Category: 2 Stars

Review: Blaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Number of Pages: 310 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2012
Publisher: Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Star Harbor #2
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website

Book Blurb:

Frustrated with her job in Boston, social worker Avery Newbridge welcomes the opportunity to reassess her life when family asks her to help manage the Star Harbor Inn. Trying to figure out her future is overwhelming enough, but she doesn’t count on distraction in the form of one Theo Grayson, the gorgeous, green-eyed author who she knows is trouble from the moment he saunters into the inn.

Not only does he have a talent for writing swashbuckling adventures, but Theo also has a soft spot for big-hearted damsels in distress, especially a woman who’s great at helping everyone—except herself. Avery’s demons challenge him, but for desire this hot, he isn’t backing down. With every kiss and heated whisper Theo promises her his heart . . . if only Avery is willing to open up and accept it.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

This book drove me bonkers. More specifically, Theo and Avery drove me bonkers. I like Star Harbor, and I like the people there. Deep Autumn Heat, the first Star Harbor book, was a lot of fun. And although the relationship between Seb and Lexie had its share of ups, downs and misunderstandings, the reasons made sense. They worked. Or when they didn’t, the reader knew why they didn’t.

Avery comes home to Star Harbor because her Aunt Kate, the woman who raised her, is recovering from cancer and chemotherapy. Kate needs help running the Star Harbor Inn. And Avery needs a break from her position as a social worker in Boston. Avery handles substance-abuse cases, and she just lost a client that she thought was going to make it. She’s questioning her judgment, and her ability to stay detached enough or invest herself enough. Or where that line is.

Theo Grayson is a big-name author. T.R. Grayson. He left Star Harbor for San Francisco years ago. But he seems to have lost his spark, and writer’s block has set in. He’s come back to Star Harbor to see if he can find himself, his real self, again.

Both Avery and Theo are home for two months. In the winter. In a small town on the New England coast. With every single person in town shoving them together. And Christmas is coming.

Verdict: The reader gets a fairly clear picture of what is going on in Theo’s head. He comes home and gets a handle on what’s been wrong with his writing. He writes nautical historical fiction in the same vein as C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Brian, so he needs the inspiration of the water, the coast, and the New England history he grew up with. Coming home unsticks him.

He also falls in love with Avery pretty much at first sight.

Avery has stuff to work out. She’s not sure whether she’s cut out for social work. She emotionally invests in her clients a lot. It’s what makes her good at her job, but it also devastates her when a client relapses or fails. She’s decided that her time back home will be spent without relationships. She clearly has other issues, but she doesn’t articulate them, even to herself.

She doesn’t want to get involved with Theo. She’s attracted to him, very, but not interested in a relationship. Even a fling while they’re both in town. The reader doesn’t get any clear picture of why not.

And Theo decides that he’s going to override any objections she has and seduce her anyway, because he’s decided that’s what he wants. Since she’s physically interested, her mental and emotional reservations aren’t important. He figures he’ll get her to overcome those later.

And that’s where the story derailed for me. Even though I couldn’t figure out why she didn’t want a relationship, she was clear that she didn’t want one. I couldn’t get past that, as much as I like the people and the town.

The secondary story between Avery’s Aunt Kate and the man who seems to have been pining for her forever was wonderful. The suspense plot that almost seemed like the Inn was haunted, not bad at all.

But Theo and Avery? I couldn’t get past the beginning. He knew best, and he decided that her objections didn’t matter. That plot went out when? The 80s?

I give Blaze of Winter 2 sadly disappointed stars.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine by Jayne Fresina

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook from NetGalley
Number of Pages: 384 p.
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Regency Romance
Formats Available: Mass market paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Book Depository

Book Blurb:

“Wanted: one husband, not too particular. Small dowry, several books, sundry furnishings, and elderly aunt included. Idlers, time-wasters, and gentlemen with other attachments need not apply.”

Scarred in a childhood accident, Sophia Valentine doesn’t expect any takers on her ad for a husband in the Farmer’s Gazette, until the mysterious Lazarus Kane shows up at her door. To Sophia, he is an exciting, enigmatic stranger. But Lazarus has known Sophia for years and has come a long way to find her. Things are about to get complicated for the mischievous Miss Valentine.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

Once upon a time, Miss Sophie Valentine did something very, very improper. She and her fiancé, the rather wealthy James Hartley, were caught, as they say, in flagrante delicto on a billiards table in the middle of a house party. There were scads of witnesses. (Not precisely, but nearby)  So James did the proper thing and asked Sophie to marry him. They would probably suit. They’d been friends for years, and he was rather handsome.

The worst part was that the experience wasn’t any good for her. Today we’d call it “wham, bam, thank you ma’am”.

No, the worst part was that while Sophie was standing on the balcony, waiting for James to bring her some punch, she saw him talk to one of the serving maids. And she saw that he showed the girl more real affection, more love, than he would ever show her.

And Sophie Valentine wasn’t ready to be a complacent wife. Not even to escape the scandal.

She climbed down the groundskeeper’s ladder next to the balcony, escaping the life that society expected of her, and tearing a gash on her face that left a permanent scar. Just like the one on her life.

The assistant groundskeeper who left that ladder out watched her every move–and was dismissed for his inattention to his duties.

Ten years later, Sophie is rusticating with her brother and his absolute harridan of a wife, still trying to live down that scandal, and she finally breaks out of her attempt at propriety by writing an advertisement in the local farmer’s journal for a husband.

Of course, the ad brings a handsome stranger to the village. And, because there are no coincidences in romance, it’s the assistant groundskeeper who got fired for watching her escape ten years ago.

And all the players from that long ago drama return to Sophie Valentine’s life to try to prevent her from causing yet another scandal.

Based on that opening scene, this should have been tremendous fun. Not terribly true to period, but fun. Except it all falls kind of flat.

The characters seem more like caricatures than real characters. There’s the hero of course, who had to go off and become dark and tortured before he could be redeemed and rescue the heroine. Lazarus has a number of secrets that he refuses to reveal to Sophie, but seem obvious to the reader. He also has a mysterious wound that might kill him at any moment, but is miraculously not a problem at the end of the book.

There’s Sophie’s brother  Henry, who isn’t capable of managing his estates without his sister’s more sensible advice. Henry is weak and resents his sister for pointing out the things that he should be taking care of and can’t seem to stand up to his shrew of a wife, who is spending money that they don’t have.

Then there’s the sister-in-law who resents Sophie. Sophie who is doing all the work Lavinia should be doing, and who occasionally reminds her that the household is spending far, far too much. And that she’s really, really stupid.

Are all the awful Regency sister-in-laws named Lavinia, or does it just seem that way?

The seduction of Sophie Valentine by Lazarus Kane from her prim and proper, scandal-reducing life back to her true improper self takes much too long and is down-right boring.  Sophie may have been teased but after she fell down that ladder, I wasn’t.

I give The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine 2 Stars.


***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.