First up this time is the latest Katie MacAlister, 
Hard Day's Knight (Signet Eclipse). Pepper Marsh's visit to the Ren Faire is mostly because she wants to find herself a real man. Former jouster Walker McPhail will fit the bill. I'm not a real MacAlister fan, and this one hasn't won me over. It's told in first person, which might not be so bad if I didn't find Pepper so annoying. She's too much of a smart aleck, tries too hard, and just wasn't believable for me. Another reader looking for something fluffy and light may enjoy this a lot more than I did. It's only earned two arrows.
Next is 
Honeymoon Suite (Ballantine) by Lynn Michaels. Dory Lambert thinks she can clear her family's name, though she hadn't planned on the return of Chase McKay, her childhood crush. There is so much going on in this story, I'm not even sure where to start. I suppose the 'romance' between Chase and Dory's sister Jill, which puts a real monkey wrench into Dory and Chase's romance. This one's not a keeper for me--I didn't especially like Dory, and much of the time, I wanted to smack some sense into Chase. Not conducive to falling in love. This one gets two arrows as well.
Finally, we have Patricia Rice's 
California Girl (Ballantine Ivy). Alys Seagraves adores her elderly friend Mame, and watching her in the hospital instead of heading on their cross-country trip brings back bad memories of losing her husband. Mame fools them all, though, when she takes her nephew's car and heads out on the trip anyway, leaving the very mismatched Alys and Elliot to chase after her. Now this was a fun story, with plenty of humor flowing naturally from the characters, rather than being forced into the situations, warmth and genuine affection leading to deeper feelings. Just the thing a fan of real romance wants to read in a book. I'm giving this one four arrows. It's a definite keeper.
Until next time, happy reading!
