Jane and Ethan were best friends for years. Jane wanted it to be something more but Ethan never seemed receptive so Jane never found the courage to tell him how she really felt. Then Ethan got engaged to another woman. Jane knew that the woman was all wrong for him but she also know that if she said anything she would just come across as jealous. She couldn't bear to stand by and watch Ethan with someone else, especially when the relationship was a huge mistake, so she drifted out of Ethan's life. Even after Ethan broke the engagement Jane didn't renew the friendship because she couldn't continue to be “just friends”.
Four years pass with no contact between them, but Jane is never able to completely let go of her feelings for Ethan. The rest of her life is going well. She has friends and her stationery business is a success, but something is missing. She wants to marry and have children, but she can't get interested in other men because she still is still dreaming of Ethan. She realizes that she has to find a way to tell him her feelings and find out once and for all if there's any hope for a relationship. She can't bring herself to simply approach him out of the blue after so many years so she needs to find a way to introduce the idea more gradually. The fact that Valentine's Day is coming up gives Jane an idea. She decides that in the weeks leading up to the holiday she will send Ethan a series of anonymous cards expressing her feelings. Then on Valentine's Day she'll reveal herself as the author and hope that Ethan is intrigued enough to give them a chance.
Unfortunately after she sends the first card her store is vandalized. Ethan is the assistant police chief so it's his job to investigate. Being thrown back together renews their friendship, but there is also the spark of something more. Jane finds herself torn between continuing with her plan and trying a more direct approach.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I liked both Jane and Ethan and I felt that their story made sense. I could understand why their relationship had been platonic in the past. Ethan was comfortable with the friendship and focused on his career. He had no interest in doing anything that would disrupt his routine. Like most other people, Jane was afraid of rejection. They live in a small town and she knows that if Ethan doesn't return her feelings she won't be able to stand living in such close proximity to him and will have to move. I also understood how a four year separation could cause Ethan to see Jane in a different light, even without the help of the Valentines.
Grade: B
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
A Whole New Light by Sandra Brown
Cyn McCall is a young widow raising a young son with the help of her mother, who is also widowed. Her husband Tim died suddenly two years ago and now people are telling her that she has grieved long enough needs to be get back into the dating scene, but Cyn doesn't feel ready. She just wants to focus her energies on her son and her career as a counselor for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Aside from her son the only man in her life is her late husband's friend and business partner, Worth Lansing. Worth and Cyn have never seen each other as anything more than friends. Not only were they both loyal to Tim, but when it comes to romance they have nothing in common. Cyn is conservative and concerned with appearances and Tim was her only lover. Worth is a playboy who has never had a serious relationship.
They're both perfectly content with the situation until Worth finds himself with a trip for two to Mexico and no one to join him. Cyn needs a break in her routine so he talks her into going with him, strictly as friends. They're both surprised by the fact that the resort is focused on couples and there's only one bed in the room. The situation creates a new level of awareness between them and they soon become lovers. They then have to decide if they can still be friends.
I've enjoyed many of Sandra Brown's books over the years, but not this one. The fact that this is an older book that was originally published as a category may have contributed to the problems, but I don't think it was a major factor. I simply didn't like any of the characters.
I have sympathy for how difficult it must be to open up to a new relationship after a beloved spouse dies. Still, Cyn was so prissy and difficult that it was hard for me to like her. Her interpretation of Worth's actions after they sleep together the 1st time was pretty much nuts. I can understand how her guilt and insecurity would make her jump to those conclusions but that didn't make it any less annoying.
I also didn't like Cyn's mother, Ladonia. She was pushy and nagged Cyn about her social life, which isn't right. No one, not even a mother, has the right to tell a person how long she should grieve and Ladonia had no respect for that at all. The mother/daughter relationship is often difficult that way so I could probably have let that go, but there was another major issue.
Ladonia has been having a relationship that she deliberately kept secret from Cyn. The secrecy extended to getting Cyn's son not to tell her about outings the couple took him on. When Cyn returns home from Mexico early and finds them together she's understandably shocked, but because she isn't immediately thrilled Ladonia accuses her of being selfish. She goes on to say that she would have told Cyn about the relationship but she couldn't because Cyn has been widowed longer but wouldn't take the initiative to go out and get a man of her own. Ladonia acts as if this reasoning is a show of sensitivity on her part, but when you think about it it's just another criticism of Cyn. Ladonia is basically accusing her of being incapable of being happy for another couple while she is alone. Cyn is a pain in the behind but there's no evidence that she's anywhere near that bad. In fact, it seems that Ladonia is the selfish one. She acted as if she wanted Cyn to begin dating for Cyn's sake, but it seemed that she was at least as interested in being able to enjoy her own relationship without guilt. In spite of all this both Worth and Cyn act like Ladonia is the greatest. Cyn even says that she couldn't possibly have a better mother. I just couldn't see that.
As for Worth, I didn't have much feeling about him positive or negative, except to wonder what in the world he saw in either Cyn or Ladonia. None of that added up to me caring about the HEA at all.
Grade: D
They're both perfectly content with the situation until Worth finds himself with a trip for two to Mexico and no one to join him. Cyn needs a break in her routine so he talks her into going with him, strictly as friends. They're both surprised by the fact that the resort is focused on couples and there's only one bed in the room. The situation creates a new level of awareness between them and they soon become lovers. They then have to decide if they can still be friends.
I've enjoyed many of Sandra Brown's books over the years, but not this one. The fact that this is an older book that was originally published as a category may have contributed to the problems, but I don't think it was a major factor. I simply didn't like any of the characters.
I have sympathy for how difficult it must be to open up to a new relationship after a beloved spouse dies. Still, Cyn was so prissy and difficult that it was hard for me to like her. Her interpretation of Worth's actions after they sleep together the 1st time was pretty much nuts. I can understand how her guilt and insecurity would make her jump to those conclusions but that didn't make it any less annoying.
I also didn't like Cyn's mother, Ladonia. She was pushy and nagged Cyn about her social life, which isn't right. No one, not even a mother, has the right to tell a person how long she should grieve and Ladonia had no respect for that at all. The mother/daughter relationship is often difficult that way so I could probably have let that go, but there was another major issue.
Ladonia has been having a relationship that she deliberately kept secret from Cyn. The secrecy extended to getting Cyn's son not to tell her about outings the couple took him on. When Cyn returns home from Mexico early and finds them together she's understandably shocked, but because she isn't immediately thrilled Ladonia accuses her of being selfish. She goes on to say that she would have told Cyn about the relationship but she couldn't because Cyn has been widowed longer but wouldn't take the initiative to go out and get a man of her own. Ladonia acts as if this reasoning is a show of sensitivity on her part, but when you think about it it's just another criticism of Cyn. Ladonia is basically accusing her of being incapable of being happy for another couple while she is alone. Cyn is a pain in the behind but there's no evidence that she's anywhere near that bad. In fact, it seems that Ladonia is the selfish one. She acted as if she wanted Cyn to begin dating for Cyn's sake, but it seemed that she was at least as interested in being able to enjoy her own relationship without guilt. In spite of all this both Worth and Cyn act like Ladonia is the greatest. Cyn even says that she couldn't possibly have a better mother. I just couldn't see that.
As for Worth, I didn't have much feeling about him positive or negative, except to wonder what in the world he saw in either Cyn or Ladonia. None of that added up to me caring about the HEA at all.
Grade: D
Basic Training by Julie Miller
Marine captain Travis McCormick was badly injured in a training accident more than a year ago. After extensive rehab he still isn't back to his old self and the time is coming when a decision will have to be made about his future with the Corps. After he reinjures his knee by pushing himself too hard his commanding officer orders him to take six weeks of R&R. He returns to his Virginia hometown where he finds his family's worries about him stifling. In order to alleviate their concerns he pretends to agree to have his old friend Tess act as his physiotherapist. However, he makes it clear to her than he neither wants or needs her professional expertise. All he wants is for her to act as his cover story with his father.
Tess has loved Travis for years but he never looked at her as anything more than a buddy. He's not the only one sees Tess as just one of the guys and she has no sexual confidence. This hasn't been a major problem for her because her love for Travis has kept her from being interested in other men. However, at 33 she's starting to worry that she's going to end up the town spinster. Tess knows that Travis really does need a physiotherapist but she also knows that he's too stubborn to accept her help, so she takes his request as an opportunity to make some changes in her life. She agrees to help him with his family if he'll teach her to be more sexually confident. Tess figures that she'll either get his attention or she'll be forced to finally move on and find another man. Either way she'll be better off than she is now.
Travis is surprised, first by his own sudden awareness of Tess' charms and then by her offer, but he's happy to help a friend. Problems start when Travis finds himself jealous of the attention that a newly-confident Tess receives from other men. Now he has to decide what he wants from his future and where Tess will fit into his life.
I think that for a friends to lovers story to work it needs to be clear why the h/h have been strictly platonic in the past and why the situation has changed. I thought that Basic Training answered the first question well enough, but not the second. When Travis first begins to have lustful thoughts about Tess he keeps thinking that she has breasts and that he never noticed them before. He wonders when she developed them. That would make sense if they were fairly young or it had been many years since they had seen each other, but they're 33 and they last saw each other a year ago. I have no idea when Tess developed breasts but I feel confident that it was before she turned 32. So why is Travis suddenly seeing them? The logical assumption would seem to be that his injuries have caused him to see his life in a new light, but that's not the case. No explanation is ever given for his new-found sexual interest in Tess, it simply exists and for me that really doesn't work . I also didn't completely believe some of the decisions that Tess makes.
The love scenes had a nice level of heat and I liked that fact that Tess had a job that you don't see much in books, but ultimately I wasn't able to buy into the transition from just friends to HEA. Since that was the point of the story this ended up being a pretty unsatisfying read.
Grade: C-
Note: I didn't realize this before I started reading, but this is the 2nd of a pair of stories and I haven't read the first book, Major Attraction. There is a subplot in Basic Training that is obviously a carry over. Because I didn't read Major Attraction that subplot was of absolutely no interest to me and was in fact a little annoying. I assume that people who read the first book would feel differently.
Tess has loved Travis for years but he never looked at her as anything more than a buddy. He's not the only one sees Tess as just one of the guys and she has no sexual confidence. This hasn't been a major problem for her because her love for Travis has kept her from being interested in other men. However, at 33 she's starting to worry that she's going to end up the town spinster. Tess knows that Travis really does need a physiotherapist but she also knows that he's too stubborn to accept her help, so she takes his request as an opportunity to make some changes in her life. She agrees to help him with his family if he'll teach her to be more sexually confident. Tess figures that she'll either get his attention or she'll be forced to finally move on and find another man. Either way she'll be better off than she is now.
Travis is surprised, first by his own sudden awareness of Tess' charms and then by her offer, but he's happy to help a friend. Problems start when Travis finds himself jealous of the attention that a newly-confident Tess receives from other men. Now he has to decide what he wants from his future and where Tess will fit into his life.
I think that for a friends to lovers story to work it needs to be clear why the h/h have been strictly platonic in the past and why the situation has changed. I thought that Basic Training answered the first question well enough, but not the second. When Travis first begins to have lustful thoughts about Tess he keeps thinking that she has breasts and that he never noticed them before. He wonders when she developed them. That would make sense if they were fairly young or it had been many years since they had seen each other, but they're 33 and they last saw each other a year ago. I have no idea when Tess developed breasts but I feel confident that it was before she turned 32. So why is Travis suddenly seeing them? The logical assumption would seem to be that his injuries have caused him to see his life in a new light, but that's not the case. No explanation is ever given for his new-found sexual interest in Tess, it simply exists and for me that really doesn't work . I also didn't completely believe some of the decisions that Tess makes.
The love scenes had a nice level of heat and I liked that fact that Tess had a job that you don't see much in books, but ultimately I wasn't able to buy into the transition from just friends to HEA. Since that was the point of the story this ended up being a pretty unsatisfying read.
Grade: C-
Note: I didn't realize this before I started reading, but this is the 2nd of a pair of stories and I haven't read the first book, Major Attraction. There is a subplot in Basic Training that is obviously a carry over. Because I didn't read Major Attraction that subplot was of absolutely no interest to me and was in fact a little annoying. I assume that people who read the first book would feel differently.
2009 TBR Challenge for May: Last Man in Town by Susan Kay Law
May TBR Challenge: Friends to Lovers
Lucas Garrett is the last able-bodied man left in Maple Falls, Minnesota. A series of setbacks shut down most of the businesses in town and the lack of opportunity caused the rest of the men to go west with the Gold Rush. That left the town's women lonely and in need of male attention. Lucas is initially happy to provide it, but he eventually finds himself worn out and looking for a way to take a break from his various "arrangements" without hurting anyone's feelings. To do that he turns to his best friend Priscilla Wentworth and asks her to pretend that the two of them are engaged. Lucas feels confident that this will cause the women to leave him alone because Priscilla is so well loved by the town that no one would ever consider poaching on her territiory.
Pris is tired of being alone so she agrees to the plan on the condition that Lucas helps her find an actual husband. After years of being platonic friends their fake engagement stirs up real feelings but neither one of them is convinced that Lucas has what it takes to commit to anyone, even his oldest friend.
This book was well-written, but I never really warmed up to it. The book opens with Lucas sleeping with half the women in town. Some of them have regular days of the week that they show up to be serviced. That just felt skanky to me and I wasn't able to shake that feeling even though the story goes on to show Lucas to be a kind, caring person.
I was also bothered by Priscilla's relationship with her family. Her father is dead and she lives with her mother and her sister Jeanette. They are described as being close, but that rang false for me for several reasons. My main issue is that both of them become involved with men who were courting Priscilla. Jeanette married Pris' first suitor. She later attempts to seduce Lucas, supposedly to save Priscilla from falling for a man who can't be faithful to her. It was true that she was worried about Pris, but she seemed more worried about her own ego. Jeanette was "the pretty one" in the family she found it unbearable that her husband had run off to the gold fields and left her alone while her sister had the attention of the only eligible man in town. Worse, when Priscilla gets another suitor her mother ends up with him. This struck me as ironic considering Lucas' belief that no one who knew her would be cruel enough to hurt Priscilla by making a move on her man. Obviously this all works out fine, but I still found it more distasteful than charming.
In the end these problems kept me from being able to really invest in the story. As a result it seemed to drag. It felt like it took forever for Lucas and Priscilla to work out their issues. That's too bad because both characters and their relationship had a lot going for them.
Grade: C
I also read three other friends to lovers books this month.
A Whole New Light by Sandra Brown
Basic Training by Julie Miller
Hot Mail by Janice Maynard
Lucas Garrett is the last able-bodied man left in Maple Falls, Minnesota. A series of setbacks shut down most of the businesses in town and the lack of opportunity caused the rest of the men to go west with the Gold Rush. That left the town's women lonely and in need of male attention. Lucas is initially happy to provide it, but he eventually finds himself worn out and looking for a way to take a break from his various "arrangements" without hurting anyone's feelings. To do that he turns to his best friend Priscilla Wentworth and asks her to pretend that the two of them are engaged. Lucas feels confident that this will cause the women to leave him alone because Priscilla is so well loved by the town that no one would ever consider poaching on her territiory.
Pris is tired of being alone so she agrees to the plan on the condition that Lucas helps her find an actual husband. After years of being platonic friends their fake engagement stirs up real feelings but neither one of them is convinced that Lucas has what it takes to commit to anyone, even his oldest friend.
This book was well-written, but I never really warmed up to it. The book opens with Lucas sleeping with half the women in town. Some of them have regular days of the week that they show up to be serviced. That just felt skanky to me and I wasn't able to shake that feeling even though the story goes on to show Lucas to be a kind, caring person.
I was also bothered by Priscilla's relationship with her family. Her father is dead and she lives with her mother and her sister Jeanette. They are described as being close, but that rang false for me for several reasons. My main issue is that both of them become involved with men who were courting Priscilla. Jeanette married Pris' first suitor. She later attempts to seduce Lucas, supposedly to save Priscilla from falling for a man who can't be faithful to her. It was true that she was worried about Pris, but she seemed more worried about her own ego. Jeanette was "the pretty one" in the family she found it unbearable that her husband had run off to the gold fields and left her alone while her sister had the attention of the only eligible man in town. Worse, when Priscilla gets another suitor her mother ends up with him. This struck me as ironic considering Lucas' belief that no one who knew her would be cruel enough to hurt Priscilla by making a move on her man. Obviously this all works out fine, but I still found it more distasteful than charming.
In the end these problems kept me from being able to really invest in the story. As a result it seemed to drag. It felt like it took forever for Lucas and Priscilla to work out their issues. That's too bad because both characters and their relationship had a lot going for them.
Grade: C
I also read three other friends to lovers books this month.
A Whole New Light by Sandra Brown
Basic Training by Julie Miller
Hot Mail by Janice Maynard
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