Review: Heidi and the Kaiser

Heidi and the Kaiser by Selena Kitt
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I know this review is probably four years too late, but I just read this book earlier today, and I find myself compelled to say something.

I’ve read my share of D/s books, so I’m not new to this kind of story. All in all, I’d say it was an “okay” read. It did not really hit something in me, but I’d say there was still some things which were likable in the story.

Let’s start with the good parts.

1. Heidi is really talented and knew her shit.
2. She had good taste when it came to friends.
3. She knows which battles to fight.
4. It was a happy ending.

The bad parts outnumber the good parts, unfortunately.

1. The characters were not extensively built. You only have Kaiser who likes disciplining his secretaries in a sexual way, but why was he like that? What started it? Is he a dom? Or is he just a bored businessman who likes to treat women as playthings?
2. It just comes out of nowhere that Heidi is now in love with Kaiser. I mean, who the hell falls in love with a man after having great sex? Sure, lots of women might think they are in love, but really, is that all it takes? There wasn’t anything that happened that made either Heidi or Kaiser evaluate their feelings whether it was really love, or just a hazy and good dose of intercourse.
3. Kaiser asked Heidi to do anything as long as she gets the information he needed from a rival. Usually, doms share their subs because they want their friends to know how proud they are of their subs or something like that. What Kaiser did, however, was short of prostitution.
4. The story seemed rushed all throughout.
5. Heidi’s resolution with her stolen designs was just a short narrative. It would have been nice if it made a chapter and was given more importance. After all, she did want to be a designer, right?
6. The story had no climax. Maybe the fashion show was supposed to be that, but there was no build up. There was no emotional grip that made me, as a reader, want to get to the most exciting part right away.
7. Even if it was a happy one, the ending sucked big time. All of a sudden, it was already the end. Hey! Where did the rest of the story go?

I’ve never been a fan of Selena Kitt. I enjoy reading erotica, but most of her works are just so-so. Now, let’s move on to something better.

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Review: The Frenchman’s Marriage Demand

The Frenchman’s Marriage Demand by Chantelle Shaw
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I don’t understand the appeal.

A man makes you his mistress, sleeps with you day in and day out, ruthlessly throws you out when you tell him you’re pregnant and rejects your baby, but the minute he steps back into your life, you become a putty?

Freya is woman who has no backbone. Zac is a man who does not deserve any respect. The vasectomy thing does not excuse his behavior. I have read similar plots from the Harlequin Presents line. However, this particular book was just bordering on an extremely rude hero and an unbelievably weak heroine.

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Review: A Hunger for the Forbidden (Mills & Boon M&B)

A Hunger for the Forbidden (Mills & Boon M&B) by Maisey Yates
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Matteo Corretti is probably the most conflicted character I’ve read in the Harlequin presents line.

Yes, he has seen things and done things that not every man in this world has had to do, but come on, has he ever heard about the term “move on”? Apparently not. I also didn’t like the way he was too cruel to the heroine.

Alessia, the heroine, on the other hand, must be a developing masochist. It’s unbelievable how she falls more and more in love with a man who can be very cruel to her. And this is supposed to be about love.

The only thing I like about this book was the white knight/real man distinction. It took a a while for both of them to realize they’ve been holding on to their ideas instead of getting to know the real person they were married to.

I may be weird like that, but I just did not feel the love between the two of them. I was not completely disappointed, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped I wold.

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Book Review: Witch Fire by Anya Bast

Witch Fire by Anya Bast My rating: 3 of 5 stars I just read this book, even if it was published back in 2007. So far, I liked the first book on the series. Just enough magic and romance to make the plot interesting. I like Mira as a character because even if she has gone through terrible things in her marriage to her ex-husband, she was still a strong woman who knew what she wanted and worked on getting them. As a witch she also took the news pretty well, even if she was a bg skeptic from the start. Jack, on the other hand, is a good man, as his character was written. It was very understandable and relatable for a person like him to feel guilty for the sins of his father. That happens in real life a lot, and it is a very real characteristic of him. I was surprised to have enjoyed this book. Anyway, I will most probably read the rest of this series. Hope they are as enjoyable as this one. View all my reviews

Book Review: Find You in the Dark by A. Meredith Walters

Find You in the Dark by A. Meredith Walters
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I don’t understand. This book has an overall rating of 4+ something on Goodreads. Why?

I definitely did not like this book.

The characters were the same people I’ve read about on many other books. On this book, though, they weren’t written to be more interesting. At all.

The heroine, Maggie, started out really great. I liked her right away. I disliked her just as fast. For someone who started out as a strong character, she ended up as a wimp, becoming too focused on the boyfriend who had way too many issues.

How can people mistake something very destructive as love?

I guess that’s how first love is supposed to be. However, don’t people realize that first love should be all about the experience, the highs, the good stuff. Anything this deep or massive or complicated really does not give a good influence or impression.

I don’t understand why a lot of readers liked this book. For me, it’s just a bit too ambitious. Plot was not getting anywhere. Conflict was not really interesting. Characters were all over the place. Lots of typographical and editing errors.

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Book Review: The Millionaire’s Marriage by Catherine Spencer

The Millionaire’s Marriage by Catherine Spencer
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This would probably be one of the saddest books I have ever read. It’s not a tear-jerking drama. There weren’t a lot of conflict or antagonists to make the love story complicated. It’s really just how the book was written that makes it so sad.

It did not leave me with a good feeling when I finally finished it. For a romance novel, the book was made up more of the estrangement between the hero and heroine and left only a few pages for their reconciliation and happy-ever-after.

As for the hero? I cannot imagine that a man like him exists. Oh, sure, Max Logan had it all -looks, money, success. But for all he had, he lacked a heart. I cannot imagine a man who could be so unfeeling, so insensitive, so doubtful, so unloving. I did not fall in love with his character at all. I kept wishing that Gabriella would, in fact, move on, find another man who loved her and was not afraid to show the whole world and that Max would be left alone, old, and grumpy.

Gabriella as a heroine was not perfect. However, I really liked her. At least, she was mature enough to be honest about everything. She was also forgiving and most of all, she was not afraid to love and admit it.

Catherine Spencer did a great job with this book. Any reader can easily feel the things that the characters were going through. Kudos to her. However, no matter how beautifully this book was written, I did not like it at all. In the end, it gave me a depressing mood, and it’s not how I want to end things with every book I read.

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Book Review: Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book.

It has been a while since I read a book that made me laugh and feel like I was part of the clique.

Caroline, the heroine, was not at all like any girl found in fiction. She seemed like a real person, a practical romantic. A girl who could stand on her own, travel alone, and still enjoy the liberties of the modern world.

Simon, for all his harem’s worth, was a real enough guy who snores and eats a lot.

The friends were really great people. It makes you, as a reader, wish that you had friends like the ones in the book.

The chemistry was amazing.

The way that Alice Clayton wrote this book was different from the rest, which sets the book apart.

I think I found a new favorite author.

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Book Review: Desire Has No Mercy

Desire Has No Mercy by Violet Winspear

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has an outdated theme. Seriously, most women these days no longer have to worry about carrying a man’s child, or of what a man thinks of her when she has gambling debts.

However, I am giving this book three starts because it was written in a way where you can understand where the heroine is coming from. The hero was also portrayed successfully as a complicated man who has learned his life lessons and was dealt a hard hand when he was young.

I don’t always agree with their arguments, but I get what the author wants to relay. The small tokens of wisdom as well from a secondary character is nice and subtle but is not lost in the love story.

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Book Review: Irish Thoroughbred

Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As Nora Roberts’ first published work, this fares well.

I may be partial to this book because Ms. Roberts is one of my favorite authors, and tops my list in the romance genre.

This book has a simple plot. There wasn’t much of a conflict. There’s the common theme on Silhouette novels about the hero being too macho to the point of being unreasonably dominant and the heroine to be such a “nice” and feminine girl, which, of course, may reflect the trends of the 80’s, when the book was published.

Still, I like this book. The characters may leave a lot to be desired, but the storytelling was great. Just enough drama, romance, and action to keep you reading until you finish it. This book is best for when you want to read something that you can finish in just a few hours. I even read this book more than once, and I still enjoy it every time.

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To Book Blog or Not

I’ve been thinking of starting up a book blog, you know, for all those books I have read and for all the books I have yet to read.

I have more than 2000 books stored on my library manager. That’s not including the ones that I have on paper. Out of that 2000, I don’t think I only read about 500.

That’s why I got this crazy idea to start a new book blog under a different subdomain. Maybe something like books.ishabelle.com.

OR…..

I could just use this blog as a place to post the books I have already read… Yeah…. Well, I am still debating on that.

I could even just use a WordPress.com hosted site instead of using my domain. But what’s the use of a domain if you still keep using free hosted services, right?

Sigh! This book blog thing has really gotten me confused. I’ll probably just sleep on this for a night or two. I hope I do get a final decision before the new week starts. xoxo.