Portable Magic
Reading, for me, is entertainment and an escape from the real world. But it can also inform and stretch the boundaries of the life I live.
Currently reading
Lavender Morning ★★★☆☆
Jude Deveraux is one of a handful of writers that I was always eager to pick up when I was going through my romance phase a few years ago. I remember feeling like I could count her as an old friend. I had laid off the genre for a while but am now picking up some oldies that are in a pile on my Neglected Shelf. This one is certainly an improvement over the first two, but that’s not much of a recommendation.
It was cute, overall, but so implausible that I almost injured myself with the eyerolling. The story-within-the-story of Miss Edie wasn’t very compelling and felt like it was added just to pad out the pages to get this book up to novel length. The big reveal was a big yawn. But it wasn’t all bad. The two male love interests were likeable and interesting, as were the two obligatory female friends. I especially liked tough ol’ Tess with her secret vulnerabilities. I liked that Deveraux gave us one realistic romance, where the guy is kind of a rude jerk but good in the sack and the MC recognizes that sometimes you just have to bite your tongue because your friend is an autonomous adult and you don’t have to like the guy she’s got the hots for. I liked the snappy, humorous dialogue, but it got a little old when every single character seemed to have the same speech patterns and sense of humor.
Not sure it was worth the read. It was interesting enough to keep me going, but I was relieved to be finally finished.
Previous updates:
Progress 308/476
Nooooooooooo! The big-misunderstanding-that-could-be-cleared-up-instantly-if-they'd-just-talk-to-each-other plot device!
Arrrrgh!
Progress 112/476
Seriously cute stuff here. The MC is attractive and knows her worth without being vain, but still subject to little insecurities and her jokes fall flat with the handsome guys. The red herring cousin is obviously a good guy and not evil in disguise, and she and the HEA guy are able to meet, attract, and repel without any Big Misunderstandings. At least, not yet.
Progress 68/476
The town of Edilean sounds precious. Maybe a little too precious - I hope Joce finds a few warts besides the usual small-town-neighbors-all-in-your-business. Some of the characters and plot points are a little too heavy-handed, but the dialogue is snappy and fun and I'm liking the MC's mix of confidence and self-doubt.
Not plausible:
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