Romance Book Review Round Up!

There are a lot of books that I read and somehow never manage to write a review for them at the time. This could be because I was busy, the book just didn't speak to me either way, or a handful of other reasons. Some of these books were really good and some not so much so just because these are shorter reviews doesn't automatically reflect how I felt about them.

So, I thought I would start doing occassional posts with short reviews of these books. Think of it like book review cliff notes. Most of these are not new books, but that's the beauty of finding a new book or author - who cares if it's a new release...It's new to you!

Coming Clean by Inez Kelley - 4 Heart Review
Coming clean never felt so good...
Grant and Vivi Michaelson share everything in their marriage: love, commitment--and their wildest sexual desires. But their relationship is tested when Vivi admits she wants a threesome with Grant's old friend Cade, proposing their annual trip to the lake as the perfect opportunity to fulfill her fantasy.

All three of them are aroused by the idea. Vivi and Cade have long felt a smoldering attraction to each other...and Grant and Cade have hidden an illicit desire for decades. Going through with the ménage will test their boundaries, reveal old secrets...and maybe tear them apart. After all, there might be room for Cade in bed, but is there room for a third in their marriage?

I had my doubts about this book because to be honest, I've never read a menage involving a married couple and the idea of it made me slightly uncomfortable with how I could enjoy this book. But wow. Inez Kelley can seriously write. This novella is insanely full of deep emotion and insight and so much of it just felt "right" for the characters. Which is really the difference between good and bad writing with any menege. These characters and their story just felt natural and because of how stellar this book is, Inez is on my auto-buy list.

The Scent of Jade by Dee DeTarsio - 2 Heart Review
Julie Fraser is the least adventurous person she knows…until she hops on a plane to surprise her husband who’s on a business trip in Costa Rica. Reeling from the discovery that her husband isn’t who she thought he was, she embarks on an unexpected rainforest adventure that leaves her not knowing where to turn, literally, or whom to trust. She knew she should have stayed home! Can a monkey, a Latin hunk, and a mysterious ‘love potion’ help Julie on her mission to find and forgive her husband?

Not a typical romance, this one kept me reading because I really wanted to figure out where it was going with it's plot, but in the end I wasn't happy with the outcome. I can't tell you the major reason I didn't enjoy the book without giving away a spoiler, but I can tell you that I was half way through the book and still wondering it is was really going to turn into a romance. The heroine had some good points in that I liked how she handled herself at first, but I felt like halfway through her actions and responses didn't fit with the character that has been introduced at first. I will give this story credit for being very creative and engaging since I never did put it down, but in the end, it really came down to not buying into the hero/heroine really belonging together.

Building Magic by Lilly Caine - 3 Heart Review
When architecture student and summertime welder Tina Moreland develops a reputation as a peeping Tom, it isn’t the first time she’s been teased for being different. Catching a glimpse of the man of her dreams is worth the aggravation. But when she witnesses him doing something stranger than stripping in his hightower office, it’s enough to make her forget that when working unharnessed on the fifth floor, the first step is a long way down.

Sent to Earth to find a power source strong enough to end the civil war at home, Devin Ken’Draga doesn’t have time to rescue a damsel in distress. But since she is literally falling at his feet, he can’t help but to save her. Bringing her home wasn’t part of the plan, but once they fall through the magical portal together, there is no going back. It is only when he spreads his wings in his true dragon form that Devin realizes something he hadn’t anticipated – the woman is a virgin, a temptation no dragon can resist. Together Devin and Tina create a sensual bond, gladly sacrificing virginity to find love and a solution to the bloody war.

I was plesantly surprised by this book and thought it was highly unique and I thoroughly enjoyed the heroine. If you are looking for more Dragon shifter romances I would suggest putting this one on your list. There were a few things about the writing that would occassionally pull me out of the story. Nothing big, or it wouldn't have still received 3 Hearts, but the occassional word choice here and there felt off to me. Again, this book suprised me with how creative the story was and I enjoyed the world-building very much.

Book Review: Merciless by Diana Palmer

Book Review: Merciless (Long, Tall Texans Series)
By: Diana Palmer
Publisher: HQN
Contemporary Romance
2 Heart Review

Tall dark and eligible? That’s all that matters to the women of Jacobsville when it comes to handsome and aloof FBI agent Jon Blackhawk. But if it were up to him, he would never settle down. Luckily, Jon has the best gatekeeper: his efficient and reliable assistant, Joceline Perry. Without her help, he’d be at the mercy of husband hunters — but the more he comes to rely on her, the more he notices how invaluable she really is....

While Joceline can’t deny that her boss is attractive, as a single mother with responsibilities she’s determined to be professional. But when Jon is accosted by a criminal seeking revenge, she comes to his aid — fueling the spark that is growing between them. As the attempts on Jon’s life increase, Joceline stands by his side. But when the smoke clears, will the man who avoided love realize that all he ever needed was right there all along?

*Note* - This was one of my hardest reviews to write because I had to wonder if my reaction to the book was really about the writing or about a difference of beliefs. After going over and over it I believe that it really was the writing.

If you're a regular reader of Cheeky Reads you might remember that I read my very first book of hers a little while back and it wasn't exactly to my reading taste. But, so many of you are fans that I decided to give it another try with her newest book Merciless. I hate to say it, but I'm still not a huge fan.

What I did like about the book was that Mrs. Palmer creates a very nicely connected family and does well with threading their stories together. Sorry to say that's about all I found that I liked about the story.

Mostly what I didn't like are things that are mainly personal preference and I'll try to touch on them here without giving away any spoilers. First, I read romances that that touch on religion and enjoy many of them. Debbie Macomber is a favorite and she does an excellent job of including religious sentiments in her stories and characters without it feeling forced or overwhelming.

I didn't feel that way with this book. It felt like religious beliefs were thrown around as an excuse for bad behavior, prejudice and plain out rudeness. I won't go into details for spoilers sake, but in the real world I've lived in some small religious towns and in none of them would they act the way some of these characters did toward a woman who had a child out of wedlock. They might not like it, but the actions in this book were so over the top it stunned me. Was this book set in the 1950's?

My main issue with this book were that I felt most of the characters were one dimensional. Especially the hero's mother. She so flat as a character in this book and I felt like her dialogue could have been that of a 6 year old kid for all the maturity and depth it had. She and her lack of a real motive for her hateful actions really annoyed me.

In fact, this book would have been more of a 3 Heart Review if the mother could have been thrown out. She really was totally unnecessary to the plot and what little she contributed could have been figured out some other way. This character tainted the entire book for me both in her actions and the utter lack of her being a fleshed out character.

All in all, I felt like the characters were teenagers in their maturity level and I questioned the decisions of the hero and heroine at every single turn in the story. This just wasn't a story for me.

Which leads me to the conclusion that Diana Palmer is just not an author that will work for me. I know she has legions of fans so obviously she works for others! If you are a fan of hers, I think you will like this book because it has much of the same feel of the previous book of hers that I read.

I don't see myself picking up another Diana Palmer book to read and review because at this point I know it won't work for me and I'm not here to review books just to bash them. I might have one of our other reviewers read her work and see if it's only me who can't seem to connect with the stories.

What about you? Have you read this book and if so, what did you think? Do you love Mrs. Palmer's books and think I'm a stupid head for not getting the appeal? Or are you like me and had trouble with it? I really want to know!

A Double Dose of Desire: 2 Harlequin Desire Book Reviews

Double the Desire Book Reviews: The Sarantos Secret Baby by Olivia Gates - 2 Heart Review
Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day LeClaire - 3 Heart Review

I thought I would do short reviews of 2 Harlequin Desire books I read and just never had time to write up my thoughts. Since they are past the month they are available in stores, but still available online in print and ebook format, I thought I should still tell you a little about them.

 

Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day Leclaire – January 2011

“I'm having you baby.”

With those words Emma Worth changed Chase Larson's life forever. Having been bron on the wrong side of the marriage bed, the millionaire vowed no baby of his would be so cruelly labeled. There was just one thing that might keep him from making Emma his wife: their feuding families.

She'd never dreamed one night with Chase would bind them forever. The pregnant heiress desperately wanted to raise their child together, but only if Chase could forget they were enemies...

A complex and emotional story, I really enjoyed seeing Chase and Emma grow together. Particularly with Emma helping Chase heal some wounds with his father and past. I'd give this a solid 3 Heart Review and say you would enjoy this book and it would be a fast read.

The Sarantos Secret Baby by Olivia Gates – April 2011

Forbidden Lover...Hidden Heir

He was as tall and dark as the devil...and was her family's hated adversary. But that didn't stop Selene Louvardis from wanting Aris Sarantos with her every breath. Or grabbing her one chance for a forbidden night with him.

He was never supposed to learn she'd borne his child. But when Aris stormed back into Selene's life and discovered the truth, nothing would stop the ruthless billionaire from claiming his own. Not her family, not the billion-dollar contract at stake and certainly not something as inconvenient as love.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but as I read it just didn't keep my attention. Small things in the story bothered me, even though the story itself was fine – there was nothing I can pin-point as being wrong, it just didn't feel right for me. Some of the love scenes seemed over the top for me, but I think they were supposed to be. All in all this wasn't a bad book, but it just wasn't one for me. I'd give it a 2 Heart Review.  

Book Review: Demons Prefer Blondes by Sidney Ayers - Win My ARC Copy!

Book Review: Demons Prefer Blondes
By Sidney Ayers
Sourcebooks Casablanca
2.5 Heart Review

A Bad Day For A Demon

Rafe Deleon is a senior demon and he resents like hell his assignment to Earth to retrieve the Chest of the Damned before it falls into the wrong hands. But then he meets beautiful, intriguing succubus Lucy Gregory, and she's just unleashed a whole load of trouble...

Really Sucks For A Succubus

Lucy's chic suburban beauty salon has suddenly become the Underworld's center of mass chaos and destruction. The only good thing in a day going rapidly down the tubes is the arrival of a gorgeous demon who's adamant that he can help her...

But Lucy has quite a few deeply unpleasant – not to mention deadly and hateful – surprises ahead of her, and surely there's never been a worse time to try out a new boyfriend...

Cheeky Summary: This book was a slow start for me. In fact, I almost didn't stay with this story. There were too many WTF moments in which I felt the author was trying to hard to be cool and instead came off totally ridiculous. But I kept with the book mainly because of the side characters who kept my interest much more than the hero and heroine did. The world-building was much more interesting than the love story itself was and I think it’s because I had a hard time getting past those cheesy lines at the beginning of the book.

What I did really enjoy about the book was the very interesting world that Ms. Ayers built. I especially loved the character of Kalli. I will actually pick up any sequels that include Kalli’s story. She was the most interesting character of the book and I found myself wanting to skip the scenes that didn’t include her.

I will say that the book got much better as it went along and got over trying to be cool and settled into a voice that felt much more authentic. Part of me wants the author to rewrite the first few chapters to match the rest!

Again, there were great supporting characters in this book and I really liked the world that unfolded and all the different types of characters and what it might mean for a series of books. I’ll be keeping an eye on new books because really, the only thing off for me was those chapters that felt like they tried to hard to be cute. The rest of the story did enough for me that I’ll give this series another chance.

I’m also interested in what other readers think of this book! So, I’m offering up the ARC I received from Sourcebooks to a commenter for a 2^nd Chance Review. To enter, you must be willing to read the book, and do a short write up for me with your own thoughts. I’ll post the review here on Cheeky Reads.

If that interests you, leave a comment telling me what you love most about paranormal romances or what type of paranormal characters are your favorite! Make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner. I’ll post the randomly selected winner on Wed. the 22^nd!

Book Review: Backstage Pass: Sinners on Tour by Olivia Cunning

Book Review: Backstage Pass: Sinners on Tour
By: Olivia Cunning
Sourcebooks Casablanca
2 Heart Review
HEAT LEVEL: EROTIC ROMANCE
Five Stunning Guys, One Hot Woman and a Feverish Romance...

For him, life is all music and no play...

When Brian Sinclair, lead songwriter and guitarist of the hottest metal band on the scene, loses his creative spark, it will take nights of downright sinful passion to release his pent-up genius...

She's the one to call the tune...

When sexy psychologist Myrna Evans goes on tour with the Sinners, every boy tries to seduce her. But Brian is the only one she wants to get her hands on...

Then the two lovers' wildly shocking behavior sparks the whole band to new heights of glory...and sin...

Right off the bat, I want to say that I've never been a huge fan of musicians as heroes. It's not that I particularly dislike them, but I usually find that they tend to act like assholes. Knowing that, I was really hoping for a book that would present a musician I could cheer for. Backstage Pass wasn't totally it, but it was an entertaining read even if it's not something I would read again. If you are a fan of heroes who rock out, then this book might be much better for you than it was for me.

My main issues with the book were that I just couldn't get into a group of men with groupies and that I found the sexual music trance the hero goes into a little too hard to believe. I'm not an artist by any stretch of the word so I can't know for sure, but I did find it hard to believe that musicians write music while getting it on.

There were also a few sex scenes that I felt were thrown in as extras to make the book go more to the erotic side of romance and I felt the book would have been better without those.

The Sinners are an interesting group of men and since this is the first book in a series we'll see all the men find their true love. The author did do a good job of creating five very different guys that you do wonder how they will turn out and what kind of woman (or man) will be the one to make them change their ways. (Groupies, circle blow-jobs, etc. They really do act like an 80's rock band on tour)

I don't think I'll be reading any more books in the series, but not because it wasn't an interesting read, but because I don't think I would do the author justice to talk about her books when I already know I would have a hard time with the hero.

What about you...Do you enjoy a musicians as a hero? If so, what is it about them you love? If not, what is your favorite hero type or occupation?

Book Review: Fugitive – The Cat Star Chronicles by Cheryl Brooks – 2 Hearts

Book Review: Fugitive – The Cat Star Chronicles
By: Cheryl Brooks
Sourcebooks Casablanca
2 Heart Review
Disclosure: ARC provided by publisher for review

Hunted and in hiding, he'll risk anything to touch her...

Manx is a Zetithian warrior, with a special feline gene that gives him incredible sexual powers. Drusilla's scent drives Manx wild with desire...Coming out of hiding, he's willing to give his life to bring her joy unlike any she's ever known.

Saving his life may be the most dangerous thing she has ever done...

Famous artist Drusilla is on a painting sabbatical when she unwittingly rescues the most fascinating male she's ever seen. But staying with Manx will throw her ordered existence into chaos and mortal danger...

Right up front I want to disclose that this is the very first of the Cat Star Chronicles I've read. I had heard from readers who both loved and didn't like Mrs. Brooks Cat Star books. That's why I thought it was time that I give the series a chance and see if it was for me.

Unfortunately, it's not.

This is a popular series and in reading Fugitive, I can see how the story could find many readers that this would be exactly what they were looking for in erotic romance. The book was written to provide lots of scenes for readers who are really looking for lots of steamy sex.

For me though, I just couldn't get past the idea of Manx being an alien being that had to many cat mannerisms. I've read many books were the hero wasn't exactly human, but usually the heroine isn't totally human either. It was really hard for me to get past thinking of animal sex, which is why this really didn't work for me.

Now, I'll admit it – I love good sex scenes. I'm a fan of erotic romance and don't shy away from graphic scenes. (Though I would like to point out sometimes I just want a sweet romance behind closed doors too.) In this book though, I felt like I was reading the equivalent of a porno script. I didn't feel the romance, instead I read about all the positions and graphic body part descriptions that just weren't sexy to me.

The penis descriptions in this book also made this not a book for me. Yes, it's imaginative and unusual and I think Mrs. Brooks deserves some credit for creating this world and the um, parts of her heroes. They just aren't to my taste. The descriptions are very vivid, so if you are interested in a male member with very unusual functions and sort of powers, then you might like this book and series.

Even if I had been more into this new male species, I still felt this book was lacking in romance. I got the erotica part of the equation, but I felt that the world that was created by Mrs. Brooks makes it almost impossible to have a real romance with any of her heroes. To make my point I'll disclose more about this book than I normally would in my reviews. The hero Manx's juices basically makes females euphorically happy and his cum makes them instantly orgasm. The hero and heroine themselves reflect on how addictive this could be for women and that was my main issue. I felt that there was nothing to the story that showed Drusilla and Manx falling for one another emotionally. Instead, it came across that Drusilla was just addicted to the way that Manx made her feel.

I appreciated the idea that this was a Sci-Fi romance since I feel there are way too few of them. As a Sci-Fi lover I'm always on the lookout for a hybrid space romance. Again, I give Mrs. Brooks credit for creating some some very interesting new planets and creatures and would like to have read about them without the premise of Zetithians who are sexually addictive.

Have you read any of the Cat Star Chronicles? If so, what did you think and please feel free to disagree with me! Also, let me know of any good Sci-Fi Romances you've read lately.

Book Review: So Into You by Sandra Hill

Book Review: So Into You
By: Sandra Hill
Grand Central Publishing
2 Heart Review
Disclosure: Book Provided by Publisher

The Sinner
She's been a nun, poker champion, treasure hunter, and folk healer. Redhead Grace O'Brien thinks life is one grand adventure – until her hunky friend Angel Sabato suddenly declares his love for her. That's one risky business she'll never want a part of, not if she's going to keep her past a secret forever.

The Angel
With heartbroken Angel hightailing it out of town, Grace makes herself busy working with Tante Lulu. Together they agree to help a poor teenage girl who's trying to raise her siblings after Katrina by building them a new house. And Tante Lulu knows the perfect man for the job: Angel!

The Cupid
Angel's decided he's not taking no for an answer from reluctant Grace. Tante Lulu's convinced they need her Cajun style of matchmaking. And Grace has braced herself for a lightening bolt of trouble, one that could jolt her into heartbreak...or straight into Angel's arms.

I wish I had been so into this book, I really wanted to be, but I just couldn't get wrapped up in it. I really liked the characters of Grace and Angel, but I felt that the book didn't spend enough time focused on the two of them together.

The number of secondary characters took away from the main story and seemed to try too hard to set-up a sequel or two. They were all interesting, but there were too many and too much time was spent on them.

The characters of Angel and Grace were seriously awesome and I wish I could have pulled them out of this book and plopped them into a different story.

The character of Tante Lulu was fun, and I enjoyed seeing her through other characters' eyes. What I didn't love was the very thick accent and rambling speech that Sandra gave her. I found myself immediately skimming or skipping paragraphs of her dialogue. That doesn’t help keep me in a story.

Grace's secret and reasoning for not getting close to anyone is very compelling and I applaud Sandra for including a back-story and character that one normally only sees in Women's Fiction. It was nice to see a character with real problems instead of superficial ones.

I was frustrated with this book. Again, I loved the hero and heroine, but hated all the background noise that took away from their story. I wanted to read about them, and not 20 other characters.

If you are in need of something to read, and this book is around then I would say go for it. I wouldn’t say you should rush out to buy it unless you don’t mind a huge cast of characters that don’t add too much to the story.

Damn it. I loved Angel and Grace – can I ask for a do-over? Keep the main characters and toss the rest? Sigh.

Book Review: Dark Legacy By Anna DeStefano

Book Review: Dark Legacy
By: Anna DeStefano
Dorchester Publishing
2 Heart Review as Romance
Disclosure: Book Provided by Dorchester Publishing

“Die!”scream her nightmares. The voice is her sister's, the compulsion stronger than any ordinary dream.

Maddie Temple can't go through this again. Her twin has been in a coma for the last ten years. Their psychic link was severed. At least, that's what she thought.

But there's a lot Maddie doesn't know – about the 200-year-old curse on her family, about the shadowy group that wants to exploit the Temple twins' powers for themselves, about the sexy psychiatrist offering to help her. The only way to find the answers and avoid being pulled into the abyss of madness is to trust her heart and confront her dark legacy.

As many who've read this book have mentioned, this book defies being placed into one genre or another. There is suspense, romance, sci-fi and paranormal elements to this complex story. It's not a traditional romance. If you are looking for something different that is very light on the romance then you might want to check this out.

Although the story takes off right from the start, it was hard for me to get pulled into this book because I just couldn't buy that there was ever anything between Maddie and Jarred before Sarah started influencing Maddie. This makes the risks that Jarred takes throughout the book to be very hard to believe. In my opinion, if you can't see the relationship between Maddie and Jarred, then the rest of the book falls flat.

In fact, I never came to feel deeply for any of the characters and I thought the slight love story that was included didn't have any sparks. Again, I question whether Maddie and Jarred had any real feelings for each other. The relationship seems too forced, probably because of the intensely fast pacing of the story, but it still needed something more for me to buy into the story.

Dark Legacy works much better as a suspense story and I would have enjoyed it more if it had left out the slight try for romance. I really felt the forced romantic elements took away from what was a very well written paranormal suspense. As I mentioned, the pacing is furious as the story unfolds and Anna fills every second with intense scenes and emotions. She keeps the suspense at the highest level throughout the entire book and you race through the story.

But, it left me wanting more. I wanted a more believable romance tied into the story and I hope that the next book provides that. I was also left feeling like I didn't really like any of the characters except Jarred – and even he got on my nerves because I couldn't figure out why he would risk his life for Maddie. The rest of the characters all leave you wondering if they are pure evil, or what they are looking to get out of each other.

This book got a huge amount of hype online and I was so looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, because the romance didn't work for me at all, it clouded how I felt about the book as a whole. Add to that not having any likable characters and this just wasn't a book for me.

If you go into it just for the paranormal suspense and don't always need to relate/connect with characters, then you might be able to enjoy it since the language and pacing are very good.

Guest Review: Plight of the Darcy Brothers by Marsha Altman

The Plight of the Darcy Brothers: A Tale of the Darcys & the Bingleys
By Marsha Altman

Sourcebooks
2 Heart Review

Cheeky Reads is happy to welcome its very first Guest Reviewer Cheeky Girl Lisa! Lisa is a well known lover of the fabulous Jane Austen and so I thought who better to review The Plight of the Darcy Brothers? Please welcome Lisa to Cheeky Reads!

In this lively second installment, the Darcys and Bingleys are plunged into married life and its many accompanying challenges presented by family and friends.

With Jane and Elizabeth away, Darcy and Bingley take on the daunting task of managing their two-year- old children. Mary Bennet returns from the Continent pregnant by an Italian student promised to the church; Darcy and Elizabeth travel to find the father, and discover previously unknown—and shocking—Darcy relations. By the time Darcy discovers that there's more than one sibling of questionable birth in the family, the ever-dastardly Wickham arrives on the scene to try to seize the Darcy fortune once and for all.

I should start out by saying that although I am a serious fan of Jane Austen’s novels, I’m not exactly a Jane Austen purist. If anyone who has a talent for entertaining and compelling writing wants to continue Ms. Austen’s stories about love and life, then that’s fine with me. In the case of The Plight of the Darcy Brothers, however, I have to contend that the story isn’t compelling and is light on entertainment.

Marsha Altman’s talent lies in understanding Jane Austen’s characters well enough to keep their personalities intact – even affording Mr. Bennett and Mr. Darcy a few great lines. Seeing the young family life of the Darcys and the Bingleys provides a few funny moments but from then on its one clumsy reveal after another of predictable scandals and family secrets. Too much time is spent on a sub-plot featuring Caroline Bingley and her doctor husband, while not enough time is given to the ongoing Darcy-Wickham rivalry in spite of a “game-changing” revelation.

By the end of the novel, I felt like I’d just sat through a long episode of one of those campy British sitcoms – complete with a Monk, a Madame, a Prince and a long-running joke about ink-stained children. Not to mention an overly-violent duel that isn’t in keeping with the rest of the novel’s tone.

The Plight of the Darcy Brothers is certainly a light and easy read, but I wouldn’t recommend putting it on your “must-read” list.

(It should be noted that this is the second sequel that Marsha Altman has written. I haven’t read the first, but the second is not written in such away that you’d be lost if you don’t read them in order.)

Thanks Lisa!

So, leave a comment telling us if you've read any Jane Austin sequels or are you a purist who likes to stick to the original- and all it's many movie adaptations? What's your favorite Jane Austin movie and do you like the new modern contemporaries like the Jane Austin Book Club?

Audio Lovin": Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble Audio Version
By Meg Cabot
Ready by: Justine Eyre
Books on Tape
2 Heart Review

So I'm catching up on all the reviews for all the audio books I've been listening to lately. I spent a lot of time in my car driving and was starting to forget all the audio books that had crossed my path. Enjoy and if you don't do the audio book thing, check out my post here about why I think they are the bomb. Yes, I did just totally dork out. :)

Having listened to the audio books of the previous Queen of Babble titles, I was already familiar with the characters and the readers voice and inflection. I think that made this particular audio book easier to get into despite a lead female character who had slightly annoyed me previously.

The gang's all here again, with the hero Luke starting to show his true colors and steady sidekick Chazz suddenly deciding he's loved Lizzie for years. After the very first book, I had high hopes for Luke as a real hero and was disappointed that he turned out to be such a...well...wanker.

Having Lizzie and Chazz come together does work perfectly, but there was something about the ending that left me unsatisfied. It seemed like a bit of a cop-out by Lizzie and by Chazz as neither gets what they had said they wanted. But, I guess compromise is what it's all about.

I really enjoyed the Ava Geck character and would have liked for her to play a bigger par t of the story. The way Ava and Lizzie come together at the end was a nice touch and you could see Ava grow as direct result of Lizzie's influence.

The loss of Lizzie's grandmother was very well done and threaded throughout the story so well that you felt it didn't just serve as a senseless plot twist.

If you've read the other Queen of Babble books, I recommend you read or listen to this one as well. It's a great ending to a story even if this book lacks a little something.

AUDIO LOVIN: Review of Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella

Remember Me
By Sophie Kinsella
Read By Charlotte Parry
Random House Audio
2 Heart Review

I enjoy Sophie Kinsella’s books, and for a bit I had to have every one. Somewhere, probably before Shopaholic & Baby, I lost interest or found someone new and forgot about Ms. Kinsella. So, when I saw the audiobook for Remember Me and saw her name on the cover I thought why not?

When twenty-eight-year-old Lexi Smart wakes up in a London hospital, she’s in for a big surprise. Her teeth are perfect. Her body is toned. Her handbag is Vuitton. Having survived a car accident—in a Mercedes no less—Lexi has lost a big chunk of her memory, three years to be exact, and she’s about to find out just how much things have changed.

Somehow Lexi went from a twenty-five-year-old working girl to a corporate big shot with a sleek new loft, a personal assistant, a carb-free diet, and a set of glamorous new friends. And who is this gorgeous husband—who also happens to be a multimillionaire? With her mind still stuck three years in reverse, Lexi greets this brave new world determined to be the person she…well, seems to be. That is, until an adorably disheveled architect drops the biggest bombshell of all.

Suddenly Lexi is scrambling to catch her balance. Her new life, it turns out, comes complete with secrets, schemes, and intrigue. How on earth did all this happen? Will she ever remember? And what will happen when she does?

For the most part, I enjoyed this audiobook and its quirky tone. As much as the amnesia storyline might seem hokey or generic, Kinsella actually creates a story that leaves you guessing and offers up some new ideas on the subject. Lexi is a likeable character that I wanted to root for, but she quickly begins to irritate me. For some reason, I want her to use her common sense and open her eyes instead of blindly trusting everyone. I want to like her, I really do!

Charlotte’s reading of the book is good, it’s just unfortunate that some of the lines she is forced to read made me want to chuck the CD out the window! I couldn’t get passed her grating out “STOP IT” every other line. I kept wondering why Ms. Kinsella couldn’t have found an alternative phrase every now and again.

This is a cute story that doesn’t end the way you might expect it to. If you need something fun to pass the time this is a good choice. If you are looking for a really great audiobook, this wouldn’t be my first recommendation. I wanted a heroine with more gumption and sass and less blind obedience. I think the audio version of the book might point out the shortcomings in the phrases and Lexi’s characterization more than what might have been evident in the printed book.