Tag Archives: romance

A Lowcountry Christmas

Book Review of A Lowcountry Christmas, by Mary Alice Monroe

Leave a reply

A couple weeks ago, I did a Christmas Challenge. I read the four paperbacks that had been languishing on my shelves because they were all Christmas novels. I figured what better time to get them read? I finished it and, low and behold, another one landed on my doorstep. I won Mary Alice Monroe‘s A Lowcountry Christmas through Goodreads. Again, I figured there was no better time to get it read that Christmas Eve.

Description:
As far as ten-year-old Miller McClellan is concerned, it’s the worst Christmas ever. His father’s shrimp boat is docked, his mother is working two jobs, and with finances strained, Miller is told they can’t afford the dog he desperately wants. “Your brother’s return from war is our family’s gift,” his parents tell him. But when Taylor returns with PTSD, the stress and strain darken the family.

Then Taylor’s service dog arrives—a large black Labrador/Great Dane named Thor. His brother even got the dog! When Miller goes out on Christmas Eve with his father’s axe, determined to get his family the tree they can’t afford, he takes the dog for company—but accidentally winds up lost in the wild forest. In the midst of this emergency, the splintered family must come together and rediscover their strengths, family bond, and the true meaning of Christmas.

Review:
For those who enjoy this sort of book, I imagine this will be a winner. Personally, I gave it a shot, but I call this sort of book Misery Porn. Yes, there is a happy ending and you get a taste of it in the prologue to know it’s coming. But the whole rest of the book is people being miserable.

I can sense Monroe had a good intent. She obviously wanted to inform readers about PTSD and the healing powers of service dogs. But the book often felt didactic and I felt the ‘healing’ happened too abruptly.

Further, I had a hard time buying into the whole, “The splintered family must come together to rediscover their strengths, their family bond, and the true meaning of Christmas.” when the father is so obviously left out of the equation. He’s the only family member without a POV and until you’re supposed to go “awww” and believe everything suddenly happy he’s the antagonist of the book.

The writing however is perfectly readable and the book seems well-edited. I honestly think this is just a matter of wrong book for the reader. But it’s Christmas Eve and I wanted to read a Christmas book.

Book Review of The Wedding Vow, by Cara Connelly

Leave a reply

I won a signed copy of Cara Connelly‘s The Wedding Vow through Goodreads.

Description:
I have to give this at least three stars for being well enough written, even if the story itself drove me batty. This is one of those contemporary romances that is all fantasy. By which I mean that the events, if they happened in real life, would be traumatizing and love would NOT be the outcome. NOT. AT. ALL. But as a fantasy, where all the trauma of being forced into situations (especially for someone with a history of being controlled) is removed—along with any fear, realistic staying power of anger and lingering resentment—it’s an amusing enough read.

If the book had been a hundred pages shorter, I’d have liked it more. By the last hundred pages I was tired of having the same themes harped on about. It became pedantic and repetitive. I was just ready for it to be over.

In the end, I suppose if you like this sort of book, this will be a good one to pick up. If, like me, this isn’t really your jam, it’s not likely to be the one that changes your mind. It didn’t change mine.

Review:
I have to give this at least three stars for being well enough written, even if the story itself drove me batty. This is one of those contemporary romances that is all fantasy. By which I mean that the events, if they happened in real life, would be traumatizing and love would NOT be the outcome. NOT. AT. ALL. But as a fantasy, where all the trauma of being forced into situations (especially for someone with a history of being controlled) is removed—along with any fear, realistic staying power of anger and lingering resentment—it’s an amusing enough read.

If the book had been a hundred pages shorter, I’d have liked it more. By the last hundred pages I was tired of having the same themes harped on about. It became pedantic and repetitive. I was just ready for it to be over.

In the end, I suppose if you like this sort of book, this will be a good one to pick up. If, like me, this isn’t really your jam, it’s not likely to be the one that changes your mind. It didn’t change mine.

Demon Ember

Book Review of Demon Ember (Resurrection Chronicles #1), by M.J. Haag & Becca Vincenza

Leave a reply

I won a signed copy of Demon Ember, by M.J. Hagg and Becca Vincenza, through Goodreads.

Description:
Mya’s world is falling apart. After a series of earthquakes, deadly animals with glowing red eyes begin attacking people and start the spread of a zombie-like plague. Safety is just a memory as she tries to make her way home. When a different creature attacks the people helping her reach Oklahoma City, Mya is sure she’ll never see the light of another day. Despite his eerie green eyes and very sharp teeth, the grey-skinned creature is more intelligent and humanlike than he first appears. He’s determined to keep Mya by his side and protect her from the new world’s dangers. When his path starts taking her further away from home, she must choose between safety and her family.

Review with a slight spoiler:
Basically entertaining, but not much more. So, Mya decides to cross the zombie and hellhound infested state to get home to her family (without verifying they’ll be there). Along the way she runs into Drav, a large, human-like creature who decides he’s going to protect the female at all costs (without asking if she’s interested in this). That’s the plot…all of it. The book is basically just them running from one place to another and Drove defeating anything that threatens Mya. There really isn’t a lot to it in terms of development or explanations. You are left with a lot of questions in the end (which is a cliffhanger).

Drav can conveniently learn a language by hearing a word once, so the whole communication thing is easily dismissed. And he’s sweet. I liked Drav. Once he could understand her instructions, he was scrupulously attentive to Mya’s demands not to touch her (consent, basically). I liked that. Mya wasn’t particularly adept at survival, but not too stupid to live either. So, I was fine with Mya.

My issue arrises from the fact that he decides to protect her because he’s never seen a female before. There’s nothing inherently special about Mya herself that makes him take interest in her. He’s pretty much just protecting the pussy or womb. He of course falls in love and I imagine Mya will in future books, but when you get right down to it, this isn’t about Mya as a person.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. There were some funny bits. Like the meta scene where the large, fanged, grey-skinned man with pointed ears getting his hands on a Ruby Dixon novel. I’d be more than willing to read the rest of the series.