you dropped a blonde on me.

She was the perfect party-planning, haute-to-the max trophy wife. Now Maxine Cambridge is broke, unemployable and living with her mother and teenage son in a retirement village, with her self-esteem kicked to the curb.

Until her geeky former classmate Campbell Barker returns, all grown-up- and off-the-scale smokin' hot. Campbell refuses to believe Max isn't that smart, funny girl he's crushed on since high school. The more Max tries to show him he's wrong, the more she rediscovers her long-retired mojo. Now, she's ready to throw down some payback on her ex-life and fight for what she deserves.

What a nice surprise this book was. This was the first of Dakota Cassidy's books I've ever read, since I don't particularly care for paranormal and that's what her previous novels are. With Border's going out of business, I picked this one up, hoping against hope that it would be worth the money. And it was. (Although, not my money. The book was a gift.)

Max is a great heroine for this book. She's flawed, super messed up when it comes to relationships. She jumps to conclusions, a few times publicly, and it's embarrassing in its hilarity. The hero of the book, Campbell, is pretty fantastic. He's there for her every step of the way, taking up for her when she can't take care of herself. I loved the fun of this book. I've been waiting for a good, fun, easy book to come along and here we are!

After reading it, I found out that it's the start of Cassidy's Ex-Trophy Wives series, with book two released this month. I have every intention of reading Burning Down the Spouse, but, despite how much I enjoyed the first book, I'm a bit wary about this being a series instead of a stand alone.

savor the moment.

Wedding baker Laurel McBane is surrounded by romance working at Vows wedding planning company with her best friends Parker, Emma, and Mac. But she's too low-key to appreciate all the luxuries that their clients seem to long for. What she does appreciate is a strong, intelligent man, a man just like Parker's older brother Delaney, on whom she's had a mega-crush since childhood.

But some infatuations last longer than others, and Laurel is convinced that the Ivy League lawyer is still out of her reach. Plus, Del is too protective of Laurel to ever cross the line with her-or so she thinks. When Laurel's quicksilver moods get the better of her-leading to an angry, hot, all-together mind-blowing kiss with Del-she'll have to quiet the doubts in her mind to turn a moment of passion into forever.

Book three in the Bride Quartet follows the same pleasant pattern as the previous two books, but without the same results. I love a good conflict in a romance novel. I mean, I love, love, love it. Savor the Moment didn't have that. The relationship is, for the most part, easy. Laurel and Del manage to move from friendship to romantic relationship seamlessly, with only Laurel's class level hangups to deter them. That's not to say that this installment wasn't worth it. It is still worth read, even if it was for the Parker/Malcomb interactions alone.

What I'm hoping Happy Ever After has that Savor the Moment lacked is the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking feeling you get from reading the awesomely intense scenes.

alien in the family.

Super-Being Exterminator Kitty Katt and the Alpha Centaurian she loves, Jeff Martini, should be finalizing their wedding plans. But that was before she discovers Jeff is in line to become Emperor back on his home world. Kitty knows she is everything a royal family wouldn't approve of, and is bracing herself for the worst. As it turns out, the royal family is just the beginning. Especially when extraterrestrial Amazonian terrorists are determined to start and end Kitty and Jeff's nuptial festivities with a bang.
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Kitty, Jeff, Christopher, and crew are back again. Jeff and Kitty are planning their wedding at a snail's pace and while doing so discover that Jeff is a descendent of the royal family of Alpha Centauri. And they want him to come back and rule.

The entire book is full of the usual Kitty shenanigans and that's not a bad thing at all. though I didn't like this one as much as the first of the series, it was still pretty good. As with the previous two, it's not so much the story that sells this series, but the characters. They're amazing. Gini Koch uses this one to reveal more about the AC home planet. Quite interesting. There's the big battle scene, emissaries from other planets, the whole shebang. The sweetness of Jeff and Kitty's relationship. Loves it.

the gift.

Extremely successful executive, Lou Suffern is always overstretched, immune to the holiday spirit that delights everyone around him. The classic workaholic who never has a moment to spare, he is always multitasking while shortchanging his devoted wife and their adorable children. And ever since he started competing for a big promotion, he has barely seen his family at all.

One frigid morning in an uncharacteristic burst of generosity, he buys a cup of coffee for Gabe, a homeless man huddled outside his office building. Inspired by his own unexpected act of kindness, Lou decides to prolong his charitable streak and contrives to get Gabe a job in his company's mailroom. But when Gabe begins to meddle in Lou's life, the helping hand appears to be a serious mistake. Gabe seems to know more about Lou than Lou does about himself, and, perhaps more disturbingly, Gabe always seems to be in two places at once.

With Lou's personal and professional fates at important crossroads and Christmas looming, Gabe resorts to some unorthodox methods to show his stubborn patron what truly matters and how precious the gift of time is. But can he help him fix what's broken before it's too late?
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Cecelia Ahern is one of my favorite authors. That might seem odd when you consider she has less than 10 books published, but it's true. I have read five of her seven books and only one was less than stellar (There's No Place Like Here). The first one I read was PS I Love You and it remains one of my favorite books. What I love about her books is the mix of fantasy and reality. How she makes me think "What if this really was happening?" If you've never read her books, pick one at random and go!

Now, on to this book in particular. As expected, Ahern has crafted an unbelievable story with The Gift. Lou is not a great guy. He does a lot of hurtful things to his family that he doesn't even realize until this time in his life. He's probably like a lot of men, a lot of people that way. But in this book, Lou is given the chance to redeem himself. Every action, every chapter, every page is laced with the idea of second chances, of life/work balance, of spending your time here on Earth wisely without pushing and being overbearing. The story is, in true Ahern fashion, thought provoking and heartbreaking. It makes you think and, more importantly, it makes you feel. Yes, it's another holiday story out of the holiday season, but it is fantastic. I suggest you read this one or any of her other books pronto.