Red Lily

Nora Roberts

2005

9780515139402

I’m not one for romance novels.  I fell into this trilogy as a club read, and while the romance side of it seemed contrived and over the top, the ghost story drew me in enough to read the second book, and now the third.

Hayley is the last woman left of the three, so it’s her turn to give in to all sorts of hot flushes, fantasies and knee-buckling kisses.  Her man, the son and heir of the house, is the usual perfect blend of masculinity and endearing irritating traits that all of the other men in the trilogy had, and they skirt around each other with no real obstacles, except for the insane ghost.

Amelia, the ghost, is the real star of this story.  Hardened and unbalanced, her story is finally exposed, and the truth about what happened over a hundred years before comes to light.

The happy ending (for everyone, naturally) came too quickly, after an entire book devoted to building the tension.  Everything was tidily wrapped up within three pages, and it seemed like a bit of an anti-climax.  Even a last look at Amelia, being at peace, would have brought more closure.  Instead, there was an extract from the next book that Roberts released.

I left this series with a feeling of dissatisfaction, and I’m a bit mystified at how she’s such a popular writer.

Finished 17.11.13
Rated 2/5

The Time Travellers Wife

By Audrey Niffenegger

One of those books that absolutely everyone raves about, I stayed well clear of it until last year, when I picked it up at a boot sale for a buck (what's not to lose?). I'm glad that I came to it eventually, and discovered that the adoration professed by everyone who reads it is pretty much spot on. The characters are flawed and human, each wrapped up in their own problems, but still likable, and the love story that is weaved around is exquisitely played out.

I have read this before, so had an idea of what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this story, even if it was powerful enough to bring me to tears. I hope the movie can measure up to the sky-high expectations this book gave me.

Date finished: 13/11/09
Year total: no idea!

The Nosy Neighbor

Fern Michaels
074347749-9
2005

Romance, but at least there is a dog on the front cover and not a half naked male model, which was encouraging. A lot of this book is conversation, which meant I had to slow my regular reading speed right down, or the characters seemed to consist of deranged babbling – random sentences thrown together with no kind of pause in between.

Girl has a guy, who turns out to be the Bad Guy. Cue nosey neighbour, who is the Good Guy, add a sidekick, three dogs and a blizzard, and you have this story.

There were annoying bits throughout, not least the fact that for a couple of pages they changed the spelling of the Good Guy's name, and the overall tone was like a TV movie – too much implied emotion and the feeling that the book was rushed. Maybe if they'd added another five thousand words things would have slowed down to a more believable pace.

Year total: 36

Tall, Dark and Cajun

Sandra Hill
2003
0-446-61294-4

I haven't read a trashy romance for years, so I hit this one with a bit of apprehension, expecting something wildly entertaining but not very deep. And that's what I got: the characters were sketched in only as much as they needed to be, and the plot was almost obscured by pages and pages of sexual tension.

The first thing that struck me was the language. Some parts were laugh-out-loud corny ('She stared at him hungrily, as if he were a Whitmans sampler and she was a chocoholic.'), while some of it seemed almost old-fashioned in the language. That said, I was surprised by how entertaining this book actually was. While the ending was already determined, the story itself had enough turns to keep me interested, and the final few pages contained a promise from the author to write the stories of some of the other characters. While I don't think I'll actively hunt them down, I will be taking a closer look at the romance section at the library.

Date Finished: 05/04/08
Year Total: 12

On A Highland Shore

Kathleen Givens
2006

This is the story of Margaret McDonald, whose ordered and pre-planned life is something to cherish and look forward to. Until her betrothed turns out to be an arrogant man she can't stand, and her family is killed by marauding strangers. Left alone with her unstable brother and her younger sister, she turns to mysterious Irishman Gannon MacMagnus, to help find out who destroyed her life and where her younger brother is.

It seems there are a million Gaelic love stories around now, and I was a little hesitant about trying a new author in such a crowded genre, but this was a genuine pleasure to read. The characters were well-rounded, and the bad guys were bad enough to dislike but managed to stay away from being cliched or corny. The love story managed to stay slightly ahead of the impending war in terms of importance, but was written well enough that it worked better that way.

Clearly the beginning of a series, I'd be interested to see how the larger story - that of Margaret's younger sister and kidnapped baby brother - pans out.

Date Finished: 29/05/07
Year Total: 13