Sunday, November 13, 2011

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Book: Agnes and the Hitman

Author: Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, Georgia, mob, romance,

Begun: October 15, 2011

Finished: October 19, 2011

Media Type: Book on CD (downloaded to and listened to on iPod Touch)

Setting: Two Rivers Mansion in Keys, Georgia (about an hour outside of Savannah, Georgia)

Characters: Agnes Crandall, Rhett (the bloodhound), Taylor Beaufort, Brenda Fortunato Dupre, Joey Torcelli, Shane Smith, Lisa Livia Fortunado, Maria Fortunado, Carpenter

Plot: Agnes Crandall's life just got infinitely more complicated. On the hectic week before her bestfriend (Lisa Livia Fortunado)'s daughter's wedding to the Keys family heir (of KEYS, Georgia - where they live), a man (a boy really) shows up at Agnes's door looking to steal her lazy bloodhound, Rhett. Defending herself with a frying pan, Agnes hits the kidnapper (dognapper?) and he falls against teh wall and then ... disappears. Falling to his death, the boy fell through a boarded up door to a basement that Agnes didn't know existed.

In all the hubub of the police showing up and discovering the body and an entire entertainment room (resplendent with a pool table and a Venus Demilo (sans arms of course)), Joey (an old friend of Agnes's and owner of a local dinner) calls his nephew to come and help Agnes with her little ... security problem. Shane, the hitman, shows up and tries to help Agnes ... not die!

Protecting Agnes from those out to kill her for unknown reasons, Shane helps her plan for the big Fortunado/Keys wedding while Brenda Fortunado (the grandmother of the bride) does everything in her power to destroy the wedding and get her mansion back. (A provision in the sale of the wedding to Agnes was that they HAD to have the wedding of Maria Fortunado at Two Rivers).

Will Agnes survive her week with the mob family, the nutty Fortunados, and Shane, the hitman?

Another great Crusie novel!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Thorn's Challenge (Westmoreland series #3) (Silhouette Desire #1552)

Book: Thorn's Challenge (Westmoreland series #3) (Silhouette Desire #1552 - December 2003)

Author: Brenda Jackson

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, Georgia, motorcycle racing, romance,

Begun: October 30, 2011

Finished: October 30, 2011

Media Type: paperback (library copy)

Setting: Collegepark, Georgia and Dayton, Florida

Characters: Thorn Westmoreland, Tara Matthews, Sheriff Alisdare Julian "Dare" Westmoreland, Rochelle "Shelly" Brockman, Stone Westmoreland (aka "Rock Mason"), Chase Westmoreland, and Storm Westmoreland

Plot: Dr. Tara Matthews has just about had it with men. Between a fiancé who jilted her at the altar to run off with her maid of honor (and best friend) and the married womanizing doctor at the hospital, where she was interning, who (when his advances were rebuffed he had Tara transferred out of his hospital to another in the Atlanta area), Tara has just about given up on ever finding happiness.

In walks Thorn Westmoreland. A motorcyclist who builds the coveted and beautiful Westmoreland bikes and rides them (and wins) all over the country. He's gorgeous and talented but dangerous to Tara's well being. She is falling for the moody, temperamental hunk who does everything in his power to sidestep the beautiful doctor.

There is just something about the gorgeous Dr. Matthews that causes Thorn to want to break his self-imposed, prerace vow of celibacy for one night with Tara. Finally, they make a vow that Thorn and Tara will share a week of passion after his race in Dayton Beach, Florida.

But what happens when Tara starts to fall in love? Will she be heartbroken like she was with her ex-Fiancé? Or could there be roses behind the Thorn...

Great third book in the series. Brenda Jackson knows how to write so as to capture emotion and make you feel along with her characters! I can't wait to get my hands on more books in this large and ever-expanding series!

Friday, November 11, 2011

A Little Dare (Westmoreland series #2) (Silhouette Desire #1533)

Book: A Little Dare (Westmoreland series #2) (Silhouette Desire #1533 - September 2003)

Author: Brenda Jackson

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, Georgia, police, romance,

Begun: October 28, 2011

Finished: October 28, 2011

Media Type: paperback (library copy)

Setting: Collegepark, Georgia

Characters: Sheriff Alisdare Julian "Dare" Westmoreland, Rochelle "Shelly" Brockman, Alisdare Julian "AJ" Brockman Westmoreland, Thorn Westmoreland, Stone Westmoreland (aka "Rock Mason"), Chase Westmoreland, Storm Westmoreland, Delaney "Laney" Westmoreland Yasir (aka "Princess Yasir"), and Prince Jamal Ari Yasir

Plot: Sheriff Dare Westmoreland has just about had it with the little hooligan in his office. After throwing rocks at cars from an overpass, AJ was hauled into the police station to face the well loved and respected Sherrif that AJ feels nothing but contempt for (after growing up in LA and seeing his mother racially profiled and then harassed by a police officer someplace in Texas while driving all their belongings to their new home in Collegepark, Georgia).

Turns out, AJ is Rochelle "Shelly" Brockman's 10 year old son. Shelly was the one girl that Dare has loved all his life (since they broke up when Dare was leaving Georgia to become an FBI agent). Dare is initially upset that Shelly wasted no time after they broke up to go and get pregnant with some other man's baby.

Then he does the math when he learns the boy's birthday and demands AJ's full name: Alisdare Julian Brockman. AJ is Dare's son.

Initially furious, Dare decides that, with Shelly's assistance, they will overcome Dare's hatred of authority figures. Shelly will tell AJ that Dare is his father but she will lie to her son and tell him that she can't decide whether to tell Dare about AJ. Ultimately, she will leave the decision to AJ when/if he thinks that Dare should know about him.

Over the span of the book, Dare and AJ become closer and closer (without AJ knowing that Dare already knows that AJ is his son). AJ gets to know the entire, very large, Westmoreland clan and finially starts to have a sense of family.

But what about Shelly and Dare? Dare is almost instantly in love with his old flame but how difficult will it be to convince Shelly to come back to him?

Good book. I really felt the emotion and the writing is not forced like so many romance novels are. Looking forward to the next book in this series.