Review: Always by Jeane Renick

Posted March 7, 2011 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Holly‘s review of Always by Jeane Renick

SHE HAD PLANS …BUT LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES

Marielle McCleary’s clock is ticking and she’s devastated. It’s now or never for this gorgeous thirty-four-year-old. Her ex-husband stalled on starting a family, and since the divorce she’s fought off romance. But one magical weekend with Thomas Saxon changes all that. Now Marielle is in love. She is also, by amazing fortune, pregnant. The problem is that women the world over are melting to Thomas’ three-alarm kisses and tender touch –on the movie screen. What could those few exquisite hours he’d shared with Marielle mean to him? Especially when his leading lady, a hard-as-nails Texas beauty queen, is about to trap him into marriage.

As Marielle fights for an exotic inheritance that she’ll pass to her own child, she also wrestles with a legacy far more precious and poignant–her passion for her baby’s famous, forbidden and perfect father.

This is one of my comfort reads. I don’t know why exactly, but much about the story appeals to me. Is it because I often dreamed of marrying a movie star as a young girl? Maybe. Regardless, it’s a story I love.

Marielle is a woman who wants a baby. Thanks to family genetics, she’s on the fast track to early menopause, which means her time is running out. With one failed marriage behind her and no current prospects, things look pretty bleak. When she’s notified that she has inherited a substantial sum of money, she decides now’s the time. With her two best friends offering support, she makes a list of what she wants in a father for her child..and realizes she’s described sexy movie star Thomas Saxon. Not that there’s a chance in hell she’ll end up with him, but fantasizing is fun.

Until fate intervenes and she does meet Thomas Saxon, on the same night he has a raging fight with his long-time girlfriend and Marielle has a raging fight with the man she thought might be father material. After spending a platonic night together (after too much champagne), Thomas and Marielle embark on an affair, that is, unfortunately, short lived. Thanks to Saxon’s scheming girlfriend, he ends up engaged and Marielle calls a halt to their fling, refusing to be the other woman. But things aren’t that simple, especially when Marielle realizes she, too, is pregnant. Add to that complications with her inheritance and the reappearance of her ex-husband, and both Thomas and Marielle have some hard choices to make.

There are many things about this novel I should hate:

Movie star Thomas Saxon is in a relationship when he gets busy with Marielle, hello cheater
The crazy girlfriend is a certifiable vamp from Texas, hello stereotype
Marielle is often “too nice” and just a ~~little~~ lot on the Mary Sue side, hello perfection..blech
The ex-husband was cheating scum but she didn’t kick him out of her life and in fact forgave him for a lot of really dumb stuff, both in the past and in the present, hello Mary Sue

I could go on, but honestly there’s no point. Despite that fact that I shouldn’t like many aspects of this story, I do. I like every last part of it. The cliches, the stereotypes, the angst and the romance. Even the flashbacks to Marielle’s ancestors and the history of her inheritance were interesting. This is a love story. One I enjoy very much. Thomas is sexy and debonaire and Marielle is the perfect woman to complete him. Yes it’s sad and sick, but there you have it.

4.5 out of 5

This book is OOP from Harper Monogram. You can buy it used here.

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Tagged: 4.5 Reviews, Contemporary, HarperMonogram, Holly's Reviews, Jeane Renick, Reviews

Updated: What Happened To….(Now with Links)

Posted February 29, 2008 by Holly in Discussions | 10 Comments

A number of years ago, I was given a copy of The Return of Eden McCall by Judith Duncan. I remember reading it in a matter of hours and thinking, “That was amazing” when it was finished. The thing is, I’m pretty sure this was the first romance novel I ever read, although I didn’t realize it at the time. Over the years, I’ve read and re-read this book so often the covers are falling off. I still read it every now and again.

A couple of years ago, when I started to read mainly romance, I looked her up on Amazon and found several other novels that were connected to this one. I searched for them (They featured Eden’s brothers, Tanner and Chase) but couldn’t find a copy that wasn’t super expensive (they’re out of print). But the other day, I found both an a used book store. Imagine my surprise.

Anyway, I read them the other day (reviews to follow..maybe) and really enjoyed them. But then I got to wondering, what happened to Judith Duncan? From the research I’ve done, it doesn’t look like she’s published a book since the mid-90’s. Since I haven’t read her entire backlist, it could be that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I can’t help but wonder. She published quite a few novels with Silhouette and Harlequin and then just disappeared.

The same thing happened to another I enjoyed in the past. Jeane Renick. I have a book by her (I believe I got it the same time I got the Judith Duncan books) called Always and I love it. It’s another one I pull out every now and again and re-read it. She hasn’t had anything published since the mid-90’s, either (not that I can tell anyway).

I’d love to find out more about these authors if anyone knows. And maybe we can help you find some, too. Is there an author you adored that seems to have disappeared into thin air? Did you find a book at a UBS and want more by that author, but can’t find any? Let’s try to help each other out..

Update: I found two websites that track down missing authors. This one seems to be the most promising. But this one isn’t bad either.