Book Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

Released February 2011

www.jennybjones.com

Former NFL star Alex Sinclair needs a fiancee. He's running for congress, but his reputation as a playboy is keeping voters away. Lucy Wiltshire desperately needs funding for Saving Grace. Saving Grace is a home for girls too old for the foster care system, but who lack the job skills and education to make it on their own. When she learns an expected donation isn't happening, she fears she'll have to give up on her dreams.

Alex realizes Lucy may be the answer to his troubles. She's suitable "wife" material. If she agrees to a faux engagement, he'll fund her charity. What neither realizes is breaking off the engagement after elections isn't going to be easy.

Save the Date is a charming, gentle romance. It is a Christian romance, but I bet secular readers will find it just as enjoyable. It's never preachy. Lucy has plenty of spunk. I'm not sure I liked the inclusion of her former boyfriend -- he announce…

Released January 2011

www.heathergudenkauf.com


Honestly, I'm not sure what age group this novel would best suit. I'm letting my teen daughter read it next. She's a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's novels and I found myself getting that same chill that I get when reading a Picoult book.


These Things Hidden links a tragic event to three families. The novel starts with the release of 21-year-old Allison Glenn. She's served five-years in prison for a horrifying crime. In the years since her sentencing, Allison has lost everything--friends, family and her stellar education.

After settling into a halfway house, she tries to reunite with her family. Her parents want nothing to do with her. Her younger sister is the one Allison most wants to see but Brynn relives that tragic night. As Allison pushes for a reunion, another startling piece of the past comes into light. Things that have been hidden forever threaten to destroy Allison once again.

While this is a MIRA book, I wouldn&#…

Released February 2011

www.penguin.com

The Perfect Play appears to be the very first in Jaci Burton's Play-By-Play series. It's hot, hot, hot! Meanwhile, there's a great storyline and the characters have great emotional depth, minus, perhaps, one character that I personally could not stand.

Event planner Tara Lincoln's business is taking off. Great news for the single mom whose clawed her way from being a teen mom with no parental support worth mentioning. She just hopes she's doing enough to keep her 14-year-old son from making the same mistakes she did.

When Tara meets NFL star Mick Riley, she's no doubt attracted to him but hesitant on getting involved with a noted playboy. What would someone like Mick want with a single mom. She's convinced he wouldn't want a single mom when he could have any woman in the world. Mick's determined to prove her otherwise.

I really enjoyed most of The Perfect Play. Mick and Tara are a great match; I also adored Mick…

Released January 18, 2011

www.susanephillips.com

Long time Susan Elizabeth Phillips fans take note, Call Me Irresistible showcases a large number of SEP's past characters. For this book, she visits the adult versions of three children from previous stories.

In Call Me Irresistible, Ted Beaudine (son of Francesca and Dallie Beaudine of Fancy Pants) is set to marry Lucy Jorvik (daughter of President Cornelia Jorvik and her husband Mat from First Lady). When Lucy's best friend Meg (daughter of Fleur Savagar and Jake Koranda of Glitter Baby) arrives, Meg quickly realizes that Ted is all wrong for Lucy. After some girl talk, Lucy decides to ditch her wedding and figure out what she wants from life.

Meg's stuck in Wynette, Texas, with residents who hate her guts, including one very ticked off groom. She can't afford her hotel bill and her car is on its last leg. Worse, her parents have cut her off because they want her to find her own way. When she's nearly arrested tryi…

Released February 22, 2011

www.eharlequin.com
www.lindalaelmiller.com

Now guardian of his best friends' five-year-old son, Steven Creed moves to Stone Creek to start a new life. His plans include renovating a run-down ranch and work pro bono in the small time as a defense attorney. He really just wants to help young Matt move on after losing both parents.

Melissa O'Ballivan is the county prosecutor and is stunned to find herself so drawn to Steven and Matt. After her last relationship ended, she came to realize just how much she missed the children she'd been helping raise. She's not sure getting involved with another single dad is a smart move. Yet, the more time she spends with Steven, the more she wants to be part of their lives. But she's a prosecutor and Steven's a defense attorney, so how can they make it work when their jobs have them pitted against one another?

A Creed in Stone Creek continues the Creed saga, while also tapping into the McKettrick series …

Released February 2011

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

When her father dies, Lexie Jaeger never expected him to first reveal new information regarding her real parents. The problem is he tells her so very little that she's still got no idea about her birth family's identity.

Lexie arranges to temporarily move to Pennsylvania to help serve as midwife to the Amish community. There she hopes to unravel the truth regarding her birth mother and why she was given up for adoption more than two decades earlier.

The Amish Midwife takes a hard look at adoption. Lexie's struggle to find out about her past involved many doors shut in her face and a long buried secret that is slowly unraveled over the course of the book.

The story is also laced with a solid look into the life of a nurse midwife. The day-to-day schedule and details into both quick, easy and long, problematic deliveries are written in vivid detail. Readers also watch Lexie struggle to come to terms with her own relationsh…

Released March 2011

www.nolo.com

Whether you're considering divorce, getting married, need answers on a custody issue or need advice on any number of family law issues, The Legal Answer Book for Families is a must-have. The legal guide is well organized and covers everything you might need to know. The table of contents makes it simple to find need-to-know information in a matter of seconds.

The Legal Answer Book for Families is divided into the following chapters:
Marriage (includes an appendix listing individual state laws)Divorce (includes an appendix listing individual state laws and information on restraining orders)Child CustodyChild SupportAdoptionChildrenElder CareWills & Estate PlanningLawyersEach chapter contains basic information and then gets into more complex issues. For example, the information on Elder Care covers in-home care versus a residential facility. It discusses Medicaid/Medicare and the importance of having medical and financial powers of attorney. The ch…

Released November 24, 2010

www.life-from-scratch.com

Written by award-winning blogger Melissa Ford, Life From Scratch features recent divorcee Rachel Goldman. Rachel's heartbroken over her divorce, after all she was married for 12 years she's allowed to be out-of-sorts. She realizes that her former life of take-out meals for two is over if she plans to afford having a roof over her head. Therefore, she decides it's time to learn how to cook. Chronicling her culinary adventures, as well as lessons she's learned before and after her divorce, Rachel Goldman shares all in her blog titled Life From Scratch.

The novel seamlessly blends Rachel's blog with the narrative regarding her life and relationships. Her goal is clear. She wants someone unlike her ex. He was a workaholic lawyer attempting to make partner. Her first date turns out to be a replica of her ex. Date number two is everything she imagines she needs, only to realize what she thinks she wants isn't the s…

Released February 15, 2011

www.brendajackson.net
www.eharlequin.com

And the "Cruella of the Year Award" goes to... Seriously, that's all I could think while reading Brenda Jackson's latest. The heroine's mother is evil to the fourth power and I spent the entire book on the edge of my seat waiting for her comeuppance.

A Silken Thread takes place in a small town of Hattersville, Ohio. Erica Sanders is all set to marry the man she loves with all her heart. Her mother will do anything to stop it. Karen Sanders wants a long-time family curse to end and the only way that will happen is if she stops Erica's marriage to Attorney Brian Lawson. She wants Erica and town golden boy Griffith Hayes to marry. Supposedly a Sanders-Hayes marriage is necessary to end the curse. The problem is Erica and Griffith are friends and only friends.

As the marriage between Erica and Brian nears, Karen comes up with a dastardly plan to wreck their marriage. Taking only herself into consid…

Released August 2010

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Liza-Marklund/1925730
www.jamespatterson.com

It's been a few years since I've read any of James Patterson's novels. I grew tired of the "voice" behind the novels to be different than his original novels. The lacked the same level of suspense and emotion that I'd come to expect. My understanding is that he creates the outline, the co-author does the work, and the he reads it over and suggests changes--you can read about it by clicking here. With that, The Postcard Killers had a storyline I thought might change my mind.

I don't want to give away spoilers, but some aspects of the story occur later in the book. If you are anti any revelation of what happens in the second half of the book, stop reading. I don't reveal any huge surprises, but readers should take note that I do discuss more than the first few chapters.

The opening of The Postcard Killers certainly delivers a powerful punch. A sadistic …

Released February 2011

www.eharlequin.com
www.jacquelinediamond.com

Officer Daddy continues Jacqueline Diamond's long-running Safe Harbor Medical series. It's a very quick read with plenty of passion and a quick mystery to boot.

Readers of the series will be delighted to know that the book begins with the wedding of Tony and Kate (His Hired Baby.) Tony's brother, Leo Franco, is happy to be trusted with the care of his niece and nephew during the wedding and reception and even happier when he meets a gorgeous blonde OB/GYN, Nora Kendall, who takes over diaper changing duty. Their instant connection leads to a one-night stand resulting in pregnancy.

Nora's had her heart broken when her husband left her for a much younger woman. When she learns his new wife is pregnant, Nora feels doubly rejected because he told her he didn't want kids. Nora's attraction to Leo is immediate, even if he is five years younger, but she never expected to become pregnant. To complicate m…

Released January 2011

www.sterlingpublishing.com

Here it is. A new year's begun and I've found the book that I think people will talk about for months to come. If Hollywood doesn't pick up the rights to this film, I'll be truly surprised.

There are a few key characters in Three Seconds.  Piet Hoffmann is one of the most important. He's an ex-con who's out of jail but has spent nine years as a police informant. When his latest "assignment" leads to murder, he realizes he's in a bad situation. While he once had only himself to worry about, Piet is married with two young sons and will do anything to keep them safe.

Superintendent Ewert Grens is investigating a murder of a Swedish man. He realizes the man must have been the buyer at this Polish Mafia drug deal gone wrong, but what he can't figure out is why the anonymous caller who called to report the murder is also Swedish. It makes no sense for the Polish Mafia to have had a Swede working on th…

Released November 2010

www.jennifergreene.com
www.carinapress.com

Ain't Misbehaving is a reissue of one of Jennifer Greene's Berkley romances written under the name Jeanne Grant. Carina Press (a division of Harlequin) reissued the book in an eBook-only format. For those with an eReader, you'll find the asking price of under $4 to be well worth it.

Mitch Cochran spent years overcoming a heart issue as a teen and young adult. Now he gives back by visiting children in the pediatric ward. It's there that he meets Kay Sanders and falls head over heels. Kay's a sex-ed teacher who's been engaged before. Both feel a special connection. The problem is Mitch's health has only just improved. He's not accustomed to relationships and isn't certain that an experienced sex-ed teacher is the best way to start.

Emotionally, Ain't Misbehaving captures the reader from the start. The first few pages show that Mitch will do anything it takes to bring happiness to a c…

Released March 2010

www.bellebooks.com

Eudora "Pea" O'Brien has only known a few things in life: the road, her mother and her older sister. Pea was eight when her mom died, so her older sister took over. Pea's sister believed strongly in reincarnation and shared her beliefs with Pea, though Pea wasn't quite as convinced that life delivered "do-overs." After her sister's death, 29-year-old Pea spends 10 months not knowing what to do without her sister.

Seeking guidance, Pea talks to her sister's favorite psychic. That woman announces that she sees New Mexico in Pea's future. Pea believes that might be where her sister's newly reincarnated spirit is located. So, she sets off on a journey that will forever change her. Along the way, she becomes the proud owner of a scrawny kitten; companion to Alex, an abused, very scared, pregnant teen; and traveling mate to Valentine Bonham, a gorgeous man who's trying to change his ways.

As the trio …