One For the Road by Crystal Green

Fairly enjoyable road-trip romance

3 stars

Lucy Christie is fed up with her life – a dull job and boring relationships aren’t giving her the excitement she craves. So she and her friend head out for a holiday down the iconic Route 66 for some fun, thrills and no-strings sex.

Lucy’s first conquest is rugged cowboy, Joshua. He’s mysterious, sexy and she’s loving every minute of being with him. But the formerly straight-laced Lucy is determined to keep her ‘stranger’ fantasy just that – so no names, no commitments and no attachments. What she doesn’t count on is Joshua tagging along on their holiday and being determined to seduce her stop after stop.

I liked the idea of a road-trip romance and essentially the book was a fun read but I just didn’t feel connected to the characters and that made it difficult to give the book more than 3 stars.

Lucy was a likeable enough character – a woman who was used to having her life mapped out the way she wanted it and wasn’t much for breaking the rules. While watching her discover herself was nice enough, I don’t really think she would become such a different person in such a short space of time. Joshua was also a fine enough character but we only ever skim the surface of him. This made it as if you were being told about these people but you’re just not sure whether you believe it.

There was a lot of sex within the book and while not bland, the emotional connection wasn’t there for me during these scenes either so it was hard to get too interested in them.

There is also a secondary romance with Lucy’s best friend and the young college student they meet on their trip. Having never been a fan of the younger man-older woman story line, I felt this didn’t add anything to the book and I wanted to skip through these pages to get to the main love story.

Having said all this, the book is still well-written, engaging and you do want to keep reading to find out what happens to the characters. It wasn’t really my cup of tea but I can see many people enjoying it and I would still recommend the book for a lazy afternoon read – it’s just maybe not one for the keeper shelf.

Jinxed!

Enjoyable romantic anthology

4 stars

Madame Karma has a stall at the Valentine's Day Fair at the upscale Fairfax building complex. And she decides to impart some wisdom on those at the fair: if you run away from love, you'll be cursed!

Blame It On Karma - Jacquie D'Alessandro

Coffe shop owner Lacey Perkins is sceptical when a fortune teller tells her that she is going to fall in love with Evan Sawyer, her annoying, but very hot, property manager. She would rather face the wrath of karma - until she finds herself cursed with a rather large dose of lust.

This story is fun, sexy and very enjoyable and I will be looking out for more of her work in the future.

Together Again? - Jill Shalvis

Accountant Chloe Cooper doesn't believe in predictions - especially when she is told that the man of her dreams is about to walk into her life. But then she bumps into Ian McCall - her former, and first, lover. But this Ian is more dangerous, secretive and seductive than the one she remembers. But just as she starts to think the prediction could be true - she is cursed with a blackout, a case of fraud and some handcuffs!

Jill Shalvis manages to incorporate some of her well-known excitement and danger into her enjoyable (but too short) story of lost loves. It was also refreshing to find a story of past lovers who didn't part on bad terms.

Tall, Dark & Temporary - Crystal Green

Erin Holland isn't convinced when she's told that Wes Ryan, the infamous playboy, is "the one". In fact, she only wants him as a quick fling on their weekend cruise. But she soon finds that if you mess with karma it will mess with you until you are forced to admit the truth.

Crystal Green's story while being generally okay - didn't seem to fit with the other two stories in that it took place outside the complex and 2 weeks after Valentine's Day. Although a pleasant read - I felt it didn't have the sparkle of the first two stories.

This is an enjoyable set of stories which are linked by the mysterious Madame Karma and the predictions she makes about the character's love lives. Although set around Valentine's Day - the holiday doesn't dominate any of the storylines to any great depth.

All in all this is a very enjoyable anthology and one that I would recommend if you're a fan of any of these authors or if you're looking for some quick, sexy reads. 4 stars.