Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage by Kieran Kramer

This is book number three in Kramers Impossible Bachelors series, and for me, it was just kind of meh. Nothing really stood out as super funny or cute like with her previous two books, which each had moments of laughter and silly smiles. I read this book last weekend and now a week later I am having a hard time remembering what it was all about. Our heroine, Jilly, opens a bookstore on Dreary Lane, and yes, it is dreary. Her neighbor is Captain Samuel who lives life with much more ease than Jilly does, who is on the run from her hateful husband. There are some wonderful supporting characters that help this book move along and Jilly and Samuel have a very sweet courtship and when trouble arises, Samuel does turn his back on Jilly but thankfully is persuaded to remember the Jilly he knows in his heart, not what is thrown in his face.

Overall, not a bad book...just not what I was in the mood for I think so that is part of the reason for the short review. I still look forward to more from Ms Kramer! 3 stars

Review featured!

Just saw that on Anna Campbells website she quoted a few lines for my review of her wonderful new book, Midnights Wild Passion! Eek! Super excited! :) Here is a link to her site, the May 2011 news: http://annacampbell.info/latest2011.html

Thanks Ms Campbell for including me with all the other fabulous quotes!!

Too Wicked to Love by Debra Mullins

We first met the mysterious John Ready in Tempting a Proper Lady and you could just tell that this well spoken coachman had been brought up proper and must have a good reason to be serving as his best friends coachman. We also met our heroine, Genevieve Wallington-Willis and saw her spiteful reaction to her sisters homecoming so I did not have the warmest feelings to her but the first meeting of these two in this book had the sparks flying and I just kept flipping the pages to see how these two would finally end up together.

The main plot of the story revolves around John Readys sorrowful secret and what he has had to sacrifice to stay alive and hidden from London society. You think you know what the secret is going to be but then there is another slight twist to have you thinking another way until the truth is finally revealed, thankfully about halfway through the book so it is not dragged out forever. When circumstances force him to finally confess his secrets to his friends, that includes Genny and he cruelly ends their budding flirtation in order to protect her.

Genny is hiding her own secret but as she grows to develop feelings for John, she decides to trust him and tell him the truth. Her secret has led to her spiteful attitude towards her sister and others around her and it was nice to see her grow from that one fateful mistake into a lovely, caring, strong young woman. But after she tells John her secret she is beyond hurt when his actions towards her lead her to believe she has fallen for a heartless man again and she goes into a heartbroken depression. John sees this and finally tells her why he keeps pushing her away and she refuses to leave him to face his uncertain future alone. The conclusion that these two finally agree upon was very sigh worthy! Once again, the horrible Earl of Raventhorpe is ever present as a vile villain who will stop at nothing to get revenge on those who have stolen from him and he is out to get John, who had a previous altercation with him.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a wonderful story of deceit, love and forgiveness but it all moved along quickly. Even though I thought Genny was a bit immature in the beginning (she is only eighteen) she does blossom into a strong little warrior, as John nicknames her. And John secret was sort of what I thought, but not really at all what I thought which was great. I was very happy with the way it all played out and it showed a wonderful, strong, sexy man who is not afraid to put others happiness in front of his own. I would recommend reading Tempting a Proper Lady first as it is a continuation of that one and I am really hoping there is one more story featuring Annabelle and the mysterious highwayman Black Bill (who I believe I know who it is and there were a few hints dropped). A solid 4 heart warming stars

I received this ebook via netgalley.com

Her Little Secret, His Hidden Heir by Heidi Betts

I picked up this quick book from Harlequin Desire because I really enjoy Heidi Betts books and as her last couple of non-Harlequin books are vampire related and not my cup of tea really. This is the classic secret baby plot with a small twist. Marcus and Vanessa Keller were freshly divorced when she found out she was pregnant after trying for awhile to conceive. Even though they are divorced, she calls up Mark but gets his snarky assistant who tells Vanessa that Mark has nothing to say to her and she has nothing he wants to hear. Saddened by what has happened to her life, she leaves town and moves in with her aunt and together they open up a successful bakery.

It is now about a year later and Vanessa is in need of an investor to expand her bakery and Marcus happens to be a friend of the adviser she seeks out for help. When she sees Mark, she refuses his help but he follows her to her bakery and is meet with more resistance as that is where Vanessa has their son. Marcus quickly discovers Vanessa secret and is rightly upset but stays in town to try to work out some arrangements. They still have the spark that lite up their marriage and Vanessa tells him again why she ultimately gave up on their marriage. Marcus still doesn't really believe her and it takes a trip back to his home to finally clear away the fog and help this couple reunite as a family.

This is exactly what you expect from a quick, secret baby type story-fast moving storyline with lots of hotness-but with the added bonus of some excellent writing. Heidi Betts wrote one of my favorite contemporary series (Chicks with Sticks) and I really hope she wraps up the vampire story lines soon and writes another longer format series as she write very well. Great characters, smokin hot and fun reads...even in a Harlequin book! Overall...4 stars for this one because it did leave a smile on my face :)

Secrets of a Proper Countess by Lecia Cornwall

Lady Isobel Maitland is trapped in a life that she can not stand. She is basically being held hostage by her late husbands mother and brother, as his will stated that they would be in charge of their son and her fortune. Isobel is forced to stay in her widow weeds far longer than normal and is not allowed to cause any scandal, for fear that her harlot blood from her mother will ruin the good name of the family and damage her son the future Earl. But one night at a masked ball, where her in-laws did not attend, she lets down her guard for a moment of passion with the scandalous Marquess of Blackwood, Phineas Archer (every time I saw the name Phineas all I could think of was Phineas and Ferb, lol).

Blackwood has his own agenda for attending the ball but has no problem being swayed by the lovely 'Yasmina' and when she departs with out telling him her true name, she is all she can think about. Imagine Isobels surprise when Blackwood turns out to be the brother of her new friend and then her hurt and anger as he does not even recognize her or bother to give her a second glance. As Blackwoods mystery he is investigating, as he is an undercover spy, unravels clues start to point to the mysterious Yasmina as being involved possibly in the plot to distract him. When Blackwood finally realizes who exactly his mystery woman is he is stunned! How can this dowdy lady be such a passionate, warm women away from everyone but him? His investigation continues and Isobel is drawn deeper and deeper in as it becomes clear who has been pulling the strings of her life and many others.

This is Lecia Cornwalls debut novel and I very much enjoyed it. Her writing was excellent and I just wanted to keep turning the pages to find out if my suspicions were correct (some were some were not). Yes, everything was wrapped up nice and neat at the end. Yes, this plot has been used quite a bit before and isn't overly fresh this time around. Yes, the romance between Isobel and Blackwood didn't seem too real to me..more lust like. Yes, I wanted to smack some of the secondary characters and even Isobel and Blackwood at times but his family does add a nice sense of evenness. But even with all that, to me, this was still a great debut novel and I look forward to more from Ms Cornwall! 3 1/2 stars

The Sins of Viscount Sutherland by Samantha James

Claire Ashcroft despises Viscount Grayson Sutherland for killing her brother in a duel and sending her life into loneliness. She devises a plan to make Grayson fall in love with her and then turning him away, thus breaking his heart and causing him some of the same heartbreak she has had to endure. But she does not expect the attraction and sparks that fly between them. Grayson believes the lovely Claire is a widow and therefore fair game for his rake hellish lifestyle. Imagine his surprise as he pursues Claire and she is as skittish as a virgin! He just chalks it up to a short marriage with not much passion but when they share a passionate morning together he learns the truth of her deception and is furious and they part on bad terms.

Claire returns to her family home and is preparing to move forward with her life when Gray suddenly appears and puts an end to that as he is faced with the consequences of their time together. They return to his country home, a place he has avoided for two years as it holds very painful memories and has helped shape him into the man he is today. His mother arrives for a time and welcomes Claire with open arms and pushes for Gray to let go of his past and move forward with his future. This brings forward a game that Claire and Gray liked to play....move forward one step, then back two huge steps. Claire is having a hard time dealing with her feelings for this man who killed her brother and gets more frustrated when Gray refuses to tell her the truth of that day. She wants to know about his past and when he finally tells her what happened, sigh, heartbreaking. Gray doesn't think he can be happy again and when something goes wrong Claire gets a bit hysterical and thinks it's the universe telling her she is horrible for loving this man.

Now there are many times I wanted to smack these two. Claire gets upset with Gray and orders him to leave a few times and he just high tails it out without fighting for what he wants. But at the same time this was a moving story of two people who are not looking for love who have a lot from their past to overcome to find happiness together. This story starts off with a women bent on revenge but it finishes with the women helping her man let go of his tragic past and build a new life together while embracing the past and growing from that. This was my first Samantha Jones book and I look forward to more! I believe there are going to be four books in this series as there was a mention of four friends with this rakish life and I will be reading their stories! 4 stars

I received this ebook via netgalley.com