FINDING YOU by Jo Watson

Publisher:   Forever

Published:  May 2, 2017

ISBN:        978-1455595549

Genre:       Contemporary Romances, Chik Lit, Women’s Fiction

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

FIVE HEARTS

 

Jane Smith has always been a good girl.  Quiet, shy, withdrawn and a tad morose.  So intent to please her family she became a dentist and into practice with her father. But he’s not really her father. Oh, it’s nothing nefarious…Jane was adopted and despite her best efforts and those of her adoptive mother, she’s never fit in. At least she didn’t think so. She just went along to get along and kept to a logical, practical and safe routine. And then one day, just before her twenty-fifth birthday she had a meltdown. Not your every day sit down and cry. No, this was something more, much more.

 

Instead she books a trip to Santorini, Greece.  By herself. Determined to find her father, her birth father. All she knows about him is he is Greek and his name is Dimitri. She flips through one of the airline travel magazines on the way from South Africa to Greece and finds herself not just studying a totally hot model in an ad…she ends up having a very, very steamy dream about him. And true to the way things happen in Jane’s life, when she lands in Santorini, who should be at the airport to pick her up but the very male model she’s already had some very, very erotic fantasies about. A not only is he there to drive her to her hotel, he’s determined to show her Santorini—to show her the island home he loves.  And in an even more wicked twist of fate, his name is Dimitri.  And not only his name Dimitri…it seems that Dimitris are all over Santorini.  Determined not to repeat what she sees as her birth mother’s mistake, Jane fights her growing attraction for the tour guide/model who is determined to be there for her.

Step by step, bit by bit, Dimitri finds his way into Jane’s heart. So much so they open their hearts and admit their love for each other. But Dimitri makes one misstep, one that sends Jane fleeing back to South Africa. Can she find a way to forgive what he’s done?

It’s not unusual for me to mention a current read to my friends and on occasion say, yeah, you’d like this one.  Rarely though do I tell pretty much everyone I know “You’ve got to read this one.”  Jo Watson’s FINDING YOU is one of those books I’ve just had to tell everyone about and recommend. FINDING YOU pretty much has something for everyone.  There are parts that I not only laughed out loud, but laughed hard enough that I got tears in my eyes. Watson has a wonderful sit that comes through in her characters. 

There are parts where you ache for Jane and when the truth of Dimitri’s actions come out, you want to shake her and tell her to give him another chance because you feel his pain. Her story is moving from start to finish.

Watson takes you into the streets of Santorini and paints such a vivid picture of the island you feel you are there…and want to journey there to see for yourself. And Jane’s friends add some wonderful insights and comedic elements to the story.

I read the first book in this series, BURNING MOON, and wasn’t impressed.  I felt that the characters did nothing but complain and ruminate about how unfair life was. I didn’t see any of the humor I saw in FINDING YOU, nor the wonderful connections between the characters. I took a pass on reading book 2, ALMOST A BRIDE and reluctantly started FINDING YOU.  I am so glad I picked FINDING YOU up. It is one of those books that you start and you just can’t put it down until the end. And, when I was done I went back and read certain parts over because they were just so good. I’ll be going back and reading ALMOST A BRIDE but I have to admit it’s Stormy’s story I really can’t wait to read next.  Hopefully that one will be on its way soon. 

FINDING YOU is definitely one to put on the top of your must read list.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

 

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB by Susan McBride

Publisher:     Harper Collins

Published:    January 21, 2014

ISBN:        B00E3D111M

Genre:       Chiklit Mystery

Format:     Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher via Edelweiss

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE HEARTS

Debutant drop out Andy Kendricks is trying to make it on her own and so far she’s doing just fine.  She does a lot of pro bono web design—but that’s okay because she’s got her trust fund and a lot of those websites are for non-profit type businesses.  Her mom hasn’t quite adjusted to the fact that Andy doesn’t aspire to the same societal heights as she does, but it’s okay because Cissy really does love her daughter.  And Cissy is also fond of Andy’s beau, Brian Malone.  Looking to do the right thing to celebrate their friends’ upcoming nuptials, Andy goes to a male strip club with the bride-to-be and Brian goes to a gentleman’s club.  While Andy makes her way home that night, Brian suddenly disappears.  Not only does he disappear, but a dead stripper is found in the trunk of his car.  Andy is soon on the trail of her missing guy.  Can she find him before the bad guys do him in…and before her “posse” makes a total wrong turn?

Susan McBride’s Debutant Dropout series has been one of the entertaining cozy mysteries out there. McBride has a quick wit that comes through her characters while she reveals a solid mystery.  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB had some of that witty dialogue and a bit of a mystery, but the story telling overall just fell short.  Up until now Andy has come across like someone you’d like to know and you just have to chuckle at Cissy’s antics.  In this one I didn’t much care either way of Andy found Malone again or not.  It happens—writers hit a wall and this appears to be McBride’s. 

There was some nice character development in terms of Cissy and her new beau and Andy has some nice scenes.  It’s not the best but it does move the main characters to the next level in a solid way.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

BETWEEN A BOOK AND A HARD PLACE by Denise Swanson

 

Publisher:     New American Library

Published:     March 1, 2016

ISBN:        978-0451477767

Genre:      Cozy Mystery, Chik Lit, Contemporary Romance

Format:     Print  

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

 

Deveraux Sinclair is still in the midst of decision whether Jake or Noah will be the man in her life.  Neither man is making that decision each by being around to court her.  Jake is busy with his ex-wife, Meg, and her emotional trauma and Noah’s mother suddenly falls ill with a strange malady that seems to only crop up when he’s about to see Dev.  Complicating things is there have been UFO sightings in the area. And then there is the matter of a city council meeting where Noah is pretty insistent Dev attend.  Dev gets a surprise at the meeting…one of the last things she could ever expect.

But it’s not like Dev hasn’t had shocks or rude surprises in her life.  On the heels of her father being arrested for a crime he didn’t commit her mother took off to parts unknown and left Dev with her grandmother.  And in a strange twist, not only is her other back in time, but her most recent husband is found dead next to Dev’s father.  Is the killer humane or has ET landed?

In BETWEEN A BOOK AND A HARD PLACE Denise Swanson moves a little bit further into the cozy realm although the love triangle persists and it starts to look like there might be a third guy trying to win her heart. In this latest entry she skirts into the world of Sci Fi and does a nice job of blending it into the mystery.  Swanson does, though, include a few elements that just wouldn’t happen in real life and I just couldn’t suspend disbelief.  There is no way a former law office professional would help someone cover up a crime…even if she was the love of his life. It helps the author get to where she wants to go with the story, but I just couldn’t buy it.

I didn’t see who done it and it was a good twist at the end.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

DEAD BETWEEN THE LINES by Denise Swanson

Publisher:     New American Library

Published:     March 4, 2014

ISBN:        978-0451418883

Genre:      Cozy Mystery, Chik Lit, Contemporary Romance

Format:     Print  

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE HEARTS

 

Deveraux Sinclair has a decision to make.  She’s made tough ones before—when she gave up her lucrative position at Stramp Investments to come home and take care of her grandmother among them.  Now she’s faced with choosing between two men—her lifelong friend Noah Underwood and new to town U.S. Marshal Jake Del Vecchio.  She’s doing her best to keep a balance between the two while she ponders her decision and tries to keep up with her “regular” life which includes running Deveraux’s Dime Store.  To help keep the store afloat Dev has created some rather charming meeting spaces for several of the town’s clubs including the knitting, sewing and book clubs.  But after the book club’s initial meeting things quickly go south when the guest speaker is found dead.  Not only is he found dead—his body is discovered behind Dev’s dime store.  Determined to stay out of the investigation Dev tries to focus on her romantic dilemma.  But circumstances have something else in mind for our intrepid heroine…and she discovers she really does need to be involved in solving this crime.

I’ve said before I’m a fan of Denise Swanson’s Scumble River cozy mystery series.  I had high hopes for her Deveraux Dime Store series—as a cozy mystery series.  The Deveraux series is billed as a cozy but so far the first three books are more chik lit than mystery and the latest, DEAD BETWEEN THE LINES is more a cross between women’s fiction, chik lit and contemporary romance than a mystery.  The murder is more of a backdrop so Jake and Noah can continue their suits to win Dev and she spends more time ruminating about what to do with them than solving the mystery.  It’s not badly written but it is very disappointing when you expect a mystery and get a kitschy romance. 

As I’ve said before, Swanson tells a good story.  This one just fell short for me.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

BIG GIRL PANTIES by Stephanie Evanovich

William Morrow Paperbacks, January 2014
Paperback
Obtained via:  publisher
ISBN 0062224859 (ISBN13: 9780062224859)
Chick Lit
***




Stephanie Evanovich’s BIG GIRL PANTIES is part inspiration, part comedy and part romance.

Holly Brennan is young widow who has found comfort in food for far too long when she meets personal trainer to the pro-athletes Logan Montgomery on an uncomfortably cramped airline flight.  Feeling guilty for stereotyping his seatmate, Logan offers his services to Holly at a deep discount.

Stephanie Evanovich’s BIG GIRL PANTIES is the story of one woman’s fight from the depths of depression into the world of the living and the man who helps her get there.  The story is partly inspirational in that every woman carrying extra weight will empathize with Holly’s struggle to get in shape.  It is also partly comedic in that Holly uses humor to cover her emotional discomfort.  And lastly, this story is a romance.  This reader had mixed emotions going into this story as weight has always been an ongoing battle for me as well.  Holly is determined to pull herself out of her self-imposed exile from the world of the living and attacks her “rebirth” with a gusto this reader has to applaud.  Logan is a very educated and trained trainer who knows just how to motivate Holly, even though he has a real problem “fat women”.  As their training sessions start to see progress, their friendship builds and eventually, reluctantly on Logan’s part, turns to romance.  This is the point where the story sort of lost me.  Logan may be good at what he does, but he is also, at least for most of the book, shallow and judgmental.  It isn’t until he decides to get over the fact that he is romantically interested in a “fatty” even though this woman has lost half her body weight; that the story becomes a romance that really had to be forced into the story and frankly, it wasn’t a good fit.  The love scenes were unnecessary and stale.

The secondary characters with the spanking fetish were interesting and added to the comedy of the book; but was the author’s peek into their bedroom antics really relevant to the storyline?  I think not.

In the end, Stephanie Evanovich’s BIG GIRL PANTIES left a sour note in this reader’s mouth.  That Holly and Logan end up together in the end was not the high point it was supposed to be.  And the attempt to pull in readers with a touch of BDSM was really nothing short of annoying.  There have got to be better books out there than BIG GIRL PANTIES.  There just have to be.


Reviewed by T. Barringer
tammyLRM@gmail.com

"This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book."