Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Lord and Lady Spy by Shana Galen

I found this book to be fun and fast paced and easy to jump in and out of, with a pretty good balance of emotion, drama, action, humor and tension between the main characters. I liked the heroine and the hero, I wanted them to figure out a way to be happy and together, and I loved their scenes together. In the larger context of the mystery they were trying to solve, I cared more about them than their progress in solving the case.

Adrian, Lord Smythe, is a spy known as Wolf. His wife, Sophia, is also a spy, known as Saint. Their identities are so secret, they have no idea about one another, and are pretty much strangers in their professional and personal lives. But when the war with France comes to an end, the secret agency in which they work is downsized and they are both laid off (my language, not the author's). Then, each receives a mysterious note to meet in some dark, drippy location at midnight where they discover they're both spies. Plus, there is a case that needs… read more »

The Lion’s Lady by Julie Garwood: A Guest Review by RedHeadedGirl

Okay, so, this is a classic, right?  I hadn’t read it before.

I KNOW.

I snagged it from a free book pile AGES ago, thinking it was another book I had read back in my misspent youth, but figured out pretty quite that this was NOT The Black Lion by Jude Devereaux, given that we started out in the Black Hills, not in Medieval England.

You can’t put anything past me.

Okay, so this book.  THIS BOOK. 

This is everything I adore about the historical genre.  It’s SO ridonkulous.  Irritatingly perfect heroine?  Damaged, brooding hero?  A whole mess of plot involving a will, possibly crazy people, an evil king (or whatever) and, just for fun, Native Americans?

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

I received the following guest review submission from Betty Fokker while I was working on my own review for the book. So I’ve included both here for your reading pleasure. No, no, don’t thank me. It’s that Fokker’s fault.

Making Waves is about a surly, pissed off guy named Alex who is screwed over by the company he’s worked at for years. Those pensions-worth-nothing, sorry-you’re-broke, nothing to show for decades of labor stories? He’s one of those, along with his crew of former coworkers who (a) also got screwed over and (b) know, much like Alex, that the big boss who made off like a bandit is up to international levels of no good. They decide to become pirates and intercept a shipment of nefarious but very valuable goods in order to take back what was taken from them - their financial security as they all get older.

Enter Juli, who is trying to charter a boat and cast her uncle’s ashes into the ocean, as per his last request. Alex and Juli meet at a bar one night, and zippy, funny attraction sparks fly as they pretend… read more »

Moonstruck by Susan Grant, a Guest Review by Carrie S.

Carrie S. is back with another sci fi/fantasy romance that made her extremely happy. - SB Sarah I don't give A's lightly, but this grade snuck up on me. At first, I had a hard time getting into Moonstruck. It featured some tropes I'm not crazy about, and it was darker than I expected. But after reading it, I found myself thinking about the book a lot, and with great emotion and enjoyment. I realized that even though Moonstruck has some problems, and even though it might not be everyone's favorite due to dark themes, I couldn't possibly withhold an A- from a book that made me think and feel so much and which took on such complex emotional and political issues. This would be a great book to hand anyone who thinks that romance novels are “just about sex” - in this book, all the sex is just a framework for explorations of grief, guilt, love, trust, bigotry, reconciliation, healing, adventure, war, and personal and political peace. In case that sounds too dark, there's also plenty of humor and lovely messages of redemption and healing, and, oh yeah, tattooed… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Case File: Canyon Creek, Wyoming by Paula Graves

This RITA® Reader Challenge was written by Sabrina from Cheeky Reads. This novel finaled in the Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure category.

Plot Summary: What was supposed to be a quiet vacation in scenic Wyoming turned deadly when Hannah Cooper became the target of a serial killer. Although she survived the attack, the ordeal was far from over. But she wasn’t alone. Not when Riley Patterson appointed himself her protector.

Beneath Riley’s strapping, solemn exterior hid a hard-driving sheriff who would stop at nothing to catch a killer. He promised Hannah safety, but it was the danger he posed that drew her in. Riley was as much a mystery as the man who sought to take her life. Trapped on his ranch, with no one but each other to trust, only justice could set them freeand possibly separate them forever.

And here is Sabrina’s review:

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

This RITA® Reader Challenge was written by Ren. English is not Ren’s first language, but Ren really wanted to review this book. Go Ren! This book finaled in the YA category.

Plot Summary: Carlos Fuentes doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him in Boulder, Colorado. He wants to keep living on the edge, and carve his own path—just like Alex did. Unfortunately, his ties to a Mexican gang aren’t easy to break, and he soon finds himself being set up by a drug lord.