Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Jane Darlington and Cal Bonner's book




Nobody's Baby But Mine (Chicago Star book 3)

By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Narrated by Anna Fields

Book Blurb:
A physicist wants to spare her child from becoming a nerdy scientist's kid. So she sets out to snare a dumb jock to father her child.

The style of writing in Nobody's Baby But Mine was classic Susan Elizabeth Phillips (SEP). I've grown to really enjoy SEP stories but the actual story line of Nobody's Baby But Mine was not my cup of tea. In fact, I found it rather lacking. The idea that a brilliant world class physicist wanted to birth a stupid (non smart) child to be utterly ridiculous. Even more ridiculous was the fact that she thought a world class athlete would be the perfect, dumb hick of a sperm donor to impregnate her. I kid you not, right there was the plot. 

There was just so much stupidity in Nobody's Baby But Mine I don't even know where to start. From Jane pretending to be a hooker (that doesn't take her clothes off) to luring the superstar athlete Cal (who is used to having women throwing themselves at him) into unknowingly implanting his sperm into her was so far fetched. Not to mention how quickly his entire family forgives Jane from doing what I consider to be one of the most despicable acts a woman can do in regards to deception. The best observance made in Nobody's Baby But Mine was that Jane, who is highly intelligent, is rather dumb as a post. 

I found there was nothing redeeming about Jane that would allow me to forgive her. I understand the idea of wanting a baby so badly that you'd do almost anything but all of her reasoning and the way she went about it, was just to unforgiving to me. 

I liked Cal but really I liked his family more. It was his mom, dad and grandma that made this story for me. Luckily there was a strong secondary cast with a great side story that made me want to finish out Nobody's Baby But Mine. It was their story that increased the rating to a 2 for me. 

Although this story was not my favourite, I am 100% continuing on with this Chicago Stars series. In fact I've already put on hold the fourth book in the series and I can't wait for the library to notify me that Dream a Little Dream is ready for me. 

Teasers: Pink bow, coolest grandma ever, Bonner back story  

Audiobook Review of Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Gracie Snow and Bobby Tom Denton's book





Heaven, Texas

By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Narrated by Anna Fields

Book Blurb:
It seems like an easy assignment for an assertive but sweet woman like Gracie Snow: track down her friend, Bobby Denton, a famous ex-jock, and bring him to Heaven (Texas, that is) to shoot a movie. How could he refuse a glamorous offer like that?

Easy, if you've got a big ego, a 1957 T-Bird and prefer cruising the highways for girls. And Bobby Tom isn't certain about being a movie star. Sure he's charismatic and good looking, but that doesn't mean he'll help out an overhearing Ohio wallflower.

But Bobby can't get Gracie, an angel, out of his mind. Why not head to Heaven and raise a little hell? Gracie can look out for the consequences. And chaos is sure to follow these two as they discover and delight in each other, a match made... in Heaven.

I love the characters that Susan Elizabeth Phillips creates. Yes they are awesome but they are also flawed. Bobby Tom is charming and sexy and oh so arrogant. I wanted to smack him upside the head a few times. Gracie is sweet and determined but stubborn to a fault. In fact that stubbornness made me dislike her on a few occasions. So clearly I had a love/hate relationship with this couple. 

Forced into an early football retirement due to a career ending knee injury, the former quarterback of the Chicago Stars really hasn't a clue what to do with his life. It seems like pretty much everyone who has ever met Bobby Tom wants a piece of him or a favour of some sort. I really felt for him. Taking an acting role for a Hollywood film wasn't really what he wanted but it helped him pass the time begrudgingly. 

Since Bobby Tom inadvertently got Gracie fired he devises a plan to rehire her but under the ruse that she is still employed by the film studio. Bobby Tom starts out thinking that Gracie is a bother, then he thinks she is kind of cute and after he arranges for her to get a makeover, she morphed into someone quite attractive that Bobby Tom can't seem to keep his hands off of. 

Gracie's personality and looks really mature within Heaven, Texas. She is a 30 yr old virgin, she is sexually frustrated and she just wants to lose her virgin status. She almost immediately falls in love with the handsome Bobby Tom and my favourite scene in the book is where she becomes completely drunk after three coolers and pretty much begs Bobby Tom to have sex with her. I was laughing out loud when she was crying to Bobby Tom's mother that her son was not a good man because he wouldn't have sex with her. I love a drunk and silly heroine. Always good for a laugh. 

I really loved listening to the story about these two. I laughed, got angry, gasped and all sorts of other emotions. I truly loved it but I will admit that Gracie's stubbornness made me quite angry at the end and it was almost like she was trying to be a misplaced martyr. Probably my least favourite part of the book and I was really worried that chapter was going to lose all the love I had gained for this couple. I have to say that it didn't ruin it but I was debating between a 4 and 5 rating. 

Teasers: cross country road trip, breast feeding film dilemma, excellent side story for Bobby Tom's mother, celebrity golf tournament

Audiobook Review of It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Coach Dan Calebow and Phoebe Somerville's book






It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars #1)

By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Narrated by Anna Fields

Book Blurb:
It's Dan Calebow's worst nightmare: Phoebe Somerville, a trendy New York knockout, inherits the Chicago Stars, the football team he coaches. And she wants to help him run it. Phoebe's sure he needs her. He's a sexist, good-ol'-boy jock with a one track mind. She can straighten him out. 
So why should each find the other attractive? Call it the competitive urge, but these two stubborn people play the game for keeps.

The best form of book publicity is word of mouth. My good friend, who has introduced me to so many fabulous books, once again encouraged me to read Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I've been on this recent audiobook kick and I was pleased to see that my library has lots of options for her books. 

I am a football nut so It Had to Be You was right up my alley. I loved it. A great romance and I kept thinking what a wonderful movie this story would make. There was even a suspenseful ending. It Had to Be You is the first book in the Chicago Stars series and I eagerly look forward to reading/listening to the rest. 

Phoebe Somerville was a complex character. Just when you thought you'd understand her character the author, Susan Elizabeth Phillips would provide a memory flashback and you'd want to sob and then change your perception about her. 

Coach Dan Calebow is a man's man and deeply submerged into the boy's club of football. I have to admit, I expected a lot more push back or snark from the coach when Phoebe inherited and took over the Star's NFL Football Club. He had a temper and soon Phoebe knew exactly which buttons to press. Honestly, Phoebe was the smartest "bimbo" I've ever read. That probably was because she wasn't a bimbo at all. A bombshell yes, bimbo no. 

Phoebe's dad was a jerk and one of the biggest, misogynist dolts I've ever read. I can state my opinion and we never even meet him. The story starts out with all the characters attending his funeral. One of the funniest scenes in the entire book occurs during his funeral and I knew from that first chapter, I was committed to It Had to Be You.

It Had to Be You was very enjoyable listen with the one exception. I didn't really care for the narrator's voiceover of Dan's character. It was supposed to be southern accent but I kept picturing an overweight man with big lips. Like a cartoon character. Other than that, I loved it. I smiled a lot and I also got quite angry a few times. Excellent story and it kept me highly engaged. 

Teasers: Pooh the dog, new found sisterly love, scary role play scene, AFC Championship game

What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Georgie York and Bram Shepard's book




What I Did for Love 

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Narrated by Julia Gibson

Book Blurb:
How did this happen? Georgie York, once the costar of America's favorite television sitcom, has been publicly abandoned by her famous husband, her film career has tanked, her father is driving her crazy, and her public image as a spunky heroine is taking a serious beating.

What should a down-on-her-luck actress do? Not go to Vegas . . . not run into her detestable former costar, dreamboat-from-hell Bramwell Shepard . . . and not get caught up in an ugly incident that leads to a calamitous elopement. Before she knows it, Georgie has a fake marriage, a fake husband, and maybe (or not) a fake sex life.

It's a paparazzi free-for-all, and Georgie's nonsupporting cast doesn't help. There's Bram's punk-nightmare housekeeper, Georgie's own pushy parent, a suck-up agent, an icy studio head with a private agenda, and her ex-husband's new wife, who can't get enough of doing good deeds and saving the world—the bitch. As for Georgie's leading man, Bram's giving the performance of his life, but he's never cared about anyone except himself, and it's not exactly clear why.

Two enemies find themselves working without a script in a town where the spotlight shines bright ... and where the strongest emotions can wear startling disguises.

Right off the bat let me tell you that I loved What I Did for Love. I borrowed the audiobook from my library so that I could have a good book to listen to while walking. I fell in love with the story so quickly that I ended up listening to the entire book in two days. I kept sneaking away looking for ways to be alone so that I could plug in the earphones and listen. What I Did for Love is the fourth book in the "Wynette, Texas" series but you can 100% read as a stand alone. In fact, I am surprised that it was part of series. It didn't feel like a series as I was reading. I didn't feel I was losing out on any connecting characters at all. There is nothing about Texas in this story.  

What I Did for Love was my first Susan Elizabeth Phillips book and it will certainly not be my last. In fact, I am checking online directly following my review writing to see if the library have more audiobooks available to check out. 

I am not sure how Susan Elizabeth Phillips did it but she had me falling for a very unlikable "hero", Bram. When I first started listening to the audiobook, I was thinking to myself that this guy is a real jerk. There was nothing I liked about him. Thankfully little tidbits about Bram came to light and by the end of the book, I was in love with him. I'd like to add that it was a nice slow anticipated build up. There was not one moment where BAM! I completely changed my mind about him. 

Georgie was adorable and probably a rarity in the real Hollywood world. She was a childhood star who had a protective father that looked after her earnings responsibly and thankfully Georgie didn't end up a waste case like so many other young Hollywood child stars do. She had a good head on her shoulders. It was very interesting that Georgie and Bram were teen stars together on the same TV show but they really disliked each other. There was a lot of growing up and maturity required by both of them. 

Stories that have the "Hate to Love" plots are hard to pull off and I found What I Did for Love was practically flawless in the storyline. I was completely engaged and I could envision a lot of real life parallels between the fictional Georgie and Bram to quite a few popular Hollywood couples. The paparazzi were relentless and it would be truly exhausting to live that lifestyle. 

The secondary cast of characters really added to the story. Different personalities all around. As there were so many varying personality traits, it made easy listening to the narrator, Julia Gibson. She gave each character a distinct sound and I was not confused with who was to be speaking at any given moment. She did an especially great job of the cook/housekeeper, Chaz. 

Teasers: fake marriage, father/daughter relationship, steamy lingerie shopping scene, SARS house prison

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

Honoria Smythe-Smith and Marcus, the Earl of Chatteris




Just Like Heaven (Smythe-Smith Quartet #1) 

By Julia Quinn
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Book Blurb:
Quinn’s Just Like Heaven is the dazzling first installment of a delightful quartet of Regency Era-set tales featuring the romantic exploits of the well-meaning but less-than-accomplished Smythe-Smith musicians—in this case, a beautiful violinist in the pitiful group who has her sights set on marrying the last unwed Bridgerton…unless her handsome, love-struck guardian has anything to say about it. Bridgerton fans will cry, “Encore!”—as will every reader who adores England’s Regency period and great love stories that are smart, witty, and lighthearted.

I listened to the audio book of Just Like Heaven. I've recently discovered how easy it is to borrow and download audiobooks from my local library. This lending system is perfect for me because when I walk, I'd much rather listen to a book than music. 

I wanted to love Just Like Heaven. It had all the makings of a story that I would fall in love with; but I didn't. I felt it drag by in many spots. Listening to the narrator in her perfect English voice was really pleasant though. 

I completely loved the epilogue of Marcus and Honoria's childhood. I just adore stories where the protagonists have a long history and really know each other. It was an excellent epilogue and reason number one why I was sure I was going to love this story.

As the story progressed, another reason that I was sure that I would love Just Like Heaven is because Honoria really wanted to get married. She wanted to find herself a husband.  So many times in historical romances the heroine is fighting her matrimonial future and it was a breath of fresh air so read Honoria want it. I also liked that Honoria wasn't a wallflower and there wasn't anything unusually different about her. She just wanted a family of her own and that it'd be a great bonus if she loved her husband. 

In her hunt for a husband, Honoria devises a rather silly plan using a man-made mole hole and it had me smiling. It was at this time that Marcus entered the picture and I have to admit that the book was a complete winner for me up until just after this mole hole meeting. It was after here that it started to lose it's whimsical touch for me. 

I did love that Marcus had a sweet tooth. It is about time a man enjoyed eclairs and tarts just as much as women did. Another enduring trait with Marcus is that he does not thrive being the center of attention. He is definitely an introvert and that worked for me. 

The musical quartet part of the book was very long, dragged out and highly boring. As I was listening to Just Like Heaven instead of reading, I was not able to skip forward. 

There was a lot to like in Just Like Heaven but there was also quite a bit that I would have happily skipped over. Because of my desire to skip forward over much of the story, I am rating only a 2. 

Audiobook Review of Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Franny Banks




Someday, Someday, Maybe

By Lauren Graham
Narrated by Lauren Graham

Book Blurb: 
It’s January 1995, and Franny Banks has just six months left of the three-year deadline she set for herself when she came to New York, dreaming of Broadway and doing “important” work. But all she has to show for her efforts so far is a part in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters, and a gig waiting tables at a comedy club. Her roommates--her best friend Jane, and Dan, an aspiring sci-fi writer--are supportive, yet Franny knows a two-person fan club doesn’t exactly count as success. Everyone tells her she needs a backup plan, and though she can almost picture moving back home and settling down with her perfectly nice ex-boyfriend, she’s not ready to give up on her goal of having a career like her idols Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. Not just yet. But while she dreams of filling their shoes, in the meantime, she’d happily settle for a speaking part in almost anything—and finding a hair product combination that works.

Everything is riding on the upcoming showcase for her acting class, where she’ll finally have a chance to perform for people who could actually hire her. And she can’t let herself be distracted by James Franklin, a notorious flirt and the most successful actor in her class, even though he’s suddenly started paying attention. Meanwhile, her bank account is rapidly dwindling, her father wants her to come home, and her agent doesn’t return her calls. But for some reason, she keeps believing that she just might get what she came for.
 
Someday, Someday, Maybe is a story about hopes and dreams, being young in a city, and wanting something deeply, madly, desperately. It’s about finding love, finding yourself, and perhaps most difficult of all in New York City, finding an acting job.

I'll be upfront and honest and say the only reason I got this book is because Lauren Graham wrote it. To add to that first point, the reason I wanted the audiobook was because Lauren Graham narrated it. I adore Lauren Graham so I was certainly willing to give her book "Someday, Someday, Maybe" a try. 

I have often heard that the best success a first time author could have is to write about something they know. When I was listening to Lauren Graham narrate Someday, Someday, Maybe I was thinking that I was listening to her autobiography. The story is about a struggling actress and all that she encounters as she tackles New York City with a three year plan to be a successful actress. I would bet Lauren drew from many personal experiences to write this story. There were a lot of similarities between Lauren's on-screen personalities and her personal life that mirrored that of the character, Fannie Banks. I would have to say that those similarities and how it was written is what's earning the book a 4 star and not a lesser grade from me.  Overall, I did really enjoy Lauren's debut as an author. 

There were some real laugh out loud moments from me and there were also some real long, dragging moments too. The plot itself was not a real draw from me. I don't really have an interest reading about the life a struggling actress bent on making it big. Once again, if it was not Lauren Graham, I wouldn't have even glanced at the book. The spots where I was grinning foolishly is when Fannie was trying to get herself out of spots by lying. The more she lied the more she buried herself. She'd often blurt out answers before thinking it through and the result was an accidental comedic routine. It does require a lot of talent to be comical and for Fannie, it seemed to be natural. 

Someday, Someday, Maybe offered some great friendships and no real villains of the story. There was a tad of romance and a perfect amount of comedy that prevented any forced jokes. As a narrator I wouldn't have wanted to listen to anyone but Lauren telling this story. She was just excellent. I did wish she would have changed up the character voices a wee bit more because that was the only time I struggled. The voices were all too similar and it was sometimes hard to decipher who was who. Otherwise, highly enjoyable and I am very glad I gave the audiobook a try. 

On a side note - the Kindle price is absolutely ridiculous at $15.76. Do yourself a favour and borrow this one from the library like I did. 

Teasers: Never a good idea to lie, accidental nudity, burnt orange nylons, awesome dad

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New to Me Author - Darynda Jones, Audio Review First Grave on the Right

Keeping up with my New Years Resolution, my "New to Me" author for February is Darynda Jones. 

Charley Davidson

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson book 1)

by Darynda Jones

Book Blurb:Part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper Charley sees dead people. That's right, she sees dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light". But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice.

Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life... and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

I had won the audio book, First Grave on the Right via a blog hop from an awesome audio book reviewer site, Hot Listens and I was saving it for a long car ride or a flight to listen to it. Turns out that while walking fast on a treadmill, the bouncing up and down was making it hard to read a book so I thought that this workout time would be perfect for audio books. Problem was, I got so sucked into First Grave on the Right that I couldn't wait in between workouts just to hear it. So as much as I wanted to savour the audio book, I couldn't. Guess I'll just have to find a more boring book to listen to while working out. *grins*

I am so hooked. I want to ignore the stack of already purchased books and go straight to a store and immediately buy the rest of this series.  The premise of the story is unique and the main character, Charley is as witty and alluring as they come. Chick lit at its best. I found myself laughing out loud and wanting the narrator to talk faster so could absorb the story at record pace. I thoroughly enjoyed First Grave on the Right. 

Charley is P.I. but that seems to just be her cover. With secret intel being shared to her from the recently deceased, she works with her detective uncle to help solve their murders. Charley is a Grim Reaper but it is not the cliched Grim we are all familiar with. You see, Charley's Grim plays for the good guy and she helps souls crossed into the light. She's had her gift her entire life and she can even remember the day she was born. 

First Grave on the Right had it all. Mystery, suspense, awesome characters, intriguing plot and oh yes, there was a bit of romance. I say a bit because I can tell you that the readers are just given a bare taste of what is to come in that regard. His name is Reyes and I say fasten your seat belts ladies because we are going on a wild ride. 

Teasers: Danger Will Robinson, dreams that will make you want to go to bed early every night, Angel sidekick, Dutch