The MacGregor's are my new favorite family

Rebellion (The MacGregors)

Nora Roberts

Darn you all for encouraging me to dig a little deeper for some of NR's Harlequin romance novels!!! Now I am going to be addicted to this short series...I hope I can get them all from the library.

The MacGregor's are a royal Scottish clan in the mid-1700's who are extremely close, generous, and have had their brush with the English Army. Coll, the oldest of the children, is returning to his family home of Glennroe after being gone for a year and is bringing with him his closest from from his travels, Brigham Langston - an English Lord with Scottish family ties. While the MacGregor's are thrilled to have Coll back at home, fiery- tempered Serena is appalled to have an Englishman in her home and staying with her family. However, there is something about him that she can't resist and she is unlike any woman he has ever met....

I am loving this month of romance! I admit that I probably should squeeze in something that is a little more substantial, one cannot live on dessert alone, but I can never resist the lure of a good Scottish/Irish historical romance :) I was pleasantly surprised that even writing under Harlequin - notorious for fairly wimpy storylines - NR managed to create lovable characters and a plot that centered on more than just the main characters and their burning passion for each other, two aspects that I appreciate in her newer work as well!

Off to reserve the next installment of the MacGregor saga!

What....a hilarious collection of stories

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang

Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler, where have you been all my life?! In reality, we could never be friends because we both like to be the center of attention too much but I enjoy reading your books and knowing that I am not the only one who tells innocent lies to my friends to see if they will believe me, gets myself into amazingly embarrassing situations, and always embellishes an outrageous story just a little to make it more fun to tell.

While Ms. Handler's first books focused on one night stands and excessive drinking, two activities that always make the best stories, this book has less of a theme and is more just a collection of the completely outrageous situations she gets her and her friends into. But, she does not lose the excessive cussing, brutal honesty, or the constant drink in hand as she airs her dirty laundry....and everyone else's!

Perhaps not quite as good as her first two books but still a highly entertaining and quick read that will definitely have me picking up a fourth book when/if it's released :)

Who wants to be Ugly?

Uglies

Scott Westerfeld

In future societies, people have discovered a way to end war, violence, jealousy, and hate: make everyone pretty. When people are young, they are allowed to grow up fairly naturally, but society continuously reinforced that they are ugly - left to natural selection and genetics, everyone has numerous things wrong with their looks and they should be ashamed of that. Not to worry, when you turn 16 they give you extensive surgery that makes you pretty, according to a group of doctors who have studied what the human body responds to in others as being pleasing to see or beneficial for a future mate. All Tally has ever wanted was to be Pretty and to move to New Pretty Town where all the other teenagers live and play, wasting their time before they are Middle Pretty and get assigned a career. But when Tally meets Shay in Uglyville the summer before they turn 16, she realizes that not everyone wants to be Pretty and there may be a whole other world out there that she has never known about. But why would the Pretties keep everyone else a secret?

I absolutely loved the premise of this book! Every teenager can relate to feeling like an Ugly - my eyes are too squinty, I am too chubby, my nose is too big. And I would place a bet that 99% of female (and probably male!) teenagers have thought at least one that they wished they were better looking, that being prettier would make their lives so much easier. But, by altering your physical appearance too much, are you giving up part of who you are? What makes you unique? Is there a possibility that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder? That physical beauty is only skin deep?

Aside from the "moral of the story", the story was interesting and more complex that I was expecting, many of the characters were well-developed and interesting, but when the action of the story finally arrived, I thought it fell a little flat. The Big Scene at the culmination of the major plot didn't make me feel like I was with the characters, risking my life as well. And, there were many parts of the story were the coincidences that were needed to make the story move forward were just a little too much for me.

Overall, this was a great book though that was full of moral and social undertones while not being heavy on strict philosophy or sociology. There were also a couple of plot twists that were surprising and kept me reading. I will definitely be reserving Pretties from the library.

I want a Knight In Shining Armor!

A Knight in Shining Armor

Jude Deveraux

How could I not take the romance recommendation from this months tag selector, doughgirl?! I am always looking for a good romance novel and this one was definitely one of the better ones I have read!

Dougless is excited to be taking a month-long romantic vacation to England with her boyfriend, Robert; she is sure he is going to pop the question! However, things do not go quite according to plan and she ends up alone in a small town outside a church that was dedicated to Earl Nicholas Stanford, a nobelman who was beheaded for treason in 1564. As Dougless is in the church, lamenting her misfortune, Nicholas suddenly arrives in the church - pre-beheading - from 400 years previous! With lots of doubt and misgivings, Dougless and Nicholas set off to prove his innocence, prevent his beheading, and possibly fall in love along the way ;)

Before I launch into the spoilers I will say, for those of you who might be debating this book, the characters both had flaws but ones that ended up being outweighed by the good in the end. The time-traveling aspect was not necessarily original but I will say there was an interesting twist on getting back to your proper time period! lol. The ending was totally happily-ever-after without being cliche and maybe not exactly what you were expecting. Oh, and this one did not skimp on the juicy details! :) Highly recommended.

***SPOILERS BELOW***

This was a really great book! I liked the time-traveling aspects and I love historical romance novels - this was the best of both worlds. Nicholas was definitely drool-worthy; he had some character flaws but ended up coming around in the end. At the beginning of the story, I really wanted to give Dougless a swift kick in the butt for the things she was putting up with from Robert and how she thought that she was so in love with him when he had zero respect for her! She definitely improved and I'm glad she finally got the chance to stand up for herself.

I also really liked how the same character personalities were reborn in the present day that existed in the same families in the 16th century - it provided a interesting parallels and showed how your actions can alter relationships for years to come. The one aspect I found a little irritating was that it was kind of the same story told twice: first, we had Nicholas in the present day, getting used to modern conveniences, and convincing Dougless of who he was and then we had Dougless in the 16th century, getting used to primitive conveniences, and convincing Nicholas of who she was. This made moving into the second half of the story a little slow. However, the ending MORE than made up for it! I liked that it wasn't a clichéd ending where one of them had to give up their life and remain in an uncomfortable time yet it was totally satisfying and even brought a little tear to my eye :)

An awkward friendship but it doesn't spoil the story

Talk Before Sleep

Elizabeth Berg

Whew! This short book was packed with emotional ups and downs that left me in tears by the end! Talk Before Sleep is told from the perspective of Ann, previously a nurse before deciding to be a stay-at-home mom. Ann's best friend, Ruth, is in the final weeks of her life, dying from a number of cancers that metastasized from her breast, and Ruth is taking care of her to make sure she is as comfortable as possible. These unlikely best friends are joined by L.D., Helen, and Sarah - women who are extremely close to Ruth and Ann gets to know better and better. Talk Before Sleep focuses on issues Ruth faces as she prepares to die and flashbacks to events in Ruth and Ann's friendship that had a profound effect on Ann.

The blunt honesty of many of Ruth's thoughts really resonated with me. I have never had cancer and, God willing, I will not have to face that challenge but her her reflections on life and leaving life were contemplations many people have had. I am also a sucker for a good group of women friends who have strength in the face of adversity and know when a hot fudge Sunday needs to be a 5-scooper!

I found Ann and Ruth's friendship to be a little weird; Ruth was definitely the domineering friend and Ann did pretty much anything she said, even in the pre-cancer days. I thought Ruth belittled Ann often and Ann just rolled over and let her do it again and again. I understand being nice to friends who are having a hard time (and dying of cancer definitely is categorized as "hard") but I don't think that gives someone the right to lash out at friends. For me, it added an uncomfortable layer to the book.

Overall though, a quick read about a tough subject and will have me reaching for Elizabeth Berg again in the future.

A little more action, please

Summer by the Sea

Susan Wiggs

Rosa Capoletti is an Italian American who runs a popular restaurant on Rhode Island's South Shore - she is a local in a land of Summer People. She met Alex, one of the Summer People, when they were 9 years old and when Rosa's life takes a drastic turn at the age of 18, she found she couldn't even count on the man she loved to be there for her. Now 30 and still stinging from Alex's rejection over a decade ago, she has steeled herself ever since against being hurt again. But, when he whirls into her restaurant he stirs something inside her that she thought was over.

There are certain aspects I don't expect from a good romance novel: I don't expect great character development (who wants a complex male lead?), a surprising twist in the plot (they better end up together), or believable romantic situations (female fantasties are usually unrealistic). I am okay with these things; if I want those aspects, I'll pick up something literary and not smutty. However, if I am forgoing all of those aspects, I darn well expect a couple of pages packed full of sizzling sex! There are times when "and he led her to the bedroom" is just not going to cut it.

Not only was Wiggs a little light on the smut (read: non-existent), she packed in an unbelievable number of coincidences...seriously, it was completely unbelievable. The characters seemed to spend 15/16ths of the book determined to piss each other off and then suddenly BOOM, they were back together. Come on now, a little literary foreplay is always good. Also, she alternated telling the story between the characters lives at 9, 18, and 30, which could have been okay but it was SO poorly executed. She spent so long building up to a big revelation and then would switch to another year for the next 75 pages....no one likes a tease. I did really like that this book was set EXACTLY where I live and they talked about places that actually exist (she mentions the restaurant Aunt Carries - Best. Pie. EVER.). There were also Italian recipes included, which could be fun but seemed out of place because there wasn't a whole lot of focus on the food.

All in all, I don't like cozy mysteries, I don't like cozy romances, and I will be skipping Ms. Wiggs in the future. Now I'm off to read Nora Roberts...she always delivers!

A very satisfying genealogical mystery

The Forgotten Garden

Kate Morton

Nell is found in an Australian port in 1913, she is alone and can't remember anything from before being on the ship. A dock worker considers it a sign and takes her home with him where he and his wife raise Nell as their own. Cassandra, Nell's granddaughter, was left in her grandmother's care in 1975 when her mother no longer wanted to be burdened with her. In 2005, Cassandra learns of her grandmother's past and searches for the answers Nell never found. In 1900, Eliza is a young girl who is trying to earn a living on the streets of London and avoid the bad men her late mother warned her of. Eventually, fate catches up to her and she is taken to a country manor to live. These three women's lives are intricately intertwined and Blackhurst Manor holds the key to the truth.

The Forgotten Garden was beautifully written as the author jumped among Nell, Cassandra, and Eliza's viewpoints - each woman telling her part of the family history. This was not a light-hearted story but was laced with deception, betrayal, illicit love, and jealousy. The secrets of the mystery were not particularly difficult to figure out but the details behind the revelations are what kept me reading late into the night. One of the highlights of the book was the three fairy tales that were included; they were more Grimm than Disney but reflected what was occurring in the story and gave clues as to what was happening in Eliza's life. At first, I found it a bit difficult to keep the different time periods straight but eventually it got easier; others may not find it as difficult as I did, names are hard for me to keep straight.

I highly recommend this book and know many of you mentioned that you were planning on reading it this month. Be aware though that I would not have labeled this as romance myself; in fact, I'm not sure which part of the story spurred the description of romance