Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

What You Will by Lily White LeFevre

This novella was submitted to me by the author, and based on her description, ” about a girl who decides to masquerade as her twin in order to get the attention of the guy she’s secretly in love with” I decided to give it a try.

Viola Gardener is the quiet twin, and has a Secret Thang for a Hot Earl who has danced with her once. She decides, as the author stated, to attend the masquerade ball her family is hosting and pretend to be her twin, Olivia, who is much more socially vivacious and popular. She captures Hot Earl’s attention immediately, but holds it through her own intellect and personality - something she’s not prepared herself for, because of course Hot Earl is thinking that he never knew Olivia was so interesting and smart. And much like the Shakespearean play for which it’s named and from which it drew some inspiration, shenanigans and mayhem erupt based on that and other mistaken identities.

In Twelfth Night - the Shakespearean version - Viola’s twin is a man, and Viola dresses as a man to serve as the servant to the Duke… read more »

The Twelve Nights of Christmas by Sarah Morgan

I don’t usually read Christmas stories, particularly during the summer. But while I traveled from New Orleans to New York and then to Vancouver in three weeks’ time, I did a lot of reading. I mentioned over at Kirkus that I’d been on a happy Sarah Morgan glom after reading A Night of Scandal, and enjoying it so much I picked it for the July Book Club. This book was my favorite of the ones I read, particularly because of the heroine.

This is the official description: “His housekeeper, or his Christmas present? Unexpectedly homeless for the festive season, and exhausted from transforming the penthouse of the hotel where she works into a dazzling winter wonderland, chambermaid Evie Anderson secretly sleeps over.

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Whisper on the Wind by Maureen Lang

Emily reviewed this book for the RITA® Reader Challenge. It finaled in the Inspirational category.

Plot Summary: In Brussels at the height of WWI, a small, underground newspaper is the only thing offering the occupied city hope-and real news of the war. The paper may be a small whisper amid the shouts of the German army, but Edward Kirkland will do anything to keep it in print. Meanwhile, Isa Lassone, a Belgian-American socialite whose parents whisked her to safety at the start of the war, sneaks back into the country to rescue those dearest to her: Edward and his mother. But Edward refuses to go, and soon Isa is drawn into his secret life printing the newspaper . . . And into his heart.

And here is Emily’s review:

RITA Reader Challenge Review: I Now Pronounce You Someone Else - Erin McCahan

Constance reviewed this book for the RITA® Reader Challenge. It was a finalist in the Young Adult and Best First Book categories.

Plot Summary: Seventeen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She’s really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That’s the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother, a kind but distant stepfather, and a brother with a small personality complex.

And now, Constance’s review:

RITA Reader Challenge Review: A Dundee Christmas by Brenda Novak

This RITA® Reader Challenge review was written by Shari. This story is found in the That Christmas Feeling anthology, and is nominated in the Novella category.

Plot Summary: A woman seeking refuge in a strange town during a snowstorm is taken in by a man who helps her discover that home is where the love is.

Shari didn’t think the plot summary really captured the book, so she included her own summary: “Ken is a super-hot, fairly young retired NFL player.  Cierra’s a spunky 25-year-old mail order bride from Guatemala who attempted to sacrifice herself to keep her and her younger sisters from being forced into prostitution in Guatemala by marrying a 74-year-old American.  Unfortunately, the fiance dies before the marriage occurs so she’s now an illegal alien trying to stay one step ahead of immigration, although they never show in the novella.  They are more of an ever-present threat in the mind of the… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge Review: A Cop in Her Stocking by Ann Voss Peterson

Linsalot challenged herself to read one book from every category for the RITA® Reader Challenge. She’s a badass, that Linsalot.

Plot Summary: Tyler Davis comes from a long line of cops, and he’s learned the hard way that police work and families don’t mix. But his solitary life is about to be called into question with the return of Megan Garvey, the woman he once loved…and lost.

Now, Megan is determined to keep her emotional distance— though it’s clear that she and the rugged lawman still share something special. But a predator has come to Lake Hubbard for Christmas. And when Megan’s young son disappears, there’s only one cop to believe in. This holiday, Ty has been given a second chance to be the hero Megan needs…if he can bring her boy home alive.

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Countess of Scandal by Laurel McKee

Olivia reviewed this book for the RITA® Reader Challenge, as it was nominated in the Historical Romance category. Olivia says,“This was a great deal of fun to read and a great deal of fun to write, especially since I hate writing plot summaries and synopses more than I hate writing anything, even grocery lists.”

Plot Summary, as thoughtfully provided by the publisher: As children, Eliza Blacknall and William Denton ran wild over the fields of southern Ireland and swore they would be friends forever. Then fate took Will away to England, while Eliza stayed behind to become a proper Irish countess.

Years later, Will finally makes his way home-as an English soldier sent to crush the Irish uprising. When he spies the lovely Eliza, he is captivated by the passionate woman she has become. But Eliza’s passions have led her to join the Irish rebel cause, and Will and Eliza now find themselves on opposite… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge: Dare She Date the Dreamy Doc? By Sarah Morgan

Linsalot selected this book for the RITA® Reader Challenge, and she really liked everything about it.

Plot Summary! Nurse Jenna Richards did not come all the way to Glenmore to fall head-over-heels for the first sexy doctor she saw. But what’s a single mum to do when devastatingly dreamy Dr Ryan McKinley has his eye on you, and the entire island community is mischievously matchmaking…?

And now, Linsalot’s review: I generally don’t choose books based on titles alone and I don’t read a lot of medical romance any more but I chose Dare She Date the Dreamy Doc? based purely on the title having such great alliteration.

Spoiled, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

This book was a departure from romance reading for me. Spoiled is not a romance. It’s a YA novel, with a minor romantic element, and a long-distance relationship element. Without meaning to I stepped out of the genre and thoroughly enjoyed myself. But be ye aware, this is not a romance.

That said, I really enjoyed it. It’s freaking hilarious. It is funny and fluffy and sudsy and silly. Really, you have to like silly humor a bit to enjoy this book.

In fact, it can be summed up in two words: Chanandaler Bong. If you get that reference, and you like pop culture jokes and silly humor, this book will give you an abdominal workout to go with the increasing upper arm power of your Shake Weight. Here’s an excerpt.

No, wait, before I do the excerpt, I have to do the plot summary. Molly Dix is a regular girl in Indiana, reading celebrity magazines and running and going to school and coping with her mom’s illness, until her mother, days away from death due to cancer, reveals that her… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge Review: His Christmas Pleasure, by Cathy Maxwell

It’s Christmas in June - well, for this review anyway - as Lindlee takes on a holiday story for the RITA® Reader Challenge.

First, ye olde plot summary: Anything can happen at Christmas!

When her father threatens to marry Abigail Montross off to a man twice her age (and with thirteen children!), she decides to elope instead with the irresistibly handsome Baron de Vasconia. She knows all about his notorious reputation. He is the most seductive man in all of London, but he’s vowed to protect her, so she allows herself to be tempted into his bed, promising to guard her heart at all costs.

Andres believes he’s entered into nothing more than a marriage of convenience with a charming and very wealthy young woman. But the days—and nights—Abigail spends in his arms soon reform this rogue. He’ll do anything to gain her love—until they each discover the truth about the… read more »

Unlocked by Courtney Milan

I’m taking a break from my weekend with the Hubby (it’s our anniversary weekend, and I made him promise to stay off the computer so I have to as well. NOBODY BREAK ANYTHING IN HERE, PLEASE!) to tell you two things:

1. You should buy this novella immediately.

2. SIDENOTE: If you buy it from AllRomance, you will get a 50% rebate on this book - and anything else you purchased. Remember those Fictionwise micropay dollars we had in bucketloads? Like that, only with romance, and a better selection, and really good customer support. (Disclosure: AllRomance sponsors the book club. But I would pimp them anyway because when I goof up a digital purchase, they are never like, ‘FOR GOD’S SAKE SARAH’ and they help me quickly.) 50% rebate on everything you purchase now through 11:59 pm 5/30/11 US/Central Savings Time.

From AllRomance: “This is a rebate, not a discount. Full price is paid at the point of purchase and the rebate is delivered in the form of eBook Bucks to the user’s account. We know there is often concern that discounting negatively impacts author/publisher payments. Since the book is not… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Christmas Magic on the Mountain by Melissa McClone

I have a series romance RITA® Reader Challenge review today, this time from Lindlee, who really liked this book.

The summary, with Exclamation! Points! When snowboard designer Sean Hughes sees Zoe Flynn hitchhiking at the bottom of Mount Hood he recognizes a free spirit—much like himself!

They hit it off, and Zoe ends up agreeing to pose as Sean’s girlfriend at his family’s Thanksgiving. But following an accident and a misunderstanding they’re soon stuck with each other for the Christmas holidays!

Zoe’s girl-next-door looks make Sean wish their charade was a romantic reality, but Zoe is hiding something…and he has until the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve to discover her secret!

And now, Lindlee’s review:

Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston

I have a serious weakness for Laurenston’s books. They’re not the most succinct things, and this book had a few flaws that drove me batshit, but there were times I laughed out loud, and a few spare moments where I had to put the book down and guffaw. Laurenston writes some funny shit.

Ahoy, ye summary, the hardest part of writing a review. Dee Ann Smith is a, by her own admission, redneck she-wolf assassin, trained by her father to be among the most lethal and frightening of the shifter killers. Ric Van Holtz is a member of the very regal Van Holtz family (hence the name, y’know) and has loved Dee Ann since they were kids. They met while her daddy was negotiating a place in the shifter corps of badassery, known as The Group or something bland like that (these shifters are not much for inventive names, random capitalization, or cutesy acronyms—thank the Baby Shifter Jesus). Now Dee Ann is a former Marine, Ric is her boss, and she’s trying not to notice him while being paired up with another shifter she hates and a human cop to find… read more »

Just Surrender by Kathleen O’Reilly

I usually love O’Reilly’s heroes, and this one was no exception, but my disappointment rested on the heroine’s character, and the unfinished business between them, and of the hero’s past as well. Despite my disappointment in this story, I so love O’Reilly’s characters that I’ll pick up her next book without hesitation.

Edie is moonlighting for a night as a cab driver when she picks up Tyler at the airport. He’s a highly-trained surgeon who specializes in cardiology and is in New York City for a short stay while he competes for a fellowship at a local hospital. He’s competing against a pile of other doctors, but there’s one in particular that he really loathes, and of course he’s ready to show up and show off at every opportunity. Edie takes him for a wild cab ride through most of the five boroughs, since the fare from the airport to the city is a fixed rate, and somewhere along the ride they begin to fascinate each other. The night culminates in a rather naked and explosive fashion at the hotel where Tyler is staying, the sex-drenched Belvedere.

The heroine, Edie, was… read more »

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

The rules of the RITA® Reader Challenge stipulated a limit of 250 words, but I loved this review SO much I let it break that rule. This is not an invitation for anyone else to so, but I loved Diana’s review because it highlights how fiction can dare readers to think of themselves differently.

First, the description of the book:

A lady does not smoke cheroot. She does not ride astride. She does not fence or attend duels. She does not fire a pistol, and she never gambles at a gentlemen’s club.

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell has always followed the rules, rules that have left her unmarried—and more than a little unsatisfied. And so she’s vowed to break the rules and live the life of pleasure she’s been missing.

But to dance every dance, to steal a midnight kiss—to do those things, Callie will need a willing partner. Someone who knows everything about rule-breaking. Someone… read more »