Book Review: "An Earl's Guide To Catch A Lady" by Tanya Wilde

* - Sorry in advance. This book is abhorrent. I didn't even want to finish it but I was committed to giving it this review.

The heroine, Evelyn, is your typical pretty English lady caught up in convoluted circumstances that she makes worse. I couldn't relate with a single one of her decisions. She is keenly aware of her position in society and is determined not to marry; she wants her freedom and loathes the idea of being owned by a husband. Knowing this, she still goes about putting herself in positions where she knows she may be forced into a marriage she doesn't want.

Our hero isn't even a Hero. Matthew is a reclusive, handsome, headstrong Earl, who decides he wants Evelyn and relentlessly stalks and pursues her throughout the countryside and the city. No matter how many times she refuses him, he attempts to strong-arm her into doing what he wants, and throughout the story is bewildered that she won't fall in line. He shows up at her home, corners her in public, man-handles her and does the classic kisses-her-to-shut-her-up move.

Spoiler alert - despite all of this, Evelyn never once appeals to anyone for help. Despite his relationship with the Earl, her brother would certainly have intervened if she had told him the full extent of his pursuit. And somehow, despite still not really "getting it", Evelyn still falls for Matthew hook, line and sinker. I am creating a new tag for this kind of book: "Stockholm Romance."

I hated the Hero, I hated the story, Evelyn's friends were shallow and unnecessary. And the book just goes on and on forever. The events seem so unlikely for a regency romance that it is probably better categorised as fantasy. Unless you like the idea of being manipulated and steam-rolled by every authority figure in your life, I can't recommend this one at all.

Book Review: "Compromising Positions" by Jenna Bayley-Burke

**** - I devoured this book on a Sunday and I loved every second. Our h&H, Sophie and David, are thrust into each other's lives when they agree to teach a couples yoga class, focusing on complicated sex positions and touching. Sophie has had a crush on David for years, but he has been mostly unaware of her. He has a type, and a strict set of dating rules to keep things uncomplicated. Sophie proceeds to break every rule on his list.

Both leads have enough back story to make them interesting, and some seriously hot chemistry makes this a very fun read. I genuinely enjoyed the way their story unfolds, navigating their feelings and figuring out how to fit their lives together when they want completely different things.

My copy had some annoying formatting issues which is a real pet hate of mine, and you encounter it a lot in this genre. Fortunately, the story is engrossing enough that I could overlook it. This may have been due to the format, as I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review. 

Now to find more books by this author to add to my queue...

Book Review: "The Rogue's Wager" by Christi Caldwell

**** - Christi Caldwell's stories make up well over half of my personal recency romance collection. They are reliably good fun, with leads who have great chemistry. They are the perfect books to pick up when you need to switch off and just enjoy a romantic story.

Even though I anticipated a good read, I was pleasantly surprised with The Rogue’s Wager. The heroine, Helena, is not the perfect society miss. She has had a hard life on London's streets and is more familiar with the city's underbelly than the ton, in her role as bookkeeper for the Help and Sin Club. She is tough, knows how to defend herself, and wants her independence in an era when women have none.

The hero, Lord Robert Dennington, knows personally that all women want from him is his title. As such, he has no interest in settling down until he is good and ready to give up his roguish lifestyle and settle into a safe, political and mutually beneficial marriage. When he stumbles into Helena’s bedroom one night, he turns her world upside down and leaves, oblivious to the tumult left in his wake.

This is not your typical recency romance. Somehow, the characters are more compelling. The Marquess still has his trademark “unfashionably long” hair, and Helena is still a “spirited minx” who catches the imagination of her beloved. But the story is partially set in the intriguing dark side of London, there is less dazzling society and more of the grit of the streets, and it rings truer for it. The story has a bit of a Pride and Prejudice vibe as the leads find their long held beliefs challenged, and Caldwell shows off some brilliant writing, especially with her scene setting.

Netgalley provided an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, and I am thrilled that they did because I would definitely have bought this one for myself. I recommend this one for recency lovers - you can purchase it from the 25th of October.

Book Review: "Cake: A Love Story" by J Bengtsson

*** - Jake McKallister is a hot, young, famous rockstar with a horrific past. He is secretive, guarded, and Casey Caldwell thinks he's out of her league. So when a mutual connection sees them partnered together at a social event, everyone is taken by surprise when they find they have an unmistakable attraction.

Cake has a great premise. Jake's background adds an interesting twist to the "different worlds" trope, and Casey is a truly great heroine. She has a backbone, is strong-willed, determined and funny. She's also gentle and intuitive. The overall plot is entertaining enough and the romance is pleasant enough to read about.

The book comes apart for me in three places. The first is that the book is told from dual perspectives. Jake necessarily withdraws into himself, which leaves Casey in the dark as to his feelings and motivations. Entering his perspective offers an insight into his mind, but the two experiences don't match up. Jake's chapters show that he is smitten and determined to try and make things work. Casey's paint him as withdrawn and difficult enough to read that she doubts their relationship. The two depictions of Jake just don't ever seem to mesh.

My second issue with this book is the dialogue. It is often forced and unrealistic, as if the characters are reading from a script. There is often too much exposition and the flow of the story really suffers for it. This is an example of a book that could benefit from more show and less tell.

Perhaps the most rage-inducing issue that I took with Cake is the direction that Casey takes in the end of the book. She begins as a funny, independent, likable woman. She remains so throughout the story. But in the end, appears to be willing to change her life goals to suit Jake. While this is convenient in the context of the story, it seems such a waste to develop such a great character only to have her life's goals seemingly fulfilled in a man and not her own accomplishments.

Overall, Cake is a perfectly adequate romance that, with some tweaks, could have been better.

Book Review: "How to Date a Douchebag: The Studying Hours (How to Date a Douchebag #1)" by Sara Ney

***** - I won't beat around the bush here - I read a lot of romance novels. It started out as a bit of light reading in between fantasy epics, but they're now the bread and butter of my day. Romances tend to follow a formula, and when it's done well that is fine and dandy. Most of the time, the author does an adequate job and I am entertained. Occasionally, I struggle to want to read the book. This time, I loved it.

Our leading lady, Jameson "James" Clark, is a dedicated student but not your typical brainy heroine. She just wants to study and isn't charmed by the typical douchebag types we all know and loathe. Unfortunately, Sebastian "Oz" Osborne definitely fits that category, and he finds himself fascinated by the one woman he's ever encountered who hasn't thrown herself at his feet.

This sounds like the sort of eye-rolling cliche that we've all read a hundred thousand times, but these characters have some serious chemistry. They are also just interesting enough to not feel like the standard papier mâché leads we so often see. James and Oz are genuinely likable, well-developed characters - neither are sitting around waiting for a romance novel to come and move their lives along for them, but boy am I glad that it did.

Cute, fun, and surprisingly good - this is a gem and I am so glad that it's the start of a series.

Book Review: "Like A Queen" by Constance Hall

**** - I gave birth to my first child in March this year. On the whole I thoroughly enjoyed being pregnant and am genuinely looking forward to my next go at it (mad, I know.) I spent the months planning her arrival, reading everything I could, trawling through online support groups and trying to figure out my parenting style, while reminding myself to remain flexible. What I didn't enjoy during this time was my husband. While everyone around me was happy and excited, my husband was not really interested in my pregnancy and had no interest in learning about babies. He didn't want to pick up a single book and got squeamish with the details.

Now that bub is here, my husband works and I stay home with Little One, doing the majority of care-giving and the housework, whether husband is home or not. He works 40 hours a week, and I work 168 hours a week, on-call. At some point, I began to ask myself if it was normal for mothers to want to drop-kick their husbands the second they walk in the front door, or to fantasize about packing up and leaving him behind while me and the baby ride off into the sunset. My friends in my Mothers Group all advised that the same thing was happening in their homes and they felt the exact same way.

None of the baby books I had read mentioned this phenomenon. Why did nobody warn the mothers-to-be of the incredible strain that parenthood can put on your bond with your partner? While I am at it, there are several things that the books don't cover. The pressure of social media on parenting; the fact that you constantly vaguely smell of baby vomit; that emotion that you feel when it is 3am and the baby is still crying and you are overwhelmed with both love and a desperate rage. Shouldn't there be somebody out there warning us all? Perhaps a guardian angel who can pop in with a quick disclaimer before D-Day? Or at the very least, making us feel like we aren't so strange for being so not the perfect, benevolent mother and partner that we thought we'd be.

Constance Hall is that guardian angel. Her Facebook page is a hub for women to share their frustrations, to laugh at themselves and their experiences, and feel connected to other mothers (or, as she refers to us, Queens.) She shares her personal experiences of life with her husband and 4 children and has created a safe online space for lost women to find their proverbial crowns and see themselves as the brilliant creatures that they are. And the best part: she has written an entire book to help guide us through this beautiful and difficult time; from staring daggers at your husband while he sleeps and you rock a baby who you're pretty sure hates you, to finding your inner royalty and realising that there's no such thing as perfect (but whatever you're doing is close.)

Like A Queen is part memoir, part musing. It is not a how-to guide or a trouble-shooting manual for parenthood. It is a collection of stories and anecdotes that combine to give you a sense of who Constance Hall is as a person, the journey that she has been on to become her Queenly self, and an insight into how she views other women. She hides nothing about her faults and failures, writing with a brutal honesty which is endearing and reassuring. Through her words, she feels like a trusted and valued friend. The reader can empathise with her stories and observations, and in a world where we often feel so very judged, the experience is truly cathartic.

This book is a labour of love and in reading it, you enter the wonderful world of Constance Hall, where all women are Queens and can laugh, love and empathise with one another. It is a fast and easy read, light-hearted enough that the depth won't drag you down. I highly recommend this book for any Queen (expectant mothers, new mothers, mothers who have lost their crowns, mothers who are rocking it but want to join the growing fold) and have already offered to lend it out to my Mothers Group.

If you would like to buy a copy for yourself or gift it to a Queen in your life, you can pre-order at http://likeaqueen.com.au/ (shipping only to Australia & NZ only at this stage).

The Bookshelf - Best & Worst

I read a lot more than I review!

I loved:

1.  "Pride and Prejudice" - Jane Austen
   Literary Romance. This is a classic and really doesn't need to be listed, but it is the benchmark for romance and so it has a place of honour here.
2. The Night Angel Trilogy - Brent Weeks
   Fantasy. Richly drawn world, complex characters, moral dilemmas. Absolutely outstanding.
3. "Outlander" - Diana Gabaldon
   Literary Romance. I was late to the table with this series but place it here to recommend to anybody who hasn't discovered it yet. Vividly written, utterly compelling.
4. "The God of Small Things" - Arundhati Roy
   Fiction. This book will break your heart. Painful, haunting, lush and beautiful. Read it because it deserves to be read; don't read it because it shakes you, changes you.
5. "French Children Don't Throw Food" - Pamela Druckerman 
   Parenting.This book affirmed my parenting philosophy and is also a really fun read, as far as parenting goes.

I loathed:

1. "Bookish" - Olivia Long
   Romance. None of the characters had any dimension. Papier mache leads who fall in love for no discernible reason. No chemistry. Un-erotic erotica with weird, jarring word choices (ie, mons).
2. "The Billionaire's Fake Girlfriend" (Parts 1, 2 & 3) - Sierra Rose
   Romance. Why did I keep reading these? The whole time it felt like I was stuck on a public bus listening to two teenage girls gossip about their obviously made up older boyfriends.
3. "Prince With Benefits" - Nicole Snow
   Romance. Just ick. The hero was 100% ick and was not redeemed.
4. "The Spinster and The Earl" - Beverly Adam
   Regency Romance. Interesting premise but terribly written. I was constantly jarred out of the story.
5. "Because of Him" - Jessica Roe
   Romance. This book has a disclaimer that it's not suitable for anyone under the age of 15, which is unfortunate as they are the ones most likely to enjoy it. The LL is a teenager dating an older man and the whole storyline has this horrific power-play that I found off-putting. Add to that the obvious immaturity of both characters and I finished with the sense that maybe I'm just a little too old for this crap.