Dream Man by Kelley Vitollo

Hero: David
Heroine: Sadie
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 10 pages
Grade: C

Sadie has the same dream every night. She dreams of a man with black hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and magical hands. When dream becomes reality and she comes face to face with her dream man, will he be everything she imagined, and more?

Okay I know it's been FOREVER since we've done Kelley's interview here at Sanctuary's Finest and honestly ... I have no idea how this review got pushed to the back. But never the less here it is.

As we know this is Kelley's first published piece of work. So I'm going to break this down into two parts. Writing style and the story itself.

Writing style? I really liked! There weren't many, if any errors in the writing. It wasn't choppy at all, I would not have thought it was a first time author by the writing style at all. Even the flow was good. Now when I say that it doesn't mean I liked the pace of the story in which things happened. BUT I did like the way her words flowed. How her story flowed without seeming jumpy at all. I also liked the descriptions she used. Well for the most part, lol, of course we always have an issue or two here at SF right? So I'll tell you at one point David said that he loved her flavor, or he'd never tire of her flavor? Something but the fact is he said flavor, yuck! lol. Not a choice word of mine.

Okay now the story? A little unbelievable...BUT I think that the story could have been great. I don't really understand why it was so short. It seemed like we got the middle of the story and the rushed version of it. I would have loved to see more of who Sadie was and shared some of her dreams before we were even introduced to David. Then the part that was the story we got should have been stretched a little longer, then I think we could have had quite a bit afterwards. It wasn't the writing style that was fast it was just what actually happened in the few short pages we got was extremely rushed. This story could have been stretched to at least 50 pages. Minimum. But 11? Why would you even do that?

I think Dream Man has great potential and I personally hope Kelley picks it up again at a later date and expands on it cause I'd be very interested in reading a whole lot more of it.

Very good writing though. And I do look forward to more by Kelley in the future. Hopefully something a lot longer. She's got talent.

Dylan's Review:

Hero: David ??
Heroine: Sadie Roberts
Category: Contemporary, Paranormal??
Page Count: 10 pages
Grade: D

This story was much too short for my liking. It took me just under 10 minutes to read the entire story and I felt like it wasn't enough time and enough story. I agree with Nicole that it had the potential to be a great book but the character development was non existent and the storyline was totally unbelievable and just, well, to be honest, corny.

Everything happened much too fast and one minute they're meeting for the very first time and the next thing, they're in love and just getting to each other's names? I just can't fathom it...if there had been a little chemistry between the two main characters in the two minutes that they were meeting each other and then falling into bed with each other than maybe I would have been a little more keen on believing the whole I love you thing but there was just not enough time in the entire book to cover any bases so I really didn't believe it, at all.

Am I going to give up on Kelley? Oh no, I think that Kelley has great potential as an author and I'm very much looking forward to reading more of her stuff but this book was much too short to even be considered a story but more as a beginning of a story with all of the good juicy bits cut out from the middle.

Veils of Time, an Anthology

Title: And The Groom Wore Tulle
Author: Lynn Kurland

Scottish nobleman Ian Macleod falls asleep in a medieval dungeon-and awakens in a room filled with long white dresses. Jane Fergusson longed to create great fashions, but instead toils in a bridal shop. Will their fateful meeting over dressmaker's shears lead to bloodshed or bliss?

Hero: Ian MacLeod
Heroine: Jane Fergusson
Grade: C

This story was too short but sweet.

Ian MacLeod does unmentionable things that lands him in the hands of his bitter enemy, the Laird of the Clan Fergusson. He wills himself more or less (actually we don't know how he does this but he does) and finds himself in Modern day New York, the year is 1999. He thinks he's in heaven or in limbo, so he tries to dress the part to impress St. Peter, but since he's in the middle of a Wedding Gown parlor, he puts on one of the wedding gowns and I laughed.

He meets Jane Fergusson and she agrees to help him even though she thinks he's psycho. (of course, don't they always think they're psycho but still help them anyway?) Between the two of them, they set off to find Ian's family.

It was a really sweet story, I would have liked like one more chapter of Ian and Jane falling in love because everything happened so fast for me to really believe the story, it just seemed implausible that Jane fell so fast for someone she thought was a complete lunatic two weeks before, but I guess that's what love does to a person.

I did like watching Ian learn about the future appliances, him eating Cheetos was a riot, the elevator? hilarious...it was a good, sweet read, I just wish there was more.

Title: The Con and the Crusader
Author: Maggie Shayne

Fleeing thugs, con man Jack McCain jumps into a well- and into the past. Mistaken for a criminal, he's headed for prison, until he's freed-with a wedding proposal! The widow Hawkins marries him to get help for her farm, but the attraction between them makes Jack wish he'd never escape this sweet captivity...

Hero: Jack McCain
Heroine: Emily Hawkins
Grade: B+

I enjoyed this story much more than the Lynn Kurland story, but I like westerns, I love cowboys and farm hands, all of those things don't bother me none. To see Jack really having to earn his keep, and keep his word was just all around sweet.

His relationship with Emily was a strong one and it showed in the short story. Even though this was a short story, it didn't end abruptly, I didn't get the feeling that it was rushed or anything, the story flowed great with the pace the author set and everything just worked.

The change we see in both Emily and mostly in Jack was fantastic to read about, to see Jack developing relationships with Emily's kids was touching and very endearing and then with him learning how to be a hardworking husband, while he's out there plowing the fields in the hot summer sun, LOL it was just good to see that he became someone his grandmother would be proud of and to see Emily learning to lean on others for help and for it to be okay with her gave you a sense of satisfaction at the end when everything worked out for the best between them both.

So far, this is my favorite story in the anthology, Jack was a stud and Emily was sweet. A very good story.

Title: A Bride Most Common
Author: Angie Ray

A time machine hurtled Lucy Taylor back in time to Regency England- and into the middle of a wedding to a dashing gentleman! Could she change history to save her future, without falling in love with a handsome new husband?

Hero: Kieran
Heroine: Lucy Taylor
Grade: D

This story I couldn't get into at all. I didn't think anything was funny, I didn't like the whole time travel idea behind this story, it just all seemed so unlikely and unoriginal, I just didn't really like the whole time travel machine concept that Angie Ray came up with for this story, because well the hero never got to see and fall in love with LUCY TAYLOR, there was nothing wrong with Lucy and yet because of the way the story played out, Kieran, the hot stud muffin didn't fall in love with Lucy, as she really was but by Lady Cynthia, who was totally different from Lucy.

It just didn't pan out for me, I was bored with the story, I was unhappy with her whole time travel concept and I just didn't really care for anything in the story. I didn't connect with either Lucy/Cynthia or Kieran and because of that, I didn't really care for the story.

I didn't like it.

Title: Conyn's Bride
Author: Ingrid Weaver

On the eve of her wedding, museum curator Alanna Moore is cataloguing antiquities, when suddenly a Celtic warrior appears-claiming to be her long-lost betrothed! Can she listen to her heart, and remember a love that was destine to be?

Hero: Conyn ap Rhys
Heroine: Alanna Moore
Grade: C

This story was all cheese and fluff. But it was cute, I thought that Conyn's undying love for Alanna was a little over the top but hey, you do crazy things when you're in love I guess. This story was really short, really sweet and just cute. Nothing grand or anything, I didn't get an instant connection with the characters but I didn't hate it and it was just that....cute.

Before I end this review, I'd like to send a million thank you's to Mailyn from Imaginary Origin for sending me this book, I really did enjoy it and I'm still fantasizing about Jack McCain, thanks a bunch sweetie, love ya tons!! =)

Killing Time by Linda Howard

Hero: Knox Davis
Heroine: Nikita Stover
Grade: D+

In 1985, with much fanfare, a time capsule was buried under the front lawn of a small-town county courthouse, to be reopened in 2085. But just twenty years later, in the dead of night, the capsule is dug up, its contents stolen. That same night, one of the contributors to the capsule is brutally slain in his home - with no sign of forced entry or indication of a struggle. One by one, others who had placed items in the time capsule are murdered.

Besides his suspicions about the sudden, mysterious appearance of Nikita Stover, the chief investigator, Knox Davis, has absolutely no leads. And while Nikita's no murderer, she seems to be hiding plenty of secrets. With more at stake than anyone else realizes, the smart-talking Nikita is determined to catch this cunning killer - while at the same time battling her own deepening feelings for a man and for a world in which she doesn't belong.

Alright, I participated in the July TBR Challenge over at Brianna's Mommy blog, and I finished it!! Woo hoo!

Title: Killing Time
Author: Linda Howard
Year published: 2005
Why did you get this book? I bought it the day it came out because I'm a fan of Linda Howards, but I never did get around to reading it, until the challenge was issued.
Do you like the cover? Yeah, it's sexy.
Did you enjoy the book? Not really, the only thing I enjoyed about this book was the hero, Knox Davis.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, I'm a LH fan and have been for years and even though I didn't really care for this book, I didn't hate it enough to give up on LH, not yet anyway.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? I'm keeping it only because I want to own all of LH's books, I'm retarded like that.

And now the review...

Dear Mrs. Howard,

I'm taking a page out of Jane and Jayne's blog, over at Dear Author because I thought it was imparative that I write you a letter about your book, Killing Time.

Killing Time started out weird and ended weird. I mean, you ended the book with paper...PAPER? What was that all about? Yeah, maybe because paper to me is in such abundant supply these days, I take it for granted but I just didn't see the big deal about the whole paper thing, in my opinion, the book fell flat on it's face with that whole thing. And since I'm talking about that part, Nikita's kids grandparents are older than they are, how effing retarded is that? You see, making time travel more like air travel just didn't really work for me in your story, I can usually take time travel well enough, I love it all in Karen Marie Moning's books, I loved it in Son of the Morning, but I sooo didn't like it in Killing Time, but that might have to do with the fact that I didn't really like Killing Time.

It was a good story, but it felt rushed, like you were working on Cover of Night at the same time and you couldn't be bothered to work some kinks out of Killing Time before the deadline. Another thing I didn't really care for is there was no real drama that Knox and Nikita had to work through because they were always one step ahead of the killer, it was all so easy for them. Where's the fun in that? There wasn't. It was like, okay I didn't get to appreciate them working hard to get to the bottom of the case because everything was just so easy for them.

And then, it all ended so abruptly. I mean, everything unravels literally in the last few pages of the entire book. Why you thought that would be cool, I'll never know. But it was like, okay all this happened throughout the book now hurry up and end this so that I can move on to the next book. There wasn't even a proper build up to the end either, it was too neat and too tidy and there was just no fun in it.

I don't think I could recommend this book with all the enthusiasm that I usually reserve for an LH, because I felt cheated, which is saying something because I'm easily pleased but pleased I was not while reading this book, not only did it take three months to read (compared to the usual day and a half that I usually take to read a book) but it just wasn't up to par with the rest of your books.

And Nikita being a well, you know what she was? What the hell was that about? And then all that futuristic stuff, they don't use water to bathe in the future? What the hell do they use? How the hell can you get clean without using water to bathe? The future you painted in this book is totally not something I'm looking forward to reading more about, I could care less that there were all those cool little gadgets, gadgets from the future, all of that was just really blah to me and I just couldn't be bothered to like this book very much.

And what about the whole cotton thing? Cotton is only for the extremely wealthy in the future? What the crap was that about? Hmm, okay...whatever.

Another thing I hated about this book was that you took someone I really liked in the book and made him hate on my team, USC. Don't ever do that again, all in all, the book wasn't the worst book I've ever read, I even liked it more than Gregory's book, which surprises me since it took me only a day to read that book and like five days to read yours but still, I think the only saving grace this story had was with the hero, Knox Davis is one sexy ass stud. I love those southern boys and Knox Davis is truly one hero that I'll be lusting after for years and years, he was even better than Lucas Swain and I was really crushing on Lucas when reading his book, I wish I could say that Knox's story was top notch but it fell short of that.

The whole Rachel and Rebecca thing was disturbing, but more than disturbing I just though it was pretty stupid. Rachel got exactly what she deserved at the end, so good on Byron on that score, I mean, you had this whole story centered around all these killers and the story BEHIND all of that was so simple and so retarded that I was pissed that I actually read the whole story only to find out the whole reason why all the killings were happening was because of that lame ass reason.

In conclusion, the book dragged on and on about inconsequential things and I just didn't really care for the book all around. I'm not kidding when I say the only highlight of this book was Knox Davis, his sexiness was probably what got me through this book, Nikita was an OKAY heroine, the storyline was just OKAY, the futuristic stuff was like pulling teeth for me, the secondary characters were just OKAY, a disappointing read this was for me.

Please, don't ever write another story like this because this one tanked.

Sincerely,
Dylan

On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn

A funny thing happened...
Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory Bridgerton believes in true love. And he is convinced that when he finds the woman of his dreams, he will know in an instant that she is the one. And that is exactly what happened. Except...

She wasn't the one. In fact, the ravishing Miss Hermione Watson is in love with another. But her best friend, the ever-practical Lady Lucinda Abernathy, wants to save Hermione from a disastrous alliance, so she offers to help Gregory win her over. But in the process, Lucy falls in love. With Gregory! Except...

Lucy is engaged. And her uncle is not inclined to let her back out of the betrothal, even once Gregory comes to his senses and realizes that it is Lucy, with her sharp wit and sunny smile, who makes his heart sing. And now, on the way to the wedding, Gregory must risk everything to ensure that when it comes time to kiss the bride, he is the only man standing at the altar...

Isabel says:

Now, I don't know about you. But I didn't dislike the book, but I didn't like it either. I'm just indifferent. Maybe I read it too fast. I don't know. It felt... rushed, forced. I can't pinpoint it at all.

I did like how Hyacinth helped arrange a meeting with Gregory and Lucinda. I liked how she stood by her brother, claiming she would never receive Lucinda after the scene in the church.

So the book, was just ok to me. I'll have to reread for sure. Also, what was the historical inaccuracy? I didn't pick up on it all.

So I'm leaving this ungraded for now.Cause I don't honestly don't know how I feel about it yet.

Ok, I'm adding stuff. I reread some part and I feel disappointed. I didn't feel any connection between Lucinda and Gregory. Again felt forced.

It sucks the series had to end like this. But.. oh well.

Grade: D+

Holly says:

Another meh from JQ. Her last book was that way for me, too.

I won't go into the plot again, as Izzy took care of that, but I will say that this book was sadly lacking.

I didn't connect with Lucy, the heroine, or Gregory at all. Throughout the book I felt like he was just a boy. More Beta than Alpha and not old - or capable - enough to carry the story, as his brothers had done before him.

The storyline bugged, as well. The whole, he's in love with someone who's in love with someone else while the heroine was decidedly NOT in love with him got real old, real quick.

We didn't see much of the other Bridgerton's in this book either, which, considering this is the last of the series, bothered me quite a bit. In her previous Bridgerton novels we enough of the clan to satisfy me but not enough to for them to overpower the story. That wasn't the case here.

I didn't like the secondary characters, either. Though Lucy went on and on about how close she and her brother were, I got the distinct inpression that he only tolerated her presence because of his attraction to her best friend. And later, after things had been settled in that area, he still didn't seem to have any special affection for her.

I'm giving this one 2 out of 5. I have to say, I'm glad we're done with the Bridgerton's, and from the way this story went, JQ seems to be as well.

Dylan's Review:

Hero: Gregory Bridgerton
Heroine: Lady Lucinda Abernathy
Grade: D

So, I finished reading On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn and boy was I disappointed in it. I couldn't connect with Gregory (and I was so looking forward to) and I just didn't buy that him and Lucy fell in love...or maybe I should say I didn't buy the WAY they fell in love. The whole story is so juvenile, I felt that Gregory was robbed of the ability to prove himself as a worthy hero, he totally didn't come close to being the man any of his brothers were. He spent most of the book, pouting and I just didn't like the hero that JQ wrote Gregory to be. I felt robbed on Gregory's behalf because if JQ wanted us to read Gregory to be a really great hero, she totally failed in that aspect because a strong hero would NOT leave his heroine to face her Uncle by herself the way he did, a strong hero doesn't hide in trees, friggin' STALKING his heroine, a strong hero would have too much pride to do something like that. He reminded me of Izzy's friend, the one who did too much to get his girlfriend back, it was just not cute.

And I so wanted to like Gregory.

I think this is my least favorite Bridgerton book and I was expecting to like this book way more than To Sir Phillip with Love, but I didn't...what a bad way to end the series, it had none of the BAM that one would think a series would end with, *sigh* Poor poor Gregory.

Lucy was just a good heroine, she was weird and yeah JQ could have made her a great heroine, one we'd overlook, you know? But, I just didn't really care for Lucy, nor did I really care for any of the characters in the story, Harmoine and Richard? Meh, Uncle Robert? *shrugs shoulder* Meh again, Lord Haselby? hehe, whatever...this book was just blah to me, yep I didn't care for it at all.



The Duke and I
The Viscount Who Loved Me
An Offer From A Gentleman
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
To Sir Phillip, With Love
When He Was Wicked
It's In His Kiss
On The Way to the Wedding

Mike, Mike & Me by Wendy Markham

Once upon a time in the 1980s, a girl named Beau was torn between two Mikes: did she prefer her high-school sweetheart or the sexy stranger she'd picked up in an airport bar? One she eventually married, the other she left behind (and forgot all about, or tried to, anyway).

But which Mike did she choose? This delightful tale by the bestselling author or Slightly Single and Slightly Settled alternates between the story of Beau's summer of Mikes and the outcome fifteen years later. . .without giving away which Mike ended up where--in Beau's marriage bed or in her memory.

In the "Now" chapters, the former swinging single lives in the 'burbs with a childbirth-traumatized body, an increasingly distant husband and a sad sack maid who isn't much for cleaning. When out of the blue the Mike-not-taken sends her flirty e-mail, she suddenly finds herself back to square one, trying to decide which man is the Mike of her dreams.

Unlike her heroine, happily married suburban mom Wendy Markham has never been torn between two men, and she never knew all the words to any Paula Abdul song; however, she unfortunately did frequently hairspray her bangs into a tusk and wear neon-striped bike shorts back in the summer of 1989. Under her real name, she is the New York Times bestselling author or more than fifty books.

This book had the potential of being a really good book, because who can't relate to the whole, "What might have been" with an ex or whatever, right? I thought I was going to really enjoy this book, but by the end of the book I couldn't bring myself to care which Mike she chose, I spent the entire book after the fine start that it gave me, hoping against hope that the book would get better and it never really did because it ended.

This would have to be strike one for Wendy Markham, I might one day, give her another shot, but not for a while...this book just left me feeling, blah...