One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Asylum Tales, Book 1
Rating: 2 Stars
Length: 338 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




Gage has always known that being the best tattoo artist in Low Town has its price. All magic does, and that's what his skin art is, magic. Simple spells, really. For luck, or love, or any sundry little and  not-so-little thing. Still, since he escaped the warlocks of the Ivory Tower at the cost of the use of magic, among other, equally unpleasant things, any unauthorized use is enough to sign his death warrant if he's found out.

That's why Gage is so good at living under the radar. Or he was until the night a dying young woman came into his shop and asked to have angel wings tattooed on her back.

With a tug of sympathy guiding his hand, Gage worked on the ingredients in the tattoo ink. He couldn't cure the woman. No magic tattoo could cure cancer. He may be able to extend her life a little, or improve it slightly before she died. It would be his gift to a brave girl for whom he felt an odd kinship.

Unfortunately, Gage forgot one very important thing: no good deed goes unpunished. His tattoo works in ways he couldn't possibly have imagined, and now he's got Ivory Tower thugs hunting him down like a dog and the grim reaper in a snit about what he's done. So much for living under the radar. Hell, Gage will be lucky just to live to see the dawn.


As much as I loved the idea of this story and felt the world that Drake has created for the series was dark, dangerous, and imaginative, I couldn't connect to this one like I wanted to. Most of my problem with the book lies with Gage. Between his attitude and his actions, he was fairly unpalatable to me as the hero.

He lies to every single person in his life, even those who mean the most to him, and they often pay steep prices for his perpetual bad choices. And for someone who is trying to stay away from warlocks, he sure did manage to stumble and flail around through his days like he's thumbing his nose at them at every turn. I just didn't find very much to recommend him as either a man or a warlock in the story.

The secondary characters had the potential to balance out some of my issues with Gage, but most never really got the sort of definition or depth needed to make them seem much better than two dimensional cutouts to me. Those that did get some development weren't included in the story enough to have as much impact as they could have.

That was a particular problem when it came to Trixie, who is supposed to be a love interest of Gage's. It was a relationship that never seemed natural or organic to the story or the characters. I never felt a drop of emotional or sexual chemistry between them, despite Gage's alleged two-year infatuation with her, and the relationship plot threads seemed to serve little purpose beyond adding yet another dangerous, hopeless situation to Gage's plate.

And that plate was ridiculously overburdened. The plot just kept churning out life-threatening or world-ending catastrophes one after another after another in a seemingly never-ending stream of badness, with no relief and little levity to balance the depressing weight of them all. Though the book does end on a positive note, it wasn't enough of a payoff for the chaotic and depressing journey.

There really is a difference between damaged antiheroes and self interested jerks, just as there is a difference between complex, layered plot conflict and relentless story quagmire. For me, this book tread on the wrong side of the line in both those categories and it ended up being a less than entertaining read as a result.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Saturn's Daughter, Book 1
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Length: 400 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Pocket Books publisher Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.






The only thing that scarred, limping, and mousy Justine Clancy wants to do is pass her law school finals and get her degree. Maybe then she can quit her part-time job in the radioactive area of Baltimore known as the Zone. Not that the Zone, altered by a series of chemical spills a decade ago, doesn't have its inherent charms. I does. It's just...those charms tend to seem more like freaky mutations or flat-out oddities to the uninitiated.

For two years Tina has worked for the sexy if ego-endowed Andre Legrande, keeping the books for the enigmatic man's many business holdings. She's gotten as used to the Zone as any normal person could, though she does avoid it at night. Still, after all that time Tina thought she'd seen all the weirdness the Zone could dish out. She thought nothing could surprise her anymore. 

Then she witnesses a government car mow down a bunch of teenagers in a crosswalk without so much as tapping the break, she has the bank deposit she's carrying stolen by an invisible assailant, and she barely survives when her boyfriend Max, driving her own damn car, almost runs her down - seemingly on purpose. Sure, they had a fight and she was ticked off at him, but vehicular homicide is just overkill. Literally.

Just before Max puts a painfully permanent end on a very bad day, Tina's panic and anger lashes out and she damns him for his actions. Damns him straight to hell.

And okay, it's the Zone, but come on. She didn't expect to actually send him there.



Quaid kicks off her series debut with a fascinating, quirky world that reminds me - in spirit, at the least - of Simon Green's Nightside series. That series forever endeared me to books set in those pockets of peculiarity, be they magical or paranormal in nature...or caused by toxic spillage, in which inhabitants are a different sort of breed entirely from "normals" even though they exist practically side by side. The Zone is just such a pocket.

I wish that the storyline had allowed for more depth in the world building and even more Zone weirdness, as those were my favorite elements in the book. It was almost a disappointment when Tina's sudden ability to banish annoying bastards turned out to be an issue of heritage, not radioactivity.

Don't get me wrong, I thought Tina's woo-woo stuff was unique and completely original. I think it's a nifty idea for personal weirdness, and the potential for crazy in it was great. I do wish it had been slightly better defined and explained, though. The whole Saturn's Daughter thing remained a bit too much of a mystery throughout the book given that so much else was going on around Tina. It had the unfortunate overall effect of muddying some of the plot threads for me, especially in the middle of the book.

I wasn't totally sold on Tina as the heroine, either. As much as I enjoyed her sarcastic, in-your-face, jaded awareness in the earliest chapters, she waffled back and forth between that and a willful disbelief about Max as the storyline progressed, despite some compelling evidence. It got a little tedious hearing her claim again and again that Max was a figment of her imagination. Especially as she easily acknowledges invisible thieves and Lady Justice statues that wink at her when she walks by. I would have thought her ability to embrace the surreal would be more advanced.

What I did like was the concept of a heroine who is all about justice. The Zone and its inhabitants, especially Andre Legrande, are steeped in the sort of shades of gray that make the idea of black versus white seem positively adolescent. The ethical issues inherent in Tina's natural ability seem perfectly suited for that sort of environment.

Andre is his own enigma. There definitely wasn't enough of him in the book, he stole every single scene he was in, and the questions about his character and backstory teased my mind long after I set the book down. He's a rather odd chap, really. Not quite an antihero, but he doesn't work on the side of angels, either. Tina's ambivalence to his less-than-pristine character was a lot of fun, and I'm hoping for some relationship evolution for the two of them.

I would have liked a few more of my questions about Saturn's daughters answered in this book, and I wouldn't have quibbled over a more linear external conflict. The Bad Guy was fairly straightforward, but I was a bit unclear on why Tina was considered such a loose thread. I just didn't think there was enough of an established connection between Max and Tina to warrant the Bad Guy's intent in making Tina dead.

This one wasn't a complete win for me as a reader, but there was definitely enough solid writing and intriguing story to appeal. In general I felt the story ended on a stronger note than it began, and I liked Tina much more at the end than I had even in the middle. That, coupled with a definite an air of originality and a wicked twist or three speaks loudly for the potential of this series. A potential I don't want to miss seeing realized.

Quotables:

"Men scratch their bellies and speak gibberish and would still be swinging from trees if we lived in jungles. They probably wouldn't bathe and would still be still be picking nits, too, except the ones with small weenies learned they could make money to compete in the testosterone wars and civilization happened."

"Having a bad day?" Andre taunted. "Doesn't your best - and only - boss deserve at the very least a cheery greeting?"
"I'm having a bad life, and cheery gets you killed around here."

Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Spindle Cove, Book 3
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 384 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided by Avon Books publisher HarperCollins Publishers via Edelweiss. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




Kate Taylor loves her life in Spindle Cove, a place that offers her a home and friendship and allows her to make a living doing something she loves, unhindered by the birthmark that mars her face. Still, she yearns to know who she is, where she came from, and has only brief, elusive memories of her past before her time at Margate School for Girls.

She thinks she was loved, once, and still has hope that she will be again.

Though not, quite obviously, by the brooding and severe Corporal Thorne, who has, in his time at Spindle Cove, done nothing but prove to her time and again that he holds her in no kind regard. Imagine her surprise, then, when it is the dour Corporal who not only saves her from a bad turn, but steps forward when strangers show up in Spindle Cove claiming to be her kin. And insists he is her fiancé.

Corporal Thorne hasn't lived an easy life, but he takes his responsibilities seriously. One of his most important responsibilities is protecting the women of Spindle Cove. Especially this one woman. That's the only reason he claims Miss Taylor has agreed to wed him.

Not that he doesn't personally care for the woman, as she believes. His feelings are quite the opposite, but Thorne knows Miss Taylor deserves far, far better than a thief, a convict, and a battle-scarred warrior such as himself. He would lay down his life for any of those under his protection. But for Miss Taylor, he's already traded his future. He did so a long, long time ago.

That she doesn't remember is a blessing. That she will never know is a necessity. Now he just has to keep reminding himself that every moment their pretend engagement keeps her by his side.


This third installment of my favorite historical romance series came as a bit of a surprise. It's absolutely as well written and as full of rich, memorable characters as I've come to expect from the talented Tessa Dare, but it has a more serious tone than its predecessors and a more traditional (relative to the series) pair of main characters and storyline.

Dare set up this relationship between Kate and Thorne quite nicely in the second book of the series, and I was looking forward to seeing how the characters would develop once they were given their own story. I've liked both of them since their initial introduction in the series premiere, especially Kate, but this book quickly became all about Thorne for me. I adored him for all his taciturn self-sacrifice and quiet dedication.

I loved the backstory between them. It was as interesting and original as it was unexpected. And I couldn't help but hurt for everything Thorne has lived through since they were children. It certainly explained a lot about his personality. And my goodness, some of his revelations to Kate about their past together were horrifying and heartbreaking. How could I not love the man who was no more than a boy when he risked so much for so little?

Their relationship arc provided a solid read, but I have to admit, this wasn't my favorite book in the series. Not only did I miss the witty banter and sardonic humor that set apart the first two books and gave me lots of laugh-out-loud moments, but Thorne was such a somber character for so long, certain of his lack of worth, that there were a couple of scenes between him and Kate that got a little depressing.

I was also confused by the description of Kate's birthmark in this book. I thought I remembered it being described as almost fully covering one side of her face in the first book, but in this one it's described as a heart-shaped mark at her temple. It's entirely possible I mis-remembered, and I don't have the first book to go back and check, but the impression was there and it created a seeming lack of continuity that bothered me.

The sudden arrival of Kate's long-lost and alleged family seemed a little convenient, timing-wise, but I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them as secondary characters. Harry, and the deft handling of her passionate proclivities, was particularly delightful. While perhaps there was a lack of historical authenticity in how her relationship with Ames was portrayed and accepted by her family, historical authenticity has never been a series bailiwick, and I appreciated it for its very existence.

I liked Kate and Thorne together very much. Their romance arc was full of emotion and the characters passionately appealing. I melted a little every time Thorne referred to her as Katie. Thorne's character seemed to have a greater depth and dimension with a more complex personal history than Kate's did, but each personal trait and every story element fit together just right to create the perfect tapestry of two people who were destined, really, to find joy with each other.

Though not my favorite book of the three, this is a solidly entertaining installment of an absolutely beloved series. I'm not sure what's to come next from Tessa Dare, but it's my sincerest hope that her readers (okay, namely me) get a chance to return to Spindle Cove soon.

Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Fairy Tales, Book 4
Rating: 2 Stars
Length: 384 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Avon Books publisher HarperCollins Publishing via Edelweiss. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




Theodora Saxby suffers no illusions. She's heard the whispers, knows very well what she looks like. Theo has no qualms about acknowledging that her profile is mannish and she does not have the plushest of physical attributes that are gracing the ballrooms this season. She's adjusted as best she can, crafted her wit to snag a husband who could at least find her interesting.

All she needs is a polite introduction to the one on whom she's set her sights. After all, she's not without benefit to a potential suitor. She'll inherit a vast wealth and her dowry will be substantial. And Theo has long-range plans. As soon as marriage has given her some freedom, she'll immediately set about dressing as befitting her form and coloring. That alone should help, though she knows she'll never be beautiful.

She needs the help of her childhood friend, the boy - now a handsome young man - with whom she had been raised. His father the Duke had kindly taken in both Theo and her mother after Theo's father, the Duke's best friend, died. Now, as soon as she convinces James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to introduce her to the dashing man she wants as a husband, everything will be just fine.

Theodora Saxby had no idea that it would be James, her dear, beloved James, the same James who persists in calling her Daisy no matter how hard she tries to get him to stop, who would sweep her off her feet and marry her while her head is still spinning. She didn't know that two blissful days as his wife would be the very best time of her short life. And she could not possibly have guessed, or ever, ever imagined, that it would end in such a brutal fashion, betrayal flaying the heart from her chest, cruelly stripping away everything in her life that she had thought was good, true, and honest.

Leaving nothing in its path but the broken wings and ravaged plumage of one ugly Duchess.


This book gave me fits. Eloisa James is proven in her craft, writing sweeping, emotional historical romance. She can certainly tell a captivating tale. Still, several elements of this story didn't sit well with me at all. There were moments early in the book when I thought it was going to be okay, when I saw James and Theo's relationship as they first married. I felt comforted by the genuine love between them, even knowing it would have to come crashing down at some point.

Of course I loathed the Duke and think he should have been gut shot and left to bleed out slowly, but regardless of the horrendous betrayal that's disclosed in the opening chapter, James did love Theo, and despite his guilt, did marry her with true feelings in his heart. That went a long way with me. And I liked Theo, too. I appreciated her forthright honesty and her sense of humor.

Then it exploded in a hail of emotionally devastating bad choices made by all.

From the moment Theo finds out about the theft of her inheritance all the way through to the end I had my jaw clenched and my hands fisted on my Kindle. And honestly, maybe even surprisingly, not all of my animosity was pointed at James.

Oh, don't get me wrong, quite a lot of it was, but not all of it.

James Ryburn was a hideous emotional coward who lacked the testicular fortitude to stand up for what he believed in or fight for who he loved. He then compounded that egregious character flaw by embracing his inner reprehensible narcissist, spending seven long years gallivanting around the high seas like some hapless cad, thinking only of himself.

Then again, Theo kicked him out and told him quite clearly that she never wanted to see him again, even informed him that he should remove himself from the country. He took her at her word, so she was certainly not blameless. She was also not always a completely endearing character. For all that she felt horrible when labeled rudely for her looks, she was known to be rather sharp-tongued and openly critical of others. After the betrayal her personality often seemed unappealingly cold and biting.

Of course, James does return to England eventually. Problem is, when he is face to face with Theo again he is an arrogant, contemptible, cavalier ass, lacking in even the merest glimmer of contrition or apology for past bad acts. Sure, he spouts some romantic drivel about Theo being the other half of his soul, but by that point all I could do was gape in astonishment, because he continues to regard his seriously bad judgement and worse actions as inconsequential.

He also seems to suffer from the unconscionable belief that everything will be just fine between him and his wife as soon as he can toss her skirts up once or twice.

For all that I detested the man at that point in the story, there were still moments when Theo and James together was a good thing, even moments (however brief) when their romance worked for me. And honestly, I'm glad they found their way to a Happily Ever After. I'm just disappointed - and in some cases, horrified - about how it all developed. I needed more than what the book provided to help me get over all the horrendously bad choices and actions. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.

Genre: Steampunk
Series: The St. Croix Chronicles, Book 1
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 384 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Avon Books publisher HarperCollins Publishers. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




She straddles two worlds, belonging to none. Daughter of an accused madman, Cherry St. Croix was orphaned at a young age, forced by circumstance and a keen instinct for survival into the life of a thief, a circus performer, and an opium addict. At the tender age of nine, she picked her first pocket. By fifteen, she had been pulled out of that life and thrust into another, just as ill-fitting.

Found by her guardian and set adrift in polite society, she awaits the inheritance that is her due as she exists above the drift but on the fringes of London's proper noble class, far above the smog-choked, deadly streets below. To subsidize her meager monthly allowance, one grossly insufficient to feed a habit that allows her to sleep...such a pretty, pretty lie...Cherry dons trousers and blackens her hair, grabs her goggles and respirator, and as the haunting, hunting arms of night embrace her, she slips below the drift and stalks the streets. She is a collector.

Cherry suffers no fools and refuses to be cheated, so when a job falls through and the owner of the note of her collection denies the bounty she's owed, Cherry confronts him. Macajah Hawke, the elegant and imperious ringmaster of below's most affluent den of salacious inequity, The Midnight Menagerie, terrifies her with an odd, biting fear that grips her low in her stomach, but to allow him to brush her off as if she were a child would bring her career to a stuttering stop. Unfortunately, Hawke is unmoved and largely unimpressed, cloaked as he is in a seductive veneer that rattles and frustrates her.

Maybe that's why, when one of the Menagerie's ladies calls to her as she's leaving Hawke's playground of decadent corruption, she agrees to take on the new case, flagrantly opposing Hawke's dominion over his own people. But it's not just childish obstinacy, nor solely the hunger for the opium that she craves that drives her decision. Cherry has seen the papers, knows a monster hunts working girls below the drift, slicing them open and leaving grisly carnage in his wake.

She hadn't known that the monster had hunted Hawke's sweets. That girls from the Menagerie had been slaughtered. And now one of them has braved their master to beg for her help in finding and stopping him. Cherry couldn't turn her away. She was a collector, after all, and collecting things...people...even monsters, is what she does.

It's a pity that Cherry, for all her experience with a life less ordinary, forgot that when you start hunting monsters, they have a tendency to hunt you in return.

"People are dying, Mr. Hawke."
His shoulders moved, a powerful roll of indifference. "People have that tendency."

Though my experience with steampunk is passing at best, what I've read has appealed. Until Cooper, anyway, because this series debut did a lot more than appeal. Setting the story elements aside for the moment, Cooper's writing is brilliant. Evocative and compelling, descriptive to the point of artistry, Cooper uses words to paint gritty and glaring pictures that expose the corrosive cracks in life both above the drift, where Society reigns, and below, where other, far more in-your-face but no less dangerous dregs of humanity roam.

The narrative seemed an effortless capture of the pulse of both, with the deftest of touches highlighting even more of the similarities between the two than the differences. A cut above may be bloodless, but no less painful than the cuts below. And at least a cut below, widened by sharpened steel instead of waspish tongues, bleeds clean and is honest in its intent. A lesson with which Cherry is well familiar.

At the center of this magically groggy world that Cooper built is the young Cherry, as much a contradiction as the two worlds in which she operates. Part leather-clad warrior woman, intelligent and cunning and phsyically self-possessed, part innocent young miss, part victim and criminal both, she reflects all facets of both worlds in which she lives. Her age, only twenty, is both a boon and a bane in this debut, because while she has the unflagging courage and irrepressible spirit of youth, she is also stubborn, more spoiled than she realizes, and often petulant about it and anything else that doesn't directly go her way.

On one hand she is an experienced collector, someone who has been dragging bounties around for five years, protecting herself in London's seediest streets. On the other, she's a virginal miss without any real experience in a man's world, one of little patience and oblivious to the benefits and necessities of subtle behavior. I found the battle between the two parts of her to be just as compelling...if not more so...than the main plotline of the book.

In fact, I had some problems with the book's plot, which meandered a little to much for me, especially in the middle. Cooper seemed so intent on building her world and fleshing it out, as well as focusing on creating and embellishing the framework for the two faces of Cherry, that the serious threads of external plot conflict often fell to the wayside.

When the storyline started to focus too long on Cherry's role in Society above the drift, including frequent and robust descriptions of hair, clothing, rooms, characters, and the like, I felt my attention waning. For all that the pictures were well painted and the life she led was just as valid as the one below, just as vital to grasping the whole of her character...well...I got a little bored with it. Below the drift was just more interesting to me.

Maybe because Hawke was below the drift. Micajah Hawke. He definitely held my interest. He is just as dual-natured as Cherry herself, but he's in a class all his own. Mysterious, seductive, urbane on one hand, and masculine, hard-working, intensely focused on the other. Unlike Cherry, who often suffers from the perils of her youth, Hawke is in all ways adult. World-wise, jaded, and very, very uncompromising. He is darkness personified, a darkness that both revels in and reviles that which seeks its shadowy embrace.

The relationship, such as it is, between Hawke and Cherry reminded me of the early books in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, because Micajah Hawke could be Jericho Z. Barrons' equally inscrutable but slightly less immortal brother. And at every single one of Hawke's tight-jawed, "Miss Black" utterances, I heard "Miss Lane" echoing in Barron's deep voice.

Less fortunately, Cherry reminded me of Mac in more ways than one. That's not quite a good thing, because I spent most of the Fever series in various stages of annoyance with Mac's immaturity, even as I loved her fighting nature, and that's exactly the vibe Cherry was throwing off in her own story (though, admittedly, to a much less annoying extent). If, however, Cherry and Hawke have nearly as incendiary a relationship as Moning's characters, well...I'll suck it up just as I did before, because that's one phenomenally bumpy and hellaciously fun ride.

Even with this being a series debut, with my expectations set to accept a certain number of unanswered questions, there were a few too many plot threads left unresolved or characters unexplained for me to be completely satisfied with the story itself. Because of that, my biggest issue with this book is that as a whole, it read more like a prelude or prologue to a series than it did a fully satisfying book that stands on its own merits. While one or two plot threads may have been tied up at the end, many more linger, and those that were tied up weren't really the most intriguing of the lot.

It was, however, exquisitely clever in its conception and beautiful in its construction. The characters are vibrant, complex, and complicated. The world they live in is deceptive and dangerous. For me, this debut just had a little too much focus on the series setup at the expense of story elements for the individual book. If the series progresses with a larger emphasis on story now that a majority of the setup is laid, The St. Croix Chronicles may very well be my next personal reading addiction and Cooper my newest must-read author.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Sugar Shack, Book 3
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 368 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




Home is where you go when you don't have anywhere else to lick your wounds. Chicago prosecutor Kelly Silverthorne is back in her hometown of Deer Lick, Montana. After failing to successfully prosecute a man for murdering his wife, Kelly is rocked by feelings of failure and guilt, feelings unfamiliar to a serious, intent woman who has never failed at anything before. Taking a sabbatical from her life, she's helping her father and sister at the family bakery and trying to get her feet back under her.

Except it's not just the professional crisis that Kelly has to deal with, and the problem with going home again is what you find there. Family. Ghosts of your past. Memories. And for middle child and "good girl" Kelly, a different sort of pain, one with far deeper roots.

Oh yeah, and James Harley, police deputy. The man with whom she'd had one memorable, if ill-advised and drunken, night of extreme pleasure. But she was hoping to avoid the hell out of him.

James was happy to see Kelly at the Sugar Shack when he stopped in for lunch. One night with the girl he'd wanted since they were kids just wasn't enough to slake his thirst for her. Now that she's back for a bit, he has every intention of getting a repeat performance. If, in the meantime, he gets to spend genuine time with a woman who stirs more than just his body, but his heart and mind, too, well...that's just icing on one of those delectable Sugar Shack cakes.

All he has to do is convince the stubborn and uptight woman.


This book was so much more than I was expecting. Judging the book by its cover (bad of me, I know), I was thinking this was going to be a fairly predictable but enjoyable bit of brain candy. That's not in any way a criticism. I love me some brain candy. But this little gem, as it turns out, is the brain candy equivalent of finding out that chocolate has been discovered to be a health food. A delightful surprise.

I haven't read the first two books in the series, so I went into this one with a clean slate - and I'm so glad I did, because it packed a punch. It started, though, a little rocky for me. At least in comparison to the rest, anyway. Kelly and James both seemed a little stereotypical for the genre. Kelly the classic Type A personality, James the sexy bad boy with a different girl on his arm every weekend, no concept of commitment.

The brief glimpse we get of Kelly's life in Chicago was largely superfluous, and her first face-to-face with James upon her return to Deer Lick could have been read during any similar scene in every other light, sexy contemporary romance. I didn't dislike it by any means, but I have to admit, I wasn't really knocking my socks off.

Then Kelly's mother enters the story and shows up in the backseat of the car Kelly's driving. Kelly's deceased mother.

"Mom? Is that really you?"
"No, it's the stinky cheeseman."
Kelly pulled her head back. "Well, that little bit of snark is unnecessary."
"You can get away with a lot when you're dead."

And from that point through to the end, this book was a wonderful ride through family issues, personal issues, and relationship issues for both Kelly and James. The story threads surrounding the ghost of Kelly's mother added a wealth of emotional baggage to Kelly's personality. It was baggage that I, personally, related to on a grand scale. As for James, well, somewhere around meeting his two Yorkies, Poppy and Princess, it occurred to me that he was not quite the stereotype I feared he was, either.

This book that I had pigeonholed as simple (albeit sexy) fluff delivered an emotional message, one with depth and heart. That message went hand in hand with an awesome, sexy romance. Between Kelly resolving family issues and finding her inner child, and James dealing with the fallout of his past and reaching out in a more healthy way to his brother, this book ended up providing a multi-layered lesson about mending frayed family bonds and healing from past mistakes. A lesson that took this book to another level.

The romance was still sexy, and James and Kelly had great chemistry together as a couple. I thoroughly enjoyed their relationship evolution. They didn't just fit well with each other, they each, as individuals, offered something to the other that had been previously lacking. I loved that about them. It really elevated their relationship for me.

In fact, this was one of the most pleasantly surprising and fun reads I've had in awhile. There were moments that made me laugh, moments that made me sweat (in a yummy-good way), and moments that made me both think and feel. Perhaps it's still brain candy, but it's brain candy with a hell of a heart. A perfect summer read and I enjoyed the heck out of it.