Contemporary/Romance

Review: Gaming for Keeps by Seleste deLaney

June 19, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 6 Comments

Gaming for Keeps
By Seleste deLaney
Publisher: Entangled: Ever After
Publication Date: June 10, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher

Pen Holloway’s done with men—in real life. Guys in game are so much less drama. But when her partner from Heroes of Fallen Gods invites her to the convention of the year, she panics. What if he’s another jerk? What if he’s not? Cal Burrows is living his dream of being a spy. One of TRAIT’s misfit spies, but still a spy. It’s the perfect job… until an arms dealer with a taste for blood invades his not-so-secret geek haven. All Cal wanted from ConDamned was to meet his on-line girl. Now, with the threat of mass murder looming, he’s forced to choose between keeping his mission a secret and protecting the girl of his dreams. Despite their attraction, Pen can’t help but suspect Cal’s hiding something. She also can’t shake the feeling he’s not as much of a stranger as he seems.

Goodreads Summary

Purchase Gaming for Keeps:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBookstore | Kobo

My one and only experience with MMORPG (massively multi-player online role-playing game) came a long time ago and consisted of two days playing World of Warcraft under the very reluctant, exasperated tutelage of my son. Did I say exasperated? I meant that he had a sh*t fit having to explain to his mom how to play, especially in a group (whatever) he was in. It hadn’t been a bonding experience. Since I was such a spectacular failure I admit I’m always a little jealous of people who play so expertly and go to Cons and things, so when I saw the synopsis for Gaming for Keeps, there was no hesitation at all from me.

Megara is a badass rogue with a sizeable arsenal, but thanks to Maksamar, a lax member of her own group, she’s about to die after being attacked by a troll. Fortunately help in the form of her faithful paladin Lohonas is there and with a great sacrifice, she’s saved at the last minute. Megara, Maksamar and Lohanas only exist in a virtual world, their adventures part of a role-playing game, but their actions have begun to reflect the real people behind the avatars. Maksamar is really the dirtbag ex-boyfriend of Pen Holloway (Megara) and Cal Burrows (Lohonas) is interested in meeting up with Pen to see if their sparks in the game will carry over into reality. Understandably, Pen is a little apprehensive about meeting up with Cal in person. He could be an axe murderer, a girl or a teenage boy who lives in his mom’s basement, but Cal finds the perfect place to set her at ease. Gamer nirvana, also known as ConDamned is happening nearby, and they’ll both go – if fate decides it, they’ll meet, no pressure.

The story started getting a little dicey for me when Cal’s job as a sort of geeky second-tier spy was revealed. He has orders to locate someone at ConDamned, jeopardizing his time together with Pen. I thought the whole spy storyline in general was fuzzy and frankly, a little sillier than the story needed – it was already delightfully sly with all of the fun gamer and sci-fi references. There wasn’t enough time in this slight story to fit the romance, the gamer pieces and the spy sections and flesh them out and fit them together properly.

The romance with Pen and Cal played out in a fun way. I don’t want to spoil the way Pen had to go about finding him or the mishaps along the way, but it put a grin on my face more than once. I’ve read deLaney before and have always loved the chemistry she can generate between her characters and she did it again here. Through the humor and the completely bizarre situations, I could see why these two were hot for each other. Pen is a sweet girl, insecure and sassy all at once. I loved that she was right in the gaming community with the guys – a tough place to be if you’ll ask any woman gamer out there. Cal is my idea of a dream man – gorgeous, nerdy brilliant, confident, funny, sexy and sweet. We’d have to discuss that spy thing and all the time he spends online gaming though….

I enjoyed the beginning of the story when it was just Pen and Cal flirting, having fun and making plans to meet at ConDamned. My interest started to wane once the spy plot was added but I still hung in there because Cal and Pen were a great couple and the touches of the gaming community and pop culture references had me smiling and looking for more. Seleste deLaney is a terrific author and I recommend picking up her books – I just didn’t enjoy this one as much as I’d hoped.

My Rating: C

Filed Under: *C Rating, 2013 Ebook Challenge, 2013 Romantic Suspense Challenge, 2013 Standalone Challenge, Contemporary/Romance, Suspense Tagged With: Seleste deLaney

Review and Giveaway: My Life as a Lumberjack by Sara V. Olds

June 17, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 13 Comments

My Life as a Lumberjack or How I Fell for the Wrong Guy(s)
By Sara V. Olds
Publisher: Astrea Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Source: Publisher for Blog Tour

Me, Mercedes Bennion? Working for the US Forest Service? I’ve never thought of myself as the outdoorsy, hard-working type. But one quick glance at those mouth-watering forest rangers and oh, baby, sign this seventeen-year-old up for a whole summer of fresh air, mountains and starry, starry nights!

Goodreads Summary

Purchase My Life as a Lumberjack:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

I think it’s my own fear of insects and sleeping outside that makes me take a second look at YA books that come along about summer camps. I actually was a Girl Scout and did camp successfully, but one year some sort of phobia set in and that was it and I haven’t set foot in a tent since then. I still love reading about them though – I love the friendships that develop over the summer and there are always a million stories to be told.

My Life as a Lumberjack begins with Mercedes “Merck” “Benz” Bennion – she prefers Benz – and her best friend Conor Perry showing up for duty for their new summer jobs with the U.S. Forest Service Youth Conservation Corps. Expecting nerdy dweeb phone recruiter Norm, Benz is blown away when Norse God Norm of the U.S. Forest Service shows up to gather the campers and escort them to camp. The kids are all divided into groups and each group is sent to a different area where something needs to be done each week, setting up new camps and heading home on the weekends.

Since the action was with Benz’s group, the detail the author gave to the jobs they did was really a blast to read. From building corrals, tarring troughs and seeding, I could see it all. I had the best time actually in the camps, when everyone sat around making s’mores, wanting to punch certain people, figuring out how to take showers and mooning over the opposite sex. I think I actually learned how to make an omelet in a plastic bag in boiling water.

Benz was a complete nut and gets in the most ridiculous situations. She’s kind of bratty – I think mostly without meaning to. She has absolutely no filter because she’s just that confident. She flirts a lot with Norm and Dan, Dan the Mountain Man, another Forest Service Ranger she meets and is completely oblivious to situations with other boys going on around her. She’s a serious klutz, which I admire as a fellow member of the Ridiculously Clumsy Club. Conor was absolutely adorable in the way only a jealous guy BFF can be. He’s cranky most of the time, which made me want to hug him. I just love guys like that! The members of Benz’s crew are all awesome, especially Adrienne who turns out to be a little spitfire, yummy Matt who’s always around when Benz is in trouble and the hilariously obnoxious twins David and Keith. I was flipping the pages just to see what on earth these kids were going to be doing next.

It killed me, but I had to take a trim to my rating because there were a couple of places where my credulity was stretched just a little too thin. I had a lot of fun with the story and was willing to let a whole lot of things fly in the name of a great story because they made me laugh, but let’s just say some things read a bit like a teenage girl’s fantasy. Not that that’s a bad thing. It also ended a little more abruptly than I’d have liked. I wanted more time to savor Benz’s happiness and maybe see some plans for later. I didn’t want the story to end.

This was just flat-out fun and diverting and would be a perfect light summer read. It would take some heavy persuasion to get me to go hiking, let alone camping, so it was great to hang out with the YCC. I loved the camaraderie that developed in Benz’s crew and the way their group and Conor’s turned into a big dysfunctional family by the end of the summer. As the summer came to a close, I had to believe everyone was coming back next year and they’d fall back into their friendships because it was just that good.

It doesn’t matter how many times I remind myself not to judge a book by its cover, I still get a little revved up by a pretty one. Those cute purple hiking boots had me hoping for a fun story and My Life as a Lumberjack or How I Fell for the Wrong Guy(s) delivered one. I loved it from beginning to end, along with every scratch, bug bite, swoon, undercooked pancake, bedhead, blister, leaking tent and camp crush in between. Sequel, sequel!

My Rating: B+

About the author:

Sara V. Olds has been telling stories for as long as she can remember. One of her favorite memories is of unfolding a tale for friends while they were all bundled in sleeping bags watching a comet shower in the Uintah Mountains.
Mother of three: Large, Medium and Small, she welcomes her newest role, that of mother-in-law.

Life has taken her from thither to yon and back again—she’s moved 22 times during her marriage. She breathes to travel. Longs to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a horse. Is an addictive reader. Enjoys swimming, skiing, violin and movies. Wonders if she’ll ever get to SCUBA dive again. And has found a calling that fulfills her in ways she never could have imagined—teaching history to—wait for it—8th Graders.

Her stories consume her. There’s nothing she’d rather do than spend all day, all night and the next day conversing with her latest set of characters. History, adventure, action, romance, humor. Adults, YA and kids. Yep, she does it all. Looking for something to enjoy on a quiet rainy afternoon? Or wanting a pulse-pounding, stay up all night turning pages adventure? Or a you’ve-GOT-to-be-kidding romp? You’ll find them in her pages.

Connect with Sara:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Sara is holding a tour-wide giveaway for 5 ebook copies of My Life as a Lumberjack (open to international entries). Good luck!

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Filed Under: *B Rating, 2013 Contemporary Challenge, 2013 Ebook Challenge, 2013 Standalone Challenge, Barbara Recommends, Contemporary/Romance, Giveaway, Young Adult Tagged With: Sara V. Olds

Review and Giveaway: Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze #3) by Sherryl Woods

June 3, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 7 Comments

Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze #3)
By Sherryl Woods
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Netgalley

With her two younger sisters heading for the altar, will Samantha Castle exchange old dreams for new ones? Lately she’d rather be on the North Carolina coast with family than in New York with agents and actors. Though she vows not to let her teenage crush on Ethan Cole influence her decision, it’s hard to ignore her feelings for the local war hero.

Ethan lost more than his leg in Afghanistan. He lost his belief in love. Even being surrounded by couples intent on capturing happily-ever-after won’t open this jaded doctor’s heart. It’s going to take a sexy, determined woman—one who won’t take no for an answer.

Goodreads Summary

Purchase Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze #3):
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Also available in ebook format at most retailers

I started Woods’ Ocean Breeze series because of my fondness for this particular author and I’m ending it with my love for series romances centered around families and places rejuvenated. Each of these books can be read as a standalone, but they tell a much better story when read in order as a series since there’s an overall story arc. You also don’t want to miss a triple helping of Boone’s steaks, Castle burgers or warm chocolate doughnuts, do you?

After successfully “helping” her other two granddaughters find their happily ever afters, Cora Jane Castle is finally getting the chance to work more of her matchmaking magic with the entire family gathering in Sand Castle Bay for Emily’s wedding. Oldest granddaughter Samantha is still unattached and at a set of crossroads in her life – a perfect time for her to fall in love as far as Cora Jane is concerned. She’s even got the target picked out: Dr. Ethan Cole, someone Samantha had a crush on in high school.

As soon as Samantha gets there, the scheming starts. Cora Jane, Emily and Gabi do everything they can to get Samantha alone with Ethan. Since the last thing this group is capable of being is subtle, the pair know they’re being shoved together and they try to lower any expectations of a grand romance. Ethan isn’t interested in being anyone’s match, even the lovely Samantha’s. When he came back from fighting in Afghanistan as an amputee, his fiancée ruthlessly broke his heart and he’s too cynical to think he’s going to have a happily ever after with anyone. Samantha is attracted to Ethan, but he keeps coming up with excuses not to be alone for very long with her so she tries to keep things light and casual.

Samantha’s career as an actress was never blazing, but it’s definitely fizzling now. When she comes back to Sand Castle Bay for the wedding, she doesn’t tell anyone how bad it is, but she’s ready for a change and romance. Ethan’s kind of a hard case though – he’s emotionally scarred, vulnerable and completely averse to smooching, which she keeps pestering him to do. Their romance is a very, very slow starter – they talk a lot and negotiate a lot before getting down to the really swoon-worthy things.

I didn’t feel as strongly about Samantha as I did about Emily or Gabi. Emily had the first book without anyone else’s story in the way, so she was easy to define. Gabi had a big personality and a big issue book, so she was easy to define. Samantha is a relatively easygoing person who didn’t come across as having a deep burning passion for her career like her sisters’ do, no tormented love life or any other unusual history for me to pin any attachment onto. She’s a nice beautiful woman at loose ends with her career and a meddling family trying to fix her up with a guy with giant issues. Ethan seemed like a really quiet guy that needed someone to spike his punch. I don’t mean that in a not-nice way, just that he seemed so caught in a rut and serious that I couldn’t help but hope that when Samantha really got ahold of him, she loosened him up.

Sea Glass Island isn’t just Ethan and Samantha’s story, but it also finishes all three Castle sisters’ romances. Emily and Boone are having their giant wedding finally, Gabi and Wade are enjoying their new life together and making plans and now Samantha is back and thinking about making a future with Ethan. I didn’t think there was a lot of romance in Gabi and Wade’s book, but they’re so adorable here! I love both of them and Gabi is a lot of fun. Emily on the other hand – ugh. Emily is not a pleasant bride-to-be. I enjoyed her book and thought it was probably the most romantic of the three and still think she and Boone are the most swoony, but she was just horribly whiny and terrible to her sisters. The guys are fantastic, all of them – Boone is still my favorite, and now along with Ethan I got to add his medical clinic partner Greg, who was hilarious.

Samantha and Ethan’s story wrapped up perfectly, in a way that only this particular series could have. I admit to laughing a little over the last several pages. I enjoyed my time in Sand Castle Bay and look forward to seeing where Woods is heading to next.

My Rating: A-

Click on the covers to read my reviews of Sand Castle Bay (Ocean Breeze #1) and Wind Chime Point (Ocean Breeze #2)

Harlequin MIRA is offering a complete paperback set of the Ocean Breeze series (Sand Castle Bay, Wind Chime Point, Sea Glass Island) to two lucky winners (US/Can). Just fill in the Rafflecopter!

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About Sherryl Woods

With two other careers to her credit before becoming a novelist and four states in which she’s lived for extended periods of time, Sherryl Woods has collected friends and memories, along with way too much unnecessary junk.

“The friends are the only things I’ve brought with me through the years that really matter,” she says. “I could probably live without one more chintz teacup, another tin-litho sandpail or another snowglobe, but I need those friends.”

Author of more than 100 romance and mystery novels, Sherryl Woods grew up in Virginia. Over the years she had lived in Ohio and Florida, as well as California. Currently she divides her time between Key Biscayne, Florida and Colonial Beach, Virginia, the small, river-front town where she spent her childhood summers.

A graduate of Ohio State University School of Journalism, Sherryl spent more than ten years as a journalist, most of them as a television critic for newspapers in Ohio and Florida. For several years she also coordinated a motivational program for the more than 8,000 employees at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

Her first book, RESTORING LOVE, was published in 1982 by Dell Candlelight Ecstasy under the pseudonym of Suzanne Sherrill. Her second book, SAND CASTLES, under the pseudonym of Alexandra Kirk, was published later that same year by Bantam. She began using her own name when she moved to the Second Chance at Love line at Berkley Publishing. In 1986, she began writing full-time and also began her long career at Silhouette Books with the Desire title NOT AT EIGHT, DARLING, set in the world of television which she covered for so many years.

In addition to her more than 75 romances for Silhouette Desire and Special Edition, she has written thirteen mysteries — nine in the Amanda Roberts series and four in the Molly DeWitt series.

When she’s not writing or reading, Sherryl loves to garden, though she’s not at her best on a riding lawn mower. She also loves tennis, theater, and ballet, even though her top spin has long since vanished, she’s never set foot on a stage, and she’s way too uncoordinated to dance. She also loves baseball and claims anyone who’s ever seen Kevin Costner in “Bull Durham” can understand why.

Biography courtesy of SherrylWoods.com

Filed Under: *A Rating, 2013 Ebook Challenge, Barbara Recommends, Contemporary/Romance, Giveaway Tagged With: Sherryl Woods

Review: Just My Luck (Shamrock Falls #3) by Kelley Vitollo

June 1, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 1 Comment

Just My Luck (Shamrock Falls #3)
By Kelley Vitollo
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
Publication Date: June 10, 2013
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher

Her friend. Her boss. Her husband?

Betsy Harris has always known Jace Macnamara was off-limits. Not only is he a close friend, he also happens to be her boss—making him doubly forbidden. Betsy’s too timid to ever admit her crush, nor ‘fess up to the fact that she’s secretly drowning in her mother’s medical bills.

Jace just found out he needs a wife and needs one now. His childhood home—the last reminder he has of his deceased” parents—can only become his if he gets married, but Jace, ever the playboy, never dreamed of settling down for real. Neither Betsy nor Jace wants to ruin their friendship when their fake marriage inevitably ends, so they vow to keep things light, professional, easy. But as Betsy comes out of her shell, Jace begins to see his “wife” for the beautiful, caring woman she is. Can he risk their past for a future together?

Goodreads Summary

Add Lucky Break (Shamrock Falls #1) to your shelf | Add Luck of the Draw (Shamrock Falls #2) to your shelf

Pre-order Just My Luck (Shamrock Falls #3):
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBookstore

It didn’t take me too long to decide to read Just My Luck – it’s from Entangled’s Bliss line, which I love, features a marriage of convenience between friends, which is in my top 5 favorite tropes and it’s written by Kelley Vitollo, who writes new adult fiction as Nyrae Dawn, an author I enjoy. I had a muggy, rainy afternoon, my air-conditioning set to 68 degrees and my 64 oz. insulated mug of sweet tea by my chair (hey, it’s how I roll) – it was perfect for sitting back and enjoying the book.

First things first – this is the third book in a series, but I had no trouble reading it as a standalone. The two couples from the earlier books appear here and there are passing references to their stories, but nothing that made me feel like I had to have read their books to know what was going on. They’re a fun bunch though and I want to read their books!

Betsy Harris is a perfect legal secretary for Jace Macnamara. She practically knows what he’s thinking before he does, she’s the most dependable person he knows and if she has a little unrequited crush, well, he’s not the kind of guy who’s going to hurt her. When his grandfather dies and makes getting married for six months a stipulation for inheriting his childhood home, Jace is torn between asking the one person who will understand this needs to be all business, but is the same person who’ll be devastated if their relationship is ruined by this – Betsy.

Betsy is going through a lot of personal drama of her own at the time and was really in a prime position for Jace to make his proposition to her. She has a long-term responsibility of her own that she’s afraid to tell Jace about and not only is it expensive, it wears on her emotionally. Later on, I understood more about why it was such a big deal, but during the story, I wanted to smack her over the head with my shoe and tell her to just tell Jace about things! It wasn’t like he was a stranger. Ditto to Jace! He knew she had feelings for him so it wasn’t like he couldn’t confess a thing or two to her. Thwap, thwap, thwap. Then they went and made me cry and I felt bad about beating them with my shoe.

Unfortunately, as much as I liked them and sniffled over them, a lot about Jace and Betsy was familiar. Betsy was shy, blushing and virginal, didn’t know she was attractive and had an unrequited crush on her boss. Jace was a rich boy who lost his parents when he was young and only had superficial relationships with people because he never knew if they liked him for himself or his money. There were things about both of them that still engaged me – Betsy’s unexpected love of sports, Jace’s close relationship with his late grandfather’s wife Debbie and the bonds they both had with their friends – but it was difficult for me to break them out of the “Stereotype” mold once I put them there in my head. Their romance was slow, soft and sweet rather than hot and passionate, which is perfectly normal for the Bliss line not to mention normal for their situation. I did like that Jace respected the totally mixed signals Betsy was sending him and kept things light for her.

I couldn’t help but feel like this wrapped up a little too suddenly and neatly for the drama that had been building, and as a result of that and the issues I had with the characters, this was a rare miss from this particular imprint from Entangled for me. I still had my tissues out several times, but it was because of the sobby spots in the story that may have tugged my heart with other characters too. I love the way Vitollo writes – it’s perfectly clean and funny, with smooth dialogue and an effortless sense of affection between characters. I’m still going to go grab the other two books in the series because I liked the characters and they sound like they have interesting stories too – and let’s face it, this is a terrifically priced line. I just wished this book would have been more for me.

My Rating: B-

Filed Under: *B Rating, 2013 Ebook Challenge, Contemporary/Romance Tagged With: Kelley Vitollo

Review: Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

May 29, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 12 Comments

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)
By Katie McGarry
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Source: Netgalley

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

Goodreads Summary

I read Dare You To a bit ago, when Netgalley first approved my request to read the title, but thought I’d play it cool, let all of the week-before, release day and week-of-release reviews get out and maybe do mine that next week or so. Then I read it again and decided to hell with it, it gets done now! I can’t keep my fingers still that long and…just because. I adored Pushing the Limits – it was easily one of my top five books of 2012, but when I saw that Beth was going to be the MC for this book, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to enjoy it. McGarry did a great job of making me hate her and I really couldn’t see how she was going to make me love her.

Beth Risk has a strung out, deadbeat mother with an abusive, son of Satan boyfriend, and she’s been responsible for taking care of her for years. On one violent night, that all changes and the uncle that had been gone since she was a little girl sweeps in to save her when her mom betrays her. The price? Moving in with him, living by his rules and giving up the friends and life she’s built. If she refuses, the consequences are more than Beth wants to pay.

So Beth moves into his perfect, expensive house with his perfect, expensive wife and her reaction to it all is a giant, “F*ck you.” She’s got a bad past with her Uncle Scott and now he can reap the rewards and suck it up. He says wants her in all of her bitchy glory and that’s what he’s getting. She won’t count on him blackmailing her or sticking her with the pretty boy from next door to “show her around” this hick town, the same pretty boy who actually hit on her as a dare from his jock friends. If there’s anything worse than dorks, it’s jocks and this guy is a prime example.

As the star pitcher for the high school team, Ryan Stone has an image to uphold and part of it is playing along with the crazy dares that his teammates come up with. He never dreamed that the smartass skater chick who didn’t give him her number was Scott Risk’s niece, but having the chance to show her around school gives him the perfect opportunity to up the dare and prove to the guys he’s still got it. When he starts liking Beth – really liking Beth, the dare and his entire life get more complicated.

Ryan is always pushing Beth for more answers about herself, right from the beginning, and in one way it drove me a little nuts. It kept dragging up her past which started me crying, so I pretty much spent the entire book in tears. Tears from Beth’s past, tears from Beth’s present, tears from Beth and Ryan’s back and forth relationship, tears from this and that. I had some happy tears once in a while but my god, I went through so many Kleenex reading this, it was insane. If there was anything I don’t like about the book, this was it. I felt like I’d gone through the wringer when I was done but I’m not sure the happy parts balanced out with the horrible parts.

Well, McGarry did what I thought she wouldn’t be able to and made me like Beth. By showing me her past and her loyalty to her friends and even her rotten mother, I saw what a giant heart she hid under a foul-mouthed, closed-off exterior. I knew why she kicked people away and my heart broke for her even as I wanted to scream at her to knock it off. I loved the glimpses of the sweet girl she could be and the passionate side of her she let fly with Ryan. Whenever things went wrong with him, I wanted to reach into my Kindle and handcuff the two of them together and yell at them to work it out, already. Ryan was a sweet, uncomplicated jock on the surface, but so much more underneath. His family put a capital D on dysfunctional, but I’d known so many dads like his – obsessed with the game, pushing their kids to fulfill their own dream. I loved that Ryan never thought less of Beth because she couldn’t be one of the “perfect girls,” and he respected her. He was so romantic too – the rain in the cologne bottle scene – *sigh*.

There are some great supporting characters that really fill in the story and make it wonderful. Scott is a big part of Beth’s background, fills in a lot of holes and I really liked him. Beth’s best friend Lacey, who she knew when she was a little girl, is awesome, and some of the guys on Ryan’s baseball team were fun and just…guys, you know? How could I finish without mentioning Isaiah and Noah? They both are here and important – and broke my heart too. I don’t want to say much, but Isaiah and Beth together again was agony. I love them both so much.

McGarry has this insane ability to take a basic story – troubled girl meets seemingly perfect guy with his own issues simmering beneath the surface – and fill it with characters and situations that tear you apart, before she weaves the story back together into something imperfect but still beautiful. Are they realistic? No. Do I wish that she’d tone down the rollercoaster a little bit before she gives me a heart attack? Yeah, a little bit. Do I think McGarry’s brilliant and am I going to tackle anyone that gets in my way of her next book? You betcha.

My Rating: A

Filed Under: *A Rating, 2013 Contemporary Challenge, 2013 Ebook Challenge, Contemporary/Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: Katie McGarry

Review: Desire by Design by Paula Altenburg

May 18, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 12 Comments

Desire by Design
By Paula Altenburg
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
Publication Date: May 13, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher

He stole her job, and now she’s stealing his heart.

Eve Doucette finally almost has it all. She’s free from her mistake of an ex-husband and just landed her dream job: project manager for a new City Hall and drafter of the final design. That is, until a handsome architect sweeps into town to commandeer her blueprints.

Famous architect Matt Brison is unsatisfied with his mundane life in Toronto. So when the mayor of Halifax asks him to spearhead his City Hall project, Matt jumps at the opportunity. There’s just one problem: the feisty and beautiful project lead, Eve, who isn’t exactly thrilled about her new “coworker” hijacking her design.

But when the sparks begin to fly, they both find themselves falling for the colleague they shouldn’t want. And before they know it, their already shaky foundation might come crumbling down…

Goodreads Summary

Whether I want it to or not, my reading seems to go in one direction or another that I often don’t notice until I look back on a week or so of reviews and books read on my Kindle. I’ve been on an adult contemporary romance kick lately – my personal buying choices have ranged from meh to ugh and it’s been a little disheartening. Being offered a title from Entangled’s Bliss imprint was like getting to pick the first chocolate in the box of adult contemporaries – I know what I’m going to get and I know I’m going to like it, it just depends on how much. Desire by Design was chocolate-covered toffee crunch – yummy.

Eve Doucette is the project manager for Sullivan Construction, the company handling the new city hall project and while she doesn’t have a formal degree, her draftsman skills have been highly regarded on past jobs. She’s worked up a design for this one and expects to be able to present it to the mayor sometime before she kills him for trying to mess with her budget, but that dream goes out the window with the arrival of his nephew, hotshot architect Matt Brison. Mayor Bob already gave the design job to Matt, whose sleek modern style isn’t what Eve had in mind for her lovely Nova Scotia town.

Following a cute meet-cute that’s a great indication of Altenburg’s sense of humor, the sparks flew between this unconventional couple. There’s no insta-love, and although the book isn’t long enough to let things percolate forever, Eve and Matt still take their sweet time working around each other’s prickly spots. Eve in particular has a lot of issues – as a woman in what’s typically a man’s job, she’s developed an aggressive exterior over what was already a tough hide from her weird family and a rotten first marriage. I sympathized with her, I really did – she kept getting knocked down as person after person hinted that she failed to meet their expectations, but she just got up again. It was frustrating that she kept Matt in the dark so long about her issues with her ex-husband Claude, but I might have done the same thing. I loved that she threw a punch just as well as any guy, not that I’m going to start enjoying heroines beating people up or anything. For this particular heroine though, it worked – Eve was a firecracker and I wanted her to be as physically able to take anyone on as she was intellectually.

I’m not normally a fan of beta heroes and I’m not sure if Matt was all beta, but he was close. He was a nice guy, a good complement to Eve’s storminess. I liked that he wasn’t a pushover for her but that he gave her space, made her come to him then pounced on her – then they repeated the process. It was a nice changeup, having the guy in the book being more in touch with his feelings than the woman, and I can’t believe I just wrote that, by the way. Feely Book Guys aren’t for me usually, but Altenburg made Matt really sexy in a cute, wish-he-was-my-boyfriend, way.

At some point, when I reach a certain number of books I’ve read from the Bliss line that I’ve loved, my reviews will consist entirely of, “Bliss – loved it, go for it.” Or maybe I’ll rate them just based on a box of chocolates and which ones are my top five or something, since none have been less than good. When I’m just in a blah mood, need something sweet and uncomplicated, I pick one of these up and am guaranteed a good story. Altenburg’s Desire by Design was fun, sexy and had some serious moments that made me sad for one of the characters, but ended with such a sweet note, I pulled out a Kleenex. This is a keeper for me and I recommend it if you’re in the mood for an adult contemporary romance.

My Rating: A