book binge books romance novels RWA: Dirty Dancing RITA Susan Wiggs
by Blabby
1 comment
Book #17
(Book Binge book #7) Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs. Probably the longest book I’ve read in a little while at 535 pages…it’s kind of funny to go from reading a lot of Harlequins to a mainstream romance novel. You know whats going to happen, but it takes a lot longer to get there.
Not to say this book moved slowly, because it didn’t. And I loved the characters and especially the location - a dreamy Dirty Dancing-esque campground in the Catskills. One character, a film buff, even refers to it as so - which I thought was cool.
- I wanted to live there.
- I wanted to see (as in, invite him to my house) Connor Davis - he sounds lovely :)
- I really loved Olivia - the heroine. She was a complete person, with great (but realistic) strengths and also realistic shortcomings.
I’m looking forward to reading more of Susan Wiggs’ novels. She’s got a huge collection of books under her belt. I happened to stumble onto her blog through the Tag Surfer, and boy am I glad I did. Consequently, she’s also up for a RITA. In a different category than Kathleen O’Brien, so I can cheer for them both!
book binge books harlequin Heroes of Heyday romance novels RWA: Kathleen O'Brien RITA
by Blabby
1 comment
Book #15
(Book Binge book #5) The Sinner, book #2 in the Heroes of Heyday series by Kathleen O’Brien. I love a good series, and Ms. O’Brien never disappoints. Book #2 in the Heroes of Heyday series continues the story of a quirky town where zebras run amok owned by three estranged brothers. Brother two, the Sinner Bryce, returns to Heyday after being gone for 14 years to recover from a traumatic experience and get his bearings…and in true Harlequin style, finds love.
I was happy to see what was happening with the main characters from the first book, and glad to know the full story of the second brother. Looking forward to reading about the third brother in The Stranger.
book binge books harlequin romance novels RWA suspense: Kathleen O'Brien RITA
by Blabby
2 comments
Book #13
(April Book Binge #3) Happily Never After by Kathleen O’Brien. Definitely a departure from Kathleen’s other books. I still loved it and read it very quickly, but the storyline, dialogue, and characters were all very different to me. The one smart-aleky funny character is really what was missing. Not that this book needed one.
This book is about a marriage that never happened because the groom didn’t show up. The bride has been institutionalized and 10 years later, members of the wedding party start dying. The heroine, who would have been one of the bridesmaids (and happens to be in love with the groom) and the hero (the groom) are surprising characters to me. Normally, I would not like these people. But once the story is developed, and you learn all about all the different people involved, you start to cheer for them - in true romance fashion.
Happily Never After is pretty fast-paced. I wanted to know more about some of the people. I would have loved to see the families developed more (like, I want to see more of Adler and Imogene, why is Adler bad, why did Imogene marry him…) I think this book could have been published as a mainstream fiction book - like one of those big generational sagas by Danielle Steele.
Basically, I think Kathleen O’Brien belongs on the bestsellers lists, and I want to see her get there!
books firefly glen harlequin RWA suspense: days of our lives Kathleen O'Brien RITA
by Blabby
1 comment
Book #10
Update: Check out the comments…I’m the “most awesome fan”!!! Woo hoo! Thanks Kathleen!
Quiet as the Grave by Kathleen O’Brien. Seriously, I thought that the last book was my favorite Firefly Glen book, but this one was the best. Intrigue, creepy people, murder, love, parenting issues…what more could you ask for? I’m glad I waited and read it last.
Now here’s my request for Kathleen. She introduced some of the kids created by all the love matches in the earlier books. I’d like to see some more Firefly Glen books featuring the kids when they grow up. It can be like how on Days of Our Lives, all the kids were babies, then all of a sudden, they were in high school with their own story lines. Now they have kids…you see where I’m going with this.
Come on Kathleen! Hurry and write some more :) No wonder this is a 2007 RITA finalist. I can’t wait until July to see if you won!
