Somebody Nice! by Raine O'Tierney
Danny, his (almost adopted?) daughter Melissa and their dog Bunny are a happy family. However, Danny would be happier still if the man he is dating would allow himself to be introduced to his daughter as his boyfriend. Milo, who works at the school Melissa attends as a librarian is painfully shy, and while he is out to his mother, he worries about letting Melissa know he is dating her father. When Melissa asks Milo for help at school, he doesn't expect her to want to create a profile for her father on a dating website so her Danny won't be lonely. This gives Milo the push he needs to take the step of being honest with Melissa and the four of them (can't forget Bunny!) begin spending a lot of time together...until Danny gets the opportunity to switch jobs. He is a cop without a lot of opportunity for advancement until he is offered a job in a related unit that will require a lot of hard work. When he begins to transition to this new job, it takes all of his time but he doesn't communicate with Milo about this or anything else. He simply doesn't communicate with him at all and Milo is left to wonder what happened. Melissa misses Milo and decides to take things into her own hands. This is a free download and is an enjoyable way to spend a bit of time.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Authors A to Z
Read Your Freebies
ebook Reading
New to You
What An Animal
Coming Home by Jay Northcote
Jago returns to his home in the wilds of Cornwall, and is looking forward to catching up with old friends after a term away at university. When he's reunited with Will--his best mate from sixth-form college and last summer's fling--Jago's feelings for him are rekindled and impossible to ignore.
Over the short winter break, Jago can't resist taking whatever Will's offering. But will the New Year bring new beginnings? Or will Jago be left with more bittersweet memories and a heart that needs to heal again?
This is a short--35 pages--free read that is worth the time to download. I quite enjoyed this sweet story in which Jago misses Will, his best friend of two years and boyfriend for three months before Will decided it would be too difficult to deal with a long distance relationship and broke things off before they both went to college. Home on break, Jago is both looking forward to seeing Will and nervous as his feelings are still strong and he doesn't want things to be awkward with Will. Going out with a group of friends helps somewhat but he can't keep from watching Will and wondering if Will still feels anything for him...it is at one such gathering that Jago gets his answer and it is a positive one, however the specter of going back to school after the holiday is hanging over Jago's head. He wants more from Will, a real commitment but doesn't know if that is in the cards. Watching these two reconnect in this short story was a treat.
Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Around the World
Authors A to Z
Contemporary Romance
ebook Reading
New to You
Read Your Freebies
Bookish Bingo
I downloaded this book for free.
A Gentleman by Any Other Name by Kasey Michaels
Old enough to remember his beginning, Chance Becket has spent all of his thirty years trying to forget, hiding his unsavory youth behind a society marriage and a prestigious position with the War Office. But now the widower must confront his past and return to the windswept coast of Romney Marsh...where the ghosts of his childhood still linger.
Newly hired governess Julia Carruthers is delighted to be in charge of Chance's young daughter and eager to escape the confines of London. Yet the excitement of the journey to her employer's strange home is nothing compared to the attraction between them. And when Julia sees something she should not, she wonders if Chance's sudden intentions are prompted by ungentlemanly desires or his need to protect his family's secrets.
When I first began this book I didn't think I would like it but after a bit I became certain I would love it. Then I didn't love it anymore, until I did again. Julia and Chance were delightful together as many of Kasey Michaels's couples are--lots of smart dialogue and both protagonists not particularly happy about their developing feelings for the other while also realizing that there would be nobody more perfect for them. It was the plot involving smuggling that kept me from being able to consistently love the story in the beginning. It was necessary to set up the relationship between Julia and the Becket family as well as allowing Chance to renew the ties to his family that his long absence had left tattered and frayed. But it was serious and I wanted the story to remain light-hearted. Luckily, I was not the one to make the decisions on how the story developed and over time I came to be as deeply invested in the smuggling story line as I was in the romance as both Julia and Chance were so deeply entrenched in the matter that it became one seamless, heart wrenchingly beautiful tale.
Chance and Julia did not have a smooth road to their happy ever after and I found myself pleasantly surprised with how deftly Kasey Michaels wrote the part of Julia. She was able to be sharp tongued and observant while also having to deal with 1811 restrictions towards women. Chance could be cruel in his remarks (mostly unwittingly so) and Julia was hurt by them and yet didn't break. The secondary characters were also very well rounded with everyone having both good and frustrating traits...which is good as this is the first in a series about eight siblings. Too perfect characters would be cookie cutter and boring; not the Beckets all of whom are flawed and not-so-charmingly at that and yet I have no doubt that Kasey Michaels will find a way to redeem them all and make them worthy of rooting for. I strongly enjoyed this book but am waffling on reading the rest of the series which makes for a mixed message. This book was compelling and captivating but not an easy read for me. I can't decide if I would want the next book to be less challenging or if I would want it to be as frustratingly and rewardingly complex as the first.
Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Around the World
Historical Romance
Monthly Mix Up Mania
TBR (retro read for June's criteria)
TBR Pile
TBR Reduction Extreme
Bookish Bingo
Story Sprites
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Gift of Gold by Jayne Ann Krentz
Being a tough taskmaster and a great cook made Verity Ames a success with her Colorado restaurant. And her new employee, Jonas Quarrel, followed her orders to a "T" during the working hours. It was when the day was done that his lazy smile and bedroom eyes threatened to make him the boss who could turn her from a she-cat into a kitten. So hot-tempered Verity taunted him that she would never surrender to a drifter like Jonas, who left a prestigious career as a Renaissance scholar to roam the world. But Jonas suspected the lady protesteth too much. His plan was to tame the shrew by seducing her; crumbling her defenses with nibbles, bites, and kisses; melting her resistance with his fiery passion; and making his love seem like heaven until his hellish past caught up with him. For Jonas had not arrived at Verity's kitchen by accident. She was the key to a chilling secret that had nearly destroyed him. And now he needed to woo her and win her -- even if he endangered both of their lives and broke her heart!
Jonas first saw Verity when she was fleeing from a would-be attacker in a back alley in Mexico. He had followed to assist her if necessary and discovered that his mystery lady had lost an earring in her flight for safety. He picked it up and felt something--a knowledge that she would be important to him. A few months later he has finally tracked Verity down to Sequence Springs where Verity runs a vegetarian restaurant that catered to locals and visitors of a nearby health spa. Jonas responds to Verity's want ad and is hired as waiter, dishwasher and handyman.
Verity is drawn to Jonas and a romantic relationship is developing between them. It is during this time that Verity learns of Jonas's psychometric talent--when Jonas handles antique weapons and artifacts, particularly from the Renaissance period, he is drawn into the past and experiences what the owners experienced. Unfortunately, the more violent the memory the harder it is for Jonas to remove himself and return to the present. It was due to this ability that he had left his roots in historical studies behind and become a drifter.
Verity and Jonas are soon drawn into an intrigue involving an eccentric, and reclusive, artist who has plans of revenge in mind. Unknown to Verity and Jonas they will be playing starring roles in an intricate plot she is planning to take down a figure from her past who had changed her life forever. Verity and Jonas will have to put their complete trust in each other and in Jonas's abilities in order to make it out unscathed. The fact that Verity is able to help Jonas maintain control over his abilities further muddies the waters as Verity cannot be sure why Jonas is with her--is it only for the help she can give him or does he have deeper feelings for her? With all of the danger and intrigue surrounding them, this doubt could prove to be very dangerous for all involved.
This 1988 paranormal romance by Jayne Ann Krentz features the quick witted dialogue and independent female lead that JAK is well know for. Jonas is a wonderful male lead who strikes a delicate balance between "taming" Verity's sharper edges while also enjoying the "little tyrant" aspects of Verity's personality. These two really do prove that sometimes the whole is greater than the parts.
Reading Challenges
Genre Decades
105 Challenge
Color Coded
What's In a Name
Hard Core Re-read
I purchased this book with my own funds.
A Woman's Touch by Jayne Ann Krentz
When Rebecca Wade inherited the land her boss, Kyle Stockbridge, considered his--land that was the object of a centuries old feud--she absolutely refused to sell out. Especially after Kyle almost had her believing he loved her.
Rebecca knew she was facing a modern-day gunfighter, a throwback to the lawless time when men made their own rules in the Colorado wilderness. And despite Kyle's claim that their relationship was independent of the issue between them, she knew that selling the land wouldn't solve all of their problems. For that to happen, Kyle would have to prove his love.
Rebecca enjoys her job as executive assistant to Kyle Stockbridge; he is known as having a bit of a temper but Rebecca hasn't seen a lot of evidence to back that up. Sure he is impatient and tends to micromanage but with her help he has been improving, much to the relief of his other employees. When Becky's feelings begin to develop into something deeper than admiration for her boss, she worries. She has never had an office romance and doesn't want to start now. Unfortunately, Kyle isn't going to take no for an answer and talks Becky into a relationship and then into moving in with him.
This arrangement doesn't last long as Becky finds out why Kyle has been so interested in her...a piece of land that his family has wanted for generations has just been willed to Becky. She leaves to view her inheritance with Kyle following her to Colorado to try to convince Becky to both give him the land and to continue their relationship. Becky also meets the other man who has been involved in the feud over the land and determines that it is time for the feud to stop.
Watching Becky take charge of two headstrong men who are feuding mostly (it seems) because it is what is expected of them is a lot of fun. At no time is the reader unaware that if put to the test Kyle would pick Becky hands down over the land, but Becky isn't as convinced of that as I was. However, at no point did she veer into TSTL or weak-willed woman territory. She always acted with her head held high, and while she was hurt a few times emotionally, she never played dirty or resorted to revenge for revenge's sake. She always acted with EVERYONE's best interests at heart. A real class act who wasn't afraid to confront the dragon (as Kyle was sometimes known) in his own lair.
I laughed out loud a few times during this story which is always a good sign. I would recommend this 1989 classic from Jayne Ann Krentz...it shows why she has enjoyed such longevity in the romance writing industry!
Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades
Bookish Bingo
I purchased this book with own funds.
Man With a Past by Jayne Ann Krentz
Cole Stockton had a will of steel and a raw determination to go after what he wanted -- including Kelsey Murdock. He'd invaded her life, assaulting her with his sensuality, tempting her to be reckless.
She sensed something dangerous about the man -- in the secrets he refused to share, the past that still haunted him, the coiled tension that denied intimacy. For Cole, the past was a closed door. For Kelsey, that meant too many questions and no answers -- the best reason to walk away, before it was too late.
But when a simple business trip turns into a dangerous survival game, she is plunged into a world Cole knows all too well. Now Kelsey must trust that he knows it well enough to keep them both alive.
Kelsey spends much of this book banging her head against Cole's metaphorical walls that he has placed all around his past and worrying that she will be locked in by the literal walls he has surrounding his house in Carmel. Kelsey can't understand how they can have a future without Cole opening up about his past and Cole doesn't understand why Kelsey isn't happy to live in the present.
A cruise seems to be a great way to spend time with Kelsey away from the normal stresses of their lives. When a quick side trip to deliver some papers for Kelsey's company turns violent, Cole can't hide his past anymore. It is at this point that Kelsey decides she doesn't need to know about it any more and that she will be happy to live in the present. Cole decides to worry about her insistence to not talk about the future. Watching these two figure out how to want the same things at the same time was a great way to spend a couple of hours.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades
Literary Pickers
Whirlwind Courtship by Jayne Taylor
When Phoebe Hampton arrived quite by accident at the doorstep of Harlan Garand's mountain cabin, he was less than pleased. Convinced that she was another marriage-minded female sent by his matchmaking aunt, Harlan would have gladly thrown her out. But Phoebe was a damsel in distress, and an attractive one at that, so against Harlan's better judgment he let her stay -- even though she wished she were a hundred miles away!
Grudging host and grudging guest would just have to put up with each other for a few days. After that, they'd never see each other again -- or would they?
Phoebe's rented car broke down on the side of the road and she gladly accepted a ride from a couple of nice farm boys who turned out to be not so nice. First chance she got, she escaped into the woods. After following a stream all night long, Phoebe stumbles, exhausted, onto Harlan Garand's cabin. Unfortunately, Harlan isn't buying Phoebe's story about how she arrived on his doorstep and Phoebe, too tired to argue goes along with Harlan's accusations so she has a place to stay. She knows the two guys who kidnapped her are out there and she can't be sure they won't come after her--Harlan seems like the best bet to get back home to Portland, even if she has to wait a few days until his relaxing weekend vacation is over.
Harlan eventually realizes his mistake and manfully eats his helping of crow. He and Phoebe head back to Portland and that is where the real fireworks start as Harlan has decided that he wants to keep Phoebe and Phoebe is not at all sure she wants to let Harlan go but she does wish he were much less high-handed in his attempts to convince her to marry him. Add in the aforementioned aunt, exes from both sides, an overprotective brother and you have all the ingredients to a really fun romp of a story. This book is from 1980 and is one of Jayne Ann Krentz's (writing as Jayne Taylor) earliest works and it is a fantastic example of her ability to take conventional plot points and turn them on their head. It is books such as this one that remind me why I am such a fan of JAK and the romance genre as a whole.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades Challenge
Bookish Bingo
I purchased this book with my own funds.
