Think About Love (Zebra Bouquet)

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time on this one!
Review: I suspect the major flaws in this book (unexplained mysteries such as the whereabouts of the other sisters and the father's last name) are due to the author's (and publisher's) attempts to get us to buy the other books in the series by keeping us guessing. This type of manipulative marketing always has the opposite effect on me. If the first book is unsatisfying, why on earth would I want to purchase the sequels???

The fact is, I disliked the characters so much that I really don't care to know anymore about them. Tessa closely resembled Cinderella at the beginning, but she lost my sympathy when she wheedled the duchess into sponsoring her in society. Confessing the truth afterwards didn't clear her character; in fact, it reminds me a great deal of teenage manipulation--"You can't punish me if I admit my guilt before you find out." Her motivation was not to keep herself or someone else from harm, but only to gain access to society so that she could get material for her cartoons.

As a hero, Harry is a washout. He hesitates to offer marriage to Tessa because of her low status, but when she spurns him, he seems over-eager to offer marriage to the lovely widow who has been pursuing him and allowing him to look down her dress. I found myself hoping he WOULD get caught in her trap. He certainly deserved it!

And frankly, the book was riddled with errors in titles and historical details. The Duchess is referred to as Lady Sarah even though she is a widow. The Countess of Knollwood is also referred to as Countess Knollwood, and Knollwood is assumed to be the family name as well. Tessa calls herself Tessa Knollwood, even though that was her mother's name and is definitely NOT her own surname (unless her parents weren't married, that is). No one in society challenges her on it, nor do they seem to have a problem with her living situation. Young ladies in the Regency period definitely did NOT live on their own with only a maid (who is also a cook, interior decorator, and dressmaker) for a chaperone, especially with a gentleman in residence over the carriage house. Such a situation would cause great scandal and certainly bar the young lady from respectable society.

With information easily available at one's fingertips these days, I cannot imagine why authors and editors don't take the time to do a bit of research before they spend so much time and money to publish and distribute a book.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: Successful businesswoman Samantha Jones gets the emergency call just minutes before an important meeting with her boss, Cal Tremaine. Her sixty-nine-year-old grandmother has had custody of Kippy since the baby's parents died just before Christmas. Now her grandmother is hospitalized, and her niece placed in temporary foster care. Somehow Samantha must balance Cal's substantial staffing needs and her own personal crisis.

When the call comes, Samantha knows it would be irresponsible to walk out forty-eight hours before the massive screening process at a recruitment open house. She hadn't come aboard Cal's company for the generous salary, but for the promise of a seat on the board after two years if she does an effective job. Walking now would jeopardize her goals, and make her personal life very public. Samantha has maintained a strict distinction between the two, not even telling her boss about her sister's death five months ago. The careful distinction allows Samantha to remain in perfect control of her life; something she refuses to give up. But control has suddenly been wrenched from her grasp by way of circumstance, and Samantha doesn't quite know how to cope. Especially when Cal insists upon helping.

Cal's fascinated and impressed by the woman who put his company in shape. After being burned by his previous partner, Cal had been hesitant to bring in high level help, but Samantha had quickly demonstrated her proficiency at organizing and delegating, making a remarkable difference in the success of the company. Samantha seems to have no personal life, spending eighteen hours a day on work if needed. He admired her ambition and drive, and believed her too valuable to risk a temporary romance, despite his attraction. Then he sees her barefoot, hair down to her waist, holding a baby, and everything changes.

I find romances refreshing when the guy falls head over heals first, and spends most of the novel convincing the girl that he's right for her. Watching this hero convince his lady love is hoot! Further, as a member of the Information Technology industry, I find a delightful humor in the references to the industry, such as developers don't like stodgy companies, and outdoing IBM. But fear not, folks who don't know what a developer does will still find THINK ABOUT LOVE a high powered romp not to be missed! Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: a pleasant read
Review: The first book in a quartet that features four sisters, "A Townhouse for Tessa" is a pleasant enough read that focuses on a young woman who successfully maps out a new life for herself and comes into her own.

Upon her beloved grandmother's death, Tessa Lockhard discovers that she was adopted at birth. The only clue to her identity is a beautiful pendant, a 15 year old letter from her mother, explaining why she had had Tessa adopted instead of sending her to relatives -- Tessa's mother was dying of consumption, and her hardhearted maternal grandfather had turned his back on his only daughter for marrying against his will -- and an equally old letter from the vicar who placed her telling her to go to London in order to claim her inheritance.

Upon hearing that Tessa is an adopted child, and that she has no real clue as to her 'real' identity, Tessa's nasty fiance breaks off their engagement, and her erstwhile aunt by marriage not only refuses to release Tessa's bequest from her adopted grandmother, but she also practically throws Tessa out on the streets. Determined to discover more of her background, Tessa makes for London, where she learns that she has aristocratic claims after all: her maternal grandmother was the Countess of Kirkwood, and has left Tessa a townhouse. Soon, Tessa finds herself settling into London life. She makes new and more worthy friends, especially the publisher and editor of a witty political magazine, 'The On-Dit,' Harry Fallbrook. Harry proves to be everything that her erstwhile fiance was not: witty, clever, kind and honest. But Harry seems to have an antipathy for young ladies of society. What will he think when he discovers that Tessa is one of those young ladies that he so despises? For Tessa, that is one outcome she'd rather not contemplate.

"A Townhouse for Tessa" reads a little like a fairy tale. Tessa goes from finding herself friendless and virtually penniless, to discovering she's the equivalent of a fairy tale princess, with a house and monies of her own. Along the way she makes a new life for herself, and discovers the joys of having true friends. She even discovers true love, along with the complications that that can sometimes entail. The book was quite a pleasant read. So why did I find myself being a little disappointed? Mainly because Tessa's past was not developed enough. In the opening chapter, we're told that Tessa has three sisters, and all were placed with different families. The letters that Tessa received from her mother and the vicar explain why the mother was estranged from her parents, but no mention is made of Tessa's other sisters. In fact Tessa has to ask if she has any siblings; her lawyer promises to look into the matter, but nothing further is revealed. Also, I couldn't figure out why Tessa's father's name was never mentioned. All we're told is that he is the younger son of a viscount, who because he ran away to join the army, was estranged from his family (again information from the first chapter). You'd think however that Tessa's mother would have made some mention of her husband's name in her letter to her daughter! And then there is the perplexing manner in which Tessa moves about society dos as Miss Kirkwood, but never seems to run into her Lockhard relatives or her erstwhile fiance at all -- well she does have a run in with him, but since they don't have a face to face confrontation, that didn't really count. Given that the Upper Ten Thousand seemed to have been a rather in-bred bunch, you'd have thought that she'd have run into one of her nasty Lockhard connections at least once! I kept waiting for the confrontation, and was quite disappointed when it never materialised.

The problem, I suppose, is that I prefer novels that have a little more 'meat' in their plots; "A Townhouse for Tessa" on the other hand is a rather straight forward and pleasant read. The bits that dealt with Tessa making new friends, and discovering that she has made a rich, new life for herself, after the cruel treatment that she was meted out, was vastly satisfying. I'm just a tad spoilt: I wanted certain questions answered and was disappointed when they weren't. So all in all, I'd say that this was probably a better read than I've portrayed it to be.