Review Round Up

One Way or Another by Rhonda Bowen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was just okay. Toni Shields is a no-nonsense, career-driven woman who has no time for a man in her life. However, she can't fight the attraction she feels to Adam Bayne, a friend of her brother's who runs a group home for wayward boys.

I really liked all the characters, but would have liked to read more about the romance between and Adam and Toni, and less about the boys' home and Adam's past troubles. This was definitely more of a contemporary Christian fiction book, than a contemporary Christian romance.

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Source: Library

He Was My Man First by Nancey Flowers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wrote out a review for this but GoodReads ate it and I don't feel like typing it again, so I'll just say this was definitely an enjoyable, action-packed read.

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Source: Library

An Accidental Affair by Eric Jerome Dickey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

EJD's recent works all seem to follow the same pattern (at least the last two I have read.) Someone commits a crime, then spends the rest of the book on the run. All the characters are the same, just different names.

In this one, writer James Thicke, flies into a violent rage, attacking Johnny Handsome, who had sex with James' wife, famous actress Regina Baptiste, on camera. James then flees away to an apartment complex, where he gives a fake name and has sex with many of the women in the building.

As I said, all the characters in these books seem to act the same way. And, just like EJD did in Tempted by Trouble with continuing to repeat Eddie Coyle's full name all the time, he does the same thing in here, with repeating characters' full names over and over (in this case, Regina Baptiste), I don't know why this bugs me so much, but I wish he would stop.

This was not a bad read at all, but again, I like the diversity and uniqueness in EJD's earlier works, that seems to be missing from his newer novels.

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Source: Library

Series Sunday Review (3): Fools Rush In

Series Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews.

Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Ever wonder how Italian sounds with a Southern drawl?
Bella Rossi's life is just starting to get interesting. When her Italian-turned-Texan parents hand over the family wedding-planning business, Bella quickly books a Boot-Scootin' wedding that would make any Texan proud. There's only one catch--she doesn't know a thing about country music. Where will she find a deejay on such short notice who knows his Alan Jackson from his George Strait? And will Bella ever get to plan her own wedding?

Fun, fresh, and full of surprises, this flavorful combination of Italian and Tex-Mex highlights the hilarity that ensues when cultures clash.

This was a really cute story. Bella and her crazy Italian family kind of reminded me of Stephanie Plum and her crazy family, only without the bounty hunting, pot roast, and sexy Officer Morelli. Instead Bella has wedding planning, lasagna, and her sexy cowboy DJ.

Bella has just been placed in charge of the family's wedding planning business and she's a nervous wreck that she will screw up. She has to hire a deejay who loves country music for her first country western themed wedding and a mix up leads her right into the arms of DJ: Dwayne Neeley, Jr. As Bella and DJ grow closer, we're introduced to all the wacky hi-jinx that happen when their two families get together.

I really enjoyed the character of Bella, although she was a bit too much of a worrywart. I thought she and DJ were really cute together, however I thought their relationship moved a little too fast in the beginning and that they really didn't get to know each other a whole lot. I thought this would be solely a romance novel and focus mainly on their relationship, but it was more Christian-fiction and focused mostly on Bella's family, with her and DJ's relationship as a nice little side plot. I did enjoy the Christian element to the story and it did give me a lot to reflect on as well.

There are two more book in this series and I look forward to reading them.



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Source: freebie for the Nook from B&N, you can snag it here.
Challenges: 100 Books in a Year, Contemporary Romance Challenge, Summer Romance Reading Challenge, Show Me the Free E-Reader Challenge, 2011 E-Reader Challenge

Review-The Sunday Morning Wife

The Sunday Morning Wife by Pamela D. Rice

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The description of this book was so much better than what the actual book turned out to be.

The Sunday Morning Wife is about a woman named Yolanda who is married to Timothy who is a prominent pastor of a church. He has been physically, emotionally, and sexually abusing Yolanda for years. Unable to leave her marriage, Yolanda meets Andre whom she begins an affair with.

I found it very hard to sympathize with Yolanda. Yes I felt very sorry that her husband was beating her and calling her terrible names, but Yolanda did nothing to help her situation. I have never been in or witnessed an abusive relationship so I know it's easier said than done, but I don't understand why she didn't just leave him. She had plenty of money (that Timothy was spending all up) and she seemed semi-intelligent, so she could've just left him. They never really explain why she didn't, just her saying that she loved him. What is there to love about him, Yolanda????

This book still could've gotten 3 stars out of me, however this book suffers from the one thing that pisses this English major off the most: numerous grammatical errors. The publishers and editors of this book did a horrible job. Using apostrophes at the wrong time, no paragraph breaks in between dialogue changes, ugh I just can't stand it.



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Challenges Used For: 100 Books in a Year
Source: Library

Review-Not Easily Broken (spoilers)

Not Easily Broken: A Novel by T.D. Jakes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Not Easily Broken tells the story of a married couple, David and Clarice. They have been married for 15 years, but lately there has been some strain in their marriage. A terrible car accident leaves Clarice with a badly broken leg and their marriage is put to the test even more.

Not Easily Broken was made into a movie that came out a year or so ago and it stars 3 of my favorite actors, Taraji P. Henson (or as she will forever be known as to me--Yvette from Baby Boy), Morris Chestnut, and Jenifer Lewis. They all did a fantastic job in an otherwise "just okay" movie. It's very rare that a movie is better than the book, but that is definitely the case with this one.

None of the characters in the book are well developed or sympathetic at all. We are left to wonder why Clarice and David love each other and why they should even stay together. Clarice just seems like a harping shrew. David is a spineless punk. And then there's Julie, who plays Clarice's physical therapist, whom David starts to have feelings for. They tried to make her sympathetic what with the situation with her son Bryce, but it just came across to me like she was using that tragedy to get closer to David. And then at the end, all of a sudden David and Clarice are going to stay together, and Julie is dating Brock? SO did David and Julie's feelings for each other just disappear? There is no way I'd want the woman that my husband developed feelings for anywhere around us, much less dating my husband's best friend.

Clarice's mother in the book didn't have nearly as large a role as she did in the movie, played by the fabulous Jenifer Lewis. She did a great job bringing some life to an otherwise boring and bland character, who again was never fully developed. All the actors did.

All in all, not a terrible book, but could've been much better. Skip the book and just rent the movie instead.



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Review-Right Package, Wrong Baggage

Right Package, Wrong Baggage by Wanda B. Campbell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this book!

It tells the story of Pamela, a widow, and her 6-year-old son Matthew. Matthew has decided to give his mother a very special gift for Christmas: his basketball coach, Micah Stevenson. Micah and Pamela begin dating, and fall in love. Pam is ready for Micah to propose to her, and instead, one night he tells her something about his past that totally changes their relationship. Pamela has to decide if she can look past his former indiscretions, as well as some of the skeletons she's hidden in her own closet, and decide if she will let Micah into her family.

I was a little put off at the beginning of the story, which starts with Matthew giving Micah as a present. Micah and Pam had already met each other, and I'm so used to stories like this starting with the main characters seeing each other for the first time in the book. But Pam and Micah had already met, and Micah had been interested, but never acted on anything until Matthew decided to give him as a present.

I was totally shocked when I found out what Micah's secret was. I thought it would be something like dealing drugs or murder, or something like that. I give Micah major props for admitting it to Pam. Due to my own ignorance, after finding out his secret, I was ready to complete write him off myself and thought there was no way Pamela should be with him. But Micah actually ended up as my favorite character in the book. Very sympathetic character. I liked Pamela also, she reacted in the same way I would have. Her secret was a shock to me also, and I liked the growth she showed throughout the book. I was happy with the story's ending, and would even love to know more about what happens to Pam and Micah in the future.

I also enjoyed the minor characters in this book. I thought little Matthew was cute and not too annoying/grown like a lot of the little kids in books can be. The side story with the romance between Micah's friend AC and Pamela's friend Jessica, was cute, also and thankfully kept small and didn't take over the main story. Also, although this is Christian-fiction, it didn't get too overdrawn and preachy, but had a very good message.

I definitely recommend this book!!!



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Source: Library
Challenges: 100 Books in a Year