Sunday, January 6, 2013

Novella Mini-Reviews Part 2

This is part two of my novella quick reviews. Even though I didn't love all of the books I read, it was quite rewarding to finish reads so quickly :)  Part One of the novella reviews can be found here.



Heart of the Sea by Christine Warren
Series: The Others #2.5
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Witches
Pages: 25 (ebook)
Author's Website | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Kindle (free) | B&N (free)

Description:
In the world of the Others, affairs of the heart are no less complicated. Even when talented witch, Jenny Ferguson, gets caught in a questionable situation with a current friend and former lover by her fiancé no less, she might need more than magic to save her wedding day.

Mini-Review:
This one was actually kind of cute.  The story kept the reader and the fiancĂ© guessing and it really made me wonder about the rest of the series.  There isn't much character development and the plot was quite simple.  But it caught my attention fast, dropped a few intriguing details about their world, and had just the right amount of everything considering the short read.  And it's free!  This book made me consider participating in a witch/witchcraft challenge but it was not to be.




Worth the Risk by Meryl Sawyer
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 77 (ebook)
Author's Website
Buy it: Kindle | B&N

Description:
Each and every one of us has the ability to effect change—to make our world a better place. The key is to begin in our own backyards, look at needs within our communities and then decide to do something about them. The dedicated women selected as this year's recipients of Harlequin's More Than Words award have changed lives, one good deed at a time. To celebrate their accomplishments, bestselling authors have written stories inspired by these real-life heroines. In this book, Meryl Sawyer honors the work of Gracie Cavnar, founder of the Recipe for Success Foundation.



Mini-Review:
Lexi Morrison has a busy life.  She's just landed a new job, studying for her CPA exam, raising her younger sister, and running a small business called City Seeds.  Raising her sister means guiding her on many of her decisions and she finds it difficult to teach her sister, who has diabetes, to make healthy eating decisions when her sister's dream is to be a dessert chef.  When a local chef sponsors a new dessert competition, Lexi worries that her sister will be off making bad decisions instead of helping Lexi and watching her health.  But can Lexi learn that some things are out of her control.  This wasn't my favorite short but it was pretty good.  Lexi can work a nerve because she seems so controlling when it comes to her sister but she really has a lot on her plate so I guess it's understandable.  I enjoyed seeing the growth in both Lexi and her sister.  I enjoyed the romance but it really doesn't take center stage here. This romance is strictly PG.





A Fool Again by Eloisa James
Series: Duchess Quartet #1.5
Genre: Romance, Historical Romance
Pages: 87 (ebook)
Author's Website | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Kindle | B&N

Description:

A Fool Again is the story of Genevieve, who once made a dash to Gretna Greene to marry, but was caught by her father. Now, a few years later, she attends the funeral of her elderly husband (not the man she ran away to marry) and who does she see but The One Who Got Away! Can they make their love work this time around or will Genevieve be A Fool Again?

Mini-Review:
I thought this one was just silly.  I didn't dislike the story because it was short or underdeveloped.  That isn't the problem here.  I found the story well-developed for a short story and the conflict wasn't too complex.    Here I thought Genevieve to be silly and inconsistent as a character.  The romance wasn't believable and the situation Genevieve was in was...well...silly.  I wish I could go into more details but since my issue is with the plot and it's a short story, saying anything would give everything away.  Suffice it to say, Genevieve was not for me.
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9 comments:

  1. The Eloisa James one seemed like the only one for me but now I just do not know

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  2. 2 good ones and only 1 meh---that is pretty good for novellas :) :) :) :)

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  3. The last one would probably be the only one I would have even considered upon first look. Too bad it's only meh. I can't abide silly for no reason characters and Genevieve sounds too flighty for my own taste.

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  4. To me this happens with a lot of romances - the fluffiness overwhelms. But there are gems in there too. I'm tempted to write short reviews half the time myself. I do with Harlequins since they follow such a similar formula it's hard to write a long review.

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