Tag Archives: Random House

Mar3

Husbands and Lovers by Beatriz Williams- Review

Posted on by
Standard

I first became aware of Beatriz Williams when I read a book she wrote with Lauren Willig and Karen White. Since Lauren Willig has been a must-buy author for me since The Pink Carnation, I learned to love Beatriz and Karen as well once I was exposed to the other two ladies and their work.

When I saw this book offered on NetGalley, I decided I needed to check it out. Thank you to them and Random House Ballentine Books for the chance to read this and leave a review.

This is a great story set mostly on an island full of fancy houses and rich folks. There’s a dual timeline with a heroine from the past and one from the present.  The modern day heroine is a single mother whose son eats a mushroom on a dare and becomes dependent on dialysis to continue to live due to kidney damage.

The heroine of the past is a Hungarian lady who lived a brutal life during WWII and ended up as a translator for an older British man who she married. They move to Egypt during the Suez Canal crisis in the 1950s. The marriage isn’t a happy one, but she is content to stay in it as she went through a lot in her past, some of it horrific.

The dual timeline continues through most of the book and both stories were intriguing. Both heroines are likable and worth cheering on.

The modern day heroine was invited by a school mate to be the nanny one summer for his step siblings. His father hired her and she spent the summer taking care of the children and falling in love. The classmate became a rock star who is now engaged to be married. The heroine and he haven’t seen each other in many years.

Both stories were highly engrossing and enjoyable. I don’t want to say more in order to avoid spoilers. But I will say this one should definitely be read and savored. For the love stories as well as the mysteries and the Egyptian history of the Suez Canal crisis. There is a lot to love about this book.

A very enjoyable read.

Sep26

The Revenge Game by Jordyn Taylor- Review

Posted on by
Standard

Alyson, the high school junior, protagonist of this book, is a hopeful romantic. She even wants to write romance novels someday after attending a prestigious college with a first rate literature and writing department.

Her problem? She comes across to the first boy she’s interested in as desperate and, after she overhears him talking about her not in a good way, she determines to be more cautious as she moves on from this embarrassment.

But her resolution doesn’t last long. The first day of the new school year, she finds herself attracted to a senior lacrosse superstar. To her astonishment, her teacher pairs her with him for a class project.

Before she knows it, she finds herself falling for him as they seem to hit it off immediately. He’s kind and sexy and nothing like she thought he might be as the big man on campus. They seem to have a lot in common even though she is a library nerd and he’s a sports star.

At a camping trip with other students, one of Alyson’s friends overhears a conversation with some of the boys. It seems they have a contest going called the King’s Cup. Points are awarded to the young men for various acts related to the opposite sex.

Upon learning of this, the girls set up a Queen’s Cup for dumping boys publicly because of this point system.

Alyson is sure her lacrosse player, Riggs, isn’t part of the King’s Cup. He even tells her he thinks it’s a stupid game.

She helps her friends with their plans for the Queen’s Cup and is pretty much the ringleader of the quest to expose the boys in the King’s Cup to ridicule. But she is relentless in her belief in Riggs. She feels sorry for the other girls that they can’t find a true and loyal boyfriend.

As the book progresses, the book moves from flashbacks of Alyson and Riggs during the school year to various news reports of Riggs being missing after the prom in May.

The way the author moves the story from time to time is seamless and intriguing. We as the readers know something bad may have happened to Riggs and the story keeps us turning pages to see what occurred to cause his disappearance.

Alyson is likable and funny.  She’s a well-rounded character with a few blind spots but, she’s a teenager, so that’s expected. I enjoyed her and her personality. I liked she had a good family relationship and loyal friendships.

The last chapter seemed a bit off for the character to me but that’s really my only issue with the story. I didn’t think it rang true for the character we’d learned about in the rest of the story.

An enjoyable, intriguing read with a unique presentation. And it ticked a lot of boxes for our times, including feminism, family dynamics, date rape, and empowerment over misogyny in a boarding school environment.

Thank you to Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

BLURB:

Alyson is a romantic, and sometimes it gets her into trouble. Like last summer, she thought her co-worker was into her, when in reality he found her flirting pathetic.

Then she meets Brenton Riggs Jr., and right away she knows that their connection isn’t just in her head. When he swoops in to save her one night from a less than savory party encounter, she falls head-over-heels. Finally, someone Alyson likes who likes her back!

But when she finds out about the King’s Cup—a competition the guys at their boarding school started to see who has the most sexual prowess—she’s put on edge. Does Brenton really want to be with her, or is he just trying to win? Then Alyson and the other girls at the school start a competition of their own: The Queen’s Cup. It’s all about reclaiming their power. But as the competition heats up, Alyson’s relationship begins to fall apart—and it isn’t long before the cracks in her perfect love story start to show through.