Fantasy Girl by Carole Mortimer

Synopisis

"I always get what I want."

Adam Thornton's words struck fear into Natalie's heart. For the survival of her modeling agency depended on keeping him and his company happy. Her own sister--Thornton's Cosmetics' Dream Girl--had put her firm in jeopardy.

And Adam Thornton, her irate client, was not a man to be trifled with.

Ruthless in business, he was also dangerous to love, as Natalie discovered. For what he wanted most of all was Natalie--as his mistress!

Review

Rating: 2.5-3 stars

And I get duped by goodreads ratings - AGAIN!. I'll list things I learnt from this book:

1. BEWARE of this in the synopsis: "I always get what I want."

2. Two sisters may have the same upbringing and still have completely different morals (TRUE).

3. Apparently the culture in London is like Asia where elder sister takes care of the younger one, no matter what...It wouldn't have grated on me if I hadn't watched a Tabatha takes over episode where  sisters operated Mia Bella salon. Talk about dysfunctional.

4. Women dig passive aggressive men (apparently true in lala land).

5. A man can "brutally kiss" a woman for having a genuine friendship with another guy but never tell her clearly that he's not sleeping with his 'mistress' anymore while getting it on with her.

6. Outbursts like "You sold yourself to me", "I don't trust love", " I never want to see your beautiful face AGAIN" and "I don't trust you" from a man may be totally forgotten when he says he does love you (without trusting that feeling) and wants to marry you.

7. After reading Walk by my side by Sandra Field (Review Pending), I have a need to read about unconventional heroines. who're not all gorgeous and dependent on the hero to give them an identity.

(Sigh).

If you want to add this book on goodreads: Click: HERE . You can rate my review there as well!]

The Dark Side of Desire (Paperback) by Michelle Reid

Synopsis:
She could run . . . but she couldn't hide.

No longer the shattered teenager who had left Thornley vowing never to return, Rebecca Shaw had come to terms with the legacy of Jay Lorence's betrayal and had built a new life on HER terms. But her mother needed her now--and nothing could keep Rebecca from going home.

Ten years melted in Jay's embrace; his kiss reopened old wounds and ignited forgotten temptations. Every instinct warned her to run before her hard-worked-for peace and stability came crashing down.

Rebecca had a new life--one she had no intention of letting Jay invade. But keeping a man like Jay at arm's length was next to impossible--especially when it wasn't what she really wanted to do.


Review: 
Rating: 5 stars
I usually hate abandoned-baby-shocked-father stories but this one works on so many different levels - First of all, its an honest book - The real issue b/w the H/H is the social classification of the society and then the story is very mature ( but not boring) - You can pretty much tell how the hero is feeling right from the start (and no he's not giving mixed signals and he doesn't rip the heroine apart like nobody's business) - not that he's not angry at her but its an anger that I can understand (as does the heroine, I might add) - the dialog from their child is well placed and very apt

The last recommendation I can give it is this: I read this book 10 years ago and reading it now, I still feel the gut-wrenching ache that I did initially....


Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.
Goodreads link if you want to add it to your shelf: Dark Side of Desire

The Brazilian's Blackmail Bargain by Abby Green

Synopsis:
Six months ago Brazilian tycoon Caleb Cameron thought he'd uncovered Maggie Holland's plot to ruin him--using seduction But Maggie was being manipulated by her stepfather. She'd fallen in love with Caleb--but he vowed never to see her again. After her stepfather dies, Maggie is left with nothing. Now, to complete his revenge, Caleb makes an offer Maggie can't refuse: but she must become his mistress for two months

Review: 
Rating 1 star
Totally hated it.
1) blackmail ain't my cuppa AT ALL cuz they're just not real - or not all that real...
2)No humor - whatsoever
3)Usually no compatibility between the H/h (although at least here the author tried -unsuccessfully...)
4)Plus, like I said in another review: I hate martyr heroines and here's the reason why:
I'm intrigued every time I read a book like this - Do people in the west want the women to be quiet, accommodating and self-sacrifising? Cuz they keep wanting to read about it....and if, God forbid, an Asian woman actually puts her family first, they literally question her to death about how she could let herself get used that way - totally confusing!

I know I'm gonna get shot down for saying this but why doesn't HQN move on?!?! There are so many wonderful ways people meet and end up together - please leave Blackmailed/compromised heroines where they belong-  in the past!!!!!!

The Shining of Love (Paperback) by Emma Darcy

Rating: 5 stars

Okay! Here it is: Proof that a book can be (mostly) real and fast paced and not boring. The subjects tackled in the book were done so with maturity and sensitivity. As with Emma Darcy books, you get a hint of moral dilemma and I was SO glad the heroine followed through with what was morally right. It was also lovely to imagine the Australian outback quite simply cuz it's 36 deg Celcius where I am sitting and the weather was perfectly reflected in the book which helped me connect with the story even more. Plus I loved the multi-national family concept (Um....Brad Pitt and Angelina??? :P) where everyone's different and yet, everyone meets up under the same roof.

Wonderful read which (somewhat) reminded me of Robyn Donald's A Willing Surrender -but this book dealt with more than just the relationship b/w the H/h.

Pulse of the Heartland - Melinda Cross

Rating 5 stars

So. Before I go on with why I looooooooooove this book, I have to tell you this: My folks have been married for a long time now and one of the first indications that I had for the fact that they love each other (I haven't seen my folks ever kissing etc cuz PDAs are not part of my culture) was when they would verbally tease each other. Not to belittle each other, mind you, but to bring a smile on the other one's face.

This book is about a woman who's perceived to be a dried prune. To be fair, she thinks all the marriages in the Mid-West are dominated by men while women generally submit to them and then claim to have long-lasting marriages. Her own parents are not spared from being included and she's cynical about the men 'protecting' their women. 

The way the hero draws her out, using humor, small-town-mentality, reasoning, love and patience just makes me want to go 'awwwwwww'!. He uses townspeople as proxy to make the h realize that she can love someone and be equal to them too.

The cover doesn't do justice to the story: Here's what I think the heroine looks like:





[Okay, she's a lil TOO perfect but whatever...and I'm imaging the H to be like Aaron Eckhart with laugh lines and good humor]

I read this when I was a teenager and in the folly of the days gone by, I traded it to an old book shop. I just recently found this book again and you can be sure I won't be parting with it ever!

The Next Door Boys Jolene B. Perry

The gist: Leigh's now cancer free but she just wants to be plain free now. She moves to uni, tries to find independence, stay away from guys and live her life. Will she be able to do so or will her body (and mind) betray her? And will she find love when she was never looking for it in the first place? 

The Haul 
This story was totally not what I expected. At first I was overwhelmed by the religious elements that made no sense to me (I'm not a christian much less a Mormon) but soon that gets overshadowed by the story. 

The story has a great readibility thing going for it which is good because in times like these when it's all too easy to switch to another book, this story wants to be read. I was surprised by how the author wrote trivial stuff in a way which didn't bore me. Also worrisome were all these couples getting ready to get married etc because from my own personal experience, I avoid such lovey-dovey couples but again it's thanks to good writing that I was able to bear them. 


The H/h: Although I liked Brian and Leigh, I think I liked the Hero-et the best. Brian's kid Nathan was ADORABLE! (I love kids, as you can tell) and the way he got on with Leigh felt very natural. The friendship felt real although I do believe the end felt a bit rushed, esp cuz they got together in the last couple of pages when it could have a) either happened earlier and b) taken a couple of pages for the reader to get used to it. 

The Peeves and Pros: I liked having the insight into this faith. I also liked a normal (and yet not) teenager issues being discussed. Leigh's illness was well depicted but there were a couple of things that I didn't understand: Why did Joe fight with his dad? And what was it's impact on the story? Why did guys fall in love with Leigh? Is it because she was that beautiful? Because she feels stand-ffish to me and in real life guys always over-look the nice girls (probably cuz nice girls are generally not too much to look at, I guess?)... 

Overall: A lovely YA read.