Unfinished-Surrender A Dream by Jill Barnett

Read For:
ROR Winter Challenge
Synopsis:


Adelaide Amanda Pinkney was glad to bid Chicago farewell. After the bustle and crowds of the growing city, the news that her aunt and uncle had left her their California farm was like a dream come true.

But Addie's idyll was shattered the moment she reached California, and learned there was another claim on her land. Montana Creed was tall, headstrong, elemental ... as much a part of the rich and rugged California terrain as the fields and valleys that dotted its majestic landscape. As a boy, Montana had watched his father slaughtered, his land stolen--and he had vowed that one day he would fulfill his father's dream.

Addie soon discovered that Montana's stubborn streak ran as deep as her own ... and that his seductive smile was almost impossible to resist. As his reluctant bride, she came to cherish Montana's tender, passionate caresses. But she knew that one day he'd have to face the demons of his past--or lose the bright and loving promise of their future!

My Review:

My Amazon Review:
cannot agree more with the last reviewer. Those who liked this book and thought it "touching" must be mental. This is one of those romances where the hero and heroine constantly-and I mean every minute constantly-fight each other. I've never understood the attraction in those storylines anyway, but this one is a bit extreme. The hero kicks the door in of the heroines home, and tries to physically throw her out of the house.He then  SHOOTS at the heroine, inside her home and holds a gun to her chest-while thinking to himself that he appreciates her "spunk" in not flinching as he holds a gun on her? What in the world is supposed to be romantic about that?

Basically it's a "let's treat each other like dogs so we can suddenly realize we love each other the last 25 pages of the book".
Not recommended.

Unfinished-Impossible Dreams by Patricia Rice

Synopsis:
Although home is a dusty curiosity shop filled with rainbows and crystal balls, Maya Alyssum's past has not been filled with good fortune. Her impossible dream is to open a school where kids can find unconditional love and acceptance, the very things she never had as a child. The town council of Wadeville, North Carolina, is determined to stop her -- until the day Axell Holm walks into her shop.

Axell knows trouble when he sees it -- and Maya Alyssum is definitely trouble. But he needs the ethereal schoolteacher and the magic she works on his motherless daughter. He's willing to face the wrath of his hometown to get what he wants, but he's unprepared for his reaction to this strange and wonderful woman who turns his ordered life upside down, making him believe in dreams again....


My review:
I'm sure this is a nice enough book for someone else.Frankly, it was just too unoriginal for me. I've seen this storyline too much lately- the "ditzy, "New Age" free spirit chick and the "uptight" conservative dude.  But of course, as soon as the heroine meets the hero- she cannot seem to function in life without him and must be  "rescued" by the big strong guy-this supposedly from a character who has a masters in education and has fought her way up from being a child of the foster care system? It gets tiresome.


 After repeatedly falling asleep trying to read this, I quit 70 pages in. The names are also laughably cliche'- Maya (New Age) Alyssum (a flower for flower child of course) and Axell Holm-Axell? are you kidding me? Like the Axell of a car or Axel Rose huh? LOL. I guess the big strong man has to have a big strong name right? Excuse me while I vomit.  Here's a question Romance writers-what the heck is wrong with regular names?


I've read another book by this author that I loved (The Marquess) so I'll definitely try her again as I know she can do better than this one.

Unfinished-Sweet Sarah Ross by Julie Tetel

Read for:
Harlequin/Silhouette Reading Challenge

Synopsis:
THEIR MUTUAL ATTRACTION WAS INFINITELY TEMPTING AND UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE!
Sarah knew that a proper Baltimore miss shouldn't even glance at a man who had lost all his clothes, but the barefaced truth was that this man appeared to be the only thing standing between her and disaster. 
Sarah Ross Harris was a beautiful idiot, Wes Powell reasoned. Who else would argue with a buck-naked stranger while fleeing an Indian attack? How on earth would the two of them ever survive the dangers that lay ahead, let alone the fire that burned between them?

My review:
there's  name's for women like the "heroine"- selfish, self centered, bratty, and bitchy. When I finally had to add "c@ck tease" to that list of names, I couldn't take anymore. The "hero" was no better-constantly calling the heroine an idiot and was a notorious womanizer. Who would have known from the pretty cover that we'd have two such unlikeable characters? I kept hoping for some redeeming qualities to emerge, but finally gave it up three fourths through.  Not recommended.

Unfinished-Stormwalker by Allyson James

Read For:
ROR Winter Challenge
RYOB Challenge
Fantasy Challenge

Synopsis:
Janet Begay is a Stormwalker, capable of wielding the raw elemental power of nature, a power that threatens to overwhelm her. Only her lover, Mick, is able to calm the storm within her-even as their passion reaches unimaginable heights of ecstasy. 

But when an Arizona police chief's daughter is taken by a paranormal evil, they find themselves venturing where no human can survive-for only together can they overcome the greatest danger they've ever faced.

My review:

 I read, or tried to read Stormwalker by Allyson James (Jennifer Ashley). I quit this book halfway in-very disappointing as I normally like this authors works. In a word, there was nothing original about this story.

The same old "supposedly uber tough Harley riding heroine who, of course, must constantly be rescued by the mysterious, uber hot, alpha, ancient hero, who the heroine knows little about, but still manages to end up in bed with every few pages" UGH-the overproduction of paranormal romance/urban fantasy these last few years has, in my opinion, lead to an overproduction of formulaic tripe.
How about a heroine who is strong but drives a regular car, holds down a regular job, and whose wardrobe consists of something besides skin tight leather maybe?

Unfinished-The Tarot Spell by Willo Davis Robarts

The Tarot Spell
Willo Davis Roberts
Magnum Gothic Romance, 1970
254 pages


Synopsis: 

Catherine Sorenson nursed Sherm Addison for seven long years, until the old man died...and plain Catherine, unpretty Catherine, found herself two million dollars wealthier. The whole world suddenly stood open before her...but there had been only one romantic dream in her life: that of marrying Jason Ruart. The Ruarts were Mill Falls, and now, almost unbelievably, Catherine Sorenson was about to become Mrs. Jason Ruart.

Then the rumors began - the dirty rumors, the stories of heavy losses in the mills, the snickering gossip that claimed Jason would do anything for money in his desperation - including marrying ugly Catherine Sorenson! At first Catherine refused to listen to the stories; then she learned the truth about the death of Jason's first wife...

My Review:
Oh no-the dreaded "I'm a plain heroine, please treat me as your personal doormat as I have no self esteem or backbone".
I quit at the point where she signs over the 3+ million she just inherited to her husband of TEN DAYS-the same guy who never looked at her twice in fourteen years since high school, but marries her right after she comes into a fortune. Gawd save me from moronic heroines! 

Unfinished-Silken Roses by Elane Osborn

Synopsis:
She was a passionate flame-haired American, a bewitching stranger - and nearly a victim of a Jack-the-Ripper-like fiend. She was left homeless, escaping with her life but unable to remember the dictates and morals of society - unable to even remember her name. When Stuart, a handsome, rugged Yorkshire gentleman, rescued the dazzling young woman, he named her Gwen. and he decided to take a desperate chance to trap Gwen's attacker - by using her as bait. But instead, he fell victim to the deliciously enticing spell of her creamy skin and tender lips. He would know the unbridled desire of a heart unfettered by memory or convention. He vowed not to take advantage of her, but rather to win her burning, unyielding love with searing passion, urgent kisses and silken roses.


My review:
 just couldn't get into this one. One dimensional characters were unsympathetic and boring. Quit it halfway in. 1.5 stars


As an aside-
Ironically, I was reading this book, when I found out that the renowned cover artist, who did this cover, along with 3000 other, Pino Daeni, passed away. A huge talent who to me was the "Frank Frazetta" of romance novel covers.

Unfinished-Touch of Seduction by Rhyannon Byrd

Synopsis:

THE ULTIMATE PROTECTOR. . .

Sold into slavery as a child to a cruel taskmaster,
tiger-shifter Aiden Shrader trusts no one. Not
even his own kind. Yet as a member of the
Watchmen—the organization of shape-shifters
who keep watch over the ancient nonhuman
races—Aiden is fiercely protective of the
helpless. Never more so than when he's asked
to guard a little girl with witches' blood--and her
beautiful human aunt. A woman who arouses all
of Aiden's primal urges. . . urges he must resist.

To small-town schoolteacher Oliva Harcourt,
the massive tiger-shifter with the glowing amber
eyes is as much a dark mystery as the enemy
stalking her. Yet Aiden is her only hope of
surviving. Until their intense passion unleashes
her own inner tigress with a ferocity that will
make the evil Casus rue the day they messed
with her family. . . and will take Aiden by
seductive surprise.

My Review:
I'm a Romance reader. I want relationship and romance in a story. When you have a book, whose first chapter, is about a terrified woman, running from someone who she knows wants to kill her, she is sees a stranger in her back yard, at night, so she runs from him, only to be tackled to the ground.

This stranger, so overcome by her "scent" then proceeds to hold her down, thrust his tongue in her mouth, and frankly, "dry humps" her,this,in the "heroes" words is "so erotic how she squirms to get free"? WTF?


Here's another "gem" and remember, this is only, the FIRST CHAPTER-
"though he knew it was madness, the feral part of his soul was roaring that he needed to mount her, penetrate her, and fill her up with a hot, thick surge of come before she could get away"


Are you frigging kidding me? If this was any other genre book, a statement like that would be from a villain or criminal-NOT the hero! That is thinking about RAPE folks! I don't give a good gawd damn if he's a shape shifter or just some regular guy-that is some messed up stuff! 
This is romance? Strange men sexually assaulting terrified women? Here's a thought-with all his supernatural smelling abilities, couldn't the hero smell that the poor woman was terrified? Call me crazy-but attempted rape is just not attractive to me, nor will I waste my time reading such garbage. Thank goodness I got this book to review and didn't pay money for it or I'd be one unhappy camper.

Romance writers-exactly when did "alpha male" morph into attempted rapist, and when did that become "sexy"? Disgusting. Not recommended. 


As an aside-
It seems to me that many Paranormal Romance writers are using the genre of Paranormal Romance, as an excuse to have their male leads behave like abusive "animals"-who bully, assault, or like in this case, pretty much attempt to rape the heroine. There are some who like that crap-and to each his own-but that's what we have EROTICA for. That way, if a reader doesn't want to read that kind of kinky stuff, they just stay away from erotica novels. 


It is very "irksome", to say the least, the HARLEQUIN, for one, is merchandising novels like this one as "Paranormal Romance" when anyone with  a brain will see that this book is erotica as soon as they read it.   I for one, do not read Paranormal, or any genre of Romance, for this kind of  "rape fantasy" bullshit. Leave it in the erotica section Harlequin.

Unfinished-The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

Synopsis:A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all. With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh --” and a disappointed suitor -- far behind. She is bound for Roumania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence. She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle's master, Count Andrei Dragulescu. Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora's imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute --” Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway. Before her sojourn is ended -- or her novel completed -- Theodora will have encountered things as strange and terrible as they are seductive. For obsession can prove fatal...and she is in danger of falling prey to more than desire.

My review:
The dead may travel fast....but this books storyline did not. When you try, over a three day period, to read a book and it's better than a soporific at putting you to sleep, you know this is not the book for you. If the author was aiming for Gothic, she missed it by a mile. The story needed more suspense and less mundane triviality. When I reached a third into the story, and neither knew NOR cared what the mystery was, I knew it was time to quit. I'll try this authors Lady Julia books-this series I'll skip.

2 stars.

Unfinished-The Blushing Bride by Judith Stacy

Read For:
ROR Spring Challenge

Synopsis:

The last thing Jason Kruger needed was a city woman and her catalog of love!

He ran a lumber camp, not a lonely hearts club. But Amanda Pierce, matchmaker extraordinaire, offered wedded bliss to his crew ...and made him crave a life he never dreamed he'd desire!

How on earth had Amanda found herself at loggerheads with a high timber man wearing a mountain-size attitude? If Jason Kruger hadn't written requesting a mail-order bride, who had? And if he truly didn't want her in his life, why was he trying so hard not to get rid of her?

My Review:

short and sweet-the hero was a jerk and a bully and the heroine was way too flighty and "too stupid to live" for the storyline and the time period-not recommended. Quit it about 125 pages in. 1 star.

Unfinished-Night Pleasures and Bittersweet

Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

I've read the first book in this series and the "mini" book, Dragonswan and enjoyed them, though I wasn't "wowed" by them as many are. Well, I tried the next book, Night Pleasures, and quit it after about 50 pages.

 Sorry to disagree with so many, but these books are not so great to me. I  guess I'm just a older fuddy duddy, but to me, if your entire storyline revolves around sex, sexual innuendo, or the characters internal dialog of how "hot" the other is and how much they'd love to be boinking them? To me that is not a story, but filling pages with easy fluff sex scenes in order to not better develop a storyline. I don't care if it's a romance-it's still a STORY and should be built on more than just sex.

I'm also getting, to be honest, fed up with all the "he's a super perfect chiselled abs Demi god character". What about making a male lead a regular guy? Or even a bit above average guy? What's the fascination with having the perfect, super human male lead?

Also-this was my cover's edition. These "man meat" covers don't float with me either. What is with the "cutting the guy's head off-focusing on his naked sexy body parts". Guess the feminist in me just finds these sorts of covers dehumanizing and sexist in the extreme. So does "romance" mean "oogling" the other sexes body parts?


What's ironic to me is if a book or magazine had a similar cover-of a naked WOMAN"S bare chest with HER head cut off, most woman would find that VERY offensive! What makes it OK for woman to do that to men?

Guess this series is just not for me.

Bittersweet by Anita Mills

Read for ROR Spring Challenge

I couldn't get into this one and I normally like Anita Mills books but this one's is just too depressing. Story takes place right at the end of the Civil War and is brutal, and very "anti North" as the two leads are Southerners. Even though I'm a Southerner, I didn't like how the author portrayed Northern characters in the story. As we all know, there was faults and "bad actors" on BOTH sides.


Quit it about 60 pages in-others may like this one though.

Unfinished-Susie by Jennie Tremaine

Synopsis:Candlelight Edwardian Special #685


Poor little Susie. A beautiful dreamer, she imagined herself happy in a rose-covered cottage, only to find herself mistress of a great damp castle and wife to the elderly Earl of Blackball.

Luck, not the lecherous earl, contrived to spare her. She was a wealthy young widow on her wedding night. But her trials had just begun. The old countess was determined to turn the simple miss into a sophisticated lady...while handsome Sir Giles was determined to unmask her as a dangerously cunning minx. Sweet, naive Susie. Luck had brought her a fortune she'd never wished for, but what happy accident could make her innocent dreams of love come true?








My Review:
As a big time Marion Chesney fan (AKA Jennie Tremaine) I cannot believe how bad this story was. The heroine, Susie, is a 17 year old who is a step above a simpleton who lives the majority of the book making up a fantasy land in her head. The "hero" is a jerk, who in one page declares he loves Susie, and in the next he calls her a conniving bit@h!

Take my advice and skip this strange, negative tale. Zero stars.

A run of bad books

Well, I've not posted for awhile. No, I've not fallen from the face of the earth, I've just had a RUN of Sucky books. 6 in a row unfinished! Instead of giving each it's own posts I'll just post them here.

1-Double Wedding by Alix Melbourne-quit it 60 pages in. A "twins" Regency-which is hard to pull off anyway, but this one was STUPID.

2-Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip-I've enjoyed other McKillip books-this one just didn't grab me-quit it about 70 pages in.

3-Chasing Silver by Jamie Craig-a paranormal romance.In a word-this book is too stupid for Sci Fi OR Romance. Quit it after 56 painful pages.

4-The Confessions of a Duchess by Nicola Cornick, historical romance. This one started OK, but got so boring that I quit it with only 100 pages to go-just didn't want to waste anymore time on it.

5-The Scandals of An Innocent by Nicola CornickOk-I read the first book in this series(see above) but quit it before the last 100 pages-it was that boring.

Well, the premise of this book would kind of be like(via Sense and Sensibility) if Wickham, after leaving Marianne for the richer heiress, was rejected by the richer heiress and came back to Marianne-if Marianne would have been rich, of course-LOL. But in this book, it's not nearly as interesting.

Yes, the "hero" is a complete ass and the heroine lets herself be a doormat to him. At the point where he decides to BLACKMAIL her into Wedlock, I quit in disgust.

Authors-the only reason most women like "rakes" in romances, is if their is something in your writing of the character that foreshadows redemption! That is just not here. 1 star for a pretty cover.

6-Murder At The Feast of Rejoicing by Lynda Robinson-historical mystery set in Egypt-this one was disappointing as I've read and enjoyed the first two in this series. This one was BORING-quit it 70 pages in.

Unfinished-Driven by Eve Kenin

I have certain things that are pet peeves of mine. One of these is an author who seemingly relies too much on expounding again, and again, on how "hot" the male lead is. To me, if all a author of ANY genre book can fall back on is "filler" use of hottness or sex scenes and not a storyline then that's not the book for me. In Driven, this was the case. I quit it 45 pages in.

Unfinished-Luscious Craving by Cameron Dean

I'd read the first in this series and it was OK, but this one, had the heroine "in love" with one character, but simultanously sleeping with another character. WTF? I don't consider that romance, but cheating. Don't bother.

Unfinished-And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander

This book just didn't do it for me-it felt like a chore to read it. I quit 100 pages in.

Unfinished-To Love and To Cherish by Anne Hodgson

Synopsis
Escaping a world of loneliness and cruelty, Brianda Breedon's only source of comfort was her beloved stallion, Dakota. But when her cruel brother lost Dakota in a wager to John Fauxley, the Earl of Manseth, she was determined to get her horse back. Never did Brianda dream her visit to the earl's manor would be forever.
For after one glimpse of Brianda's exquisite face, the magnificent but arrogant John Fauxley was intent on making her his--even if it meant marrying her. From the tranquil English countryside, to the elegant rooms of London, to the beautiful mountains of Scotland, theirs is a love story about passion that could not be denied.

My Review:

started well, then quickly became maudlin. An obvious first attempt. Weird "father/daughter like" relationship between the H/H and the author has a massive love affair with exclamation marks. When it got to the point of seeing 5 exclamations in a single paragraph I just gave up.

Unfinished-The Spy Wore Red by Wendy Rosnau

Synopsis:

"She had moves no one could match and that kept superspy Nadja Stefn alive on many an undercover assignment. Until one slip changed the game forever. It happened one icy cold night...two spies on the run, holing up together...the night Nadja wore red. They exchanged no names, and five years later Nadja still didn't know the identity of her child's father. Until she was chosen for a mission that paired her with her mystery lover. Spy games...high stakes...killer moves...strong...sexy...suspenseful."

My review:

This is one of those romances that you pick up that is so sexist that you almost question whether the author might actually be a man writing under a pseudonym. I quit the book 40 pages in after reading, at LEAST ten times, how much of a "cotton candy ass" the heroine, a spy, has, and how her spy specialty was "straddling" then killing the villains she's being sent after. The topper was the backstory: that five years before she literally "runs into" the hero in a firefight, they hole up in a hotel together and within five minutes she is bonking his brains out in the shower without even knowing who he is, his name, if he could be a spy sent to kill her, or using protection, as of course she ends up pregnant but never tries to track down the man who fathered her child. This sounds like something right out of "Penthouse forum"! LOL.

Here's a hint authors: you don't have to make your heroines as raunchy as some sexist male character for them to be considered "kick butt".

Not recommended.

Unfinished-More Than Magic by Kathleen Nance

Couldn't get into this one. The hero was a bit too "alpha" for my tastes. Quit 40 pages in.

Unfinished-Just Say Yes by Myretta Robens

Zebra Regency Romance: 2005

Synopsis:

Where you least expect it. . . Weary of London's social whirl, Geoffrey Dorrington, Earl of Cheriton, longs for the simple life -- and what better place to experience it than on a relative's country estate? His plan to pass himself off as the steward succeeds... until the day Miss Cassie Hartwell smiles at him. Damn it all -- the vicar's daughter is far too charming for her own good -- and his. He will have to tell her who he really is...

. . .There is love Cassie sees no reason not to talk to the friendly steward on the neighboring estate. After all, Geoffrey is well-bred, kind to animals, full of fun, and amazingly handsome. Even if her social-climbing mama expects her to marry well, Cassie has other ideas. And love is in the air...

My Review:

Sorry-this one's a stinker-implausible storyline, very inaccurate historical details and one dimensional characters. I quit it at about 50 pages in. This one was one of Zebra's last published Regency line romances-and it shows. From the poor writing, to the horrible "chick lit" style cover they were obviously trying to cash in on in 2005, you can see why the line went under.

Unfinished-Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow

Read For:

ROR Fall Challenge (Read a book by an author you've "given up" on-call it one more try)

Well, I know I'll be in the minority for not "getting" her books, but I tried Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow-quit it after about 60 pages in, and multiple times of falling asleep while trying to read it. I also didn't like her Dante Valentine series so I think I just moved her books to my "skip" list. Fortunately I've found all my previous purchases at the library tag sales so I didn't lose money on them.

While I like "kick butt heroines" as much as the next girl-it can't just be about kicking butt with no character development. Her heroines just seem one dimensional-all action with no getting into their emotional back story.