Vacation Reads - Part 2

The Kiss Quotient was just the first of three (I think) books with inter-racial couples (Michael is half Vietnamese) I've read this summer. (Also, I'm not counting Bridal Boot Camp because it was a short story.) Inter-racial couples really grab my attention, for obvious reasons for anyone who knows me or anyone who has read my blog since the beginning. That brings me too...

The Wedding Date

I sort of loved this story. Jasmine Guillory's heroine is black and hero is white. That is not the main focus of the plot, but it does play a part. There's a wedding (obviously), some misunderstandings, and some emotional moments. Any talk about the differences in race are natural to the evolution of the relationship. At least they felt natural to me, moments I could really relate to. What I appreciated about how Guillory handled it, was the thoughtfulness she gave to both characters. Alexa makes Drew really think about the differences in the way they grew up. I also really liked how Drew never doubted Alexa, even when she commented about a guy he thought of as a nice guy. The Wedding Date had a fun "rom-com" feeling. I think it would make an adorable Netflix movie.

Hearts at Stake

Like Faefever, Hearts at Stake was one of the only books I read that didn't have an adult romance at the centre of it. Hearts at Stake is a vampire book. One of the first I have read in a long time. It's also Young Adult, again a departure from my other steamy summer reads. The main reason I read it: author Alyxandra Harvey will be speaking at the York Writer's Conference this October. I have registered to attend her workshop about genre-blending. I enjoyed her first book in the Drake Chronicles and look forward to reading more of her work.

Steeped in Love

Together We Read is a digital book club with participating libraries Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Steeped in Love was the selection for August. I saw it on the homepage and the synopsis gave me that summer rom-com feeling, with a little extra that spoke to me. One of the main characters is a writer, suffering from writer's block. The other main character is a tea-lover and tea leaf reader. I LOVE tea. I'm probably drinking tea right now. It's one of those stories I had to read. Author Julie Evelyn Joyce is also very Canadian (just take a peek at her profile pic). Steeped in Love was funny, sweet, and had a great feel-good ending. Also, unlike several of the adult romances I read this summer, the "steam-level" was rather low. The story of Abbie and Ethan is heartwarming. It made me smile.

This summer I also read the sequel to The Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test, also featuring an autistic main character. Again, a fantastic story.

I read, Seaside Nights, Seaside Embrace, Seaside Lovers, and Promise My Love by Melissa Foster. Still clearly one of my favourite romance writers.

I read Reckless In Love, and Fearless in Love, by Bella Andre and Jennifer Scully, who have me loving the Maverick Billionaires.

I also read Chemical Reaction, the sixth book in the Nerds of Paradise series. It's Merry Farmer's last Nerd book for a while. She typically writers Historical Romances (Bodice-Rippers?), and it'll be a while before another Nerd book pops up. I don't think I've read a Historical Romance (unless Shadow of Night counts), but if it's written by Farmer, I might give it a try. Ten years ago, I never thought I'd read Romances, but this year, I had a summer filled with them. I think it's the happy endings. The past few years, I've needed more happy endings.

Vacation Reads - Part 1

Summer was busy. There were parties, barbecues, kid-events, family gatherings, and girls and guys nights. It was hot, too rainy, then not rainy enough. Even though summer is technically June 21 to September 23, I always feel like summer doesn't really start until the last weekend in June when school is out. Then something happens, it's like the flick of a switch and suddenly it's fall on September 1 (or August 29 this year).

Like many summers before, there were a lot of long drives, including our family vacation. We visited beautiful Prince Edward Island for the third time. I highly recommend going. PEI is amazing. The people are beyond nice. Everything about the island makes me happy. I plan on continually going. We road-tripped it to PEI from Ontario and it was the beginning of my "summer reading". That involved a lot of Romance of one kind or another. Everything I read this summer was "fun", (except for Faefever's ending and a bunch of Stephen King short stories), and they left me with a smile on my face. I guess I just wanted happy reads in between all the busy days and nights. I picked out a few of the books to share.

Faefever

The ending. Just, whoa. What is going to happen to Mac? I'm very worried about her. I was really hoping that there was going to be a last minute something, but nope. This is probably one of the most major cliffhanger endings I have ever read. It's definitely an ending that comes from a book in the middle of a series. After Mac as the main character, I was left wondering if that would change. I think it's the kind of ending that keeps readers invested in the series.

Bridal Boot Camp

A short story from Meg Cabot. Bridal Boot Camp is essentially a prequel to her upcoming release, No Judgments. It was a cute, fun story, but more than anything, I want to know what happens when the storm hits. It came up in the "Just Added" section of my library's ebooks. An author I like, a readily available short story, a good, fun read, it was an easy selection. 

The Kiss Quotient

Even though I have been reading a lot of love-centred stories, I still like finding stories that are out of the ordinary. That brought me to The Kiss Quotient. Helen Hoang's debut novel is about a single woman finding love, like so many romances. What makes it different is who Stella is. Stella Lane has high-functioning autism/Asperger's. The story follows Stella as she navigates love and life with all her unique qualities. I couldn't put it down. I was a bit surprised at the "steam" level (as I've seen  romance writers/readers call it). The cover and synopsis did not fully describe how hot the book is. Stella and her "love-interest", Michael, were full, complete, complex characters. Michael had his own issues and journey to go on and was just as interesting. I think it's the best Romance I've read this year. It might be one of the best ever.

That's just three of the books I read. Part 2 will be here in [hopefully] a couple days.

Why I Started Reading Romance Novels

Because sometimes I need a happy ending.

At first, I was going to call this post Guilty Pleasures,  but then I wondered what I have to feel guilty about. They are books. I love books. I am willing to give any book and any genre a chance. Yes, there are some I gravitate towards more than others, but I’m not going to discount a book just because someone calls it "cheesy" or "fluff" or whatever. I have been reading contemporary, ebook, romances. Mostly from Melissa Foster, a few from Bella Andre, some from Gena Showalter and Juliana Stone, and most recently, Merry Farmer.

It first started with Bella Andre. I can't remember why I read the first book in the Sullivan series. I remember it was free at the time. In The Look of Love,  boy saves a girl, but the girl also has to learn how to save herself. She escapes a bad relationship, finds freedom, and also find a super hot guy. Also he’s rich.

A lot of these people tend to be rich, at least one of the two main characters. Some are billionaires, some just live comfortably. They often on their own business that they’ve built from the ground up. A lot of the times, they work hard and don’t have time for relationships. Some of the men and women are more promiscuous then their partner, but love changes them or they see others in love and it changes them before they meet "the one". Usually the men come from a big family. They love their parents or at least one parent, they yearn for love, but often feel they don’t deserve it.

So maybe there’s a formula to a lot of these books, but I don’t care. Melissa Foster has become a favourite of these ebook romance authors. Though she writes about alpha males, females are independent, intelligent and strong-willed. They often don’t have time for relationships too. They are trying to build a business, or move forward with their lives in someway. They don’t necessarily need a man, but when the right one comes along they can’t resist each other, most of them often try.  No matter who these people are or what trouble they have to overcome, there is always a happy ending.

Lately, I’ve needed happy endings. The world is kind of being a difficult place to live in. After a hard day,  after reading the news and watching emotional videos, after listening to abrasive, emotional, commentary, I need a happy ending. I love reading all sorts of book, but they don’t always have happy endings.  I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, but I wouldn’t call the end of Empire of Storms happy. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is only kind of happy at the end, the entire novel is laced with sadness. Even the end of the second Wonder Woman graphic novel I read left me a little angry. The Rules of Magic made me cry, as well as Anne Of Green Gables. Sometimes, I just want things to work out. I wanted a man and a woman to be together. I wanted the business to flourish. I wanted the little girl to get adopted.

I have to make a quick comment about why I added Merry Farmer to the mix. I think I was just looking at the Goodreads Giveways page when I saw a book that was number four in a series called Nerds of Paradise! Nerds! Like actual rocket scientists. Nerds who meet small town ranchers, farmers, etc. Boy nerds and girl nerds. I couldn't resist a title like that, so I checked out the series. The first one, Opposites Attract is free, so I read it. I have read the second and third novels since.

So, when I need a happy ending, these authors are who I go to. The books only take a day or two to read, and I am left feeling satisfied. For a few moments (maybe longer), I feel like things can work out. People can be nice. Love will win.