Elizabeth Tai

3.5 stars. Graeme was more than a prig in the beginning, but eventually I warmed up to him. The lively cast of characters around our couple - Molly the fierce lady's maid and Lady Eugenia for one, enlivens the story further.

The “mystery” plot was typical of the genre - the villain is not surprising & also terribly convenient. An enjoyable romp nevertheless.

I bought this book mainly to read what she has to say about being child free and it was worth it. I share her annoyance and anger at having the smugly married and babied up come up to you and grill you about your procreative choices. And I also realise what a privilege it is for me to have a choice in this matter when the women before me didn't have a say or an option. I am proud to be a free, independent child free woman.

Further musings about the book and about being childfree here: https://elizabethtai.squarespace.com/blog/on-being-childfree

After reading so many romance novels you can almost predict the plot. Not this one. I love it that I have no idea what will happen next. The plot was refreshing, though I felt it ended a wee abruptly. I also loved the fact that our heroine is no helpless naive virgin and our hero a duke. I am definitely looking forward to more books by Kelly Bowen.

I have a question though - it seems as if Iain and Helena should have a book, but I can't seem to find it. If anyone knows the title of the book, do tell me because it sounds intriguing!

Sabrina Jeffries has a way of writing that really draws me in. The Unresolved Sexual Tension in this one was really high. (Duo pretends to be a married couple while travelling on the road to find their loved ones - phew. Scorching!) Especially satisfying for me because I had a series of meh to blah reads for weeks.

I was so sure I would DNF this book. It sounded like an overdone premise - world is wiped out by a plague. Ho hum. Yet, I ended up reading this book in two hours. It's rare for me to appreciate a literary novel wearing the cloak of genre fiction this way.

Most of the time, books like these are poorly executed (I am looking at you, The Passage.) pompous, pretentious and overdone.

But the beautiful writing hooked me in and then it was the characters' journeys.

There isn't much of a plot per se; instead the book is an examination of how one man affected the lives of the people around him - before and after the plague that wipes most of humanity. I was surprised by how moved I was that. Navel gazing books usually annoy me.

Selfish characters become selfless ones. Innocent people become the personification of evil.

Ultimately the lesson of this book is this: our decisions have a ripple effect. How often do we take what we have for granted until it's too late? And even if you realise that you have taken a wrong turn, sometimes it's just too late to change course because life happens. Or a plague breaks out and everyone you know dies.

I am SO impressed by this novel. Mary Jo Putney is one of the few romance writers that hooks me so deeply in her stories that I can't stop thinking about the heroes and heroines of the tale. This is no exception. What impressed me was Cassie - how strong and capable she is, and how she never lets her tragic past weigh her down. She's an experienced woman; not the usual virginal misses of this genre, and is a wonderful complement to our tortured hero.

This was a surprisingly tepid read for me - a disappointment since I was so excited to read about Girard, the man who had tortured Christian (from The Captive) when he was a prisoner. I was curious to see how Burrowes could redeem such an apparently twisted man. Well, she did it by giving him a woman that seemed all too eager to overlook his scary past. I had hoped for more conflict, more emotional hand wringing I suppose - it was a more realistic approach, I feel. Instead, it's all very...boring, and the mystery of who wants Girard dead is hardly a mystery. Everyone seemed to accept Girard far too easily. Oh well. It could have been better.

3.5 stars. Great writing made me zoom through the book. However, the author overcomplicated the plot by throwing ever twist she could think of at it. It made it unbelievable at times! A simpler plot would have made the story more believable.

Also, although it's called “romantic” suspense, I really didn't feel that our couple's relationship was developed at all. They seem like cardboard figures going through the motions - though, I'd have to say it's rather hot. Still, a romance novel needs more than a couple of smutty scenes strung together. We need a REASON - why are there couple together? What motivated them to move their relationship beyond “friends with benefits”?

So, as a romance novel, it fails in that aspect. As a thriller, it's above average.

This was one of those rare times where I have no idea who to root for and that I was disappointed the investigator caught the perp. At first I wondered how effective this novel can be because the whodunit was revealed quite early! But this book will surprise you still. An unconventional murder mystery, that's for sure.

A lot of readers complain that this book was not advertised well - they thought it was help when in actual fact it's a memoir with some tips on making a big career move. They also complained that the author went on and on about how awesome her job was and wished she wrote less about that.

On the first point, I agree - the cover was misleading. It should have been advertised and promoted as a memoir and the cover and title didn't do it any favours.

However I think the second complaint wasn't completely fair - it's a big part of her journey out of her career. Having been in a similar position where the job you adored changed on you and you were forced to leave or end up in a worse position, I understood her angst. It's hard to leave behind something you loved eventhough you had to.

Sometimes you hold on far too long - like our author - but that's also part of the journey. We have to deal with the reality of it all and embrace the next step - and she has. If you Google her story you would have discovered that she has spend the years after her book was published as a wandering journalist, globe trotting and writing stories. I think that's an awesome second career, don't you think?

I've been turned off by contemporary romances lately. The books I've been reading seem to be more about the sex and less about the relationship between the couple, and I'm most definitely more interested in the latter. Sometimes I find myself just skipping these steamy scenes out of boredom. Yes, boredom!

Mary Balogh writes that kind of romance novel, the kind where you'll be fed a meaty tale of how a man and a woman develop as individuals and a loving couple. It's also a romance that is devoid of the dramatic hijinks of other historical romances. You will not find brigands, undercover Dukes, kidnappings or blackmail in this book. (Not that I dislike them, mind! I adore the crazy hijinks in some of these historical romances.)

Instead, the drama is mostly about Benedict and Samantha overcoming their difficulties. For Benedict, it is a grievous injury that crippled him, for Samantha, years of verbal and emotional abuse from her husband and in laws. It was really delightful to see them support one another and become whole.

Under less capable hands, this COULD be boring. It isn't easy to weave a fascinating tale WITHOUT the thriller-like elements, but Balogh does it so well. You are genuinely interested to see Benedict and Samantha get together as they're complex and well-formed characters.

Highly recommended.

3.5 stars. I was actually semi bored at the beginning chapters as it's about budgeting and I know quite a bit about it already. Anderson doesn't break huge grounds with this section, although it's pretty good advice. But what caught my attention were her chapters on setting goals - so many of us have only vague ideas how to make our goals a reality. The author has a very systematic and realistic way of helping you do that (no believe and it will happen nonsense), and it includes saving up for that goal. Tying up finances with your goals/dreams was a rather refreshing approach for a personal finance book. Highly recommended.

I like this book because it's about two very flawed people who messed up their marriage but still found a way towards each other despite it. Bryony was infuriatingly unlikeable and stubborn at the beginning, but after you find out Leo's Great Sin I totally get it. Some readers are turned off by the revelation, deeming him irredeemable, but in my opinion Leo was very typical of men during that age. Not that it made it OK - he's still a big dope - but I get why he did what he did.

Both of us characters are complex and flawed, and the redemption of their marriage was touching and thrilling to read.

If not for the appearance of a Chinese uncle in the middle of Regency England, this book would have gotten 3.8 stars. The kung fu master was such an unnecessary and unrealistic element in the book that it just took me out of the story. Otherwise, a beautiful, albeit “practical” and placid romance quite unlike the passionate, tempestuous ones I am used to reading.

My main barrier to really enjoying this book was Lawrence'a writing style. It's a personal thing really. I gravitate towards simpler, less rambly styles like Christopher Farnsworth- probably a reflection of my impatience as a reader. Some, however may enjoy the richness in detail. Alas, I found it tedious as I kept having to reread paragraphs to understand what was going on. In the end, I felt as if I didn't really have a firm grasp of the story. Also, the characters sometimes spout odd, modern remarks that are out of place with the time and world - “Christ on a bike?” I mean, do they even have bicycles in this world? Colour me confused.

Oh dear where do I even begin. The hero and heroine, while being likeable was as bland as sawdust. The premise gets more and more unbelievable with each book - all the sisters (who are milliners) married to aristocrats? I guess I just couldn't accept the premise, fantasy or not.

But most of all, the romance between the two isn't very strong, and Leonie does protest too much towards the end, resulting in an eye-rolling forced separation that was there just for dramatic purposes.

If I told any of my friends that I was reading a romance novel, their jaws would literally drop. Let's just say that I have a very eclectic taste when it came to books, but romance hardly ever makes my reading list.

But in truth, I do read romances. It's just that I am just very, very exacting on them. Very few of them entice me to read till the end, very, very, very few satisfy me so much that I'd exclaim, “What a lovely read!” More often, I go, “Meh.”

Well, the long story cut short is this: Courtney Milan impressed me with her ability to hold my attention. Ironically, it is not the relationship between the hero and the heroine that kept me captivated - it was Ash's relationship with his brothers Mark and Smite. I am far more invested in their relationship than I was with Margaret and Ash because M&A's relationship is the same-ol, same ol “hate at first sight but later love creeps in” kind of romance. I felt that there should be more tension between the two, but I supposed hats off the Milan for not going down the predictable route.

Looking forward to the other bros' stories ;)

It took me many months to reach the end of the journey. Now that I am here I wonder why I didn't take the detour...

A soggy middle. A very, very soggy and long-winded middle that could've been shaved down to a chapter or two. It has also one-dimensional characters who had the potential to be two-dimensional but never went that far.

Kerry definitely knows how to write sexy scenes, but sexy scenes aren't enough for me. At 50% of the book I still don't know why hot actor is attracted to the art teacher. The “we had a hot one night stand” reason isn't enough for me. I mean, the dude is some kind of Brad Pitt. He probably has a catalogue of women ready to jump his bones. Tell me why Everett is attracted to her, introduce some conflict between them. That will make this book a four star. Still, the writing is good enough for me to read on and this pushes the “I want to bed a hot actor” button well. Still, I wished it could be more intense.