I haven’t been in the mood to read anything new recently, so I’ve been rereading a few “comfort reads” from my keeper shelf, including some of my JAK keepers. (I have five of her books on my keeper shelf – Coral Kiss, Family Man, Wildest Hearts, Grand Passion and Trust Me.) I’ve read all of JAK’s single titles from the 1990’s, but I hadn’t read some of them in many years – I decided to pick up a couple and see what I thought of them now.
The Golden Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz
(1990, Contemporary) 1/30/08
Grade: 3.5
Nick Lightfoot sees a chance to return to the family fold – the stock shares now owned by Philadelphia Fox. The family is desperate to get those shares back, and Nick is willing to give it a try – but Phila isn’t quite what he expected…
It’s hard not to think of Family Man when reading this book, and unfortunately, this book suffers by comparison. The characters are just not explored in the same depth as they are in JAK’s better titles. Although Nick isn’t exactly an alpha jerk, I found him irritating – it’s not just that he was arrogant, but that he wasn’t explained and explored to the extent that some of JAK’s other arrogant heroes have been. I just found him annoying, rather than seeing his point of view. And I got bored with the intrafamily machinations, which took up way too much space here. There were some nice moments – I especially liked Nick’s patience and concern when it came to Phila’s sexual issues – but overall, it just wasn’t on par with her other books.
I’m so terribly picky…
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
A Christmas Wedding Wager by Michelle Styles
I had hopes for this one... alas...
A Christmas Wedding Wager by Michelle Styles
(2007, Victorian) 1/1/08
Grade: 3
Seven years after her romance with charity boy Jack Stanton ended, Emma Harrison has devoted herself to her father and his bridge-building. She has discovered her own interest in engineering, even though as a woman her options are limited. But when Jack returns, now a great success, will her dreams be destroyed - or will she find love as well?
Although I loved the setting and background of the book, I found the relationship between the hero and heroine frustrating. At the beginning, there are a lot of misunderstandings, and the hero treats the heroine quite badly - and yet, the heroine keeps saying how she can’t help falling in love with him. (Why?) I was especially frustrated by the odd pace of the book at the beginning - the supposedly serious heroine is worried about dangerous problems with the bridge, and yet fusses over dances and dresses. The hero says he admires the heroine’s work, then dismisses her. I got very tired of all of this, and just wanted these two to get a grip and talk to each other. But even when the characters did finally start getting along, there was still something odd about it - I just didn’t get the emotional connection between these two characters. Their relationship still felt stilted and strained. I actually had a hard time finishing this book - I can put up with plot contrivances if the emotions are there, but with these characters, I just couldn’t find a real emotional connection.
There was just something about this book that didn't work - the characters just rubbed me the wrong way, I guess. Hard to explain - like a shoe that just doesn't quite fit.
A Christmas Wedding Wager by Michelle Styles
(2007, Victorian) 1/1/08
Grade: 3
Seven years after her romance with charity boy Jack Stanton ended, Emma Harrison has devoted herself to her father and his bridge-building. She has discovered her own interest in engineering, even though as a woman her options are limited. But when Jack returns, now a great success, will her dreams be destroyed - or will she find love as well?
Although I loved the setting and background of the book, I found the relationship between the hero and heroine frustrating. At the beginning, there are a lot of misunderstandings, and the hero treats the heroine quite badly - and yet, the heroine keeps saying how she can’t help falling in love with him. (Why?) I was especially frustrated by the odd pace of the book at the beginning - the supposedly serious heroine is worried about dangerous problems with the bridge, and yet fusses over dances and dresses. The hero says he admires the heroine’s work, then dismisses her. I got very tired of all of this, and just wanted these two to get a grip and talk to each other. But even when the characters did finally start getting along, there was still something odd about it - I just didn’t get the emotional connection between these two characters. Their relationship still felt stilted and strained. I actually had a hard time finishing this book - I can put up with plot contrivances if the emotions are there, but with these characters, I just couldn’t find a real emotional connection.
There was just something about this book that didn't work - the characters just rubbed me the wrong way, I guess. Hard to explain - like a shoe that just doesn't quite fit.
One Way Out by Michele Albert
Unfortunately, my first read of 2008 was a disappointment - hopefully that isn't a sign! (Actually, I read most of it in 2007, but forced myself through the last couple of chapters after the ball dropped.)
One Way Out by Michele Albert
(2005, Suspense) 1/1/08
Grade: 2.5
After fossil hunter Cassie Ashton finds a rare baby rex, she is forced to cooperate with paleontologist Alex Martinelli, even though he’s annoying (and dangerously sexy!) But when someone steals Trixie, Cassie and Alex are forced to work together to save her - and themselves.
A book that started with a lot of promise, but went downhill quickly in the second half. The coolest part of the book was the background information on fossil hunting and paleontology - I loved that the characters were both devoted to their work, and got just as excited by bones as they did by each other. Their sexy banter was fun as well. However, the book turned into a run-of-the-mill, tedious suspense story when the t-rex was stolen, and after that, it was just blah, blah, blah. (Some of the developments were laughably ridiculous - we’re on the run, bad people are chasing us, so let’s have sex! twice! in the woods!) I went from liking these characters to finding them dumb and boring.
Sigh... I'm beginning to think I shouldn't even bother reading any suspense books, since it's so rare that I enjoy them.
One Way Out by Michele Albert
(2005, Suspense) 1/1/08
Grade: 2.5
After fossil hunter Cassie Ashton finds a rare baby rex, she is forced to cooperate with paleontologist Alex Martinelli, even though he’s annoying (and dangerously sexy!) But when someone steals Trixie, Cassie and Alex are forced to work together to save her - and themselves.
A book that started with a lot of promise, but went downhill quickly in the second half. The coolest part of the book was the background information on fossil hunting and paleontology - I loved that the characters were both devoted to their work, and got just as excited by bones as they did by each other. Their sexy banter was fun as well. However, the book turned into a run-of-the-mill, tedious suspense story when the t-rex was stolen, and after that, it was just blah, blah, blah. (Some of the developments were laughably ridiculous - we’re on the run, bad people are chasing us, so let’s have sex! twice! in the woods!) I went from liking these characters to finding them dumb and boring.
Sigh... I'm beginning to think I shouldn't even bother reading any suspense books, since it's so rare that I enjoy them.
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