All Books Considered

In Paris with You by Clémentine Beauvais Blurb from Goodreads : For fans of Eleanor & Park and Emergency Contact comes a sweeping romance about the love that got away. Eugene and Tatiana could have fallen in love, if things had gone differently. If they had tried to really know each other, if it had just been them, and not the others. But that was years ago and time has found them far apart, leading separate lives. Until they meet again in Paris. What really happened back then? And now? Could they ever be together again after everything? My Review:   Beyond meh.  I'm not sure if the problem here was the translation or something more fundamental.  This tried to hard to be poetry and ended up being hard to read prose.  It barely skimmed the surface of read-able (as in, not really) and I'm not even sure that I would call its treatment ...

The Apartment by S.L. Grey Blurb from Goodreads : A high-concept psychological chiller about a troubled married couple on a house swap from hell. An Anchor Original. Mark and Steph live an idyllic life with their young daughter in sunny Cape Town until one day when three men in masks violently break in. Traumatized but physically unharmed, Mark and Steph are unable to return to normal and are living in constant fear. When a friend suggests they take a restorative vacation abroad via a popular house-swapping website, it sounds like the perfect plan. They find a nice artistic couple with a charming apartment in Paris who would love to come to Cape Town. How could Mark and Steph resist the idyllic, light-strewn pictures, and the promise of a romantic getaway? But once they arrive in Paris, they quickly realize that nothing is as advertised. As their perfect holiday takes a deadly turn, the cracks in their relationship ...

The Graces (The Graces #1) by Laure Eve Blurb from Goodreads : In The Graces, the first rule of witchcraft states that if you want something badly enough, you can get it . . . no matter who has to pay. Everyone loves the Graces. Fenrin, Thalia, and Summer Grace are captivating, wealthy, and glamorous. They’ve managed to cast a spell over not just their high school but also their entire town—and they’re rumored to have powerful connections all over the world. If you’re not in love with one of them, you want to be them. Especially River: the loner, new girl at school. She’s different from her peers, who both revere and fear the Grace family. She wants to be a Grace more than anything. And what the Graces don’t know is that River’s presence in town is no accident. This fabulously addictive fantasy combines sophisticated and haunting prose with a gut-punching twist that readers will be dying to discuss. Perfect for fans...

Hot Cowboy Nights (Lucky Penny Ranch #2)  by Carolyn Brown Blurb from Goodreads : LET'S GIVE 'EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT . . .   If gossip is the lifeblood of a small town, then Lizzy Logan has been its beating heart. After being dumped by her fiancé for another woman, she could have decided to crawl under a rock. But no, she'd rather really set tongues wagging by "moving on" with one of the hottest cowboys in Texas, who happens to live next door at the Lucky Penny Ranch. Those busybodies don't have to know it's actually all pretend. And just because Lizzy has no aim to tame her wild, blue-eyed neighbor doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride of her life. Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling-down type. But what harm could there be in agreeing to be Lizzy's pretend boyfriend? They'll put on a show for a few weeks and be done. Yet the more he gets to know Lizzy...

Hot Toy by Jennifer Crusie Blurb from Goodreads : Mayhem ensues under the mistletoe as a determined shopper grabs the very last hot toy action figure off the shelf, only to find herself plunged into the middle of a real-life spy game and in the arms of a sexy secret agent... My Review:   I love Jennifer Crusie but this story felt so dated (and it is from 2006).  Maybe if I had first read it back then, I would have liked it more but reading it today just seemed kind of sad.  While I do typically enjoy Crusie's references to pop culture in her book and her female friendships (in this story, it's sisters), the surprise spy game just seemed odd.  This was a cute idea about the lengths we go to make our children's Christmas over the top but  the spy aspect seemed poorly planned a bit confusing in its reveal. She threaded her way through the crowd, heading for the back of the store.  Above her, Mado...