Book and Product Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

January 2012 James Grippando Harper Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth The toughest part of this review really is just how much of the plot to give away to present the plot. There are lots of layers involved that the book jacket doesn't touch upon, but the book jacket really doesn't go into the full implications of the story at hand either and that makes it tough. Things start with Abe Cushman and Gerry Collins. Cushman is a NASDAQ chairman who is arrested for a massive Ponzi scheme that nets him billions of dollars. Rather than face jail, he commits suicide. Cushman was like a father to Gerry Collins and Gerry now has very some very angry investors on his hands. Gerry also winds up dead, but his death is at the hands of a murderer. Three years pass, financial advisor Patrick Lloyd is in Switzerland to supposedly meet the Bank of Switzerland's managing director, though he cannot imagine why they want to meet with a Wall Street newbie.This begins a nightmarish quest t

Released August 2011 Patricia Davids Harlequin Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth After a crash on snowy roads leaves ballerina Cheryl Steele with a broken foot, she has no choice but to recuperate while her ballet director recasts her starring role in a ballet version of Alice in Wonderland. During her recovery, Cheryl agrees to help with her rescuer's twin daughters. There's one problem, Cheryl's back in a town she left long ago due to a troubled childhood. If Sam Hardin learns her real identity, he may not look as kindly upon having her as a house guest. Meanwhile, Sam's five-year-old twins are hoping that Cheryl decides she loves them all so much that she never wants to leave. When things don't look to be working in their favor, they decided to try to force the adults in their lives to realize they were meant to be a family. Balancing Act is a cute, quick romance. During the busy holidays when a quick read is the best option, Patricia Davids story is bot

Released August 2011 Pamela Morsi Mira Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth One thing jumped out at me the minute I started reading The Bentleys Buy a Buick . This isn't your ordinary romance. The hero and heroine are a happily married couple with a home, business and loving son. There's no development of a new relationship to get past. If you've always read romances and wished you could see what happened after the couple married, here's your chance. After years of being a stay-at-home mom, Erica Bentley's back at work. She learns quickly that gossip rules the office and that the demands of working, parenting and keeping house are not as easily balanced as one might hope. Her husband, Tom, is equally busy running his auto garage that specializes in classic cars. He has a bigger problem on his plate. He learns his best friend is having an affair, and Tom is torn between telling the man's wife or hoping the man comes to his senses before he has to fire him and

Released December 2011 Rovio Mobile Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth There's no doubt that Angry Birds have become an incredibly popular game, leading to a line of stuffed toys, apparel and other goods. Now comes a cookbook that features the one thing the piggies covet -- eggs. This whimsical cookbook is filled with egg recipes. Recipes range from breakfast dishes to omelets suitable for lunch of dinner. With 40 recipes in all, there are dishes to suit every taste and budget. I admit, I wasn't sold on a cookbook that features nothing but egg recipes, but then I came across one that is so simple, yet so delicious that I realized there's more to this cookbook than I was expecting. This recipe is very simple and involves pouring a couple teaspoons of heavy cream into a greased custard cup , even a muffin tin will do, and then breaking an egg into it. Sprinkle the top of the egg with salt, pepper, chives and cheese and bake until the yolk is set. It's so easy, yet s

Released September 2011 Victoria Dahl Harlequin Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth After her family's pub and brewery is burglarized, Tessa Donovan can't help but notice Detective Luke Asher. Her brothers may warn her off him, but Tessa finds Luke to be irresistible. He can't be all bad can he? Luke isn't fond of his co-workers thinking he's the father of his partner's soon-to-be born child, but he's not about to turn his back on her either. He knows that Tessa's brothers think he's scum, but he's determined to make things work with Tessa, even if it means sneaking around behind their backs. As things heat up with Tessa, he starts to wonder if he'll ever be able to win their trust. Meanwhile, there's a case to solve. Someone stole the brewery computers and it's up to Luke to find out who took them and why. Good Girls Don't hooked me from the start. It's obvious that Tessa's brothers are hugely overprotective, and

Released August 2011 Kayla Perrin Harlequin Spice Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth Apparently, this is part of a series, and somehow I missed that. Being part of a series might explain why I struggled to like any of the characters. In a nutshell, you have three best friends, all have suffered bad relationships or breakups and aren't quite sure what to do next. I've read Kayla Perrin before and really liked her writing style and storylines, so I'm surprised that Getting Lucky turned out to be a huge dud for me. Annelise is five months pregnant and madly in love. However, she's been in a bad relationship before and isn't ready for marriage, even if the baby's daddy is. With her happiness, she's upset her friends are miserable. Soon, she has a brilliant idea.She invites her friends to Mexico for a week of R & R. What they don't know is that she's arranged to have two male friends "surprisingly" meet up and hopefully hook up with he

Released February 2012 Jacqueline Diamond Harlequin Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth The next entry into the Safe Harbor Medical romance series focuses on nurse Erica Benford. Readers of this series know Erica best as Owen Tartikoff's ( The Surgeon's Surprise Twins ) scrub nurse. The last thing Erica wants is a child in her life, but a one-night stand with a hunky detective leads to an accidental pregnancy after the condom breaks. Erica decides the best thing to do is to go through the pregnancy and put the child up for adoption. Sherlock "Lock" Vaughn grew up in foster care after his adoptive parents proved to be duds. He's not about to let strangers raise his child. He's determined to prove to Erica that he'll make a great single dad. Proving this is tougher than it seems, however, because Erica is equally determined to prove that his ideas of parenthood are nothing like the reality. Lock has a few ties to characters from past Safe Harbor book

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Released February 2012 Mary Kay McComas William Morrow Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth I recently had the pleasure of reviewing What Happened to Hannah for Amazon Vine. Loveswept romance fans may recognize the author's name. She's back with a full-length novel that really made an impression. Check out the full review here.

Released December 2010 (Reissue) Jacqueline Diamond Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth  The Forgetful Lady is not a new novel. Jacqueline Diamond wrote it back in 1984. It was then reprinted in 1986. Because this is a Regency-era romance, it doesn't feel dated. Women were treated differently back then often having little say in their choice of spouse. If you take a look at your own family's genealogy, as I have, it's refreshing to know that women's rights have come so far. One of my husband's distant relatives had to marry her older sister's older husband in the early 1800s when her sister died in childbirth with their 12th child. Letter's that others documented make it clear she was unhappy marrying a man 20 years her senior and becoming an instant-mom to nieces and nephews ranging in age from infancy to late teens, but she couldn't go against her father's wishes. It was just a way of life back then. Within Jacqueline Diamond's novel, the h

The final day to enter to win Chronicle Books' Happy Haul-idays contest is today. You have until 11:59 pm EST to enter. Do so by posting a message here: http://roundtablereviewsadult.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-haul-idays-from-chronicle-books.html Good luck to all who have entered!