Review: A Pemberley Medley - Abigail Reynolds

A Pemberley medley
Five pathways to Pemberley! It's the best of all worlds in this collection of five short Pride & Prejudice variations by bestselling writer Abigail Reynolds. Can Mr. Darcy win Elizabeth Bennet's heart... or are they doomed to misunderstand one another forever? Can Mr. Darcy stand by and watch while Elizabeth loses everything she holds precious... including him?

My thoughts:

5 short stories.

"Intermezzo"

Bingley and Jane are getting married and Darcy and Lizzy find it hard to be near each other. Can they fall in love? That is the question in this short sweet story.

"Such Differing Reports"

Darcy is about to propose but does not and turn of events takes another road. What should she believe to be true? Charlotte a voice of reason :)

Reason's Rule

*fans herself* Oh Mr Darcy :=) he went all alpha at one point.

Anyway, they are engaged, Lydia runs away, drama. Can they manage?

The Most Natural Thing

A glimpse of Dark Darcy, just a a glimpse though. Lizzy is in trouble and asks Darcy for help. Such a gentleman. I love him

A Succession of rain

Rain and rain! The horror, will they ever find time to be alone? Cute story

Conclusion:

Good.

Cover:

Lovely

Genre: Pride and prejudice variation / sequel
Pages: (paperback 212)
Published: 2011
Source: Shelf

Review: Motherland - Amy Sohn

Motherland

Rebecca Rose, whose husband has been acting aloof, is tempted by the attentions of a former celebrity f lame; Marco Goldstein, saddled with two kids when his husband, Todd, is away on business, turns to anonymous sex for comfort; Danny Gottlieb, a screenwriter on the cusp of a big break, leaves his wife and children to pitch a film (and meet young women) in Los Angeles; fallen sanctimommy Karen Bryan Shapiro, devastated by her husband’s infidelity and abandonment, attempts a fresh start with a hot single dad; and former A-list actress Melora Leigh plots a star turn on Broadway to revive her Hollywood career. As their stories intersect in surprising ways and their deceptions spiral out of control, they begin to question their beliefs about family, happiness, and themselves.

Equal parts moving and richly entertaining, Motherland is a fresh take on modern marriage that confirms Amy Sohn as one of our most insightful commentators on relationships and parenting in America today.

My thoughts:

The book is well-written, and when I read that the author is also a screenwriter, I could see that in the book. It's feels like you are watching it while reading. And also, the book is so very New York. I had to dig deeper and the author actually lives in the area in the book. It feels real, like you are sitting there watching the Park Slope mums take over the neighborhood.

Anyway, on to the review. At first, all the Povs seemed daunting, but Sohn saved me by giving the chapters the title of the character in question. We have Rebecca, who has secrets, Marco who does not want a second kid but he boyfriend does not take no for an answer, Danny who is tired of domestic life (but then most in this book are), Karen, a newly single mum who wants to date again, and Melora, an A-list actress trying to make it on Broadway. Some of these people are friends, and some come together later on. So yes there are a lot of POVS, but it works, sure I mistook someone now and then, because they are all so alike. Bad sex lives, kids running amok, and wanting more from life. But I got there.

The book is rather depressing when I think about it. No one is happy. There is quiet drama and self doubting, jealousy and affairs. It makes me wonder if anyone can ever be happy being married and having kids. See, I told you it was a bit depressing. But that makes it real, people argue, they do not have time for sex, and there are to many things to juggle in life. And then things go to hell.

Conclusion:

At one time I wondered if I even liked the book. I knew the writing was terrific, but did I like it? That question bothered me for a while, since nothing was wrong with the book, but later on I did come to a conclusion, I liked the book. Maybe it was the satire, and namedropping that did it.

Cover: 

Eh,I guess it fits

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 352
To be Published: August 14th 2012 by Simon and Schuster
Source: Janicu

Review: Vampire State of Mind - Jane Lovering

Vampire state of mind

Jessica Grant knows vampires only too well. She runs the York Council tracker programme making sure that Otherworlders are all where they should be, keeps the filing in order and drinks far too much coffee. To Jess, vampires are annoying and arrogant and far too sexy for their own good, particularly her ex-colleague Sil, who's now in charge of Otherworld York. But when a demon turns up and threatens not just Jess but the whole world order, she and Sil are forced to work together, and when Jess turns out to be the key to saving the world it puts a very different slant on their relationship. The stakes are high. They are also very, very pointy and Jess isn't afraid to use them, even on the vampire that she's rather afraid she s falling in love with..

My thoughts:

I do not which genre to put on this, perhaps cos it just feels very British, and then the UF or PNR labels does not work. It's more than just that. It's more gritty, more real, less pretty. If you compare Brit tv vs US tv you know what I am talking about. It's a paranormal book with a bit of action and romance, Brit style.

The heroine Jessica can kick ass (but she is not a katana wielding clone.) She tracks down otherworlders who has moved out of the area they should stay in. She has a crappy lovelife and wonders about the guy she can't forget.

Sil, the one we soon understand is the guy she can't forget is a powerful vampire from the area. The vamps are all very pretty and stylish. But still they are different. The whole vampire comes to be after you have been infected and a demon lays it's seed in you and a baby demon hatches in your belly..yup not pretty at all. For that the vampires were different and I liked it. They feed off sex, blood and emotions.

There are other beings too, and the whole reason they are here are because of a portal that was opened and closed. Another thing that works since it changed the whole world. No world wars, but plenty of human vs beings wars.

Conclusion:

A different sort of paranormal book. The usual ingredients are there, but the taste is just more, lol, British ;) Not your usual kind of PNR UF.

Cover:

Not a fan of the face there

Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 288
Published: August 7th by Choc Lit
Source: For review
Kindle UK / Kindle US

Review: Marrying Up - Wendy Holden

Marrying Up

Beautiful but broke student Polly and scheming social climber Alexa may have grown up in the same place, but they couldn't be more different. Polly's just fallen for Max, a handsome country vet. But Alexa can't be bothered with love—any guy with a pedigree will do, mind you, as long as he comes with a title, a mansion, and a family tiara.

Alexa wiggles her way into friendship with Florrie, a clueless aristocrat who could support entire countries with her spare change. Suddenly the grandest doors swing open for Alexa, and a new life is so close she can taste it. Polly could care less about Max's money, but his mysterious habit of disappearing scares her. What's he hiding?

My thoughts:

This book was silly and funny. The silly comes from names used here and there, oh those British peers have strange names. And there were more things too. But it worked and it was charming.

The story itself is about Polly, the nice and sweet girl who you have to like. She is specialized in toilets, that is her field in archaeology. She meets Max, a really sweet guy too who is a vet, but he has secrets. Now what can those secrets be?

The other POV is Alexa, first I found her amusing, then she was pathetic and then she turned into one big B#¤%&. She was a golddigger with a big G, she wanted money, she wanted a title. But in the the end she was pathetic and miserable. The last 100 pages I gritted my teeth and wanted to smack her over the head. It got scary there for a moment. And then I do not mean scary as in ohhh danger! But in scary because she is not nice in the end.

Silly, fun and a cute little Cinderella story. One thing though, they were all so young, 18-21. I would have wanted the bunch a bit older. Now I just couldn't take it seriously all the time. But like I said, it was funny and silly.

Conclusion:

A nice little chick-lit book with a Cinderella twist to it.

Cover:

Cute

Genre: Chick-lit, contemporary romance
Pages: 400
Published: August 1st 2012 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Source: For review