Delicious

by Susan Mallery (1st Buchanon Series)

Read for Readers of Romance Summer Challenge

Rated 4 stars

Synopsis:

Cal Buchanan needs a top-flight chef to take over his failing Seattle restaurant, The Waterfront. He can afford to hire the best in town--the only problem is that the best happens to be his ex-wife, Penny Jackson.

Penny really needs this opportunity, but she doesn't need the distraction of working with her ex. She's sworn off romance--she's even having a baby on her own. But before she knows it, the heat is on...and the attraction between her and Cal moves from a low simmer to a full boil!

The rest should be easy as pie, but a secret from Cal's past could spoil everything. Maybe it's true that too many cooks spoil the broth--or maybe two is enough to make it irresistible.

My Thoughts:

Susan Mallery has been hit and miss with me so far. I first read Accidentally Yours and loved it. (Ate it up!) Then I read the Keyes Sister Trilogy. It was alright. I'd heard some good things about those Buchanons, so I was very hopeful! This is Cal and Penny's story. He is the oldest Buchanon and Penny is his ex-wife. I felt like Ms. Mallery wrote well the interplay between 2 exes. I liked that Penny wanted to make Cal "eat crow" a little bit, and that he knew it. I liked that there was plenty of banter between them, but also with her friend Naomi, Eduardo, and the rest of the Buchanons. I love the friendships that she wrote so well.

I will definately be reading more of those Buchanons. Very soon!!

Book Reviews

I'm really very far behind in reviewing and posting my books for the Summer Reading Challenge 09. So, I'll be summing them up here.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

#10-title with Title (royalty)~~~Rated 4.5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Daphne was so much fun, and Simon, well I just love an underdog. He started off as a tortured hero, and the interplay between him and Daphne was great fun. I also loved the whole Bridgerton family. Super fun and heartwarming.

The Nerd Who Loved Me by Vicki Lewis Thompson

#7 Unlikely Hero/Heroine ~~~Rated 4 Stars

A Vegas Showgirl and a Nerdy Accountant. Match made in Heaven right? Lainie Terrel finds herself on the run with Harry Ambrewster. I totally loved this couple. The chemistry was Hot, and the entire cast of characters were so much fun. Outside of the villain, there was not a character I didn't love. I will read more about Ms. Thompson's nerds!

MacKenzie's Mission by Linda Howard

#4 Title published before 2000 ~~~Rated 3.75 Stars

I have definately a mixed opinion of this book. I loved Joe MacKenzie sooo much from MacKenzie's Mountain. He was 16, and so interesting. However, fast forward and He wasn't all that intersting to me. I liked him, but didn't see the depth in him that I'd seen from him previously. I liked Caroline so much though. I found her complex and tough, but with that soft vulnerability that was so appealing. I figured out some of the mystery, but that is fine with me. I don't particularly like mystery, so for me it is more about how are they going to resolve it.

Vampire, Interrupted by Lynsay Sands

#8 Title with Author "S" name like me! ~~~Rated 4 Stars

This is the story of Marguerite Argeneau, the Matriarch of the Argeneau clan. We've seen her try to match her sons and daughter and nephews, Brother-in-law......You get the picture. She is on her first assignment as a private investigator with "Tiny" her mortal boss. Christian Notte as hired them to help research and find out who his mother was. She meets Christian's father Julius who refuses to tell anyone who Christian's mother was. As it happens, Julius turns out to be Marguerite's true Lifemate. She has trust issues since her late husband was able to both read her and control her. I liked Julius and Marguerite. I liked Tiny alot, and want him to find an Immortal as a Lifemate. I love those Notte men. So hot and fun. These Argeneau's are such a hit. I love them all.

Summer Reading Challenge Wrap-up

1. What one book from my list would I recommend...well, since I can only pick one, it would have to be Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I loved this book, and laughed out loud. Because of it, I've bought the whole Chicago Stars Series. (which you will find represented in my Fall Reading Challenge List.) Love, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Did I mention that!?

2. What was the worst book I read...well, I'll have to say that most of the books I read were ok, or great! I struggled most with the "Wicked" books. To Wed a Wicked Prince and A Wicked Gentleman. They were just ok to me.

3. Which authors did I discover that I loved/hated...Well, I discovered a lot of new authors. I Loved; Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lynsay Sands...Hated: well that's kinda strong, but I'll be hard pressed to read another Jane Feather.

4. Which reviews did I write that others wrote, and how were they alike or differents...well, I didn't write many reviews on the Readers of Romance blog. My writing skills, and reviewing skills are mediocre, so I didn't suffer you all with them.

5. Comments/suggestions: Well, I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. It was difficult for me to find books I wanted to read, and made several edits to my list throughout the summer. I'm hesitant about reading new authors, as I really prefer warm/pg-pg13 books to the Hot/r-ish books. Some that I read, were "hotter" than I prefer, but were still well written and I enjoyed the story so much, I'll read the author again. Because of this challenge, I've broadened my author horizons and that I like. Yay me!!

For the Roses

No one ever knew what kind of strays, from animals to weary travelers, Mary Rose Clayborne would bring home next. Sometimes her four brothers? runaway slave Adam, ex-pickpocket Douglas, gunslinger Cole, and con man Travis -- wondered whether her boarding school education did a lick of good now that their beautiful, impulsive little sister was back in Blue Belle, Montana.

Of course, everyone in town knew better than to mess with the Claybornes. The brothers, four of the toughest hombres in the West, had once been a mismatched gang of street urchins. But they had found an abandoned baby girl in a New York City alley, named her Mary Rose, headed West, and raised her to be a lady. Through the years the Claybornes had become a family, held together by loyalty and love if not by blood -- when they suddenly faced the crisis that could tear them apart.

That crisis came to town with Lord Harrison Stanford MacDonald. In his fine clothes, he looked every inch a dude. Mary Rose figured that if she didn't interfere, this handsome Englishman would get himself killed, so she took him home to the Clayborne ranch to ask her brothers to turn him into a cowboy. She didn't suspect MacDonald was a chameleon, not the greenhorn he appeared to be. He'd prove fast with a gun, quick with his fists, and capable of commanding the Claybornes's respect -- if not their trust. He'd also soon be desperately in love with Mary Rose. She returned his affection blissfully and wholeheartedly...until MacDonald revealed a secret that challenged everything she believed about her love, herself, and her life.

Now Mary Rose's search for identity and meaning would begin, sending her to England, to the family she lost long ago. Her soul hungered for the freedom of the American West, but she was being drawn away from all she cared about by the need to know her past...and by her uncertain but still potent love for MacDonald. Torn between conflicting loyalties, Mary Rose wasn't sure who she really was, or where she belonged...questions that could only be answered if she listened to the truth within her heart.

This is my last book for ths Summer Reading Challenge. I waited until now to read it, as the next one in the series is part of my Fall Challenge List and I didn't want to wait too long between books.

I'll start by saying that I liked For the Roses fairly well. It is not my favorite Julie Garwood. I understand Ms. Garwood's need to set up the whole series in this story and therfore it was a bit slow in the beginning. Once, I got past all that, is was smooth sailing! I really liked all the letters written to Mama Rose. Those were really cute glimpses of their life growing up together. I can't wait to read Adam's and Cole's story the most. I loooove a strong man, who has an oooey-gooey center! *sigh*

I give this a 4 rating. I seldom give 5's, and this one gets a 4 based on my falling in love with Adam and Cole. I have a feeling the next books in the series will be more swift moving and will probably easily earn their 4's or 5's easier.

Bitsy's Bait and BBQ

While Emma Collins wonders who in their right mind would use her hard-won divorce settlement to purchase a bed-and-breakfast down in the Ozarks, her free-spirited sister Katy fantasizes dreamily about how this move to a small town will be just the thing for her six-year old son, Josh.

And, as usual, Emma is right. But it is not until they drive to Warbler Lake, Missouri, to take over Bitsy's B & B that they realize just how right she's been. In this part of the country, B &B stands for Bait and BBQ! The firls know little enough about running a bed-and-breakfast, but a bait-and-BBQ?

With their money and futures sunk into a run-down, roadside rattletrap, the girls have no choice but to roll up their sleeves and get to work. But as they settle in and get to know the difference between fatheads, night crawler, mealworms, and shiners, no one is more surprised than they are when they actually get the place up and running.

But trouble is brewing. Katy's ex-husband is having second thoughts about the custody arrangements for Josh, and he fully intends to get him back. With the prospect of losing the little boy, the sisters face another challenge, only this time it's Katy who proves that she, too, can solve a problem.

I liked this book fairly well. It was a slow start for me, and took me 2/3 in, to get invested in the story and characters. However, once I was finally invested, I was Hooked! (Pun intended! I crack me up!) I loved all the secondary characters. There is a strong religious tone to this story, which I liked. It was not, a standard romance! The characters where real, they had fun and were warm and had flaws too. Noone was perfect, and their imperfections weren't cute, they were real. Kinda makes you want to spend some time fishing at the lake.

The Girl Next Door

The man was impossible! Infuriating! Maddeningly blind! Sure, freewheeling bachelor Simon Christopher was Jenny Randall's best friend, but when would he stop ogling busty blondes and start seeing her as more than just plain Jenny, the wholesome girl next door?

Clearly, drastic measures were required. So Jenny transformed herself. From predictable to...provocative. From straitlaced to...sensual. From sweetly domestic to downright dangerous! And Simon began to sweat. Began to see...red. Darn it! He wanted his Jenny back! But would he ever admit he wanted all of her?

This was a quick read, being 250 pages. It was a nice Friends to Lovers story. It was good. I'd give it a 3.5 to 4. For a short story, the character development was pretty good. I got a sense of the history and the tension was good. The ending seemed rushed. But is was overall a good story.

To Wed A Wicked Prince

Livia Lacey came to the house she inherited in London's Cavendish Square with her two friends, Lady Cornelia Dagenham and Lady Aurelia Farnham, to experience the excitement of city life. With Cornelia now happily married, Livia and Aurelia are on their own. But dashing Prince Alex Prokov, a newcomer to London, seems enchanted by Liv the moment they meet. Disarmed by the prince's determined pursuit of her, his exuberant joy of living, and the desires he awakens in her, Liv agrees to marry him.
But while night is a time for passionate embraces, Liv discovers that her irresistible husband can be as autocratic as he is extravagantly generous. While Alex balks at Liv's independent ways, he refuses to explain his own comings and goings. When Liv learns one of Alex's secrets she only loves him more. But when she learns the other secret, will she feel wickedly betrayed?

This is the sequal to "A Wicked Gentleman". I read this for the Summer reading challenge, and found it to be ok. I give it a 3. It's not my favorite. I will probably read the 3rd in the series since, I'm morally opposed to not completing a series once I start it. I also, found myself more connected to Aurelia of all the three women. I find certain aspects of both these stories annoying. The name choices Ms. Feather choses for her secondary characters are all too similar. Since they are sideline characters it is difficult to keep all of them straight. That's pretty important since the plot is heavy on the intrigue of the war, and spies.

Summer Reading Challenge

Hey everyone,
I'm participating in a Summer Reading Challenge, on the Shelfari site. It's with the Readers of Romance Book Challenge group. Check out the blog, at Readers of romance.blogspot.com

Check it out!
1. Title includes name of flower Ex. Rose: Lilac Spring by Ruth Morren
2. Title includes the word “LOVE”: “Summer Lovin’” by Carly Phillips ---DONE
3. Title that has a wedding word Ex. Bride, Ring; The Bride by Julie Garwdood ---DONE
4. Title with a Color word; Silver Angel by Johanna Lindsay ---DONE
5. Book with a ONE word title; Lawman by Diana Palmer ---DONE
6. Read one new author; The Key by Lynsay Sands ---DONE
7. Title that includes Prince or Princess; To Wed a Wicked Prince by Jane Feather ---DONE
8. Title with a jewel Ex. Ruby; Pearl Jinx by Sandra Hill ---DONE
9. Title with a word that makes you think of summer: Ex Lake, Hot, Cottage; “Bitsy’s Bait and BBQ” by Pamela Morsi
10. Title includes a “W” word (any word“A Wicked Gentleman” by Jane Feather ---DONE
11. Title that includes a number Ex: 3, Three, Third; “A Quick Bite” by Lynsay Sands. (thought it was “Once Bitten” when I decided to shuffle so it’s here for now. )---DONE
12. Title with a Time Ex: Midnight, Today, Tomorrow; There and Now, or Here and Then by Linda Lael Miller---DONE
13. Title with Lord or Lady; Lady Be Good, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips ---DONE
14. Author first or last name begins with “J” for June/July; Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich---DONE
15. Author first or last name begins with “A” for August; “The Girl Next Door” by Trish Alexander