Tag: Janice Maynard

Guest Review: Mating Game by Janice Maynard

Posted October 11, 2009 by Ames in Reviews | 3 Comments


Ame’s review of Mating Game by Janice Maynard.

Nola Grainger needs a man…and fast. Her grandmother has left her everything in her will, with one small catch: Nola has to be married within a month. But if she’s going to get married, she wants it to last. And for her, that means finding a man with as much passion as she has-who can take care of every desire, every day.

Nola finds three prime candidates: her high school sweetheart Billy, hard-dealing businessman Marc, and sexy handyman Tanner. Trying out three very different-and very desirable-men proves to be more fun than Nola imagined. But she never thought it might prove fatal.

Because someone in town is dead set against Nola sticking around. And with three new men in her bed, the danger might be closer than she thinks…

Nola Grainger’s grandmother has died and in order to inherit, Nola must marry a man within 30 days. Nola is currently sleeping with someone she knows would not make her a good husband and so decides to return to her hometown to see if maybe the one that got away in high school is the man for her. But while she’s home, she meets a very sexy handyman who can keep her dream of restoring her ancestral home a reality. What’s a girl to do then?

All right, you all have to know right off the bat that the heroine sleeps with 3 different men in this book. So if you prefer your heroine to only sleep with the hero, this book is not for you. I don’t mind that myself so I can admit I was intrigued by the plot of this book.

Unfortunately, the execution was not really what I was expecting and it fell a bit flat. There was someone out to get Nola and kill her and I do admit that I had no clue who it was. The suspense part was fine. But Nola…I don’t know…I can’t explain it but I felt like she took too long making up her mind. Which makes no sense because she only had 30 days to chose. But still, that’s how I felt.

Nola does know all 3 men to some degree – the handyman is a stranger but someone her grandmother trusted. So it was realistic enough to pass in this fantasy, because that’s all it is, a fantasy. And a girl can sleep with who she wants in a fantasy. LOL

4 out of 5

This book is available from Penguin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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Guest Review: Hot Mail by Janice Maynard

Posted February 7, 2009 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 2 Comments

Brie‘s review of Hot Mail by Janice Maynard

Jane has wanted Ethan for years but has never found a way to tell him. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, she decides to seduce him by sending anonymous erotic valentines every Friday until the big day. Then she’ll finally reveal her true feelings— and wildest desires.

But when her stationery store is vandalized, it’s Ethan who comes to her rescue—and the sparks start flying way ahead of schedule. Now Jane and her erotic alter ego are competing for Ethan’s affections— and the results couldn’t be hotter.

Jane’s tactic to win Ethan’s heart was innovative. She knew what she wanted and went for it, not even letting the years that had passed between them deter her. I liked that she was a go-getter and hoped that Ethan would see what a great woman he would get in Jane. Ethan is initially surprised by his feelings for Jane because he has always looked at her as a friend, but once the attraction sets in, he’s full steam ahead. Ethan was not relenting in his pursuit of Jane and their chemistry flicked from the pages.

Even though I liked the overall romance, I did have a couple of problems. I thought that Jane’s jealousy over her own letters was silly. She had just started having sex with Ethan and expected him to share his personal letters with her. It was an unrealistic expectation, and for her to become jealous over seemed off. Ethan was not exempt from being slapped with the silly stick. The fact that he’s a cop and couldn’t figure out that Jane was behind the letters on his own was also off. I didn’t mind that he wasn’t sharing the erotic letters with Jane (they were none of her business until he and Jane became serious) but I did mind that he wasn’t able to use his deductive reasoning and realize that Jane was the one sending them.

There is a second thread of romance between Ethan’s sister, Sherry and Randy, a deputy who works under Ethan. Randy is ten years younger than Sherry, but he’s instantly enamored with her when she begins to make lunches for the station. Sherry is reluctant to enter a relationship with Randy, though. First off he’s young and she can’t see why he would be interested in her and on top of that, she also is wary of relationships since her marriage to the father of her daughter failed. Sherry had to endure town scandal when she got pregnant as a teenager and since then has tried her best to stay out of the spotlight. This has forced Sherry into the life of a spinster, but when Randy enters the scene, she is shaken up and realizes that the desires that she thought were long buried still exist.

I liked the story between Randy and Sherry a lot. It was cute seeing Sherry find her inner sexy after years of suppressing it. Randy was sweet and his feelings for Sherry were clear from the beginning. He showed Sherry that just because she was a mother, didn’t mean that she was dead. She had raised her child and it was high time for her to really live her life. For a story so short, the emotions of both characters and the romance was pulled off well.

Overall, Hot Mail was a good book. Aside from some minor complaints, I enjoyed reading it.

4 out of 5

This book is available from NAL. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Read more from Brie at Musings of a Bibliophile.

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Guest Review: By Appointment Only by Janice Maynard

Posted August 31, 2008 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 2 Comments

Brie‘s review of By Appointment Only by Janice Maynard.(Holly: her website is pretty)

It was love (or at least lust) at first sight for Hannah and Morgan. After a whirlwind romance, Morgan’s more than eager for marriage—but Hannah has a few hang-ups and is terrified of that commitment. She suggests a couples’ premarital ‘sex therapy’ she’s heard of, hoping he’ll call her bluff, but he’s so determined to win her hand that he agrees. Suddenly they find themselves in a session with two other couples, talking to a married pair of doctors whose business is planning sex ‘scenarios’ to help couples make sure they’re compatible.

By Appointment Only follows Hannah and Morgan as they navigate their way to sexual fulfillment as a couple. Morgan has just proposed marriage to Hannah and she’s accepted. But Hannah is having second thoughts. She loves Morgan with all her heart but is convinced that all marriages fail and if she and that Morgan get married, they will fail as well. Hanna thinks that she and Morgan are fine the way they are. Morgan senses Hannah’s reluctance to tie the knot, and after she jokingly brings up sexual therapy, he decides that might be just what they need. The couple embarks on their sexual therapy journey hesitantly, but through their hot and heavy sessions they learn more and more about each other. But will it be enough to assure Hannah that marriage is the right step for her and Morgan?

There are two secondary couples that the story also follows. Shaun and Danita; a couple twenty years married and Timmy and Rachelle; newlyweds with a four month old daughter. Both couples stories were an interesting contrast to Hannah and Morgan. Shaun and Danita are attempting to revive their sexual relationship while Timmy and Rachelle, at her mother’s insistence, are trying to keep theirs from crumbling.

I wish I could say that I really enjoyed By Appointment Only. I liked the concept, but it never really pulled me in. One big problem I had was that the main couple’s beginning relationship is completely absent from the book. Their first meeting is written as the intro, but after that the story skips ahead to a time after they are already engaged. All of Hannah and Morgan’s dating and getting to know each other time period is quickly summed up in a paragraph, leaving the reader to fill in the blanks. This type of story telling is fine for the secondary characters, but for the main couple I would have liked to see them fall in love. Also, I never fully understood why Morgan thought that a week of sexual therapy would convince Hannah that they should be married. Couple’s therapy, maybe, but sexual therapy?

My final gripe is a small one, and it is that “my love” is an endearment used not only by Morgan to Hannah but by Shaun to Danita. I know it sounds silly that I’m bothered by that, but it niggled at me that both men used it. An endearment like that seems like it should be exclusive to one couple in a book, not two.

Overall,By Appointment Only was an interesting story. Reading about three couples that are already committed to their partners and working on staying that way was a different approach to erotica, but for me the book was not as satisfying as I would have liked.

3 out of 5

This book is available from NAL Trade. You can by it here or here in e-format.

Read more from Brie at Cupid’s Chokehold.

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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted June 30, 2008 by Tracy in Features | 21 Comments

Ok – this will be short, sweet and to the point, unfortunately, since my kids are being hellions angels and seem to not be able to leave me alone long enough to post! Ah the joys of motherhood. (and sorry, I’m not including links either – yeah, I suck)


What do you do when you get an email telling you you’ve won a book and you can’t remember what you’ve won? You write back and ask, of course. Except then you don’t read the entire email so when you get the book you kind of look at it, like, WTF? Then you go back and read the entire email and realize you’re an idiot! lol This, as you can guess, is what happened to me. I thought I was getting Janice Maynard’s soon to be released By Appointment Only. Um, NOT. I got one of her Precious Gem collection books from 1997. Yes, the cover does look like she’s a baby bird accepting worms from her mother. But no, it’s just him with his tongue. (Ok, I’ve obviously not had enough sleep this weekend!) Anyway, the hero drove me up a freakin wall. Every time the heroine told him that she couldn’t see him anymore, which was definitely more than once, he would say mean things to her, i.e. she didn’t have a brain in her head (and my personal favorite) she was going to end up old and alone – niiiiice. And she still wanted to be with this clown? Come on!


I started reading Weddings from Hell with stories from Maggie Shayne, Jeaniene Frost, Terri Garey & Kathryn Smith. I got through the first, Till Death by Maggie Shayne, which was almost painful…and part of Happily Never After by Jeaniene Frost before getting completely distracted by My Fair Captain. I’m sure I’ll go back and read the rest at a later date. Please, someone remind me of that since I may forget! They say the mind is the first to go.


Lisabea reminded me – in a totally and obscure roundabout way, without even knowing she was doing it – that I should read My Fair Captain by J. L. Langley. Oh dear Lord what a fabulous book! I absolutely loved the whole premise of the book, the setting, the characters – all of them – I could go on and on. An absolutely wonderful book!


Then came a novella by Missy Lyons entitled Gold Fever. An ok book. Parts drove me nuts – like when the heroine left the hero to become a whore and he didn’t come looking for her for 2 weeks. Yep, that’s love. Too bad she liked it in the brothel so much! lol

Next was The Broken H by J. L. Langley. It was ok. See review below.

Still reading the Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann. She’s still whipping out the great books in this series…so I’m still reading them. I love how she usually has 3 different stories going on at the same time – one never gets bored reading them. So I finished Out of Control which was incredible and Into the Night which was also wonderful, but very serious and very sad…but there was also an HEA.

Happy Reading!!!

What did you read this week?

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Review: Anthology – The Power of Love

Posted June 28, 2008 by Holly in News, Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Anthology – The Power of LoveReviewer: Holly
The Power of Love by Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, Toni Blake, Dianne Castell, Karen Kelley, Rosemary Laurey, Janice Maynard, LuAnn McLane, Lucy Monroe, Patricia Sargeant, Kay Stockham, J.C. Wilder
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: June 3rd 2008
Genres: Fiction, Anthologies (multiple authors)
Pages: 320
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars

Twelve all-new stories of women's resilience, empowerment, and fulfillment, by bestselling and award-winning authors.
In this engaging anthology of never-before published stories, twelve authors are united by their unique visions of the female experience. A young woman is torn between the security of her fiancé and the excitement of an old flame; a desperate wife is forced into the workplace for the first time in her life; an ambitious professional woman finally finds the courage to take control of her career; and her man; an emotionally fragile divorcee finds resolve in the ethereal visitations of an archangel...
These are just some of the women who discover and rediscover their own wonderfully fallible but ultimately strong selves in the shadow of love, romantic love, platonic love, new love, and lost love. Readers will be touched, inspired, charmed, and entertained by these original stories of disparate longings, unsettled lives, and the power of love.
Includes 12 stories by New York Times Bestselling Author Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy, Toni Blake, Dianne Castell, Karen Kelley, Rosemary Laurey, Janice Maynard, LuAnn McLane, Lucy Monroe, Patricia Sargeant, Kay Stockham, and J.C. Wilder.
A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS FROM THE POWER OF LOVE GOES TO THE BATTERED WOMEN’S SHELTER OF CINCINNATI
 

 

This is the book I blogged about here. It’s a collection of short stories by 12 authors dedicated to raising money for domestic violence prevention. I was pleasantly surprised by this collection. Although I enjoy most of these authors, I didn’t expect anything great from these stories, because they’re so short. 20-40 pages doesn’t seem like much, but these authors managed to utilize the content and deliver wonderful stories.

These never before published stories offer something for every reader. Friends to lovers, love late in life, lovers reunited. I was impressed with the quality of writing, especially from authors I hadn’t tried before. A woman is reunited with her old high school flame, a widowed grandmother finds love again in her neighbor’s father, a man finally convinces his best friend they should be together. Although I enjoyed some better than others, I wasn’t disappointed by any of them. I laughed out loud a few times and even got misty eyed.

Do yourselves a favor and pick this up. Not only is it for a good cause, but it’s perfect for light summer reading at the pool or beach.

I’m not going to grade each individual story, but overall I give the collection:

4.25 out of 5

This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can buy it here.

four-stars

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