Featured Book: The Cinderella Project by Stan Crowe

Book:  The Cinderella Project
Author:  Stan Crowe
Pages:   212 (estimated)
Format:  Kindle
Publisher:  Breezy Reads (August 27, 2012)
Book Source:  Publisher
Category:  Sweet Romance
Style:  LDS romance with substance

Synopsis from GoodReads.com:

Committed to saving his marriage before it starts, doctoral student Nick Cairn embarks on a project aimed at finding the secrets of everlasting love. But when Moire DeLanthe, a smart and sassy research assistant, enters the picture, his Happily Ever After is put to the ultimate test. . . . more

My Take:

I have a confession:  I thought this was going to be an, err, breezy read—the kind that takes me one afternoon to read.  Chocolate for the soul.  It's not.  So, I didn't finish it in time.  However, with what I've read, I really like this book.  It's not a set-aside-for-a-while book.  It's a savor until the end book (thus far).

Alas and alack, I committed to do a stop on Breezy Read's blog hop today, so here's my not-ready-for-prime-time review.  The blurb doesn't tell too much about the story line, so I'll share.

Book Giveaway: Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison

Synopsis from GoodReads:

Mormon girl Leesie has life figured out until devastated Michael lands in her small town high school. He needs her like no one has before. A rare journey into a faithful LDS teen’s intimate struggle.

>From the book's blog page, by Angela Morrison:

      Welcome, welcome to my 10th Anniversary Celebration. It's going to be a blast! Ten years ago this week, Taken by Storm's scuba-diving hero, Michael, swam out of my brain and onto my page.
      I'm kicking off the party today with a big contest for US Readers and a separate contest for my international readers. (See details below. This one is huge!!)  

FREE BOOKS!  In a nutshell, the author is giving away tons of free stuff for her mega promo.  In addition, Taken by Storm is only 99₵ this week, while Unbroken Connection (Book 2) and Cayman Summer (Book 3) are both absolutely free.  That beat's a boot to the head.

In a nutshell, free or as-good-as-free sweet (meaning no copulation) romance for young adult readers.  Looks like a good way to get to know the author who has 155 reviews on GoodReads for Taken by Storm and a rounded average of four stars.  That's a pretty solid reputation.

Book Review: Once Upon A Tour by D. Ogden Huff

Book:  Once Upon A Tour

Author:  D. Ogden Huff

Pages:  300-ish

Format: Kindle/ebook

Publisher:  Amazon Digital Services
Book Source:  Provided by Author

Category:  Contemporary Romance (LDS)

Style:  Character-driven, fanciful

Synopsis from GoodReads:

Creepy castles, exotic sights, and flirty foreign men—it’s no wonder ALINA, a starry-eyed American Mormon girl, is in love for the third time in three weeks. When a guided tour of Eastern Europe repeatedly tests her moral strength, she must decide whether her love is real or only imagined.

Alina knows that she sees the world through fairy tale-colored glasses—after all, she writes sappy romances and collects old fairy tales. But why stifle her overactive imagination when there’s romance all around her? With every new castle, Alina envisions herself in historical romances where she’s chased by delicious vampires, roguish robbers, and conspiring counts—right into the arms of loyal captains, fearless farmers, and regal princes. But in her short stories, as well as her real life, her romances don’t end well. . . . read more

My Take:

To be totally honest, I am always a touch leery of "Mormon" literature.  Don't get me wrong: I like to read books about characters who try to hold to the same standards as my own.  I enjoy reading about their struggles to live in but not of the world.  I especially appreciate getting through an entire book without being blindsided by gratuitous sexual content or foul language or graphic violence or any combination of the three.  I believe it's possible to tell interesting stories without having to resort to the salacious, and I appreciate it when the authors I read prove it.

Book Review: Identity by Betsy Love

Book:  Identity

Author:  Betsy Love

Pages:  304

Format: Paperback, Kindle/ebook

Publisher:  Walnut Springs Press (July 2011)
Book Source:  Independent Purchase

Category:  Suspense/Romance

Style:  Character-driven with some action

They say everyone has a doppleganger, even in LDS fiction.  Savannah is a middle-class Mormon girl at a turning point in her life.  Amelia is a spoiled cosmopolitan heiress on vacation.  Everyone loves Savannah.  Amelia not so much.  Their looks are similar enough that they are mistaken for one another when both are wearing sunglasses.  They sit down next to each other on a flight from Mexico to Arizona.  Mayhem ensues.

Typical topics for LDS books, with the Gospel being shared, lives changed, hearts are won, etc., etc., Identity differs with its plot of murder, intrigue, industrial espionage, blended family politics, alcohol dependency and surprise developments.  The blood and guts seem an odd juxtaposition to father's blessings and scripture study, but, it actually works.

The first published work of Ms. Love, it is ambitious.  While not ready to face off with Tom Clancy or Dan Brown, she manages to pull it off with few contradictions and plausibility issues.  I had a few problems with it, not the least of which was the bad .mobi formatting of the Kindle version and lack of a table of contents, but such difficulties could be eliminated with a new edition.

Book Review: Paradise Unveiled by Joan Day Brady

Book:  Paradise Unveiled
Author:  Joan Day Brady
Pages:  304
Publisher:  American Book Publishing (September 2011)
Book Source:  Independent Purchase
Category:  Historical Romance
Style:  Page-turner

This, my friends, is my aunt, Joan Day Brady.  Okay, technically, she is not my aunt, but she is my mom's close-as-sisters friend since they were teenagers.  So, she's always been my Aunt Joanie.

Joan Brady is my hero, and not only because she anchors so many of my warm recollections of fun and family.  Joan is a do-er—of lots of things, but, specifically, in 2006 Cedar Fort Publishing released her cookbook, Daily Meal Planner.  It's terrific, chock full of good ideas, and bespeaks all the homey wisdom and common sense I have come to identify with her.

Joan is somewhere in the vicinity of her 80th birthday (a year or two shy, I think).   Last year (2011), she published her first novel, Paradise Unveiled.  I love that at a time of life when so many consider their adventures over and done, Joan has seized the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream.  Forget about a bucket list.  How about an onward and upward list?