Elizabeth Tai
Personally, I find the advice here far too general and perhaps only meant for folks that are “fed up” with their jobs. Burnout can be so debilitating that some sufferers can't do half the things he suggests - such as exercise more and take up a self-improvement programme for yourself. I would have liked it if he had also included more tips on how to heal physically - such as nutrition advice and mental health care.
I just couldn't get past the fact that she seduced him in his sleep and had sex with him against his will. All this so that he could make her his mistress. And then protesting when he suspected that the child isn't his? When you are manipulative from the start, saw the man as a provider of $$ can you blame him? Granted there were WTF moments too from the hero who thought she was a whore (his words not mine) just because of her perfume - before the whole sleep seduction thing btw.
So this is a messed up couple that wouldn't work in real life. Just couldn't buy their romance 😂
My review in a nutshell:
But to elaborate:
Why did Mara come up with the scheme? Why did Mara not help him if she felt so guilty? Why were they even attracted to each other? 80% of this story didn't make sense to me and I found Mara hugely unlikeable for what she did to Temple.
Her actions towards the end made no sense. At all.
And then the writing. What's up with it? It was choppy. Like this. Always. Every. Chapter.
And repetitive - Mara kept reminding us that Temple was the way he was because of her. Always. In. Every. Chapter. In that breathy, melodramatic. Style.
A lot of readers complain that this book was not advertised well - they thought it was help when in actual fact it's a memoir with some tips on making a big career move. They also complained that the author went on and on about how awesome her job was and wished she wrote less about that.
On the first point, I agree - the cover was misleading. It should have been advertised and promoted as a memoir and the cover and title didn't do it any favours.
However I think the second complaint wasn't completely fair - it's a big part of her journey out of her career. Having been in a similar position where the job you adored changed on you and you were forced to leave or end up in a worse position, I understood her angst. It's hard to leave behind something you loved eventhough you had to.
Sometimes you hold on far too long - like our author - but that's also part of the journey. We have to deal with the reality of it all and embrace the next step - and she has. If you Google her story you would have discovered that she has spend the years after her book was published as a wandering journalist, globe trotting and writing stories. I think that's an awesome second career, don't you think?
I found the first two books of the Scandalous series only so-so but this one was scorching! Penelope hates Benedict because she thinks he's a selfish, arrogant and dishonourable man due to how he treated his ex-best friend (the hero of the last book). She also cannot forget how he courted her sister purely for her money. I thought to myself: Benedict is gonna be tough to redeem, but Caroline Linden did it well.
Benedict is a product of his upbringing - it made sense to marry for money in order to solidify the earldom. He can't stand Penelope's “romantic” ways and yet can't help be attracted to her fiery nature.
Well one thing leads to another as in the way of romance novels - they end up married. And boy is it scorching after that. This one's a keeper! A great novel through and through.
The banter between our couple is hilarious. I find it particularly amusing that Tristan is behaving like a little boy who is purposely mean to a girl because he likes her. Still, to be very honest I found the book a little boring - nothing exciting really happens between the sniping between Joan and Tristan. Their arguments do get tired after a while.
Alas, I really wanted to like this book but to echo an another reviewer here - it offers no practical advice about dealing with day to day office politics. It's a philosophy book about politics and reads more like a dissertation. If that's your jam, awesome. But if you are looking for practical tips, you won't find it here.
3.5 stars. I am torn between being annoyed of it's “wink wink this is a homage to Bridget Jones' Diary” and loving the “hate at first sight” love story. Sometimes the humour seems forced and tries too hard. Still, in large part, I enjoyed the mostly fun tale because, well, Lord Darcy - need I say more?
It's too convoluted for my taste! Hero has such a flimsy reason for ditching his new bride that it makes him totally unlikeable. And their eventual reunion lacks believability too because seriously, a breakup based on miscommunication or lack of communication is bad enough. But when the couple does not repair or improve on their communication skills ... this doesn't bode well for their future!
I love Linden but there was serious lack of dramatic tension here. Most probably due to the “fall in lust” bit, so I didn't feel like their relationship was challenging enough to weather any storm. Also, aside from a series of disapproving relatives, the couple didn't have much obstacles in the way of their romance - so, hardly any suspense or tension in the story.
Sabrina Jeffries has a way of writing that really draws me in. The Unresolved Sexual Tension in this one was really high. (Duo pretends to be a married couple while travelling on the road to find their loved ones - phew. Scorching!) Especially satisfying for me because I had a series of meh to blah reads for weeks.
3.5 stars. It had the stereotypical Muslim terrorist, medical crusader with a troubled family life and a terrorism plot involving germs. Still, it tries hard to make the characters less of a caricature, so we have the terrorist with a conscience, a ringleader who discovers too late that what he did was not going to be beneficial for humankind ... I liked these touches.
Sigh! I really, really wanted to like this but it's a no go. The only thing I liked was the writing (Hoyt writes relatively well) and Briget (in the beggining. Towards the end she acted inexplicably.)
Why the novel didn't work for me:
1. I found Val a very unlikable hero. Heck, if he existed in real life, I would've run the fuck away. He's a very damaged individual; he's a narcissistic psychopath, plain and simple. And I generally don't find psychopaths romantic. He slit a man's throat in front of Brigette and then kissed her while covered in the man's blood. He killed his pet cat when he was a kid because he didn't want his dad to kill it first. He kidnaps and blackmails people on a regular basis because he is a) bored b) wants power. Sure he's charming and ‘funny', but so was Ted Bundy. And I sure wouldn't date Ted Bundy.
2. Brigette lost her marbles halfway through the book. From wanting to stop Val's machinations to, sure, let's have lotsa sex. All I have to do is tell you what's right and wrong to keep you on the straight and narrow. The magical vagina has thus “purified” our wayward hero. NOT.
3. As a result, I felt absolutely no chemistry between them because I don't understand WHY an “honourable woman” like Brigete would want to shack up with a murderous, manipulative bastard like Val.
4. The “we should excuse Val's behaviour because he had a fucked up childhood” trope just doesn't work with me. We shouldn't excuse a character's bad behaviour and evil actions because he had a terrible childhood. I'd like to read stories of people overcoming said nasty childhoods, not using that as an excuse for their behaviour. “Mummy and Daddy were mean to me so I'm mean to others too. Waah.” Puhlease.
5. His constant reminders to us that he's twisted, damaged, evil is tiresome. Who talks like that about themselves in real life??
6. WTF is Val doing with the Lords of Chaos at the tail end of the novel? It demonstrates that he remains unchanged and is as narcisstic, sociopathic and self-centred as he ever was in the beginning of the book. No character growth = bad storytelling.
I soldiered on for 10 books in the Maiden Lane series. Most have been MEH reads for me (except Vol.8 which I loved), but this book is tempting me to give up on the entire series - even if there's only two books left to the series.
What I liked:
1. Asa. He's fiery and bawdy. And not a lord. Nice to have a pleb hero for once.
2. The pace seems good.
3. Hints of good things to come: Val!
What I didn't like.
1. I just didn't feel the chemistry between Asa and Eve. I mean, one moment she can't even bear the touch of a man, and the next she's ... okay with a man jacking off in front of her? Er... sure. The handling of her sexual abuse is not very convincing or believable.
2. Lord of Chaos plotline. A little too dark for my taste. I don't really wanna read about children being raped and murdered in a fluffy romance, but that's just me.
Finally! A Maiden Lane novel that I can truly say I genuinely enjoyed. Most of them had been average reads for me. Some even irritated me. I was getting worried that this is going to my experience for the rest of the series.
Fortunately, Dearest Rogue saved the series for me. I love stoic, manly Trevvalian, and I loved Phoebe who was brave, strong and knew exactly what she wanted. It helps that the “Bodyguard falls in love with his charge” trope is my favourite, however.
It's clear that Hoyt has really improved in her characterisation since Book 1. This was my main problem with her books - her characters act in inexplicable ways, thus making it difficult for me to believe in the couple's attraction to one another. In this book, not only was I convinced, I actually felt sexual tension between the two.
Why do so many rreaders hide the fact that they read romance novels? Why do people roll their eyes when they talk about the genre? Have you ever thought to question the assumptions and presumptions about the romance genre? I, too, had the same prejudice against the genre, though mine was akin to a betrayal. After spending my teenhood reading romance, I decided I was too “with it” and mature to read romance novels anymore. So I ditched it and joined the eye rolling masses. It's only in my late thirties that I rediscovered the joy of romance novels - how they lift my spirits, how they make me laugh and smile ... so many books have the opposite effect on me. During my twenties and thirties, I had a non-fiction phase where all I read were books on sustainable development, environment, nutrition and politics. Those books, while informative, often left me in a funk because they offered no solutions to our present dire circumstances. Fantasy books were great, but often left me sad by the evil I read inside. Literary books were nourishing but also frustrating ... well, the long story short, romance novels cheer me up like no genre can.
Rodale lists down every prejudice and discusses them thoroughly. Sadly, it would seem this prejudice has very deep roots, and it's roots that are buried in society's regard (or lack of) for women's freedoms, roles, intelligence and acceptance. That discrimination has bled into the genre that is “written for women and by women”. That is why I often feel angry when people snub the genre, because it feels like a snub against my desire to be a woman accepted on her own terms.
A must read!
