Mercury in Retrograde

There are three intertwining stories in this novel: that of Penelope Mercury, Dana Gluck and Lena Lippencrass. Penelope is a struggling journalist hoping for a rise in pay and position to court reporter, but sadly it’s a no-go after she’s sent to the wrong address by her boss and they get into it on her return to work. Penelope is sick–flu-like from the sound of it–and vomits on her boss before heading to the storage room for a cigarette break (and unintentionally setting the room on fire). She then decides to quit the beat.

Dana is a high powered attorney who is an emotional wreck following her divorce and wallowing in self-pity has gained weight, but lost some of her hair. Lena, who is known as “Lipstick,” is a spoiled socialite who is cut off by her parents after she doesn’t marry Thad Newton III, the man they’ve destined for her and is also in a heated rivalry with other spoiled socialite Bitsy. The three women all come together once they learn they share the same apartment building.

This novel was zippy and hilarious. The characters are all fine; I didn’t find myself rooting for them, but I did laugh hard at their antics. It was such a breezy read. The relationships and romance of the novel took a backseat to the situations, but that didn’t take away from the story. It was a very good read!

Rating: **** (4) Stars

Author: Paula Frolich

Product Details (Courtesy of Amazon)

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; First Edition edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416598936
• ISBN-13: 978-1416598930
• ASIN: B0029XXT2C
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches

The Proposition

I really appreciate self-published works, more so than those that are professionally edited and glossed because independent writers have to do twice the amount of work and be twice as good to lure in readers. The only caveat is that at times, self-published novels have too much or too little and don’t strike the perfect balance, even if they started on that path. In my humble opinion, such is the case with The Proposition.

The plot is interesting: Emma Harrison worries that her biological clock is ticking louder and that she is running of out time to have a family of her own. Her close friend Connor agrees to be the father, but his partner is upset with that decision and so Connor backs out (Connor is gay and his relationship with Emma is strictly platonic). Emma spurned the advances of her co-worker, Aiden Fitzgerald at an office Christmas party and since then, he’s lusted after her–so much to the point, that he makes the proposition of fathering Emma’s baby; and thus begins their relationship and the basis for the novel.

Of course, there are cliches; this is after all a romance novel: Emma is attractive and accomplished while Aiden is a handsome, wealthy womanizer with a close (large) family (and a few nephews that adore him). He doesn’t want to have kids, but decides to do so because of the wish of his late mother (even though he’s good father material, just a bit rough around the edges) and feels Emma’s plan will be the best of both worlds: he fulfills her dying wish, but doesn’t have to do anything outside of enjoy impregnating Emma.

The story was well written, but the over-the-top cursing and usage of exclamation points grated on my nerves after a while. I’m pretty sure Aiden never let a sentence out of his mouth with out f*** or a** or s*** in the mix. I don’t have delicate sensibilities, but I think I can get the point without the need for d*** and !!!! added. The dialogue was also a bit forced; when Aiden confronts Connor at the beginning of the story, I was confused as to why Connor felt the need to tell this person he’d only just met 5-seconds earlier his entire background with Emma. Also, everyone’s frustrations with the ending of the book are understandable. I didn’t have this problem as the whole series is now published and because I do not have any interest in continuing the story. However, I do think this is a good start, it just wasn’t my cup-of-tea.

Rating: *** (3) Stars

Author: Katie Ashley

Product Details (Courtesy of Amazon)

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 9, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1480114480
• ISBN-13: 978-1480114487
• ASIN: B009ZHT2DU
• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 5.9 x 8.9 inches

Dangerous

This is my hands down favorite Amanda Quick novel. It has its cheesy moments—in my opinion—including giving the main male character the moniker of the Fallen Angel, but otherwise it’s a wonderful read with Quick’s superb storytelling on display.

Dangerous tells the story of Prudence Merrywether, a country-bred, near spinster that, at 25-years-old, catches the interest of Sebastian Fleetwood, the Earl of Angelstone, after he learns of her interest in “spectral phenomena” and they share a dance at a ton ball. Sebastian suffers from “ennui” and to combat his boredom, he works with a Bow Street Runner to hunt upper crust criminals. They bond over their interests and investigations and after they are caught in a compromising position, marry and partner together to figure out whether a ghost is hunting a group of male members of the ton.

Of course they fall in love and Prudence makes Sebastian a better person, etc. etc. because this is, after all, a romance novel, but its execution is sharp and just what one would expect from Amanda Quick. One of the best aspects of the novel—outside of Sebastian and Prudence’s relationship—is Prudence herself because I find that at times the central female character can make or break the novel. Prudence isn’t a hair brained schemer, she isn’t a know-it-all and she isn’t stubborn to the point of stupidity. She comes off as smart, no-nonsense and independently minded. Her relationship with Sebastian makes one go, “awww” with a smile and then break out in a fit of laughter.

I would highly recommend this novel. I’m already searching for it in hardcover.

Rating: ***** (5) Stars

Author: Amanda Quick (www.krentz-quick.com)

Product Details (Courtesy of Amazon)

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (April 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553293176
• ISBN-13: 978-0553293173
• ASIN: B00317G7OM
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 4.1 x 6.8 inches