"Double Trouble" Review...

In the spirit of catching up on reviews of books that I have read lately but not yet blogged about, I'm going to kill two birds with one stone today and review Courting Trouble, by Deeanne Gist, and the sequel, Deep in the Heart of Trouble.

Synopsis of Courting Trouble (from back cover)

Whether it's riding bikes, catching snakes, or sliding down banisters, Essie Spreckelmeyer just can't quite make herself into the ideal woman her hometown -- and her mother -- expect her to be.  It's going to take an extraordinary man to appreciate her joy and spontaneity -- or so says her doting oilman father.

Sadly such a man doesn't appear to reside in Corsicana, Texas.

It's 1894, the year of Essie's thirtieth birthday, and she decides the Lord has more important things to do than provide her a husband.  If she wants one, she needs to catch him herself.  So she writes down the names of all the eligible bachelors in her small Texas town, makes a list of their attributes and drawbacks, closes her eyes, twirls her finger, and...picks one.

But convincing the lucky "husband-to-be" will be a bit more of a problem.

Synopsis of Deep in the Heart of Trouble (from back cover)

Essie Spreckelmeyer is the last woman anyone in Corsicana, Texas, expected to see with a man on her arm.  Independent and outspoken, she's known more for riding bicycles in outrageous bloomers than catching a man's eye.


And the last man who seems willing to give her a second glance is Tony Morgan, newly hired at Spreckelmeyer's oil company.  The disinherited son of an oil baron, Tony wants most to restore his name and regain his lost fortune -- not lose his heart to this headstrong blonde.  She confounds, contradicts, and confuses him.  Sometimes he doesn't know if she's driving him toward the aisle or the end of his rope. 

That's how life is... deep in the heart of trouble.


My Thoughts


I've read and enjoyed a couple of other books by Deeanne Gist: A Bride in the Bargain and A Bride Most Begrudging.  With these two most recent reads by Gist, I really can't decide quite how I feel about them.  I would say this time the Christian aspect of this Christian Historical Fiction novel is a bit more prominent, but once again, not overbearingly so.  I can't quite put my finger on what it was that just quite didn't do it for me with these books compared to Gist's other books I've read.

I tend to think that it is the stories themselves, more than anything.  I actually greatly enjoyed Essie Spreckelmeyer as the heroine of both books.  With Essie, there is never a dull moment and you never can be quite sure what she will do next.  I liked that she wasn't some perfect beauty that could have any man she wanted, but that ultimately she got the only man she wanted, though not without some pitfalls and missteps along the way.

Ultimately, I believe the most bothersome piece of the puzzle for me was the first book itself.  I wish that both of these books could have been made into one and that some of the various plot lines had been removed.  Clearly, by the end of the first book, I knew I was going to have to read the second so I could learn what would become of Essie.  And really, I did enjoy the second book much better than the first, which left a bad taste in my mouth to some degree, though not so much that I didn't want to read the rest of Essie's story, apparently.  Her independence and fiery personality really shine in Deep in the Heart of Trouble and add in an exciting climax, and you have a recipe for a much more gripping read.

Gist works in great moments of humor and has an interesting cast of characters for both stories, though I think that Essie really came to life in the second book.  I expect that most people will enjoy both stories, but I guess I was just really bothered by the way the first one turned out.  Of course, I wasn't bothered enough to give these up altogether, so I suppose that says something.

In the end, I'm not quite sure what this review has said -- perhaps it's just neutral, which is essentially how I felt about the two stories when you look at them together...  If you pick up Courting Trouble, you are almost guaranteed to want to follow it with Deep in the Heart of Trouble, simply to find out what happens to Essie.  I really can't recommend reading only Deep in the Heart of Trouble, because you do learn some key things about Essie in the first book that are important to the second.  However, I'd be more inclined to just send you to Gist's other books first.

My Combined Rating:


(Individually, I'd rate Courting Trouble as a "2-1/2" and Deep in the Heart of Trouble as a "3-1/2".)

If you have reviewed either of these books, please feel free to leave a link to your reviews in the comments section below!

Saturday Snapshot (05.19.12)

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at Alyce's blog, At Home With Books.

This week I'm sharing a picture from last Sunday, Mother's Day -- three generations together: my mother, me, and Miss Laura.

Review: Endure

Title: Endure
Author: Carrie Jones
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal
Pub Date: May 2012, Bloomsbury
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Synopsis (from the dust jacket)

There was a time, not long ago, when all Zara wanted was to have Nick back.  Rescuing him from Valhalla should have made all her problems disappear.  He's Bedford's greatest warrior, not to mention Zara's true soul mate.


Except.


Nick isn't the person he used to be.  And neither is Zara.  She's a warrior now, and a pixie queen.  Astley's queen.  She has a plan to stop the evil pixies that are ravaging her town, and her ideas are not the same as Nick's or Astley's.  One thing they can all agree on though:  war is here.  And if Cassidy's premonitions are correct, then not every warrior will make it in the end, and Zara's gravest choice is yet to come.


My Thoughts

Well, I'm a little sad to see Carrie Jones' Need series come to an end.  I've enjoyed following Zara, Nick, and Astley throughout their quest to save the world from an evil-pixie-led apocalypse.  To tell you the truth, I regret that I don't have a review of the third book, Entice, on this blog because, well, I don't quite remember everything that happened!  I do recall that I enjoyed it more than I did Captivate, the second book in the series, but it's been so long since I read it during the great Blogging Hiatus of 2010-2011 that I don't remember much else about it.

All that said, I thought Endure was a great conclusion to the story.  It was well-paced and I think the characters were the strongest they have been in the whole series.  I didn't find anyone annoying this time around, which is always a bonus.  I remain staunchly "Team Astley," as I switched to his side when reading Captivate.  I also appreciated Zara's group of friends more this time around as well -- it just seemed like Jones hit her stride in writing about the key people in the story.  The dialogue was sharper and I found myself with a better "mental image" of everyone as I read.

Something that I really enjoyed was Jones' brief intros to each chapter -- news blurbs, samplings from social media, police radio calls, etc.  While sometimes serious, they were frequently quite humorous and usually at the right time.  But it really all comes down to how much the writing has improved from the first two books in the series.  I think that's why the characters were more relatable, the pacing was spot on, and the suspense really kept me reading.  Oh, did I mention there's a Plot Twist at the end?  I confess, I wasn't too caught up in it, but I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will just say I was satisfied with the ultimate outcome.

If you've been keeping up with this series, you really must finish it.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.  No, there is not 100% resolution for every story line, but there is just enough to provide a satisfying ending and make you wonder what the rest of Zara's life will be like.

My rating:



 If you have reviewed this book, please feel free to leave a comment with the link to your review!

Catching up on Reviews: The House in Grosvenor Square

Title: The House In Grosvenor Square
Author: Linore Rose Burkard
Genre: Regency, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction
Pub Date: April 2009, Harvest House Publishers
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased from Books-a-Million

Synopsis (from the back of the book)

As Ariana Forsythe plans her wedding to Philip Mornay, she must adjust to the realization that she is soon to become the wife of an extremely wealthy man. She wonders if it’s wrong to rejoice that her future husband is rich. But she promises herself to use her new position to do what she can to aid the numerous street waifs she sees all too often in London.

During a tour of her future home—the house in Grosvenor Square—Ariana makes plans to redecorate according to her tastes. But when Philip arrives home later, he is informed that an expensive silver candlestick and a miniature portrait of George III have gone missing. Moreover, each time Ariana visits the house, accompanied by a friend or relation, another item disappears.

When Ariana suffers an abduction attempt by two villains, and other mysterious goings-on are unexplained, Mr. Mornay must unravel the  mystery of who is after Ariana and why.  He knows he has to prevent any harm from befalling his future bride, even if it means he must keep her under lock and key in his own house!

My Thoughts

Well, you might know by now that I seem to have mixed luck with my Christian Fiction reads.  This, unfortunately, was not one of my luckier picks, it seems.  I was pretty excited about the idea of a Regency Inspirational book, but this is a far cry from my beloved Georgette Heyer's Regency England.  (And I'm sorry, I know it's probably blasphemy in the world of books and literature, but I will take Heyer over Austen any day of the week.)

I did not realize when reading this book that it was actually the sequel to another book, Before the Season Ends.  I don't believe that my opinion of this book would have changed any even if I had read the first book, though.  I had several issues with this story when you get right down to it.  I thought the characters were flat.  Oh, I suppose Ariana was fleshed out pretty well, but Philip Mornay was such a bore.  The supporting cast wasn't much better.  I felt like I didn't even know who Mrs. Bentley was -- I never knew what to expect with her.  Peter O'Brien... I hardly even know what to say about him.  I suppose I can see where there may be a sequel involving him and Ariana's younger sister, but you won't catch me reading it.

The synopsis would also lead you to believe that you will find mystery and intrigue inside this book, but we basically know from the beginning who is behind the plots against Ariana, both in Philip Mornay's home and with respect to the kidnappings.  What's the fun in that?  I like to be able to speculate about what is going on and see if my guess is right when the evil-doers are finally unmasked.

Really, I found the whole book to be a snooze-fest.  By and large, there were few sparks for me as far as the romance was concerned -- perhaps once or twice I got momentarily excited by Ariana and Philip's relationship, only to have those feelings fall flat soon after.  By the time I was about a third of the way through I found myself skimming more than actually reading every page.  I'd say the Christianity piece is preachier than what I like to read, but it wasn't THAT big of a turn-off in that respect.  I guess I just had a harder time envisioning it within the Regency world than I thought I would.  But when you get down to it, I had bigger problems with the story, the characters, and the mystery, or lack thereof.

My rating:



If you have reviewed this book, please feel free to leave a link to your review in the comments section!

Teaser Tuesdays: Endure

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser:

"You know," Issie says, "I wish they were vampires.  In TV shows vampires always explode or disintegrate.  It seems so much easier for cleanup."

"Even the exploding?"

"Yep, just a little vacuuming up the dust, maybe a Clorox bleach wipe, and you're done."

~ page 74 of Endure by Carrie Jones (Book 4 in the Need Series)