Tag Archives: contemporary romance

Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

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Practice Makes Perfect
Practice Makes Perfect
Julie James

I’ve heard a good things online about Julie James so when jmc_bookrelated offered me a copy of Practice Made Perfect (thank you), I jumped at the chance to read it, especially since I wasn’t seeing this book in my library system or in my closest bookstore (why that is I have no idea, both her books have great buzz online). Anyway, this one jumped to the head of the TBR because I’ve had a bad month and needed a good HEA.

Premise: Payton Kendall and  J. D. Jameson are associates at the prestigious Chicago law firm. Both are highly ambitious lawyers who are good at their jobs and have been working their butts off for eight years towards the same goal: becoming partner. Everything seems on track for them until they discover that the firm is planning to make only ONE of them partner this year. J.D and Payton have quietly had an ongoing feud, but they’ve never been in direct competition before. To make matters worse, Payton and J.D. actually have to work together for the first time for a very important new client.

This is a classic tale of opposites attracting – Payton is a vegetarian liberal feminist raised by an uber-hippie mom and J.D. is a privileged conservative with a country club membership with rich, snooty parents. Payton can’t really remember why they’ve been fighting all this time, she just knows she must put J.D. down a peg or two. She’s very aware that J.D. fits easily into the good-ole-boys club with his country club membership and ability to talk sports with the other men in the office, while she has to work harder to have the same repartee with senior partners – most of whom are men. J.D. on the other hand believes Payton has an edge as a women – reverse discrimination means she will move forward just because having women in higher positions looks good to the firm.

Excerpt of the book

My thoughts: OK we all know it’s totally bunkus what J.D. is going on about regarding Payton having an edge as a woman! Pah, and yet, with such things coming out of his mouth, he still worked for me as a hero because I just felt like he was just a big idiot for much of the book (especially when it comes to Payton – he’s just irrational), not truly an asshole. He didn’t really seem to cross the line into being a bad guy until something he did long ago to Payton gets revealed. That was really awful, but he made it worse because when Payton wants to know why he did it (she actually gave him a chance to explain), his first explanation really wasn’t one. I thought his explanation to his best friend was what Payton deserved, not what she eventually got (rushed and last possible moment).

So that was the biggest flaw for me in this book – the hero’s quite worthy apology (plus wait till you find out why they’ve been fighting all this time – another classic example of idiocy). But until that point I really liked both characters. There is an obvious chemistry between the two and I had a really good time reading about them and their slow realization about how they’ve really felt about each other for the past eight years. There is very little sex in this book – most of it relies just on their verbal dances and interactions with lots of sexual tension, though both of them are clueless/in denial about this for most of the book. I really like books like that – a slow buildup between two characters, and a realistic timeline before they hit the sheets (if anyone has other recs of such kinds of books, please comment, I will love you).

Julie James has a background as a lawyer before becoming a writer and it shows in the writing. Despite not knowing much about practicing law myself, I noticed a lot of details that seemed the kind of thing only a lawyer would know and it added a layer of believability to the day to day aspects of the story.

Overall: Really good read – loved the competition between these two characters and their inner dialogs. The writing is top notch – smart and humorous. I’m a fan and will have to go find Just the Sexiest Man Alive (James’ debut novel). I found myself wishing I could read faster, I just wanted to know what happens next. But – I was left with a nagging feeling because after that tallying all the things Payton and J.D did,  J.D. was by far the worse person, yet his explanation was a little late and a little rushed, and in that aspect this book doesn’t quite satisfy.  This was the only fly in my ointment however, and I think I’d reread other parts of the book.

Reviews elsewhere:

Racy Romance Reviews (with a discussion about feminists and gender politics in romance novels)

What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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What I Did for Love: A Novel
What I Did for Love: A Novel
Susan Elizabeth Phillips

OK if you've been following me on twitter, my quest for this book has taken a while. What I Did For Love is popular, really popular, in my library system, and it was a good month and a half before I could get hold of it. The reason why I wanted to read it was the 70 page excerpt of the book that HarperCollins had up on it's Browse Inside feature.

 
The Premise: This story is about Georgie York, a famous television actor. She's most famous for her starring role as Scooter Brown, a feisty young heroine in the wildly popular sitcom Skip and Scooter. Her costar Bramwell (Bram) Shepard was Skip, the responsible son of the Scofield family and who always took care of Scooter whenever she got into trouble. In real life however Georgie was a responsible, well brought up kid, while Bram was the bad boy who came to the set drunk and disorderly and ultimately was the cause of the show going off the air.
 
Now Georgie is all grown up, and fodder for gossip magazines. Her marriage to famous movie star Lance Marks has just broken up in a very Brad/Angelina way (with Georgie as a spurned Aniston), and she hasn't had a hit movie for a long time. Her young crush on her costar Bram has withered away a long, long time ago, and now she just actively dislikes him.  Their paths cross in Las Vegas, and after an unfortunate incident which left them both incapacitated, Georgie finds herself married to Bram. In an effort to make lemonade out of lemons, Bram and Georgie agree to pretend the wedding was planned. This gives Georgie a way to save face against her ex-husband, and Bram a way to show his respectability.  After all, if America's Sweetheart Georgie agreed to be his wife, he can't be that bad, can he? Of course they both have a hard time convincing the people around them, including Bram's surly young punk housekeeper Chaz and Georgie's emotionally cut-off father Paul.
 
My Thoughts: I thought this was really well written and I could see why it was in high demand. I read most of the book in one sitting and just zoomed through easily. The dialog was especially humorous, with many laugh out loud moments. I truly liked the banter between the main characters, their give and take was well written and the romance wasn't taken over by sex early on. No purple prose either. And I really liked the secondary characters who played large roles (Georgie's father, her assistant Aaron, Bram's housekeeper Chaz). There are also a couple of other secondary romances which I also liked which good because sometimes I find secondary romances more cheesily done than the primary one.  I'm not really a big romance reader, and I'm not as sensitive to some of the romance cliche's that I'm sure romance readers are used to, but I still noticed some things that I've heard people rant about in contemporary romances. For instance, we keep seeing characters from other books (or their grown-up children) and I couldn't care less about them. I think we see people from Glitter Baby and other books here, but I haven't read much SEP to tell and so they were just extraneous people to me and didn't add much to the book. There was also an epilogue with the happy family, including precocious kids, which I also noticed in Match Me if You Can. I've decided I'm not a fan of this.
 
These things lowered my enjoyment of the book, but I could live with them. What really didn't make this book a home run was two things. First of all, I never understood one of Bram's terms to the marriage – he has to have sex, because he just can't go without months of no sex. And Georgie doesn't really question the believability of this (is this just a given, he HAS to have sex)? So that was weird and it put me off a bit in terms of believing the story. The second thing was the ending and the way Bram declared his love. I honestly thought "What was that?" when I read it. Bram, after acting like an ass, suddenly *realizes*, very dramatically that he loves Georgie, and then he chooses to tell her through metaphor. Which Georgie accepts. Sorry, it didn't work for me at all, it was too hokey and unbelievable, and as the last thing in the book, it stuck in my head.
 
Overall: Really close to wowing me and being one of my better reads for the year, but doesn't quite make it because of the ending and my inability to suspend belief in the romance. But still a really good read with great banter and secondary characters, so worth an afternoon for contemporary romance or SEP fans. For an idea if you will like it, I recommend reading the excerpt.
 
Review at Bookbinge (I agreed with their 4/5)
Haiku at Dear Author (they gave it a C)

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Match Me if You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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Match Me If You Can
Match Me If You Can
Susan Elizabeth Phillips

I was in the mood for a HEA on saturday and I'd never read a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book (something that I heard should be remedied), so I picked up Match Me If You Can on a whim.

Here's the premise: Annabelle Granger is a vivacious redhead who is starting off in the matchmaking business in Chicago. The business used to be her late grandmother's but Annabelle is modernizing it and changing the name to Perfect For You. She just needs a big name client to help spread some buzz – that's where super sports agent Heath (The Python) Champion comes in. Through Heath's searching for the perfect wife, and Annabelle's connections to some famous footballers and their wives, gives her an in to speak to Health about hiring Perfect For You.

Thoughts: At first I found Heath to be a bit unlikeable but despite a few jerky moves, his overall motivation seemed honest and he did acknowledge his mistakes and felt guilt over them.  Health had a strange notion of the perfect wife – refined, intelligent, beautiful, but at the same time willing to be his slave and raise his kids without complaint. His ideas were all about image and his life plan, which stems from wanting to shed his beginnings as trailer-trash, living with a drunk father and no mother, only an endless parade of his father's girlfriends who always ended up leaving. Of course Annabelle is the one for him, but he didn't really realize it. In the meantime they spend a lot of time together, and Heath began to grow on me. His teasing of Anabelle was fun because she gave as good as she got. Annabelle was an interesting character, I had a harder time really pinning her down, I wish I had more time in her head. Sometimes she's vulnerable and insecure, but other times she's confident and articulate.

There were a lot of secondary characters (some from previous books), and also a secondary romance which I liked as much as the primary one. Some of these characters I really found interesting (Dean Robillard, Portia, Bodie) but some of the cameo characters I wasn't as interested in. A couple of characters I could have done without, for example Annabelle's ex. His story felt like a red herring that didn't really add much other to have something for Annabelle to have a complex over. It felt out of place to me, because I didn't think her that deeply affected by it, but perhaps this is splitting hairs. 

Overall: This was a fine read. Funny in places, good happy ever after with hero doing some decent repenting and being raked over coals, and good interaction between characters. I also liked how the romance built up slowly and you could believe these two fit together. But it didn't quite do it for me. I have to say that it's one of those times where I can see others loving this book but something didn't work for me personally. I can't put my finger on it really. Maybe the overall plotline just didn't excite me? Maybe it was a couple of odd phrases that jarred me (guinea fowl breasts? use of the word 'spunk'?) that may not even be noticed by others. Maybe it was my mood?  I feel like I will very likely find a SEP book that I will love (I really want to read her newest release), but this didn't quite get there.

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Easy Connections and Easy Freedom by Liz Berry

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Easy Connections
Easy Connections
Liz Berry
Easy Freedom
Easy Freedom
Liz Berry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure when I first read a recommendation for Liz Berry's books. I think it may have been maybe 5 years ago. The only book I could find in the US was The China Garden – which was this young adult romance/mystery with paranormal aspects combined with a very British voice. I was very struck by it. The author was really good at creating an emotional atmosphere and a tone of inevitability. I'm partial to books set in England because growing up in a British colony, many kids books I read were set there. I also found Mel, and liked that too – that one had a girl renovating a house all by herself, and I had just moved into the first place I ever *owned* so I was interested in that home-beautifying process. Liz Berry worked in the arts and with high school students, and her characters are on this cusp of adulthood, dealing with serious issues (pregnancy, homelessness, physical attraction, love and sex) and they are often artists (painters, designers, musicians). The person she most reminds me of is Ai Yazawa of Nana and Paradise Kiss fame, except Yazawa uses the slightly different medium of manga).

Anyway, I did some rooting around on the internet and discovered that a lot of Liz Berry books are out of print and hard to find (of course!) – including this duology Easy Connections (book 1) and Easy Freedom which are probably the books shes most well known for. I couldn't find it for under $40. For the longest time I would periodically check to see if there were any cheaper copies but was always out of luck. Finally about a month ago – someone put Easy Connections up for sale on half.com for only $10, so I snapped it up. As soon as I finished it I had to read Easy Freedom, so I coughed up the $40 to buy it from amazon.uk. The website said "one book left in stock"!

Why the huge demand? Well, I can see a lot of people never forgetting these books after reading them. They are actually a lot darker than I expected them to be, not quite the same as the other Liz Berry novels I've read, and I think this is why they were never published in the States – they deal with rape. I feel like I have to put that out there – I don't think it's a spoiler even though the back copy doesn't really say the word – the two books revolve around what happens after the violent act. And in a very controversial way. This is a squick topic for a lot of people and I find it hard to read about without feeling disturbed. So I was disturbed and uneasy for much of these books. 

Cathy Harlowe is a young artist, only 17 and just out of high school, staying with her brother in the country before going into art school. She doesn't realize she is trespassing on the property of Paul Devlin (Dev), from the band Easy Connections. Apparently he's beautiful, like some kind of elven god, and throughout the book he and his bandmate Chris seem to put everyone into a spell with how dangerous and alive they are. Cathy is "attracted and repelled in equal measure".  When they meet Dev is high on alcohol and lack of sleep from a tour and eventually forces her to have sex with him. The messed up thing is that he feels like she is his soulmate, is sorry later for what he did, but then he uses all his money and power to make Cathy marry him. She runs away but nothing she does can escape his influence, and even more disturbing, everyone thinks she should marry him too. They either don't believe she was raped because he seems soo in love with her, or they think she should marry him anyway. Her dreams of being a famous painter sort of get swept away in the tidal wave of Dev's fame, money, and power, and the attention of the media. Feminist SF would have a field day.

I spend a lot of the book speechless. Kind of thinking that surely Cathy will get away, people will come to her side but no, it doesn't happen! In book 2 even more occurs when we have the manipulations of Chris, the lead singer of Easy Connections, trying to get Cathy himself. Cathy goes through a lot where she feels like a doll and wants to be "free" (thus the name of the book), but freedom ends up being a complicated thing. She is also eaten up with anger and resentment at what has happened to her because of Dev. She is physically ill and full of terror when he tries to touch her. We also see the reaction of Dev who sees things and Cathy's actions in a very different way. Everything seems like this big complex, crazy mess. It was really addictive to read because I was wondering where the author was going! I'm not sure I could even say what the message from these books are. Maybe it's about how difficult it can be to be a young woman, without any means to support yourself? Or is it about rape and it's consequences? Or fame and power? Or what freedom is? Or forgiveness? Or all of the above and more? I wonder if the author *wanted* the reader to be shocked and frustrated, or angry at the main characters – in her website, she posted reviews of her books which say things like 'Easy Connections shocked and angered me more than anything I've read for a long time.'  ILEA English Magazine (l985). 

The only thing a bit off about the book was that it did feel slightly dated – I don't know if people would react the same way today as they did then (ug, well not EVERYONE), and the descriptions of the pop rockers seem very much like they belong in the 70s and 80s – skin tight pants, flowing collared shirts, longish hair.. sounds like big hair bands, not quite what's in fashion today.

A very absorbing read, but also a disturbing read. Only read it if the review above intruiged you rather than made you want to run screaming. If you think you may throw these books at the wall – it is quite possible. Yet you may pick it up and still want to see what the eff is going to happen next. I'm definitely going to remember and find myself mulling them over later on. Doesn't really leave you when you finish reading them.

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Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter

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Me and Mr. Darcy: A Novel
Me and Mr. Darcy: A Novel
Alexandra Potter

Emily is the manager of a New York City bookstore who after a string of bad dates is fed up with unchivalrous men. She decides no one can hold a candle to Pride and Prejudice's Mr Darcy and is in no mood to join her best friend in a trip Cancun where the plan is to meet men and party. To avoid this unappetizing trip, Emily hurriedly books a tour of Jane Austen country instead. Arriving in London and joining the tour, Emily finds herself surrounded by elderly ladies and one surly male journalist who is writing an article about Mr. Darcy, and through hallucination or magical circumstance (it's never quite explained), Emily also meets the actual Mr. Darcy. In truth she meets him in more ways than one.

I think that this is a contemporary romance/chick lit novel which would probably appeal to people who are fans of Pride and Prejudice (who aren't sick of re-tellings/ sequels/ spin-offs) and who are not expecting to find something like a re-write of a classic, but rather a fun homage. If you love that book (/movies/miniseries) you might get a kick out of the way Me and Mr Darcy parallels the story told there and also with the crossovers where Emily actually meets Mr. Darcy. I liked it. I felt like a P&P nerd for reading it and being amused. There are a few pop cultural references and references linked to the recent Pride and Prejudice movie and the Colin Firth version of the mini series, so more reason to be a P&P nut and then read this. Not that this was not a fun lighthearted novel without liking P&P – but it helps. This book also made me want to go on a nice bus tour of the English countryside and to go stop at museums and old mansions. The scenery and tourist destinations described here felt very realistically portrayed. Also the timeline of this book happening for a week around Christmas and New Years makes this a book to read now to start gearing up for a nice holiday, particularly if you happen to be going somewhere outside the country.

An aside: I'm looking forward to vacation… Probably 3-4 more days of work! I'm still trying to decide what to do with the one extra vacation day I got because management sent a note last week giving my department the 2nd of January off. Yaaaaay!

Stats for today: My TBR is @ 110. I've read 93 books this year. The goal was 100, so I have 2 weeks to read 7 books. I don't know if I will do it.

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Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

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Bet Me
Bet Me
Jennifer Crusie

I was having a hard week with lots of tiring work going on so when I saw a post about this book by calico_reaction on livejournal, I was sold on a guaranteed HEA. Sometimes, I neeed a well-written book with a happy ending to get through life.

This is total romance by the way. When I saw the cover, I thought – chick-lit. I think its the font, plus the shoes and no other real "romance-y" cover hints, but this is a contemporary romance. It has romantic elements to it – the hero and heroine meet each other early on, most of the book is about their growing relationship, they both sort of fight it (uselessly, us readers know they are meant to be), and something keeps them from reallly getting together until the very end. Not that this was a formulaic story - the romance was done in a fun way. Also – I think there was a good splash of chick-lit influence – humor, girl with a job in the city with good girlfriends and nice shoes. 

The title is about betting and that is something that plays a big part in the plot. The very first time Min meets Cal she overhears what sounds like a bet that he can "bed" her within a month. The jerk trying to make this bet is her ex-boyfriend who dumped her earlier that evening for not having sex with him. While Min isn't an obvious beauty and her mother often chides her for not being a size four (something that I wish was addressed in a more serious way than it was eventually), Cal on the other hand is considered to be gorgeous and godlike (Crusie gives him some traits later on that prove he is human though). So Min doesn't expect a relationship and just decides to give him a miserable time when he asks her out to dinner. After a bad date where Min rolls her eyes and berates Cal for anything he says that sounds like a line, they both part ways expecting that to be that. Except that no matter what they do they keep finding themselves together again. I think the author was having fun with hinting that the fates were putting these two together. When either of them says "I'm never seeing — again" they keep getting into painful accidents, and they both go to a movie to avoid each other and find themselves sitting next to the other when the lights come up. Min avoids Cal to stop him from winning the bet she thinks he made and Cal avoids Min because she doesn't seem to like him. Meanwhile Cal and Min's ex's are watching them get closer, know about "the bet" and plan to keep them apart.

My favorite things –

1. The ensemble cast. Quirky, well-drawn characters that I liked and weren't cookie-cutter who also had their own lives outside of Cal and Min that were interesting and didn't take away from the main plot either.

2. One liners – really amusing one liners that sometimes made me snort.

3. The food. Lots of talk about chicken marsala and Krispy Kreme donuts.

4. I actually liked the scientific breakdown of relationships that Cal's ex keeps explaining to everyone. It was amusing how her list of stages that a relationship goes through was sort of mirrored in the story, though not quite the way she explains it should happen.

5. The chicklit-y elements.

Wasn't in love with –

1. The talk about the heroine's weight. I think to an extent it's great not to have a beautiful perfect Mary Sue of a heroine, but eh, I'm tired of books where it's brought up repeatedly. OK this book wasn't that annoying about it, mostly because I thought that Min doesn't feel sorry for herself and wasn't really obsessed with a diet, but she came close.

2. It could be me, but close to the end it felt like there was one scene too many. The right-before-the-finale bit felt a little longish.

General Feeling: 9 (Loved it), Plot: 7.5 (Really liked it) Writing Style: 8 (Really liked it). I recommend this highly as a pick-me-up.

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