Susan Mallery - The Friends we keep

Title	The Friends We Keep
Author	Susan Mallery
Publisher	Mira, 2016
Genre	Romance
ISBN	0778318729 (ISBN13: 9780778318729)
Length	402 pages

Edit: I mistook the writer as Jill Mansell (another of my favorite authors. Ah, the errors when reviewing via phone. Sorry Jill!

Susan Mallery's books usually revolve two or three women who are related to one another. In "The friends we keep", three friends who know one another from "Supper's in the bag" face their own life challenges as they prepped their meals three hours a week. Interesting business concept, I must say.

Gabby Schaefer, the law graduate turned second wife/stepmother, is readying her twins for kindergarten so that she can return to part time work. She doesn't really have to work because her hubby's quite well to do. But she is dying to find herself after being a hausfrau for five years. Ah first world problem, as compared to her friend Hayley Batchelor who is shortchanging her and her hubby's life in her desire to have her own child. Never mind that she had five miscarriages and her husband's desperate pleas for her to have a hysterectomy to save her from hemorrhaging. 

Nicole Lord, the only person in this story who i find is the protagonist of the love story, is the last friend who makes up the trio. Her ex was just the sperm donor to her lovely son Tyler, so much so that her son no longer cares whether the man shows up to see him. Instead he latches onto the author of his favorite book series, Brad the Dragon. Too bad mommy had a bad impression of Jairus after he mistook her for a hooker. Interesting friends he has but too bad, the book focuses on her friends instead and we never get to see his friends. Would have been interesting to meet the kind of people who might get their friend a hooker after he complains of a dry spell.

All three stories are engaging, sad and touching all at the same time.  Nicole's story was romantic but very run of the mill.  Could have predicted that she would fall in love with Brad the Dragon's author. Boring. Hayley's story was a bit whiney, not about her not having kids but her emo baggage from being an adopted daughter. Gabby's a great mom and I liked her story the most because it showed the progress of her relationship with her step daughter strengthening through adversity.

Fairly interesting read. 3.5 out of 5 stars

Robin Kaye - A little on the Wild Side

Title	A little on the wild side
Author	Robin Kaye
Publisher	Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2015 (first print 2013)
Genre	Romance
ISBN	1492608564 (ISBN13: 9781492608561)
Length	387 pages

I can understand why romance authors like to write serials. They are usually set at the same location with the same family and friends, so basically they only need to explain a place and characters once, and keep regurgitating the material over and over again in the subsequent books. This way they don't have to create a new setting with new characters every time.

This book is about Bianca Ferrari who appeared in an earlier book about the same Kincaid family, which I didn't read, did not know the back story and became lost at some parts. E. g. Why is Grandpa joe their grandfather even though he is not blood kin? Who are Ben and Gina? The book assumes you read the earlier book so it picks up from where Trapper (cute, three brothers, Hunter, Fisher and Trapper. Why not a Gatherer while you are at it?) last fucked Bianca. We are told that they did the dirty in three or four time zones, and somewhere along there, they became pregnant.

So its a pregnancy book, and even though Trapper found Bianca's black book (ah yes, the notorious little black book, when Bianca has a cell which can also store a contact list?) full of eligible men's names with little stars and his name was not even inside,  he was able to conclude he was THE baby daddy. This when he has a back story of a cheating fiancee who became preggie with the senior partner's baby despite being in an ongoing live-in relationship with him for 3 years?

Wow, no emo trauma from being conned the first time. This is how we know it is true love because he never asks for a paternity test. And how loving and accepting the family becomes after they learn that Bianca is pregnant? Even though they apparently did not like her earlier (in the earlier book).

Luckily Trapper's faith is absolute and proven when the twins are born and they look like their Auntie Karma. If not, wouldn't he be like trapped? 

Would have been a more fun ending. I mean he loves her right... so he should be down with raising her two babies. Lol.

Rating: 3 out of 5. If you like to read about pregnant emotional women.

Believability - 3/5 (if not for their terrible childhoods, it is very irritating to accept these two very intelligent and goodlooking people meeting each other and procreate without knowing basic protection); Romance factor - 3/5; Readability - 3.5/5 ; Yummyness of male protagonist (YMP) - 4 (can stand up to abuse well)

Sophia Nash - The Once and Future Duchess

Title	The Once and Future Duchess
Author	Sophia Nash
Publisher	Avon, 2014
Genre	Romance
ISBN	0062273639 (ISBN13: 9780062273635)
Length	384 pages

This book is one in a series of books about dukes being forced to marry by the Crown Prince after they had too memorable a bachelor party before the Duke of Candover's wedding. So memorable that someone died and the is public outcry on the state of the monarchy.

So the Duke of Candover, James Fritzroy, is anal and rigid, and not very well liked by the other dukes. But because he is a premier duke (not all dukes are equal, it seems) , he has many women still wanting to marry him, most of all, the super desperado Duchess of March, Isabelle Tremont. I cannot understand the fascination on her part, other than she may have 恋父情结. Her dead daddy is his godfather/friend, and she transfers her desire for daddy's approval onto his friend. Otherwise please explain to me why she likes much older, very zzz man?

And because James is anal and rigid, he and the determined Isabelle spent a lot of time discussing what is marriage, passion, love. So boring. Luckily distraction comes in the more exciting shapes of the Duke of Sussex and his Scottish bride. Their story is more exciting but unfortunately spans across this and an earlier book so basically we get a summary and then randomly inserted slices of a conclusion. Somehow Sussex realized what his bride did for him and all was forgiven. He was suddenly down with marrying the poor governess. 

This book was pretty haphazard with the various characters appearing in the book. Like why does Mary of Kent like the Duke of Barry? Well because suddenly they did, thats why Mary, unlucky in love is upset by Barry wanting to marry March. *roll eyes* 

Rating: 2 out of 5. 

Believability - 0/5 (right, because the elite can readily accept a governess as a fellow peer); Romance factor - 2/5; Readability - 2/5 ; Yummyness of male protagonist (YMP) - big fat 0.

YEah Baby! Trumpie is the Republican candidate