Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

RITA Reader Challenge: How a Cowboy Stole Her Heart by Donna Alward

This review was written by Lindlee. This story was nominated in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category.

The summary: Clay Gregory's known Megan Briggs her whole life, and he's been plenty worried about her while she's been getting medical treatment. Now she's back home and hiding away on the family ranch. Knowing the stubborn cowgirl won't accept his help willingly, he invites her to a family wedding to help him avoid his aunt's matchmaking! He plans to remind Meg she's still the girl who can beat him in a horse race! But as she steps out in her curve-hugging red dress, her skills on a horse are suddenly the furthest thing from his mind….  

And here is Lindlee's review:

How a Cowboy Stole Her Heart starts when Megan returns home after going into remission from breast cancer. She lived in Calgary, a few hours away from home, while she was undergoing treatment. Coming back is difficult, but it is during this time that Clay and Megan’s friendship turns… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge: The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley

 This RITA Reader Challenge review was written by Jenn. This book is nominated in the Best Historical Romance category.

The summary: Cameron Mackenzie is a man who loves only horses and women - in that order - or so his mistresses say.

Ainsley Douglas is a woman with a strong sense of justice and the desire to help others - even if that means sneaking around a rakish man's bedchamber.

Which is exactly where Cam finds her - six years after he caught her the first time. Only then, she convinced Cam she was seeking a liaison, but couldn't go through with it because of her husband. Now a widow, she's on a mission to retrieve letters that could prove embarrassing to the queen. Cam has no interest in Ainsley's subterfuge, but he vows to finish what they started those many years ago. One game, one kiss at a time, he plans to seduce her. And what starts out as a lusty diversion may… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge: Flawless by Lara Chapman

This RITA Reader Challenge review is from Kristi Davis. This book is nominated in the "Best YA Romance" category for the RITAs this year. 

The summary: Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She's got killer blue eyes, gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There's just one tiny-all right, enormous-flaw: her nose. But even that's not so bad. Sarah's got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame.

On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it's like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do-she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking? 

And here is Kristi's review:  

Rocky Mountain Desire by Vivian Arend

I said out loud twice while reading this book, "This is the least erotic erotic romance. No one's having any sex." Hubby thought I was nuts, but while the story was friendly and sometimes very sweet, there was not much erotic content, in my opinion. If you're looking for explicitness, this is not the Canadian equivalent of small-town, large-family cowboy erotic romance (Lorelei James, for example).

I liked this book, but I was expecting erotic romance, so I came away disappointed.

For example: the cover and the description sent me a message that There Be Lots of Sex In This Book yo.

Moving in Rhythm by Dev Bentham

I first encountered this book when I noticed a conversation on Twitter about the main character, Mark. I don't even remember who was talking about it - it might have been CheekyReads or Smexybooks or both - but something in the conversation caught my attention, and when I read the description, I felt like I'd been waiting for this book and didn't know I had been. This is a character I couldn't wait to read about. A hero who looks like an alpha, but is terribly, wrenchingly shy? A quiet and honorable guy who looks like a giant, muscly alpha male but is really not?

Sweet fancy Mom Jeans, I wanted to read this book so badly I can't even tell you. Then I read it in mid-February and had to WAIT to review it because I knew the degree of squee might run up against the Not on Sale Yet-ness and piss people off.

So this book is on sale, now, and I really enjoyed it, and I hope you'll try it and let me know what you think… read more »

Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton

I really wanted to like this book. And there were moments when I was charmed by the heroine and laughed at her descriptions of people. But the book suffered because of an arrogant presumptuous hero, and a severe reliance on cliche.

Jenna Riley runs the family sports bar, and says she hates sports. Well, she says she hates sports but then, a chapter or so later, says she doesn't - she only means that she wants a guy who doesn't play sports so she doesn't have to live her work life at home. So professional sports players, a good third of whom are probably related to her, are off the menu. And of course the guy who has her panties most in a twist is a hockey player, who, with his fellow hockey players, hangs out at the Riley sports pub.

Let me tell you, Jenna's family is the most amazing family genetic pool ever. Not since Archie Manning's testicles… read more »

Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer - A Guest Review by CarrieS

CarrieS reviewed this book after reading it twice, and her review after the second reading was fascinating: 

I was looking for books to review and I thought, “Hey!  Wild Ride is out on paperback and it’s a new release to the large contingent of people who won’t buy a book until it’s in paperback (me).  Also, I haven’t reviewed a fantasy or paranormal in a while.  Plus it has great geek cred since it lists Joss Whedon in the acknowledgments page.”.  Then time passed, and eventually this book was no longer a new release to anybody.  But, I’m reviewing it anyway, because I had a pleasant surprise when I read it for the second time.  The first time, I expected a Romance Novel and I was disappointed.  The second time, I read it on its own merits and had a total blast.  So, if you passed this book up the first time around, or if you tackled it and were let down, give it another shot, but be prepared for it to diverge from a standard romance novel.

The… read more »

Truths and Roses by Inglath Cooper

I found this book because of a Facebook ad. If you follow me on Twitter or are subscribed to the SBTB Facebook page, you saw me talking about it yesterday. Here's the ad:

This ad worked for me so well I was astonished. Hero description, heroine description, briefest plot summary with hints at the tropes to be used.

I WAS SO THERE.

Then I got a look at the cover. Beautiful! Looks…professional!

Add to that the .99c price, and it was not difficult to click the ad, look at the book description, and click to buy. And judging from the link traffic stats, many of you did, too. I hope you enjoyed the book as much as I did.

Player’s Ultimatum by Koko Brown

I received a pitch for this book from the author, and was intrigued by the mix of elements she highlighted in her email: the multi-cultural characters, the use of European soccer clubs as a setting, and the interesting conflict with the heroine posing as the fiancée of her gay best friend while being attracted to his nemesis. I not only bought it but sent a message to Jane at DearAuthor, since she and I both enjoy sports-focused romances.

Alas, this book is poorly edited, suffers from an outright fear of commas, is confused as to how the characters names are spelled, and is published with a lack of formatting that neglected to mark changes in scene or point of view, which made reading downright confusing.

Most bothersome to me, the plot relies on stereotypes to a degree I found offensive. The portrayal of the gay characters turned me off entirely.

An Innocent in Paradise by Kate Carlisle

This book has it all, and by "all" I mean All The Cliches That Will Drive Me Nuts. Some of my recent ranting about cliches? Largely inspired by this book, I am sad to say.

The story starts out so cool, and I was anticipating something truly different and amazing. In the heroine, I got some of that. In the hero and the plot, I got All Of The Cliches. All of them. I am NOT KIDDING.

So please be aware, This Review Is Most Spoilery. I couldn't present the depth of amazing cliche without explaining them, so there is a LOT revealed. BE YE WARNED. 

Grace Farrell has come to the tropical resort on the island of Alleria under false pretenses: she's a scientist. A research scientist. A supremely brainy child prodigy holds-four-PhDs-that-she-earned-at-the-same-time when-did-she-sleep research scientist. Her research focuses on a specific type of spore that shares some microscopic traits with humans.

Grace needs more spores to study because the ones she has are not as robust as the ones on the island, plus there's some scuzzy guy back home who is… read more »

Chain Reaction by Zoe Archer, a Guest Review by CarrieS

(With Bonus Mini-review of: The Clockwork Girl.)

I reviewed Archer's first science fiction ebook, Collision Course, about 8th Wing and their fight against PRAXIS and I loved it.  A special thanks to all the commentators who pointed out that in real life PRAXIS can stand for a type of standardized test.  I still love the series but now every time the word comes up all I can think of is number two pencils. 

Anyway, I had high expectations for Chain Reaction and those expectations were met and exceeded. Wonderful characters, a geek hero (SWOON!!!!), great dialogue both serious and funny, and a refreshing amount of realism considering the setting.  After a sequence of ebooks in which protagonists were practically knocked senseless by their first encounter with the godliness of the other, it was lovely to see a more realistic but still passionate description of attraction and deepening emotional romance.

Sparks in Cosmic Dust by Robert Appleton: A Guest Review by CarrieS

Boy, I gotta hand it to Carina Press.  I’ve only read three of their eBooks (on my laptop, because I have no e-reader or smart phone, insert tears of self-pity here).  None of the three was what I would call a classic work of literature that will be treasured through the ages, but DAMN have they been fun!  Alas, while this stared off as super fun, it fell completely apart near the end.  Still, points to Appleton for creating a great sense of place(s) and a loving tribute to the pulp science fiction magazines and gritty westerns of the past.

Sparks in Cosmic Dust is listed as science fiction, not science fiction romance, and I can see why, as it is primarily an adventure story and a science-fiction /Western blend.  However, it does have a huge romance focus so I’d say it qualifies as a romance novel.  The strength of Sparks is that it understands its lineage and is here to give us an old-fashioned, B-movie, dimestore pulp novel good time.  The acknowledgement page discusses the author’s fond debt to the film “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, which inspires the plot… read more »

Wild and Steamy by MelJean Brook, Jill Myles and Carolyn Crane

Ahem. Squee commences… NOW.

OMG OMG THIS IS AWESOME. GO BUY IT.

What, that isn’t enough for you? Fine.

I have to come clean ad admit I have not read “The Iron Duke.” I respect the opinions of those who have loved it every which way enough to recommend it to people who I know will love it (and they have). I know that it is likely something I will enjoy when I do read it. But my brain is overloaded at present and has been for awhile, and I know it is exactly the wrong time to introduce said brain, which can be picky, to deep, nuanced, complex and thought-provoking world building.

Which MelJean Brook is really good at, damn her again.

So I haven’t read it. Yes, I suck. But this short story takes place in that same world, and within a handful of chapters and some incredibly deft and elegant writing, I was given a working understanding of a complex universe, treated to a truly emotional story, and gifted with an evening’s read that rocked my goddam world.

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Enemy Within by Marcella Burnard

This RITA® Reader Challenge was written by Courtney. This book finaled in the Paranormal and Best First Book categories.

Plot Summary: After a stint in an alien prison, Captain Ari Rose wonders why she even bothered to survive. Stripped of her command and banished to her father’s scientific expedition to finish a Ph.D. she doesn’t want, Ari never planned to languish quietly behind a desk. She wasn’t built for it, either. But when pirates commandeer her father’s ship, Ari once again becomes a prisoner. As far as pirate leader Cullin is concerned, Ari’s past imprisonment puts her dead center in Cullin’s sights. If she hasn’t been brainwashed and returned as a spy, then he’s convinced she must be part of a traitorous alliance endangering billions of lives. Cullin can’t afford the desire she fires within him and he’ll stop at nothing, including destroying her, to uncover the truth.

And now, Courtney’s review:

RITA Reader Challenge Review: The Moon That Night by Helen Brenna

This RITA® Reader Challenge review was written by Emily, who did not finish (DNF) the book. This novel finaled in the Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure category.

Plot Summary: Kate Dillon has never met a man worth his weight in packing peanuts. Maybe she’s simply too stubborn, too independent and too much of everything men don’t want. Just when she’s decided that Mr. Right doesn’t exist, James Riley crashes back into her life.

Ten years ago Riley barely noticed her, but she was certainly aware of him! Body like a Greek god. Mind like a steel trap. Heart of stone. And nothing has changed. Or so this professional soldier would like her to believe. As Kate is pulled into a crazy adventure with Riley and his daughter, she sees he’s more than a heartless fighting machine. He’s denied himself everything—and has everything to give. Now to make him admit it!

And here is Emily’s review: