Take My Husband, Please! by Kimberly Jayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed For +Readers' Favorite
What is a woman to do when she is trying to move on with her life, but her husband has yet to sign the divorce papers, and now has shown up in her house without a place to live? For Sophie, the choice is to try to pawn him off on another woman so that she can move on with her life. Trouble is that Will is not wanting to move on as much, and he has some deep secrets that could spell major trouble for Sophie if she finds out about them, so he is willing to go along with her dating scheme just to keep his secrets. Take my Husband, Please is a contemporary modern romance story of two sets of best friends, their failed marriages, divorces and friendships. Although there is some humor throughout, it is more a realistic look at modern dating when divorced. Author +Kimberly Jayne creates a wonderful set of characters that are engaging and worth reading about.
Take My Husband, Please is an adult fiction, definitely rated for the more mature crowd and not for younger readers, but it does hit upon a number of things at the divorced single mother, back in the dating game is going to run into. While the characters are engaging and the banter light-hearted, it is more of a humorous look at life than a romance in the true since. Every time Sophie or Will seems to be getting to a point of interest on a date, something ironic or out of the blue totally ruins the moment, and so it isn't the sizzle romance that you might expect. Good, light reading to get you laughing a little and not thinking, which we all need sometimes.
View all my reviews
Baby Girl
by Bette Lee Crosby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed For +Readers' Favorite
Happily ever after is never as easy as the fairy tales make it out to be, and falling in love doesn't mean you have found your ending. Cheryl Ann wants her happily ever after, and she has a plan, to get out of where she is, go to college and be somebody. Even the best laid plans don't go the way you want, when Cheryl Ann's mama refuses to get on board with the dream, she must make some hard choices. When things are going well, and unexpected pregnancy forces her to make choices she never imagined, and those choices lead to twists in her path that she never saw coming. Baby Girl is the story of Cheryl Ann's life and triumph. She has her pitfalls and bumps in the road, but she is determined to make something of herself, better than what she had growing up. Author Bette Lee Crosby weaves this story together in a manner that feels like a huge patchwork quilt. All the pieces and tears in Cheryl Ann's life come together to make something beautiful.
Baby Girl will have you crying along with Cheryl Ann as she makes hard choices, cheering as things go right, and wanting her to find that true love, once in a lifetime kind of love. Author Bette Lee Crosby treats each part of Cheryl Ann's story with respect and dignity, never making any choice or decision feel shameful and building it into a heartfelt story. There are social issues in this book, yet the author deals with them in Cheryl's mindset and they come across as heartfelt and genuine. Even though this a story about Cheryl Ann, from her teens on up through life, I feel this story is a great read for all ages, including teenagers.
View all my reviews
Before I Wake
by Tamera Lawrence
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
When Christine wakes in outside her car in the parking lot, she has no idea what she is doing there or why. Her body hurts and she can't remember anything. Slowly small memories come back to her, but it turns out they aren't recent memories. Before I Wake is a romance suspense story of a woman who loses five years of her memory. Why she would want to forget the last five years becomes evident as the story goes along, and we are introduced to the players in her life. There is the original boyfriend from that time, who is the father of her daughter, the current husband, who is having an affair, and assorted friends. Tamera Lawrence does an admirable job of mixing romance and suspense. Why is she bruised and battered? Was it the old boyfriend or the current husband? Which story to believe? Who to trust? And can she figure it out before it is too late?
Before I Wake is what I would call a Romantic Suspense Novel. There is a basic romance in the story but there is an added element of suspense. In this story Christine has lost her memory of the last five years, she thinks she is still engaged to her old boyfriend and pregnant with his child. Author Tamera Lawrence is able to blend the two into a compelling story that keeps your attention from start to finish. There are times when you want to yell at the old boyfriend for his behavior, other times when you want to yell at the current husband for his behavior. Neither are perfect, they sound like real, true life men, but at the same time, you want to keep reading to find out what happens and will Christine figure it out in time.
View all my reviews
Primary Fault
The Schattenreich, Book One
by Sharon Kae Reamer
My rating: 3.2 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Primary Fault is the first book in a series called The Schattenreich, which is a realm or another place in the book. The story is set in Germany, where Augustus and his father have always lived. Now that his father has passed away, and his mother also, Caitlin, who lived in American with her mother, has returned to Germany to be with her brother. Augustus is an earthquake researcher, and where they are is along a primary fault line, so there are earthquakes in that area. Augustus is kidnapped and a doppelganger is going around committing crimes that Augustus is being blamed for, Caitlin alone is determined to find the truth. Sharon Reamer brings together other realms, people from those other realms interfering with life here and earthquakes to form a unique story.
As Primary Fault is set to be the first book in the series, it does not really explain the whole Schattenreich idea to you. It is mentioned, and you sort of figure out that it is another realm, and this one family is in charge of guarding the gateway, but that someone has broken through which caused the kidnapping of Augustus. What you never figure out is what is actually is, why they protect the gateway, and who this family is. Maybe that is to come in the later books. Sharon Reamer does a good job in writing a story that you want to read to figure out what is going on, but at the same time you are a bit disappointed in the end that you haven't figured it out. Which is good for a series, but not so good for readers.
View all my reviews
