FALLING FOR ROMEO
Author: Jennifer Laurens
Source: Personal Purchase
Genre: Young Adult

Reading level: Ages 13 and up
Paperback: 204 pages
Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing; 2 edition (May 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933963948
ISBN-13: 978-1933963945

John can have any girl he wants. Jennifer’s never been kissed.
Everybody thinks he’s perfect. She’s got issues with pride and jealousy.
They were best friends-once. Now, they’re playing Romeo and Juliet. Virgin lips Jennifer must have her first kiss on stage with John, the guy every girl in school wants. The pressure and tension build along with each staged kiss. Both are shocked when feelings bloom. Can either tell which kisses are real and which are for show?

Author Jennifer Laurens has to be one of the best authors to portray in her writing the perfect blend of teen angst, romance and sweetness.  Everything I have read from her has been wonderful and captivating.  Falling For Romeo is another wonderfully written book that I wish had been around when I was a teenager trying to find something to read.


John is the perfect crush of his high school.  He is sweet, outgoing, a jock, and all around good guy.  He volunteers, is a good son and is now playing the lead in the high school play of Romeo and Juliet.  Jennifer has won the coveted role of Juliet for the play and happens to be John’s next door neighbor.  They grew up playing with each other and John considers her his best friend even though he hasn’t been much of friend lately.  Together they need to work through their differences and put together the best play they can. 


I loved the characters in this book.  They have real problems and struggle with balancing many activities while trying to renew their friendship.  One has a bad home life, the other longs for what was once great between the two.  While Jennifer has never been kissed by a boy really, she is nervous over the big kissing scenes that are the pivotal points in the play.  It was hilarious at how she tried to get experience in kissing so she wouldn’t be horrible at it for John. 


While I enjoyed the book and would recommend it in a heartbeat to everyone, I wasn’t as excited about it as I normally am with this authors books.  Maybe I was turned off a little by the retro looking cover, or maybe it was my reading taste at the time, but it was still a sweet and fun read. 

Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

ALL ABOUT SEDUCTION
Author: Katy Madison
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (October 25, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062017357
ISBN-13: 978-0062017352

Caroline Broadhurst is about to take a lover — at her husband’s command. For fifteen years, Caroline has done everything her much older husband has desired — except provide an heir. Now he has given her an ultimatum: seduce a suitable gentleman and bear a son. Caroline would never think of bowing to such a shameful order, but then she meets Jack Applegate.

Jack has longed for the beautiful, untouchable Caroline for years, but the chasm between them was too wide to ever dream of crossing. Now, fate and passion have thrown them together, but the potential scandal threatens to smother their love. And when a violent secret comes to light, only a terrible sacrifice will prevent the flame of their affection from being snuffed out forever. . .

This was my first book by Katy Madison.  I am still conflicted in my feelings towards this book even though I still liked it overall.  There were some good things and there were some bad things but it balanced out enough to make me want to read more by Katy Madison.


When Caroline is summoned to her husbands office one day, she never expected to hear the proposal he brought to the table.  He wants a child –which Caroline also desperately wants — but he is sterile.  After fifteen years of marriage, Caroline thought it was her unable to conceive a child.  What he proposes is for her to sleep with men of his choosing that is brought to their home and have one of them father the child.  Caroline was very young when she married her much older husband.  She has never enjoyed sex and can’t stand the act of it.  Her husband has always been rough and uncaring when it comes to lovemaking.  Even with these feelings towards sex, she still has been a proper wife and never had affairs or improper acts with anyone else. The only way she will receive any money if her husband passes away is if she provides him with an heir. 


Let me start with the things I did not like about this book so we can get them out of the way.  First her husband is way older than her — considering he is as old as a grandfather would be.  Two, what kind of husband would make you sleep with other men –strangers no less– just to provide a baby instead of adopting? Three, I hate how he made her do this, but then he got enraged when he suspects she actually did it! I understand this is a historical romance and things were done differently in those times, but the whole story was a little far fetched for me.


Now lets touch on the good things about the book for me.  I absolutely fell in head over heels for Jack.  He was sweet, patient and tender which every woman would love to have in a man.  He has always admired Caroline from afar, but since he was only a mill worker at her husbands mill, he knew he was not even close to the same class she was in.  All Jack wants in life is a woman to love, a way to further his life financially to where he can provide for a family of his own, and a chance to be happy.  When he crushes his ankle on a piece of mill equipment though, he knows his life is going to change for the worse.  No one will want a cripple working for them and he will have to give up his dreams of being an inventor in London.  He was protective of Caroline, but held back enough to know when to step in and when not to.  He always pushed her to open up to him about her problems and to let him in.  


So, everything balanced out for me in this book which left me with just a mediocre feeling about the book.  I liked the characters of Caroline and Jack, but there were characters I despised just as much.  The ending was wrapped up way too quickly and I felt it needed to stretch out further than just a few pages.  I wills till read more by the author and I can’t wait to see what other type of historical scandal she can bring to the table next, but I won’t go as far to say as it was my favorite historical romance this year.

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS

TOO HOT TO TOUCH
Rising Star Chef #1
Author: Louisa Edwards
Source: Personal Purchase

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks; 1 edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031235648X
ISBN-13: 978-0312356484

When it comes to competitive cooking, Max Lunden is no stranger to winning…though he’s never been great at working with a team. A master chef—and major hunk—he’s traveled the world, picking up new cooking techniques as well as beautiful women. But when the prodigal chef returns home to his family’s Greenwich Village restaurant, he discovers one too many cooks in the kitchen—and she’s every bit as passionate as he is…

Juliet Cavanaugh used to have a crush on Max when she was just a teenager, hanging out at Lunden & Sons Tavern, hoping to catch a glimpse of the owner’s oldest, and hottest, son. Now a chef herself—competing in the biggest culinary contest in the country—Juliet will be cooking side by side with the one man she’s always admired…and desired. But despite their simmering attraction, Juliet is determined to keep her cool—no matter how hot it gets…

First of all, look at that yummy cover!  I had to force myself to quit drooling at it long enough to actually read the story!  Of course every time I turned the page I had to look and drool again.  But you are wanting a review of the pages inside that gorgeous cover so wipe the drool from your chin and lets get started. 


This is the first book in a new series by author Louisa Edwards.  This series focus is on a competition called the Rising Star Chef and a family who runs their own restaurant that is need of attention due to lack of business.  Juliet, or Jules, is a long time friend of the family who just happened to live with the Lunden family for awhile after she had a falling out with her Mother.  She is also best friends with the youngest son, Danny Lunden.  Even though she has found a best friend in Danny, her heart has always belonged to his older brother Max.  Unfortunately, the night she moved in with the Lunden’s, Max also left town due to a family disagreement and hasn’t returned until now.


With the family and staff entered into the competition, they realize they need Max to help guide them with his worldwide knowledge and hopefully realize he is needed back home for good.  His Father’s health is failing and Danny has taken on too much responsibility with the restaurant. While they are going through the competition though, Jules and Max are trying to fight their sexy feelings toward each other.  Unfortunately, Jules and Max are fighting a losing battle on that because the tension and sex appeal between the two were rising faster than a loaf of bread!  


If I had to pick one thing that I didn’t like about this book though, it would be the constant references to the recipes and such.  I understand that the chef competition involves new recipes and stunning dishes, but at times it seemed to go a little overboard in the food knowledge.  Of course, this downfall also wanted me to try some of the recipes that the author includes at the end of the book.  I did have several drooling moments due to the recipes and dishes involved instead of the cover.


If you are a fan of this author then I am sure your are going to enjoy this new series. So go on and indulge in this new romance series and relax in knowing that you won’t gain any calories while reading it!

Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (October 25, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599904349
ISBN-13: 978-1599904344

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren–the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn’t seen since childhood–a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

Is it just me or does it seem like there is a downpour of mermaid themed books lately?  Even with the amount of mermaid books on the market right now,  I still wanted to read this book and see what sort of spin this author could bring to the mermaid tale.  While I never read the authors first book Magic Under Glass, I understood that it was a sort of spin off from that one involving certain characters.


Again, since I have never read anything by this author before, I did enjoy this book and the tale of mermaids and sirens.  I didn’t get lost and the author explained everything to the point of being able to imagine myself in the undersea world.  While I enjoyed the first few chapters involving the set up of the plot, it eventually started to flop for me.  I couldn’t connect with the characters and the interaction between everyone was not as established as it should have been.  The main plot is for Esmerine to find her older sister Dosinia, but I never really felt the sisterly bond that should have formed early on to make it a plausible outcome.  


While fans of the mermaid/siren world will more than likely enjoy this book, I am one of the few that would rather not set sail again on this voyage without some further fixes from the author.