Review: Second Nature

Second Nature (Celebrity Magazine #1) by Nora Roberts


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Yet another Nore Roberts book. Words and the story flow effortlessly and it is a quick read. This book is part one of the Celebrity Magazine series. The story is about a reporter who tracks down an elusive writer for her story and they fall in love.

A well-written book, but nothing path-breaking or great. I read it as part of the anthology, Summer Pleasures, and it was as the name suggested a light summer read.

Review: The Untamed Bride

The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens


My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The book is the first in the Black Cobra Series. It has characters from the Cynster and Bastion series coming in. While it was good to read about the stories of the side-characters from other series and follow-up on characters of the older series, the book itself was very O.K.

The story of the Untamed Bride is the same, a group of officers with the East India Company, posted in India are summoned by the Governor to stop the menance of the Black Cobra, a cult which has terrorized the country and the Englishment residing there. The guys figure out in the first few pages itself who is the lynchpin, which obviously is a well-known member of the British Aristrocacy (coz to eliminate an Indian dacoit during the Raj would not merit a series after all). The series revolves around how these four officers plan to bring this guy to justice and find true love on the way (of course! what did you think this was about?).

As I read more books by Stephanie Laurens, I find them increasingly formulaic, even the writing is stale and repetitive. The themes are the same and the books are seeming increasingly verbous. I can safely skip over a few pages every now and then and be assured that I dont miss anything important to the story line. Its almost like the afternoon soaps!
I doubt I will be reading the remaining series.


*Read if you have not got enough of the Bastion or Cynster books.

Review: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone & Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and I believe that the series, is one of the finest books written. J.K Rowling has written the series so well that you can see it and feel it as you read. It  is one of the highest compliments paid to what is essentially a Children's/ YA book, that people from all age-groups are able to enjoy reading it.

The release of the final installment in the Harry Potter Movies (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), led to HBO airing thhe entire series (1-6) again. This made me want to read the entire series again, as I had read it as the books were released and didn't particularly take my time with them (I remember reading it like a starved man faced with a feast.. I literally devoured each book as it came!).

Anyways, like I do with most series, I have started reading them in installments, rather than at a stretch, and read through the first two books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets again. I found that I still like the series as much as I thought, though this time, my mental movie reel showed Daniel Radcliffe and the rest of the movie cast as different characters, as opposed to letting my imagination fill in the gaps. I suppose this is what happens when you see the movie version of any book, your imagination becomes limited by that of the director's. Good in my case that  Chris Columbus has a great imagination and manages to be true to the book most of the times.

Harry's adventures are fascinating and the change in character's mindset is also great, you can see them evolve with every book in the series. As an adult reading the book, I am struck by the "Save the World" mindset and the main character's strong dislike for anyone with shades of black. This brings to mind the fact that probably, as children, we tend to have very set boundries between black and white which shift as we grow up and become more cynical.

All in all, it it a great series and reccommended to all. For me, it creates a nostaligia of my childhood reading days, when I got lost in my fantasy world of books. Have any of you read the series? What to you think of this? Also, speaking as adults, which is your favourite childhood book, The one you re-visit time and again, dreaming of simpler days. Mine's Tom Sawyer, what is yours?

Review: The Duke (Knight Miscellany #1)

Book Details:




Author: Gaelen Foley

Publisher: Ivy Books

Book Summary: Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan - the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.

Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of society - until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love...

Review: The first instalment of the Knight Miscellany series, and my first read by Gaelen Foley. I got exactly what I expected out of the book, a nice textbook historical romance. Though it was a little different from the others out there in terms of the maturity of the characters. I did not find Robert, the Duke of Hawkscliffe or Belinda very immature and impractical or even impossible to imagine. It was a believable story (well other than the revenge part, but we can excuse that in the name of romance!) with believable characters. Belinda, is a proper miss who is the unfortunate target of an overzealous admirer, whereas the Duke is a good guy (a paragon really) with a strong white knight complex. They meet when she decides to become a courtesan and he decides to take her help in avenging his lady love. So smoothly does she go from being a naive little virgin to the most sought after courtesan with all their glamour and shine, that you almost feel like there was a Cinderella type fairy godmother who swished her wand and made all the bad (good actually in this case) thoughts go away. So a woman who is afraid of sex, almost invites it at every turn, strange... Anyways, as the story progresses, they fall in love and then he has to decide between honour and social standing or LOVE! Needless to say, he chooses love and they live happily ever after!

All in all it was a likeable story, but at times I found myself wondering what was so great about it to put it on many Best Historical Romance lists. The heroine was a little confused, she wants sex, she doesn’t want sex, she likes being a courtesan, she doesn’t like it... also, it was strange to see that she did not miss being respectable at all... she keeps going on about how liberating and empowering it is to become a courtesan, and then just gives it up. I liked the way that the author kept bringing colour to the times they were in by emphasising how people would be called names and judged immediately on their behaviour. It was interesting to know that society is still the same.. 

I rate it 3/5, mainly because it was like a historical version of Pretty Woman, one of my all time fav movies! What more do you want??

Rating: 3/5

Review: It Had To Be You (Chicago Stars #1)

Book Details:


Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillps
Publisher: Avon

Book Details: The Windy City isn't quite ready for Phoebe Somerville -- the outrageous, curvaceous New York knockout who has just inherited the Chicago Stars football team. And Phoebe is definitely not prepared for the Stars' head coach Dan Celebow, a sexist jock taskmaster with a one-track mind. Celebow is everything Phoebe abhors. And the sexy new boss is everything Dan despises -- a meddling bimbo who doesn't know a pigskin from a pitcher's mound.

So why is he drawn to the shameless sexpot like a heat-seeking missile? And why does the coach's good ol' boy charm leave cosmopolitan Phoebe feeling awkward, tongue-tied....and ready to fight?

The sexy, heartwarming, and hilarious "prequel" to Susan Elizabeth Phillip's This Heart of Mine -- her sensational bestsellng blockbuster -- It Had To Be You is an enchanting story of two stubborn people who believe in playing for keeps.

My Review: This book came like a breath of fresh air at a time when I was getting bored with most of my TBR and nothing was looking very interesting. I have always liked SEP and her books are generally light fluffy romances. The first few pages were not that great and I got dissapointed thinking this was another one which I was going to put down half way, but then, the story started getting to me.

Dan is absolutely delicious and so is Pheobe. The story is nothing new, a misunderstood heroine who is actually a nerd under her bimbo appearance and a contemproray alpha male into sports. But the characters were amazing and well written, I even liked all the jocks. SEP went to the trouble of giving each and every character, no matter how small a distinct personality which helps you to relate to them. There was a usual scene where the Alpha male is in stress when his lady love's life is thereatened, but i loved the fact that SEP lets Pheobe rescue herself (go girl!).

I rate this book a 4/5 cause of its LOL moments and great characters. I would reccommend it to everyone for times when you want something light and sweet to read. I read it as a part of my  2011 E-Books Reading Challenge, 100+ Books a Year Challenge and 1^st in a Series Challenge 

Rating: 4/5

Review: Vision in White, (Bride Quartet #1)

Book Details:

Author: Nora Roberts

Publisher: Berkley Trade (2009)

Book Summary: Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother...an encounter that has them both seeing stars.

A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac's type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends-and business partners-to see her way to her own happy ending.

My Review:

Hmmm... well where should I start?? Well let’s start with the good points. The novel has the signature Nora Roberts fluid writing style. The story flows effortlessly and you can almost imagine going to the Brown Mansion to book your own wedding. The characters are well defined and each have their own quirks, I’m sure I will grow to love all of them as I read on further in the series. It also combines two things definitely designed to snag the interest of women worldwide, Weddings and Romance! The book is about four women running a wedding planning business, each having their own niche, Mac with the photography, Emma with the flowers, Laurel with the baking and Parker with the management of the events. They seem to effortlessly work together without any glitches and magically get the events together. How I wish I had someone like that during my wedding which was utter chaos... well, that is a story for some other time.. Anyways, the book has the standard Nora Roberts good and decent guys, good friends, and strong family connections.

Now for the other side, the book was very very predictable and formulaic. The characters created by Nora from the last few (many actually) series are so similar to each other, it is becoming like an Ekta Kapoor soap! You enjoy it, but there is nothing new to recommend it. There is the predictable part where one character is commitment phobic, in most series, it usually alternates between the guy and the girl, with the series ending with both the hero and heroine not wanting to be in love but not being able to help themselves. The fact that four women go into business, best friends who just happen to have diverse careers but totally matching interests (the Dream trilogy, the Key trilogy, the Garden trilogy to some extent and many others) is oft repeated by her. It is unnatural how the women never seem to fight... Ms. Roberts, even the best of friends, siblings and lovers have frequent fights. That is what keeps the relationships fresh! Also, there is the predictable sob story of one character having a dysfunctional family, in this case Mac who has an irritating dependent mother for whom she acts as a convenient doormat. The chemistry between the two main characters was sadly lacking and I am not a great fan of Beta heroes, especially geeks, who Ms. Roberts seems to favour a lot. There was also a lot of unnecessary detail about photography and wedding planning, almost as if the author is enthusiastic to show us her homework. I knew from the first book itself who is going to be linked to whom in the rest of the series and what problems they are going to have!

All in all, it was a quick easy read, the kind you want to read between two intense books. I rate it 3/5 and am currently reading the second instalment of the series. Will post my review on it soon. I read this as a part of my 100+ Books in a Year Challenge and 1^st in a Series Challenge, and E-Book Reading Challenge

Rating: 3/5

One Challange Down..

Challenges – 1st in a Series Challenge

Proud to say, i have finished this challenge!  Not got around to writing all the reviews, but here's the list of books..

1st In a Series Reading Challenge 2011: Level Series Lover: Read 6 books that are the first in any series 

1) The Lost Duke of Wyndham – Dukes of Wyndham #1 – Julia Quinn

2) The Return of Rafe MacKade – MacKade Brothers #1 – Nora Roberts

3) Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
4) Vision in White - Bride Quartet #1 - Nora Roberts

5) The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever - Bevelstoke #1 - Julia Quinn

6) The Shop on Blossom Street - Blossom Street #1 - Debbie Macomber

6 / 6 (100.00%)