Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Never a Gentleman by Eileen Dreyer

Never a Gentleman You would think that after having your heart being ripped out from you (this is figuratively by the way) repeatedly, there would not be a single trace of love left inside any longer, right? I admit that this book was brought to my attention by the numerous amount of negative reviews and its somewhat controversial plot. Yes, I did understand why Diccan did what he did... but I condemn him for the way he enacted it. My heart constantly broke for Grace because throughout their entire marrigage of convenience, Diccan never gave her the time of day whatsoever. And yet... she still tried so hard to please him and make their marriage a real one. Without realizing it, she ends up falling in love with the one man who can never love her for who she is.

Oh dear, this book tore my heart out into little pieces and placed it back all together again in the end. Never a Gentleman is definitely not to everyone's taste... but if you take a look deeper into Diccan's character, you'll realize that he is also hurting as well. From there, I think you can sort of justify his actions and see why he did what he did to protect Grace. But man, the infamous scene where Grace sees Diccan making love with his mistress was just so... sad, horrifying, and heartbreaking. As if his treatment to her at their manor wasn't enough! Sure, the author described Grace as this strong woman who can supposedly take on anything that is thrown her way. But really? Even the strongest people fall. Love tends to turn the bravest of hearts into cowards and ultimately, Grace became one of its victim.

One of the things that I'm actually glad Eileen Dreyer provided was that readers also get a sense of what was going on in Diccan's mind. While their marriage was one of convenience, he slowly starts falling in love with Grace and sees her for her true nature. It took a near-death experience for him to realize it though! Overall, I really love the whole premise of this book and its characters. I hated the Diccan in the beginning and ended up falling in love with him towards the end... that's really something, you know? The ending was absolutely beautiful because it was just the ending that Grace deserves! I am definitely looking forward to Kate's book with Henry, her childhood friend and supposed nemesis that she betrayed. I'm assuming that they had some sort of relationship before and something happened.

Anyway, great book that's full of heart, tears, and joy. You won't regret reading this book!

Rating: ★★★★★

Friday, September 9, 2011

Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

Until There Was You (Hqn) I'm going to write a review just because I want to escape the horridness that is Accounting! Anyway, Until There Was You is Kristan Higgan's latest contemporary romance novel. This book... was quite different yet the entire feel and setting is totally the same. I didn't love it as much as her previous book, My One and Only, but it was really sweet and the hero is to die for! I mean who can resist a bad boy turn good named Liam Murphy? Our heroine, Posey Osterhagen, is probably one of the dorkiest and cutest that I've read from Higgans' books so far. See? They're already a match in heaven...?! Kidding aside, these two used to be the total opposites of one another. And when Liam finally realizes that he loves Posey? It's a must read for sure. And thank you NetGalley, for granting me this lovely arc when I was in the mood for a sweet story with a lovely yet cheesy ending!

Posey Osterhagen is our heroine of the story. She's your every day gal, right? Except for that fact that she's not the most beautiful girl in town, kind of plain, short, and she's actually adopted. The story starts out with her telling readers that she's used to be in love with this boy who ultimately broke her heart and never even realized it. Yes, it's another of those 'second chances at love' kind of stories and I love it. If you look at it from Posey's sixteen years old point of view... her love was tragic. The boy that she'd been crushing on was the 'God/Bad Boy' of the town, Liam Murphy, and he ended up falling in love with the town's 'Little Miss Sunshine/Good Girl' and they ended up happily ever after, right? Nope, I guess not since he's back! But it's actually more than that and we'll get to find out the real reason later on!

Liam Murphy is our hero and to be honest, I think he's the sexiest hero yet. He's a bad boy turned good due to the magical entity called 'love.' And yet, he's back in town as a widower/father to a teenager named Nichole. The moments when he tries to intefere with his daughter's social life were so hilarious! But anyway, he's back... and now it's time to face his past and live up some memories. Liam had never really thought much about Posey. She was the girl who used to crush on him... so when they meet again, he didn't exactly have any good old memories to recall with her. Well of course, until he starts noticing her lips. That changed the ball game entirely, don't you think? The side characters were all pretty amazing. I loved Jon, Posey's brother in law. Sidenote: Posey only has a brother and he's adopted as well. So brother-in-law? Haha! YES! Her brother Henry is gay and Jon and him have been married for 10 years. They're relationship is super cute and sometimes, the town tries to convert those two back to being straight.

Overall, this book was truly a stress reliever to my school days. It was cute, the characters had great depth-- even though I do have to admit that I didn't exactly feel Posey and Liam's chemistry together was that high. It was still a very good book and as always, I'm looking forward to Kristan Higgins' next book!

Rating: ★★★★☆