Review: Can't Escape Love

Can't Escape Love by Alyssa Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Can't Escape Love" is another excellent addition to Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals series. Reggie and Gus were well-developed, incredibly likeable main characters, and I enjoyed getting to know both of them over the course of the story. I'm not into anime myself so some of the pop culture references went over my head, but Reggie's passion for the subject was clear, and I loved how she was able to turn her passion into a thriving business. Gus's passion for puzzles was equally clear, and when the two of them worked together to combine those passions, they were a nearly unstoppable force.

Overall, this was a short but sweet, sexy, and fun story, and I highly recommend it even to those who haven't yet read the previous installments in this series. This novella works very well on its own, though reading at least "A Duke by Default" (Reggie's twin sister Portia's story) does provide a nice bit of context and additional background on Reggie and her website.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: This Scot of Mine

This Scot of Mine by Sophie Jordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have read previous books by Sophie Jordan and enjoyed them, though none of the earlier books in this particular series, which is perhaps why I felt a bit lost when I started reading "This Scot of Mine." The heroine, Lady Clara, was clearly related to characters that featured prominently in the earlier books, and it seemed as if the groundwork for her plot to fake a pregnancy in order to escape an unwanted engagement might have been laid there. Some details about her fiance's cruelty were shared in flashbacks throughout the book, but I still felt like there was more to the story.

Beyond feeling like I was missing some background, I was bothered by several points of the story itself. First of all, why would Clara go to such extremes to get out of her engagement when she had a loving brother who was also a powerful duke as well as a stepfather who could have helped her? Did her fiance make threats against her family that I somehow missed? Based on Clara's descriptions, he didn't seem to be all that powerful or intelligent of a guy. He did not want to let Clara go, but how could he have forced her to go through with the wedding if both her brother and stepfather opposed it? Sure, canceling the wedding would have been a scandal for her family, but would that scandal really have been worse than Clara's "ruination" and ouster from Society?

I was also bothered by aspects of the book's central relationship between Clara and Hunt, whom Clara meets after escaping to Scotland to take refuge with her brother and his wife after her "ruination." Like Clara and her friends and family members, I'm not a believer in curses or magic, so I can understand why they'd have a hard time believing in Hunt's family curse. That being said, Clara's beliefs weren't really the ones that were important here; Hunt's were. If Clara really cared for Hunt, the fact that he believed in the curse should have mattered to Clara and she should have been more sensitive to his fears about what would happen if she became pregnant with his child. Instead, she just charged ahead and ignored Hunt's feelings until she couldn't anymore, and her friends and family seemed to encourage her in that.

Overall, while this book did have a few moments of humor and was overall a nice, light read, I would have to say that it was not my favorite of Ms. Jordan's works. However, I will definitely plan to pick up the next book in this series, which will feature Clara's former governess/current companion, Marian. Marian was a very likeable secondary character in this book, and in my opinion nearly stole the show in some of her scenes with Lady Clara. I look forward to seeing where the story takes Marian next.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Gracie's Secret

Gracie's Secret by Jill Childs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Gracie's Secret" was rather different from the books I usually read, but the cover and description were intriguing, so I decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did because I found it to be suspenseful and engaging overall, though I have to agree with the other reviewers who found Gracie's mom, Jen, to be a bit obsessive and annoying at times. I can understand Jen's desire to cling to her daughter after nearly losing her, but her vibe was a little too much for me at times.

Ella wasn't a particularly likeable or sympathetic character either, though I'm not sure if she was actually supposed to be. She was certainly caught in an unfortunate situation, but it seemed like that situation was mostly of her own making and she could have improved her circumstances (and those of the people around her) if she had just told the truth about her past. It doesn't quite seem fair that Ella didn't face more consequences in the end as a result of her lies, while Jen and Gracie suffered so much.

At any rate, I did enjoy this book and thought it was well-written. I would pick up another one of this author's books in the future.

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Secret Confessions of the Enticing Duchess

Secret Confessions of the Enticing Duchess by Olivia Bennet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Secret Confessions of the Enticing Duchess" was another enjoyable read from new-to-me author Olivia Bennet. Ms. Bennet is very skilled at crafting an engaging, suspenseful story arc and keeping me guessing as the twists and turns unfold. I also found the main characters, Miss Abigail Thorne and Percival Montague, the Duke of Northcott, to be likeable and well-developed. It took me a little while to really warm up to Percival, but after learning more about his tragic childhood and family history, I couldn't help but feel compassion for him and root for him to find love and happiness with a family of his very own.

I always enjoy historicals featuring characters with "non-traditional" backgrounds, and this one was particularly interesting for me given that the heroine was the one who was not an aristocrat. I've read a number of stories with working class heroes, but not as many with working class heroines. It was interesting to see the challenges Abigail and her mother faced in building their business, as well as how Abigail navigated her relationship with Percival differently from how a "gently reared" young lady might have done. The one (small) thing that bothered me was Percival's seeming indifference towards Abigail's reputation as he pursued her. While she may not have had a "ton" reputation to protect, shopkeepers relied heavily on respectability to build their businesses, and Percival's public pursuit of Abigail as a potential mistress could easily have harmed the dressmaking shop's business prospects. Fortunately, that did not happen, but things easily could have turned out differently considering how fickle "ton" clients could be!

In any event, I look forward to reading more of Ms. Bennet's works in the future.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Happy Pub Day to Susannah Nix's "Fallen Star"!

I'm a total Susannah Nix fangirl, so I'm thrilled to be celebrating today's release of her latest book, "Fallen Star," book 2 in the Starstruck series.  "Fallen Star" centers on Scott Deacon, a former child star turned grown-up Hollywood bad boy, and Grace Speer, a script supervisor who has sworn to never again date an actor after her last boyfriend left her for his younger co-star.  Scott and Grace are thrown together on a location shoot for Scott's latest movie in New Orleans, his attempt at a comeback after several years spent away from the spotlight overcoming a drug addiction.  Scott is desperate to prove that he still has what it takes to be a successful Hollywood actor.  Grace, meanwhile, has serious reservations about Scott due to his bad reputation and is determined to keep her distance, but her job forces her to work closely with him throughout the shoot.  Not only that, Grace and Scott end up living next door to each other in rental housing provided by the production, and eventually form an unlikely friendship while fighting stronger feelings for each other.  Will Scott be able to overcome Grace's reservations about dating an actor, especially one with his track record of addiction and fear of commitment?  You'll just have to read the book for yourself to find out!  :-)

What I love most about Ms. Nix's books are her relatable, sympathetic characters, and Scott and Grace are both great examples.  I have never acted, nor have I ever been a drug addict (thankfully!), and yet because of Ms. Nix's believable characterization, I was able to completely understand the difficulties Scott faced on both fronts.  Although it may seem glamorous to those of us on the outside, acting is not an easy job.  For example, walking around naked in front of co-workers is a nightmare scenario for most of us, but Scott is forced to do just that several times while making the movie.  In addition to the difficulties of the job itself, Scott is plagued with self-doubt, continually questioning his own talent and self-worth.  It's easy to see why he turned to drugs to cope in the earlier stages of his career, especially since he doesn't seem to have had a strong family support system in place.

As for Grace, her trust issues are completely understandable following her previous boyfriend's betrayal.  However, as she gets to know Scott, she comes to realize that there is much more to him than his reputation and past bad behavior.  I loved watching the two of them get to know each other and gradually fall in love.  Their path to happiness wasn't easy, but they managed to make it work.

Overall, I highly recommend "Fallen Star."  It was absolutely a 5-star read for me.  I can't wait to see what Susannah Nix writes next!

*Ebook provided by the author via InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. 

About FALLEN STAR:

The second he walked through the door, she could tell he was trouble.

Grace knows better than to fall for a Hollywood bad boy like Scott Deacon. An arrogant movie star with a troubled past and a big honking chip on his shoulder? No, thank you. He may be sex on wheels, but beneath the charming facade he’s just another cocky jackass destined to make her job more difficult.

Except...

The more time they spend together, the hotter the fire between them burns. With every flirtatious smile and brush of his hand, she feels her defenses crumbling.

She wants to hate him, but instead she’s in danger of losing all control.

Read an Excerpt from FALLEN STAR: 

Tuesday they were shooting on location in Jackson Square all day. The call time was two hours before dawn, so they could wring every second of sunlight out of the day, and Grace could not stop yawning on the transport van to the location.

“Wakey, wakey,” Scott said, leaning over the back of his seat to shake a plastic tumbler filled with something thick and green and disgusting-looking in front of her face.

“Ugh,” Grace grumbled. “Get that away from me.” She couldn’t help but smile a little though, even through her sleep-deprived crankiness.

An hour later, as the first streaks of light were glimmering in the sky above the river, Scott showed up at the pop-up tent where video village had been set up, and presented Grace with a white paper bag and a tall styrofoam cup from Café du Monde.

“For me?” she asked, perking up considerably. “Did you seriously walk over there and buy me coffee?” He didn’t seem to have gotten anything for anyone else. Just her. Her brain filed this information away to obsess over and analyze later, when he wasn’t standing two feet away grinning at her.

“Café au lait,” Scott said smugly. “And beignets.”

Grace narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “Did you make one of the PAs do it?”

“As a matter of fact, I did it all by myself. And I had to take a picture with the employees, so I hope you appreciate it.”

“I do!” she said, beaming at him. “You’re officially my favorite person today.”

He blinked at her, his smirk fading into something else entirely. Whatever that expression on his face was, it sent Grace’s stomach tumbling into a free fall. Rather than examine it more closely, she focused her attention on the bag in her hand. Inside was a mountain of powdered sugar, and buried beneath it were three pillowy squares of fried dough. “Don’t inhale while you’re eating those,” Scott warned her.

“Not my first rodeo,” Grace told him, excavating a beignet. “Want one?”

“Noooo.” He held up his hands in a warding gesture. “I’m doing a water cut for that fight scene on Thursday.”

Right. He’d be shirtless, which meant the Abs of Glory would be on full display. Grace found herself looking forward to Thursday with a little more enthusiasm.

“Sucks for you,” she said, giving him a taunting grin as she bit into a beignet.

His eyes homed in on her mouth with laser beam focus. “That’s fine. I’ll just enjoy them vicariously by watching you eat.”

“Does this get you off?” she asked archly and took another bite.

Scott licked his lips. “Not gonna lie, it kind of does.”

Grace couldn’t help laughing at his retriever-staring-down-a-dog-treat expression, which led her to make the fatal mistake of inhaling with the beignet in front of her mouth. Coughing sugar out of her lungs, she clapped a hand over her mouth as a cloud of fine white powder billowed out in front of her.

Scott sidestepped the powdered sugar typhoon and patted her on the back, chuckling. “Told you not to inhale.”