Accidentally Yours by Susan Mallery

Synopsis:

Wanted:
-Single mom seeks billionaire's pocketbook to fund dying son's research cure. Will seduce if necessary. Blackmail is not out of the question. Miracles welcome.
-Cynical billionaire seeks working mom with a heart of gold for PR campaign to improve his standing in the community. Must be willing to attend social events. Anyone looking for love need not apply.
It seemed like the perfect match…until the unthinkable happened.


My thoughts (audiobook version):

Kerri Sullivan is a single mom who is willing to do absolutely anything to get the money needed to continue the research for a cure for her nine year old son, Cody who is slowly dying from Gilliar’s disease. She goes after Nathan King, a billionaire who had lost his son to the same disease 6 years ago, blackmailing him into donating $15 million. Nathan had no interest in getting involved. He already had to endure seeing his child die from this disease, he didn’t want to experience it again. But Kerri wouldn’t take no for an answer...

This is a heart tugging story about sacrifices, faith and a mother’s undying love. I hope that if I ever find myself in a situation like this, that I would be as strong and determined as Kerri. The dialog was witty (laugh out loud funny at times) and the romance between Kerri and Nathan was beautiful and unrushed. The other characters I found endearing were Nathan’s chauffeur and his boyfriend Lance and of course Cody who was adorable and so brave. Be prepared to laugh and cry, this is a wonderful story.

Narration: I was impressed with Therese Plummer’s narration. This was an emotional story and she really made the characters come to life for me.

Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery

Synopsis:

Welcome to Fool’s Gold, California, a charming community in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. There’s lots to do and plenty of people to meet, especially women. Because there’s just one tiny problem in Fool’s Gold: the men don’t seem to stick around. Maybe it’s the lure of big-city life, or maybe it’s plain old bad luck, but regardless of the reason, the problem has to be fixed, fast. And Charity Jones may be just the city planner to do it.

Charity’s nomadic childhood has left her itching to settle down, and she immediately falls in love with all the storybook town has to offer — everything, that is, except its sexiest and most famous resident, former world-class cyclist Josh Golden. With her long list of romantic disasters, she’s not about to take a chance on another bad boy, even if everyone else thinks he’s perfect just the way he is. But maybe that’s just what he needs — someone who knows the value of his flaws. Someone who knows that he’s just chasing perfect.

My thoughts:

I was looking for a comfort read. Something to cleanse my palate after having just read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I found just what I was looking for in Chasing Perfect. Charity wasn’t the only one to fall in love with the town of Fool’s Gold. This town is charming and chock full of wonderful characters. People I would like to be friends with in real life. There are secrets that unfold that give the story some interesting twists and turns. The only part of the story I didn’t particularly care for was the subplot regarding the missing state funds only because it wasn’t well developed and really didn’t add to the story line. All in all, it was a quick enjoyable read.

Chasing Perfect is the first book in the Fool’s Gold series. There is also Almost Perfect (Liz and Ethan’s story) and Finding Perfect (Pia and Raoul’s story).

We Are Going (mostly) Radio Silent

This is it folks! The week of Mockingjay has arrived but since Amazon.com won't be shipping my copy until Tuesday, I will be avoiding any book blog out there that will have a review. Based on the hype, this pretty much includes everyone especially since Scholastic wouldn't give out any advance reader copies. Party poopers :)

I've been very wishy-washy about what kind of copy I would get. For the same price that Amazon is selling the hardback of Mockingjay with their Super Saver shipping, I could pay for and instantly download an ecopy from B&N through my nook. There is quite a bit to be said for that since I am all about the instant gratification thing but I'll be getting the hardback from Amazon and I actually paid for shipping this time. *gasp* Yes, I am cheap but when you read as much as I do, you have to be.

Now, as I mentioned early this month, if you've read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire you're probably taking off work on Tuesday to stay home and find out what happens lest you get sent to the hospital for having the shakes. I know I won't let this one ride the bookshelf when I get my hands on my copy. I am proud to say that I have managed to browbeat convince Jen at Not Now...I'm Reading! to start The Hunger Games already. (More about her later.) I'm not usually this obnoxious about pushing a particular book/series on unsuspecting people (and please ignore the fact that I'm writing this on my book blog) but they are extraordinarily good and quite unconventional. If you haven't read them, you are probably either scrabbling to get copies of them or are just sick to death of hearing about it and if you belong to that latter group - just get over yourselves and read them already.

Now about Jen. Last month, I wrote a review for Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins. I loved this book and have thoroughly enjoyed all the Kristan Higgins books I've read so far and I only have two left of her backlist to devour. Anyway, Jen had a valid issue with a particular statement I made about the main character. I defended my review and after some friendly discussion I proposed a wager: if she requested a copy of the book through PaperbackSwap and didn't completely agree with me, I give her a credit, essentially paying her back. If she did, she would give me one. Hence, the Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is Challenge was born. Go check out Jen's blog to find out what happened. I really hope she likes The Hunger Games. Otherwise I know she'll shake her fist at me :)

Review: Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

When Andie Miller goes to see her ex-husband, North Archer, to return ten years of uncashed alimony checks, he asks for one final favor: A distant cousin has died and left him guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already; will she take the job? Bribed with money and a need for closure, Andie says yes, but when she meets the two children she realizes things are much worse than she feared. The children aren’t any run-of-the-mill delinquents, the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers, and something strange is happening at night. Plus, Andie’s fiance thinks it’s a plan by North to get Andie back, and since Andie’s been dreaming about North since she arrived at the house, she’s not sure he isn’t right. Then her ex-brother-in-law arrives with a duplicitous journalist and a self-doubting parapsychologist, closely followed by an annoyed medium, Andie’s tarot card–reading mother, her avenging ex-mother-in-law, and her jealous fiancé. Just when Andie’s sure things couldn’t get more complicated, North arrives to make her wonder if maybe this time things could be different…. (from jennycrusie.com)

It's nice to know Jennifer Crusie still has it. According to the back of this lovely ARC that I got from LibraryThing and St. Martin's Press, this is the first solo novel Ms. Crusie has written for six years, when she published Bet Me. For those of you who don't know, Bet Me is one of my absolute favorite novels of ever and ever amen. It was the book that introduced me to Crusie and it was love at first sight.

Maybe This Time is a little bit different than Crusie's other solo novels; this is a ghost story. Not just any ghost story but, according to Crusie's website, it's a modernish adaptation of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Maybe This Time is set in an English manor (or something similar) that has been relocated to southern Ohio, stones and all. It even has a moat. Andie is a teacher and in a weak moment agrees to relocate for a month from Columbus to get the children ready to attend public school and to rehabilitate this pair of kids who have gone through nannies like Kleenex. Her ex had inherited the children from a distant relation but after a disastrous attempt to send the older boy to a boarding school, hasn't had much contact with them other than to provide them money (he's actually not a jerk, just a lawyer). When Andie gets there, she finds the house and property to be a wreck, the housekeeper to be creepy, and the children strange and antisocial at best. She also soon finds herself questioning her belief that there's no such thing as ghosts and are the conversations she has at night in her bedroom with a young woman who claims to be a younger Andie real or is she dreaming? Why are the children so determined not to leave their house and why do they keep nannies running for the border? Most importantly, why did Andie agree to do this for her ex-husband North?

Andie is a typical Crusie female protagonist - practical yet unconventional with a great sense of humor and a screwy love life. North is also consistent with Crusie's main men - an intelligent man who has a job with some authority, usually a cop or someone who owns their own business, and who is stumped by the woman he has picked to love. Andie and North married within twelve hours of first laying eyes on each other in a bar. They divorced a year later when Andie left him and have spent the last ten years subconsciously pining for each other. We don't get to see any of their marriage, pity that, but it amused me greatly that Andie, after getting a marriage proposal from her current boyfriend, visits North at work to return ten years worth of alimony checks. One a month for ten years, she didn't cash a single one, claiming that it was his way of reminding her of him.

Also present is the supporting cast of oddballs and weirdos. Crusie isn't stingy this time either: there's an obnoxious tv reporter and her cameraman; a medium who curses like a sailor; North's younger brother, Sullivan a.k.a. Southie; two mothers-in-law; an expert on the paranormal who doesn't believe in ghosts; the ghosts; a private detective. No animals though.

The paranormal aspect of Maybe This Time is better handled than the demons were in Wild Ride and the ghosts here make the story better, not worse, even though they brought a measure of malevolence not usually found in Crusie's books. I would have expected them to be there for humor, not malice, but I've never read The Turn of the Screw. The trademark Crusie humor is here, of course, and made me laugh out loud several times. I really enjoyed reading Maybe This Time but I didn't love it like Bet Me. I became worried when I read Wild Ride earlier this year but I'm okay now because Jenny Crusie is back! Upcoming next year is a murder mystery series and here's the description from jennycrusie.com:

Liz Danger Mystery Series

First two novels scheduled for release in summer 2011.
A four book limited romantic mystery series about ghostwriter Liz Danger who goes back to her home town, Birney, Ohio, and finds love and crime. Complicating everything is Vince, the new cop on the local beat, who makes Liz think twice about her aversion to Birney in particular and commitment in general.

A reissue of one of the last books in her booklist that I have not read, Trust Me on This, will be out on October 26, 2010. Maybe This Time comes out on August 31.

Go HERE if you're like me and you want to make Andie's banana bread :)

Review: Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins

First Date a la Maggie


Take one lovelorn diner owner (me)
A generous helping of nosy local groups
A dollop of envy at married sister's perfect life
A splash of divine intervention (my matchmaking priest)


Combine ingredients with one adorable puppy, add a strong but silent lobsterman with a hidden heart of gold...and watch the sparks fly.

I recently read a review for Kristan Higgins's newest book, All I Ever Wanted, over at Book Binge and instantly knew I had found my newest favorite author. So I waltzed over to my local library to see what they had of her backlist and came home with this little gem.

Maggie is quickly becoming a desperate woman. She's in her early thirties and unmarried while her identical twin is married to a kind, handsome doctor and has a daughter. She's in love with her parish priest of all people and can't meet a decent eligible man in her itty bitty coastal Maine town. She owns the only restaurant in town - a diner she inherited from her grandfather - and keeps losing the Best Breakfast in Washington County award to a B&B in the next town. Everyone she knows tries to set her up on blind dates and while she's game, she's doubtful. So when her friends point her towards Malone, a lobsterman who is a mysterious loner and just a little scary, she blows it off and unintentionally insults him. And then, he saves her one night from yet even more humiliation after being stood up by one of Father Tim's blind dates. Hel-lo! Suddenly lobstermen are looking a LOT better.

I laughed and cried with this book - a dog died so sue me. I felt sorry for Maggie but I also felt close to her. Being a social misfit with the opposite sex is no mystery for me but I was proud of her for putting herself out there and for standing up for herself with her family. Pairing her with Malone was an entertaining choice; they are proof that opposites do attract. She's outgoing and social, he's an introvert and says as little as possible. I liked Higgins's style; her characters are realistic and pretty funny.

I started this book when I went to bed one night and ended up staying up to finish it. I am now hunting down the rest of Higgins's books :)

Coming Up for Air

Well, June is definitely shaping up to be a rather lackluster month for me, posting-wise. The truth is that I just haven't had much to say lately and if you've been paying attention to what I've been reading lately you'd understand why: in the past few weeks, I've read ten Susan Wiggs novels. 

WTF!?

Yeah, I know. I'm not done yet with her either. I've got two more in the Lakeshore Chronicles to read and the second book in the Calhoun Chronicles ready plus a few more I've got my eye on. Wanna hear the crazy part? I'm not hating them. Susan Wiggs is a gifted writer; her books are touching and evocative even if they tend to turn a family-oriented series into a saga and as a result, make them heavy on the drama and pathos, almost to the point of melodrama but not to the level of a soap opera. For some particular reason, I've felt the need to collect her books as badly as I would Timothy Zahn's and talk about the pinnacle of geekdom - his sci-fi novels are based on the continuation of the Star Wars trilogy beyond Return of the Jedi. (We can definitely blame that one on a high school crush.) I'm not sure what made me start them in the first place.

Anyway...These Susan Wiggs books have been entertaining enough to keep my attention this long and yes, I remember recently writing about how I don't read many chapters in a series like this back-to-back. I can't really explain it. The highest grade I have given one of her books was A-, which is obviously a fantastic grade, and it wasn't a contemporary romance in the Lakeshore series but a historical one, The Charm School. Most of them have been graded B, some B-.

For a change of pace, I tried Kat Martin's Reese's Bride. I had read the first in this trilogy, Royal's Bride, though now I have no idea of the troubles of the lovers in it or how they got together in the end. Reese's Bride and Rule's Bride had both recently fallen into my lap so I figured I'd finish that series off and hand them over to others. Er, not exactly. 

Reese's Bride is about the second brother in the family, the second son of a duke who leaves the woman he loves with a promise to return and marry after he chases down the French on the continent for a while. Well, shortly after he leaves his lady love gets married to another man. Reese is so angry that he calls her a whore and reinlists or whatever, gets injured years later, and returns home to live in the same village as her, now a widow, and her son. Ok. The plot itself wasn't the problem. It's not very original, but not insurmountable. My problem came with Reese not considering that he may not be the only injured party and assuming too much. His former lady love is also guilty of keeping secrets and of being desperate enough to turning to him when she needed help. Again, not original. Before the middle of the book, they had married (his idea) and I knew where it was going and just wasn't interested in seeing what happened. Reese's Bride is far from a wallbanger but I didn't find it worth finishing. Sorry Ms. Martin. I have liked other books you've written but not this one and I doubt I'll be getting into Rule's Bride either.

I know all this makes me sound like a total book snob and okay, I am one, but I think my problem is just that these books should be too old for me, like the ones that my best friend's mom read while we were kids. And yet, I'm loving them. So today I've returned to Susan Wiggs but I hope I'm still holding onto my street cred since I recently read Carolyn Crane's Mind Games (finally). Today I finally got The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson from the library and that helps too. Pray for me, people, that I can kick this addiction of mine. Well, not totally. Just the Susan Wiggs books. And maybe the Timothy Zahn stuff too.