Book Notes: May 17, 2023 - Romance

 Welcome! For my usual readers, this post is late. I hope it's better late than never. It completely slipped my mind today, and no surprise. Life's been almost topsy-turvy lately. Still, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to share a couple of book reviews and a word prompt with you. Read on...

Book Review: The Starry-Eyed Mail Order Bride by Charlotte Dearing

The Starry-Eyed Mail Order Bride by Charlotte Dearing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So Enjoyable and Sweet

This is another win as far as I'm concerned. I've enjoyed reading Charlotte Dearing's work. She makes the characters and their stories so interesting, while keeping the plot clean. In this story, there's some light humor and a few instances of faith. If you enjoy sweet, clean, historical romance, then give it a try.

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Book Review: Summer Bride (Holiday Brides Book 2) by Shanna Hatfield

Summer Bride by Shanna Hatfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good, Sweet Romance

This was a solid, sweet romance. Clean plot, but heavy on the physical attraction, it took a while to see the characters actually forming a relationship that went deeper. I did like the heroine's love for her brother and her sense of responsibility. But I thought the hero was too good to be believable. If you're looking for something easy to read which is sweet and clean and has a happy ending, then this could be enjoyable for you.

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Charlotte Dearing has become one of my favorite historical romance authors over the last couple of years. I enjoy her books because they're clean without losing that sense of adventure and discovery. 

Shanna Hatfield is great at writing contemporary romance and I believe she works hard to make her work clean and sweet. However, she's not one of my favorites. The way every one of her characters focuses first and foremost on physical beauty makes me think her characters are rather shallow overall. Everyone knows that beauty fades over time. It would be nice to see her change things up a bit and maybe have a couple of characters who strike up a friendship because of a different reason rather than physical attraction. I'd have an easier time believing in a happy-ever-after for them. 

Just Keep Writing: Wednesday Whimsy

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (ie. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

These three ought to birth some awesome stories. I wish you well in your writing and creative endeavors!

What do you think about the book reviews? Have you read either of these? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them if you have, and if you haven't, whether you might add these to your reading list. You can share in the comments below, if you like.

It was great to have you with me on the scenic route today. Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow, God willing, I'll have another writing prompt post for you. 

Until next time,
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