Review: Billionaire's Intern - Part 1 by Maisey Yates

First, I should admit I did not understand what I was reading. Yes, I saw that it was "part 1" but I assumed that meant it was the first book in a trilogy. When I opened it on my kindle, I saw it was very short, but thought it was a novella, in the same vein as the Cosmo Hot Reads.

I generally avoid anything with "Billionaire" in the title. I think that has become so overused, and such a weak word to describe someone. He has money. Okay? Not saying I don't like stories about wealthy men, but if the most important thing about him is his money, kind of boring. (I spent my twenties in the Dallas-area, knew a lot of guys with a lot of money and most of them were total jackasses who thought money was all they needed. So anyway.)

But I generally love Maisey Yates' books - her Presents books were some of the first romances I read when I returned to reading romances, and remain some of my favorites. So when I saw this on NetGalley, of course I wanted to read it. And once I began reading it, I was so happy to see Austin from Avenge Me in the beginning of the story. (I absolute loved that book!)

But this part 1 is just like 50 pages of the story. If I'd known it was simply part of a story, I wouldn't have bothered reading it - I would have waited until I could get the entire story. I don't really understand this format. I went to amazon to try to figure out what is going on. According to their listings, this will be released in parts - 50-60 pages each - every two days. First part free (June 7), second part 99 cents (June 9), next one 2.50 (June 11) and then I think, four dollars for the fourth part (June 14). Or you could get entire story for six dollars (June 17). This concept doesn't make sense to me at all. The entire story is less than 200 pages (if the amazon listing is correct) so why split it up? Maybe there is something involved that I simply don't understand or am not aware of. Like it's a special promotion of some sort. But I don't like it, and I was incredibly disappointed when I realized last night that I didn't have an entire story.

The biggest problem though is there is nothing in the first part that makes me feel the need to keep reading it. I know that Allison likes Skittles - bought by her brother - and Logan Black doesn't wear shoes and he doesn't like being around people. That isn't enough to make me want to hurry up and purchase part two.

I'll probably read the entire book when it's available, but I really don't like the serial concept at all. I like reading a book all at once. And after reading the first part, I'm not in any way anxiously awaiting the rest of the story.

I received a review copy via NetGalley.

Review: Christmas with a Billionaire: Billionaire under the Mistletoe\Snowed in with Her Boss\A Diamond for Christmas

Holiday romances are my indulgence during this time of the year.  I read as many as possible beginning around Thanksgiving.  This was my first of the season.

The common theme in these stories is a billionaire.  I usually avoid stories in which a character's main identifier is that he's a billionaire.  That just seems so boring and overdone.  That isn't to say I don't read my fair share of stories about rich men (I love Harlequin Presents) but I don't like for the most important thing about the person to be how much money he has.  I'm more interested in powerful and successful rather than simply, rich.  But this collection included a story by Maisey Yates, so I was anxious to read it.

But darn these romance novelists for giving false hope and allowing us to imagine that the handsome man in the suit at the airport might for a moment have a passing interest in the weird girl with purple hair, wearing a leather jacket and Doctor Who tshirt.

That's the thing about the billionaire stories, the gorgeous, successful, rich man is drawn to the awkward, quirky, creative girl who is short and a little chunky with crazy hair, not the statuesque blondes he's spent most of his life dating.  That's why weird girls, like me, enjoy these stories.  But my goodness, they are so very far from reality.

Anyway, the first story is Billionaire Under the Mistletoe by Carole Mortimer.  I didn't like this story all that much.  The writing bothered me with exclamation points at the end of almost every other paragraph.  The exclamation points weren't part of dialogue either, but rather describing the characters thoughts or impressions.  That seems more fitting for text messages, not a book. That should have been edited out of there.  Also, I didn't pick up on any strong chemistry between the characters.  I never felt any sort of connection to them.  Their attraction just happened without any real explanation.  I found it very difficult to believe a guy would be so attracted to the woman he hired to decorate and cook for the holidays, and after hardly knowing her at all, want her to join in with his family celebrations.  I didn't hate the story, but didn't love it.

However, I did love the second story, which is Maisey Yates' Snowed in with Her Boss.  Loved the couple in this book.  Even in a story this short, I felt like the characters were well-developed, and from the beginning, they had great chemistry.  The two had a history together, Amelia has worked as Luc's Personal Assistant for years.  He's used to her quirks, and tolerates things like her constant singing because she's an invaluable employee.  When they go to Colorado together to check out a property he's considering purchasing, they're mistaken as a couple.  Luc decides to go along with it, hoping to get a better deal on the property.  But a snowstorm hits and the two find themselves spending a lot more time together than expected.  The time trapped together, pretending to be what they aren't, results in them exploring the attraction they've had for each other and tried to deny for too long.  Very good story.  (Maybe because I'd just watched Homeland, I immediately pictured Raza Jaffrey as Luc when his "mocha" skin was mentioned.  Later it is mentioned that he's part African, so I realized my image was wrong, but it was already set at that point.  Also, this story would work well as a Hallmark holiday movie, granted some elements might not be appropriate for Hallmark, but they could figure it out.  It would be adorable.)

I also very much enjoyed the third story in this anthology, A Diamond for Christmas by Joss Wood.  Riley has been in love with her best friend's big brother, James for most of her life.  They have a history of three one night stands, with several years between each of them.  After the latest though, Riley's had enough.  She currently works for the family designing windows at their store in New York City.  She's planning to leave as soon as the Christmas windows are revealed.  But James isn't ready to let her go just yet.  I loved the history between these characters, and learning how they've drifted in and out of each other's lives over the years. Very nice story.  There seemed to be so much going on in this story, besides just the love story.  I'm curious as to whether there are or will be more books about this family.

Overall, I liked this anthology quite a bit.  The last two stories were great, perfect way to begin my holiday reading for the year.

I received a review copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Christmas Past by Susanna Fraser

During the holiday season, when I wasn't working and could stay up as late as I wanted, I got into the habit of reading a book a day - usually a holiday novella, about a hundred or so pages.  But some nights I had less time than others, so this, at about 50 pages, worked well.

There wasn't a whole lot to this story.  A woman, Sydney, takes a time machine, goes back in time.  The machine breaks, and she can't get back home.  She's supposed to kill herself and destroy the machine if this happens.  But when Miles discovers her plans, he tries to convince her to live.  And really, what would be the point in killing herself? 

It's a cute story, interesting to see a modern woman in that time period.  Being that she's planning to end her life, she's quite uninhibited, and doesn't care much about what people might think of her spending the night alone with a man. 

I actually thought that on some level this story was quite sad.  Sydney was losing everything she loved.  I kept hoping she'd find a way to repair the time machine, but I guess that would have ruined the romance.

Perfect for a quick, sexy, holiday story when you don't have much time, but want to be able to read an entire story quickly. 

Review: Let it Snow by Leslie Kelly and Jennifer LeBrecque

I love holiday romance anthologies. You might even say they are something of a guilty pleasure. Even when I was in high school and spending the little bit of money I had on books, I could never resist the holiday romance anthologies with the pretty covers. The stories were short enough that I’d could read at least one a night, providing a variety of adventures to keep me company. Back then, I’d read them to escape all the unpleasant family drama generated from the holiday “fun” and I’d think, “Someday, this will be my holiday story.” Well, twenty or so years later, I’m old enough to know better, but I still relish the escape provided by these stories, especially when I start to feel overwhelmed by all the holiday madness.

Let it Snow is subtitled, A Blazing Bedtime Stories Holiday Collection. And they are, indeed, blazing.

I loved the first story, The Prince Who Stole Christmas. Claire’s got a rough life. She’s always had to take care of herself and her brother. Money is tight as she tries to run her candy shop in Manhattan. Then Phil shows up, renting the run-down apartment in the building she inherited from her uncle. He’s gorgeous and he’s kind and he’s so very sexy. Of course he is, he’s from another planet, and he’s a prince on that planet. He’s perfect. His manners are impeccable, and he’s protective without being overbearing and he’s still respectful of her desire to remain independent, and he loves chocolate, wow, does he love chocolate. This is the perfect modern fairy tale. Sure, it’s a little silly and maybe he’s too perfect, but so what, we all need a little holiday magic, don’t we?

The other story in the book, My True Love Gave to Me, was also nice. I didn’t love it quite as much as the first one. But I guess anything is a bit of a let down after a prince from another planet. Two people who have been best friends since childhood realize they are in love with each other. They’ve been apart for almost two years, and it takes them a while to finally admit their feelings to each other. It’s one of those small town stories, where everyone in town knows everyone else and they’ve all been waiting for the two to finally get together. I’m not a huge fan of stories like that – I find small towns more annoying than endearing. Also, I felt like for such a short story, it took them a little too long for them to finally get together, but when they do finally get together, it’s with the knowledge of two people who have known each other long enough to be comfortable together. So yes, it was pretty hot.

I enjoyed these stories. I would certainly recommend them for some quick, fun holiday reads.

The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender

The description of this collection of short stories sounded so interesting.  But the stories were more weird than interesting.  And I usually like weird, but this wasn't a cool weird but rather a, "WTF, that doesn't make any sense," sort of weird.  There was rarely any sort of explanation or background given to provide any substance for the bizarreness of the stories.

The stories were like, "One day my boyfriend started to go through a reverse evolution.  He became an ape, then a fish, then a tadpole, so put him in the ocean."  The end.  Really?  The stories are for the most part delivered with that much emotion and detail. 

I never felt any sort of connection or concern for the characters involved in these stories.

And yet, I kept reading them, so I must not have thought they were completely terrible.  I suspect I was in some way drawn to the bizarreness.  At one point, about a third of the way through the book, I decided I wasn't going to finish reading it, I had too many other books to read to waste my time on this nonsense.  But I couldn't stop reading the stories.  Maybe I was just hoping that something more would happen.  Maybe my curiosity got the better of me.  A few of the longer stories had potential, but they felt more like introductions or outlines for what could have been better stories.

The more I read short stories the more I realize I don't like them much.  I need to know more about the characters.  If I'm going to invest my time in reading about these people, I need to get a better feeling as to who they are.  Short stories don't provide the kind of connection I need with what I read.

I really didn't like this book very much.  Part of me gets annoyed when I read stuff like this because I don't quite understand why something like this gets published.  Maybe I'm not smart enough to get it.  But the weirdness too often tipped into the "silly" category.  I kind of wish I'd never picked this book up.

finished reading: Dec. 17, 2011