Guilty Pleasure

We all have them, and I have a few in Romance. This is one of the guiltier ones.

Any Way You Want It by Kathy Love. 

I've reviewed her contemporary stories before, the Stepp Sisters, and came away with mixed feelings about the trio, absolutely loving the first one, okay with the second, and disastrous with the third. But this is about the first book in one of her paranormal series about three friends, two of which end up with brothers.

Maggie Gallagher is spending a nice vacation in the Big Easy with her friends, Erika and Jo. The shyest of the bunch, Maggie and Co. are enjoying their time together when Maggie is arrested by a melody that nobody is supposed to know. As an authenticator of classical music for the Smithsonian, Maggie recognizes the few bars of a piano melody written by a composer back in the 18 century.

Having just indulged a whim to stroke a few keys of a old piece of music that he had written back when he was just a mere mortal, Ren Anthony is instantly attracted to the small curvy strawberry blonde who has stopped to listen to the live music. Living as an ex-composer who now is the frontman for an immortal cover band, Ren is an auto-pilot musician these days. He just plays to pay the bills.

As a special kind of vampire, a lampir, he survives and feeds off human energy instead of blood. Having believed since his rebirth that he was cursed by his mother, he knows that he shouldn't get involved with Maggie, but can't resist her unique blend of innocence and natural sensuality. Agreeing to a vacation fling, Maggie and Ren explore each other while mutually loosing their hearts as well.

Why is this one of my guiltiest pleasures? For one thing, it's super sweet. Like, send-you-into-a-diabetic-coma sweet. Like most heroines who are shy, they're accompanied by a little issues of body image. While Ren thinks her slight curves are delectable, Maggie has been told they're more than chubby by her ex-finance. Ren takes each and every opportunity to rid Maggie of that misconception and it's so sweet, it'll give you cavities.

But I love it. When I'm in the mood for a hero that's protective and sweet, Ren is my go to guy.

Another reason for guilt inspiring reading? The plot. It's very light. As in, there could've been so much more layered on for a sturdy story. First of all, Ren believes he's cursed. Having been through two failed love affairs, he thinks that his mother has cursed him in the love department. This wasn't covered at all. There's mentions of his past lovers, but you're given scant more information than just their names. One of them, the opera singer, seemed to play a large part in Ren's belief that he was cursed but there was little to no information about that part of his life.

The conclusion is another point of weakness. In an effort to push away Maggie, thinking that he's ultimately saving her life, he does the unthinkable for a Romance alpha hero. He engages intimately with another woman. Yes, we know it's all in an effort to "do the right thing for Maggie" but it's still a little off-putting. In a previous post, I've mentioned that being with another person once the hero/heroine have been together and established is one of the cardinal sins not to be committed in a Romance. Some authors, like I've said before, dare to venture into that forbidden territory, but few make it out alive. And yes, Ren commits this sin.

With all that said, there is something just so sweet (that one word can sum up Ren and Maggie) about this book. The characters aren't the strongest, the plot is minimal at best (more like a collection of day-to-day activity scenes), and the ending is rushed for the sake of an ending. But still, I consider it an occasional reread because I just can't resist this guilty pleasure.

Coming Soon

For all the posts that I've done about books that are already out on the shelves, I feel like I should do one about the ones that are coming soon.

These are some that I'm looking forward to...

1. The first and foremost would be J.R. Ward's Lover Avenged. I can't even begin to describe how excited I am for this to come out at the end of the month. It's no secret that I'm a big Ward fan and since I wasn't all that happy with the last Brotherhood book, Lover Enshrined, I'm thoroughly looking forward to this book. However, in all fairness, it wasn't that I didn't like Lover Enshrined. I loved how the Brotherhood world got so much more complex and the secondary plot lines were amazing, it was the main hero and heroine that didn't exactly do it for me. 

So needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to the next installment. Only downside? It's coming out in hardcover. Andwhile the price is a factor for me, I also love the ease of carrying around a paperback. Plus, the mass market issue is coming out in December and I just can't justify getting a hardcover while the paperback will be released so soon afterwards. And may I just add, "hello, hot cover..."

2. Bengal's Heart by Lora Leigh. Basically anything by her is an instant to-buy for me and this will be no exception. Leigh is really on a roll this year. 2009 seems to be her year because she's basically releasing a book every month. Well, so far. But she's skipping May with a novella coming out in June and then Bengal's Heart in August. Bengal's Heart will feature Cabal, the twin of Tanner Reynolds who was the hero in Tanner's Scheme. I very much enjoyed the pushing of boundaries in that book and am looking forward to Cabal's story.

3. Rachel Gibson is releasing another book as well. True Love and Other Disasters is coming out the same day as Ward's book on April 28. It looks to be another Gibson that connects to her hockey player characters and though I've read all her books, I don't always love them. So, I'm not sure that this will be a purchased book, but I will read it one way or another.

4. Demon Can't Help It by Kathy Love will also debut at the end of April. While I really liked Any Way You Want It for its utter diabetic sweetness, I was disappointed by the subsequent read, I Want You To Want Me. So I can't help but feel like the disappointment will continue in the same vein, but I won't cast the decision before I have a chance to read it myself. Nevertheless, Love has given me some good reads and I am looking forward to this. Ironically, looking back, I can say that I love the first book in each of her series but have been unhappy with all others following.

5. I just found out that Shannon McKenna is releasing a trio of novellas in July. Tasting Fear is about three sisters and typical to McKenna, there's a crime and a supposed murderer on the loose and three sisters meet three super alpha males who barge their way to a rescue. Hopefully, I'll have finished Ultimate Weapon by then because I just haven't been in the mood for such edgy contemporaries. But while McKenna might not always be the best of reads, I can always respect how she pushes the envelope with her writing, plot, and characters. 

There are a few more that I'm looking forward to but these five seem the most promising...

Campy Vamp

A contemporary about a vampire who develops amnesia that has a vengeful brother out for blood surely can't be a good read, right?

Wrong. Well, at least for me.

Fangs for the Memories is the beginning novel that introduces Love's Young Brothers' series, we meet Rhys Young, the oldest and therefore the one who bears the weight of guilt upon his shoulders. Rhys was turned into a vampire under duress by Lilah, a vampire who had her eyes on Rhys. She coerces him into crossing over or else she would kill his baby sister, the beloved of the family. After he agreed Rhys is brokenhearted to find that Lilah killed her anyways. In the only way he knew possible, he went to Lilah, draining her again and again in hopes of inflicting some of the tremendous pain she had done on his family. Only problem was that one of the Young brothers, Christian, was under Lilah's spell and believed to be in love with her, and vice versa. 

Now centuries later Lilah is dead and Christian is convinced that Rhys drove her to her suicide. Out for revenge, Christian wants to exact the same pain on Rhys. He sets out to kill his older brother. 

Jane Harrison is new to New York City. Selling everything, she picked up and left her hometown of Maine in hopes of starting new in the exciting city. Only she finds out that the city might not be so exciting after all. More like dangerous. Almost attacked on her first night alone in the city, thank god for the dark handsome stranger who came to her aid.

Rhys can't fathom why he would actually go and save this mortal. He only knew that he could sense real kindness and a purity that was forgotten to him. Driven by emotion, Rhys broke his own rule and got involved with a human. There's something about Jane that intrigues him. But there's no time to really explore that because she's human and he's not. End of story.

In that same night, Jane ends up saving Rhys as Christian attacks. Surprised by the female, Christian allows his other brother, Sebastian, to take Rhys and Jane home. Christian plans to retaliate in the way that would hurt Rhys the most: By hurting Jane.

When Rhys wakes up the next morning, he can't remember a thing. Was he drunk? He certainly felt like it. Must have been a wild night with his brothers. And who was this woman next to him? Well, whoever she is, he likes what he sees and hopes that he can keep her, never mind the fact that he's betrothed to some American that his parents arranged. 

Jane can't remember a thing. But she does remember Rhys saving her life the night before. And when did he suddenly develop a British accent? And why in the world does he think he's a viscount?

Rhys wakes up with amnesia and thinks he's back in time before his crossing over. And he also believes that Jane is the American that's supposed to be his betrothed. Jane, under Sebastian's plea, plays along so that she doesn't disturb Rhys while waiting for their family doctor to arrive. 

Sebastian plays the matchmaker. For the first time since they became vampires, his big brother isn't moping around. He's even wearing jeans and a color other than black. And the smile! When had Rhys ever smiled? All Sebastian knows is that Rhys' mind has somehow transported itself back in time so that Rhys can feel that he can have Jane as a human and not a vampire.

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I really enjoyed this book. Time after time, I still like reading it. The language is snappy with the conversation moving along. Rhys, in his viscount mind, is very sweet to Jane, wanting to prove that he wants to make her happy for the rest of their lives. Jane, in turn, is very likable as well. She's the 'plain Jane' character but Rhys loves her. Though Jane is guilty about the fact that everything is fake, she can't help but want to believe Rhys' convictions. 

The characters are fun and Rhys and Jane are well matched in personality. Not a serious vampire story, it's very much a campy novel. But still, I think it's a sweet and sometimes hilarious read when in the mood for light paranormal. 

At first I thought it would be hard to get over the historical in contemporary paranormal time setting, but it wasn't hard to get into the story. The back and forth of Jane and Rhys' emotions were well written as long as readers are in the mood to read a fun book and are not looking for action, like J.R. Ward's books. 

All in all, I think Fangs for the Memories is the best of the Young brothers, but they all still have their special elements. Still, Rhys and Jane are my 'it' Young couple.

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4.5 out of 5: Fun read. Campy vampire story. Good pacing and characters. Just an overall sweet read.

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Fangs for the Memories

High School Never Ends

Getting What You Want, Wanting What You Get, Wanting Something More.

The brainiac, the 'chubby' one, the supermodel.

The dyslexic, the alcoholic, the amnesiac.

Kathy Love's Stepp series has its own spin on what would be considered a rather overdone plot line. As Love's debut series, the Stepp sisters' stories center around high school pains and the guys who eventually make up for it.

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I remember coming across Kathy Love's books as Amazon recommended them based on my other purchases. The reviews were good and so I ordered them. Somehow, the order was mixed up and I ended up reading them out of order. The second one first, then the first, and the last. Though connected through the sisters, the stories are easily read out of order. But it wasn't the ordering that bothered me when I put the books down, it was something intangible, but I knew something was off. I couldn't say that I didn't like them, but there was something there that made me hesitant to read more of Love's work.

Then after I completed all three, I realized what it was. It was Love's writing. Specifically, it was the way she wrote her men. It's not uncommon for the hero to have some sort of barrier that keeps him from love, and ultimately, the heroine until the very end. It's usually a fear of commitment, perhaps he was burned in the past, or maybe there's some sort of deceit that serves as the undercurrent for the plot. It's kind of the case with Love, only I found it more interesting.

Her men have problems. Relatable, yet not always seen problems in romance novels. Or perhaps, not written in a way that's always seen. The men's problems quite easily overshadow the main love plot of the book. Especially for the second book, Wanting What You Get, it's the male's problem and not the relationship, that takes center stage.

Let's take a look at each novel...

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Getting What You Want: Abby, the oldest, has come home to work at a research lab. She's the brainy Stepp. The quintessential geek. After high school, she bolts for bigger and better things, working as a scientist and dating the safe guy. Chase Jordan, the high school bad boy, has stayed in his hometown and now works as a successful carpenter and his work leans more towards architecture. When Abby comes home, she runs into Chase. He's still the same bad boy who she saw as a wounded individual back in high school that has the uncanny ability to make her tongue tied and freeze up.

Misunderstandings run amuck...Abby sees Chase as still the guy who's still so cool. Rumors run rampant about Chase and his old high school girlfriend, Summer. And Abby can't help but wonder what happened between the two when Summer obviously wants Chase again. Chase sees Abby and is blown away. The nerdy girl has come back and she's obviously grown into herself. But when he approaches conversation, Abby is too shy but comes off as aloof. Chase thinks that Abby still feels that she's too good for everyone in the small town and he can't help but feel that she's behaving snobby.

And Abby's behavior is her largest stumbling block. She comes off cold and distant and the reader feels for her because you know she's just shy and unsure of herself. She's surrounded by Chase and his friends, the same people who wouldn't give her a second look in high school. When she finally realizes how her misunderstandings and clinging onto the past is hurting her present, it's a good resolution.

So, the plot is farirly typical. The geeky brain is thrown together with the bad boy from high school. But there are differences that Love makes for herself. First, there's the secret of Summer's son and the rumors that surround Chase being the father. But the thing that makes Chase weary of letting Abby too close is the fact that he's hiding something. He's dyslexic. So much so that when readers find out in the end, they can see how Love wove that into the beginning that made their misunderstandings worst. For example, when Chase takes Abby out to dinner, she points to her menu and asks Chase if it's good. Chase can't read it and just takes a shot in the dark. While Abby gently corrects him with the correct dish, Chase brushes it off because he's already embarrassed. But, for Abby, she fears that Chase is irritated by her actions. She misunderstands him and thinks that reading the menu is not the thing to do because she noticed that Chase didn't even glance at his.

The fact that Chase is so embarrassed by his dyslexia is endearing and heartbreaking. He hides the truth because he feels that when Abby finds out, there's no way in hell the super smart girl will stay with the guy who can't even read his own name. That alone, makes his novel my favorite of the three. There are also many cute scenes that pepper the book. The scene where Chase teaches Abby to swim, the funny antics of his dog's perchance of stealing his clothes and ultimately bringing Abby boxers that belong to Chase...all, very sweet.

The combination of Chase and Abby was a good choice in characters. Plus, I have a soft spot for the brainy girl/bad boy combo. Who doesn't?

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Wanting What You Get: Ellie, the chubby one, is the one Stepp sister who has stayed home. As the town librarian, she keeps the company of books and the other library employees. And that's it. She definitely does not have the social life of the town mayor, Mason Sweet. When Mason starts to notice Ellie, he proposes an affair. Too little, too late does he realize that Ellie is not the kind of woman that he should be having a casual relationship with. But Ellie is determined to do it because of Mason, no matter the cost to her heart. When Mason sees that he wants Ellie more seriously, it's Ellie to put on the brakes because she realizes that there's more to Mason than meets the eye. But without Mason's acceptance of his problem, no one can win in a loosing battle.

Here, in the second book, Love takes a bit of a turn. In Abby and Chase's story, they each had their own insecurities that contributed to misunderstandings and therefore, they each had something to apologize for. In the case of Mason and Ellie, the story is definitely all about Mason. That is what made this series stand out for me. Love choose to make her story focus not really about the budding relationship, but on Mason and his problems. Ironically, though Ellie is the 'chubby' sister, her weight is on the back burner of topics as Mason takes the stage.

Mason, the town mayor, is an alcoholic. It's not really that apparent at first. A drink here, a drink there. Then it escalates. When Ellie and Mason have problems, Mason drowns his anger in the bottle. When they go away for the weekend to reconcile, Ellie notices that Mason has practically polished off the entire bottle of wine himself before their dinner arrives. When Ellie confronts him, Mason denies it. And as Ellie bravely leaves him even because she can't stand to see him hurt himself, Mason continues to delude himself into think that Ellie simply can't accept him and love him the way he is. When Mason finally realizes that he's gone over the deep end, he also finds out that Ellie is pregnant and while she's happy for him, she doesn't want to take him back. She wants him to get sober for the right reasons, not to pin them on her or the baby.

As mentioned, the entire story centers around the growing evidence that Mason is an alcoholic. It's not really about Ellie and her embarrassment over her weight, though we do see a few scenes about her insecurities. It's all about Mason. And that stood out for me. I still like Abby and Chase's story better because there's a balance of problems between the leads, but I can respect Love's decision to spotlight Mason and his problem in the second novel.

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Wanting Something More: The third, in my opinion, is a poor way to end the series. It's almost good enough to read the first two and leave it at that. Marty, the girl who was too skinny and too tall is now a supermodel. The guy who used her as a practical joke is now the Chief of Police. Oh, and let's not forget that Nathaniel was attacked and can't remember his past with Marty, therefore he doesn't recall ever being so mean to her.

This was Love's weak attempt of continuing the Stepp story but it turned out too contrived. It was stretching not enough plot to last the length of the novel. Marty's insecurities were not handled well and the little sub-plot of action and the threat of another attack on Nathaniel was pithy. When I finished, I could hardly believe that this was the same author who wrote the previous two.

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Getting What You Want: 4 out of 5: A good balance of problems, tenderness, and sexiness from both characters.

Wanting What You Get: 3 out of 5: Brave departure from the norm by focusing solely on the hero instead of the couple as a whole. However, the imbalance left much to be desired in terms of seeing Ellie really grow throughout the story.

Wanting Something More: 1.5 out of 5: Nice try, but obviously ran out of steam by the end. Characters were not engaging enough to truly care for them like the previous two.

Good contemporary covers. Bright colors. No cringe-worthy models that make you embarrassed to be caught reading them in public.