Review: Married by Monday

I just finished reading the fun and light Married by Monday by Catherine Bybee. I can't remember how I found her first book (I believe she is self-pubbed), Wife by Wednesday, but I loved it. I went into this sequel expecting the same and for the most part, I was right. Both books have stalking/plotting-to-kill-the-heroine sub-plots, which I normally don't go for but worked for me here.

Both books have the hero/heroine entering marriage for reasons other than love. In this case, the reasons are politics and so that the hero (Carter Billings who is running for senator of California) could provide a high level of security for the heroine (Eliza Havens--a woman in the witness protection program). It's obvious they're attracted to each other but get in petty arguments. Or so we're led to believe. They may have disagreed about a ref's call in a football game, which takes place prior to the start of the book, but it seems that once they get married they get along pretty swimmingly. And that's the problem--there's no heat. They fall into marriage and everything just works out (relationship-wise that is--she does get shot). There's no huge climax where Carter and Eliza realize "Hey! I'm in love!" I guess you could say Carter realizes it when Eliza gets shot, but it just didn't feel real to me. There weren't many hints along the way that they were falling in love, just that they were getting along.

Spoiler alert/minor plot issue: it could be that I'm missing something, but I don't understand why Max (Carter's uncle, also a senator) would lead Carter to believe there was a hit out on Sanchez. What did he have to gain from it?

Overall, it was an entertaining read and I am looking forward to Gwen & Neil's story (Fiance by Friday), because they seem like such polar opposites. Also, I hope Karen finds a match!

Review: Kate Angell's No Tan Lines

I've read all of Kate Angell's Boys of Summer (Richmond Rogues) novels and enjoyed them thoroughly. They were by no means perfect, cramping several stories into single novels, but I still had high hopes for her summer release, No Tan Lines (Barefoot William). It started out quite promising as a matter of fact. We are introduced to handsome rich kid Trace Saunders and beachy townie Shaye Cates in the late 1990s when they are still teenagers.

[Note: Angell's heroes have the worst names in contemporary romance: Brek and Kason, to name a few. The heroines don't fare much better. I understand the need to pick a unique name, but come on.]

Their tension is evident in their hostile banter. It's made clear that they come from rival families who have settled neighboring beach towns (Trace's is ritzy, Shaye's is blue collar).

Fast forward more than a decade and they are forced to work together on a volleyball tournament that will bring much needed revenue to the resort towns. They constantly struggle to maintain authority over the tournament planning, and what I thought was going to be the main problem was resolved half-way through the book. He betrayed her, then came to her houseboat, barely apologized ("I made a mistake and I'm sorry.") and then her parrot told him to kiss her. The sex itself was pretty perfunctory. They've been enemies for their whole lives and supposedly have this explosive attraction to each other, but the sex was (pun intended) anti-climactic. It was almost as if Angell got tired of this plot line and was eager to move on.

So... what next?

Enter two--count 'em--two sub-plots. First there's Shaye's cousin Kai (a male, and no, I don't know how to pronounce that--Cay? Chi?) and Nicole Archer, jewelry designer. Oh, and did I mention Shaye's brother Dune (DO YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THE NAMES?) and Trace's little sister Sophie (wears baggy clothes--turns out she's hot underneath--who saw that coming?) who gets about a three-page explanation. At this point, all I'm thinking is, where the hell are the hero and heroine? And do they not have any conflict anymore? Where are we going here??

Spoiler: no conflict left. Total disappointment. It is my opinion that when the author realized she'd lost her way, which she must've known, she should've gone back to the drawing board rather than submit this half-thought-out mish-mash of stories. Maybe just a novella with the main hero/heroine. I assumed at first that the side-plot of Kai and Nicole would be a sequel, but it looks like that will be for Dune and Sophie. I, for one, will not be reading it.

Worst line: "His look was so sexually charged, she nearly climaxed on the spot." NOPE. Doesn't happen. Sorry.

It's been 1 year, 6 months and 29 days since I read a non-Romance novel

I'll begin the blog by telling you why it is that I, an English and history major from U.S. News & World Report #27-ranked University of Richmond, have not read a non-Romance book since November 2010. I was on my honeymoon in Barbados and God only knows why, but I was reading Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Now, if you're not familiar with this novel, it is about humans who are created and nurtured only for their organs. Great beach reading! 


Anyway, after I finished that, I found a make-shift library by the pool with Susan Elizabeth Phillip's Lady Be Good. It looked like such a ridiculous premise, and it truth, a lot of the early romances I read did have ridiculous premises. Rich guy, doesn't believe in love; cute girl who doesn't know she's cute, out to prove something. Lady Be Good is actually a pretty good example. Hero Kenny Travelers is (obviously) handsome, wealthy and avoiding a relationship. Enter Lady Emma Wells-Finch, who is (obviously) virginal, sweet but strong-willed. Even though there were plot points I saw coming from miles away, and I had to laugh at some of the stretches in reality, I fell in love. It was fun, witty, charming and I couldn't get enough. 


I like to believe the romances I read now are more sophisticated (and grounded in reality) than Susan Elizabeth Phillips' novels, but her tales are what got me headed in the right direction. And now and again I have to go back to books like Match Me If You Can, just because they're so fanciful. And who wouldn't want to be wooed by a millionaire sports agent with a name like Champion?


I'd like to use this blog to share my hopefully witty, possibly insightful, at times inappropriate thoughts on the romances I read. I tend to focus on contemporary romances, but will throw in some erotic romances and may even dabble in historical (they're the only V. Dahl's I haven't approached.)


Topics I plan to tackle: why authors are still dressing heroes in mirrored Oakley sunglasses and jean shorts, the phrase "with one brush of his finger she fell apart" and why a heroine would find it hot to see her crush kissing another woman.