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Baby Bonanza (Billionaires and Babies, Bk 2) (Silhouette Desire, No 1893)
Author:
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
57
Author:
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
57
Review Date: 6/10/2013
I've always found Maureen Child to be a good author. I appreciate her easy writing style that makes her books a fast read, while not being completely lacking in depth like some series romances can be.
That said, the characters in this book were worthless. The basic plot was that Jenna had a week long fling with her boss, Nick, who didnt know he was her boss. He found out, fired her without reference and then refused all contact with her when she tried to contact him repeatedly for the next year. Then she shows up on his cruise ship because its the only way to let him know that he is a father (as if legal channels wouldn't have been the way to go). They fall into bed again within days, though she knows he's a man whore who has a low opinion of women. He, meanwhile, wants to bed her and dump her and is annoyed that he wants her so much. She finds a naked chick in his bed at the same time he gets the DNA results saying he is the father, and she storms off back home.
Nick follows her home because he thinks the best thing to do would be for him to have one kid and her to keep the other. He changes his mind when he sees them, bully for him. He is rich as Midas, so threatens to sue for full custody if she doesn't let him live in her house while he gets to know the kids.
They of course fall into bed again. Then he decides they should get married, he buys a house and then tells her so. She says no because while she knows he loves their sons, he doesn't love her. He argues with her and then when he can't win the argument, tells her he loves her. And then she says yes.
Nick was a complete ass and Jenna was stupid. She didn't seem to care that he was a man who had treated her and almost every other woman he came in contact with like an item he could use, manipulate and discard at will. She didn't seem to mind that he bullied or blackmailed her into every situation. The sex was good and he loved her sons and while none of his actions proved it, he said he loved her so it must be so.
Basically, if this were a real life scenario, very quickly she would find herself in a marriage where she was not a partner but chattel. He would eventually start sleeping around again and her sons would grow up with the main male role model in their lives showing them that women were beneath them except for sex.
That said, the characters in this book were worthless. The basic plot was that Jenna had a week long fling with her boss, Nick, who didnt know he was her boss. He found out, fired her without reference and then refused all contact with her when she tried to contact him repeatedly for the next year. Then she shows up on his cruise ship because its the only way to let him know that he is a father (as if legal channels wouldn't have been the way to go). They fall into bed again within days, though she knows he's a man whore who has a low opinion of women. He, meanwhile, wants to bed her and dump her and is annoyed that he wants her so much. She finds a naked chick in his bed at the same time he gets the DNA results saying he is the father, and she storms off back home.
Nick follows her home because he thinks the best thing to do would be for him to have one kid and her to keep the other. He changes his mind when he sees them, bully for him. He is rich as Midas, so threatens to sue for full custody if she doesn't let him live in her house while he gets to know the kids.
They of course fall into bed again. Then he decides they should get married, he buys a house and then tells her so. She says no because while she knows he loves their sons, he doesn't love her. He argues with her and then when he can't win the argument, tells her he loves her. And then she says yes.
Nick was a complete ass and Jenna was stupid. She didn't seem to care that he was a man who had treated her and almost every other woman he came in contact with like an item he could use, manipulate and discard at will. She didn't seem to mind that he bullied or blackmailed her into every situation. The sex was good and he loved her sons and while none of his actions proved it, he said he loved her so it must be so.
Basically, if this were a real life scenario, very quickly she would find herself in a marriage where she was not a partner but chattel. He would eventually start sleeping around again and her sons would grow up with the main male role model in their lives showing them that women were beneath them except for sex.
Review Date: 10/16/2005
One of my favorite historical romances ever. Marsha Canham is an excellent author.
Review Date: 5/19/2013
Helpful Score: 1
I am admittedly biased towards zombie books. I've finished more bad zombie books than is reasonable, especially when compared to the number of bad books (of every other genre) I've chosen to give up on. Knowing this, I'll allow that for those not as biased towards zombies, you may consider my review a "3 Star Review" rather than 4. ;)
This is a fast paced book, full of action and excitement. It's definitely what I would categorize as "brain candy"- fun, but not very filling.
I enjoyed the first person narrative of 'Eddie' and the fact that he didn't immediately have all the answers. He wasn't portrayed as some super cop with an instant sound game plan, endless tolerance for others and a selfless soul, but a panicked man trying to find his family and survive a nightmare.
I liked that throughout the story the author gives examples of how different personality types might react to a zombie plague. True, there was a good deal of stereotyping going on, but I didn't mind it...much.
I won't spoil it for the people interested in reading the book by giving all the details. It's a fast and fun read...and I'll likely read its sequel.
This is a fast paced book, full of action and excitement. It's definitely what I would categorize as "brain candy"- fun, but not very filling.
I enjoyed the first person narrative of 'Eddie' and the fact that he didn't immediately have all the answers. He wasn't portrayed as some super cop with an instant sound game plan, endless tolerance for others and a selfless soul, but a panicked man trying to find his family and survive a nightmare.
I liked that throughout the story the author gives examples of how different personality types might react to a zombie plague. True, there was a good deal of stereotyping going on, but I didn't mind it...much.
I won't spoil it for the people interested in reading the book by giving all the details. It's a fast and fun read...and I'll likely read its sequel.
Review Date: 6/25/2013
Helpful Score: 4
What. The. Hell.
Ever So Spoilery...
This was so oddly written. The voice didn't sound like Sookie at all, but a person going through the motions, alternating between teenager sullenness and elderly worn out apathy.
Harris' choice to alternate between 1st person Sookie and 3rd person all-the-many-villains was pure laziness. In the past, there had always been a certain amount of cleverness to how the plot had to play out due to it all being 1st person. In Dead Ever After, Harris decided to just spell it out for us, as if she couldn't care enough to make the effort.
The plot was a jumbled mess. Characters came and went for no particular reason, casseroles were made and delivered, villains ganged together. Where previous books could nearly stand on their own, this tangled web was hard to follow, what with dragging in characters from all over the Sookie timeline and mashing them together without much explanation--- and definitely no plausible explanation.
Harris steadily went about trashing one beloved character after another. No one could be redeemed, all that was once cherished was suddenly meaningless and dropped like used tissues to roll ploddingly towards its doom for the sake of just ending it already.
I don't care who Sookie ended up with. A couple of books of heartbreak and angst and realizations and what not and Sam could have been her soul mate. Instead, he's a shadow of a character whom she has creepy creepy CREEPY dirty trailer park sex with. Seriously, it would've been less creepy for her to end up with Dermot, the visual twin of her brother. Well, maybe not...
I keep going back to the beginning. When Bill was the love of her life and then vampire politics made him a villain and things went to hell. Or when Eric forgot his centuries as a vampire and we got a glimpse of what he would be as a human.
A magic get out of jail free card and Harris doesn't use it to return even one vampire to their humanity? And when it is used, it turns Sam into a beaten dog despondent over having been momentarily dead?
Any way she turned the story, it could've been beautifully done. Hell, with her former effort and passion for writing, Harris could've made Claude the fricking hero. It would've been weird, but...
Or, she could've just killed Sookie. That could've been pretty spectacular. Sookie could've gone down in a blaze of glory or a martyr for everyone she loved.
It wasn't what happened, it was that it happened badly. This was a horribly written book, not at all in line with the established story.
It was wholly disappointing, even though, secretly, I kind of always loved the idea of steady, affable Sam being the last man standing. Now it just makes my skin crawl.
Shame on you, Harris, for foisting this mockery of a book on your loyal fans. I'm going to pretend this never happened. Actually, I may pretend Dead Reckoning and Deadlocked never happened as well.
Ever So Spoilery...
This was so oddly written. The voice didn't sound like Sookie at all, but a person going through the motions, alternating between teenager sullenness and elderly worn out apathy.
Harris' choice to alternate between 1st person Sookie and 3rd person all-the-many-villains was pure laziness. In the past, there had always been a certain amount of cleverness to how the plot had to play out due to it all being 1st person. In Dead Ever After, Harris decided to just spell it out for us, as if she couldn't care enough to make the effort.
The plot was a jumbled mess. Characters came and went for no particular reason, casseroles were made and delivered, villains ganged together. Where previous books could nearly stand on their own, this tangled web was hard to follow, what with dragging in characters from all over the Sookie timeline and mashing them together without much explanation--- and definitely no plausible explanation.
Harris steadily went about trashing one beloved character after another. No one could be redeemed, all that was once cherished was suddenly meaningless and dropped like used tissues to roll ploddingly towards its doom for the sake of just ending it already.
I don't care who Sookie ended up with. A couple of books of heartbreak and angst and realizations and what not and Sam could have been her soul mate. Instead, he's a shadow of a character whom she has creepy creepy CREEPY dirty trailer park sex with. Seriously, it would've been less creepy for her to end up with Dermot, the visual twin of her brother. Well, maybe not...
I keep going back to the beginning. When Bill was the love of her life and then vampire politics made him a villain and things went to hell. Or when Eric forgot his centuries as a vampire and we got a glimpse of what he would be as a human.
A magic get out of jail free card and Harris doesn't use it to return even one vampire to their humanity? And when it is used, it turns Sam into a beaten dog despondent over having been momentarily dead?
Any way she turned the story, it could've been beautifully done. Hell, with her former effort and passion for writing, Harris could've made Claude the fricking hero. It would've been weird, but...
Or, she could've just killed Sookie. That could've been pretty spectacular. Sookie could've gone down in a blaze of glory or a martyr for everyone she loved.
It wasn't what happened, it was that it happened badly. This was a horribly written book, not at all in line with the established story.
It was wholly disappointing, even though, secretly, I kind of always loved the idea of steady, affable Sam being the last man standing. Now it just makes my skin crawl.
Shame on you, Harris, for foisting this mockery of a book on your loyal fans. I'm going to pretend this never happened. Actually, I may pretend Dead Reckoning and Deadlocked never happened as well.
Review Date: 6/9/2007
Helpful Score: 1
I bit of brain candy for your summer vacation. A shallow read, but with MacAlister's usual humor.
Review Date: 11/5/2011
This review contains Spoilers.
Evermore isnt bad to start off with, though not amazing either, as it smacks with similarities to other stories, most notably "Twilight". The author provides her own twists to the plot, but all in all it boils down to being about a young teenager and an immortal man hundreds of years her senior. I dont mind the main character, Ever, but the relationship she develops with Damen seems to be mostly of his making and influence. Not until the very end does she seem to have a say in any of it and at that point its just been driven home pretty clearly that he is 600 years old and she is a 16 year old child who has just lost her entire family and accidently murdered Damon's 'other' significant other. And its at this point that he deems her ready to choose him over every seeing her family in the afterlife.
Overall, with the exeption of Ever, the character development is weak. The story lacks originality, the writing is only ok and the most of the deeper revelations and developements within the story seem rushed and incomplete.
An easy read and more than adequate to pass your time while trudging your way through a Nyquil-induced haze...you wont really want to remember much of it anyways.
Evermore isnt bad to start off with, though not amazing either, as it smacks with similarities to other stories, most notably "Twilight". The author provides her own twists to the plot, but all in all it boils down to being about a young teenager and an immortal man hundreds of years her senior. I dont mind the main character, Ever, but the relationship she develops with Damen seems to be mostly of his making and influence. Not until the very end does she seem to have a say in any of it and at that point its just been driven home pretty clearly that he is 600 years old and she is a 16 year old child who has just lost her entire family and accidently murdered Damon's 'other' significant other. And its at this point that he deems her ready to choose him over every seeing her family in the afterlife.
Overall, with the exeption of Ever, the character development is weak. The story lacks originality, the writing is only ok and the most of the deeper revelations and developements within the story seem rushed and incomplete.
An easy read and more than adequate to pass your time while trudging your way through a Nyquil-induced haze...you wont really want to remember much of it anyways.
Review Date: 10/16/2005
Helpful Score: 2
One of my favorite books. A nice, light and sweet read.
Review Date: 8/1/2005
The title is actually George & The Virgin. This book is incredibly funny.
Review Date: 10/16/2005
While I found the language used for the aliens in this series somewhat annoying since it broke up the flow of the book, the storyline is interesting.
Review Date: 5/30/2013
This is a beautifully written book. Its not just the story of two women and how they found friendship. Its about all friendships between women. From the beginning I found myself wanting to quote passages to various friends, to share the insights found in this book, to marvel at the sisterhood that can be found between strangers. Its also not just a book about how one person loses her friend-- its a book about grief...not how to survive it, but how we're not alone in how we must endure it. The familiarity of her loss, how it mirrored losses in my own life, the way she was able to put into words what I could only feel. This writer is a marvel and the story of her friendship and the loss of it is a gift.
I don't often savor the books I read, returning to re-read portions simply to more fully take in the beauty of the words, but this is a book I took my time with and sat, contemplating, the closed book in my hands, long after I finished.
I don't often savor the books I read, returning to re-read portions simply to more fully take in the beauty of the words, but this is a book I took my time with and sat, contemplating, the closed book in my hands, long after I finished.
Review Date: 3/25/2013
Its not a perfect book, but I enjoyed it. If you can get past the initial two dozen or so (at least it seems like it) references to the character's scratching of his nether regions, its a right fun read. I'm a fan of reading both the undead interaction AND the day-to-day survival in a zombie world, and this book gives plenty of both.
Review Date: 10/16/2005
Not as good as Hooper's "shadows" and "evil" series, but still a good read.
Review Date: 10/16/2005
Part of a great series!
Review Date: 2/16/2006
A fabulous, inventive take on a modern day Frankenstein story--where the monster is the good guy.
Review Date: 12/12/2005
Helpful Score: 1
ISBN: 0-373-65342-5
Amelia Varden wasn't her baby's natural mother, but she'd raised the little boy from birth. Now, after lying to the world about their family ties, it was time to pay for her deception. Because someone had come to claim her child...
Rancher Dalton Grayson had promised his family he'd find their long-lost grandbaby and bring him home. But what he found was a beautiful woman who loved the boy with all her heart, a woman so secretive she wouldn't let him near. But near, he would get. Because he wasn't going anywhere without answers-- or without Amelia and baby Mitch as his own...
Amelia Varden wasn't her baby's natural mother, but she'd raised the little boy from birth. Now, after lying to the world about their family ties, it was time to pay for her deception. Because someone had come to claim her child...
Rancher Dalton Grayson had promised his family he'd find their long-lost grandbaby and bring him home. But what he found was a beautiful woman who loved the boy with all her heart, a woman so secretive she wouldn't let him near. But near, he would get. Because he wasn't going anywhere without answers-- or without Amelia and baby Mitch as his own...
Review Date: 1/28/2014
When a friend offered to loan me this book, all it took was a glace at the back showing a recommendation from the amazing Peter Clines and I was sold.
This book caught me from the start. I couldn't put it down and finished it in one go, even, at one point, holding it in one hand and continuing to read as I made myself a cup of coffee.
Its an original story-line which takes the zombie genre in a wholly engrossing direction. Goodman fleshes out Edward and the world he awakens to in every imaginable way. The layers he's built into the story and its inhabitants is the perfect platform from which to launch what I hope is the first in many books.
Original, fast-paced, well-written and now one of my favorite zombie reads.
This book caught me from the start. I couldn't put it down and finished it in one go, even, at one point, holding it in one hand and continuing to read as I made myself a cup of coffee.
Its an original story-line which takes the zombie genre in a wholly engrossing direction. Goodman fleshes out Edward and the world he awakens to in every imaginable way. The layers he's built into the story and its inhabitants is the perfect platform from which to launch what I hope is the first in many books.
Original, fast-paced, well-written and now one of my favorite zombie reads.
Review Date: 6/8/2013
Helpful Score: 1
This book, published in 1998, is a retelling of one of John Muir's favorite adventures. He is said to have retold this story many, many times.
John Muir is a hero of mine, so it simply being a short story about him would've sufficed in satisfying me. Add to that the gorgeous illustrations by Christopher Canyon and this book is a real treasure.
I read this story through three times because it was so beautiful. The story is a good one and the illustrations are magic. John Muir looks much like himself.
I adore this little book and I'll add it to my keeper shelves.
John Muir is a hero of mine, so it simply being a short story about him would've sufficed in satisfying me. Add to that the gorgeous illustrations by Christopher Canyon and this book is a real treasure.
I read this story through three times because it was so beautiful. The story is a good one and the illustrations are magic. John Muir looks much like himself.
I adore this little book and I'll add it to my keeper shelves.
Review Date: 5/22/2013
Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros series is flat out amazing. Its for this reason that wanted to read Trick of Light. It wasn't a BAD book, but it definitely didn't come close to the near involuntary emotional investment that Cal's series drags from me. As I plodded my way through this book (my reading of it had several false starts before I actually finished it), I chalked my lack of attachment to the characters up to it being a new series. I considered that part of the problem might have to do with Thurman being used to writing from a male perspective and not quite feeling it as she wrote from a female perspective for this book. I definitely enjoyed the secondary characters (Especially Griffin and Zeke) to the main character, and its likely because they remind me so much of Cal and Nick Leandros.
Yes...Honestly, the best part of the book was the characters who were mostly edited characters taken from her other series.
There's a great big stupid 'in your face, suckas!' twist at the end of the book (and yes, the 'In Your Face, Suckas!' is directed at us, the readers). It felt contrived and not clever...and downright insulting.
Honestly, I love Thurman. I know she's incredibly talented because the Leandros series is one of my favorites. I'll even be reading the next book in this series, because maybe having bullied this world into being, she can now relax and continue it with more grace.
Yes...Honestly, the best part of the book was the characters who were mostly edited characters taken from her other series.
There's a great big stupid 'in your face, suckas!' twist at the end of the book (and yes, the 'In Your Face, Suckas!' is directed at us, the readers). It felt contrived and not clever...and downright insulting.
Honestly, I love Thurman. I know she's incredibly talented because the Leandros series is one of my favorites. I'll even be reading the next book in this series, because maybe having bullied this world into being, she can now relax and continue it with more grace.
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