Wednesday, October 20, 2010

16 Lighthouse Road (Cedar Cove book 1)

by Debbie Macomber.

A new author and I guess series. I found this on Audible a while back and finally read it. I did like it a good bit. It was sad at times and lots of divorce, unhappy family stuff going on that was hard to swallow as a light read but otherwise it was interesting. It follows the story of a number of people who live in Cedar Cove. Mostly romantic stories but not all.
I didn't realize it was a series and I'll have to check out the next in the series and see if it's characters I now know or not. All in all I would recommend this, not as the lightest of reads but nothing like a Jodi Piccoult either.

Scandal in Spring (Wallflower book 4)

by Lisa Kleypas.

The fourth and final in the series, this one follows Daisy Bowman as her father tries to arrange a marriage for her. It was much more slow going for me, not quite as interesting as the others but still good. A little action at the end kept it interesting and it rounded out the series nicely.

Next up is Midnight Crystal to finish that trilogy and then maybe some Mary Balogh's I have piled up by my bed!

The Devil in Winter (wallflower book 3)

by Lisa Kleypas.

This one picked off right where the second ended and followed Evie as she proposes marriage to St. Vincent to escape her family. It was quite interesting because it explains the history of Rohan more clearly and I read those Kleypas books much earlier (Hathaway?). I may have to reread the first in that series now.

I liked the danger in this one and Evie who was so shy really stood her ground. It was a good book.

It Happened One Autumn (wallflowers book 2)

by Lisa Kleypas.

The second book covered the story of Lillian Bowman and Lord Westcliff. I found it very intriguing and while predictable, it was fun. A great followup as the 4 friends stay strong through the series and we get to see Annabelle even though she's married now.

This may have been my favorite of the series, not quite sure but it was a treat to read. Of course it ended with a cliffhanger so I had to start the third right away!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Burning Lamp (Dreamlight Trilogy book 2)

by Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz).

And 10 months later I finally purchase the second book (in audio format because i don't like hardcovers and the kindle never dropped below 10dollars) but this book technically comes before the first one.

Well it wasn't my favorite - which is a bummer because I love Amanda Quick books generally. I thought the first half lacked character development, too much of it was giving this history of the Jones family and the Winters family so you didn't get to know the characters well. The romance just sort of happened with no build up. The second half of the book was much better, containing some mystery and danger and some characters from previous books which was nice.

Part of my problem may have been the reader of the audiobook, she was breathless/throaty and it was hard to feel like the characters were normal people because of it. So hard to relate in general and definitely not my favorite. Arcane started out as my favorite of JAK's books but I think i like her standalone AQ books best now because she doesn't have to waste time explaining the history of the Arcane Society.

I am really looking forward to the midnight crystal however (the third in this series) which is a jayne castle!

Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflower book 1)

by Lisa Kleypas.

This series is about 4 wallflowers who are looking for marriage and become friends and help each other pursue future husbands. The first deals with Anabelle who is attracting to a man Simon of lower birth but wants to marry a peer. Surprise - she ends up marrying Simon :) It was an enjoyable read and the friendship between the girls is great.

I'm now torn between reading the next and reading the new book that just came out by my favorite author... ahh decisions!

The Sins of Lord Easterbrook (easterbrook book 4)

by Madeline Hunter.

And the fourth and final book in the series. Finally it's Easterbrook's turn and we learn something of his travels and a woman he fell in love with on those travels who reappears in his life. There is a lot of political stuff going on in this one, dealing with the opium trade which was very interesting. This one was interesting because until the last few pages she was set against staying and was planning on leaving and that this was nothing but an affair... interesting. It was nice to follow the characters from the previous books and how they are all still doing. I love series' because of that.