FATE CAPTURED by MM Jaye

4 out of 5 stars

Romance/mystery set in Greece

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

One of the reasons I don't usually read romance books is that you can guess, within the first chapter or two, how it's going to end up: happy ever after, featuring the guy with whom the girl got off on the wrong foot during their first meeting/the guy she thought she could never get.  Fate Captured offers more than this.  The heroine, Trish (strong, beautiful, independent, etc) has done something that's had a seriously bad impact on the life of the hero, Markos (strong, hunky, alpha male, etc).  Only he doesn't know she was the perpetrator.  And she doesn't know he was the one who suffered because of her actions.  Right from the start, this made me think, 'ooh, I wonder what's going to happen when they both find out'.... 

This is more than just a romance, and it's certainly not chick lit, though much of the inner dialogue of Trish, in particular, is amusing and sharp.  There's lots going on behind the scenes, a bit of mystery, and enough to keep me interested past the will-they-won't-they-oh-of-course-they-will.  

I am not much of a one for lots of description of scenery, etc, in books, but in this it was well done, and I found myself being able to 'see' all the settings, an indication that it works.  I liked Trish, I fancied Markos - they worked, too!  The writing is very American in its choice of language and phraseology, which works most of the time.  On occasion both the dialogue and the events were a little unlikely, but I think that an element of this genre of book is that it requires the suspension of disbelief; we're not talking gritty real life drama here.

This isn't a very long book, but it's just right for the story, with no boring bits!  I liked it, it's a good plot with much more in it than I had thought there might be.  MM Jaye has provided a 'clean' version, which is the one I read, as well as one with more graphic sex scenes.  The sexy bits were still very believable, though.  I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a beach read with a bit more to it than the usual light romance.

THE NEW MRS D by Heather Hill

3.5 out of 5 stars

Mature Chick Lit

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

Bernice is on her honeymoon in Greece; it's her second marriage, and she has two grown up daughters.  The problem is that her husband, David, loves her but doesn't fancy her - several days into the holiday they still haven't had sex - he's been getting his kicks from porn websites.  Oh, and he had a picture of four of her bikini clad friends in his wallet.  Not Bernice, just her friends...

Bernice decides she can't take it any more, and will spend the rest of the holiday alone.  She meets up with David's friend Chris, an artist who lives nearby, and makes several new friends.

This is a smart, well written, lighthearted-with-serious-undertones sort of book, and I enjoyed the Greek holiday atmosphere.  I thought the whole subject of Bernice's dilemma was most interesting; her relationship with her mother that led to the low self-esteem, that led to her making a first unwise marriage, then becoming a Facebook 'friend' of the woman for whom Husband #1 left her, and, finally, marrying a man who didn't want to sleep with her.  I think many women would be able to relate to Bernice's tendency to 'people please', which in itself had a detrimental effect on her self-esteem, but I thought the story might have been better suited to a slightly edgy, contemporary drama, rather than chick lit mode, with all its zany incidents -  I do sometimes wonder if anyone's ever written a chick lit heroine who isn't ludicrously accident prone!

I was pleased that the ending wasn't predictable (I liked it alot, it made me smile!), and I thought the message of the book, about learning to love and accept yourself, was sincerely and sympathetically executed.  The whole thing was a bit too 'whoo-hoo, you go girl, let's all be sassy real women' for me (and a bit too naked), but that's only personal taste; Bernice and her new friends were believable characters and I think this book will appeal to many women.  I can imagine it being an inspiration to others caught in the low self-esteem trap; haven't most of us been there at some point?