BOOK REVIEW: Vacation Reading

Vacation allows me time to read without feeling guilty that I really should be doing housework. It also gives me the freedom to read some good old bodice rippers… books that would not fill the space of a long review. Here are a few of my favorite “just-for-fun” authors.

Teresa Medeiros writes mostly Regency Romances, sexy and fun and usually with a twist. In her SOME LIKE IT WILD her heroine is the illegitimate daughter of an actress. Her mother has died in a suspicious fire leaving her and her beautiful sister penniless. To save the two girls from having to resort to “selling” themselves, she must locate someone to impersonate a duke’s long-lost son. Fortunately, the highwayman who stops their carriage is perfect. My opinion?...funny, sexy, with a highly improbable plot.

Pamela Morsi sets most of her books in the Old West. She can be counted on for warm, human stories with a touch of humor. WILD OATS is a classic story of mis-identification. Cora Briggs is a divorced woman in the small town of Dead Dog, Oklahoma. Her ex-mother-in-law has done all that she can to ruin Cora’s reputation. Therefore, it only makes sense that when Jedwin Sparrow, Jr., local mortician, wanted a woman, but did not want to marry just yet, he ended up at Cora’s door. Then it became difficult for everyone to maintain a”good” reputation. One of the best things about this book was the citizens of Dead Dog. I was happy to see that there is a spin-off with an interesting minor character titled Runabout. I will be hunting that one down.

Usually I read Kat Martin for her historical Western romances. AGAINST THE ODDS is set in modern West Texas. Sabrina has inherited a vast tract of land in the middle of no-where from her eccentric uncle. Uncle Walter had sworn that there was a silver mine that would make him rich beyond imagination. To get to this land, Sabrina hires private investigator and former navy fighter pilot, Alex Justice. Accidents start to happen before Sabrina and Alex even reach the deserted mine and Uncle Walter’s three children may be to blame. This was a fun, adventure tale. The culprit gets caught and I thought the crimes were solved and then Ms. Martin threw in an ending that I did not see coming. I like that in a book.

Mary Jo Putney is an award winning best seller best known for her Regencies.  I like her because she can develop characters who are flawed making them believable. I picked up TWIST OF FATE thinking that I would be transported to Regency England and at war with Napoleon. Instead I met Val Covington a high profile lawyer who has decided to open her own practice. Before she is settled into her new office her assistant pleads with her to save a man from being executed for a crime that he did not commit. With the help of her new landlord, Val gets involved with a case that is literally a matter of life and death. I still prefer going back to the 1800’s with Ms. Putney but this was an entertaining read.

There has to be a connection with the characters for me to enjoy a book, no matter what the genre is. These are authors that I know that I can count on for entertaining plots, fun characters and maybe just a bit of bodice ripping.