The Heart of Devin McKade

Synopsis

HE WAS THE ONLY MACKADE WHO MOVED SLOW

Sheriff Devin MacKade had always had his eye on Cassie Connor Dolin. Twelve years of trying to watch over her and her children. Twelve years of being the dependable friend, of seeing his beauty married to a beast. 

Twelve years of hell.

Now that was going to change, though he knew he’d have to be careful, move slow. But if Cassie came any closer, he might just toss her over his shoulder and carry her off! And he wasn’t sure either of them was quite ready for that yet. But soon…

Thoughts 

When was the last time you enjoyed a Nora Roberts book and thought to yourself, this (whichever book you were reading) could be the best book I've ever read? If you've never read any of her books and you are above a certain age i.e 21 and above, don't start. You've missed your window of opportunity to enjoy Ms. Roberts' books. Actually no, read her old stuff, the new stuff I've struggled with. I would say read The Chesapeake Bay Series, stay away from The Vision in White, they were awful. 

Has Nora Roberts has lost her place in the literary world? With many other authors co mung up who are more gritty and sexier, is she still relevant? She was the E.L James of 2000, now she's a bygone, a slightly fazed Boy-band member with the burly stomach with no relevance.I used to love her, I worshiped her books in fact, now she reminds me of every romance author out there with silly story lines and sillier characters with mind numbing dialogue.  


The Heart of Devin McKade was no different from her previous books, same old macho, good looking men and week female characters. This is the kind of book I would have enjoyed at 15 year. It left me wondering whether her books can now only be enjoyed by prepubescent girls on the clasp of adulthood.

The Fortune Hunter

Synopsis

In 1875, Sisi, the Empress of Austria is the woman that every man desires and every woman envies. 

Beautiful, athletic and intelligent, Sisi has everything - except happiness. Bored with the stultifying etiquette of the Hapsburg Court and her dutiful but unexciting husband, Franz Joseph, Sisi comes to England to hunt. 

She comes looking for excitement and she finds it in the dashing form of Captain Bay Middleton, the only man in Europe who can outride her. 

Ten years younger than her and engaged to the rich and devoted Charlotte, Bay has everything to lose by falling for a woman who can never be his. But Bay and the Empress are as reckless as each other, and their mutual attraction is a force that cannot be denied.

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The Family Way - Review

Synopsis

It should be the most natural thing in the world. But in Tony Parsons’ latest bestseller, three couples discover that Mother Nature can be one hell of a bitch.

Paulo loves Jessica. He thinks that together they are complete – a family of two.
But Jessica can't be happy until she has a baby, and the baby stubbornly refuses to come. Can a man and a woman ever really be a family of two?

Megan doesn't love her boyriend anymore. After a one-night stand with an Australian beach bum, she finds that even a trainee doctor can slip up on the family planning.

Should you bring a child into the world if you don't love its father?

Cat loves her life. After bringing up her two youngest sisters, all she craves is freedom. Her older boyfriend has done the family thing before and is in no rush to do it all again. But can a modern woman really find true happiness without ever being in the family way?

Three sisters. Three couples. Two pregnancies. Six men and women struggling with love, sex, fertility and the meaning of family.

Synopsis

Tony Parsons exceeds in creating drama with simple prose, great characters and relatable family dramas. The Family Way was at times moving, engaging and effortless. It didn't try too hard, with the dialogue flowing beautifully. However it did feel as though Tony Parsons was a man in a woman's world, trying to understand and failing miserably. The Book stumbles upon a subject that I felt Tony Parsons was ill equipped to navigate. The Book centers around three sisters: Cat, Jessica and Megan and the men in their lives. He addresses three women's attitudes towards motherhood questioning whether all woman want babies. 



It does preach about motherhood and places it on a pedestal and at times doesn't recognize that some women do not want to be mothers. It was very judgmental and although the drama was real and conceivable, I found it difficult to relate on a deeper level with any of the characters.I enjoyed some parts of this books immensely but other times I was cringing or annoyed with Tony Parsons for failing to understand the female mind as he often succumbs to cliches. 

Review: Turning Thirty

Synopsis
Unlike a lot of people, Matt Beckford is actually looking forward to turning thirty. His twenties really weren't so great...and now he has his love life, his career, his finances -- even his record collection -- pretty much in order, like any good grown-up should. 

But when, out of the blue, Elaine announces she "can't do this anymore," Matt is left with the prospect of facing the big three-oh alone. Compounding his misery is the fact that he has to move back in with his parents. (Goodreads)

Review
Turning Thirty follows Matt, who returns home to England from New York after a break up with his girlfriend. He moves in with his parents and meets up with his old school friends and along the way overcomes his anxieties about turning Thirty. 

There's nothing new about about Turning Thirty, it's very unoriginal and expected. 
It's not as funny nor is it particularly insightful however the characters are great if contrite at times. It's Mike Gayle on a good day, not as funny as Mr. Commitment but not as bad as Brand New Friend. There isn't much of a plot and it relies heavily on inane conversations between the characters. I would recommend it as a simple, slightly unrealistic read. 

Review: The Fault in Our Stars

“Okay,” he said. “I gotta go to sleep. It’s almost one.” 
“Okay,” I said.
 “Okay,” he said. 
I giggled and said, “Okay.” And then the line was quiet but not dead. I almost felt like he was there in my room with me, but in a way it was better, like I was not in my room and he was not in his, but instead we were together in some invisible and tenuous third space that could only be visited on the phone. “Okay,” he said after forever. “Maybe okay will be our always.”
 “Okay,” I said.
 It was Augustus who finally hung up.”

Synopsis

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Review

I read this book with the knowledge that I will ultimately fall in love with it, how could I not? John Green is my imaginary literal husband and as a literal husband he irritates and confounds me but without even trying, he wraps me around his world and as a helpless literal wife, I fall helplessly at his feet, weeping for more. 

The story centers around Hazel diagnosed an incurable cancer when she meets the Gus, charismatic and good looking. They go through the trials, emotions ranging from love, death coping with cancer the best way possible with as much humor as possible. I laughed, cried and learned to enjoy life. The Fault in Our Stars is a triumph, John Green is a genius, masterful with a flare for creating all kinds of emotion.

Review: The Rosie Project

Synopsis

Meet Don Tillman. Don is getting married. He just doesn't know who to yet. But he has designed a very detailed questionnaire to help him find the perfect woman.

One thing he already knows, though, is that it's not Rosie. Absolutely, completely, definitely not.

Don Tillman is a socially challenged genetics professor who's decided the time has come to find a wife. His questionnaire is intended to weed out anyone who's unsuitable. The trouble is, Don has rather high standards and doesn't really do flexible so, despite lots of takers - he looks like Gregory Peck - he's not having much success in identifying The One.

When Rosie Jarman comes to his office, Don assumes it's to apply for the Wife Project - and duly discounts her on the grounds she smokes, drinks, doesn't eat meat, and is incapable of punctuality. However, Rosie has no interest in becoming Mrs Tillman and is actually there to enlist Don's assistance in a professional capacity: to help her find her biological father.

Sometimes, though, you don't find love: love finds you...

Review

Don Tilman is a clueless professor in Genetics. He's looking for a wife, the perfect wife who must match all his requirements and there are so many requirements including a full survey of questions. I found Don endearing, charming with an innocent quality about him. Although Don is unaware that his habits, extreme time keeping and OCD are conducive to an Autistic sufferer, the reader can recognize that he is slightly odd and can sympathize with him.

The book is narrated from his point of view and this is a great tool, his very matter of fact edging on Aspergers with humor and self deprecation is engaging and I found myself unable to put the book down. 
 He is very straight forward, blunt at times, one of life's truth tellers. He reminded me of Sheldon Cooper on a scientific search for the perfect wife and Rosie, the smart, hapless woman who falls in his path teaches him the truth about life and love.

I wouldn't call this Romcom, I think it's smarter than that, it's not based on cliches and over the top dramatics. Greame Simsion allows for Don to come alive on the page with moments where I could visualize Don and Rosie especially the scenes in New York and unlike so many other Romantic Comedies, the Rosie Project didn't irritate me by trying too hard, it was simply funny and charming, an absolute masterpiece.

Review: Conditional Love

Synopsis

Meet Sophie Stone, a thirty-something serial procrastinator. Tesco knickers, Take That and tea with two sugars is about as exciting as it gets. Sophie’s life is safe and predictable, which is just the way she likes it, thank you very much. 

But when her boyfriend dumps her on Valentine’s Day and a mysterious benefactor leaves her an inheritance, even Sophie has to accept that change is afoot. There is a catch: in order to inherit, Sophie must agree to meet the father she has never seen. 

Not a fan of surprises, Sophie would rather not; why not let sleeping dads lie? Besides, her mother would kill her. 

With interference from an evil boss, bickering flat mates, warring parents and a sexy ex-boyfriend, Sophie has plenty to contend with without an architect who puts his foot in it every time he opens his mouth. But it soon becomes clear that she will have to face the past and learn some uncomfortable home truths before she can finally build a future on her own terms.

Review

Conditional Love was an okay read.  It's not half bad, it's not half good either, its somewhere in between. I wish I was in love with it and as much as I think the author has potential, I didn't believe in any of the character nor did I believe in the plot and the use of "babes" grated on me. I have a distrust of people of people who use the following endearments "baby, babes, babs, bab". This is Chicklit without soul or passion or substance and for those reasons it was greatly underwhelming.

According to a very untrustworthy source (Wikipedia) Chick lit "is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly." This is well and good, problem is that at the moment Chick Lit is inundated with too many uninteresting women and very little substance. In Conditional Love I did not connect with the characters probably because they were too similar to other characters from other books. Also how many times can I read about a city girl inheriting a property in the county without succumbing to brain surgery.

I am not sure if it's the genre I'm out growing or it's the fact that I was reading another book with characters I could not relate to with scenarios I could not fathom and with family dramas that felt forced. It's not because I'm black as a friend of mine pointed the other day when I said I was bored to tears of this genre which to a great extent is inundated with white female authors, no it's the characters I'm bored with. I read all book whether the character is black or white or Asian as long as the character is good and doesn't bore me to tears.  Americanah's Ifemelu struck a cord with me because she had a sharp and intelligent personality, Sophie Stone was just another female on a train I could walk past without a backward glance, she was very purposeless.  I will continue to follow the author's work as I think she is a great writer, the issue I had was with the the characters.