What Might Have Been by Lynn Steward

Rating

Let's do the time warp, again. This book was provided to me for free as part of a blogging tour.

Synopsis Dana McGarry is estranged from her cheating husband, and seeking a way to go on with her life. Everyone has advice: her mother, family friends, and co-workers. She finds motivation and solace after meeting an English priest. His advice is soon validated by the beginning of a new romance. Life seems to be going exactly as Dana would like. Until, a tragic accident reveals a secret that shakes the very foundation of her new love. Dana must learn where she fits and that somethings just aren't meant to be.

Characters Dana is as relatable to me as chalk to cheese. She comes from a very privileged background--a family friend owns his own fashion house for pete's sake. She is ambitious, but doesn't want things handed to her. She's smart and trendy. But she's not stuck up or a Stepford wife in the way her husband's mistress wants her to be. She's very human and likable. The rest of the New York characters not so much, especially Jack. But I loved the priest, he rocked.

World The world is very detailed as far as the map is concerned but, the 1970's flavor is covered in two conversations and a disco. There's a lack of vibe in every place from London to B.Altman. The only one that has a definite atmosphere is the stables and that's an air that hasn't changed.

Pacing The pacing was one the least successful aspects of the novel. It was more real life pacing rather than story pacing. The homosexual subplot was better paced, but lacked any emotional payoff.

Writing It was very well written. There was a consistent use of sensory input and show not tell. Ugly cries, symptoms of depression and jealousy abound. A real sense of everyone as a person was established. Backstories were established without being told outright.

Plot I'll be honest the plot was the major failing point of this novel, there were too many stories being told. Dana's work and person problems are so intertwined that neither takes center stage in the plot department, so every part of the plot seems rushed.

The Good This book takes place during a time period very important to America. Divorce was a stigma until the seventies, this period allowed society to say that sometimes marriages just don't work. And divorce is not a fault on the woman's part for not keeping her man, no matter his behavior. Women had learned they had a voice in the sixties and they used it to change the world in the seventies. Homosexuality was still treated as deviant behavior, but the subculture of acceptance was growing in the seventies. Without women like Dana and men like Andrew the world would be a very different place. And we need to be reminded of that now more than ever.

The Bad This story was a bridge from one book to another, nothing major was resolved. And that's a shame. I think Dana should have made a different decision, but that's just what I would do in her place. But even that door was not closed.

Recommendations

I'm not really a fan of a woman finding her way plot line or the inspirational genre. And I like modern romances with lots of sex, but I've read a few so I'll try to recommend something similar.

Prelude to Enchantment by Anne Mather

Read this many moons ago, written in 1974. Sancha is a career girl who is sent to interview a conte. Very much a harlequin presents from that time period. Harlequin now offers it in digital print for those of us who want to take a trip down memory lane.

Little Miss Matchmaker by Dana Corbit

If you like Christian novels, then you might want to check out Harlequin publishing's Love Inspired label. Like Harlequin Presents, Blaze, and Historical there are new books every month. I like this particular book because of the kid, I'm a sucker for them.

Even though I was born with a wooden spoon rather than a silver one I can relate to Dana. Most modern women can. It's all about having to balance ambition at work with a want for a balanced life. Dana's ultimate lessons are ones everyone can use: one must do what is right for one's self; a balanced life leads to a balanced individual; and keep learning and experiencing new things. What do you think?

Daugher of the Sun by Zoe Kalo

Rating

Young Adult novels have absolutely flooded the paranormal romance, fantasy, and scifi genres. So, a novel has to be innovative and outstanding to differentiate itself from the seething masses of teen angst. This one is average.

Synopsis: Trinity was an orphan or so she thought, but an enigmatic visitor arrives just before her 17th birthday to whisk her away to an exotic island and a grandmother she's never met. While she was never ordinary at the convent where she grew up she had no idea of the secrets she inherited. An occult mystery of Egyptian Gods and monsters soon places her life and the lives of her brand new family at risk. Her life is thrown into turmoil as her best friend disappears and new love blooms. Will she discover the key to her existence and figure out what she is becoming? The answers are 5,000 years in the making find out in Daughter of the Sun.

Characters: It's pretty bad when the antagonist is a more complete person than either person on the protagonist side. I understand that Trinity and Ara are teenagers, but that doesn't mean they should be character sketches. Trinity has no idea what wants to do with her life, and never even wonders about it even though she's seventeen. I don't know how it works in England, but here in America wards of the state are no longer taken care of by the state after they reach 18. I was a wreck at 17 applying to colleges, and trying to do the best I could on my SAT, Standard Academic Testing, to make up for my less than stellar grades. I can't imagine adding stress of having to come up with an off campus living situation as well. Trinity is a complete and utter juvenile, immature in her actions and thoughts, and she's supposed to be the hero. I don't even buy that she's seventeen. While Ara is definitely seventeen, but suffers from being a character sketch as well. It's as Zoe decided to give her one good quality and one bad quality and call it a day. Her good quality is she's smart and has great recall, and her bad quality is she's a party girl. Neither girl has any hobbies or accomplishments. While on the other hand, Dr. Nassri can speak several languages, draws exceptionally well, is dedicated to her work and is extremely well put together. Yep, in my book the bad guy wins.

World: The world building is the only thing that gives this book a pass. The place descriptions read like a travel guide, you can definitely tell that Ms. Kalo went on a research trip. And the Egyptian mythology and research make a heck of a lot more sense than Gods of Egypt. The decision to focus on Egyptian mythology instead of the more conventional Greek or Roman was a smart one. The island of Cats and setting it off the cost of Turkey was unique. It made me want to visit. I wanted to swim in the crystal clear water, and be more of a beach bum than Seth.

Pacing: This was the worst part of the book by far. The book drifted for days on end with nothing major happening. I'm sure someone thought it was a build up to a reveal, but after the first scene I didn't care about the old woman and I really didn't need two more scenes to enhance my apathy. I could care less about Trinity's romance, I would have liked to know more about her parents romance. All the important stuff happened in the last half of the book, and it didn't have to. Her curiosity could have been alleviated the exact same way it was, but earlier. The drawing out and slowly revealing that Trinity isn't typical was unnecessary--Ara could have not believed Trinity's reveal if it needed to be reinforced, or Trinity could have stated the fact early rather than hint at her transformation over and over again. Readers don't have to spoon fed; we can take a sudden shock. In fact, we life for those sudden shocks. There was no twist, no sense of tension, and no urgency even in the scenes where urgency was key. The pacing decisions made no sense to me at all, I hate when something is just dropped in at the end, and not even introduced before the next book. This book had several of bombs that had one paragraph and then won't be addressed again till the next book.

Plot: This plot has it's own following on Tumblr, it's called the Chosen One plotline. There is absolutely nothing that makes it remotely unique or interesting. In this plot are the Sidekick, Chosen One, Love Interest, and Bad Guy. There's no giant cast of characters, no red herrings, and no spin that remakes the traditional ragged out fantasy cliché that would make it new and exciting. But the same could be said for many a Chosen One book.

Writing: There were synonyms, proper nouns for flora and fauna, explanations of a new concepts likes sponge diving and Egyptian mythology, and a glimpse into the world of an archaeologist. Better than "he made me feel like something that could fly." or "it was alive with creatures and green things." I hold writers to a higher standard my favorites are Adams, Pratchett, and Green so, when I say it lacked personality and flavor that's not saying it was boring--it just wasn't brilliant or quote worthy.

The Good: Did I mention it's free right now on Kindle at Amazon? No, well it is. Kalo paints a gorgeous picture that makes me want to jet off to Turkey for vacation. The mythology is interesting and clear.

The Bad: Characters are a complete wash, plot needed some jazzing up, and there was a majorly awesome incident that could have been introduced in the first half of this book and would have made it much more interesting reading if it had been added as a key problem instead of introducing it and then ignoring it in the last part. It could have put a new spin on "Are you my mummy?" But as they say thems the breaks.

Recommendations

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

The Chosen One plot line mixed with a little Highlander. It starts out promising, then lags in the middle and then picks up to awesomeness at the very end. Also a YA, young adult, with a love interest and uses a mythology to base the story off of except Cole uses the Major Arcana of Tarot Cards.

Marked by P. C. Cast

This one comes with a warning. Warning: contains explicit language and sex. House of Night features real teenagers being teenagers. There is cussing and sex, and I'm not recommending it for the age bracket it was supposedly written for. Also a Chosen One plotline with a predictable Bad Guy. But I copied down whole pages because the writing was so beautiful. Cast takes several mythologies and works it into a world of her own.

This Review is a part of the Blogger Outreach Program by b00k r3vi3w Tours

Like the author? Want to know about her latest works? Please visit her website, Zoe Kalo, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.

All of Me by Leanna Morgan

Rating

Synopsis: What do you do when you want to hide away from life? Apparently, move to Bozeman, Montana--a la Sheldon Cooper. Tess is running from a tragic past, and so is Logan. Will they find peace together or will their inner demons deny them happiness. In helping others, they find hope. Is it enough?

Plot: Tess is a café owner and baker who doesn't like reporters. Logan is a reporter running from post traumatic stress disorder, literally at 4 in the morning every morning. They come together to help out a bride and groom in crisis. They find help with the wedding and much more.

Pacing: It dragged a little at the end, but it was mostly set up for the next several books.

Characters: Everyone was unique and likeable, but the book had a big cast so it was hard keeping track of everyone. It was easiest to identify everybody at the end when the sequels were being set up.

Writing: Average as far as romance novels go, the comedic timing wasn't great, there were no quotable moments from the authors or the characters, but it wasn't full of annoying slang or repetitive words either. Written in third person, so a generic informative author voice is expected.

World: Bozeman, Montana modern day but could have been anywhere.

The Good: Writing, Characters, the food descriptions made my mouth water, it was a cute story, and it was FREE on Amazon, for Kindle right now.

The Bad: Not that much action but it didn't really need that much, and too many subplots tried to make up for the lack of a cohesive main plot.

Recommendations:

Trouble in High Heels by Christina Dodd

She writes a consistently good story. Her characters are very much like Logan and Tess, good vanilla people. I always know I'll enjoy the book when I see her name. She writes mainly historical romance, but this one is modern with great main characters.

Double Trouble by Deborah Cooke

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Not as well known of a name, but if you like the style of comedy in this book, you'll like her. She writes funny, quirky stories with heartwarming overtones. Above all, this book is Free on Amazon, for the Kindle.