Artsy gift ideas with a romantic theme (pt 2)

I just finished Cheryl Pierson's "Time Plains Drifter" and it was a thoroughly unique and grabbing read ... not your everyday romance novel! Revolving around a woman swept back into the past with a few of her school students and a man who has been dead for 16 years brought back to fulfill a mission, Time Plains Drifter is part paranormal, part romance, part mystery, and part theology. A great "what if" that stretches the imagination. Hero and heroine are equally strong and vulnerable, depending on each other: no one-sided rescue here. And the rescue goes well beyond the main characters. Definitely a book for those who like to ponder and question, with a hint that another will follow.

 

I reviewed Jane Richardson’s “A Different Kind of Honesty” a while back and also recommend this one for a nice Christmas gift. It travels between England and the US and features a London detective and a US undercover cop who meet under rather strange circumstances and  think of each other until fate reunites them. I loved the characters and the easy, relaxed writing style. A softly sensual romance with psychological roots.

As a CRR reviewer, I read and reviewed Judah Raine’s “Still Running” a few months ago. Raine is from Africa and uses her country as a gorgeous setting for her novels. This one features a young woman with a past she wants to hide and is so afraid of it, she pulls away from relationships for fear of it haunting him, as well. Unfortunately, she gets stuck returning to the scene of the crime and has to finally deal with the event instead of running from it. Although I wasn’t sure her deed was bad enough to be worth that much fear, the heroine was well drawn and highly convinced it was that bad. The hero is well worth spending some time with.

How about romantic comedy? If that’s your pull, or on someone’s list, I have the perfect book (note: this is 18+, slightly graphic). Francesca Prescott’s “Mucho Caliente!” is a chuckle-as-you-read journey down the path of a nearly middle-aged pop fan obsessed with one pop star in particular (who has bits of a Ricky Martin feel to him). She gets seated beside him on an escape-from-life trip and sparks start to sizzle. This is a page-turning, don’t-read-when-you’ll-be-bothered kind of book. The characters are real and charming and if you’ve ever had a crush on any celeb, you’ll totally sympathize with Jemma.

Note: two of the above were purchased and two were provided as PDF copies for review. None of my reviews are paid for, ever. I review only books I feel are worth the read and in my interest zone, at least to some extent.

Note #2: Be sure to keep up with my blog for more reviews to come. Most will be more lengthy. These are quick quick gift ideas.