was understandable.
If you enjoy billionaire and fake fiance romance, you might like this slightly different spin on the usual.
Used To Build My Websites
NetGalley Badges