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The Andersen Ancestry by Addie J King

“We should do something good before something bad happens.” 

I couldn’t help but glance into the backseat as I approached the Escalade just to be sure there wasn’t some kind of magical voodoo witch doctor faerie being thingy lying in wait to disintegrate our bodies and eat our life essence. 

That happened to me earlier this week. Well, to be honest I don’t think I even looked at the title when I picked up the book to read it, merely chose it because of the synopsis on the back. Yet when I went to put the novel on my list of books read I did a double take, as there was no way the title fit the book.

The story line was about a widow/single mother falling in love again, but the title… it was pure teen romance. If someone had told me that title and I’d known nothing of the novel, I would have thought it was Young Adult or perhaps of the latest genre New Adult. It just gave an instant connotation of young love.

I know sometimes it is the author who picks the title and sometimes it is the publishing company (see The Writing Life‘s peak into title selection), but I do not comprehend how anyone could think that title was fitting for this book. It is almost like it was accidentally assigned to the novel, as though there had been a mix-up of files, and the title was actually meant to be on a different story. There could be a paperback out there, a young romantic tale of someone’s first time falling in love sporting a title like “Their New Beginning” or “A Second Chance at Love” or some such.

Has that ever happened to you? You read a book and wonder what the heck were they thinking when it came to the title?

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
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Share two (2) “teaser” sentences (or more).

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Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole

I got struck by this bolt of lightning, and, voila, I was able to kill a dozen demons. Did the lightning hurt? No, it felt great. Like a hug from someone you’d really missed.

Tonight’s activities? Slew demons in horrific blood-bath, got shot at by vampires with machine guns, had a mad car chase through a swamp. Found out who –and what– my birth mother was. Learned about a secret world existing side by side with our own… too much to take in. 

Recently I had the pleasure of editing yet another of Marie Landry’s novels. About two month’s ago I was part of the cover reveal, but now I’m here to announce her book is now available. I have to say Marie’s work is always fabulous, and with each book her talent improves. This is a great book you won’t want to miss!

WAITING FOR THE STORM

Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her beloved mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved. 

After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…

Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17258025-waiting-for-the-storm

Synopsis:

Product: The book I acquired from the library is a trade paperback; its size makes it difficult to hold comfortably in one hand and is a bit on the floppy side. There also seems to be a slight error in that the half-title page happens after the prologue, which may cause a reader to miss where the story actually starts.

Plot: I’d read this book previously a few years back so the storyline wasn’t a surprise to me, but I do love a tale that empowers women so it is fascinating to read about a lady captain in the mid-1800s.

Location: The prologue is set entirely at sea on a ship, while the remainder of the novel takes place in Maine, England, and the ocean in-between.

Character: Brandon and Sunny Hawkesbury, the Duke and Duchess of Briscoe, make an appearance in this second novel of the Kensington Chronicles. They are friends of Dallas Knight and try to help protect Smokey from the pirate who wants to kidnap her.

Point of View: The majority of this novel is told from the perspectives of Smokey and Dallas, with minor detours into the outlook of various friends and family of the pair.

Romance: It is rather lowering to know that Dallas only becomes interested in Smokey once he learns she owns the Aramis, prior to that he gives her little notice because she is not strikingly beautiful, well dressed, or comfortable in social settings. He does, however, fall in love with who she is as a person, a very competent sea captain, thus redeeming himself to both Smokey and the reader.

Ponderings: Kathleen’s mother wants Captain Knight for a son-in-law and advises her daughter that the way to catch a man is to be “slightly dull in a cute sort of way, and helplessly dependent on him”. Sadly, this idea is still somewhat prevalent today as it is often seen in various forms of entertainment that ditzy blond cheerleaders get dates with the handsome athletes, rather than drama club geeks or the debate team nerds.

Memorable Moment: Smokey is captured as part of the pirate’s plot to acquire Smokey and her ship, but Smokey still tells her “roommate” that God did not desert her, as she will always be free because Jesus died for her sins. Smokey’s worst days became the beginning of Aggie’s journey to salvation, because there is never a time not to share Christ’s love.

Quote: We have a God who loves to give us the desires of our heart.

The Verdict: This novel was just as enjoyable, if not even more so, that the previous Kensington Chronicles novel. It is a cross between a sea-adventure, a romance, and a suspense novel. I have said it before, and I will say it again: Lori Wick is a fabulous author who is not to be missed.

1. What did you recently finish reading?

2. What are you currently reading?

3. What do you think you’ll read next?

I am finished reading “English as a Second Language” by Megan Crane
I am reading “The Pregnancy Test” by Erin McCarthy
I am next reading “You Don’t Know Jack” by Erin McCarthy

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences (or more).

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!!!

Entranced by Nora Roberts

“It was easier to convince the FBI to cooperate than it is you.”

His mother once told him that love was more painful, more delightful, and more unstoppable when it came unexpectedly. How right she had been.

She was tough, argumentative, prickly and radically independent. Hardly seductive qualities in a woman.

Synopsis:

Writing Style: The story began wonderfully, full of detail and building anticipation for the success of Big John and Ellen. It wasn’t until the final chapter that the story went from showing to telling. It would have been best to have an epilogue of some years down the line that hinted at what happened, rather than give a brief overview of things.

Cover: The artwork shown is for the compilation of two stories by Diana Palmer, and is much more aesthetically pleasing than the original single title novel (which can be found via a Google search) that is around a decade old.

Setting: The novel takes place in Texas while ranches were being built before towns started popping up. It is the history of what will become known as Jacobsville in some of Diana Palmer’s later novels.

Plot: The story is a much-used idea of a marriage arranged for business reasons, but rather than being set in regency England, it is set in the Wild West. Also, before the pair is wed, they realize that they like each other and actually want to marry. The daily happenings of a growing ranch may have been ordinary if it wasn’t for Ellen and the unusual (for the times) ranch help.

Character: Camilla Ellen Colby makes a splash with her first appearance in the novel. She may be not much to look at, but her personality makes up for it. While Ellen wasn’t cut out to be a northern-bred lady, she is pure Texan. Ellen gains independence with her marriage and soon learns to ride, shoot, run a cattle ranch, and founds a ladies clothing store.

Romance: This marriage of convenience was arranged between the prospective husband and wife, rather than the suitor and father. John wanted to be honest with Ellen, which she appreciated, and they decided that they would mutually benefit from the relationship and had a growing attraction to each other. Before the wedding they became friends, and soon after the wedding they knew they were in love.

Quote: “Please excuse me. I am in the middle of important work.” She lifted her chin and added deliberately, “My father’s dog is having her bath.”

The Verdict:  While the ending is a let down, the rest of the story is interesting. It is a good way to learn the beginnings of Jacobsville, which many of Diana’s other novels are set in, should you wish to.

1. What did you recently finish reading?

2. What are you currently reading?

3. What do you think you’ll read next?

I am finished reading “The Cinderella Rules” by Donna Kauffman
I am reading “Off Kilter” by Donna Kauffman
I am next reading “Bad Boys in Kilts” by Donna Kauffman

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly

Kate Appleton did not appear to be a believer in the theory of leverage, in that he had it and she did not.

Kate glanced at the serrated bread knife in her hand. Great. She’d have to saw the prowler to death.