Saturday, February 15, 2014

A Christmas Fling by Beth Barany



Blurb:

What if falling in love put the life you cherished in jeopardy?

Dahlia, a Santa’s Elf, has twenty-one days left before Christmas to create the best toy in the world without using magic or revealing her true identity. Stuck on how to complete the prototype and working as a temp in San Francisco’s financial district with no time for love, will her Christmas fling get her unstuck, or will she turn her back on her beloved career for her heart?

Liam, an up-and-coming financial analyst, swore off women after getting dumped by the love of his life. He just found out his ex is going to the company Christmas party with his rival Michael Hendricks. Up for promotion against Hendricks, Liam has to win the favor of his boss. His best bet is to invite the vivacious secretary Dahlia to the party. Will Dahlia be a welcome distraction, or will she turn his life upside down?

Review:

I bought A Christmas Fling because the blurb didn’t make sense to me when I was putting together the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter, which is not a good reason to buy a book. It turns out Santa’s Elves get a year off from the North Pole to live among humans as a human. During this year they have to support themselves at human jobs, live in human abodes, and invent a toy without the use of magic that will earn them the rank of Master Elf. Dahlia is at the end of her year, and she just cannot get her toy to work. She’s worried she’ll return home and be assigned to Janitorial Services.

Liam is up for a promotion, and his main rival has already taken his fiancé from him. His boss is a “family values” kind of guy. If Liam shows up stag at the Christmas party, it will diminish his chances for the promotion. He needs a “girlfriend”—fast, so he asks Dahlia, the vivacious temp, to pretend to be his sweetheart. Of course, in order to pull of the charade, they have to get to know each other.

A Christmas Fling should have grabbed me and sucked me in. Maybe I’m Christmassed out. I only watched two holiday movies this year. I’m probably the only reviewer who found it tepid and wasn’t particularly engaged. I also don't like the idea that Liam needs a girlfriend in order to get a promotion. A company that promotes men based on whether or not they appear to plan to have families will hold women back for the same reason, because they would believe women should stay in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant.  Besides, I don't see what one's marital status has to do with one's ability to perform a job.

And here’s a SPOILER ALERT. I really hated the end. Dahlia wins an award for her toy, which she was supposed to have completed without help. At the very last minute Liam looks at the toy, realizes what the problem is, gives her the tool to fix it, and she does not admit that. I do not think she should have accepted the award without admitting she had help. I don’t like people who cheat on their final exams. Even if she had engaged me, Ms. Barany would have lost me there.

I do not recommend this book.

Length: 112 Pages
Price: $2.99


Thanks for visiting. RIW

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Hemphill Towers by Leona Pence




Blurb:



Riley Saunders has her dream job. As an art director at a leading advertising agency, she works every day with her two best friends, Stella and Birdie. All three have been assigned to ensure that the Grand Opening of the Peterson Art Museum is nothing short of a success.



When a girl’s night out at a hot new Italian restaurant ends with a spilled bottle of wine, it sets in motion a series of events that leaves Stella and Birdie caught up in whirlwind romances, and Riley fearing for her life at the hands of a deranged stalker. But, when the handsome museum curator, Trent Peterson, learns of her situation, he vows to keep her safe.



In a quick-paced tale of fine art, wine forgery, and the Russian Mafia, Riley and her friends soon discover their pursuit of love will require them to expose a crime, thwart a murder, and trust the one thing that has never failed them…their friendship.



Review:



Hemphill Towers was a fast-paced book that kept me on the edge of my seat as three friends’ lives are changed in one night.  Stella, who I believe is the Creative Director at an ad agency is hopelessly in love with the owner, J. B. Edwards, who has never noticed her as anything but the competent executive she is. Birdie’s position is never fully described. Riley is the Art Director, and the three are best friends. When they decide to try a new Italian restaurant, they have no idea J. B. is there with an old friend, who falls for Birdie the moment he sees her across the room.  J. B. finally notices Stella when wine spills on her, and Riley falls into the lap of wheel-chair-bound Dierk Rosenthal, who asks her out.  She agrees to the date, a day-trip to Chicago’s Art Institute.



The date with Rosenthal does not go well. First they take a side-trip to a doctor’s office where Riley overhears part of an apparent argument ending with the doctor telling Rosenthal not to return. Then, when he leaves her at the museum to use the restroom, a man comments on a painting she’s admiring, and tells her he’s the artist’s son. Rosenthal accuses her of flirting with the man and expresses contempt for art, sending up red flags in Riley’s opinion of him. She decides not to continue dating Rosenthal, who does not take no for an answer and becomes a dangerous stalker. The man from the museum turns out to be Trent Peterson, a client of the ad agency.



Tensions build as Birdie encounters the Russian mafia in Italy, and Rosenthal’s anger grows. He blames all of his problems on Riley and finally decides to take his ultimate revenge on her. She has to die.


Finally, there was a prologue that went nowhere. At first, I thought maybe Riley was the girl in the prologue, and her stalker had caught up with her. Then I thought the girl in the prologue would somehow figure in the stalker’s end. Neither was true. It didn’t even introduce Dierk Rosenthal as the stalker.



In the rest of the book, the tension built up beautifully, but the end was tepid at best. I was extremely disappointed. I would have loved to have given this book at least four roses, but it barely rates three.



Length: 190 Pages

Price:  $5.50




You’ll notice I always include the publisher’s buy link.  That’s because authors usually receive 40% of the book price from the publisher.  Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%.  When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left.  So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40.  If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $0.83.



Downloading the file from your computer to your Kindle is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive.  Plug the USB end of your chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from your “Downloads” box to your Kindle/Documents/Books directory.  I actually download my books using “Save As” to a “Books” file I created on my computer that’s sorted by my publisher, friends, and books “to review,” and then transfer them to my Kindle from there.  That way, if there’s a glitch with my Kindle, the books are on my computer.  Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.



Thanks for visiting. RIW

Saturday, February 1, 2014

The Bridesmaid Wore Stains by Conda V. Douglas




Blurb:

Poor Kat. Her best friend Debbie insists Kathleen-the-Klutz wear her ugliest bridesmaid's dress to Debbie's wedding. Worse, Kat must bring a plus one! Much worse, if Kat can't get up the courage to ask her new boyfriend, Gary, Debbie threatens to set Kat up with Kat's childhood nemesis, Luke, as a substitute. Can Kat avoid staining her new relationship with Gary long enough to see Debbie down the aisle, or will her trademark clumsiness condemn her to a bridesmaid's worst nightmare?

Review:

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a short-short “waiting-room” story.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how to write a story with a beginning, middle and end, with fully-fleshed-out characters who engage a reader’s attention, making you laugh, cry, feel what they feel and know the story’s over, even if you do want more.  (All good books leave you wanting more.)  I admire anyone who can do it and revere those who can do it well.  Ms. Douglas, I revere you!  I hope my neighbors don’t hate me, because I read this story at bedtime, which for me is around three a.m., and it made me laugh.  I don’t laugh quietly, as my friends and readers know.

What’s worse, I’m a lifelong klutz and I identified with Kat.  I’ve never been a bridesmaid, but at my wedding I took a header and slid the length of the room during photos.  My (now-ex) hubby and the photographer argued whether I was safe or out.  But I digress.  For a great short read and a big huge laugh, grab The Bridesmaid Wore Stains.

Length:  29 Pages
Price:  $2.50

You’ll notice I always include the publisher’s buy link.  That’s because authors usually receive 40% of the book price from the publisher.  Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%.  When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left.  So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40.  If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $0.83.

Downloading the file from your computer to your Kindle is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive.  Plug the USB end of your chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from your “Downloads” box to your Kindle/Documents/Books directory.  I actually download my books using “Save As” to a “Books” file I created on my computer that’s sorted by my publisher, friends, and books “to review,” and then transfer them to my Kindle from there.  That way, if there’s a glitch with my Kindle, the books are on my computer.  Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. RIW