I’m not a huge e-reader fan, but I have recently discovered that I do enjoying reading on my Kindle at the gym. I can really only read while I’m on the bike, so I always end my workouts with a bike ride, and reading on there really passes the time. It’s really easy to use the Kindle on the bike as I don’t have to flip pages, and it’s very lightweight and small. I also avoid getting pages of my actual books wet and sweaty! Haha. I’ve been getting a lot of the free or cheap books to load up on my Kindle for this exact reason. Below are some quickie reviews of the four books I’ve read so far while at the gym!
The Bride’s Baby by Liz Fielding was one of those free Harlequin romances I snagged. It’s about Sylvie, an events planner who has to pretend to be a bride for a magazine spread about dream weddings. Meanwhile, she’s five months pregnant by Tom, a man she had a quick affair with and cares deeply about but who doesn’t know he’s the father. Tom has grown very angry as he doesn’t realize that Sylvie’s magazine spread is only a fake dream wedding and he thinks she’s really getting married to someone else. Sound convoluted? Yeah, it kind of was. I was also frustrated by all the missed opportunities for Tom to learn the truth. It had had a lot of British slang too which is not always my favorite. It was okay for a free read and to pass the time with, but I wouldn’t highly recommend it. My rating: 2/5
Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child was another Harlequin romance, but I quite liked this one. Nick Falco is a wealthy cruise line owner who had a whirlwind affair with Jenna Baker, a former employee whom he did not realize was an employee at the time. When he found out, he became extremely angry and walked out of her life forever. Jenna, however, got pregnant with twin boys during their quick affair and is determined to make Nick see the truth. While disbelieving at first that he is the father of twin boys, he soon starts to realize that he may, in fact, be a dad. Him and Jenna will have to learn to forgive each other though if they are to ever move forward and become a family. I really liked the setting of this one, as most of it took place on a cruise ship! I’m going on my first cruise for our honeymoon in October and cannot wait. I also liked the love story here, and seeing Nick and Jenna evolve from resentment and anger to possible love so that they can take care of their sons together. Was it corny at times? You bet your ass (it is a Harlequin, after all), but it was an interesting and cute story with an exciting setting. My rating: 3/5
Bridesmaid Lotto by Rachel Astor had a very cute and fun plot but it was very unbelievable and unrealistic. However, being fiction, I tried to not let that deter me, and I thought it was a cute and simple story. 26 year old, Josephine McMaster, is unwillingly entered into a “bridesmaid lotto” by her mother. A wealthy socialite who is getting married is holding a lotto to pick her four bridesmaids (yes, random women she doesn’t know). Best of all, one of the groomsmen is her soon to be brother-in-law, Jake Hall, the famous and very handsome actor. Josie wins a spot as a bridesmaid and is thrust into the spotlight as well as an unexpected and exciting romance with Jake. This book was cute and light and held my interest, but the writing wasn’t anything spectacular. A fun, free, but kind of silly read to pass the time. I think the fact that the whole idea of a bridesmaid lotto was so absurd to me did in fact detract from my enjoyment a bit, but I will read the other books in this series eventually. My rating: 2.5/5
Bad Day by Devon Cooper had a unique and simple premise. It’s basically about a young woman named Angela who is having an incredibly bad day. She is going for a big promotion at work, but right off the bat, her day totally sucks, with her being late to work, spilling coffee on her clothes, etc. Then, she gets stuck in an elevator with a construction worker, Frank, who is also having a crappy day. The story is told from several points of view from different characters. The plot is mainly centered around Angela and Frank as they are stuck in the elevator and how they begin to learn more about one another and possibly fall for each other. As I said, the story was very simple but cute and was told from multiple narrators including Angela, Frank, their friends, coworkers, and other people who are involved in the situation. Unfortunately, the story got to be just a bit boring for me, and while the writing was not great, it did show promise. I liked the idea, but the story could have used a bit more action and some better editing. I would read more work from this author though. My rating: 2/5
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