Waiting on Wednesday (169)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.


By Julie Kagawa
Publication Date: October 27, 2015

The Iron Prince—my nephew—betrayed us all. 

He killed me. 

Then, I woke up. 

Waking after a month on the brink of death, Ethan Chase is stunned to learn that the Veil that conceals the fey from human sight was temporarily torn away. Although humankind's glimpse of the world of Faery lasted just a brief moment, the human world has been cast into chaos, and the emotion and glamour produced by fear and wonder has renewed the tremendous power of the Forgotten Queen. Now, she is at the forefront of an uprising against the courts of Summer and Winter—a reckoning that will have cataclysmic effects on the Nevernever. 

Leading the Lady's Forgotten Army is Keirran himself: Ethan's nephew, and the traitor son of the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase.To stop Keirran, Ethan must disobey his sister once again as he and his girlfriend, Kenzie, search for answers long forgotten. In the face of unprecedented evil and unfathomable power, Ethan's enemies must become his allies, and the world of the fey will be changed forevermore.


By Lisa Kleypas
Publication Date: October 27, 2015

A twist of fate...

Devon Ravenel, London's most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities . . . and more than a few surprises. His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl's three innocent sisters are still occupying the house . . . along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon's own.

A clash of wills...

Kathleen knows better than to trust a ruthless scoundrel like Devon. But the fiery attraction between them is impossible to deny—and from the first moment Devon holds her in his arms, he vows to do whatever it takes to possess her. As Kathleen finds herself yielding to his skillfully erotic seduction, only one question remains:

Can she keep from surrendering her heart to the most dangerous man she's ever known? 




By Renee Collins

Publication Date:  November 1, 2015

They exist in two different centuries, but their love defies time

Cassandra craves drama and adventure, so the last thing she wants is to spend her summer marooned with her mother and stepfather in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. But when a dreamy stranger shows up on their private beach claiming it's his own—and that the year is 1925—she is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making.

As she searches for answers in the present, Cassandra discovers a truth that puts their growing love—and Lawrence's life—into jeopardy. Desperate to save him, Cassandra must find a way to change history…or risk losing Lawrence forever.

Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas

****

Wedding planner Avery Crosslin may be a rising star in Houston society, but she doesn't believe in love--at least not for herself. When she meets wealthy bachelor Joe Travis and mistakes him for a wedding photographer, she has no intention of letting him sweep her off her feet. But Joe is a man who goes after what he wants, and Avery can't resist the temptation of a sexy southern charmer and a hot summer evening.

After a one night stand, however, Avery is determined to keep it from happening again. A man like Joe can only mean trouble for a woman like her, and she can't afford distractions. She's been hired to plan the wedding of the year--a make-or-break event.

But complications start piling up fast, putting the wedding in jeopardy, especially when shocking secrets of the bride come to light. And as Joe makes it clear that he's not going to give up easily, Avery is forced to confront the insecurities and beliefs that stem from a past she would do anything to forget.

The situation reaches a breaking point, and Avery faces the toughest choice of her life. Only by putting her career on the line and risking everything--including her well-guarded heart--will she find out what matters most.

Review:

It’s no secret that I love beta heroes.  Many alpha heroes make me want to punch all the people in all the faces.  I know, so violent, right?  But that doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions.  And Lisa Kleypas’ Travis brothers (particularly the younger two – Jack and Joe) are the biggest exceptions ever.  When I first read Smooth-Talking Stranger (starring Ella and Jack Travis) all I could think was how this high-handed arrogant ass is the sweetest most sensitive hero ever.  All of a sudden all that arrogance became super, super hot.  Won’t lie, the sense of humor and never ending twinkle in his eye may have had something to do with the attraction as well.  And while I was reading that I became enamored with Joe Travis as well.  He was such an adorable trouble maker.  And there was no denying that he was related to Jack.  Yet he had his own little something that was demanding a story.   And I know that I wasn’t the only reader begging for it.  But Mrs. Kleypas had other plans.   Like finishing her Hathaway series and writing the ENTIRE Friday Harbor series.  Needless to say, I thought that Joe would NEVER get his story.  But then, all of a sudden, he did.

Avery Crosslin is about to pull off the wedding of her career.  While contemplating how to handle a possible pest invasion the day of the wedding, she is “rescued” by the photographer’s very hot assistant.  Except, come to find out, he doesn’t work for the photographer.  He isn’t a vendor at all.  Nope, he’s a guest.  And not just any guest.  He’s Joe Travis.  One of THOSE Travis’.  How embarrassing.  But her mistake just endears her more to Joe and in two seconds flat he’s putting on the Travis charm.  With a lesson in heartbreak that has ruined her for anyone else, Avery tries to dismiss Joe and his attention.  But when you combine hot instant attraction with the tenacity that the Travis men are known for, it’s hard to not fall head over heels.

Joe Travis knows when he’s found the girl for him.  So when Avery skitters off after their first night together, Joe realizes he has to take things more slowly.  And he does.  And it’s crazy hot.  And romantic.  And hilarious.  Joe Travis has Avery Crosslin’s number.  He knows just when to push and just when to pull back.  He obviously cares for her deeply.  And he will continue to gently (and sometimes not so gently) insert himself into her life and quietly convince her that they should be together.  Yet he does all this without ever saying so.  Because more than anything Joe doesn’t want Avery to make decisions based on his desires.  He wants her to make the decisions that are right for her.  Even if it means losing her. 

I have to say that Avery is the most loveable and best written of all the heroines in this series.  She’s funny, sweet and determined.  I also loved the people in her life.  Each secondary character had so much personality that it was highly entertaining to read about their antics while planning weddings.  Her sister and co-worker/employee, Steven, stood out the most in this group.  The secondary romance between the two of them was lovely.  I also enjoyed seeing the Travis family through her eyes as well as watching her overcome her own prejudices about their wealth.

Joe was everything I was hoping for.  He’s a man born with more privilege than most anyone would have difficulty comprehending, yet he tries so hard to be as “normal” as possible.  And even though this story is told in first person from Avery’s POV, I felt fully engaged in Joe’s emotional journey as well.  My one complaint is that I didn’t feel we got enough of him.  At 240 pages, this book is 100 pages (give or take) less than the others in the series.  So, I feel slightly cheated.  But that’s just because I love Joe almost as much as I love Jack.  

There were two things that stood out for me while reading Brown-Eyed Girl. 

1. What Kleypas has done so well in this book (as well as others in the series) is write about an unapologetically independent and successful woman.  This isn’t a story about the disgustingly rich hero stepping in to save the heroin.  This is a story about two very independent and successful people navigating romance and love while still maintaining and balancing the autonomy and individual success for which they have worked so hard.  
2. When I hit the 93% mark I was doubting the ending.  I didn’t think there was any way that the story would wrap up both cleanly and in a satisfying manner.  I was wrong.  Never doubt a master of romance.  With only 7% left in the story and Kleypas provide a Happily Ever After that was spotless, insanely gratifying and never rushed. 

I think it’s fairly obvious that I highly recommend this latest by Kleypas.  It’s fun, sexy, romantic and has a number of laugh out loud moments.  If you are a fan of this series, you will find this final installment highly satisfying. 

Nat

That's What HE Said Thursday #15

Image courtesy of Kei at The Lovely Pages Review

That's What He Said is a weekly meme hosted by the ladies at Chapter Break, where we spotlight a quote from our book crush to the object of his desire. We like to pretend it's us.

What better way to celebrate our book boyfriends?

* * * * * * * * * *

Nat loves her romances and she LOVES Lisa Kleypas. Here's her selection for this week from Smooth Talking Stranger.

“I'm a public sinner with a ton of money. Any church would want me.”  

~ Jack in Smooth Talking Stranger 

by 

Lisa Kleypas

   

     

    

That's What HE Said Thursday #6

Image courtesy of Kei at The Lovely Pages Review

That's What He Said is a weekly meme hosted by the ladies at Chapter Break, where we spotlight a quote from our book crush to the object of his desire. We like to pretend it's us.

What better way to celebrate our book boyfriends?

Today's quote is from Married By Morning (The Hathaways #4) and is written by one of Nat's favourite romance authors, Lisa Kleypas.  In this particular scene, a very cheeky Leo Hathaway and Catherine Marks argue.  As usual. This time he is reassuring her that his desire to watch and help her bathe is "purely aesthetic."

“Oh, I have a very pure soul. It's only my private parts that have gotten me into trouble".”

~ Leo to Catherine

Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas

* * *

As the proprietor of a successful boutique hotel, Justine Hoffman has the life she has always wanted. But there is still something missing: Love. A spell was cast on Justine when she was born, with the result that she will never find her soul mate. But she is nothing if not determined and eventually Justine finds a way to break the enchantment—never dreaming of the dangerous complications that will follow…

When Justine meets Jason Black, she accidentally unleashes a storm of desire and danger that threatens everything she holds dear…because little does she know that Jason has secrets of his own. And he wants more from her than fate will ever allow…








Review:


Justine is has succeeded in everything she has worked at….except love.  No matter how many men she dates, no matter how many spells she casts, no relationship lasts.  She never feels a connection beyond friendship.  Then one day she breaks the rules and looks at the one page in her grimoire that she was warned to never look at - the page that will show her how to achieve her heart’s desire.  But that achievement doesn’t come without a price.

Jason Black is ridiculously successful in life.  He is also extremely private and particular.  Due to his success people are constantly trying to learn more about and report on his public and private life.  But one thing that people will never know is that Jason doesn’t have a soul.  The key to acquiring the one thing he wants but doesn’t have is in an infamous old grimoire.  When trying to acquiring to the grimoire, Jason has to face the complication of falling for the witch that can deny him the one thing he has been searching for.

Unlike Rainshadow Road which I found to be too timid with the magic, Kleypas owns the magic within the story of Crystal Cove.  Probably a good thing since Justine is a witch.  Unfortunately, that is where the story stopped engaging me.  I had an extremely difficult time believing the romance between Justine and Jason.  There didn’t seem to be any real connection between them.  I felt like Jason just happened to be the closest guy in the vicinity after she broke the geas that was put upon her as a child.  That she would have fallen for the first guy she saw.  As for Jason, I felt that his interest in her never went beyond the grimoire.  Yeah, I know the story says differently but I never saw or felt the sparks that I usually feel in a Kleypas novel to make me FEEL differently.    In the end, I enjoyed the novel but it did not live up to so many of the amazing Kleypas stories I have read.


Nat

Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas

* * * *

Dream Lake takes readers once again to the exquisite setting of Friday Harbor, and tells the story of Zoӫ Hoffman, an innkeeper who has all but given up on love. She’s a gentle, romantic soul, but has been so hurt in the past that she dare not trust her heart with anyone. Especially not Alex Nolan. Alex is the most haunted of all the Nolan brothers.

He drinks to keep his demons at bay and not only has he given up on love, he has never, ever believed in it. Zoӫ and Alex are oil and water, fire and ice, sunshine and shadow.

But sometimes, it takes only a glimmer of light to chase away the dark. Dream Lake is classic Lisa Kleypas: romantic, powerful, emotional, and magical.



Review:

Lisa Kleypas has managed to successfully interweave two beautiful love stories – one supernatural and the other in the here and now.  This story starts out with a nameless ghost that is tethered to Rainshadow Road.  He doesn’t know who he is and he can’t leave the house.  He has watched over decades as Rainshadow Road has fallen into disrepair.  Then Sam Nolan buys the house and the ghost has hope that this house that he is stuck in will once again become a beautiful place.  What he doesn’t expect is to finally meet someone that can see him. 

Alex Nolan, Sam’s brother, is an amazingly skilled carpenter that has what it takes to bring Rainshadow Road to its former glory.  Unfortunately, Alex is also a functioning bitter alcoholic going through an even more bitter divorce.  But that doesn’t stop our ghost from being so happy that someone can communicate with him that he tries to follow Alex out the door.  He soon realizes that he is now tethered to Alex and cannot leave his side.  Alex is not amused to find he has a supernatural friend.  He is not sure if what he is seeing is real or if all the liquor that he has been drinking has finally made him hallucinate.  These unwilling companions from different times somehow become necessary to each other in order to survive. 

Enter Zoe.  Zoe is absolutely lovely.  She is humble and kind and just wants to take care of those around her.  The Zoe care package always includes something delicious she whips up in the kitchen of her B&B which she runs with her cousin, Justine.  Zoe is a forever girl through and through.  When she first meets Alex Nolan she knows that she should run as fast as she can.  But she can’t seem to help caring for the man who has never had anyone care for him in his life.  As the two grow closer, we find that Zoe may have the key to unravel the mystery of both Alex and his ghost’s fate..    

Lisa Kleypas hit the ball out of the park with this one.  This is an epic story of loss and love and hope and I can’t recommend it enough.  If you are a fan of romance you must pick this one up.


Nat

Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas

* * *

Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in Friday Harbor, Washington, with a boyfriend, Kevin, who she believes is her soul mate. She has always had a magical side—a gift that finds its way into the glasswork she creates—and she struggles to keep it contained. But when Lucy is blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal, she questions many of her choices. Kevin leaves her and his new lover is none other than Lucy’s own sister.

Meanwhile, facing the severe disapproval of Lucy’s family, Kevin asks his friend Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner on San Juan Island, to “romance” Lucy so that she can more easily move on. But when Sam and Lucy begin to feel real sparks between them, Lucy must ask herself if she can easily risk her heart again. Questions about love, loyalty, old patterns, mistakes, and new beginnings are explored as Lucy learns that some things in life—even after being broken—can be re-made into something beautiful. And that it is only by discovering who you really are that you can find the one who truly deserves you. (BN.com)

I have been a Lisa Kleypas fan for long time.  She is one of my top three favorite romance authors – in good company with Julia Quinn and Amy Lane.  I initially fell in love with her historical romances.  When she started writing contemporary romance I was skeptical.  Her first, Sugar Daddy, was just meh.  But the following two, Blue-Eyed Devil and Smooth Talking Stranger, were absolutely stellar.  Seeing that she could rock the contemporary romance just as much as she did historical romance, I was super excited to read her new Friday Harbor series.  What did I think of them?  Well keep reading to see what I think of Rainshadow Road.  A review of Dream Lake will be up in the next week or so.  The last in the trilogy, Crystal Cove, will be published in February and you can bet your sweet self that I will be reading and reviewing that one too.

Lucy thinks life is pretty perfect right now.  She is making a living doing what she loves.  She lives on a beautiful Pacific Northwest island with lots of lovely friends.  Her boyfriend, Kevin, of three years is absolutely amazing.  Then all of a sudden that perfection is lost when Kevin showed up in her glass shop out of the blue to inform Lucy their relationship wasn’t working for him anymore and he had met someone else.  That someone else being her sister. 

Handling the news as well as anyone would, Lucy takes off on a bike ride - her way of blowing off some steam. And along the way she meets the very sexy and commitment-phobic Sam Nolan.  That initial meeting sets off a friendship that both insist will never be anything more.   

As is usually the case with a Kleypas book, I really loved the characters.  Sam was my favorite kind of hero.  Geeky AND sexy.  The Nolan brothers are a hot mess.  And when I say hot, I mean, “Hot damn!”  And when I say mess, I mean, “Yikes, look at all the emotional baggage.”  I enjoyed Lucy’s independence and how she was open and honest about protecting herself.  Lucy’s friends, Zoe and Justine, are the best kind of friends.  Between the pastries and the reading, this trio of friends made me think of Bel, Shel and I.  Except that the three of us would probably get into a lot more trouble if we were all living together with no supervision. 

Overall this was a good read.  But I didn’t love it.  Although it was both engaging and romantic with plenty of sexual tension, there seemed to be something missing.  Maybe I am greedy but I wanted more.  I wanted more examples of Sam being a geek.  I wanted more scenes with Lucy and her girlfriends having fun.  And I wanted more magic.  Because there is magic in this book and it is beautiful magic.  But it was so tentatively done that it left me a little confused and unfulfilled.   

That being said…there are two reasons I would recommend this book.  One:  If you are a big Kleypas fan like me, then you should read it for that reason alone.  Two: If you are going to read Dream Lake (and you are because I told you to) then you should read this because the two stories overlap a little bit.  They stand alone but it is my personal opinion that it is fun to see some overlapping scenes through more than one point of view. 

Until next time; when I annoy you by gushing over the second installment in the Friday Harbor Trilogy.

 

Nat

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.

By Lisa Kleypas
Publication Date: February 28, 2012

Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in mystical, beautiful, Friday Harbor, Washington. She is stunned and blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal: her fiancé Kevin has left her. His new lover is Lucy’s own sister. Lucy's bitterness over being dumped is multiplied by the fact that she has constantly made the wrong choices in her romantic life. Facing the severe disapproval of Lucy's parents, Kevin asks his friend Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner on San Juan Island, to "romance" Lucy and hopefully loosen her up and get her over her anger. Complications ensue when Sam and Lucy begin to fall in love, Kevin has second thoughts, and Lucy discovers that the new relationship in her life began under false pretenses. Questions about love, loyalty, old patterns, mistakes, and new beginnings are explored as Lucy learns that some things in life—even after being broken—can be made into something new and beautiful

By Julie Cross
Publication Date:  January 17, 2012


The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.