Lisa Samson - Tiger Lillie

This was the first book I'd read in a long while that was thoroughly enjoyable. Surprisingly so. I bought it because of a good review and the picture on the cover (yes, I judge books by their covers). It was a gamble.

I'm still trying to decide if it's worthy of a second read. Maybe. It was a great story and kept me interested the whole time. It was funny and suspenseful. I liked the characters, though I couldn't truly relate to any of them. Maybe that's why I'm still on the fence about ordering another Lisa Samson offering... but it also says something about the strength of her writing. I'm probably not even in her target audience.

Highly recommended.

Kristen Heitzmann - Freefall

Heitzmann is a good writer. You can't deny that. She uses words with skill and comes up with good stories. Her characters are well drawn and substantial. In Freefall, both the main and minor characters are interesting and believable. Heitzmann goes to some lengths to explore their depths, and I enjoyed that.

If you're a fan of action and intrigue, you will appreciate the way Heitzmann reveals their true strengths and weaknesses by placing them in critical situations. I do not happen to be a fan of action and intrigue. I prefer social maneuvering, awkward situations, intellectual battles, and the working out of relationships within that framework. Action sequences tend to bore me, no matter how exciting or scary they would be in real life.

Thankfully, Freefall is a nice long read, so there's plenty of room between the abductions and attempted murders to get to know the characters under relatively normal conditions. Definitely not my favourite, but respectable light reading.

Susan Meissner - Why the Sky Is Blue

Susan Meissner writes beautifully. There's no denying that. Nothing wrong with her prose. This is a good book exploring an interesting issue. I found it a little boring - but then her target audience here is mature women, wives and mothers. It was hard for me to relate.

Beverly Lewis - The Shunning

Beverly Lewis writes well and paints a charming picture of Amish life, while exposing some of its downsides. The characters are well drawn and likeable and the conflicts keep the story moving.

My problem with Lewis' books is that they take me on this journey into a simple world that I fall in love with - despite the harshness and legalism - and then throw me out of it into the (comparatively) garish world of the "Englishers" and tell me that this is better.

Maybe she's right. But it stomps all over my romantic sympathies. The part of me that wishes we all drove horses and buggies rebels against it.

Still, this book (and the series) is extremely popular. I shouldn't criticize... but I do.

Lori Wick - Bamboo and Lace

I found this book very similar to "The Princess" in a lot of ways.

I liked the premise. Lily is a girl from a tiny asian country where she has been raised not to look men in the eye. It creates amazing opportunities for awkwardness and curious interactions between characters. I liked Lily and her love interest, Gabe. I hated Lily's domineering and almost over-the-top stern father. I loved that the story was set in Hawaii.

But yet again, the romance falls flat. It could have been wonderful. It could have been sweet and beautiful. Shy, beautiful girl is coaxed out of her restrictive shell and shown that true love does not demand silent, unobtrusiveness servitude. So what is with the hero being talked into even considering the girl as a potential wife? The confident wooing of said girl after being convinced of its sound logic and assured that Lily will take anyone who shows an interest in her? Instead of just letting the characters fall in love naturally, which the plot certainly allows for, they are more or less shoved together by friends who seem to see that they should be falling in love... but aren't.

All I can say is, Lori Wick has a weird idea of what love is. Kind of cool story. Not the kind of relationship I'm looking for, though.

Linda Lee Chaikin - Silk

This is the first in Chaikin's "Heart of India" series. I was given it as a gift a few years ago.

Basically, it's a Harlequin Romance in Christian clothing. I sold it at a garage sale and was almost embarrassed to do that much. Not that I'm against swashbuckling and corsets - I loved Pirates of the Caribbean as much as anybody. But this story was just gratuitous shocking circumstances. I respect myself less for having read it through.

Lori Wick - The Princess

This was a strange walk on the fantastic side of Christian fiction.

First, I loved the fairy tale premise. An ordinary girl is chosen as the new bride of a widowed prince. An escapist story, obviously, but what girl doesn't like to imagine she's a princess? Come on. We all do it.

The problem was, this fantasy didn't play out the way I wanted it to. It was an interesting story, and I enjoyed reading it, but there were things I didn't like. The setting seemed off, somehow, with contemporary and historical/idyllic elements that just didn't jive together. I never felt like I fully entered or understood this world. I also felt that some of the conflicts between the bride and groom were somewhat contrived and predictable - nothing really new or surprising. But my biggest issue with the story was the romance: it just wasn't there.

*Warning: Spoiler ahead!*
This is a story about an arranged marriage which, although with all the ingredients for a great romance story, turns out bittersweet. I suppose it is meant to be realistic - and I'm sure many arranged marriages end up in a kind of love that is more fond and dutiful than passionate. The problem is, it depresses me. When I read a romance novel, I'm not interested in two people who form a friendly and mutually beneficial partnership. Some people find it charming - but I wanted to tear up the last few pages and rewrite it myself. I restrained myself, because I had borrowed the book from the library. It probably wouldn't have worked, anyway. Lori Wick's ending suits the characters, somehow. And ultimately, I didn't care enough about them to lament their fate for long.