Sunday, December 20, 2009

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 roTimePlainsDrifter-CherylPiersonmance 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 ADifferentKindOfHonesty_w646_300back 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 StillRunning-JudahRaine 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 MuchoCaliente-FrancescaPrescott 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.

14 comments:

Jane Richardson said...

Well, wow!
I'm the author of A Different Kind of Honesty, and I'd be delighted to send a print copy of the book to one lucky person who leaves a comments on LK's post here - let's say by 24 December, yes? I'll deal with the detail!
LK's review was a complete surprise to me, I had no idea she'd even read it. I was knocked out by such a great, considered review from someone I regard as an enthralling and sophisticated writer in her own right. Thank you, LK!

Jane x

Maggie Toussaint said...

Hi Loraine and Hi Jane! I have your book already. Thank you very much and I love it. I've also read Cesca's Much Caliente. I need to pick up Cheryl's new release and one of Judah's.

What a great to encourgae folks to shop books, Loraine!

Merry Christmas all

Maggie

Maggie Toussaint said...

that just goes to show that one should proof their comments before firing them off into cyberspace. I have Jane's book and I'm encouraged by Loraine's blog about books for gifts.

Anonymous said...

Am I missing a vital neuron or something? I don't know what causes me to not be interested in reading this type of literature. You'd think as a writer I'd pick up anything for perusal. Maybe I should get out of the gardening section of the library every now and then.

Cheryl Pierson said...

Hi Loraine!

Thanks so much for the kind words about Time Plains Drifter. It was a fun book to write--and I have never written another one quite like it, thought I do have an idea in mind for a sequel. What a great way to encourage people to give books as Christmas gifts!

Cheryl

LK Hunsaker said...

Jane, how sweet! I'll try to spread the word. :-) And I look forward to your next book.

Maggie, lol. It gets hard to keep up with all these great books coming out! Yours is on my list this holiday season while I'm on a reading binge.

TC, *shrug* We all have our reading interests. I'm pretty unlikely to pick up non-fiction, too, unless it's a music bio. ;-) And I don't touch horrors and anything too violently descriptive. Nothing against them, just not my cup of tea.

Cheryl, the full review is still come!

With all the Christmas commercials advertising everything but books, I figure someone should be advertising books as gifts. :-)

Sandra Sookoo said...

Nice blog. I try and recommend books (including mine lol) to people as gifts. I just don't know how to reach different sorts of readers.

Anyway, good luck with books sales everyone!

Skhye said...

Wow, great recommendations. I see two I've meant to read and a third I definitely have to read now! Thanks for taking the time to post, LK. Happy Holidays.

Huge prize: a cache of Time-Guardian treasure. To enter, join me at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skhyemoncrief/

Betsy Knapp said...

Wow! I've discovered Wild Rose Press and so many wonderful authors that I'm kind of overwhelmed. I'm just learning more about Wild Rose but I hope to be one of your Debut authors in the future.

Betsy Knapp
E-mail: anniebk84@yahoo.com

Barbara Edwards said...

I decided to read one of the books you mentioned. Not saying which one really caught my eye, but the all sound great.
Barbara
www.barbaraedwards.net

Mary Ricksen said...

They all sound so wonderful!
Looking forward to A Different Kind of Honesty!
Good luck to all!

LK Hunsaker said...

Sandi, I know what you mean. Time and patience, I suppose. ;-)

Skhye, thanks for coming by and hope you enjoy what you choose to read!

Hi Betsy, I'm glad you found my blog, but I have to clarify that I'm not part of The Wild Rose Press -- there are just a lot of authors there I enjoy. :-) Good luck on the drawing!

Barbara, glad you found something in your interest!

Hi Mary, I'm sure you'll love Honesty. :-)

Lindsay Townsend said...

Hi LK! I agree with all these gift suggestions - they are all stunning reads!
I've just finally replied with thanks for your recommmedation of my A KNIGHT'S VOW. I'm really sorry I didn't say thank you earlier - I've had rush edits and I now have a poorly mom and life is rather hectic at the moment!

Happy Christmas to everyone!

Jane Richardson said...

LK, the random-winner-selector landed on Mary Ricksen! Mary, I'll contact you direct! Happy New Year to one and all. :)

Jane x