Mini Reviews III: A Convenient Artistic Malice

This parcel of mini reviews features a contemporary romance set in New Zealand, a classic Regency, and a mystery/thriller from Japan. Enjoy!

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Artistic License by Elle Pierson

Art student Sophy is so distracted by a museum security guard with a face "Picasso would love" that she doesn't duck out of the way in time to avoid colliding with his impressively muscled torso. When she asks him to model for, Mick feels like he can't say no, and he's not sure he wants to. Will these two crazy kids get together???

I'll readily admit that I have a weakness for any book involving artists or art. Sometimes this leads me astray, but in this case it didn't. While Artistic License isn't a perfect novel–the clothing descriptions in the first chapter were enough to drive me bonkers; the author apparently has an obsession with jackets because I literally knew what kind of jacket every single character was wearing, or had ever worn–the story drew me in and, for the most part, I enjoyed reading it.

Sophy is an Anastasia Steele type of character: young, uncoordinated, shy, awkward, and not very confident. Normally this would be eye roll inducing, but here it felt authentic, possibly because Sophy is also quirky and accepting of herself as she is. Mick is slightly less well-drawn, but I loved the details in his mannerisms that gave the book a well-needed dash of realism.

This is one of those stories where the hero/heroine don't hook up for a long ass time for no good reason, and there were some niggling little details that bothered me, but overall Artistic License is a good–not great–read. If you're at loose ends searching for a romance, you could do worse.

The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer

I've tried to read a couple of Georgette Heyer books in the past and pretty much gave up on that. But then I saw a post on Angieville about how she loved The Convenient Marriage, and one of the commenters said the audiobook version was narrated by Richard Armitage. RICHARD ARMITAGE, said my brain. And, lo and behold, said audiobook was on Hoopla. I immediately started listening to it and I'm glad I did, because it's a hella entertaining coming-of-age story full of adventure, duels, and social contretemps.

The Convenient Marriage is kind of like Pride & Prejudice, if Mary Bennet had decided to take matters into her own tentacles and propose to one of Jane's wealthy suitors. Horatia *seems* like she would be a shy, uncertain young woman, because of her stutter. But in fact she's feisty and a grab-life-by-both-hands sort. She's self-conscious about her stutter but still insists on going out in society and doing what she wants, which also makes her seem really brave.

Lord Rule is a bit more of a caricature, all laconic and superior all the time (except when he gets really pissed off), but whatever. It works here. And there are many other characters and a ton of stuff happening in the book that has nothing directly to do with the "romance" between Rule and Horry, so much so that you could almost turn this book into an entire TV series!

Finally, I really have to mention Armitage again, because he is an AMAAAAAzing narrator. Every character had his or her own voice and it was hard to believe one person could embody so many different personalities and accents. Honestly the best audiobook narrator I've ever listened to; I will definitely be listening to every other audiobook he's ever worked on.

Highly recommended!

And now for something completely different...

Malice by Keigo Higashino

I received Malice as a birthday (or Christmas?) present, and honestly didn't know what to expect from it. It's not the type of book I would normally pick up on my own: the summary makes it sound like a dark and gritty police procedural, which is not my jam at all. After reading it, I would still say it's not "my type" of book. But because the writing is so fantastic, Malice transcended its genre and completely won me over.

The story is about two writers and their books: one, Kunihiko Hidaka, is a bestselling author; the other, Osamu Nonoguchi, is a literary unknown and Hidaka's childhood friend. When Hidaka's body inside his locked office, Nonoguchi decides to write about the investigation, much to the consternation of Detective Kaga.

I wish I could say more, but I don't want to ruin the twists and turns for you. I'll admit that the last twist went way beyond the bounds of plausibility and sense-making for me, but it was a thrilling ride getting there nonetheless. I can definitely see why Higashino is one of Japan's bestest-selling authors: his writing is compulsively readable. This is the type of novel you want to consume in great big gulps because it grabs hold of your imagination almost immediately. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of Higashino's books in the future!





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Review: COLD-HEARTED RAKE by Lisa Kleypas

Devon Ravenel is not pleased when he inherits the estate of his cousin, the Earl of Trenear. For one thing, the house itself is falling apart, the estate is mired in debt, and it's not producing enough income to keep it afloat. For another thing, Devon and his brother made a pact as children to never take on any responsibility whatsoever. But when Devon goes to the estate to look into selling it off, he comes across his cousin's widow and despite his best intentions finds himself accepting the burdens of the earldom, most especially those of taking care of Trenear's countess.

Lisa Kleypas is the author whose books got me into romances, so when I heard she was releasing her first historical romance since 2010's Love in the Afternoon, I was pretty durned excited. But also anxious, because historical romance hasn't really been doing anything for me lately. I'm happy to report that while Cold-Hearted Rake wasn't a perfect book, it was fun and entertaining and mostly unputdownable–exactly the type of novel I hope for when I pick up something by Kleypas.

The beginning of Cold-Hearted Rake was a bit rough (side note: the title is annoying and inaccurate. Devon hardly came across as a cold-hearted rake; he was way too fiscally responsible. Also, the term "rake" kinda makes me roll my eyes). The romance between Devon and Kathleen felt predictable and forced, and I think it remained the weakest part of the novel even after it improved.

Fortunately, Devon and Kathleen didn't spend that much time together during the course of the novel, which left plenty of time for the more entertaining stories of Devon's brother, Weston, and the three Ravenel sisters, Pandora, Cassandra, and Helen, getting into hijinks. These are awesome characters, and Kleypas can really tell a great story when she puts her mind to it.

I also suspect Kleypas has been binge watching way too much PBS in recent years, because there's definitely a Masterpiece Classic vibe going on with this series. Devon's attitude reminded me of Matthew's in the first season of Downton Abbey, particularly when Grantham says to him (re: the estate), "You don't love it yet, but you will," and Matthew's like, "ERMERGAWD these people are so backward and stuck in the past and this house is wildly impractical WHY."

But even more than that, Winterbourne (Devon's friend who owns a department store in London) is so obviously modeled after Mouret, the owner of The Ladies' Paradise, or maybe Henry Selfridge from Mr. Selfridge. Either way, he's like, *smolder smolder smolder* *issues* I can't wait to find out what historical miniseries Kleypas rips off in the third book!

Anyway, it was nice to read a historical romance that was a well-told story with fun characters, that didn't bore me to death and I didn't want to set on fire. So the bar's set pretty high over here! Seriously, though, Cold-Hearted Rake isn't Kleypas' best book, but it stands up on its own pretty well. I've already preordered Marrying Winterbourne. CANNOT WAIT.



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Review: BANQUET OF LIES by Michelle Diener

Guest review by Anachronist of Portable Pieces of Thought.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

A Secret Treaty and a Secret Life
LONDON, 1812: Giselle Barrington is living a double life, juggling the duties of chef with those of spy catcher. She must identify her father’s savage killer before the shadowy man finds her and uncovers the explosive political document her father entrusted to her safekeeping.
Posing as a French cook in the home of Lord Aldridge, Giselle is surrounded by unlikely allies and vicious enemies. In the streets where she once walked freely among polite society, she now hides in plain sight, learning the hard lessons of class distinction and negotiating the delicate balance between servant and master.
Lord Aldridge’s insatiable curiosity about his mysterious new chef blurs the line between civic duty and outright desire. Carefully watching Giselle’s every move, he undertakes a mission to figure out who she really is—and, in the process, plunges her straight into the heart of danger when her only hope for survival is to remain invisible.

My impressions:

I might surprise you with this statement but historical romances written by Michelle Diener have several serious assets. Firstly, as far as I know, every one of them is based around a Regency historical event, be it the assassination of the British Prime Minister, a French plot to bleed British gold out of the country or, as it was this time, a secret change of alliances between Russia and France in the middle of the Napoleonic wars. As a result (and secondly) the characters have something more to do than to attend parties, woo the people they fancy and defeat their romantic rivals. In my humble opinion it makes the reading far more enjoyable.

I also appreciate the fact that Diener’s romantic heroines are usually independent, intelligent women who usually have a set of interesting skills apart from just being pretty. In the case of Gigi, the female lead of Banquet of Lies, it was her cooking skills, especially when it comes to gourmet French cuisine. I admit I warmed up to her from the first chapter and I wasn’t surprised Lord Aldridge, her male love interest, was so taken with her instantly. Insta-cooking-love is far more palatable than any other kind of infatuation and the girl in question could cook and bake like an angel (or rather like a three-star Michelin chef) – who wouldn’t love to have such a wife/husband/partner?

Let me also say that the lack of any explicit sex scenes actually improved my reading experience: mainly because I wasn’t ‘treated’ by different artificially ‘historical’ terms describing male and female sexual organs *shudders*; I also found it closer to the beginning of the 19th century’s standards.

Still there were problems which decreased my reading pleasure.

It grated a bit that, despite well-rounded characterizations I appreciated and enjoyed so much, all main characters were just obnoxiously handsome and/OR pretty (I bet you can be handsome and pretty at the same time, right?). I am really sick and tired with a message most of romantic fiction books try to convey: esthetics means EVERYTHING; if you are nice to look at you’ll be loved, happy and successful. Alternatively you might be an illegitimate daughter of a whore, with the whole street of potential candidates for fatherhood, or a thieving son of a gangster but, as long as you look nice people will give you second, third or even fourth chance. SO. NOT. TRUE.

My other issue concerned the way these Regency lords and ladies thought and behaved in this one. It was so strange to find out all of them had a quite modern mindset, not influenced by religion or any other prejudices so typical for those times. It reminded me of the fact that in Persuasion by Jane Austen, a Regency novel written actually in Regency times by a Regency author, it was a quite important issue for Anne Elliot, the main heroine, that her cousin who courted her for some time dared travel on Sunday and didn’t attend church. Well, in Ms. Diener’s Regency novels virtually nobody attends church or thinks about religion at all – go figure.

What's more? Here is a quite juicy tidbit: after Giselle Barrington's diplomat father is murdered at the beginning of the story, Giselle, a young girl, travels from Sweden to England with all her bags and whatnots completely unattended. Mind you nobody seems to care or notice that a respectable miss goes on such a long distance trip without a chaperone, a maid or a male relative in tow. What's even stranger, none of the super-duper kick-ass-and-kill-on-the-spot spymasters in this book has ever heard of ship manifests, let alone checked one to find out whether the girl actually left the countr. Hmmm...let me quote here Mr. Eastwood who expresses my feelings the best:

Oh, and as I've already started to complain: I would love to learn more about Mr Edgars who had such a potential (underdeveloped unfortunately) that he could have overshadowed both bland Aldridge and the rest of secondary characters...

The cover: somehow bland. Show me your face, pretty lady, and then show me your cooking, not just your tits...ehem, bosom...

Final verdict:

Despite its shortcomings one of better historical romance novels I’ve stumbled across. If you like Regency England, secret plots, secret services and no-nonsense heroines you might want to try this one.



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6 Foodie Books You Should Definitely NOT Read While Hungry

Portions of this post originally appeared on Book Riot. I received copies of All For You and Mastering the Art of French Cooking for review consideration. For more on my review policies, please see my Full Disclosure page.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? by Fumi Yoshinaga

Shiro Kakei is a lawyer, but he's not one of these lawyers who work sixty hours a week and spend their lives at their desks. No, Shiro happily takes the most boring cases so he can put in his eight hours and go home, where he throws himself into his true passion: cooking!

I was expecting a light, entertaining slice-of-life story with What Did You Eat Yesterday?, but it was much better and more powerful than I thought it would be. First of all, for being printed in black and white, the food looked and sounded crazy delicious. This was my face the entire time I was reading:

Also, the recipes are kind of inspiring. As soon as I finished this manga, I started making side dishes for breakfast and dinner, trying to use up what we had in the fridge. I didn't consciously decide to start doing this, incidentally, it just seemed to happen naturally as an extension of reading the book. I have to agree with Shiro's boyfriend, Kenji, that adding side dishes makes the meal more satisfying. I began to feel so much healthier. Add to that Yoshinaga's beautiful, delicate drawings, awesome characters, and vignettes on how food can express love, carry memories, and is more than just following a recipe but also about using what you have and shopping for the best ingredients, and there really is nothing not to like about this manga.

Verdict: Definitely buy. In fact, after I returned What Did You Eat Yesterday? to the library, I bought a copy for myself, I loved it soooo much.

The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook, ed. by Kate White

Death and food go together like sun and shade. Why? No one knows, except maybe Hannibal Lecter. In this cookbook, some of the greatest mystery writers in America (Scott Turow, Louise Penny, Mary Higgins Clark, Charlaine Harris, James Patterson, etc.) share their favorite recipes, from family standards to food straight out of their books.

For some crazy reason I decided to start reading this while I was waiting for dinner. Bad decision, or worst decision? The recipes were so good I started ROTFDMAO (rolling on the floor drooling my ass off). But even if you don't like to cook, this book is filled with entertaining stories and essays from mystery authors. I cried at Richard Castle's "pancakes are love," declaration, laughed at Nelson DeMille's Male Chauvinist Pigs in the Blanket recipe, and loved Lorenzo Carcaterra's story about Grandma Maria's Pasta Puttanesca. Lee Child closes the book out admirably with an essay on The Right Way to make coffee. The chapter on side dishes is pretty weak, but this is America we're talking about.

Verdict: Buy. Actually, this is another book I bought after borrowing from the library. Good ol library!

All For You by Laura Florand

Sassy and cute Célie is chef to one of the best chocolatiers in Paris, but her life wasn't always truffles and ganache. She grew up in the banlieue dreaming of marrying her brother's bestie, Joss, until he abandoned her to join the Foreign Legion. Now he's back, acting like nothing ever changed, and Célie has all the feels.

I've never been one of those people who get hungry or crave chocolate while reading a Laura Florand novel, although I do find her food descriptions to be fascinating and on fleek. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I can't eat chocolate, who knows. But with this book, I not only started craving chocolate, I had an entire dream about drinking hot chocolate, the one chocolate treat I really, really miss indulging in. It's kind of strange, considering that All For You is probably one of Florand's less food-centric novels. But then again, it did give me all the warm fuzzies. It's sweet and comforting and just what you need to lift your spirits, kind of like a cup of hot chocolate in book format.

Verdict: Buy.


The following books were ones I wanted to include in the above Buy, Borrow, Bypass, but life and work got in the way and I wasn't able to finish them before the deadline. However, I do still want to review them, so here they are!

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

Nora is a small-town girl who grew up working in her dad's barbeque joint, but her dreams are much bigger than that. When she gets the chance to be on Taste Test, her favorite cooking competition show, she leaves District 11 her dad and BFF, Billy, to compete in an arena against kids from across the country. Only one can survive win the chance to study cooking in Paris. The problem is, can Nora trust the other contestants, particularly the infuriating and arrogant Christian Van Lorten?

In case you can't tell by the summary, this book reminded me a bit of The Hunger Games. Too bad that title was already taken, it would have been much better than Taste Test. Anywho, this was a really fun, quick read. I loooooooooove books where the two main characters fight all the time. Nora had a few moments where I thought her behavior was unreasonable or annoying, and the ending left almost everything completely unresolved, but the bottom line is this is the kind of book you can kick back and read in an afternoon when you're after some lighthearted entertainment. As for the food, all but one of the recipes were dumped in at the end, and none of them sounded particularly appetizing or easy to make. I wouldn't call this a book NOT to read while hungry.

Verdict: Buy or borrow.

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain

Laurent Letellier owns Le Cahier Rouge, a Parian bookstore. One day he stumbles upon an abandoned purse in the street and becomes obsessed with finding its owner after reading all the personal secrets she's written down in her little red notebook. She owns a red notebook, he owns a bookstore called The Red Notebook–clearly these two are meant to be together. But will they ever meet?

This is a charming, short novel in a similar vein to the movie Amélie, although not as fantastical and twee. It sounds like it could go into creeper territory but it really doesn't. I loved how there were a bunch of jokes you would probably only get if you spoke French–the name of Laurent's shop, for example; or the name of his daughter's cat, Putin, which can mean everything from damn to fuck depending on intonation (or the name of the Russian president, for that matter). Actually, now that I think about it, double meaning in names is kind of a theme in this book. As for why The Red Notebook is on this list, it's surprisingly chock full of delectable descriptions of food and drinking and eating, from pot-au-feu to hachis Parmentier. And if you don't know what either of those dishes are, don't worry–googling photos of them is half the fun. I started craving French food like whoa.

Verdict: Buy or borrow, but definitely read.

Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah

Francophile Ann Mah thought her dreams had come true when her hubby got a job in Paris. But just a few weeks after the big move, he had to go to the Middle East for a year, leaving Mah lonely and bored until this food writer finally had a lightbulb moment: she could write about French food! Using Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a travel guide, Mah set out to discover the stories "behind" the famous regional dishes of France.

Another day, another foodie memoir inspired by Julia Child. I mean, I get that she's a BFD to a whole generation of cooks and foodies, but it's getting to be a bit cliché at this point. I admit I had trouble getting into Mastering the Art of French Eating. I probably should have known better, seeing as how memoirs are not my thing, but I was expecting a lot more food in this book. Instead, it's mainly about Mah's struggles living as an expat–not just in Paris, but in other parts of the world (her hubby's in the diplomatic service). Which is fine, but I'm not super interested. I also thought the choices for and execution of Mah's quest were pretty damn lame. For Paris–the first chapter in the book no less–what dish does she choose? Steak and frites. Really? Out of all the dishes she could have written about? Giant snooze. In another chapter, Mah highlights two famous andouillette recipes of Troyes, but she doesn't even try them! At that point this book lost me. I will say, however, that the recipes at the back of each chapter sound tasty and I totally want to try them.

Verdict: Bypass, or borrow for the recipes.



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Review: HEARTS OF FIRE by LH Cosway

Lille has spent her entire life living under her mother's thumb, friendless and craving adventure in Nowheresville, Ireland. So naturally when she gets the chance to run away with the circus, she takes it. But all is not quirky characters and crazy balloon animals in the Circus of Spectacularly Awkward Social Situations–the fire breather, Jack McCabe, keeps staring at her; one of the psycho trapeze artists has Lille in her jealous sights; and the circus itself is haunted by a murrrrrrrrderrrrrrrr. Will the sparks between Lille and Jack turn into a fire of passion? Will the murder no one really cares about be solved? Questions!

So, this book is basically Twilight. Jack stares at Lille constantly in the first quarter of the novel, follows her around and won't leave her alone, yet tells her she should stay away from him. Why? She doesn't want to know, she's too sweet and innocent. But while he manages not to lose control with other women, he just knows that with her, he will! And then she'll realize his horrifying secret (hint you don't need: burning people gets him off. He's a fire breather, for god's sake).

But then of course he does tell her, and Lille's like, "Oh, that's a little scary but I twust woo," and then she decides she likes getting hot wax poured on her, so. Hashtag tru luv.

In case you couldn't tell, I had some problems with Hearts of Fire. I actually almost DNF'd it in the beginning, but I forced myself to continue and was lured into a sense of complacency when the book picked up slightly after Lille joined the circus. By the end, though, I was wishing I'd listened to my instincts and moved on to something else before I'd wasted a good two weeks of my life on it.

The Twilight thing actually didn't bother me that much–I enjoy Twilight. What bothered me was the tons of telling-not-showing, the weirdo Captain Obvious statements, and the lack of plausibility and character development.

Let's take one example. After Lille joins the circus, she watches Jack feed the lions (why is he feeding them? Who knows) and thinks to herself, "The sight of such a strong, vital man feeding a strong, vital animal was kind of arousing in a strange way."

Uhg, Lille. First of all, everything seems to arouse you. It's kind of ridiculous. Secondly, I get the fact that this scene underscores Jack's masculinity without being hit over the head with it. JACK/LION=STRONG, VITAL. There's no need to be repetitive repetitive.

Thirdly, um what?

The entire book is filled with statements like that. "It was like masturbation for artists: draw the thing that turns you on." Pretty sure that's not how it works, but okay. Perhaps sentences like this were meant to be sexy but I'm not sure.

The point is, the writing was pretty damn shaky, but I was liking the story okay and Jack had his moments. Then around the 60% mark, Lille started really annoying me with her illogical reactions to deus-ex-machina plot developments. The book limped along for a while after that, until Jay Fields (hero of Six of Hearts and Jack's long-lost brother) showed up, at which point it completely stopped. The scene where Jay gathered the entire Circus Awkwardis together to reveal the killer was probably one of the most patience-trying scenes I've ever read in my life. It took me three days to force myself through it. And don't even get me started on the obvious setting up of King as Cosway's next romantic hero.

I still think Cosway's an excellent writer, but it feels like she's churning out books too fast to really consider her characters, work on the plot of each book, and polish up her writing. Like with Six of Hearts, Hearts of Fire is a story that seems like it had potential (although a lot less potential than Six of Hearts), but it was just slap-dashed together. And is it just me, or does it feel like Cosway's writing the same book over and over lately? Wasn't the hero of The Hooker and the Hermit also a closet BDSM-er? (Kidding, that wasn't a question. I know he was.)

I probably won't read Cosway's next book in this series, King of Hearts, unless by some miracle it happens to be better than Hearts of Fire. Maybe once Cosway finishes up this series she'll get back into her groove.


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New Author Crush: KJ Charles

Last year, I totally fell in love with Laura Florand's novels. This year, I think KJ Charles is going to be my new book crush.

I first heard about KJ Charles at Portable Pieces of Thought. I bought The Magpie Lord a short time after reading rameau's review, then promptly forgot about it, even after Anachronist offered to loan me the second book in the series. The Magpie Lord would probably still be sitting unread on my Kindle if it hadn't been for a listicle on m/m romance writers I agreed to write for Book Riot. I found myself racking my brain for a scifi-fantasy m/m title, scrolling through my endless list of ebooks, when I happened across The Magpie Lord and remembered how much Anachronist enjoyed it.

Basically, The Magpie Lord is like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, only sexy, entertaining, NOT 600 pages too long, and with a romantic subplot that didn't make me want to shoot someone.

The novella is set in an alternate-universe Victorian England, where magic exists, albeit not in the open. While cleaning out his family estate, the newly anointed Lord Crane, Lucien Vaudrey, falls under a vicious curse, and the only person who can help him is "practitioner" (read: magician) Stephen Day. Once Day cures Lucien, however, the nature of the curse leads him to suspect it was meant not just for Lucien, but his entire family. Meaning his father and brother might have been the victims of a magical killer.

The Magpie Lord was a really fun, fast, and delightful read. I loved Lucien and his bestie, Merrick, and the fact that they had an extensive and very exotic backstory set in China. Lucien is your basic rake, but he's a rake whose actions are grounded in a personal history and are more about independence than rebellion. Stephen was also a great character, with a complex history involving Lucien's family. I loved that his sense of justice was more important to him than personal grudges. Not to mention that his historical crush on the first Lord Crane (aka the eponymous Magpie Lord) was kind of adorkable.

The ending felt rushed and too conveniently resolved, but for the most part The Magpie Lord was a really good book. I bought the second book in the series as soon as I finished it! (Kindle's really kind of evil when it comes to that.)

After I completed The Magpie Lord, I was going through Charles' Amazon page and ran across Think of England. Unlike Charles' Charm of Magpies series, this is a historical novella set in Edwardian England. Former army captain Archie Curtis gets himself invited to a house party at a remote country estate, all so he can poke into the affairs of the house's owner, whom he suspects sold defective weapons to the army. While at the house party, he meets Daniel da Silva, an effeminate poet who is clearly Up To Something.

COUNTRY HOUSE MYSTERY YOU GUYYYYYS. I was in the mood for a nice historical romp so I immediately downloaded Think of England, and I'm super glad I did. Despite containing the most awkward felattio scene I've ever come across, this book is absolutely fantastic. Again, I loved the characters. Daniel reminded me of a cross between Oscar Wilde and Ambrose from I've Come to Stay, both of whom I adore, needless to say. The female characters were also really sharp and completely awesome.

But my favorite thing about this book is how Charles references and roots Think of England in Edwardian adventure novels. Both H. Rider Haggard and E. Phillips Oppenheim are mentioned by the characters. Archie's uncle was the inspiration for Haggard's Allan Quatermain, and Archie finds himself thinking that if this was an Oppenheim novel, Daniel would be the villain. And he's totally right–in fact, the set-up for the book (obscure country house, no good being done there) was reminiscent of Oppenheim's The Great Impersonation. I love it when books are in conversation with other books, and Think of England definitely is. For a history and book geek, it was a definite bonus.

After I finished Think of England, Anachronist told me I should read Non-Stop Till Tokyo, because she knows I can't resist books set in Japan. Non-Stop Till Tokyo is very different from the previous books by Charles listed here. For one, it's a contemporary thriller. For another, I would never describe it as "fun, fast, and delightful" like I would the previous two books. Not that it isn't good, but it is different in tone and pace.

Kerry Ekdahl's life is spent in the shadows: she lives and works in Tokyo illegally as a "hostess" (kind of a low-rent geisha, providing company to lonely, workaholic salarymen at a bar), and as far as family and roots go, she has none besides her friends. In a single night, Kerry's precariously peaceful existence is torn apart when her least-favorite co-worker sets her up to take the blame for the murder of a yakuza boss. Now Kerry has to find his briefcase to save herself and her friends.

My favorite thing about Non-Stop Till Tokyo were the descriptions of Japan. They were highly detailed and, as in Ink by Amanda Sun, it's clear Charles has spent extensive time in Japan and is very familiar with its language and culture. The picture she painted of Japan here was probably the best I've ever come across in a novel.

That said, while I enjoyed the book, there were times when it felt like it would never end. There were always things happening, and maybe that was the problem–too many challenges, not enough down time? In any case, the pacing was a little off.

The tone is also much darker and more cynical than Think of England or The Magpie Lord. Kerry's involvement with the Yakuza has some very real, very nasty consequences for herself and her friends. Even with a "happy ending," this isn't the type of book where the protagonists skip into the sunset scott free.

The other thing that really hooked me when Anachronist told me about Non-Stop Till Tokyo was that the hero was a former sumo wrestler! Fun fact: sumo wrestling is one of the few sports I will watch on TV. While I liked Chanko and thought his and Kerry's interactions were fun, but to be honest I didn't feel any romantic chemistry between them at all. That part of the book felt a bit forced, perhaps because Chanko's personality wasn't very detailed. He was basically a fat, grumpy bastard with a short temper who beat people up. He had the whole knight-in-shining-armor thing going on, but it seemed like Kerry won his trust over too quickly. (It would have actually been fun if he'd double-crossed her later in novel, but I'm not the one writing the book here, so.)

It was also kind of hard to picture Non-Stop Till Tokyo set in 2014–who puts information on a CD anymore? It felt like Charles had written this in the 1990s when people were still confused over what the Internet could do. Although I certainly wouldn't say no to a sequel of Non-Stop Till Tokyo–the possibility of which Charles left wide open–it's probably my least-favorite of the KJ Charles books I've read so far.

I'd definitely recommend Think of England if you're considering trying one of Charles' books, or The Magpie Lord if you're in the mood for some historical fantasy. Non-Stop Till Tokyo is also good, and a must-read if you're a sucker for books set in Japan like I am, but it's probably skippable if romantic suspense isn't your jam.

Do you have any new author crushes you'd recommend?



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Review: THE HOOKER AND THE HERMIT by LH Cosway and Penny Reid

Annie Catrel, secret celebrity blogger and social media expert, loves making fun of stars' poor fashion choices. But when she posts a pic of someone who may or may not be Colin Farrell (he's not), the real celebrity–Irish rugby hooker Ronan Fitzpatrick–blows a gasket and sends her a VERY nasty email. Annie would love to respond by posting it online and publicly shaming him, but she can't. Because he's just hired the PR firm she works for to improve his image, and she's been put in charge of his account. Will Ronan figure out Annie's "the Socialmedialite," and will Annie come out of her shell enough to let him in? #willthesetwocrazykidsgettogether

This review is going to have some mild spoilers. It just is. If you want to read The Hooker and the Hermit completely free of any plot reveals, go and do that, and THEN come back and read my review, okay? I'll wait. Take your time.

Are you back? Okay, let's do this thing.

The Hooker and the Hermit is LH Cosway and Penny Reid's answer to Fifty Shades of Grey. You've got your young, lip-biting female who isn't very confident; and you've got your stalkery rich guy who wears nice suits, drives fast cars, and whose "deep dark secret" is that he's into BDSM (or, as Ronan takes care to point out, technically it's just bondage and dominance... like in FSoG, really). But since this is Cosway and Reid writing, the characters are quirky yet sympathetic, the story is fun, and the bondage thing makes sense.

I have to admit The Hooker and the Hermit had me from the word go because I'm pretty sure Annie's my fictional doppelgänger. This was my mom's face when I told her Annie reminded me of myself (my mom and I occasionally read the same books):

For example, Annie strategically picking a seat next to the exit so she can leave as quickly as possible, if necessary. This is something I do ALL THE TIME. Also: refusing to make eye contact in order to avoid being drawn into conversation with strangers. I wouldn't say I do that all the time, maybe more like 80% of the time, and mostly at Walmart. In any case, I immediately identified with Annie and found her adventures in the first part of The Hooker and the Hermit to be pretty hilarious.

Then I got to the middle of the book and things started falling apart. First of all, I found the fact that Annie let Ronan's mom bully her into breaking up with him–in less than three minutes, no less–irritating. For the past fifty pages these two have been like a couple out of the sweetest, sappiest romcom in history; and then suddenly she walks out on him in the middle of lunch just because his mom, who is CLEARLY trying to manipulate her, throws some shade? Eye roll. You just lost me. THEN, three pages later, Annie's tells Ronan, "Oh, I knew she was just being a bitch and you're nothing like that, but I still think we belong in different worlds and it's better for us to stay apart." Wha-huh? Obvious deus-ex-machina to keep the characters from having sex even though there is no logical reason why they wouldn't at this point is obvious.

Secondly, in the second half of the book Annie's hermit-like ways are treated as a symptom of her psychological problems and fucked up childhood. UHG WHY. I know it brings some dramatic tension to the story, but drawing a correlation between being a hermit and having something be wrong with her was just lazy plotting, in my humble opinion. It reduces that aspect of her personality to little more than a gimmick.

On the plus side, though, at least Cosway and Reid didn't imply BDSM was a good substitute for psychotherapy, or that Ronan was into bondage because was abused as a child. So I guess one of these characters got a free pass.

The ending felt like it dragged on interminably and I almost lit my Kindle on fire when I saw there was an epilogue; but for the most part, The Hooker and the Hermit was a very enjoyable, successful collaboration between two authors whose work I really enjoy. I hope Cosway and Reid decide to write another novel together in the future (unless it stars the secondary characters from this novel, that would be annoying).


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Review: THE SECRET OF PEMBROOKE PARK by Julie Klassen

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley for the purposes of this review.

After a bad investment, the Fosters find themselves looking to downsize with a small home in the country. But they can't find a property that's both affordable and large enough for the entire family, until a lawyer appears offering them the lease of a large estate called Pembrooke Park ("With two o's"), for an amount they can't refuse. Yet questions surround the property, such as: Who is leasing it to them? Why was it abandoned twenty years ago? And are the rumors of murder and hidden treasure true?

I decided to read The Secret of Pembrooke Park for several reasons: one, I know a few people who love Julie Klassen's books, and I've been meaning to try them for a while. And two, it was pitched to me as inspired by Northanger Abbey. Because of that, I feel like The Secret of Pembrooke Park invites comparisons to Northanger Abbey; unfortunately it doesn't fare very favorably in that comparison. If you're looking for something fun and romantic along the lines of Northanger, you're going to be disappointed. Unfortunately, if you're looking for something along the lines of a traditional Gothic romance with Pembrooke, I feel like you're also going to be disappointed.

Although there are definitely parts of The Secret of Pembrooke Park that feel very Northanger Abbey-ish–specifically William Chapman, the handsome and charming (though of course not as charming as Henry Tilney; that would be impossible) local curate–The Secret of Pembrooke Park is fundamentally different in execution and tone from Northanger Abbey for the very fact that it takes itself about 200% more seriously than Northanger Abbey does. Northanger Abbey was a parody of the Gothic genre; Pembrooke Park is not. There's very little humor or self-awareness of how the story operates as a Gothic novel in these pages. There's a lot of Gothic-y stuff going on, definitely, but none of it really comes together. Just a few plot elements off the top of my head:

• Creepy doll house with decapitated dolls lying around. Good start, but the doll thing is quickly abandoned and forgotten about.
• Missing portrait of the mistress of the house.
• Hidden treasure.
• Pool of blood found on the night the family abandoned the mansion.
• Secret room.
• Stolen brooches?
• Long-lost Pembrookes returning.
• Unknown figure in a hooded green cloak wandering about. Is it the ghost of Clive Pembrooke?! Is Clive Pembrooke the guy who owned the house before the Fosters moved in, or was that the other Pembrooke everyone keeps talking about? And why do we care about that guy? Confusing.
• Random journal entries mailed to Abigail for no apparent reason.
• Coded messages.
• A grumpy caretaker who clearly knows more than he's admitting.
• A lazy and suspicious manservant.
• A slutty sister bringing shame to the family name.
• Lost heiresses.
• Missing family bible.

It's a lot to take in. I wouldn't have minded if it was all to a purpose, but it felt more like Klassen was making it up as she went along, throwing a bunch "spooky" stuff out there in the hopes it would stick, without considering how to make the most of the strongest elements. Catherine's suspicion of General Tilney when she first arrived at Northanger Abbey was more chilling than all of the stuff in this book combined, and she made all of it up in her own head!

As for the love story, I was not into it. It's kind of hard to feel invested in a relationship arc when there are three men chasing after the heroine and, as far as I can tell, they are interchangeable to her. It was impossible to tell what Abigail's feelings for the guys were, beyond "a flutter of attraction." Whenever any of them came on to her, she just kind of stood there and passively accepted what they did to her, no matter who it was. I would have liked for her to demonstrate some feeling or personal preference, by perhaps throwing herself at William, but she never did. It was very frustrating.

In fact, as the book went on I grew more and more annoyed with Abigail in general. We're TOLD she's practical and knows her own mind, but her behavior doesn't really bear that out. Actually, her behavior doesn't bear much of anything out–I've encountered ghosts in literature with more personality. She's devoid of any goals or personal motivation, and feelings...? Hard to say. By the time I finished The Secret of Pembrooke Park, I found myself convinced a cup of weak tea would have been as interesting a heroine as Abigail.

I will say Klassen's writing style is charming, and that was enough to keep me engaged for the first half of the book. But no writing style is enough to make me overlook the last twenty percent of The Secret of Pembrooke Park, where instead of letting the numerous plot points that went nowhere just hang there, each and every single one is laboriously explained through an endless series of expositional monologues. I'd rather be left to wonder–and that's another frustrating thing about The Secret of Pembrooke Park. There are moments when a genuine mystery or something of interest pops up (William snooping on his tour of the house, for example), but these elements are either immediately revealed as harmless (William was just curious) or dropped in favor of something else. Klassen shines when writing about everyday society–balls, going to church, Abigail's sister's behavior in London–but when it comes to building a sense of mystery, not so much.

Basically, I enjoyed the first part of The Secret of Pembrooke Park, but by the end I was more than a little annoyed. If you would like to give the book a try yourself, however, there's a tour-wide giveaway! Three lucky winners will receive one trade paperback or eBook copy of The Secret of Pembrooke Park, and one grand prize winner will receive one copy of all eight of Julie’s novels: Lady of Milkweed Manor, The Apothecary's Daughter, The Silent Governess, The Girl in the Gatehouse, The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The Tutor’s Daughter, The Dancing Master, and The Secret of Pembrooke Park, one DVD of Northanger Abbey (2007 [love this production]) and a Jane Austen Action Figure.

To enter the giveaway contest, simply leave a comment on any or all of the blog stops on The Secret of Pembrooke Park Blog Tour starting February 16, 2015 through 11:59 pm PT, March 9, 2015. Winners will be drawn at random from all of the comments and announced on Julie Klassen’s website on March 16, 2015. Winners have until March 22, 2015 to claim their prize. The giveaway contest is open to residents of the US, UK, and Canada. Digital books will be sent through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Good luck to all!

And here's a list of the other blog stops. I'm sure most of these readers liked The Secret of Pembrooke Park better than I did, so don't hesitate to check out their reviews if you'd like some second opinions:

• February 16 My Jane Austen Book Club (Guest Blog)
• February 16 vvb32 Reads (Excerpt)
• February 17 Psychotic State Book Reviews (Review)
• February 17 My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice (Spotlight)
• February 18 Addicted to Jane Austen (Review)
• February 18 Peeking Between the Pages (Review)
• February 19 Jane Austen in Vermont (Interview)
• February 19 Living Read Girl (Review) 
• February 20 My Love for Jane Austen (Excerpt)
• February 20 Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Books (Review)
• February 20 Laura's Reviews (Guest Blog)
• February 21 A Bookish Way of Life (Review)
• February 21 Confessions of a Book Addict (Review)
• February 21 Romantic Historical Reviews (Excerpt)
• February 22 Reflections of a Book Addict (Review)
• February 23 Austenesque Reviews (Guest Blog)
• February 23 Peace, Love, Books (Review)
• February 24 vvb32 Reads (Review)
• February 24 Poof Books (Excerpt)
• February 25 Babblings of a Bookworm (Review)
• February 25 Austenesque Reviews (Review)
• February 25 Luxury Reading (Review)
• February 26 So Little Time…So Much to Read (Review) 
• February 26 More Agreeably Engaged (Excerpt)
• February 27 Psychotic State Book Reviews (Interview)
• February 27 Booktalk & More (Review)
• February 28 Laughing with Lizzie (Spotlight)
• February 28 The Calico Critic (Review)
• March 01 Leatherbound Reviews (Excerpt)
• March 01 Delighted Reader (Review)
• March 02 CozyNookBks (Review)
• March 02 Laura's Reviews (Review)

Thanks to Laurel Ann and Bethany House for inviting me to be part of the blog tour!



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Review: SIX OF HEARTS by LH Cosway

When street magician and illuuuuuuuusionist Jay Fields walks into the law offices of Matilda’s father, little does she know Jay will change her and her father’s lives. Although her father refuses to represent Jay against a newspaper in a libel case, it just so happens he has a room to let in their home, and Jay is in need of a place to live. As Matilda and Jay spend more time together, their mutual attraction becomes undeniable, but Matilda senses there’s more to Jay’s libel case than meets the eye. Will Matilda still want him once Jay pulls the curtain on his final trick?

I do enjoy LH Cosway’s novels, but Six of Hearts just didn’t come together for me. It’s a good thing this novel was obviously a revenge story (I’m a sucker for revenge stories), or I might have drifted off to another novel before I finished it.

My biggest problem with Six of Hearts was plausibility. I had a very difficult time buying into some of the things that happened early in the book—for example, the third bedroom that Matilda’s dad was trying to rent. It was way too convenient, not to mention weird. Or like when Jay easily convinced Matilda to go to a casino to “make money” for a sewing machine she’d been saving up for—one doesn’t gamble to “make money,” unless one is planning on cheating. That’s just common sense, and I found it difficult to believe that Matilda, who was clearly a planner and conservative spender, would so easily agree to risk her savings that way.

And then there was Matilda’s refusal to recognize Jay’s attraction to her, which was INSANELY obvious. I mean, I get that she’s shy and not very confident, but 200 pages was way too long to drag that shit out, especially when the guy in question was taking her out on dates, spooning with her in bed, acting all jealous when she saw other guys, etc. etc. Newsflash: HE LIKE-LIKES YOU, GIRL. YOU’RE JUST BEING STUPID NOW.

I also didn’t find the main characters to be as well-drawn as in previous Cosway novels like Still Life with Strings and Painted Faces. For an illuuuuuuusionist, Jay didn’t seem to do many tricks. I did like that Matilda had a hobby—dressmaking—but the sewing machine was the only prop to support it. There were no dress forms or mention of fabrics and where she stored them, and her descriptions of fashion and clothing was cursory at best. Niggling little details, definitely, but they bothered me.

That’s not to say the book is bad—I adored the basic concept of Six of Hearts and Cosway kept me engaged through the whole novel, even when I thought it was being a bit ridiculous. But I also suspect that, in the hands of a more skilled writer, this story could have been amazeballs instead of just okay. For example, if Arthur Conan Doyle had written this novel, he’d have had me convinced one thing was going on when it was actually a completely different thing. If Alexandre Dumas had written Six of Hearts, the plot would have unfolded with the precision of ticking clock and I’d have been blindsided by how Jay set it all up.

Neither of those scenarios happened here, and I feel like EXPECTING those things to have happened is reasonable because Cosway references the work of both those authors in the book. It was like she was aware of how she could have played with the similarities between magic and great storytelling, but instead of actually trying to do that she focused most of her energies on the relationship between Jay and Matilda. And while I did like them together and thought they had great chemistry, I didn’t think that alone was enough to support the entire novel.

So, somewhat of a mixed bag for me on this one. But Six of Hearts is still a better and more interesting read than 80% of contemporary romances out there, so worth the buy I’d say.



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Review: STILL LIFE WITH STRINGS by LH Cosway

^^Terrible book cover.

Jade makes her living as a Dublin street performer and symphony bartender. After a one-night stand with the symphony's new violinist, Jade and Shane start falling in love, despite the fact that Jade made it clear she was not interested in being anything other than friends. Because reasons. Will Shane be able to convince her to change her mind?

Last year I read and enjoyed LH Cosway's Painted Faces (you know, the book with the drag queen hero), so when I saw Still Life with Strings on sale, I was more than willing to download it. On the surface Still Life with Strings sounds more conventional than Painted Faces—the hero is a musician, and the heroine *is* a street performer, but it's more of a hobby than a full time job. However, I'd go so far as to say that in their own ways Shane and Jade are more unique, and more fully-realized, than Freda and Nicholas from Painted Faces, with a lot more chemistry and a more believable relationship arc. I stayed up until 5 in the morning reading this novel—on a work night, no less—and as much as I enjoyed Painted Faces, I think Still Life with Strings is 1000x better. You all should definitely give it a try.

First of all, the characters. Both Shane and Jade are different and isolated in their own ways, the reasons for which we discover gradually over the course of the novel. Jade's had a hard life, but she maintains her sense of humor and balance through "street performing" as a living statue. I've always wondered why someone would do that, and Cosway makes it sound surprisingly fun and creative. As for Shane, he's definitely an odd one—which actually fits in well with what I know about musicians—and I loved that he spends a good deal of time during the course of the book playing music, writing music, and talking about music. Unlike in some romance novels I could name (coughLickcough), the fact that he's a musician isn't just a hook. It's a part of his character and central to the story.

And speaking of music, the way Cosway incorporates it into Still Life with Strings is brilliantly done. It's not easy to write about music in a way that's unique and interesting, and SHOWS us its importance and effect on the characters, but Cosway does it through imagery and Jade's imaginings, and it totally works.

Still Life with Strings DOES contain several of my least favorite romance tropes: first of all, one night stands that turn into true lurv. So entirely likely, not. However, in this case I found it believable. The trope I had the most problem with was the one where the heroine refuses to start a relationship with the hero just to drag the book out, then changes her mind and says they can be fuck buddies but they won't be "in a relationship." Yeah, it kind of made me roll my eyes a bit, as did the fact that Shane's like, "Sure, we can just be friends. Whatever you want." And then immediately starts hitting on Jade again because HE CAN'T HELP IT. But it was more well-done than in It Happened One Wedding—I mean, there *are* reasons why Jade doesn't want to be in a relationship that apply to every guy out there, not just Shane. Not entirely logical reasons, mind you, but reasons. I also liked the fact that even though Jade was hesitant to get into a relationship with Shane, she was still sexually aggressive and confident. And honestly, Shane and Jade had so much chemistry I was willing forgive the occasional lapse into probably-would-never-happen town.

Another thing that I found kiiiiind of ridiculous and annoying were Shane and Jade's awkward Facebook chats/texts. UHG PEOPLE. I don't want to read pages and pages of characters texting, messaging, or emailing unless it's 1. necessary, and 2. interesting. Okay? Like those things aren't tedious enough in real life (and incidentally, my social media discussions are usually way more interesting than Shane and Jade's).

But aside from that, Still Life with Strings was a really creative and different romance. There are a lot of things going on in this book—mystery, magical realism, Dublin's indie art scene, both Shane and Jade's messy and complicated personal lives, music, class conflict—but it all comes together without one element overwhelming the others. I might have enjoyed Painted Faces, but Still Life with Strings has turned me into a LH Cosway fan.




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4 Mini Book Reviews

Hi there one and all! I'm at Book Riot today reviewing four books for Buy, Borrow, Bypass:

• Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid
• Waking the Merrow by Heather Rigney
• Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins
• Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

All of these books deserve longer, more thoughtful reviews, which I hopefully will be able to write soon. But since I recently took on another job (for those of you keeping track at home, that's three jobs), time is a bit at a premium nowadays, so I can make no promises.

If you've read any of these books, let me know what you thought here or over at Book Riot!



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Dual Review: THE CHOCOLATE HEART & TEMPTATION by Laura Florand

Bonjour and happy Bastille Day! I hope you're all using the day we celebrate French Independence to the purpose for which it was created: an excuse to drink champagne!

In the meantime, me and my blogging buddy, Kelly from Reading with Analysis, thought Bastille Day would be the perfect day to talk about two paired novels from our favorite writer of Parisian romance, Laura Florand. I've made no secret of the fact that I adore Florand's novels--she specializes in delicious, emotional, and escapist novels featuring French dessert chefs in the City of Light. The Chocolate Heart and The Chocolate Temptation both center around the three Michelin-starred pastry kitchen of Luc Leroi (aka Luc the King) and Patrick Chevalier (a knight in shining armor?). Should you read these books? Um, yes. For more details on why, read our discussion on The Chocolate Heart here, and The Chocolate Temptation over at Kelly's blog.

Now, on to the discussion!

Book blurb, in case you're curious:

No one hates Paris--except Summer Corey. The moody winters. The artists and their ennui. The inescapable shadow of the Tour Eiffel. But things go from bad to worse when Summer stumbles into brooding, gorgeous chef pâtissier Luc Leroi and indecently propositions the hero of French cuisine...
Luc has scrambled up from a childhood panhandling in the Paris Métro to become the king of his city, and he has no patience for this spoiled princess, even if she does now own his restaurant. Who cares if she smiles with all the warmth of July? She doesn't eat dessert!
There is only one way to tempt her. A perfect, impossibly sweet seduction...

Tasha: Unlike the last few Laura Florand novels (The Chocolate Touch, The Chocolate Rose), this one isn’t based on the Beauty & the Beast fairy tale, but on the myth of Persephone and Hades, one of my favorites. In the original myth Persephone is chillaxing in a meadow with her girlfriends, when she’s suddenly kidnapped by Hades and taken into the Underworld. After months and months, Hades convinces/tricks her into eating a pomegranate, so that even after she escapes, she has to return to the Underworld for half the year. I thought the way Florand adapted the myth into a modern story set in Paris was really clever and seamless. What did you think?

Kelly: I had a difficult time settling into the story at first -- until I finally caught on to the Persephone thing and was able to appreciate the Florand’s take on the myth. The biggest change -- I thought -- (other than Luc/Hades not being a kidnapping villain) was that Summer isn’t really a tragic character. I mean, Persephone is totally tragic, right? She’s chilling with her ladies, and all of a sudden this crazy dude whisks her away to his underground kingdom, and she can’t eat anything… until finally she does, because hunger, you know? And then it’s her fault that she’s got to split her time between her home and Hades’, because -- what -- she should have been able to starve herself forever?

Tasha: OR she decided to let Hades *think* he tricked her into eating the pomegranate, when really she was like, “Hey, this is a great opportunity to move out of the house.”

Kelly: True, but even that doesn’t really give Persephone any agency. I mean, she could have been kidnapped by any Tom, Dick or Bacchus and just decided to make the best of it, but it still wasn’t her choice. Summer, on the other hand, while manipulated by her father into sojourning in Paris, makes choices and sets her own course. That was the change that I appreciated the most. She isn’t a victim of fate’s whim, like Persephone.

Tasha: No, but in the end she does give up her island and her job to live in the south of France with Luc. And that’s all his idea. And she was willing to move to Paris permanently just for him, too.

Kelly: True. I wish the move to the south of France had been her idea: a compromise.

Tasha: I agree. That’s actually what I was expecting to happen, since I read The Chocolate Temptation first.

Kelly: I still feel a bit ambivalent about The Chocolate Heart. I liked it, loved Luc’s gushy, mooshy hearts and loved all of Summer’s issues, and I particularly loved Patrick (because he’s awesome), but I had a slightly difficult time recommending it to other readers, because I knew certain things about it would needle them.  Summer’s a difficult character, and there are a lot of readers out there who have a hard time with difficult lady characters, specifically (but -- for some reason -- difficult dude characters are A-OK. I don’t get it.) Other folk might have a hard time with the poor rich girl thing.  And, while I liked so many things about the book (and while neither of those pet peeves bother me), I’m not convinced that the other parts of the book would end up satisfying every reader. Does that make sense?

Tasha: It does. I don’t think Summer was a difficult character at all—I think Florand did a good job of addressing the “poor little rich girl” thing while still making Summer sympathetic and making her issues valid. But there was a lot of rinse-wash-repeat when it came to the miscommunication between Luc and Summer, and I wasn’t down with the ending. It wasn’t as emotionally satisfying as I wanted it to be. For example, I would have really appreciated SEEING Luc meet his dad and come to terms with that.

Kelly: YES, to all of this.  (And a clarification: I don’t think Summer is actually a difficult character or a poor little rich girl, but I suspect that people who have those pet peeves have a lower tolerance for anything that hints at either of those traits, so they might perceive and be irritated by those traits, without a truly great romance/ending/story to make up for it.)  And maybe some of my irritation with the miscommunication is just a sign of my own reading issues and low tolerance for anything that hints at poor communication as a plot device.  (Except Shakespearean cross-purposes and mistaken identities are the best things ever.)

Tasha: No, I agree that the misunderstanding plot device didn’t quite work, mainly because it went on way too long. At some point it just became frustrating because Luc persisted in being a dick when he should really know better. It wasn’t as successful as the misunderstanding in The Chocolate Touch between Dom and Jaime (which was based more on cultural misunderstandings and always moved the characters forward).

Kelly: And, in The Chocolate Touch it never felt petty. But Luc and Summer frequently seemed petty, because the resolution to their difficulties is so obvious, and it’s obnoxious that they don’t get it.

Tasha: Yeah, just kiss already! Sheesh. That said, the dinner scene (though a bit contrived—I don’t know any chefs who personally feed the owners of their restaurant romantic dinners) was really romantic. I loved the creativity of the desserts. And, despite the problems I had with it, I still stayed up until 5 am for three nights in a row reading it, so.

Kelly: My favorite scene is the one where Summer cooks for Luc.

Tasha: I loved that one too!

Kelly: When I compare The Chocolate Heart to my idea of the average contemporary romance novel, I consider it a very good read, a good use of my time, a happy purchase. But when I compare it to other Laura Florand books (which is maybe not fair?) it just isn’t one of my favorites.  The Chocolate Thief, the other Florand book that -- to me -- has some issues, is a little bit more fun, and The Chocolate Kiss, which I tend to forget I’ve read, has some woo-woo stuff that I absolutely adore.  Heart, though it has a whole pile of scenes that I enjoyed, doesn’t really have anything that made my heart sing.

Tasha: It did make my heart sing and I’m totally glad I bought it, even at $10 for the ebook (outrageous), but I agree. It’s maybe not the best book to start out with the series.

Kelly: Unless you love heroines with family issues, heroes who communicate their mushy feelings through chocolate and also have family issues, and shit tons of miscommunication and angst. And you might!

Tasha: And if you love the Madeline books…

Kelly: Exactly. But, even if you don’t fall into any of those categories (I don’t), you’ll still really enjoy the book and be glad you purchased it, so that’s something.

Be sure to read the rest of our discussion at Reading with Analysis. And remember to buy that bottle of champagne!


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