Tag: romance

adult

Review: Orchard Valley Grooms by Debbie Macomber

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Orchard Valley #1-2

orchard valley grooms -debbie macomberValerie rushes home to Orchard Valley, Oregon, when her father, David, suffers a heart attack. She and her two younger sisters, Stephanie and Norah, are gathering at his side, praying he’ll live, fearing he’ll die.

At a time like this, falling in love is the last thing on Valerie’s mind. And with Dr. Colby Winston, of all people! He’s David’s heart surgeon, a renowned specialist who enjoys small-town living, while Valerie is a high-powered businesswoman who prefers city life. They’re complete opposites in every way. Yet David keeps insisting she and Colby are a perfect couple.

Meanwhile Stephanie has other worries besides her father’s health. She’d fled Orchard Valley three years earlier after her humiliating rejection by local journalist Charles Tomaselli. Now she’s home, and it’s not long before they begin reliving past battles–and renewing old feelings. He was the reason she left. This time, will he give her a reason to stay? David seems to think so.

Does their father know something Valerie and Stephanie don’t?

3 Drink Me Potions

It’s a fairly open secret that I have some strange soft spot for Debbie Macomber. Yes, her stories can be cheesy with their happy-ever-after endings, but sometimes, a girl just needs those kinds of endings, you know?

With Orchard Valley Grooms, I had such high hopes. Two sisters falling in love with their respective special someones? Sounds like it fits the criteria to a glove.

But. Yes, there is a but. These two stories captured me with their endless drama and irritated me to no end all at the same time.

In Valerie, the immediate attraction and way Colby and Valerie fell for each other made some sense in a way. Valerie was under a lot of stress what with her father suffering from a heart attack. Colby was there to give her the emotional support that she needed. However, by the end of it, they were happily in love and thinking of marriage in, what, three weeks? Does this happen in real life? How can one know if this person would survive every bump in the road that’s sure to come in hopefully a long marriage? Sure, it may be an adventure to find out, but still. It was a little unsettling to see that it happened all so quickly.

And then there’s the fact of their drama that initially prevented them from getting together after realizing each others’ feelings. Colby is traditional as crap! Don’t mind my language. A women can very well work and take care of a family. Yes, he’s tired at nights after his long (and presumably emotion-taxing) shifts, but a woman doesn’t just live to serve hand and foot for him when he gets home. As for Valerie, I understood her inhibitions but she wasn’t all for compromise initially either.

If that first story wasn’t exhausting enough, I immediately jumped into Stephanie. Silly me thought it would help relieve my inner frustrations. Oh boy, was I wrong.

I liked Steffie more than Valerie in a sense that I could understand unrequited love. She ran away from the face of rejection and I don’t blame her. Charles was awful when she admitted her feelings three years prior. Who could blame a girl for wanting to get away from such embarrassment?

However, the resolution to Charles’ actions just didn’t seem quite…right with me. It wasn’t that it couldn’t have been plausible. It could have been. I just didn’t understand why wait so long to tell Steffie he felt the same way. So much drama and heart ache could’ve easily been bypassed if he did. Why get so angry if he knew she still felt the same way towards him? I just dunno. This poor heart of mine couldn’t handle all this nonsensical heart ache.

Anyway, I gobbled these stories up as fast as I could and although I didn’t love them as I had hoped, they weren’t terrible. A guilty pleasure, if you will. But never have I wanted to throttle guys as much as I did with these men. I can fully understand the Bloomfield sisters’ feelings.

Overall Recommendation:
Two stories in one with each based on one Bloomfield sister. I couldn’t ask for more, can I? Turns out, the story didn’t hold as much for me as I had hoped. In both Valerie and Stephanie, the male protagonists acted in nonsensical manners that drove me (and the Bloomfield sisters) crazy. I suppose there had to be tension and drama to prevent an immediate happily-ever-after resolution, but it was exhausting. I wouldn’t necessarily throw these stories out. It was still the cheesy, happy ending kind of story that I needed on occasion. At least it fills up that requirement perfectly. I would say it’s perfect if that is the kinda book you’re looking for on a boring, lazy afternoon.

adult

Review: Friends and Then Some by Debbie Macomber

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

friends and then some -debbie macomberLily Morrissey knows exactly what she wants in a husband: a big bank account. Not that she’s greedy or shallow; she just needs the security for herself and her beloved grandmother. But husband-hunting is harder than she expected, especially with her best friend Jake in the way. In fact, Jake—who would be perfect for her if he weren’t so committed to everything money can’t buy—is becoming downright distracting, with those jade eyes and that disarming grin.
 
All Jake wants is the freedom to sail his boat, write his stories, and live life on his own terms. Then his best friend tells him she’s going groom shopping. But Jake can’t imagine life without Lily or bear the thought of her in another man’s arms. How can a rootless guy living a no-strings existence and a woman looking for someone she can count on both get what they need? By letting their hearts choose love.


2 Drink Me Potions

Honestly? The antics of both protagonists Jake and Lily got really tiresome by halfway through this rather short novel.

Lily was hard to like at first. From the very first pages, it was evident that she was a shallow gold digger. Even she had to dissuade herself from thinking that that was indeed what she was. She was working as a pianist in some fancy hotel in order to hook her claws into some rich man staying there who may appreciate her music. And she wasn’t one ounce bit ashamed of finding a husband solely for his money so that she and her grandmother could have all the luxuries in the world that she ever wanted.

Meanwhile, Jake is really a no-strings kind of guy. He drives a cab and lives off on his boat. He could literally up and move whenever he wanted. He was a nice enough guy, but he was adamant about not ever letting some woman change him into what she imagined him to be.

So when Lily and Jake “accidentally” kiss one day, it changes everything. Jake gets all the more grumpy due to his denial of any attraction that he may feel for Lily. And she finds a few men interested in her who may fit her exact criteria: rich.

It started off a little amusing, like a romantic comedy where the two main characters have obvious feelings for each other but their denial of such notions is a little funny for those watching objectively from the outside.

Oh boy, does it get tiring when practically the whole novel is centred on almost-happens and kisses-that-shouldn’t-have-happened-yet-did but-they-(I mean Jake)-ignore-them-anyway.

I sped through Friends and Then Some ’cause I like Debbie Macomber but enough’s enough. I was ecstatic when it finally ended with the conclusion that we all knew was gonna happen from the start. They admit their feelings for each other. Of course. No duh. But the process was rather painful to get through.

Overall Recommendation:
Friends and Then Some really shows the novice in Macomber’s writing. The storyline wasn’t meant to be unpredictable as the synopsis definitely shows these two best friends were bound for each other. However, what started off amusing with their denials and underlying attractions just became downright annoying when Jake continues to refuse the notion of being with Lily and Lily just acts like a selfish brat who wants a rich husband to feed her desires for worldly things. The ending just didn’t come fast enough, and I wished more of the story focused on the last few scenes ’cause that’s the only place I found pleasure in.

YA

Review: Endure by Sara B. Larson

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

 

Series: Defy #3

endure -sara B larsonThe remarkable third novel in Sara B. Larson’s bestselling Defy series!

At last, Alexa and King Damian are engaged to be married. But their lives are far from safe. The kingdom of Antion is under siege, and Rylan is a prisoner of the enemy. Even worse, Alexa remains at the mercy of the evil Dansiian Rafe, who controls her mind and can force Alexa to kill or harm Damian at any moment. Despite this, Alexa is determined to rescue Rylan, which soon leads her far from Damian and deep into enemy territory.

When she arrives, what awaits her is deadlier than anything she could have ever imagined: an army of black sorcerers, and a horrifying plot to destroy the world as Alexa knows it. Will she be able to gather the strength to free herself, protect the love of her life, and save the land? Will there ever be true peace?

Acclaimed author Sara B. Larson has woven a stunning, romantic, and evocative finale to the Defy trilogy, that is sure to leave readers breathless until the very last page.

3.5 Drink Me Potions

I have literally endured months for this novel to come out, and it doesn’t totally disappoint.

Endure picks up right from the top where we left off in Ignite with Rylan gone with the evil sorcerer Rafe and Alexa’s other friends a bit unnerved from the climactic events that had taken place at the palace. The action was on a furious high in this last installment, which I guess shouldn’t surprise me as it is supposed to be the ultimate conclusion. But for all you romance lovers out there, the cute, but albeit few and far between, romantic scenes between Alexa and her handsome king were definitely a highlight. The raw emotions between them really showed how strong their love was, to the point they were willing to let each other go into danger for the sake of the other.

I do believe my expectations were a little high due to the seemingly endless wait for this book. It was a fast and pleasant read. The evilness brewing in Dansii was every bit as creative as I had hoped, with plenty of grossly intriguing villains to hate. Alexa was her same strong self, the guard we’ve grown to love who could take down any man twice her size.

So….why can’t I give this a higher rating?

I guess Endure was missing something for me. It had action, and it had a little bit of romance thrown in there, but I guess I was hoping for some kind of fantastical twist that I would have never even dreamt of putting into the plot. Basically, this book reminded me of a story plot that even I had conjured up back in the good old days. It lacked a sort of pizazz if you will that would have greatly spiced it up to a 5 star rating. However, this could just be a me thing and should not be taken as a “I didn’t like it” sign.

Overall, Endure made for a lovely conclusion to a trilogy. The ending was sweet, but the whole story wasn’t all mushy-gushy. Sacrifices were made and not everyone survived. So it was a little bittersweet at the characters we had to say goodbye.

Overall Recommendation:
Endure was a cute little story filled to the brim with action against the unknown evils that were hiding in the kingdom of Dansii. Alexa Hollen, brilliant female guard, continues to shine in this concluding installment with her ability to stay alive no matter the crazy situations she’s thrown into. With bittersweet sacrifices and little intense romantic scenes with our favourite king, this novel mostly holds true to everything it promises, although may be lacking in the surprising twists department.