Click Date Repeat Again - K J Farnham (Guest Review)

So, my wife is a big fan of K J Farnham and when she read her latest novel "Click Date Repeat Again" she basically bullied me into letting her post a Guest Review on my blog.

Anyway, I am pleased to be able to share this review that she wrote which was also published on her blog (http://www.sarahlking.com).

Title: Click Date Repeat Again
Author: K J Farnham
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: 2017
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
Click Date Repeat Again is the second novel in the series by K J Farnham. It can be read and enjoyed as a novel in its own right; however, as a huge fan of Click Date Repeat I would recommend reading that one first as it hugely enhances the reader’s enjoyment of the second story.

In Click Date Repeat Again we meet Jess Mason, a twenty-something who has just come out of a bad relationship and who has a pretty poor track record with the opposite sex. Her friend, Chloe, who we met and got to know in the first book, has bought Jess a subscription to a dating website. Sceptical but nonetheless keen to break the habit of a lifetime and find a nice guy, Jess jumps feet first into the world of online dating, with some unexpected and amusing results!

In short, I absolutely adored this book. Stylistically it is flawless, and the story flows at a perfect pace. I found myself completely absorbed and unable to put it down, desperate to know whether Jess was going to get her happy ending. Farnham does an amazing job in creating some memorable characters: Jess is complex, a little vulnerable and hugely sympathetic, and I found myself really cheering her on towards the end, hoping that she was going to end up in the arms of one guy in particular. If you want to know which guy and whether she does….well, you’ll just have to read it to find out.

Five stars. An amazing read; highly recommended for fans of women’s fiction, contemporary fiction and romance.

The Boy Next Door - Meg Cabot

Title: The Boy Next Door
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Published: 2002
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
“The Boy Next Door” by Mel Fuller is a book I picked up to meet the Romantic Comedy requirements of the 2014 Eclectic Reader Challenge. Romantic Comedy is not something that I would normally read but I have read some such as the Bridget Jones novels so I wasn’t worried about reading this genre for the challenge. I actually ended up picking this novel as it was told completely via emails between the characters which sounded rather interesting.

The story follows Melissa Fuller, a gossip columnist for the New York Journal whose elderly neighbour has an “accident” which results in Mel having to take care of her pets whilst she lies in a coma. The neighbour’s only living relative is a self-centred photographer called Max who is too busy vacationing with a supermodel to bother coming back to New York for his Aunt. So he calls in a favour from his old friend, John. John is coerced into impersonating Max until the Aunt recovers, thus securing Max's inheritance. However when John moves in next door to Mel, they quickly fall for each other and soon John is left trying to work out how to tell Mel the truth.

This book isn’t complex, deep or heavy but it is a fun and easy read that had me smiling in several places. It is without doubt the quintessential beach read, something you can lie back in the sun and read without having to strain the synapses. I also laughed multiple times throughout the book as the interactions between the characters are at times quite hilarious. I especially loved the interactions between John and his sister-in-law Stacy.

The fact that story is told via emails was actually quite intriguing and amusing to see although I suspect that if I read another book in the same style it wouldn’t interest me as much as the novelty would be gone. The only real issue I had with the format is that at times it felt a little bit silly to me in that they said so much via email rather than talking face to face but if they did this we would of course have lost half the story. A final interesting point I noted in regards to using technology like this to tell the story is that it highlights the age of the novel. As it was written in 2002 the characters are using dial-up and can’t talk at the same time as emailing each other which did make me smile as I remembered the “good old days”.

The only real issue I had with the story is that the characters on the whole seemed to act in a rather silly and childish manner. They are meant to be young professionals with jobs, experience and intellect yet most of the time they come across as either immature or just plain stupid. I have since discovered that Meg Cabot has written a lot of YA novels so maybe this use of childish characters stems from this although I think even teenagers would behave in a more grown up manner that what we see with these characters.

Overall, this was an amusing story which I found incredibly easy to read. Some people may find the email format of the narrative rather annoying but I enjoyed the novelty of it. The real weakness of the story is the characters who were all rather immature but their at times quite hilarious interactions did ensure that I still enjoyed the novel. So if you are looking for a light, fun romantic comedy in the same vein as Bridget Jones then I think you might quite enjoy this novel.

Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen

Title: Water For Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Genre: Historical Romance
Published: 2006
Formats: Hardback/Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
As part of the 2013 Eclectic Reader Challenge I was required to read a New Adult novel which was a label I had never heard of before. After some research I discovered that New Adult fiction is that which utilises protagonists in the 18-25 age bracket and tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality and the negotiation of further education or a career. So after searching a list of New Adult novels on Goodreads I decided to read “Water For Elephants” by Sara Gruen.

The story focuses on Jacob Jankowski whose parents died in the 1930s when he was 23. This tragedy resulted in him dropping out of veterinary school even though he only had one final exam left to complete. He therefore finds himself with no idea of what to and without a penny to his name, and so he jumps onto a passing freight train in the hope it will lead him somewhere new. He gets more than he bargains for however when it turns out the train he has jumped aboard was transporting a circus. Before long Jacob is offered the job as a circus vet and becomes fully involved in the life and politics of the circus. There is violence and cruelty aplenty that Jacob must face in his new life, none of which is helped by his attraction to the wife of an abusive animal supervisor.

One thing I really enjoyed with this novel was the way in which it highlighted circus life as it would have been during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The poverty, brutality, hard work, wonder and even beauty were all portrayed exceptionally well. In addition, I appreciated witnessing some of the way in which the social dynamics functioned during this period, with segregation, racism and the care of the elderly all touched on at various points. I felt that Gruen did exceptionally well in delving into all these elements without making me feel overwhelmed.

Unfortunately the romance elements of the story left a little bit to be desired as I found Marlena, the female love interest to be rather bland and uninteresting. I just couldn’t understand what exactly it was that Jacob found attractive enough to risk both his job or and life for. In addition, the story felt like it was more melodrama than drama which was a bit disappointing to me as I really would have liked to have seen something more real and gritty considering the setting of the story.

To be honest, the rather bland characterisation wasn’t limited to just Marlena and I found many of the characters to be rather one-dimensional which of course resulted in some of the melodramatic feel I mentioned above. For example, August the animal supervisor and Marlena’s husband suffered from being portrayed as the stereotypical mentally ill violent person who was the blatant villain. Then there was Al, the circus owner who was basically a capitalist caricature that only cared about money. I think the only character who added real depth beyond Jacob himself with Walter a cantankerous dwarf who slowly begins to befriend Jacob and reveals that there is a kind and thoughtful person beneath his gruff demeanour.

As a final aside, I would have appreciated some footnotes in regards the elements of the story that utilised polish dialogue. It didn’t stop me following the story but it still would have been nice for me to actually know what was being said.

Overall, despite some of the issues above that I have highlighted I did really enjoy reading “Water For Elephants” as I appreciated the interesting narrative on life within a 1930s circus. However, if you are looking for a decent romance story or clever and realistic drama with complex characters then there is no doubt that you may be disappointed.

Open Season - Linda Howard

Title: Open Season
Author: Linda Howard
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published: 2001
Formats: Hardback/Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Kobo
Amazon UK

“Open Season” by Linda Hamilton is the type of novel that I would normally never read. However, as part of the 2013 Eclectic Reader Challenge I needed to read a Romantic Suspense book. Therefore after several hours of scouring Goodreads and reviewing the local library stock I ended up deciding to read this book.

The plot follows a local librarian called Daisy who has an epiphany on her birthday and realises that she needs to make some drastic changes in her life in order to snare a man. Therefore with the help of her mother, aunt and a supposedly gay antiques dealer she slaps on the make-up, gets a haircut and changes her entire wardrobe. At the same time she meets the local police chief, Jack Russo who finds something attractive in Daisy even before her makeover. Unfortunately, Daisy can’t stand the man and isn’t afraid to let him know it. However, when she accidently witnesses a crime, she gets forced into spending even more time with him and a relationship begins to develop.

As I said above, I am not an expert in this type of novel but the entire plot seemed a little bit cliché. A woman having a makeover and then getting the guy really didn’t sound very original to be honest although maybe I am mistaken. However, this didn’t bother me that much because for me it was something different to the norm and therefore I just sat back and actually found myself enjoying it a little. It was a nice and light read that didn’t tax my mind and there was a good amount of humour present throughout. I even laughed out loud at one point during a sex scene involving a Party Pack that Daisy had picked up from a local pharmacist.

One of the biggest issues I had with the story was in regards to the lack of actual suspense. Howard’s decision to show the villain’s viewpoint throughout the novel meant that there were never any surprises and I never once did I feel that Daisy was actually in any danger as Jack had the threats identified very early on. To make it worse, towards the end one of the villains just hands himself in at the police station which ensures the police have to do pretty much no additional investigation work. As for the novel’s epilogue, the less said the better but I was left speechless by the ridiculousness and needlessness of it. Without doubt, this is a book that has been tailored to showing the development of a romantic relationship rather than providing a thrilling and suspenseful plot.

In regards to the characters in the story, I have to admit that I found Daisy to be rather irritating at times as she was quite a rude person. Jack Russo may have found her to be sassy, but to me she almost seemed downright bigoted at times, especially in regards to her feelings on him being a Yankee. In addition, when you look at society today I found it hard to accept how naive she was and couldn’t understand her outright desperation that she must have a husband. When I now consider how much of the book is dedicated to her relationship with Jack, I am shocked at times to realise that I did still enjoy the book. I think that some of my enjoyment sadistically enough came from the incredulous way in which I viewed Daisy and her antics.

Overall, this is a very quick and easy read that I did find reasonably enjoyable, mainly due to the lashings of humour that Linda Howard has seeded the book with. The mystery and suspense elements of the novel are rather weak so I think this would more likely appeal to people who are bigger fans of the romantic elements. Personally, reading this hasn’t ignited a burning desire to read more books in this genre but at least now I won’t just ignore them on principle if someone either suggest a novel to me or requests a review.

Death By Honeymoon (Caribbean Murder Series Book 1) - Jaden Skye

Title: Death by Honeymoon (Caribbean Murder Series Book 1)
Author: Jaden Skye
Genre: Romance/Mystery
Published: 2011
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Kobo
Smashwords
Amazon UK
Alibris UK

When I was asked to read this novel I wasn't very sure if I should as it was described as a Romance novel and this is probably the one genre I usually try to avoid. However, the description also implied that a little bit of mystery was involved and therefore I decided to bite the bullet and give this novel a try. After reading it, I have decided that I still have no actual intention of searching out books like this to read but I won't just disregard them out of some sort of misguided principle.

The story itself follows a young woman named Cindy who has married a man she truly loves and is on her honeymoon in the Caribbean when tragedy strikes. Her husband seemingly dies in a terrible accident whilst out surfing although she doesn't believe that it really was an accident. She therefore undertakes her own grief stricken investigation into the death, all the time trying to deal with her husband's now uncovered secrets and his family who blame her for his death.

It is quite a short story and has therefore been written in a rather quick and pacey which had both advantages and disadvantages. The quick pace did help to keep me reading as there was no place to get bogged down in any excessive detail. However it also meant that some of the red herrings and mystery aspects of the story were dealt with within a few pages after being introduced, therefore any intrigue and suspense built up was rather limited in my opinion and the novel became a little bit predictable.

I was actually happy to see that the novel actually had romance in it and was not just about sex or eroticism as I have seen in many other books, especially paranormal romance. It is just a shame that the various characters that the romance and the other relationships were based around seemed rather one dimensional. It just meant that I didn't really feel any attachment to the characters.

The main issue I actually had though is that I found it too obvious regarding what had actually happened to Cindy's husband. I couldn't work out the full mechanics straight away or why it had happened but I think it was too obvious who the "bad" guys actually were as I worked it out within only a few chapters of the husband's death. Then, due to the short nature of the novel, none of the twists and turns were able to maintain enough suspicion to actually distract me from that initial viewpoint.

To be honest, I don't really know how this novel compares to other romance mysteries out there but I did find it to be a reasonably enjoyable read if you are after something just to divert your attention for a while. It is quite a light read so don't expect it to tax your mind or leave you thinking about it for weeks after you finish. In all honesty, I think it is the type of pulpy novel you can just quickly skim through for a fast and easy read during travel or on the beach etc.