Review: Always On My Mind

by Jill Shalvis
Rating: 4/5

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack's ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib - that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle . . . No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine - perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their "just friends" rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

This is book 8 in the Lucky Harbor series. This particular book is the second in what I consider the “Good Girls Going Bad” trilogy. Leah is back in Lucky Harbor for just long enough to help her grandmother and get out. Jack is a firefighter who refuses to get in a relationship and leave someone like his father did to him and his mother.

Election

It’s hard to imagine but if you’re not in Australia you might not know we had an election yesterday. And the results are pretty clear, we have a new leader.

Kevin Rudd, ex-PM (twice now) made a 30m concession speech that sounded like he’d hastily crossed out all the references to victory and changed them to loss. He tried to save face and claim that no Labor seat had been lost “in Queensland”. Considering they had only about five seats to lose that’s a small victory. And within moments of him saying it, he was wrong. Postal votes are still to come in but with up to 30% of the votes left to count, and such close margins, it could be more than one lost.

Tony Abbott, our new PM’s speech by comparison was much better. It was short (thanks) and it put all the credit for the victory on the voters. Then like I told him to (through the TV) he thanked his helpers and left.

Craig Thompson, former Labor MP, who ran as an independent this year held his seat with a 5.1% margin. After being revealed as a scummy bastard who cheated on his partner in brothels and even more damningly used Trade Union funds to pay for it he was charged with fraud (rightly so IMO) and has failed to get 5.1% of the total vote. He will unfortunately get federal funding as he got 4% and thus receives funds for campaigning.

But whether you care or not, whether you’re a Liberal or Labor voter one thing is sure. Now that the government is a majority and not a minority it will be more effective. I hope.

Currently Listening: Good Girl – Carrie Underwood

Review: Rush

by Joan Swan
Rating: 4/5

Jessica Fury, Washington lobbyist, has money, connections, and her own firm. But five years ago she had something better: happiness. Her firefighter husband, Quaid, was handsome, courageous, and crazy about her. Then one day he walked into a chemical inferno--and never walked out. Jessica has been through hell to get back on her feet. And then a rumor surfaces that could bring a miracle or shatter her world--again. Q has been a prisoner forever. He's honed his mind and body into weapons. He's developed abilities no one else understands. But he's still at the mercy of a cabal of ruthless men, who blank his memory, test him like a lab rat, and tell him lies. Although his past has been erased and his future looks grim, instinct tells him he has a woman to live for. What his mind can't remember, his body can't forget. . . The heat is on.

So, Rush is book three in Joan Swan’s Phoenix Rising series, a paranormal romantic suspense series. With smokin’ hot firefighters. Everything is better with firefighters? Five years ago the firefighting squad went into a burning government building and came out changed. Unfortunately some rogue elements of their government decided the best way to cover it up was to get rid of them.

Review: The Perks of Being A Beauty

by Manda Collins
Rating: 2/5

The beautiful Miss Amelia Snow is not accustomed to being snubbed by the gentlemen of the ton. But when her mother dies unexpectedly, forcing Amelia to take employment as companion to a wealthy cit’s daughter, she quickly learns to play down her looks or risk losing her position. When her employers, the Smithsons, decide to throw a country house party, she is determined to fade into the background. But how can she when the Smithson’s guest of honor is Lord Quentin Fortescue, the childhood friend who stole her heart? Younger son, Lord Quentin Fortescue, is far more interested in his host’s cotton mills in the north than he is in courting the man’s dim-witted daughter. But it’s the girl’s companion who makes him look twice. Years ago, Miss Amelia Snowe rejected his proposal without a backward glance. Quentin has molded himself into just the sort of man she’d have wanted back then, but is Amelia still the smug beauty who broke his heart? And can either of them risk their newfound positions to indulge the fiery attraction that burns between them?

This is book 3.5 in the Ugly Ducklings series by Manda Collins. This novella follows Amelia Snowe, antagonist of the previous three books. Amelia also fuelled the Ugly Ducklings series through her dance card which Cecilia, Juliet and Maddie used to find their husbands.