Holiday Reading Rundown

After a few rough starts this holiday season, I finally got my Christmas reading fill with these three books. Nine stories, three time periods, and lots of Christmas Cheer!

Contemporary Christmas

The Night Before Christmas by Brenda Novak, Day LeClaire, and Molly O'Keefe

Ah, what fun it is to be surprised by two new-to-me authors. Both LeClaire and O'Keefe's stories kept me reading way past my bedtime. Fun? Check. Spirited? Check. Good dose of Christmas? Double check. Centered on family and growing these two romping tales will keep you laughing throughout. Novak's introductory story was a bit disappointing as I didn't feel a real connection to the characters. The survival story plot line was a bit misleading as most of story took place after the characters had been rescued. Hey, 2 outta 3 ain't bad!

Regency Christmas

The Heart of Christmas by Mary Balough, Nicola Cornick, and Courtney Milan

I cruised on by this book at least five times over the past month and finally picked it up because so many others raved about Courtney Milan's This Wicked Gift. Was I disappointed? Oh no. No, no, no. I adored this story. Such a mix of heartbreaking honesty and humor I haven't encountered in a long, long time. I will say that the story wasn't very ... Christmas-y but I didn't mind. I closed the book with a bit of sadness because the story had ended and I can't wait to read more Milan!

Western Christmas

Favorite Old Read

The Magic of Christmas by Carolyn Davidson, Victoria Bylin, and Cheryl St. John

Cheryl St. John's A Baby Blue Christmas is my favorite offering out of this Western anthology. I did a full review last year that you can find here. I was delighted to find that I loved this story just as much the second time around and I can't wait to read it again next Christmas.

And lucky for you, this book was released again this year so you can find it in stores today!

Review ~ A Stroke of Magic by Tracy Madison

You know how freaky it is, to expect one taste and get another? Imagine picking up a can of tepid ginger ale and taking a swig of delicious, icy cold peppermint tea. Alice Raymond did just that. And though the tea is exactly what she wants, she bought herself a soda.

No, Alice’s life isn’t exactly paint-by-numbers. After breaking things off with her lying, stealing, bum of an ex, she discovered she’s pregnant. Motherhood was definitely on her “someday” wish list, but a baby means less time for her art and no time for recent hallucinations that include this switcharoo with the tea. She has to impress her new boss, the ridiculously long-lashed, smoky-eyed Ethan Gallagher, and she has to deal with her family, who have started rambling about gypsy curses. Only a soul-deep bond with the right man can save her and her child? As if being single wasn’t pressure enough!

Alice Raymond use to have it all: a great job at an art gallery (that allowed her to focus on her own art), a cool apartment in the city, and a terrific boyfriend. Yep, she had it all. Until she found out she was pregnant and that terrific boyfriend is actually married. But hey, things start looking up again. She landed a good, if slightly boring, job at an ad agency, her new boss is dreamy, and she’s discovered she is the descendent of a gypsy and has magical powers. Not bad right? Wrong.

Because Alice is really scared about being a single mother. She misses her job at the gallery where she felt it was much more than a job. And mostly, the ghost stuff just scares her a little. Plus, her boss, Ethan is more than a little unnerving. He’s sexy, he’s smart, and he likes her. It should be a good thing but after her disasterous relationship with Troy (the no-good-cheating-jerk-boyfriend-with-a-wife-Troy), Alice’s confidence is a tad bit shaky. Until …

Miranda appears and tells Alice that she must find her soul mate before her baby is born or terrible things will happen. That’s enough for Alice. With the help of her best friend, Chloe, sister Elizabeth, and wacky grandmother Verda, Alice sets out to find the man of her dreams. Luckily, Ethan is quite handy. And very willing. But can Alice be sure that he is the one? Can she put her future, that of her unborn daughter’s, and everyone she loves in the hands of Ethan?

Ms. Madison and characterization go together like chocolate and strawberries. Alice’s feelings, thoughts, and actions were never forced and I sympathized with her at every turn. When Alice, trying to hide her pregnancy from Ethan blurted out, “I miss sex.” I spit out my McDonalds sweet tea. And when she hits reply all to an email, my stomach dropped for her (because let’s face it, who doesn’t fear one day doing the same thing?). Ms. Madison’s characters are real people and for that, she gets big points.

The magic continues with Alice’s tale and thank goodness Ms. Madison has more books on the way because I am all tied up with Miranda’s girls. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Things I Liked

~ I am always a little wary of first person stories. So many ways the writing can go wrong. No such wrong turns here! Not only was Alice her own person, with a voice completely separate from Elizabeth’s, but Ms. Madison wrote a person who is truly laid back and comfortable in her own thoughts. It was a joy to read.

~ I loved that Miranda’s (the ghostly gypsy grandmother) personality developed in Alice’s story. In Elizabeth’s book, she was sort of one-dimensional – just a ghost but with Alice, we learn a little more about Miranda (like that she likes Three’s Company). I only hope she gets that much presence in future books.

Things I Didn’t Like

~ I know Ethan is Alice’s soul mate but the romance lacked a little sparkle for me. They came together easily and their differences were resolved just as easily (well, mostly). Maybe I am more for suffering lovers though! 

Additional Info

~ Published ~ June 20, 2009

~ Price ~$6.99

~ Author Website ~ www.tracymadison.com

Review ~ Heart & Soul by Maeve Binchy

With the insight, humor, and compassion we have come to expect from her, Maeve Binchy tells a story of family, friends, patients, and staff who are part of a heart clinic in a community caught between the old and new Ireland.

Dr. Clara Casey has been offered the thankless job of establishing an underfunded clinic and agrees to take it on for a year. She has plenty on her plate already – two difficult adult daughters and the unwanted attentions of her ex-husband – but she assembles a wonderfully diverse staff devoted to helping their demanding, often difficult patients.

Before long the clinic is established as an essential part of the community, and Clara must decide whether or not to leave a place where lives are saved, courage is rewarded, and humor and optimism triumph over greed and self-pity.

 

Clara and her daughters. Declan the doctor and his nurse Fiona. Vonnie, her son and the twins. Linda and Nick. Nora and Aidan. Ania and Carl. Hilary and Clara. Clara and Frank … pick a story, any story! In true Binchy fashion, Heart and Soul follows the stories of a dozen different people all drawn together by a little heart clinic in a rundown part of Dublin. The clinic is literally, the heart and soul of this book.

Binchy is a master of multi storylines. Each character is presented as essential to the fates of the others and each serves his/her purpose and their actions are believable and sympathetic. Love is the driving force here. Romantic love, familial love and love co-workers who become friends. It is a consummate tale of community and finding one’s place in the world.

If you’ve read other Binchy books you’ll run into some old friends – some you may have even forgotten about because they’ve played such small roles in other books. I really did enjoy catching up with these lovely friends.

I do have a bit of a grippe here. Although I do enjoy books such as these, I really do wish Binchy would return to writing about a single strong-willed heroine who’s life is told through the actions of others. I enjoyed her lengthy sagas of 1950-60 Ireland and cross my fingers that she’ll write at least one more of those.

Things I Liked

~ The reappearance of old characters! Like old friends, Binchy brought back some characters from Night of Moon and Stars, Scarlet Feather, Quentins, Evening Class and … well others. I liked catching up with these characters and enjoyed seeing some of their stories coming to an end.

~ My favorite story was that of Ania and Carl. Perhaps because Poland sounded a bit like old Ireland but more importantly because Ania’s story read like that of a fairy tale.

Things I Didn’t Like

~ The twins. I was often confused by their conversation and a little annoyed with the fact. I am glad they only had a little part but could have done without their trip to Greece.

~ Although I really do like Binchy’s style of multiple storylines, I am ready for her return to a more single-thread story where other characters take a backseat and provide background to the main issues.

~ I wish there was a bit more about Barbara. Everyone else seemed to find true love at the end and poor Barbara was sort of left in the cold. Perhaps we’ll see her in future books!

Rating: B

Additional Info

~ Published – January 2009

~ Price ~ $26.95

~Favorite Author Book ~ The Glass Lake, Circle of Friends

~ Author Website - www.maevebinchy.com 

This review can also be found at Reading Romance Books

Review ~ The Godmother by Carrie Adams

Nothing scares Tessa King more than the thought she will never have children. It doesn’t matter how good her life is, and it is, it never feels good enough. She has four godchildren and dozens of friends, yet love eludes her. She knows how good a mother she could be, if only she had the chance. And then one terrible day she does, and Tessa learns firsthand that life on the other side of that white picket fence is more complicated than she ever could have imagined.

Heartwarming, funny, and genuine, The Godmother speaks to anyone who has wondered about the next step and reminds us that happily-ever-after is just the beginning of the story.

I picked up this book after circling it in the bookstore for months. It features some of my favorite themes: not-so-spectacular singledom, London, huge life changes and enduring friendship.  It is the last, that enduring friendship, that made this book special.

Tessa King is a likeable enough character. She thinks she’s had enough of the single life and wants to settle down. All of her friends have entered that next stage of life: marriage, marriage with kids, and single parenthood. After a scary few months of being stalked by her boss, Tessa takes off for a much-needed vacation in India and returns with the feeling that her life is missing something. That “something” she concludes, must be children and a man to have them with. Or is it?

Tessa’s world revolves around her friends and her friends’ children to whom she is godmother. She spends most of the book floundering about trying to figure out who she wants to be and resolutely ignoring the real problems her friends face. They say she has the perfect life, but to Tessa, the perfect life consists of what her friends have. She only scratches at the surface of their lives (as they do to her). It takes a series of crises, involving her friends, for Tessa to really see her friends’ lives for what they are. And when she does, Tessa begins to question what she really wants. She has a few false starts – mostly an ill-fated almost-affair with her married best friend but thankfully pulls back from the edge just before she falls.    

At the end of the book I was left with the vague feeling that Tessa really hasn’t learned what she wants and there are lessons waiting to be taught. However, Ms. Adams’ next book, The Stepmother, features the continuing adventures of Tessa. Let’s hope she finds what she is looking for.

Things I Liked

~ I like Al and Claudia’s role in the book: the measure to which Tessa wants to be. I also liked that the obvious solution, the easy way out, wasn’t taken by these two.

~ I enjoyed the writing style. The book read easily and I found it hard to put down.  Ms. Adams is heavy on the foreshadowing which I enjoy.

Things I Didn’t Like

~ I wasn’t so keen on Ben, Tessa’s best friend with whom she has some romantic history. I felt he took advantage of her friendship and Tessa let him.

Rating: B (could be higher if I am satisfied with Tessa at the end of The Stepmother)

Additional Info

~ Published ~ 2007

~ Price ~ Trade $14.95

~ Next Out ~ The Stepmother (March 2009)

Movie Review ~ He's Just Not That Into You

 From the movie website …

Based on the wildly popular bestseller from “Sex and the City” scribes Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, He’s Just Not That Into You tells the stories of a group of interconnected, Baltimore-based twenty-and thirtysomethings as they navigate their various relationships from the shallow end of the dating pool through the deep, murky waters of married life, trying to read the signs of the opposite sex … and hoping to be the exceptions t the “no-exceptions” rule.

Gigi just wants a man who says he’ll call - and does - while Alex advises her to stop sitting by the phone. Beth wonders if she should call if off after years of committed singlehood with her boyfriend, Neil, but he doesn’t think there’s a single thing wrong with their unmarried life. Janine’s not sure if she can trust her husband, Ben, who can’t quite trust himself around Anna. Anna can’t decided between the sexy married guy, or her straightforward, no-sparks standby, Conor, who can’t get over the fact that he can’t have her. And Mary, who’s found an entire network of loving, supportive men, just needs to find one who’s straight.

If you’ve ever sat by the phone wondering why he said he would call, but didn’t, or if you can’t figure out why she doesn’t want to sleep with you anymore, or why your relationship just isn’t going to the next level … he (or she) is just not that into you.

I had my doubts about this movie. I hadn’t read the book, I don’t go in much for self-help, but the movie boosted such an outstanding cast, that I gave into peer-pressure and went. I wasn’t disappointed. At first I thought it was just because it was $1 popcorn night and that extra-large coke along with some really good friends that made the movie for me. But after some reflection, I’ve decided it was actually that aforementioned and the story of Gigi and Alex. Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long really stole the show right out from under bigger name actors like Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck.

Gigi has been dumped … a lot. And Alex thinks he’s happy with his single and loving-it status. Together they move through a slow dance of discovery and eventually happiness.  I found bits of the movie to be completely cliché but perhaps that is the charm of such a movie. It’s suppose to show us that everybody experiences in some way or form what these six couples go through: self-doubt, suspicion, heartbreak and heartache, temptation, bewilderment, euphoria and ultimately happiness, whether alone, with someone new or the person who has been there all along.    

Throughout the movie I cringed, I laughed, I groaned and I got warm-squishes. I didn’t cry once although I think if I had more sympathy for Janine (Jennifer Connelly) I might have. I enjoyed the Kris Kristopherson’s cameo as Beth’s (Jennifer Aniston) father. I found Anna’s (Scarlett Johansson) character to be a little over the top but glad to see that Ben (Bradley Cooper) and Anna got what they worked for in the end. It might not have been what they wanted, but their paths were set from the beginning.

In the end, I am glad I went and I’d definitely rent this one on DVD. Something interesting as well … in a movie all about breaking up and finding the right one it’s interesting that Justin Long dated Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston dated Kevin Connolly. Neither ex-couples had scenes with each other.

Make sure you don’t leave as soon as the credits start to roll, there are a few extra scenes that make the movie that much better.

Bottom Line: There are no signs, only what your heart tells you is true.

Things I Liked

~ I was impressed with the number of recognizable names in a film that doesn’t feature a lead character. Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin.

~ Ginnifer Goodwin as Gigi won my heart from the beginning. She is every woman who’s ever been dumped, can’t figure out why, but figures out a way to move on.

~ The movie followed a unique format of several intertwining stories. I loved this form of story-telling in Love Actually and got pretty excited when I realized this was the same format.

~ This is a personal preference but I attended the movie with a group of about ten women. In total there were maybe 30 people in the theater (4 of which were guys). You know it’s a good movie when all 30 women make the same noises of surprise, delight, disgust and overall heart-melting-ness at the same time.

Things I Didn’t Like

~ Mary’s (Drew Barrymore) story was the least explored path and I wished for a little more on her.

~ There is a downside with a several plot-line movie … I did not enjoy Ben (Bradley Cooper) and Anna (Scarlett Johansson).

Favorite Line

Gigi: I’m the exception

Alex: You’re my exceptio 

Rating ~ B

Additional Info

~ Website ~ http://www.hesjustnotthatintoyoumovie.com/

Review: Too Good To Be True by Kristan Higgins

When Grace Emerson’s ex-fiancee starts dating her younger sister, extreme measures are called for. To keep everyone from obsessing about her love life, Grace announces that she’s seeing someone. Someone wonderful. Someone handsome. Someone completely made up. Who is this Mr. Right? Someone … exactly unlike her renegade neighbor Callahan O’Shea. Well, someone with his looks, maybe. His hot body. His knife-sharp sense of humor. His smarts and big heart.

Whoa. No. Callahan O’Shea is not her perfect man! Not with his unsavory past. So why does Mr. Wrong feel so … right?

Grace Emerson is a good girl done wrong by love. But she’s over him, really. She has her students, her best friend Julian and weekends spent at Civil War re-enactments (oh how I love that unique character trait). She lives in her dream house, purchased with her ex and then used as sort of breakup recovery. She also has Angus, her white West Highland terrier (the most adorable fictional dog I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet). Life is good. Life is grand. And then she attends her cousin’s wedding (the third wedding). And Andrew is there, dating her youngest sister. Suddenly, Grace isn’t so sure she’s “just fine”. But before she has time to explore that thought, she finds Nat in the bathroom crying. Before she knows it, Grace has invented a pretend boyfriend and assaulted her new ex-con neighbor all in one night.

Callahan O’Shea, ex-con and house flipper, just wants a quiet life. He wants to meet that perfect woman and settle down with a few kids. He doesn’t want the cops called on him or find himself at the receiving end of a field hockey stick. But that’s just what happens. Fortunately for him, the woman who assaults him with her hockey stick ends up being his dream girl. But he holds back. He has a past and once Grace knows of his crime (embezzlement, with a very good excuse), he waits for her to accept what he has done and come to him on her own.

Grace does come to Callahan on her own terms. Throughout the book she realizes that she has left Andrew and the hurt of their failed relationship far behind. One of my favorite scenes occurred when Grace climbed up to the roof where Callahan lay. She spent better half of the book spying on him from her attic and finally she was invited up.

“Were you ever married?” Callahan asked.

“Nope,” I said, staring at the hypnotic stars. “I was engaged a couple years ago, though.” God. A couple of years ago. It sounded like such a long time.

“Why’d you call it off?”

I shifted to look at him. Nice, that he assumed it had been my decision. Nice, but untrue. “I didn’t, actually. He did. He fell for someone else.” Funny … saying it like that didn’t sound all that bad. He fell for someone else. It happened.

Callahan O’Shea turned his head. “Sounds like he was an idiot,” he said softly.

    Oh. Oh. There it was again, that warm, rolling squeeze of my insides.

Ms. Higgins brings her signature humor and heart to her fourth effort, Too Good To Be True. Readers follow the trials and tribulations of Grace, a woman trying to heal herself while she navigates the choppy waters of dating, family issues and morality. The warmth of her characters seeps through the pages and creeps into your heart with very little effort. Three days after reading the final pages, I find myself still thinking of Grace and Callahan. Ms. Higgins is an auto-buy for me and I bought Too Good To Be True without even reading the back blurb. I was rewarded with the best Higgins book yet. 

Things I Liked

~ Grace’s family, the Emersons. They’re dysfunctional, they’re funny, they care about each other and most importantly, they are REAL. Ms. Higgins creates a true, caring relationship between the Emerson sisters. When you read about the sisters, you come to understand why Grace would allow and even set-up a romantic relationship between her youngest sister and her ex.

~ My favorite scene: Grace trapped in the closet at Julian’s dance studio while her parents acted out a sexual fantasy … or Grace and Callahan on the roof … or, oh yes, Nat’s wedding. I won’t ruin it for those of you who haven’t yet read the book, but Grace’s act of closure is priceless.

~ Grace and Margaret’s use of particularly fun exclamations. As Margaret once said: “Gentle Jesus of the three iron nails …” And Grace’s favorite: “God’s nightgown!”

~ Most importantly, I loved Grace’s love of the Civil War and Gone With the Wind. As a history geek myself (and yes, I have participated in a re-enactment or two), this was a refreshingly unique character trait for our heroine.

Things I Didn’t Like

~ For the better part of the book I wasn’t quite sure I even liked Callahan. He was mean and surly and I wondered how he and Grace would ever come to love each other. As the book progressed, so did their relationship (in a believable way) but his initial bad attitude was distracting.

Additional Info

~ Published ~ January 2009

~ Price ~ $6.99

~Favorite Author Book ~ This one!

~ Author Website ~  www.kristanhiggins.com

Review: For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper

What happens when opposites attract?

Free-spirited Zoey Addler is about to hijack a federal agent. And not just any federal agent, but very Special Agent Dante Torelli, a man whose designer suits and Italian shoes are more GQ than FBI. But when her baby niece, Pete, is snatched right in front of her eyes, Zoey doesn’t hesitate to scramble into Dante’s spotless BMW. She needs his help to rescue the baby … if only she can ignore his Lips of Sin.

Oh, baby!

Dante’s original mission is down the drain and he’s dodging bullets with a loopy redhead by his side. He likes quiet. She never shuts up. He likes to follow the rules. She throws the rules out the window. But these opposites do more than attract—they ignite. With a henpecked hit man running wild, cooking-obsessed matrons chasing down contraband spices, and a relentless killer tracking them all, Dante and Zoey will risk everything—for themselves and … For the Love of Pete

For the Love of Pete starts out with a bang, literally. While tearing into the guy who lives upstairs for stealing her parking spot, Zoey is hurdled to the ground when shots are fired. Luckily the guy who lives upstairs? An FBI agent. Unluckily, Zoey and Lips of Sin (as she had named Dante) watch as Zoey’s niece, Pete, is taken from the apartment building.  What follows is a madcap adventure not only for Zoey and Dante, but for sisters-in-law Pratima and Savita; Neil Sr. hit man, an anger management student who took his son on a hit; and Rutgar the requisite super bad guy.

First let me say that I am not usually a fan of suspense novels. Especially suspense novels with your run of the mill FBI agent hero and free spirited heroine. So when I sat down to read Ms. Harper’s latest offering, I went in with reservations. And I came out a fan. It’s fast, it’s funny and it’s anything but conventional. The dialogue is smart and the characters are never two-dimensional. Except perhaps the gun-obsessed Rutgar but we must forgive Ms. Harper for molding her bad guy after every other bad guy. Bad guys aren’t suppose to be deep, right?

The romance is believable and lately I really enjoy novels where the romance develops quickly and under extreme circumstances. The ending, however, seemed a bit rushed but after such a fast-paced adventure, slowing down the ending would have seemed unnecessary. Dante and Zoey read like real people with real problems (you know, aside from being on the run from the mob). Ms. Harper draws out these two characters and overcomes their internal conflicts without much fuss. The external conflict – kidnapping, FBI corruption, psycho hit men and the hilarious Indian sisters who think nothing of stealing cars to save their restaurant – makes the story. Ms. Harper I will be reading whatever you come out with next.  

Things I Liked

~ The characters—Especially the secondary characters. Sisters-in-law Pratima and Savita Gupta made me laugh aloud several times throughout the book. They were vivid, they were real and all of them: the sisters, Neil, Ashley, and Neil Jr. added depth to an already excellent story.

~ The setting. For the Love of Pete is set in Illinois – from Chicago to Cairo. I’m from the Chicago area and now live in central Illinois so it was quite fun to read a book and know exactly what the author was talking about. I had no trouble envisioning the scene because I myself have driven those same roads. Kudos to an author who doesn’t set her big-city novel in New York or Los Angeles.

~ Zoey. She didn’t do anything stupid or something that an average person wouldn’t do in order to protect her niece. This girl escaped the “too stupid to live” stigma.

Things I Didn’t Like

~ The first love scene between Zoey and Dante drew me out of the story completely. The build-up, once they reached the cabin, seemed out of character for Dante. His anger at Zoey was out of left field and irrational for the normally level-headed Dante.

Additional Info

~ Published ~ January 2009

~ Price ~ $6.99

~ Author Website ~ www.juliaharper.com

(this review can also be found at Reading Romance Books)

Future Book Reviews

Today is Tuesday which means it’s Emily’s usual day to post a review. Unfortunately Emily doesn’t have a book to review. Why? Because the holidays have sucked the life out of me and I am slowly trying to reclaim it. So I apologize for the lack of book review today. Instead here is a list of books I am going to review in the future. 

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a contemporary and I am eager to get back into them.

Star Bright by Catherine Anderson – She’s fleeing from an abusive husband and finds refuge on a horse ranch. He’s determined to save her from her past and love her in the future … but can she trust him and herself enough to have the life she deserves?

A Coventry Wedding by Becky Cochrane – a bride running away? I’m hooked. Running to the middle of Texas? Hello, I’m buying. Throw in a dog and a chocolate festival and I say we got ourselves a winner ladies. Let’s hope this book delivers because I am really excited about this one.

And now, back to the historical …

To Seduce a Texan by Georgina Gentry – Set during the Civil War an outlaw kidnaps a banker’s stepdaughter. I wasn’t really convinced until I read the opening chapter compliments of Amazon.

Give Me a Texan by Jodi Thomas, Linda L. Broday, Dewanna Pace, and Phyliss Miranda – Thomas is the draw for me on this anthology of the American West but with three other potential must-read authors, I couldn’t pass this one up.

So, that’s what I have coming up in the future. You may have noticed I read mostly Westerns and Regencies but I am open to contemps too. If you have a book out there you’d like me to review, just drop me a line at elbecher@gmail.com. Until then, happy reading!

Review: Tall, Dark, and Texan by Jodi Thomas

Teagen McMurrary would ride to hell and back to protect his land. He’d certainly never felt that way about a woman. At least not until Jessie Barton showed up with her three little girls, desperate for a place to stay. Suddenly he finds himself proposing marriage, telling himself it is only to protect her and her children …

Jessie had no place to go except Whispering Mountain—and to Teagen, the one person who couldn’t deny her, thanks to the correspondence he shared with her dead husband. But what will happen once the man she’s loved through his letters discovers her tangle of lies?

The third in the Whispering Mountain series, Tall, Dark, and Texan proved an enjoyable read from start to finish. I read the book over the holidays and found myself stealing away at odd moments from the family in order to sneak in a chapter or two.

Jessie is a perfect mix of vulnerability and strength. What I liked most about her was that she didn’t really understand how strong she was until she had to stand up for herself and her children. Her courage grew throughout the novel as did her confidence. Because of this, she was able to make a hard decision that proved the right one in the end. 

The romance between Teagen and Jessie developed at a lovely pace, each learning about the other quickly. I really enjoyed Jessie’s need to be near Teagen without really realizing what she was doing and Teagen’s half-hearted attempts to stop her. From the very beginning the reader knows Jessie is going to win him over in every way without Teagen becoming the typical Alpha-hero. She softened him from the instant she met him. Her secrets are quite understandable and Teagen, after his initial reaction comes to her quickly, lovingly because he realizes she only did what she had to do.

The best part of the romance, however, is two lonely people finding each other. Each are surrounded by family, yet each has a distant ache in their hearts, unable to truly connect with others. Teagen and Jessie complete each other and as a reader, I was wholly satisfied. I look forward to the final installment (will there be one?) featuring Sage and (hopefully) Drum.

Things I Liked

~ In the previous two books, I didn’t have a real liking for Teagen and so in picking up this novel, I was a bit wary. He’s mean, he’s crusty, he doesn’t talk much (I’m a beta-hero girl myself) but Ms. Thomas managed to shine a light into Teagan and gave the reader great understanding of his nature. By the end of his first meeting with Jessie, all my reservations died away.  

~ The children – they weren’t cookie cutter cutsey and they added real value to the story. I loved Bethie’s antics, Rose’s forthright nature but I truly loved the evolving relationship between Teagen and the oldest, Emily.

Things I Didn’t Like

~ There were a few clichés in the book – all things you expect to find in Western romances – the bad guy, the bad family coming to get the children and forcing a marriage … but I was able to overlook these for the most part.

Additional Info

~ Published  ~ November 2008

~ Price ~ $7.99

~ Series ~ Whispering Mountain: Texas Rain and Texas Princess

~ Favorite Jodi Thomas ~ Two Texas Hearts

~ Author Website ~ www.jodithomas.com

(this review can also be found at Reading Romance Books)