Easy on the Eyes

I wasn't sure about EASY ON THE EYES when I first started reading it. Tiana Tomlinson is a 38 year old TV show host. Her career is centered around being young and beautiful and she finds herself in the position of being too old comparatively for her job. But she'll do whatever it takes to show her network and the people that she's more than just her face and that real news matters to viewers too. And in the process she finds her true self and a second chance at love.

I enjoyed this book. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could. There were moments when Tiana wallowed in sadness or got a bit preachy with her beliefs--and those moments turned me off. Also I don't consider 38 old, but who knows about the TV industry. As a whole, the story was heart-warming, entertaining, and sometimes educational. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Tiana and Michael, a plastic surgeon who Tiana really wants to hate. This book definitely picked up for me about halfway through. I recommend giving it a shot. It has heartache, passion, trauma. It's got life.

Faking It

A few days ago, I got an ARC in the mail from Little, Brown. BLOODTHIRSTY by Flynn Meaney. And I love, love, LOVE the cover blurb: "Edward. Stefan. Bill. Finbar. Finbar?"

BLOODTHIRSTY is not your average vampire novel. Rather, it's about a geeky teenage boy who's allergic to the sun, thin, gaunt-looking... In fact, he kind of looks like the vampires on the covers of books. When he realizes that girls his age are hot for those same vampires, the ones that look like him, he develops a plan to make everyone believe he's a vampire too.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. You're really rooting for Finbar and at the same time wondering when it's all going to go wrong. It's a funny, clever story about how far a boy will go to get girls. And maybe how he'll find his real self in the end. I definitely recommend it.

Some DO like it wicked

In SOME LIKE IT WICKED by Tess Mallory, Catriona Kincaid was sent to her uncle when her parents died. Reading in a hayloft, she espied her cousin (kind of akin to an evil step-sister) about to be compromised by a dashing soldier, Simon Wescott. Luckily for her (and for us), Catriona fell atop Simon before Alice's utter ruination could take place. (I don't know about you, but I don't want to see the hero having sex with the heroine's cousin. That doesn't seem heroic to me. Luckily it didn't happen.)

Fast forward five years and Catriona is still in love with the handsome soldier who defended her against Alice's mean words. After learning that a despicable lord plans on asking her to marry (for her just doubled dowry), Cat hatches a plan to be compromised by Simon and go find her older brother who was still in Scotland.

This book was great fun! Catriona was a witty, strong character who talked back to the men in her life and they generally let her. She wasn't some helpless damsel, but instead seeked out dangerous situations and figured out ways to get herself out of them. Simon was the perfect balance to her, challenging her wit for wit. Both came from places of pain and both grew to confront the pain and become better people.

If you like historicals, if you like historicals about Scotland, or if you like tall, jaded men who have a quick wit (or strong female characters who fight for what they want), then this is the read for you.