Category Archives: Romance

Marian Keyes, “Sushi for Beginners”

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HarperCollins; http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Sushi-for-Beginners-Marian-Keyes?isbn=9780060555955&HCHP=TB_Sushi+for+Beginners It’s a common problem. Bridget Jones remarked on it. Most people have experienced it. When one part of life is going really well, another part falls spectacularly apart. Professionally, a person could be doing fantastic work, making money, feeling good. But her personal life is in shambles. She’s single. Again. And afraid to look for what she might – or might not – find in the murky world of dating. For Lisa, Ashling and Clodagh, women who ostensibly don’t “have it all,” total happiness eludes them. One part of their lives is chugging along; the other is stalled. It seems only time, humor and a heaping helping of humble pie can tip the balances in favor of love and satisfaction.

Plot Overview: Glitz, Glamour and Girls

Ashling Kennedy is the consummate best friend. She is prepared for every disaster with a Mary-Poppin’s-like cavernous bag, she has a tendency to worry, she is loyal and needy and lacking in self-esteem. And she’s single, though she wouldn’t mind having a loving and faithful boyfriend. But for now, Ashling is a girl with a big heart – and maybe even a bigger body – who works as an assistant at fledging magazine “Colleen.”

Lisa Edwards is the polar opposite of her assistant, Ashling. Lisa is the high-powered new editor of “Colleen,” though she views her move from London to Dublin as a demotion. She is slim and svelte and gorgeous, and she maintains such high standards that a normal person – her employees, her ex-husband – can only fall far short. The unpleasant Type-A personality is loath to work at the Irish mag, but ruggedly handsome and cranky editor-in-chief Jack Devine might be her perfect complement. Might be.

At first glance, Clodagh really does have it all. A handsome husband who brings home the big bucks, two lovely children, a beautiful home. But Clodagh fights persistent unhappiness and boredom. There is no passion in suburbia and in motherhood, and the young, flighty woman is desperate for something. Drama. Excitement. An affair.

Criticisms and Compliments

Keyes is the undisputed queen of chick-lit (Sophie Kinsella is a close runner-up; perhaps the “princess” of chick-lit). Keyes typically channels a variety of young, struggling twenty and thirty-somethings, many of whom have professional lives that any other woman would envy. Case in point: the workers at “Colleen” have the luxury of not only working for a glamorous women’s magazine, but they are also spearheading a new publication. Quite an opportunity. But where Keyes would normally tackle a mainstream issue (abuse, rape, suicide, alcoholism), such a topic seems to be missing – or at least not as obvious – in Sushi for Beginners. Rather, this frothy novel looks at the superficial, the surface of a woman’s relationship with her partner, her lover, her friend and her husband. Essentially, no single relationship in perfect; boredom or dissatisfaction inevitably set in, and infidelity is almost a guarantee, but love is worth the fight. Or so it would seem.

The problem with Sushi for Beginners, aside from its lagging first few chapters, is the general unlikeability and stereotypical personalities of the characters. Lisa is just not a sympathetic character; her situation is sympathetic – aside from her “promotion” of sorts to Dublin (who wouldn’t want that?) – but her nasty attitude overpowers her vulnerability. She is, in plain speak, a bitch. Likewise, Clodagh is selfish and insensitive, a woman who could have it all, but still isn’t happy. So what does she do? Turn to what her best friend has and take that. She might be sorry, but not sorry enough to give it back. And Ashling, the only likeable character in the novel, is too much of a chick-lit stereotype: clumsy, bumbling, overweight, single. In true Keyes fashion, however, each character does wind up with her deserved ending – happy or not – which can be immensely satisfying. Still, Sushi for Beginner’s leaves something to be desired.

Sushi for Beginners is certainly not a bad novel; it’s well written and funny and evokes the glamorous world of magazines (not unlike Tasmina Perry’s Daddy’s Girls), but the pacing and the characters bring it down a notch. The Other Side of the Story, The Brightest Star in the Sky and This Charming Man are better reads.

Source:

  • Keyes, Marian. Sushi for Beginners: A Novel. William Morrow Paperbacks (Reprint edition), 2005 ISBN 9780060555955

Jennifer Weiner, “Goodnight Nobody”

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Washington Square Press; http://books.simonandschuster.com/Goodnight-Nobody/Jennifer-Weiner/9780743470124The city versus the suburbs. Singledom versus married life. Freedom versus motherhood. Every woman makes her choices, either deliberately or not. Some might be thrilled to find themselves professionally successful, financially sound and happily single in their 30s. Others, however, find themselves cleaning up dirty diapers, chasing the uppity moms of the most popular stay-at-home clique and reducing their intellectual challenges to repeated games of Candy Land. Kate Klein is one of those mothers. And she has no idea how she ended up in Upchurch, Connecticut, bored, frustrated and contemplating a different life.

Plot Overview: Suburbia, Secrets and Boredom

After being mugged, Kate and her workaholic husband, Ben, uproot their family of five from the bustling streets of New York City to move to quiet, serene Upchurch. But behind the glossy front doors and beneath the perfectly coiffed hair of the ladies who lunch lie secrets. Kate, rumpled, clumsy and always with a mussed ‘do, is eventually invited into the  group – only to find her hostess, Kitty Cavanaugh, murdered. Stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife.

The suburb is shocked at the murder, outraged that such a safe place could be home to a maniacal killer. But Kate, bored and lonely and desperate for purpose, is intrigued. She takes it upon herself to investigate the death of Kitty and to unearth all the secrets of the WASP-y clan in Upchurch. Of course, she can only ferret out the murderer on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings (when her children are in school), but a lack of time won’t stop the determined mother.

Complicating matters is Evan McKenna, an old boyfriend whom Kate never got over. With her own marriage on the rocks, Kate finds herself drawn closer to the man of the past, a man who reminds her of better times, freer times, happier times. But is she willing to sacrifice the family for whom she has worked so hard? Could she end up just like Kitty, stabbed in the back in her own shiny, remodeled kitchen?

Criticisms and Compliments

Jennifer Weiner is an excellent story teller, and her novels have wide appeal to female readers, all of whom dream of being accepted and loved for exactly who they are and what they look like. It is fantasy fiction at its best. However, while Weiner’s other hits (In Her Shoes, Good in Bed, Best Friends Forever) are endearing, nostalgic, tug-at-the-heartstrings chick lit, Goodnight Nobody is Weiner’s first venture outside of the frothy romance box. Unfortunately, the mystery of Goodnight Nobody isn’t exciting or intriguing, nor is it particularly well-crafted. Instead, Weiner vacillates between her protagonist’s personal life and emotional struggles and the superficial backgrounds of suburbia’s most powerful: the housewives. While it isn’t unusual for authors to include vulnerable elements of their primary detectives, the mystery generally takes a priority. In Goodnight Nobody, boredom and dissatisfaction do.

Despite its lackluster plot, Goodnight Nobody can still be enjoyed if just for Weiner’s writing style and humor. Sophie, Kate’s daughter, is wry and sarcastic, and Kate is a bumbling, endearing mom who just can’t fit in. That said, the ending and the lack of a conclusion, of closure, of any type of resolution between Kate, her husband and her former lover is disappointing. Goodnight Nobody is a book the reader tolerates for the wit, for the depictions of the ridiculous and now archetypal stay-at-home moms and for the untangling of a miserable life – but just as the reader believes Weiner will neatly tie up her plot, the story ends. Abruptly.

Better stick with Weiner’s other hits and avoid this one.

Source:

  • Weiner, Jennifer. Goodnight Nobody. Washington Square Press, 2006 ISBN 9780743470124

Katie MacAlister, “The Corset Diaries”

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Onyx; http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780451411129,00.html?The_Corset_Diaries_Katie_MacAlisterAs reality television has evolved over the years, a typical female star has come to possess some (or all) of the following: bleach blond hair, sun-kissed skin, a lithe but sexy figure, a cosmetically enhanced visage, a narcissistic personality, a flair for drama and a love of fame. Pleasantly plump bookworm Tessa Riordan is far from such a woman. But when a friend encourages her to participate in a reality television program, she is reluctant, fearful – and intrigued. The lure of the spotlight, as so many men and women have fallen prey to, draws the cheerful gal in, and she manages to clumsily charm her way into the hearts of the viewers. And into the arms of the man cast as her husband.

Plot Overview: Love, Lust and Reality T.V.

At 39 years old, Tessa is a widow, a size 18 and a struggling genealogist. Not the ideal life. So when opportunity arrives in the form of a reality show à la PBS’s “1900s House,” Tessa decides she has nothing to lose. Except maybe a few pounds.

The show, which chronicles life in the late 1800s, is made up of actors and wannabes; Tessa’s role is the duchess of the household, a pampered and relatively easy position. She is tied (and tortured) into a corset every day but spends most of her time wandering the English countryside and awkwardly dining with her conservative “neighbors” (read: inexperienced but eager actors). The real plus, however, is Max Edgerton, the British architect playing the Duke.

Max is reticent and standoffish, but Tessa’s good-natured ways begin to smooth his rough edges. The two embark on a steamy affair behind the camera, and Tessa is only too happy to cater to Max’s needs. Complicating matters, however, are the other members of the production. Max’s daughter and in-laws are part of the cast – and deeply disapproving of Tessa – and the actors assigned to servant positions are about to rebel. What should have been a clandestine affair on a staid television show is instead a messy coupling on a hilarious, drama-filled disaster.

Criticisms and Compliments

Katie MacAlister is a hit-or-miss writer. Some of her novels (the Aisling Grey series) are excellent. The protagonists are well-rounded, the romances are hot, the dialogue is witty. But no writer is perfect, and MacAlister has missed the mark before (Men in Kilts, Improper English); her plotting can be superficial, and the female protagonists, rather than appearing clever and charismatic, are overly emotional and just plain not likeable. That said, The Corset Diaries is not only a hit, but also one of her best. Tessa is vulnerable and kind, Max is flawed but loving, and the romance has enough depth to allow the lovebirds to grow. Plus, the plot is laugh-out-loud funny.

In her more successful writing, like The Corset Diaries, MacAlister tends to channel Jennifer Weiner and Sophie Kinsella. Like many of Weiner’s protagonists, Tessa Riordan is overweight and aware of it, but she manages to find a man who loves for who she is, regardless of her size. And like Kinsella’s heroines, Tessa acts with good intentions, but those well-meaning actions constantly land in her cringe-worthy but entertaining situations. The plump protagonist plus the situational comedy makes for a great read. It’s a formula that works.

Finally, MacAlister has the ability to tap into fantasies in which to set her characters and plot: The Corset Diaries explores not only romance on a television show, but also during a seemingly idyllic historical period; A Hard Day’s Knight, another great read, looks at love and lust at a jousting tournament at the Renaissance fair; and the Dark Ones series focuses on seductive vampires and powerful magic. Her collection (of hits) is funny and sexy fare that’s fluffy enough to be light reading.

Source:

  • MacAlister, Katie. The Corset Diaries. Onyx (Reprint edition), 2004 ISBN 9780451411129

Nora Roberts, “Genuine Lies”

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Bantam; http://www.randomhouse.com/book/155745/genuine-lies-by-nora-robertsEve Benedict is a gloriously successful actress, a product of Old Hollywood. She is glamorous and famous and rich, and like any powerful personality in Los Angeles, she has a cache of secrets. So when she hires memoirist and single mother Julia Summers to write her biography, several Hollywood heavyweights start to sweat, nervous about what Eve might reveal. The worries and anxieties swirl around the seemingly oblivious celebrity until they gather and thicken, culminating in the screen goddess’s murder. The only question is, who finally did it?

Plot Overview: Celebrity, Memoirs and Family Secrets

With the promise of a hefty paycheck, Julia scoops up her life in Connecticut to move to Beverly Hills, California, to meet with Eve. At the generosity of her client, Julia and her son, Brandon, move into Eve’s guest house; Brandon is thrilled to use the swimming pool, and Julia is eager, if wary, to start on the book.

Eve, in typical star fashion, makes for a terrific subject. She’s open and descriptive; her stories of the behind-the-scenes on iconic films and her juicy scoop on classic stars will make her memoir a best seller. The only problem is, some of those behind-the-scenes workers and some of those classic stars don’t want their secrets published.

Paul Winthrop, Eve’s stepson, is one of those who doesn’t want her story told. He’s overprotective, scared for what might happen, so he lashes out at the quietly pretty and brainy writer. And while he loves Eve, he finds himself tripping over into lust – and eventually love – with Julia.

Julia and Eve bond over their shared book and their shared love of Paul, but Eve has one more secret up her sleeve. A secret that involves Julia. A secret that could ruin lives.

Criticisms and Compliments

As one of Roberts’s firsts, Genuine Lies is, surprisingly, terrific. And why is it so good when most of the earlier novels of well-known authors are mediocre compared to their later work? To speculate, maybe Roberts worked harder at writing earlier in her career, or perhaps she had a different editor. But what it comes down to, more than any other external factor, is that she is, plain and simple, a good storyteller. And Genuine Lies is a good story.

At the time it was published, Genuine Lies sold well. But reading it now, more than 20 years after it was published, Genuine Lies is a throwback to the early ‘90s, a nostalgic look at how movies used to be made before Hollywood became grungier and less elegant. Eve is the ideal movie star, strong and beautiful and powerful, an Elizabeth Taylor, a Katharine Hepburn, a Bette Davis. A legend. The blending of characters, the influential and the subservient, the rich and the middle class, makes Genuine Lies a must read.

Source:

  • Roberts, Nora. Genuine Lies. Bantam (Reprint edition), 2010 ISBN 9780553386424

Stephanie Meyer, “The Host”

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Book design, Meryl Sussman Levavi; http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/stephenie-meyer/the-host/9780316218504/When the Souls took over Earth, they didn’t do so violently or ignorantly or mercilessly. Rather, the benevolent race inserted themselves one by one into the bodies of humans, gently taking over each host’s thoughts and memories. It should have been an operation like any other, and it was certainly not the Souls’ first time invading a planet. But, not to be underestimated, the humans fought back – in mind, body and spirit – leaving the Souls, like Wanderer, baffled. And then sympathetic.

Plot Overview: Love, Acceptance and the Enemy

When Wanderer – so named for her inability to settle on a particular species on a particular planet – is inserted into Melanie Stryder, she expects the process to be like the others she’s experienced. She will assume the shell completely, and any dregs of the previous owner’s conscious will melt away. But Melanie won’t go away.

Confused, Wanderer tries to negotiate with Melanie, tries to understand her anger and frustration. The two fight against each other, but Melanie’s memories seep into Wanderer’s present. The two eventually come to terms, especially after Wanderer begins to develop feelings for those Melanie loves, especially Jamie, her little brother, and Jared, her boyfriend.

United, Wanderer and Melanie try to find Jamie and save him from being implanted with another Soul. They manage to track him down, as well as Melanie’s Uncle Jeb, who crafted a series of caves and tunnels beneath the surface of Arizona years before the invasion. Now the underground dwellings are home to a band of human rebels.

The rebels are wary, loath to accept Wanderer. Her compassion and her nurturing nature win some of them over – especially Ian, a man with whom Wanderer begins to feel a special connection – but she remains an outsider, a witness to the emotionally destructive nature of the Souls. Deciding to make the ultimate sacrifice, to reunite Melanie with Jared, Wanderer agrees to teach Doc, another rebel, how to perform an extraction. And she wants it done on herself.

Criticisms and Compliments

To give credit where credit is due, Stephanie Meyer knows how to write an absorbing story. Sure, the Twilight Series isn’t the best written work, and neither is The Host (though it is an improvement on Twilight), but Meyer manages to keep the reader glued to her pages. Like the books in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, it’s almost a disappointment when The Host ends. Such is the magic of sci-fi/fantasy/romance fiction.

That said, the prologue and first chapter of The Host are an ineffective cold open; it’s not until the reader gets to the meat of the story that who and what Wanderer and the Souls are begin to make sense. Overall, the story could have been better had Meyer given more background or explanation; it’s generally a cardinal rule not to start a novel with a flashback, and in The Host’s case, that rule holds true.

Still, The Host is captivating, and Wanderer is a terrific protagonist, warm and curious and good-hearted (if a worm-like creature can have a good heart). And it is guaranteed that when the movie version is released in March 2013, Saoirse Ronan will do the role of Wanderer/Melanie justice. The Host (both the movie and the book) may not be a must see/must read, but it is engaging entertainment.

Source:

  • Meyer, Stephanie. The Host. Little, Brown and Company (Reprint edition), 2011 ISBN 9780316043045

Nora Roberts, “Honest Illusions”

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Berkley Trade; http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780425236468,00.html?Honest_Illusions_Nora_RobertsMagic. It’s thrilling and sexy, a mix of illusion and sparkles and leather and knives. There’s a rush involved, a satisfaction of wowing and deceiving the audience, of knowing the secrets, having the skills. And likewise, stealing – whether it’s jewels or cash or art – is equally sexy, equally as seductive. For the Nouvelles and their pseudo-son, Luke, the art of theft and the art of illusion are addictive and a high-powered adrenaline rush. But when that skeptic chimes in, that jealous person who is less talented and less magical, the gifted Nouvelles know when it’s time to retire – after a little revenge.

Plot Overview: Magic, Blackmail and Deceit

In the early 1970s, Max Nouvelle is on the road. He goes from carnival to carnival, dazzling crowds with his tricks and charm. His well-stacked lady love, Lily, and his young daughter, Roxanne, accompany him from one tent to the next, until they find themselves near Portland, Maine. There, the Great Nouvelle performs one of his greatest feats – rescuing abused runaway Luke Callahan from the streets.

Back at home in New Orleans, Roxy and Luke are Max’s apprentices, both in and out of the theater. They ply their trade on street corners to make an easy buck, and at night they tag along with Max as he lifts glittering jewels from the rich and spoiled. It’s only when they try to save another kid, Sam Wyatt, that the Nouvelles’ strength is tested.

As the sparks fly between Roxy and Luke, Sam watches on, bitter and jealous. When Roxy discovers his sociopathic, vindictive nature, Sam is thrown out – and he vows revenge. And he’s smart enough, slick enough, that years later, after Roxy and Luke have admitted their glowing love, he destroys the romance through greed and blackmail. The only catch in his plan? That he’s not a master thief, a master magician – and the Nouvelles, the cream of the crop, always end with a great performance.

Criticisms and Compliments

Honest Illusions is a Nora Roberts hybrid of sorts: it has the epic story, the saga of generations found in one book, like Montana Sky and Public Secrets; likewise, it has the rush of thievery, of carefully planned burglaries of glistening, priceless jewels, and the power of revenge like Sweet Revenge. And while a lot of Roberts’s later works (The Key Trilogy, In the Garden Trilogy, the Circle Trilogy, the Sign of Seven Trilogy) have the element of the supernatural, Honest Illusions has just a hint – magic.

While Honest Illusions has a little bit of everything, it is a genre romance novel. That said, the romances – between Max and Lily, Roxanne and Luke, Mouse and Alice – are secondary to the tale of the family itself. Really, Honest Illusions is about one family, a New Orleans-based magical group that lives and breathes illusions and love and devotion to one another. So for those looking for a terrific romantic tale, Honest Illusions may not be the best choice; for those looking for a tale of vengeance, Honest Illusions may not be the best choice; but for those looking for a little bit of everything, a little love, a little scandal, a little magic, Honest Illusions is the perfect read.

Source:

  • Roberts, Nora. Honest Illusions. Berkley Trade (Reprint edition), 2010 ISBN 9780425236463

Nora Roberts, “Sweet Revenge”

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Bantam; http://www.randomhouse.com/book/155749/sweet-revenge-by-nora-robertsIt’s a story fit for a Hollywood hit: gorgeous movie star meets exotic royal. Meet-cute and romance ensue. Fairy-tale wedding is topped only by the birth of their daughter, Adrianne. End credits. For Phoebe Spring, starlet and bombshell, it is what happens after the credits that determines her story.

Phoebe’s Prince Charming, Abdu, ruler of fictional Middle Eastern and oil-rich country Jaquir, is cruel and abusive, an extremist who takes on other wives, filling his harem with beauties. And when Phoebe escapes, their daughter is witness to her inevitable self-destruction. Adrianne blames her father – and she’ll stop at nothing to avenge her mother’s death.

Plot Overview: Celebrity, Tragedy and Thievery

Princess Adrianne, at present day, is a sparkling socialite, brilliant and beautiful. Outside the focus of a camera lens, however, Adrianne is a talented cat burglar, a female Robin Hood of the Upper East Side: she steals from the rich to give to the poor – with the money easily filtered through her own charities.

With Phoebe having long since died, Adrianne has moved on, as much as she can. Her only family, in her mind, is Celeste, her mother’s best friend. Adrianne has neither seen nor spoken to her father in years, though she’s been making plans for him. She believes that he has the Sun and the Moon, a valuable necklace that rightfully should have been given to her mother. She wants it back.

While Adrianne plots, retired British thief Philip Chamberlain edges closer to the exotic princess. He’s working for Interpol, but when he finally snags Adrianne, he finds her irresistible; he can neither extract himself nor convince her to abandon her plan. His only recourse? To help.

Criticisms and Compliments

When Roberts devotes herself to one character’s life, to the loved ones that rotate in and out, to the traumas and joys that shape a personality, her work is excellent. Sweet Revenge is one of those works. It tracks the life of Adrianne, a highly skilled, very smart thief who not only captures the sexiness of crime but also the glamour of celebrity. It’s an enticing mix, one that makes for a fascinating, engaging protagonist.

Like Suzanne Brockmann, Roberts creates a Middle Eastern country, one with fundamentalist tendencies; the women wear burkas, the morality police patrol city streets, the ruler (Abdu, in this case) is rich and exploitive, the people poor. And like Kazbekistan, Jaquir is stereotypical of what Americans may think of Middle Eastern countries; that said, at least Roberts and Brockmann take care to rename the countries they devise.

Sweet Revenge is an engrossing story and perfect escapist reading. It has all the elements of a great read: family drama, nostalgic looks at old Hollywood and Los Angeles in the ‘70s and ‘80s, romance, scandal and revenge. And in this book, revenge is painful and exquisite and definitely sweet.

Source

  • Roberts, Nora. Sweet Revenge. Bantam (Reprint edition), 2009 ISBN 9780553386417

Nora Roberts, “Public Secrets”

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Bantam; http://www.randomhouse.com/book/155747/public-secrets-by-nora-robertsSome musicians, some bands (read: The Beatles) have the ability to transcend time. They adapt to each decade, not only embracing and promoting new styles but leaving an indelible mark on the conscious of listeners. Devastation, led by frontman Brian McAvoy, is such a band. In 1967 the British rock group is on the brink of stardom. And Brian, in a legendary, epic move, sweeps his 3-year-old daughter, Emma, from a life of abuse to give her the lifestyle worthy of a rock princess. It’s only when Emma’s younger half-brother is kidnapped that the band cracks and Brian’s life crumbles.

Plot Overview: Music, Abuse and Recovery

From the time she was born until she was three years old, Emma’s life was miserable. Her mother, Jane, was an alcoholic, a user and an abuser with dreams of money. And Emma was going to get her that money. Once upon a time, before the pills and booze took away the meager beauty Jane had, she had an on-and-off relationship with Brian. Now he’s rolling in dough, and Jane wants her share.

When Brian enters the dirty flat, he’s shocked at the way his little girl lives. He scoops her up, pays Jane – ensuring his custody – and introduces Emma to love and security and family. Brian’s wife, Beverly, welcomes the girl, albeit with some reluctance, and before long, Emma is big sister to half-brother Darren.

One night, however, Brian and Bev and the band are partying downstairs, and Emma and Darren are upstairs. Emma wakes up, startled by strange noises. When she creeps into Darren’s room, she finds him being kidnapped. His abduction – and death – shatter the family.

Years later, Emma is struggling with another abusive relationship and is haunted by the realization that she might have seen the kidnapper. She manages to escape the clutches of her abuser but can’t escape the memories of Darren’s last moments. With the help of Detective Michael Kesselring, Emma might just understand her nightmares – and heal from her past.

Criticisms and Compliments

Like in River’s End and Sweet Revenge, Roberts delves into the world of the glitterati in Public Secrets. Whatever it is about celebrity that is so fascinating to readers, Robert seems to know. In Hollywood, be it movies, television or music, when she peels back the layers of fashion and fame, glitz and talent, be assured that what lies within is rotten and scandalous. In Public Secrets, the kidnapping, the drug abuse, the sex, the secrets – it’s a captivating mix that makes for an engrossing read.

While her descriptions of the land of the famous and the home of the immoral are intriguing, they can appear superficial; what gives Public Secrets depth is the sympathy with which Roberts treats her characters and the various kinds of love she presents. In some ways, love is absolute: love is love. But in Public Secrets, the love between parent and child, man and woman, even man and man, are unique and complex and special.

With a range of personalities – Jane and Johnno being the most memorable – Public Secrets is one of Roberts’s best. If only she would write more standalone novels like this one; it’s a must read.

Source:

  • Roberts, Nora. Public Secrets. Bantam (Reprint edition), 2009 ISBN 9780553386400

Deborah Harkness, “A Discovery of Witches”

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Design, Francesca Belanger; http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143119685,00.html?A_Discovery_of_Witches_Deborah_HarknessWithin the stacks at Oxford Library, tucked into a desk with piles of aged manuscripts, eyes focused on text and hands flying across her computer keyboard sits Diana Bishop. Scholar, historian, academician. Single woman. Witch. Diana has refused her natural inclinations, her powers, in favor of a simpler life, a human life. Magic, however, sneaks in occasionally, most notably when she calls an alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, from the dregs of the library. Not only has the manuscript been charmed, but it is also a palimpsest. At the touch of her hand, the manuscript opens – and an army of vampires, witches and demons sets its sights on Diana; only a seductive, persuasive vampire, Matthew Clermont, can help.

Plot Overview: Magic, Love and Creation

Diana has constructed a shell behind which she lives. Her magic is closely guarded and rarely used, but as the daughter of two powerful witches – both of whom were murdered in Africa when she was seven years old – her skills and talents can’t be denied or contained. So when she stumbles across Ashmole 782 and easily, naturally unlocks its mysteries, she becomes a target.

Matthew Clermont, a 1500-year-old vampire, has his own desire to see the manuscript; rumor has it that the document contains the secrets to how and why vampires, demons and witches were created. As the vampire population is slowly dying out, Matthew, a scientist, is desperate to save his race and to understand his own beginnings.

Although reluctant at first, Matthew and Diana develop a friendship, one that eventually blossoms into a romance. The two, it seems, are fated to be together, despite being two different species. Vampires nor witches nor family members nor fate can keep the two apart. But as their passion grows, so does the danger surrounding them, leaving them with one option: escape.

Criticisms and Compliments

At first glance, A Discovery of Witches is Harry Potter or Twilight for adults, an indulgence into the vampire-witch-werewolf trend. Past the first chapter, however, A Discovery of Witches finds its footing with a pseudo-academic treatment of alchemy and the supernatural. Diana’s devotion to academia, her enthusiastic absorption in ancient texts makes history come alive; with Matthew’s personal experiences – he is almost two millennia old – history, the Crusades, the inventions and creations of man, the origin of creatures (man, demon, witch, vampire) are that much more fascinating. A Discovery of Witches is not just fluff, it’s smart, intriguing fluff.

While Diana and Matthew’s love story and their desire to understand Ashmole 782 are interesting, Harkness could have pared down the plot. The interspecies romance between a vampire and a witch is cliché, and the development of Diana and Matthew’s relationship drags on with surprisingly little depth. As individuals, Diana and Matthew are complex, each searching for answers as to why and who they are the way they are; as a couple, they veer towards shallow – at least for the first two-thirds of the book.

The real problem with A Discovery of Witches, though it has its delightful moments, is the length, the amount of dialogue and backstory. Had Harkness eliminated the unnecessary and scaled her almost 600-page novel back to 300 pages, A Discovery of Witches would’ve been fantastic. It’s still not bad, but the ending is rather sudden.

Despite its length and wordiness, A Discovery of Witches is a good read; hopefully, its follow-up, Shadow of Night, will be cleaner and more concise and delve deeper into the history of Ashmole 782.

Source:

  • Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches. Penguin, 2011 ISBN 9780143119685

Debbie Macomber, “Three Brides, No Groom”

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In the heady days before college graduation, three sorority sisters and friends, Gretchen, Carol and Maddie, are planning their weddings. The flowers are picked, the venues reserved, the cakes sampled, the dream dresses bought. The only thing missing is the groom. 15 years later, the women reunite at their university’s famed fountain, the home of their break ups and heartache, to tell their stories. As it turns out, life after college isn’t so rosy, and love is never what it seems.

Plot Overview: College, Broken Engagements and True Love

Gretchen Wise has it all. She’s beautiful, wealthy, the class president. She’s also engaged to handsome law student Roger Lockheart. When he admits to cheating – again – Gretchen calls off the wedding and rides off with campus bad boy Josh Morrow. Their 3-day journey from Seattle to San Francisco on Josh’s motorcycle opens Gretchen’s eyes to love, to lust and to happiness. But for Josh, she’s the ultimate unattainable girl, and he’s the boy without prospects, without money and without respect.

As Gretchen rides off into the distance, Carol Furness is grappling with her own fiance’s issues. Newly recruited Denver Broncos quarterback Eddie Shapiro is every girl’s dream. And for Carol, former head cheerleader, he is the natural choice. At the urging of his agent, Eddie indefinitely postpones the wedding, and Carol spends the summer waiting for him to come back. While she grieves in her studio apartment, computer genius Clark Rusbach offers her a job and friendship, and maybe something a little more.

Unlike her two sorority sisters, Maddie Coolidge wasn’t high-achieving. She was the bad girl, the rebel, the promiscuous and gorgeous girl-about-campus. After having a passionate affair with her mathematics professor, John Theda, she happily accepts his proposal. But when he dumps her, she seeks out revenge with the help of budding police academy student Brent Holliday.

Criticisms and Compliments

It’d be easy to mock Three Brides, No Groom or any other offering from Harlequin. The ridiculous bodice rippers, the dumbed-down heroines and hunky heroes, the stupid plots; it’s all fair game for the average reader. However, for those who happily sink into a romance that promises happily ever afters, that guarantees passion and conflict and true love, Three Brides, No Groom is a good choice. When read with the right intention, it is a frothy mix of revenge, heartbreak and soul mates.

The three friends and their slightly clichéd stories of broken engagements are, actually, entertaining, though each has that element of the unbelievable: the soul-shaking kisses, the instantaneous moments of falling in love – and after just a few days. Gretchen, Carol and Maddie may be naïve and fresh out of college, but all three beauties understand the give and take of relationships, the precarious balance of keeping themselves and their loves happy.

What is curious, however, is that three girls, in the same class and in the same sorority, wouldn’t remember each other 15 years later. Is 15 years such a long time that they wouldn’t recall the others’ names, let alone what they look like? Could a private liberal arts school, in this case the fictitious Queen Anne University in Seattle, be so large that casual friends would forget each other? Good thing they have the opportunity to regale the others on their lessons learned in love.

Three Brides, No Groom may not be to every reader’s taste, but it is an easy, fast, light read.

Source:

  • Macomber, Debbie. Three Brides, No Groom. Harlequin MIRA, 2012 ISBN 9780778313540