Book Title : Mucho Caliente
Author : Francesca Prescott
Publisher : Bookstrand
Genre : Romantic Comedy
Publication Date : November 2008
ISBN : 978-1-60601-170-6
Pages : 340
Series : N/A
Category : Sensual
Type : E-book

Reviewer LK Hunsaker

4,5 Wings

In Francesca Prescott’s debut romantic comedy, Mucho Caliente, Gemma Talbot is 37 and reeling from a divorce brought on by a philandering, stuffy husband who never quite appreciated her bubbly, artsy nature. Packing it in, Gemma refuses any assistance from him as she leaves and moves in with a friend on the lovely island of Ibiza off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. On the flight over, she finds herself sitting next to one of her pop star idols: young, charming, and fiery Emilio Caliente. Despite her imagined personal shortcomings, she engages in conversation with him and there begins a tumultuous relationship that echoes the world of pop stardom itself.

Mucho Caliente is a fun, face-paced, head swirling novel that, much like Emilio’s lifestyle, never stops racing head-on down the path of will they or won’t they? Is this good for her or should she jump ship? Any of us who have ever had a musical idol-crush will immediately relate to Gemma and her concerns of whether she’s “good” enough to engage in a relationship with a gorgeous pop star. She worries about her fashion sense, her extra weight (which she doesn’t seem to have much of), her messy hair, and the contrast between that and the “perfect” qualities of Emilio’s assistant and her possible rival, Kristen. Deeper, though, is her issue of self-acceptance brought on largely by being an artsy type in a business world, a theme all artsy types will understand fully. This is compounded by the cultural issue of following pop music and knowing much of the rest of the music world tends to side-swipe pop as a lesser musical form.

Emilio is a lovable hero and although gorgeous and successful, he has his own issues of fighting with his manager and record company, plus a few personal issues of the past we barely get to see through a friend’s explanation. I never quite connected with him as a real person and although Gemma does say she moves from seeing him as a pop star to seeing him as simply Emilio, I’m not quite convinced she does. That makes the reader ponder whether she can truly move past the image. Personally, I know it’s possible, but I’m left feeling Gemma is still headed toward some rocky road long after the happily ever after ending.

Mucho Caliente is well-written, hard to put down once you delve in, and introduces the reader to exotic locations with a brief interlude into the personal lives of the people behind the music. There are some coincidences that feel a little hard to believe and now and then Gemma’s self-deprecating sarcasm is taken maybe farther than necessary, but overall, I truly enjoyed the story and the supporting cast of believable quirky characters and getting lost in the fantasy of every girl’s quest to meet and fall in love with her pop idol. I highly recommend this read and look forward to Prescott’s next novel.

Book Title : Murphy’s Law
Author : Sandy James
Publisher : Bookstrand
Genre : Contemporary/Mainstream Romance
Publication Date : February 2009
ISBN : 1606012703
Pages : 325
Series : Damaged Heroes
Category : Sensual/Sophisticated
Type : E-book

Reviewer : Pam S

5 wings

Sterlington Remington, owner of multi-million corporation Remington Computers, has raised his son by himself from an early age since his beloved wife’s passing and feels he has been too lenient on him. Seth Remington was born with money and has never had to work for anything, nor feels inclined to do so. He has been leading a carefree life through his father’s funding. However, his last car accident proves to be the final straw and his father has come up with a plan to help Seth learn the value of working for a living.

Sterlington Remington receives news that he is dying and fears for his son’s future. He wants to teach his son responsibility and revises his will with some very specific conditions that Seth must meet to gain his inheritance. Seth is to give up his comfortable posh lifestyle for nine months and become the newest groom to Katie Murphy a well known horse trainer in the racing world. Katie is to teach Seth the meaning of working for money and what it is like to stand on your own without family wealth backing you.

If Seth can prove to be a valuable asset as a horse groomer to Katie, then he will inherit his father’s fortune and in turn Katie will inherit a large bonus, a prize horse, and be compensated for taking him in.

Katie’s world is turned upside down with the sudden news of Mr. Remington’s will. She has until the end of the season to make Seth into a hard working respectable person. As she teaches Seth the ins and outs of caring for horses and horse racing, she can’t help but notice the changes in him. Once a playboy who found her world beneath him, he now takes it to it naturally.

As mutual attraction grows to mutual respect and love, other stipulations of the will become harder to ignore. Seth and Katie are to have no relationship and at the end of the season a five year no contact rule is to be set in place. Their relationship grows despite the conditions and it becomes harder to keep it hidden. Seth will now have to make a choice he had never dreamed of making. Will he choose love or money?

Sandy James does a wonderful job portraying her characters. Even though Seth Remington comes off in the beginning as a spoiled rich “kid”, I felt like giving him the benefit of the doubt almost immediately into the story. Though he may have been careless and a bit arrogant, his thoughts and actions still showed compassion and caring in them. The heroine, Katie Murphy is laid back and out of touch with what’s hot in the headlines. She focuses on her job and what she loves – horses. She is a strong, down to earth woman who does well in command and enjoys what she does.

I enjoyed the character growth portrayed as Seth learned that not every thing could be gotten with a handsome face and fat wallet, that some things didn’t have a price tag, and what true friendship is like. In turn, Katie learned how to let go of her past, that people could change and not all circumstances were the same.

Murphy’s Law was one of the best contemporaries I’ve read in a while. Sandy James’ love for writing and horses pours through. I look forward to reading more in her Damaged Hero’s series.