Review: The Bad Always Die Twice by Cheryl Crane

In the first of a wildly entertaining mystery series set amid the bright lights, big egos, and Botoxed brows of Hollywood, Cheryl Crane—daughter of legendary movie star Lana Turner—introduces a smart, hilarious, and utterly loveable heroine in realtor-turned-amateur sleuth, Nikki Harper.


For Nikki Harper, realtor to the stars and daughter of 1950s screen goddess Victoria Bordeaux, Hollywood is home. A completely dysfunctional home populated by a cast of crazies, true, but home nonetheless. While Nikki's no stranger to scandal, she's shocked to receive a hysterical phone call from her business partner, Jessica Martin, saying that TV has-been Rex March has been found dead in Jessica's bed.

More shocking than Rex's death is the fact that, as far as anyone knew, Rex was already dead. Six months ago, the star of the seventies sitcom Shipwrecked Vacation was supposedly killed when his plane crashed in the Mojave Desert. Nikki and Jessica recently sold his mansion on behalf of his widow, Edith. It's obvious to Nikki that Jessica is being framed, but by whom? And why? And how on earth can Rex be dead a second time?

In search of answers, Nikki turns to the one person she can always count on. From her pink boudoir in her Beverly Hills mansion, the ever-glamorous Victoria suggests Nikki focus her sleuthing on Rex's not-so-grieving widow. And there's a veritable casting couch full of other candidates, including Edith's boy-toy lover, Rex's scheming lawyer (like there's any other kind), and the diner waitress with whom Rex was having one of his numerous affairs. But with the killer readying for a repeat performance, Nikki will have to act fast—before her own screen fades to black. . .

As a person formerly addicted to Hollywood gossip blogs, I really liked the nudge-nudge-wink-wink effect of The Bad Always Die Twice.  The scene was set; the players were all in place; the posh addresses referenced therein.  Once the narrative began, I was surprised by how much I wanted Nikki to find the real murderer.  Add in her mother, Victoria Bordeaux, a name and face whom everyone in Hollywood knows, and Nikki is able to use her minor celebrity status to play amateur sleuth.  The twists and turns lead to more uncertainity about who had actually killed Rex March, and once the murderer was revealed, I was surprised I hadn't guessed it. 

The Bad Always Die Twice was a great mystery featuring a charmingly fun novice gumshoe in Nikki Harper.  I can only hope the subsequent books in this series are as good as this one. 


(A very special thank you to Kensington Books who provided me with an ARC of The Bad Always Die Twice.)

Review: Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell

Take a dashing hero with a heart of gold and a mullet of awesome. Add a heroine with a bustle and the will to kick major butt. Then include enough contrivances to keep them fighting while getting them alone and possibly without key pieces of clothing, and what do you have? A romance novel. What else? Enough lessons about life, love, and everything in between to help you with your own happily-ever-after.
 
Lessons like:
Romance means believing you are worthy of a happy ending
Learning to tell the prince from the frog
Real-life romance is still alive and kicking
No matter how bad it is, at least you haven't been kidnapped by a Scottish duke (probably)

Straight from the heart of influential romance blogger Sarah Wendell, this inventive gift book provides the best wisdom about love that the romance genre has to offer. Laced with signature witty commentary and peppered with thoughts from bestselling romance authors (Nora Roberts, Jennifer Crusie, Debbie Macomber, Eloisa James, Robyn Carr, and lots more) and avid readers, these pages will reveal what every romance reader already knows: while romances are certainly steamy, they have more to offer than just a sexy hero. In fact, they might have more to say about love than we give them credit for. Sarah Wendell is cofounder of one of the top romance blogs, SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.com.

This book is about celebrating romance novels for every important thing they teach us about ourselves, the people we love, and the relationships we value--and the sex we have.  

Amen!  And I loved every minute of it. 

I'm not a regular Smart Bitches reader, but when I do go for a visit, I'm always glad I did.  Everything I Know About Love... is exactly like that -- I'm glad I read it, and feel a little happier for it.  A book about promoting the positives of romance and romance reading, Everything I Know About Love... is a humorous yet poignant guide to romance, both the highs and lows.  Ms. Wendell's thought-provoking romantic ideals mixed with reader and/or author opinions was a great way to spend an afternoon.  It's a whole lot of fun that ended way too quickly.   Can I get a sequel? (Hell, yeah!)  


(A very special thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca who provided me with an ARC of Everything I Know About Love...)

Eagerly Anticipating

               

Review: Midnight by Ellen Connor

Their desire destroys her defenses.

Their love gives him a reason to live.

Three years of wandering the post-apocalyptic wasteland has stripped Dr. Chris Welsh of humanity and hope. He’s a dangerous man now, full of dark energy and yen for violence. A harrowing loss drove him from his home, and he hasn’t stopped moving since. Grim and sardonic, he never found anything worth sticking around for–until now.

Rosa Cortez runs Valle de Bravo, a haven of civilization amid the chaos of the Change. Soldiers take their orders directly from her–the iron hand within a velvet glove. The last thing she needs is a feral loner upsetting the town’s tentative balance. However, for the good of her people, she lets the sexy doctor stay. He evokes a delicious new longing, but she won’t submit to any man.

Tension rises as bloodthirsty raiders strike again and again, bent on possessing Valle and its resources. Together Chris and Rosa battle hellhounds and dust pirates while also fighting desperate attraction. To save them, love must overcome the pain of the past–and build a future in this brutal Dark Age… 

Dang, Midnight is a great addition to this series. 

What I found so striking is the change in Chris from when we met him in Nightfall until now.  He's wandered for three years, alone perhaps by his own choosing but partially because he cannot escape the memory of Angela and her death.  When he arrives at Valle de Bravo, he's certainly not looking for anything further than helping his own survival.

Rosa Cortez is also running from memories, though she channels her past into a future as "la jefe" of Valle de Bravo.  She runs a well-oiled machine, training her bravos and seizing the O'Malley organization trucks which venture into her territory.  She's spent the last couple of years avoiding male companionship as she believes it will put her position in jeopardy.

This book has everything: action, adventure, romance, sex, violence, death, life, rebirth.  It's a mile-a minute journey with ultra-satisfying twists and turns.  I cannot wait to read Daybreak (December 2011).  

Review: Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Her only hope for survival...

Handsome, wealthy and respected, Sir Mark Turner is the most sought-after bachelor in all of London—and he's known far and wide for his irreproachable character. But behind his virtuous reputation lies a passionate nature he keeps carefully in check...until he meets the beautiful Jessica Farleigh, the woman he's waited for all his life.

Is to ruin the man she loves…

But Jessica is a courtesan, not the genteel lady Sir Mark believes. Desperate to be free of a life she despises, she seizes her chance when Mark's enemies make her an offer she can't refuse: seduce Mark and tarnish his good name, and a princely sum will be hers. Yet as she comes to know the man she's sworn to destroy, Jessica will be forced to choose between the future she needs…and the love she knows is impossible. 

Unveiled, the first book featuring the Turner brothers, is on my Best of 2011 list, and I was prepared to love Unclaimed just as much.

Unclaimed in the story of Sir Mark Turner, a man who has written a book on male chastity, A Gentleman’s Practical Guide to Chasity.  Sir Mark is respected for his opinions on this subject, and the notoriety of such a best seller follows him everywhere.  A man from humble origins, his stock has gone up in the world considerably.  But Mark doesn't really want any of that.

Jessica Farleigh is a courtesan desperate to change her life.  She's disenchanted and wants to escape to the country where she can depend only on herself.  She accepts a wager from her former protector, George Weston, to seduce Sir Mark Turner.  Once she provides proof to Weston, she'll receive funds and be on her merry way.  So Jessica integrates herself into Mark's hometown, where she knows he's visiting.  The only problem with the seduction is that she flinches whenever Mark moves to touch her.

Mark and Jessica become friends, and Mark is successful in transforming the townsfolks' opinions and treatment of Jessica as a "fallen woman."  There is considerable sexual tension brewing between the two of them, which surprised Jessica because she had always believed Mark an innocent.  (He's chaste but not innocent.)

“I want. I lust. I desire.” He scrubbed his hand through sandy blond hair at that, shaking his head. “No. You’re right. You don’t deserve euphemisms. I want you. I lust after you. I desire you. ”

She might have been the only woman in the world, pinned by his gaze.

“But what I don’t do is act.”

Unclaimed was a good addition to this series, though I didn't fall in love with it like Unveiled, and I'm excited to see what Smite's book, Unraveled, will bring to this series. 

    
(A very special thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Unclaimed.)

Review: Elizabeth, the Enchantress by Lavinia Kent

Regency England just got real(ity)

Episode 4: How to Succeed in Marriage without Really Trying

Elizabeth, the Countess of Westhampton, has found her husband. Unfortunately, she would have preferred that he stayed lost!

How is she supposed to react when the man who married her, and then abandoned her without a wedding night, suddenly reappears? Obviously, she’ll have to plan her revenge very carefully…

A series of prints depicting Elizabeth and her longtime gone husband now recently returned husband, William, in opposing styles.  There is a print Elizabeth favors -- William on his knees before her, seeming to beg for her attention and/or forgiveness -- and a second print which purports her as the beggar.  We learn a little bit about what happened between Elizabeth and William and why he left London so quickly after their marriage. 

This reformation of the "bad girl" fell a little flat in my opinion.  Elizabeth wasn't a bad girl at all, simply misunderstood, which could have been cleared up through communication with her husband and her friends.  I'd expected a real event to explain her tension with Lynette throughout the course of the series.  Sometimes friends just don't get along, and sometimes the "drama" is manufactured (as is obvious by the "Real Housewives" reality shows on tv). 

Still, this was a fun world to escape into, and I hope to visit it again with Ms. Kent. 


(A very special thank you to Avon Impulse, HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Elizabeth, the Enchantress.)

Review: Never Enough by Lauren Dane

From the national bestselling author of Inside Out--a sizzling story of insatiable passion. 

Gillian Forrester spent her life running...until Miles came along. The moment she held her older sister's unwanted newborn, Gillian stopped running and began building a life for her adopted son. Now, thirteen years later, Gillian's sister reveals the father's identity on her deathbed-a revelation that shakes Gillian to her core.

Adrian Brown is the epitome of the successful rock star. It takes a lot to shock him-but the bombshell that he has a son rocks his world. And Adrian is even more surprised when the buttoned-up elegant woman who's raising him ignites his erotic and romantic attention-and engages his heart. 

For a woman with as many trust and privacy issues as Gillian has, she's not shy about her want of Adrian Brown.  I was a little surprised by that.  Typical of this series, we're propelled by Adrian's and Gillian's desire for one another.  Add the Browns' varying degrees of family on top of that, and you've got a pretty good way to spend a couple of days.  I still love the blended families here, though I do wonder if every new addition would be so welcomed in a real-life situation.    

The best part of this book, for me, hands down, was Brody Brown.  It's no secret Coming Undone, the book featuring Brody's romance with Elise, is my favorite of this series.   In Never Enough, Brody proved exactly why he was the best father Erin, Adrian, and his own two children can ever have.  He's the calm voice of reason -- yet sometimes not so calm, like when he pitches a glass of water into Adrian's face -- but his advice is always sound and well thought out. 

I was also disappointed that Never Enough just seemed to end.  I know we'll see Adrian and Gillian again in the spin-off series next year, but I wanted a little more closure here, or certainly a witty Gillian-ism before The End.   I would recommend reading this series from the beginning as I don't think any book completely stands alone, given the sheer number of characters and plot threads involved in each narrative.