Review of Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione

It's fair to say that Larissa Ione has her fair share of duds, even in an otherwise lovely series. That was certainly the case here. In the interest of full disclosure, it's not like I went into this book expecting a terrific read. As a hero, Reseph failed to excited me. He spent the previous three books as the vile, villainous version of himself. We were never given enough information on good Reseph to make me feel like I wanted to see his redemption story. Nevertheless, I was willing to try.

So, to recap, Reseph had been turned into Pestilence, and committed all sorts of crazy evil. In the last book, Pestilence was stabbed with a dagger that turned him back into Reseph. Now, Reaver (the guardian angel of the four horsemen), erased his memory and dropped him in a snow bank. Our heroine, Jillian, discovers him, takes him home to her cabin, and romance ensues. Jillain was once attacked by demons. When her neighbors start dying under very demon-like circumstances, she's determined to believe that Reseph is not to blame, despite the fact that he doesn't know who or what he is.

The first and most obvious issue with this book is pacing. We spend a lot of time with Reseph and Jillian in her cabin, just kind of waiting on something to happen. It is boring as hell. To rub salt in the wound, the payoff following all that boredom isn't particularly grand. There is just nothing within the plot that captivated any part of me.

Sadly, I was not enamored with Reseph. He has his charming moments, I'll admit. He's sweet and protective toward Jillian, and yet he appreciates her ability to take care of herself. I was regrettably distracted by the fact that he has amnesia, which of course I knew would come crashing down at some point. I was distracted by the nasty things he did while evil, however involuntary, and by whether the author was going to get around to resolving all of that angst. I wasn't crazy about the way his family handled his return, either. No one could decide whether it was okay to be pissed at him for what Pestilence did, or if all should be forgiven because it was all against his will. At the risk of getting a tiny bit spoilery, I was also really unsatisfied by the fact that he doesn't earn his redemption or return to sanity--the heroine kind of does it for him.

Jillian, who initially seemed bland and uninspired, actually turned out to be the more engaging of the two. She's survived a horrible ordeal, coped by living alone and working her ass off on her farm, and she makes huge sacrifices for what she believes is right. Her judgment in blindly trusting Reseph very questionable, but I'm willing to assume she simply has good instincts.

Whatever my expectations might have been for this book, it did not surprise me and it did not elate me. I can only hope Ione's next book will be better. 2 stars.

On Movie Making: A Review of A Woman's Heart by JoAnn Ross

Today seems like a good day to visit Ireland. Here we meet Nora Fitzpatrick, a widow who runs a farm and a large family. She somewhat reluctantly rents a room in her own out to Quinn, a writer who has come to help work on a film that's being made in the town. Quinn is a loner, and normally resistant to all things hearth and home, but he finds himself drawn into involvement with the lives of the family, and very attracted to Nora herself.

The town and the characters are charming enough. I really liked Nora's family, although some of the children stray into plot moppet territory a time or two. I thought Quinn was very sweet with them. So sweet, in fact, that I had trouble buying the idea that he's a loner who has never experienced or wanted love.

Nora and Quinn work well as a couple, though I found nothing particularly remarkable or memorable about there dialogue, sexual chemistry, or the story of how they end up together. The book is held back by a bland safeness and predictability. It's a comfortable romance, but not one that's likely to stick with me

One thing I did really enjoy was the casual acceptance of the possibility of magic and fantastical creatures. Not so much as to make this a PNR, but enough to lend the setting a mysterious kind of quality. I'd be willing to read more of the trilogy because of the setting alone.

Overall, I wasn't overly impressed by this novel, but I also wasn't terribly annoyed or disappointed in it. If you like quiet contemporary romance in an Irish setting, you could do worse. 3 stars.

On the Farm: A Review of Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex

Our second book for the month is yet another small town contemporary romance. It's the story of Tiffany, who has to return home after losing her job in New York. She's not thrilled to be back home with her judgmental parents and too perfect brother, or to be working in their Chinese restaurant.  But on the plus side, she gets to reconnect with Chris, her crush from high school. Chris is grown up now, running his family farm, and has a teenage son in need of tutoring. Asking Tiffany for help with his son seems natural, since she once tutored Chris into college. Chris is surprised, though, to see Tiffany in a new and attractive light after all these years. 

One of the reasons I chose to read this book was the setting. I was thinking that it would take place mostly in the Chinese diner, and I'm very fond of Chinese diners. Unfortunately, most of it takes place outside of the diner and the parts that do take place in the diner aren't the happiest. Tiffany has a lot of family troubles.

Nevertheless, the book is very well written and not without it's charms. I really enjoyed Chris--he's hard working, loves his son, and makes the most out of a life many would consider constricting. His relationship with both his son and his aging father felt brutally real, but not without love. The same goes with Tiffany and her parents, actually, I especially liked Tiffany's relationship with her brother, Daniel, and how she had to come to terms with the old scars caused by sibling rivalry.

I did like the relationship building between Chris and Tiffany, although I wouldn't say I loved it. I liked that they were old friends, in a way, and I liked that the process of them rediscovering each other. Chris admits to not really having seen Tiffany as the full three dimensional person that she is back in high school, and once he does start to see more of her he genuinely loves her.

I also really liked the way that the author addressed racism in a very non-preachy way. Chris's father, in particular, is painfully awkward in his casual racism. The scene where Tiffany finally sets him straight is pretty satisfying.

The primary thing that I didn't like about this story was the path that Tiffany's character development took. When the story begins, she seems to love all of the things about the city, and she has worthy goals that she's worked her entire life for. Ultimately, though, the lesson that she learns is that she has to give some of that...pretty much all of it up in the name of love. I felt kind of bad for her in that respect, because I'm not sure how happy she'll be long term.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book. It's a familiar sort of story with a few creative twists. Certainly worth reading. 3.5 stars.