Michelle
Ah, sweet romance. Unconventionally attractive tomboy heroine who still manages to, stereotypes aside, have an aversion to blood. Chastity, middle name Virginia, has been in love with Trevor since she was ten-years-old, and they even had a brief fling, but he seems to see her as a little sister/one of the guys. The secondary characters, particularly Chastity's large family, are also well-written and with secondary storylines. I particularly like that another storyline paralleled some of what Chas was going through, but ended with a different (but equally valid) decision. I would have liked a slightly longer resolution scene, but enjoyed this book quite a lot.
From the time I discovered How to Win Friends and Influence People, I've been interested in learning about the power of persuasion. How to ethically make someone agree with you. Whether or not any of the techniques are put into place, this is an interesting book for anyone interested in psychology. It discusses things like why some PSAs have the opposite results than the ones intended – more litterers, more energy use, more natural resources stolen – why post-it notes really get people's attention and cooperation, and why restaurants should ditch their baskets of mints if they want bigger tips for their servers. Fun read and I tortured my husband by sharing many tidbits!
We've now crossed over to YA territory. The series is about Tally Youngblood who lives in a society that makes everybody pretty on their 16th birthdays. Before that, teens are called uglies, and children littlies. Tally meets a girl named Shayla who tells her that there is a secret society of people who opted not to be made pretty, and that there might be some sinister stuff happening underneath all the symmetrical features and glittering parties on the Pretty side of the river.
There is a lot of adventure here – girls, at least before the change, are shown as intelligent and capable and athletic, able to figure out complex puzzles. Some of the messages lack subtlety, even for young adults, but the questions and issues raised are good ones. Is being gorgeous the most important thing? How pretty is pretty enough? Why are girls taught to look up to vapid girls with not a thought in their pointy heads? Would you betray someone to escape a life of being considered less-than-perfect?
The first book, Uglies, is the best one in my opinion, but it ends in a way that justifies a sequel. The sequel gives us a chance to go into the world of the Pretties, which I think most girls, even level-headed ones, would want to read about. We get an idea of just how deep the control is, but that even the Pretty people might not be all that happy, might understand there's something more. The Specials, while still well-written and gripping, seems a little like the author wanted Tally to try on all the hats. (The Specials are a secret group that exists to police the populace.)
In the words of Gaston in Beauty and The Beast: It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas, and thinking...
Truly one of my better recent reads and perhaps one of my top romance reads ever which is almost completely due to the heroine.
Louise/Low Down hasn't had an easy life or any practical knowledge of how to be a lady. Our hero marries her, because he does the equivalent of draw the short straw. A group of men in a mining camp owe Low Down their lives and tell her she can have whatever she wants. She finally and reluctantly tells them that she wants a baby. She didn't technically ask for a husband, but it was part and parcel of the time.
The majority of the book deals with Low Down meeting her new Max's family and building a life with him. Max also had some explaining to do to the fiance he'd left behind, and there are interesting complications on that front.
It's easy to root for Low Down and believe she deserves happiness and there were a number of times when her vulnerability brought tears to my eyes. That's the kind of book, the kind of romance I want to read, rather than a generic kewpie doll heroine who is blandly nice or randomly “spit fiery.”
Good read, will remember it fondly.
Not nearly as kinky as the title implies Smiley, this is a pretty straightforward romance novel with a hint of a mystery. There were some moments when I thought it could have used a better edit, but it was an enjoyable read. For me, the book took of when the hero and heroine became clearly on the same team and started being disagreeable with people other than one another. By the end, I was hooked!
I liked the movie, but I liked this more. Michael Cera's take on Nick was different from the Nick in the book, and the story here was much more interesting, with the exception of the sub-plot in the movie involving Norah's trashy friend's adventures.
The chapters alternated POVs between the two titular characters and I thought it worked very well. It was easy to root for the two of them to get together.
Erotica. An adventurous twin decides to have herself kidnapped for Christmas, with the kidnapping including BDSM up to, but not including, actual intercourse. The less wild and more curvy sister gets ‘napped instead, which is fine with the hero/kidnapper who actually looked at a picture of wild twin and wished she was a little fuller figured.
4 stars instead of 5 for a couple contrivances that could not be ignored. The kidnapping agency made a point of the “victim” having a safe word, and yet our heroine was gagged for quite a while while all sorts of, um, stuff was done to her person. Of course, when she's ungagged she no longer wants to set the record straight. Still, what's the point of a safe word if someone cannot use it?
There was also a standard misunderstanding over something she said, but it almost worked, so I'm letting it slide. :)
This was a nice fantasy, really, and what woman doesn't dig a hero who wants the curvier sister?
This book is totally naughty, like, erotica...shhhhhh! Actually, it read like a traditional historical romance, with a smidge of the Bluebeard tale, and more graphic sex.
Some of the story hinged on the both members of the couple having no idea how kinky the other one was, and they managed to completely miss how really into the BDSM the other one was, but a good time was had by all. The ending was almost Judith McNaught-ish in the big misunderstanding leading to hurt feelings on both sides.
This is a novella about a woman named – guess – who used Halloween as an opportunity to dress up and seduce a hunky co-worker at a bar. Pretty steamy, and I particularly liked an exchange fairly early on where he encourages her to unencumber herself from her unmentionables.
In fact, erotica has a lot of books set during Halloween and costume parties. Not that I'm complaining, and it makes sense as an excuse to lower inhibitions, but just saying I've noticed.
I cannot say enough about this novel, and so I'll opt not to say much other than I get something new out of this book every time I read it. It's a novel that is entertaining – that's the way he rolls – but it also makes you think.
The title refers to the story of Cain and Abel, and the book deals with this story, as well as the themes present in the Adam and Eve tale. There is, in fact, a character named Adam, but he also represents Abel and God at other points in the story. Just as Shakespeare points out that
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.
Steinbeck says that we all relive the archetypal stories. A man can start as a favored son with a jealous brother, grow to manhood to fall in love with a woman who is no damned good, and become a father with sons who seek his approval. Some stories are a part of us, because we can't stop retelling them, because we can't stop living them.
There's also some tasty stuff about whether or not people are born evil and the nature of choice.
I think I read this for the first time when I was thirteen or so. One of my favorites of all times.
Loved the part where Rochester said (paraphrasing) Jane's mind was his toy and if it were broken he would take delight in it still. I think the best romances are about two people having a “meeting of the mind,” and I say this as someone who reads a fair amount of erotica, go figure.
I simply like the idea that a couple are compatible enough that you can imagine time together forever. This is the classic, literally, example.
I read this for the first time when I was maybe 10-years-old or so. My mother and grandmother were fans of the author and it was easy for me to fall in love with her writing as well.
Aspects of the story are dated, certainly the musical references that are there to make the heroine seem young and hip, but it's still an enjoyable read.
The writer is more famous for the Elizabeth Peters books, but I'm a Barbara Michaels fan through and through and think any of the books issued under that name are worth a read.
Sweet story about supportive friends, true love, and not giving in to bullies. Great for people of all ages, and their bunnies.
I am so in awe and in love with this book. I almost bailed a couple times because animal death is very tough for me, and this book has A LOT of it, but I'm glad I persevered. I think on some level, it's a better book if you do have that soft spot in your heart.
This is one of those books where you root for everyone, even as you know everyone is flawed, and that not everyone can persevere. You even root for the “antagonist.”
I wondered for a long time who was meant, on the non elk side, to be the protagonist, and then it became clear, inevitable, preordained. A test of skills and wills.
Sometimes anger covers pain, grief, and longing, I realized at the end, as I cried. This is some good next level horror!
The narrator was terrific.
Please take the time time to read and prioritize reviews by OwnVoice reviewers, of which I am not one. :)
A book where you root for and are mad at everyone. The characters are realistically flawed and understandable. I wanted impossible things for them. I'm aware that in real life, black men are targeted and abused by the system, and know all to well about impossible things, like regaining time lost and relationships devastated by separation and distance.
I also knew that darned tree would be imperiled at some point.
I honestly don't know what happened. I was pretty meh over the first book, and then I just kept reading them, and now this is my favorite series. :)