Bridesmaid Lotto, McMaster the Disaster, Book 1 By Rachel Astor

Review by Amber

Josephine McMaster is pretty and smart, but very much a klutzy mess. Finally, at 26, she may have actually lost the dreaded ‘McMaster the Disaster’ nickname that has followed her around her whole life.

Josie’s quite content to be single, much to her mother’s disappointment. So when a bizarre contest is announced where a socialite is holding a lottery to pick her bridesmaids (and rake in a little extra cash), she can’t roll her eyes fast enough, even if it does mean meeting Jake Hall, her one and only movie star crush.

Obviously, Josie doesn’t enter the bridesmaid lottery, so you can imagine her surprise when her picture pops up among the winners, thanks to Mom. With a little prodding — okay bribing — Josie agrees to participate.

The wedding turns into the event of the year, and Josie finds herself in the middle of a paparazzi feeding frenzy, which gets even crazier after Jake Hall takes a special interest in her.

Can Josie handle the pressure in the spotlight? Is it possible she might really have a chance with Jake Hall? And if she’s busy worrying about all that, how in the heck is she going to keep ‘McMaster the Disaster’ from showing up in front of the entire world?

Bridesmaid Lotto is the story of Josephine McMaster, otherwise known as McMaster the Disaster by her classmates in school.  This book was a fun chick-lit style romp.  The voice is extremely easy to read and many parts of the book were laugh out loud funny.  This is definitely for people who enjoy the chick-lit style.  Though there’s a romance it’s not the focus of the story.  Instead, it’s the journey of Josie, McMaster the Disaster, as she navigates the world of the super rich after winning a contest to be the bridesmaid of one of New York’s glitterati. 

There’s a lot to charm in this book, if you like the style.  A lot of people say that chick-lit is dead, but I still love to laugh while reading which makes chick-lit still a favorite for me. 

That being said, there’s some things that didn’t work for me in this book either.  One of my major issues, I can’t explain without giving a major spoiler.  But I’ll just say that one of the characters behaves in a way that makes no sense to me given this person’s long standing relationship with the heroine.  It bothered me.  The justification just wasn’t there.

The romance in this book actually didn’t work for me.  But that isn’t the fault of the author.  It’s my own issue.  During Josephine’s process of acting as bridesmaid she starts a relationship with an actor, a Hollywood heartthrob who happens to be the brother of the groom.  I’m not sure why I just can’t fall in with this kind of relationship.  It might be that I just can’t suspend that much disbelief.  And it’s pretty unbelievable.  Especially to consider that it might be successful.  I think I’m just too much of a pragmatist.  Or it might be that the idea of being with a famous person of any kind just leaves me cold.  Since it isn’t my fantasy, the opposite of my fantasy, more like a nightmare, the fiction doesn’t work for me. 

Either way, I enjoyed the book, was pretty much unmoved by the romance, and would definitely read another.  As an added bonus, this book is free on Amazon right now or was when this review was written. 4 out of 5 stars for Bridesmaid Lotto.

Find out more about Rachel Astor on her website www.rachelastor.net

Guest book review: Demon Hunting in the Deep South by Lexi George

Review by Sarah Jordan

Back of the Book Blurb:  Evie Douglass doesn’t know what’s worse—the demons secretly infesting her small Alabama hometown…or human belle-from-hell Meredith Starr Peterson, who’s made her life miserable since high school. But when the “Death Starr” is brutally murdered and Evie is the number-one suspect, she’s suddenly besieged by the evil-not-dead-enough and Meredith’s furious specter. The only way she can clear her name is to get out from under demon hunter Ansgar’s grim protection. He’s blond, breathtaking, and the most lethal of all his kin, but after years of teasing, Evie is wary of anyone who swears her plus-size self is beautiful. However, having Ansgar all over her is sparking outrageous powers Evie didn’t know she had. And she’ll face any ultimate evil to keep this sexy slayer in this dimension and in her bed for all eternity… 

Review:


Warning:  This is one of those books that keep you reading while you should be helping your kids with their homework, working, finding out what the new puppy is destroying, or listening to your husband talking about...something.  Too bad!  Because this is one of the funniest, wackiest and most romantic books I have read in a very long time.  Lexi George has one of the strongest, and clearest voices writing today.  Her writing is chock full of laugh-out-loud expressions and turns of phrase that add such personality and humor to every paragraph. 
Evie is a smart, sexy, curvy (uh, what happened to that scrawny cover model?) woman who is also shy and quiet by nature.  She has a fiercely loyal and fabulously outspoken best friend named Addy who is married to a demon hunter, and a mysterious recent past that has left her confused and lost.  Evie has been verbally abused by her bitchy former classmate, Meredith "Death Starr" Peterson, and her minions since they were children, and when Evie finds Meredith hacked to death at work, things don't look good for Evie.  Pretty soon mysterious things start happening (teleportation, fairies, sexy guys coming in to her) , and Evie thinks she might be losing her mind.  Before the book even gets to page 50, Evie has a hunky demon-hunting bodyguard who's crazy in love with her, an oddly perceptive (and hot!) sheriff investigating her for the murder of the Death Starr, a demon-possessed chihuahua and his nutty human mama, both on the run from a doggie serial killer, and the ghost of the rotten Meredith in her life.  Whew!  And then things really get going, so hold on tight.
One of the best things about this book besides the zany humor and fun, is the humanity of the characters.  Rather than cardboard-thin stereotypes, George has created people with foibles and talents, who try their best but frequently make stupid and hysterical mistakes.  There's a lot of love and a lot of heart in this book.  Add in hunky demon-hunters, violence, mayhem, deliciously hot sex, and baked goods, and you've got one delightful story.

Published in August 2012, this is the second book in Lexi George's funny, romantic series, following Demon Hunting in Dixie.  There is also a related short story in the book So I Married A Demon Slayer(reviewed on this blog).



For more information visit the author's website at www.lexigeorge.com

Hot Cover Monday! Rocky Mountain Angel Six Pack Ranch, Book 4 (Digital) by Vivian Arend

Rocky Mountain Angel
Six Pack Ranch, Book 4

Sometimes even Angels must learn to fly…

Allison Parker needs a convincing excuse to come home to Rocky Mountain House. A hopelessly romantic reason that won’t let her mother suspect the truth—that Allison has discovered Mom is keeping a terrible secret from the family.

Gabe Coleman is struggling with two of the roughest parts of ranching: dealing with his bull-headed mule of a father, and making enough to pay the bills. When his old friend Allison offers to help him develop his ideas for organic ranching—in trade for pretending to be her fiancé—it sounds like the perfect set-up.

Yet the deception leads them in an unexpected direction, where their shared daily hells are erased by nights of heavenly distraction. It’s not supposed to be real, but once the gates are opened, there’s no denying they’ve found in each other a little bit of Paradise.

To break free of the past and face the future, though, will take more than temporary pleasures. It’ll take putting their hearts on the line.

Warning: Tortured hero with a guardian-angel complex, grief-stricken heroine willing to sacrifice everything for family. Break out the tissues, this trip to the ranch is a heartbreaker on the way to the HEA.

Read chapter one on Vivian Arend's website here www.vivianarend.com

Pre-order now everywhere. Available in digital format only on November 20th 2012

Sneak Peek! Forbidden (World of Night walkers) Jacquelyn Frank

Forbidden (World of the Nightwalkers) by Jacquelyn Frank


Find out more about Jacquelyn Frank here on her website www.jacquelynfrank.com

Releases Oct 30th!! Pre-order now.

Sneak Peek! Release Me by Julie Kenner

 Release Me by J. Kenner (an excerpt)

 the real substitute for Fifty Shades of Grey – releasing on 1/1/2013 – Release Me by Julie Kenner –
Note her website says it will release on 12/26/2012 

Find out more about Julie Kenner and this book on her website here www.juliekenner.com