Speed Date: The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

Current Cover

 The Deal: Realizing that the little money her husband left is no longer enough to support herself and her mother in law, widow Anna Wren decides it's time she finds a job. Luckily for her, she happens to learn that the Earl of Swartingham is in need of a secretary. 

Edward de Raaf, Earl of Swartingham has decided to return to his ancestral home - which he left after a small-pox epidemic whipped out his entire family- with the intention of settling down, getting married and having a few kids. 

Having been widowed for several years, Edward wants his future marriage to be a success. Too bad that he keeps getting distracted by his new secretary, the one person in his life who isn't afraid of his temper, and who doesn't mind his scars. 

Original Cover

My Thoughts: The Raven Prince is one of my favorite books ever, it took me forever to read it because I just wasn't ready to buy into the buzz of it - and it was a very buzzed-about book about five or six years ago - but I loved it. 

It has all the things I love about a good Boss/Secretary story but in an historical setting and it works! Edward and Anne have their issues and life hasn't always been kind to them, but they aren't depressing characters to read about. And the love scenes are pretty darn hot. 

Also, it does a good job of introducing the next to heroes of the series - Simon and Harry- without them stealing too much of the attention. Oh, and there is a secondary love story that's very, very sweet. 

What's a Book Speed Date, you ask? It's a quickie review--about 150 words or so--of any genre book (variety is the spice of life, after all).

If you want to join in or just read other speed date reviews, check out The Book Swarm

Book Review: Real Life Boyfriends by E. Lockhart

At First Sight: Ruby Oliver is entering Senior Year and, even though she thought her mental health would be better, the Tate Universe is making her crazier than ever, particularly Noel.

During the last part of Junior year and the beginning of summer, Noel was Ruby's Real Life Boyfriend - he called her, made her feel special, they went on dates and kissed a lot - but then he went to New York to visit his brother Claude and the Noel she knew and loved started to vanish bit by bit. 

And Ruby just plain doesn't know how to deal with this new Noel. Plus, as Noel pulls away, Gideon Van Deusen (brother to on/off friend Nora) keeps coming closer. 

Second Glance: Oh, Ruby, while during Treasure Map of Boys you made me feel like you were finally growing up and I was cheering for you, in Real Life Boyfriends you reminded me of all the things that made it so hard for me to get into The Boyfriend List (first book of the series). 

See, when Ruby's boyfriend Noel stops acting like she wants him to, she spirals out of control so fast it makes me wonder if Ruby will ever stop judging so much of her own value by the way her boyfriend acts. Plus, this book made me see how self-absorbed she is, and that yeah, Nora is right, she's full of self-loathing. 

The only parts I loved about this book were Meghan and Hutch - though neither was around much, and yeah, that made me sad. Meghan and Hutch should have their own books, they are that awesome. 

Ruby... well, in this book she drove ME a little crazy with her actions. So did Noel, actually. The reason why he starts acting the way he does is a very powerful one, but the treatment the author had toward it was more 'convenient' than 'organic'. Like, Noel was acting that way because it served the plot, rather than because it rang entirely true of his character (in a way it did, but I also felt like the author let it go on for way longer than what felt natural). 

Bottom Line: Real Life Boyfriends was a bit of a mixed bag of nuts to me. Some parts I liked, some I really didn't, but it was a conclusion to the Ruby Oliver series and it wasn't all that bad. Not my favorite bok of the series, though. 

Favorite Quote: "Get over it, Roo. If you have friends who actually like you, you're popular enough." -Meghan.

Book Review: Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis

At First Sight: With no ties in life other than a few friends from military basic training, Ty Garrison had no particular place to go after an injury put him out of work until he got medical clearance. So when one of his few left over friends tells him to come to Lucky Harbor, he does. 

And he manages to stay there for almost six months without meeting anyone or talking to anyone other than Matt - his friend and forest ranger - and Josh, his physician until one night there is a freak snow storm that lands him on Mallory Quinn's lap. 

Mallory has two crazy/wild siblings and her mother has always looked at her to be the good one; and she kind of has been living up to that her whole life, so much that she's now Lucky Harbor's good girl and, as a nurse, she has plenty of opportunity to 'take care of people'. 

But with Ty things are different. He doesn't want attachments or relationships - he's convinced he doesn't know how to do either - and he outright tells her he's no good to her. But Mallory is tired of doing what's good for her, and is ready to be bad. 

And, with the help of Chocoholics United - a.k.a. her friends Amy and Grace - Mallory decides to take a walk on the wild side for once. And it's just her luck that Mr. Wrong lands on her lap as soon as she decides its time for her to do what she wants. 

Second Glance: Lucky in Love is the fourth book in the Lucky Harbor series but it tackles a new set of characters - the ones from the first three books are mentioned and have sort of walk-in roles, but they don't take over this story in any way. 

I enjoyed getting to know Mallory and Ty and their friends, and I had a really good time reading the book - sometimes, even if you end up liking a book the act of reading isn't always as pleasant, but in this case it was, at least for me. 

Lucky in Love was cute and small-town-ish but it was also fun. Mallory is very likable even if she does tend to make a martyr out of herself sometimes. And I liked Ty, even if he was dealing with a lot of survivor's guilt yet didn't want to acknowledge it. I do believe they had good chemistry together.

My only problem with the book is that those Lucky Harbor people were JUST TOO NOSY! but other than that it was a fun book. 

Bottom Line: Lucky in Love is a nice book both for fans of the series and for those who are just jumping into Lucky Harbor. Both Ty and Mallory were nice people and, even though their relationship developed really quickly, I believed it. 

Love,

Book Review: Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot

At First Sight: It's summer in New York City, but for assistant Residence Hall director Heather Wells, the work never ends. Not only does she has a bunch of kids staying at her 'should-be-closed-for-renovations' residence hall (or, as new fiance Cooper calls it: Heather's Island of Misfit Toys), but now she also has Tania Trace - current Queen of Pop - hosting a Rock Camp there too.

With Tania also comes her new husband Jordan - who happens to be Cooper's brother and Heather's ex-boyfriend - and the entire crew of the 'docu-reality' show Jordan loves Tania. 

Then, because Fischer Hall's reputation of Death Dorm is well earned, people around Tania start having 'accidents' and soon, one of them turns deathly. 

Second Glance: Size 12 and Ready to Rock was such an enjoyable read! I loved being sucked back into Heather's world. She's such a happy, funny person who doesn't just sit and watch as injustices happen. She has a really caring spirit and tries to help other people. I love that about her. 

And it was fun to see her with Cooper - now that they are FINALLY a couple, though I did wish there was more of them together. In this book, Cooper gets hired to be Tania's bodyguard, so he's a fair bit, we also get to see some of the Cartwright Family's crazy dynamics and trust me, Cooper and Jordan's sisters are NUTS.

I kind of liked to see the more human side of Tania Trace but, at the same time, I felt she kind of took over the whole story. Like it wasn't Heather solving a mystery, but rather Tania has an stalker!

Other than that, I really enjoyed this new entry to the Heather Wells Mysteries. 

Bottom Line: Reading Size 12 and Ready to Rock was like getting re-acquainted with an old friend I hadn't seen in a while, and I was reminded of all the things why I liked her. It's a fun, summer read with lots of humor and bad songs (but in a good way). 

Favorite Quote: "That was ABBA," I say with a sniff. "Everyone sounds good singing ABBA, especially in the bathroom. Why do you think they are so popular?"

3/4

Ps - You can't miss the book trailer of Size 12 and Ready to Rock:

Speed Date: Peace, Love and Cupcakes: The Cupcake Club by Sheryl Berk and Carrie Beck

The Deal: Kylie has never quite felt like she fit in at her new school, particularly because the queen B, Meredith, dislikes her and keeps the other girls of her grade from being friends with her.

After one disastrous drama-club performance, Kylie feels more in the outs than ever.But with the help of her new drama teacher Kylie decides to form a baking club, and soon she and the other class misfits - Jenna, Lexi and Sadie - are baking like mad. 

After a couple less than successful tries, the girls get the baking going  - each girl playing to their own strengths, like Lexi's artistic side puts her in charge of decorations and Jenna is the chief taster - and, without even meaning to, a business too. 

My Thoughts: Peace, Love and Cupcakes is a rather sweet book, I don't deny it, but it's also a very young book - the characters are all in the third grade - which makes some of the things that happens even more unbelievable than usual. 

Still, for the younger crowd, I think it might be very enjoyable - the chapters are short, the language simple and the plot cute - but I can't really see teens or even tweens sticking to the book for long.  

What's a Book Speed Date, you ask? It's a quickie review--about 150 words or so--of any genre book (variety is the spice of life, after all).

If you want to join in or just read other speed date reviews, check out The Book Swarm

PS - If you're looking for a cupcake book for older readers, try The Cupcake Diaries by Coco Simon or The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler