Today’s Steals and Deals at AAR…..
You’ll love or hate this book. I’m in the love camp. It’s a bodice ripper disguised as a contemporary romance by the often great Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In our B+ review, we wrote:
The death of her mother, a resultant spending spree, and a mountain of debt all conspire to place Daisy Devereaux at her father’s mercy. Rather than go to jail, she agrees to his scheme: she will marry the man of her father’s choice and stay married to him for six months. Then she can claim her trust fund and get on with her regularly scheduled life. This is all well and good until Daisy realizes, just moments after the vows are spoken, that her new husband cannot be controlled and he won’t bargain. She is completely at his mercy, and suddenly prison doesn’t seem like such a bad option.
Alex Markov agrees to this marriage of convenience for his own reasons, and he is determined to keep his promise to Daisy’s father. On his watch, Daisy will grow a backbone and some character. He hauls her from her posh surroundings in New York City to the rural South for a six-month traveling circus tour with the Quest Brothers Circus, a small, not amazingly successful outfit of performers. She will do what he tells her when he tells her to do it, or he will make her existence most unpleasant.
Neither of these two thinks much of the other when they meet. Daisy considers Alex an overbearing monster, and Alex thinks his new wife is a frivolous piece of fluff. Neither is looking for anything more than a six-month tour of duty for which they will receive eventual payment. But this inconvenient marriage of convenience quickly takes on a life of its own, and both Daisy and Alex must confront their strong attraction to each other.
It’s on sale for 1.99 here.
Our reviewer called this book really really good. From our B+ review:
I flat out liked this book. It’s been awhile since I began to read a book and didn’t want to put it down, but once I began to read One Season of Sunshine, I didn’t want to stop. All the characters felt very real. They didn’t flounce, pout, or act like overgrown children. The misunderstandings between Jane and Asher were very realistic and didn’t feel forced at all. These were characters you could believe in.
The relationship between Jane and Asher develops slowly and naturally. There’s no instant lust – Asher and Jane don’t begin to develop romantic feelings for each other until they’ve gotten to know each other and given the problems they have to face, instant lust would have been a disaster for both of them.
I’ve read quite a few of Julia London’s books – both historical and contemporary. She is a writer who can be counted for a thoroughly enjoyable read no matter what genre she tackles. Fans of contemporary romance – don’t miss this one. It’s good, really, really good.
It’s on sale for 1.99 here.
Maggie gave this recent release a B+. In her review, she wrote:
Readers who love strong female protagonists will adore this story. All of the ladies are resilient, brave, and fiercely intelligent. I appreciated that each and every one of them – even Santana who is by far the most fragile – is grimly determined to survive themselves and help the others to do so. They are very much about doing what needs to be done, even when that is less than palatable.
Lyla is surprising in her ability to adapt. A kind of everywoman with few practical survival skills and only minimal fitness, her struggle to acclimate to the new conditions is very relatable and the author makes her growth believable without ever sacrificing the essence of who Lyla is. It’s easy to believe that the kick-ass version we see emerge as the novel progresses was inside our heroine all along.
There are plot points I found questionable, but the author’s easy-to-read writing style and brisk pacing kept me invested in what was happening. There are deaths here, but the gore and violence are kept to a minimum.
Ware’s obsession with failing machinery actually fits this particular scenario perfectly because it would be natural for an isolated location to have difficulties with technology after a massive, damaging storm. It also gives the characters – especially the women – the opportunity to show their unique skills since they have to be quite creative as they seek to find a way to communicate with the outside world.
One Perfect Couple isn’t a perfect book but it is pretty darn entertaining. I would recommend it to fans of the author, those who love the Reality TV scenario, and anyone in the mood for a heroine-centric adventure story.
It’s on sale for 1.99 here.
Love stories about British royalty? This winner by Goodwin is on sale today. In our review, we wrote:
I am an armchair historian at best, and while, as a scholar of colonialism and of women in leadership, I am interested in Victoria, I cannot claim to be anywhere near an expert. Thus, I have no idea if the Victoria presented by Ms. Goodwin is fully accurate, but it certainly fits with other accounts I’ve read or watched. What I present below is as much of an account of the life of the queen as presented in this book as it is about the book itself.
For anyone unfamiliar with this piece of British history, Victoria grew up incredibly sheltered by her mother and her mother’s advisor. The movie The Young Victoria starring a charming Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend tells this story as well, and I found myself flashing back to scenes in that movie. Victoria’s claim to the throne was as the niece of the ruling monarch (William IV) and her mother was constantly afraid she would be murdered by another claimant and uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, a man with a most unsavory reputation who was believed to have murdered his valet. This lead to Victoria having no contact with anyone else her own age, and no education about how to actually be queen.
It’s on sale for 1.99 here.