Book Review: The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding

The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Unfortunately this book didn't really have the same sensual sizzle factor that I know Liz Fielding can achieve. 



Its plot was also frustrating.  If the two of them had just been honest in the first place and talked to one another, the misunderstanding would have been resolved a lot early on.  If you're not a lover of these sorts of plot lines, then this book might not be for you.



That said, still a nice read - albeit frustrating at times. I wanted to clonk the two character's heads together!



I always like the character's Liz creates and these were no different.  Whereas Liz's heroes are normally compassionate, I'd say Tom McFarlane is possibly a harder, more alpha male character, but shows a softer side later in the book - which was good, because I'm not always a lover of the hard, ruthless Alpha types. 



I did get to download this book for free through my Kindle, so I have no complaints really - it is still an enjoyable read.   



View all my reviews

Proud Mummy Moments

They really do get on well - most of the time!

Because I have two sons, rather than daughters, they do Stars in Training at The Jacqueline Fox School of Dance, instead of Ballet!

Ben has already done a show at the Playhouse in Weston, where he stood gazing out to the audience, trying to look for mummy and daddy - he was four (nearly five).  He did do some of the dance, but he was overwhelmed by the stage.

This time, he performed his two dance acts brilliantly - for a six-year-old!  (I did have a little chat back stage and said don't look for daddy, but he is out there!)

Sunday (13 March 2011) was a mini show to raise money for the main event that's taking place in October, again at the Playhouse.

High School Musical meets Monke

Kieran was a real star in this mini show, having to sing on his own with his other little friend, Elizabeth, singing Old Mac Donald.  They both - although quiet at times - sang, did the actions, and kept looking up and out to the audience, rather than stare at the floor (which Jackie was worried they might do).  Both of them aren't even four yet.  Hubby said they did get the biggest applause!

They did two performances each. One in costume, the other in their dance 'uniform'.  I was helping back stage, but was allowed to stand and watch the performances of my two, so I didn't miss the important parts of the show.

Have I got stars in the making?  Who knows?  But I remember doing tap and ballet as a kid, and I did a couple of shows, and always think these things are lovely for their memory banks.  If it gives them nothing else, it will give them confidence.  (I am hoping they'll both be great dancers later - nothing more attractive than a man who can dance.... gosh, must make sure I add that to my 'hero' attributions list.)

That Cheered Me Up!

I won a book!

Luckily, I was checking my junkmail folder last night and I saw an email from Choc Lit saying congratulations, I'd won their Flavour Of The Month competition.  (Look at the right hand column! I'm at the top).

The idea is to describe your favourite Choc Lit hero in terms of chocolate.  I'd described Ratty from Starting Over by Sue Moorcroft. 

"Dark bitter chocolate on the outside, but gives you a lovely surprise when you bite into him, revealing his true nutty, can’t get enough of him flavours." 

So Ratty.  He was seriously addictive.  He's been my favourite hero so far this year.  Every girl needs a guy like Ratty.

The reason I entered, I thought I'd put my Goodreads review for this book over on the site, and while I was at it decided to attempt describing Ratty as chocolate.  So it does pay to do a book review!

The book I've won is Christina Courtenay's The Scarlet Kimono - which is her latest release.  It's a historical, and I was indecisive about buying it.  Now I'm going to get to read it anyway (so watch out for a review).

I really needed cheering up, and this certainly did it yesterday.

Book Review: Good At Games by Jill Mansell

Good at Games by Jill Mansell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I did enjoy this book, and I'm going to find it hard to review without giving away spoilers, however, there are a few reasons why this book didn't get four stars from me.

The first one, and this might be completely me and my preference, was the jumping of viewpoints in the same scene.  And although funny, (this book did have me laughing out loud), at times it was hard to follow, especially early on when I wasn't used to it and thought the character's head I was supposed to be in had become a mind reader, then I realised the viewpoints had actually switched to another character.

Maybe it's because I don't write like that; I try to stick inside one character's head per scene, and don't really go in too many heads.  (Jill Mansell even gave us point of view of minor characters, including the dog at one stage - though it worked for the joke). 

With this book, I just felt I wasn't firmly in the head of the main characters, therefore didn't feel so deeply involved to want to root them on.  I've read a lot of books that stick to limited third person too, so my brain automatically was thinking this author's made a mistake - until I realised it was her style.  So this book is very omniscient in viewpoints - if I've got that right? - and I'm not sure it's something I like constantly.  I've read Mills and Boon where it slips, but usually only once in a scene, and can be subtly done.

You do get used to it - eventually - but I did find it jarring.

The second thing I wasn't sure about was who the hero was supposed to be.  It's a toss up between the two brothers where Suzy is concerned (who is the main heroine), and to be honest, at one point, I didn't want Suzy falling for either of them.  Later it gets cleared up a bit, but even so, I don't know if the confusion was deliberate on the author or not, but I'm in doubts whether I liked it.

The third thing; I had a very mixed image of Suzy.  I got the impression she was supposed to be a very attractive, curvy woman - to appeal to us all, and to imply men don't just go for skin and bone.  Suzy mentions (in her head) she's a a size 14 (which is absolutely fine by the way, too!) - then a few chapters later, she's comparing her 9-and-a-half-stone self against waif like Celeste.  Then later, it IS reiterated she's a size 14.

I'm 10 stone, about 5'6" and I'm a size 12 - is Suzy barely 5" or something?  I imagined her tall, and beautifully voluptuous - basically a normal girl really not worried about what she ate - therefore at her weight, she'd be no bigger than a 12, gosh she might even squeeze into a 10 depending on her height!  Even as a 12 the comments about super slim/skinny Celeste and Gaby would still work.  So this minor detail about weight irked me I'm afraid.  Fine, if the size 14 was to appeal to the female readers, but don't make her 9 and a half stone - was that a typo missed?  Should she have been 10 and a half stone?

One thing I did like was the setting... only up the road from me, Bristol.  It's making me wonder if I should keep a town name in my own novel... however Jill Mansell is an established author, I am a mere wannabe...

The style of writing, or voice, took a while to get used to.  Extremely sharp and witty, yet with the point of view changing it sometimes became hard to follow - almost scatty.

This is the first Jill Mansell book I've read, and I'd definitely give her another go as once I got used to the book, I enjoyed her sense of humour.  I'll just be prepared for the viewpoint changes next time.


View all my reviews

Now What Do I Do With It?

It may be a bit premature, but I bought a domain name; www.teresamorgan.co.uk - don't even try going there, as I've got nothing up, not paying any hosting or anything.  I just thought I'd reserve it.  It cost me just over £7 (including the VAT) for two years.

I couldn't get .com - another Teresa Morgan must have that! Though that's a lot more expensive, and for a unpublished, poor writer like me, it might have been a bit excessive.

So now I'm wondering whether to start on a website. Is it premature to set up a website?  And if not, how do I go about it?

I've noticed www.123-reg.co.uk where I got the domain name from do packages, so might go with one of those.  At the moment, I don't think my RSI could withstand me fiddling around with a website.  And I have no idea what sort of style I want.  I'm always fiddling with my blog because I'm still not happy with it.

So, what do you think?  Should I try and put a website together, or wait until I'm published... hopefully. 

I haven't the foggiest what I'd put on there yet - I've been struggling trying to put a bio together - though Writing Magazine had some useful hints (hence it was them who suggested buying a domain name in their March issue).

Oh, and if you know of a better package, then let me know.  I need something really easy to use as, well, I'm not great on HTML and all that stuff. 

Hey, it'll be Sods Law if I do get published, and they recommend I use a pseudonym! Ah, well, it's only cost me £7 ...