Author: Kristine Grayson

Release Date: May 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

ISBN: #978-1402248481

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Format(s): Paperback (384 pages)

I received a copy of this book from the PUBLISHER for the purposes of an honest review.

From the author’s website:

He’s given up on happily-ever-after…

Cinderella’s Prince Charming is divorced and at a dead end. The new owner of a bookstore, Charming has given up on women, royalty, and anything that smacks of a future.
That is, until he meets up with Mellie…

But she may be the key to happily-right-now…

Mellie is sick and tired of stepmothers being misunderstood. Vampires have redeemed their reputation, why shouldn’t stepmothers do the same? Then she runs into the handsomest, most charming man she’s ever met and discovers she’s going about her mission all wrong…

It’s only natural that sparks fly and magic ensues when these two fairy tale refugees put their heads-and vulnerable hearts-together…

What B is talking about:

This novel has one of the more interesting premises I’ve seen in a long time: how fairy tales got it all wrong. Grayson does a wonderful job of ripping up fairy tale stereotypes and stomping on them a few times for good measure. The evil stepmother? Beautiful and misunderstood. Prince Charming? Slightly paunchy…but still charming. Snow White? Malicious and vindictive. Cinderella? Borderline psychotic. Which I really liked!

Both of the main characters in Wickedly Charming are “middle aged,” even though they’re both stunners of the highest order. Prince Charming and Mellie have both had their share of shattered dreams and have given up on ever finding happiness with another person. Until they meet each other at a book fair, of course (he’s there to grab as many books as he can for his bookstore, and she’s there protesting the unfairness of fairy tales).

I had a difficult time getting into this story at first. It was hard for me to accept these characters as flawed, while so much is made about their beauty. The beginning seems to go in circles a fair bit of the time as well. Then, almost mid-way through the book, the main characters become involved in a three person barb-tossing contest in a coffee shop, complete with funny commentary from the other patrons, and suddenly the novel came alive. By then, the blending of the two worlds in the story was comfortable and the characters were quickly earning my support.

Grayson has a lot of unconventional things going on in Wickedly Charming, some of which worked, and others that didn’t. Occasionally there were almost too many competing conflicts at once, but everything gets sorted out in the end of the story. Once the novel started to move at a stronger pace, I enjoyed it a great deal, including the “maybe ever after” ending.

Wickedly Charming is a fun, highly imaginative story that sets out to turn conventional fairy tales on end and does so very well. Although it gets off to a slow start, a little patience will be well rewarded as these characters defy every stereotype and finally find some happiness of their own.

My Rating:

3.5 stars: Liked it a lot – recommend (B+)

Author: Ava Riley

Release Date: April 6, 2011

Publisher: LazyDay Publishing

ISBN: # 978-1612580234

Genre: contemporary romance

Format(s): e-book

I received a copy of this book from the author for the purposes of an honest review.

From the author’s website:

Tessa has no desire to spend another Friday night alone. Inviting her brother’s best friend, Cade, to hang out with her at a local club was nothing more than a night out with a friend. At least that’s what she thought. When unexpected advances are made, they are both forced to evaluate their life-long friendship and newly revealed feelings for each other. Can Tessa accept that someone as sexy and successful as Cade could want her for more than sex? Will their friendship continue on as it was or will these two find a love that lasts a lifetime?

What I’m talking about:

Tessa and Cade have known each other her whole life. Cade is best friend is best friends with Tess’ older brother, Rowan, and he has watched Tessa grow up – teasing her along the way as any big brother’s best friend would do. One night when Rowan was busy he suggests Tessa and Cade hang out – go to the bar together. Little do any of them know that night will change their lives. When Cade takes an inebriated Tessa home, she hikes up her skirt and straddles his lap, confessing her desire for him. Nothing happens that night, but when Rowan finds Cade’s wallet and an unused condom on Tessa’s living room floor the next day, the “what ifs” start to play in both Cade and Tessa’s minds. This kicks off a courtship dance that leads Cade and Tessa to reconsider their views on relationships and love.

A Lifetime to Find Love is a sweet love story. It’s a quick and easy read, with little conflict and lots of hot romance. Cade is a considerate, consummate bachelor – never finding a woman that he wants to spend the night with after an evening of hot sex. Likewise, Tessa has never dated a man that makes her heart race with desire for a long-term relationship. Neither had ever looked at each other in a sexual way until Tessa makes her move.

I have to admit, I kept waiting for something to go “wrong” with Cade. First, as you all know, I never read contemporary romance and I didn’t realize that this story wasn’t paranormal until I read a few chapters. So in the beginning of the book, especially after learning Cade tossed Tessa across the room in reaction to her advances, I kept waiting to discover Cade was some sort of shifter or vampire. *grins* Then after I recognized that Cade wasn’t a paranormal creature, I was waiting for a deep secret or character flaw to be uncovered. But none came. He’s just this amazingly handsome, generous doctor that is completely smitten with Tess.

The romance between Cade and Tess blossomed quickly, and once it got rolling, moved forward with little conflict or problems. It makes sense, knowing that the two grew up together – there was no need for the “getting to know you” stage of a relationship. However, since the reader is not privy to their earlier years, I felt that their undying love advanced a bit too quickly and at times lacked the honest depth described in the story. But after getting over the speed at which the relationship built, I enjoyed their candid and open approach with one another.

The author did attempt to toss in some conflict into the story with the introduction of Erin, Rowan’s ex-fiancée, about two-thirds into the book. Unfortunately, she didn’t add much to the storyline and her character was a bit annoying to me. It was more the case of “a little too little and a little too late” rather than a flaw in Erin’s character, but her introduction and shenanigans came across contrived and I felt the story may have been better without her presence.

A Lifetime to Find Love is a solid freshman release for Ms. Riley. The writing strengthened as the story progressed and even with the couple of flaws I mentioned, the story is an enjoyable read. It’s not a complex, twisted tale, but it doesn’t need to be. Sometimes it’s nice just to sit back and take pleasure in an uncomplicated, charming love story.

My Rating:

3 stars: Liked it, but I had some issues - recommend (B)

Author: Jim C. Hines

Release Date: January 6, 2009

Publisher: DAW

Princess Novels Book #1

ISBN: #978-0756405328

Genre: Fantasy

Format(s): Paperback (352 pages), e-book

We bought this book because…well, Gikany bought this book because she liked the cover while shopping in the bookstore and she told Una to read it while handing it to her.

From the author’s website:

“You know how all those old fairy tales take you through lots of scary adventures until you finally reach that inevitable line: “And they lived happily ever after….” Guess what? It’s not true.”

Cinderella–whose real name is Danielle Whiteshore (nee Danielle de Glas)–does marry Prince Armand. And if you can ignore the pigeon incident, their wedding is a dream come true.

But not long after the “happily ever after,” Danielle is attacked by her stepsister Charlotte, who suddenly has all sorts of magic to call upon. And though Talia–otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty–comes to the rescue (she’s a martial arts master, and all those fairy blessings make her almost unbeatable), Charlotte gets away.

That’s when Danielle discovers a number of disturbing facts: Armand has been kidnapped and taken to the realm of the Fairies; Danielle is pregnant with his child; and the Queen has her own very secret service that consists of Talia and Snow (White, of course). Snow is an expert at mirror magic and heavy duty flirting.

Can the three princesses track down Armand and extract both the prince and themselves from the clutches of some of fantasyland’s most nefarious villains?

What Gikany & Una are talking about:

We decided to give you a review of this book simply because we feel it is our duty to ensure other genres are brought to your attention. We decided to stretch our wings because we believe strongly in variety and we know that so far TwiMom has focused on urban fantasy, romance and a few young adult novels. That being said, since our first post was Urban Fantasy, it wouldn’t be too far a stretch for you to be introduced to some pure fantasy.

The Stepsister Scheme is what we consider pure fantasy. It is set in the world of fairy tales, where Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty all exist and are real people. However, “happily ever after” is still just the fairy tale. We begin this story shortly after Cinderella’s (or Danielle as she is really called) honeymoon. For her, she thought she thought all the bad times were finally behind her. Sadly, this is not the case. Danielle is rudely awakened to reality when her stepsister Charlotte tries to kill her. She is rescued by the butt-kicking Sleeping Beauty, Talia. Please note, her beauty is only matched by her martial arts skills; suitors beware! Danielle survives the assassination attempt to only come to discover her husband, Prince Charming (Armand) has been kidnapped. Fearing for her love, Danielle teams up with Snow White (Snow – because she hates her given name: Ermillina) [**we agree this is an awful name, poor girl….sorry to anyone with this name**] and Talia to seek out and rescue Armand. Their quest sends them into the bowels of Fairytown.

In this first book of the Princess Novels, Mr. Hines takes our beloved fairy tales and turns them into a gritty and humorous ride. The world he has created is detailed and elaborate. There are multiple layers in each of the characters and places that call the reader to explore. It also shows, for those of us that grew up with the concept of happily ever after, that it, too, takes work and that the true definition of happily ever after is the one you create for yourself. In this book, the characters demonstrate that anyone can overcome truly horrific circumstances to find their own niche.

Despite the realistic traumas and obstacles during the adventure, Hines masterfully weaves a humorous and compassionate thread throughout keeping the reader glued to the page. The interactions between the main and minor characters help to ground the story, drawing the reader fully into the story. By the end, these fairy tale characters feel more like next-door neighbors than some whimsical princess in a tale.

The only drawback is the amount of detail that is packed into the storytelling. By the end of the book, Gikany felt she needed to reread it, simply because she felt she was missing something. Una, on the other hand, kept referring back pages while reading (one step forward, two steps back…and it’s the book cha-cha) and that can get a little tedious. However, we do agree it is worth the effort. Gikany says after rereading it the third time, you feel you’ve gotten all the details in and it is truly an enjoyable read. Una will let you know after the third dance, oops, read.

Their Rating:

4.5 stars: Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)

As you were all so kind and indulged me yesterday, I have a special treat. Like Gikany says, “while the cat’s away, the mice will play” and since we are the West Coast Remix, we are bringing what we will call a Tuesday Teaser Snippet (Sunday Snippets on a Tuesday…YAY!!!). This is a preview of the book we are reviewing tomorrow. We hope you enjoy!

The Stepsister Scheme

by Jim C. Hines

DAW

January 2009

…“You should tell her, Talia.”

“You should stay out of this.”

Snow reached over to put a juice-stained hand on Talia’s arm. “’Knowledge ranks first among all weapons.’ King Phillipe the Second said that. The more Danielle knows, the better prepared she’ll be.”

“Phillipe. Isn’t he the one who took a cloth yard arrow to the throat?” Talia pulled away from Snow’s touch. “Knowledge might make a good weapon, but it’s lousy armor.”

“I don’t mean to upset you,” Danielle said.

“Of course not. Everyone always has the best of intentions.” Talia snorted and tucked a few sweaty strands of hair behind her ear. “Sure, the fairies gave me their ‘gifts.’ Some of them take great pleasure in ‘improving’ us lowly humans. They gave me grace, beauty, the voice of an angel… everything a princess needs to satisfy her future husband.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out the spindle-shaped zaraq whip she had taken from the palace. “Then there was the curse, that I would die by my sixteenth birthday.”

“But you didn’t,” Danielle said. “The last fairy saved you. You can’t judge all of them from-“

“The last fairy destroyed me,” Talia said. Her dark eyes were numb and empty. “She perverted the curse. Instead of death, the spell brought unending sleep. Not just to me, but to everyone in the palace. She raised a hedge of thorns around our home to shelter us from the world. For a century we slept.”

“Until your Prince came,” Danielle said.

Talia slammed the whip’s handle against the basket hard enough to elicit a squawk of protest from Karina.

“With our palace gone, my uncle claimed the throne. For years that hacked their way through the hedge until they broke through. My ‘prince’ was the great-great-grandson of the man who ordered the murder of my parents, my brothers and sisters, everyone who might one day awaken and challenge their rule. The only reason they allowed me to live is that they didn’t know what my death would do to the fairy’s spell.”

Danielle wanted to reach over and offer some kind of support, feeble and worthless though the gesture might be. But she doubted Talia would appreciate it. “What happened next?”

“The prince awakened me,” Talia said. “The tales got that much right, at least.” She rubbed her hands together, like she was trying to clean them. “A hundred years I slept, and not once did those fairies return to see how my family fared. The one who cursed me did it out of spite. But it was her companions, through their blindness and apathy, who destroyed us.”

Danielle turned toward Snow, who had set the pomegranate seed aside and was staring out the side of the basket.

“Is that how it was with you?” Danielle asked. “Your life sounds so awful in the stories, but they say you found happiness in the end.”

“For close to a year, I lived with the hunter my mother had hired to kill me,” Snow said. “But then she learned of his betrayal and tortured him to death. I destroyed her for that.” Snow shrugged and reached for another bag. “Did we bring anything else to drink?”

“Are all of the tales like this?” Danielle asked. “Did Jack Giantslayer fall into despair and poverty? Was Red Riding Hood murdered by wolves seeking revenge for the death of their kin?”

Talia snorted. “No, Red survived. But that kind of thing changes a woman.”

“Changes her how?”

“The Lady of the Red Hood is one of the most feared assassins this side of Adenkar,” Snow said.

Danielle stared, trying to read their faces. “You’re joking.”

“It’s true.” Talia rolled up her sleeves and touched one of the scars on her forearm. “Bitch nearly killed the queen a few years back.”