Love at first sight is often described as eyes meeting across a crowded room. Sinclair Jayne breathes new life into this tired cliché as she explores how we fall in love. What happens to cause that spine tingling lust at first sight to grow into something more? When Colt Ewing, an acting army ranger home on leave, first sees Talon Reese serving drinks at Grey's. He can't take his eyes off of her. He decides that the outcome of the bachelor auction is unimportant and that it is Talon he is going home with. Talon's friends notice Colt's interest and decide that the best thing they can do for Talon is to buy Colt for her. When Colt approaches her after the auction, he is introduced to her seven-year-old adopted son Parker James. He also learns that she has been driving the truck he thought destroyed since it had been sent to his abusive uncle after the death of the army buddy he stored it with. Talon hands the keys over to him and he drives her home only to learn that she has been staying at his now dead uncle's place while waiting for the heir to return. Talon invites him into what she is convinced is his home, but overwhelmed by the terrible memories of past abuse, he refuses, though he does stay in the property's cabin. Parker is fascinated by Colt and desperately wants a male role model. Can Colt overcome the memories of his past and build a future with Talon and Parker? Ms. Jayne integrates her novel with the others in The Bachelor Auction Returns series in some ways. For example, Code mentions how the widow Benedict is meant to be his date. Yet in Bachelor for Hire, Colt and Code are incredibly close because Colt slept over all the time to escape his abusive uncle. In SEDUCING THE BACHELOR, it appears that no one knew of the abuse and Colt was isolated even from his friends. Taken as a stand alone the novel it provides an interesting twist on an old cliché. Lust at first sight develops into love as the Colt and Talon come to know and respect each other. Parker is never seen as a barrier to the relationship. By itself this is an interesting read and well worth the time. - See more at: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=21882#sthash.pHuzJlCJ.dpuf
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Everyone dreams of a second chance at the one that got away. Gavin Clark and Ally Beaumont were high school sweethearts who broke up when Abby believed the jealous lies of a third party, Jenny Gaston. Abby has never forgotten Gavin and still regrets their break-up. She has tried to move on and was even engaged. Still, she admits to herself that she wasn't brokenhearted when Lars left her at the altar in favor of his yoga instructor. She is, however, vindictive enough to sell Lars' ring to get enough money to purchase Gavin when she learns about the bachelor auction. At first, Abby sees Gavin as a someone from her past that she can trust to stick it to Lars when she is forced to attend a wedding where Lars is one of the groomsmen and she is the wedding planner. However, old feeling soon re-emerge. Gavin has always seen Abby has his ideal woman. When he went off to college, he saw his future laid out before him. Gavin would marry Abby as soon as she graduated, the two of them would attend college together and then settle down and have kids. Abby walking away from him that first year of college tore out his heart and he has never met a woman who could compare to her. When she buys him at the auction he doesn't know what to think. What if she runs again? What if she doesn't? WEEKEND WITH HER BACHELOR: THE BACHELOR AUCTION RETURNS is part of a quartet of books in which four different authors each follow one of the four bachelors who are auctioned off that night at Grey's on their path to true love. The idea is a great way for a writing group to collaboratively produce a body of work. Yet the small details don't mesh across the series. Gavin is sold for $25,000 and in the other works the bid on Code for $10 is mentioned as the highest bid. The guys have differing conversations depending on which novel you read. Since this is supposed to be the same characters over the same time period, their characterization and conversations should be the same even if that ends up repetitive. With that caveat in mind, the novel provides a well fleshed out characterization of both Gavin and Abby. Gavin's distrust of Abby is not without cause nor does it appear out of left field. Taken as a stand alone novel, this is well written and provides a lovely story of reunited sweethearts. - See more at: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=21961#sthash.WlzHdVUH.dpuf A modern Cinderella story, LORD BACHELOR examines our fascination with reality TV. Abby Forester is a down on her luck business major struggling to keep her dead father's record store afloat. This is particularly difficult as her father's common law spouse uses the fact that she owns half the business as an excuse to empty the till. Abby first meets Lord Edmund Rushwood while she fills in as a waitress at the bar her friend Tommy works at. He rescues her from some drunks and ends up following her home. Edmund, because of his father's will, must marry someone from a noble bloodline before his birthday. His friend Will is a reality TV show host and convinces him to star in Lord Bachelor to find his bride. Abby comes in because she has recently created a genealogy of Portland's finest families as a school project. Abby ends up on the show by accident when she goes to the studio to return Edmund's phone and is mistaken for a late contestant. Edmund struggles with his feelings for Abby as he knows he will lose everything if he marries her. Abby struggles with the way Edmund blows hot and cold. When Abby learns about Edmund's situation, will love conquer all? Ms. Bailey takes time crafting her main characters. The reader is allowed into their thoughts and follows their struggles. The more minor characters such as the contestants of the show tend to blur together a bit. It would help if they had more to identify them. Yet Bailey does give them ID markers. One is interested in charity work, another in fashion, etc. The reality show becomes background as Abby and Edmund mainly escape it to pursue each other. It would be nice to see more commentary on the shallowness and fakery of so-called reality TV, but what the author does insert is subtle and pointed. Love happens off camera. While Cinderella is a common fairy tale in romance, this version is well done and a good addition to the twisted fairy tale oeuvre. - See more at: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=21500#sthash.9YF2kFIW.dpuf A quick, light read. Hayley Dawn O'Malley left her hometown, of Marietta, Montana, for the bright lights of Los Angeles and never looked back. Since leaving town, she has become a major star with several motion pictures to her credit. She is back in Marietta in the wake of her Grandma Marie's death to pack up her Grandma's house. Cody (Code) Matthews left town soon after Hayley to join the army. After two successful tours, he got out and opened a private security firm with an army buddy in Texas. Code is back home on his Uncle Brand's farm, after a tough case went south. He just wants to forget. The arrival of his old friend and high school crush Hayley makes forgetting impossible because she needs his help. After a previous stalker scare, Hayley is afraid that she has another. Code refuses to help her and sends her to the police. The bachelor auction gives Hayley a second chance to get the help she wants. Charlene Sands writes in an engaging voice that catches the reader from the first sentence and does not let them go until the final page. Her plot hangs together well, as she neatly ties up all the loose ends. It is a novella and could benefit from the depth that a novel would allow. As it stands, the length keeps it a quick paced and superficial read. This is not bad in a Romance story. If you're looking for something fun to read, I recommend BACHELOR FOR HIRE. I just would like to see the character development that a longer form would allow. The stalker's perspective, and motivation would be a nice touch as well, though honestly, nothing is lost by leaving that part of the story out. - See more at: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=21589#sthash.MRGLe7lo.dpuf |
AuthorElizabeth Ramsay is English tutor and ESL Teacher. Archives
February 2018
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