REVIEW: How To Score by Robin Wells

ISBN 978-0-446-61842-7
(c) June 2009, Forever, Grand Central Publishing
Robin Wells' website

Rating: 4.5 stars

Buy Link (paper): Book Depository

"Laugh-out-loud funny! You definitely want to read this in the privacy of your home for the pleasure of laughing with no holds barred."

Ms. Wells writes stories that are laugh-out-loud funny, definitely books you'd want to read in the privacy of your home for the pleasure of laughing with no holds barred. She opened How To Score with a funny conversation between Chase Jones and Horace, the man he was coaching for his brother, that also serves to acquaint readers with the situation without info dumping.

Chase was filling in for his brother Luke as life coach because he was the reason Luke was in the Witness Protection Program, for which he felt guilty about. Just as he was thinking how much more he could endure talking to the losers that his brother has for clients, a woman named Sammi Matthews called, whose voice intrigued him and before he knew it, he was meeting up with her and dating her.

Sammi Matthews needed a life coach to help boost her self-confidence and to teach her how not to injure her future dates. Thus far, she had given one a black eye and cracked another's ribs. She puts the lessons her coach taught her into her dates with Chase, and before she knew it, she was falling for him. Although mishaps did occur when she was with Chase, he didn't seem put off by them...

Though Sammi's self-confidence is low when it comes to men, she is stubborn in her love for art deco architecture and goes all out to preserve it. However, with Chase's help (both as her life coach and as her date), she becomes more confident of herself. She is also a pushover, especially when it comes to her sister Chloe, and she is kind-hearted and really just can't say "no" to a friend who needs help. I expect she's the kind of woman everyone wants to be friends with, but she also needs someone to pick up after her messes. Her antics as her dog bites into Chase's jogging shorts and as she spills hot coffee into his lap are priceless.

Okay, normally, I don't like such type of comedic antics, coz they remind me of The Three Stooges, but I love it in this book because I think they're just right to portray the sort of person Sammi is and the situations she normally finds herself in. Of course, a lot of the troubles are actually caused by the dog, but if she weren't so soft-hearted, she wouldn't have agreed to take on the dog in the first place.

Chase, on the other hand, is also attracted to Sammi and soon, he finds himself in a quandary. Thus far, he has been talking to Sammi as her life coach (whom she thought was Luke) and dating her as himself. As such, he came to know her secrets, even what she felt regarding Chase. Time and again, he wanted to tell her the truth, but something or the other prevented it until he realized just how much Sammi meant to him and he was afraid that the truth might cause him to lose her.

And Horace is such an unbelievable character. Read the book and you'll know just how unbelievable he is. Does such a person really exist in the world? Still, it is his responses to Chase's questions and statements that sometimes has me laughing out loud. It's nice to see him closing the book as well, since it was his conversation with Chase that opened it.

I will be picking up Between The Sheets and see if it will also have me in stitches while I wait for Ms. Wells' next offering.

Buy Link (paper): Book Depository

REVIEW: Naked in New England by Jacquie D'Alessandro

ISBN 978-0373441228

(c) July 2001, Harlequin Duets

Jacquie D'Alessandro's website 

Rating: 5 stars

"Hilariously funny with a sweet and romantic hero. A great romance!"

Ryan Monroe is an architect who needed to refresh his creativity in order to score the biggest coup of his career, and his friend Dave offered the use of his country cabin for Ryan to recharge. Lynne Waterford, on the other hand, is an interior designer and she has been commissioned by Dave's wife and her friend to renovate the cabin as a surprise for Dave. A storm stranded them together and sparks fly between the two.

If you've been following this blog, you'd know I'm a Jacquie D'Alessandro fan. I loved her Mayhem in Mayfair series, which I've read except for Confessions at Midnight (will get round to it someday), and so, I wondered, does Jacquie D'Alessandro only do historicals well? What about contemporaries? Especially romantic comedies, where humor, as we know, is very subjective?

Guess what? I found Naked in New England to be completely hilarious! The funny, laugh-out-loud aspects are interwoven seamlessly with the characters' thoughts and behavior, making this a true comedy and not of the slapstick variety. Waldo the racoon also provided muich laughter, especially with his one precious antic toward the near end. Not only that, but the hero, Ryan Monroe, is very sweet and romantic. I just about melted, especially toward the end. The things he was willing to do just to gain her heart and to make their future possible... *sigh*

Here's one of the passages I sighed over: 

Her eyes goggled. "You bought me twenty-five pounds of Godiva chocolate? Talk about a sweet deal!" A laugh huffed from between her lips. "You realize it will take me forever to eat this. As much as I love it, I'll have to ration the calories out over the next fifty years so I don't gain a hundred pounds."

"Perfect. That's exactly what I want."

"For me to gain a hundred pounds?"

"No....I want the next fifty years." 

*melts* 

Naked in New England is part of a Harlequin Duets, but I picked up this book solely to read Jacquie D'Alessandro's story and the money's well worth it.

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Something About You by Julie James

ISBN 978-0-425-23338-2

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense

(c) March 2010, Berkley Sensation

Julie James' website

Rating: 5 stars

Buy Links (paper): Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble 

"Delightful, light-hearted, romantic romp. Hard to put down!"

Julie James never fails! Something About You is hilariously funny, the humor coming from the characters' interaction and/or thoughts. Within the first few paragraphs of Chapter One, I was alternately smiling, chuckling or bursting with laughter.

Cameron Lynde became the unwitting witness to a murder in the hotel room next to hers, and who should be the FBI agent in charge of the investigation than Jack Pallas, the agent who believed she'd almost destroyed his career three years ago. Each didn't want to work with the other, and having no choice, sharp, cheeky and sarcastic remarks abound in their dialogue, but soon, they couldn't deny the attraction that flared up between them.

I like Cameron and Jack, because they are flawed, thereby believable, real and human. The difficulty Cameron faced three years ago was plausible, and although I hate the fact that she didn't act the way I thought she should, I realized that, given her position, her hands are tied. The way our hands are tied sometimes. Jack's anger and the way he lashed out are all things we can relate to.

However, despite the danger to herself, Cameron still tried to right the wrong about to be committed in the best capacity that she could. I like her idealism and strength of principles, that with each criminal she helped put behind bars, she was helping to make the world a better place in her own small way. I like that she's smart and friendly and likeable, an ordinary woman who doesn't have airs due to her position and who is, in Jack's words, "fucking gorgeous". Both Jack and Cameron are professionals, that they are able to set aside their "hostile" feelings for each other long enough so that they didn't get in the way of the business at hand. And I like that in the end, Jack got the justice that he was angling for, although that made the ending a little too neat.

Early on in the book, the author revealed the villain and his motive. I believe this slowed down the book a little, as I remember feeling I couldn't wait to finish reading the chapter so I could get on to more Cameron-Jack interaction scenes. Also, revealing the villain this early took away one of the joys of romantic suspense for me: trying to guess who the villain is from the clues dropped throughout the story and his motive.

That said, the emotional development between Jack and Cameron was done well, in my opinion. I love seeing how sweet and romantic Jack could be, the way he goes all tense and protective when Cameron was in danger. *melts* I also absolutely love the presence of the supporting cast--most notably, Jack's partner Agent Wilkins (I loved the way he was portrayed as the total opposite of Jack, and I laughed out loud upon reading Jack's and Collin's reaction to him on p. 77 of the book), and Cameron's friends Collin and Amy. I love seeing the dynamics of their interaction with Jack and Cameron, and I especially like the way Collin and Amy were portrayed--concerned and supportive of Cameron, yet having that air of teasing irreverence that comes with being good friends for a long time.

In all, I enjoyed this book a lot (read it in two days) and I look forward to being taken for a wild, hilarious ride again in Ms. James' next book.

Buy Links (paper): Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble  

* I enjoyed this book so much The Raving Readers is giving away a copy of Something About You!

How to enter?

In the book, Cameron has Collin and Amy who stood at her side through thick and thin and who "threatened" Jack should he ever hurt Cameron again. So, tell us: What is the nicest thing that your best friend or anyone has ever done for you?

No geographical restriction, so everyone on this planet is welcome to enter.

Extra chances to win:
+ 3  if you're a follower of this blog
+ 2  if you follow us on Twitter or Facebook
+ 1  for every time you spread the word about this contest via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,
          your blog, website or other form of social media. Be sure to come back here and
          post the links. For example, you tweeted about this contest twice and also announced
          it on your Facebook. That's 3 additional chances!

If you do all of the above, at a minimum, that's 7 chances to win! But note that the barest minimum to qualify is that you have to post your answer to the question.

Contest ends on March 5 (Friday), 1159pm EST.

Winner will be picked via Randomizer.org and announced on March 6 (Saturday).

Good luck!

REVIEW: Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

ISBN 978-0-425-22674-2

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, Lawyer Romance

(c) March 2009, Berkley Publishing Group

Julie James's website

Buy Links (paper): Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble

Buy Link (ebook): Barnes and Noble Ebook

"Witty and laugh-out-loud funny! Not to be missed!"

Julie James pens a novel that is witty and laugh-out-loud funny with engaging characters who battle out the ongoing war of the sexes in the courtroom and elsewhere.

Payton Kendall works hard and wins every case as she tries to make partner in the firm. However, she has a good competitor in the person of J.D. Jameson, the man who has his office across the hall from her and with whom she could barely exchange a civilized word. For the last eight years, it has been thus with him, as each tries to get one over the other. When they were asked to work together on a certain case, they discover nice things about each other and their relationship was on the first step toward changing for a different one. But all bets are off when they learned only one of them will make partner.

Payton is a competitor to the core. She never backs down, thinking that she's only a woman or some such nonsense. She believes her capabilities are equal to that of J.D. and that she deserves to be made partner. Yet, she is at the same, feminine. She's an irresistible heroine for women everywhere.

For his part, J.D. believes in the saying "one good turn deserves another". As a competitor for the position of partner, J.D. is no slouch. He's a formidable lawyer who's won every case, and he works very hard, even staying into the night in the office. And because of his overflowing work schedule, he does date occasionally, but he's not the playboy or rakish hero that we read about in every other book. It's a refreshing change.

Though the story plot (and the resolution of their dilemma) is an old one, Ms. James was able to write it in a way that felt new and unique. I find myself laughing out loud (I did already say that, huh?) at their antics several places in the book, and their internal monologue is just priceless.

Ms. James presents opposing views about a woman's position in the employment opportunities aspect in the two characters. I never saw it before from J.D.'s point of view, that because an applicant is a woman and because the employer wanted to be politically correct, she may get the job even if there's a man who's as equally qualified. As J.D. said, "Men have to be twice as good at what they do to remain competitive in the workplace. Women just have to stay in the race." Not that I agree, but it did make me look at things from another perspective.

There is one thing I did find exception to. Aside from the fact that we never did find out what J.D. stands for, J.D. has this ongoing issue with his father. And it's to prove himself to his father that he could make it on his own that J.D. wanted to be made partner on his own merit (his father's a judge). However, after the first half of the book, we didn't find mention of his father again, not in J.D.'s internal monologue nor did his father make an appearance. I don't know if I read too much into it or maybe it's just the usual parents-will-always-disapprove-of-what-their-children-do, because I kept expecting a resolution with his father toward the end that never came. Despite that, I enjoyed Practice Makes Perfect so much Ms. James is on my auto-buy list. In the meantime, while waiting for Something About You (which I pre-ordered!), I can amuse myself with Just The Sexiest Man Alive.

Rating: 5 stars

Buy Links (paper): Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble

Buy Link (ebook): Barnes and Noble Ebook