[BOOK REVIEW] It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Title:  It Had to Be You

Author:  Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 1994

Number of Pages: 376 pages

Date Read: 11/9/2011

Series: Chicago Stars #1  

Publisher: Avon

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Strong Language and Sex Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

To be honest, I have always been a huge fan of historical romance since it takes me to a time that is so completely different from the current times.  However, after reading this little gem of a romance novel, I started to gain interest in the world of contemporary romance.  “It Had To Be You” was the first romance novel I have read from author Susan Elizabeth Phillips and after I had read this book, I am definitely looking forward to reading more of her wonderful books! “It Had To Be You” is full of hot, sizzling romance, pure football fun and drama that will set any romance fans’ heads spinning!

When Bert Somerville, the owner of the prized football team, the Chicago Stars, dies he left in his will that his estranged daughter, Phoebe Somerville, will inherit the football team after his death.  Unfortunately, since Phoebe and her father never got along, there is a condition that Phoebe must follow in order to be successful in inheriting the football team.  If the Chicago Stars are able to make it to the AFC Championships, then Phoebe will be able to inherit the football team and earn one thousand dollars, but if the team fails to win, then Phoebe’s cruel cousin, Reed Chandler, will inherit the football team.  Things get more complicated when Phoebe meets the head football coach, Dan Calebow and at first sight, the two of them never got along.  However, Phoebe and Dan will soon discover how true love can work in mysterious ways…especially on the football field!

Alright, so now that you saw the cover of this book (a blown up photo of a woman’s chest) you are probably thinking that this book would turn out to be too kinky for anyone’s taste in romance novels.  NO, that is not so!  Susan Elizabeth Phillips has not only written a romance novel full of hot and sizzling love scenes, but she wrote a romance novel that is full of drama and love!  Susan Elizabeth Phillips made the characters come to life in this novel, especially Phoebe Somerville and Dan Calebow!  Let me just say that I just love Phoebe Somerville to death! Not only is Phoebe truly attractive to the boys, but she is extremely independent and I loved the way that she handles the football team with so much confidence, despite the fact that she does not know anything about football.  I also loved the fact that Phoebe is always so determined to do everything right, no matter how hard the task is and I loved her relationship with her younger half-sister Molly and her attempts to make Molly see her as a good person, which truly makes Phoebe into such a caring heroine.  It was also heartbreaking in hearing about Phoebe’s childhood and how she was raped at such a young age.  I truly felt for her character when she experienced that horrible event and it was understandable why she would not let Dan near her in the first place.  Now onto the good part and that’s the all handsome and all muscle hero, Dan Calebow!  Dan Calebow is clearly one of my favorite romance heroes of all time because even though he has a terrible temper, he can be so caring and funny towards Phoebe and his dedication to football is truly inspiring in his nature.  Also, his dream of marrying a woman who loves children and wants to start a family with him, is just so sweet and dreamy!  I just love men who are so caring about having a family of their own to take care of!  And do not forget the love scenes between Phoebe and Dan! They are truly smoking and romance fans everywhere will definitely be fanning themselves once they read through these love scenes between Dan and Phoebe!

For those of you who do not like strong language and strong sex scenes, this novel has a lot of strong language and the sex scenes might be too explicit, so it would be best to skip over these scenes if it becomes too problematic.

Overall, “It Had To Be You” is easily one of the best contemporary romances ever written and anyone who is interested in reading romance novels that deal with the love of sports has got to check this novel out!

[BOOK REVIEW] Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Title:  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Author: Judith Viorst

Artist:  Ray Cruz

Genre: Family / Humor / Self-Esteem


Year Published: 1972


Year Read:  2010

Series: Alexander #1

Publisher:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Some Mischievous Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (whew what a title) is a children’s book by Judith Viorst along with illustrations by Ray Cruz and it is about how a young boy named Alexander who ends up having a terrible day.  “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” is truly one of the most memorable books ever created!

I have clearly enjoyed this book as Judith Viorst has done a great job at writing this book and Ray Cruz’s illustrations also contribute greatly to the story’s humor.  Judith Viorst makes the story extremely humorous and creative as the book is narrated by Alexander himself as he tells the audience about the terrible day he is having and many children will definitely relate to Alexander’s situation as the situation appears from his own perspective.  I also understand Alexander’s predicament since I had my share of bad days and I wished that I was somewhere else rather than the place I am at now when I am having a bad day.  Ray Cruz’s illustrations are simply beautiful and hilarious, especially the image of Alexander with his matted hair and a scowl on his face all throughout the book.  I also loved the black and white coloring used in this book as it reflects an old-fashioned feel to the story in a modern world.

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” is truly one of the most inspirational books for children who have had their share of bad days and I’m definitely sure that many children will enjoy this book as much as I did!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

[BOOK REVIEW] Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder

Title:  Batman: The Black Mirror

Author: Scott Snyder

Artists: Jock and Francesco Francavilla


Genre: Superheroes / Action / Adventure / Horror


Year Published: 2011


Year Read: 2013


Series: Batman


Publisher: DC Comics

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence and Disturbing Subject Matter)
 



Introduction:

Lately, I have been reading many “Batman” comics that came out during the 1980s and the 1990s, so that way I could be caught up with the “Batman” universe.  But, after discovering some newer “Batman” comics, I wanted to try out some and one of the “Batman” stories that I had checked out was “Batman: The Black Mirror.”  Now, after reading “Batman: Hush,” I said to myself that I wanted to read more “Batman” stories that featured Dick Grayson since I loved his character in “Batman: Hush.” Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered that “Batman: The Black Mirror” was actually Dick Grayson’s story! Well, what could I say?  This was definitely one wallop of a story that would be hard to review because of so much going on in one graphic novel, but I will definitely do my best to express my intense love for this comic book!

What is this story about?

After the events of “Final Crisis,” Bruce Wayne, the real Batman, decided to create a superhero group that consists of other “Batmans” called “Batman Incorporated.”  So, Dick Grayson is forced to take on the mantle as the new Batman for Gotham City, while working with Oracle (Barbara Gordon) and Red Robin (Tim Drake) on various crimes that plague the city.

BUT THAT IS NOT THE STORY HERE!

The actual story here is that Dick Grayson, now Batman, has uncovered a terrifying and strange case when he discovers that a nightmarish auction is being held where the criminals of Gotham City’s possessions are all being sold to the rich citizens of Gotham City.  Little does Dick Grayson, know it seems to be a plot to trap Batman once and for all!  Meanwhile, Commissioner Jim Gordon’s past catches up to him when his psychotic son, James Gordon Jr. comes to visit Gotham City and convinces his father and his step sister, Barbara Gordon, that he is a changed man and is trying to get back on the right path.  But, has James Gordon Jr. really changed or is he up to no good?

What I loved about this story:

Scott Snyder’s writing: WOW! All I could say is…WOW!  After reading Scott Snyder’s fantastic work on “American Vampire,” I just had to see how well Scott Snyder can write the famous dark knight!  I was actually pleasantly surprised that Scott Snyder managed to write Dick Grayson extremely well as Dick Grayson might have some serious moments to his personality, but I loved the fact that Dick is much more laid-back than Bruce Wayne and that he is willing to help anyone in their time of need.  It clearly shows when Dick Grayson dons the Batman costume as his personality is less menacing than Bruce Wayne’s and he makes a couple of jokes or two towards his enemies.  I also loved the relationship shown between Commissioner Jim Gordon and Dick Grayson as Jim Gordon holds the same respect for Dick that he held for Bruce Wayne.  But what really sold the story for me was the fact that it was focused on how the characters viewed Gotham City as being a place full of corruption and how it affected them.  I really enjoyed the storyline with James Gordon Jr. as he is a new character that I had never read about before, but Scott Snyder did a brilliant job at making him extremely creepy as you do not really know his true motives and yet, he can act so innocent at the drop of a hat.  If I were to list one of the creepiest characters to ever appear in a “Batman” comic, then James Gordon Jr. would definitely be on that list!  I also loved the way that Scott Snyder provided an extremely dark and gritty atmosphere to this story as it may have snippets of “American Vampire” in it (well, it is written by Scott Snyder, who also written “American Vampire”), but it worked so well with the “Batman” universe and it just made the story even more interesting to read!

Jock and Francesco Francavilla’s artwork:  Both Jock and Francesco Francavilla’s artwork greatly contributed to the dark atmosphere of this story.  Jock’s artwork during Dick Grayson’s storylines is extremely detailed and dramatic and also, the images of the monsters are extremely disturbing to look at which really made the story even more intense.  Francesco Francavilla’s artwork in Commissioner Jim Gordon’s side of the story concerning his story are always shown in dark colorings and has a slight 80s artwork vibe which really brought a classic vibe to this story.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Out of all the “Batman” comics I had read so far, this is seriously one of the most disturbing stories I had ever read, next to “Batman: the Killing Joke.”  Anyone who does not like reading about serial killers or disturbing psychological issues might be a bit disturbed with this story.  Also, this story has many gory scenes of characters getting cut up and killed that some readers might find a bit uncomfortable to read through.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Batman: The Black Mirror” is easily one of the best current “Batman” stories around and anyone who is a huge fan of Dick Grayson will definitely love this comic!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter!!!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley

Title:  The Duke's Perfect Wife

Author:  Jennifer Ashley

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2012

Number of Pages: 296 pages

Date Read: 3/29/2013

Series: Highland Pleasures #4  

Publisher:  Berkley

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes)

After reading the previous “Highland Pleasures” books “The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie,” “Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage” and “The Many Sins of Lord Cameron,” I was excited to see that Jennifer Ashley had a new book from the “Highland Pleasures” series called “The Duke’s Perfect Wife,” staring Hart Mackenzie and I admit, this book took me quite by surprise!

Lady Eleanor Ramsay was once engaged to the Scottish Duke, Hart Mackenzie and was madly in love with him.  Unfortunately, Eleanor broke off her engagement to Hart Mackenzie after the two of them had a fight and it has been years since she had ever spoken to Hart.  One day however, Eleanor mysteriously receives photographs of Hart posing nude and she decides to go to Hart’s home to help him find the person who has been sending her the mysterious photographs.  But, will she restore her love with Hart and maybe help Hart find himself once again?

As always, Jennifer Ashley has done a great job at telling a truly interesting love story that not only has memorable characters, but mystery and drama to go right along with it!  I loved the way that Jennifer Ashley weaved a mystery plot to the story as I was seriously on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who sent Eleanor the nude photographs of Hart and what the ulterior motive was behind this act was.  But, as always, what I loved the most about this novel(as with Jennifer Ashley’s other romance novels) were of the characters themselves.  Eleanor Ramsay was a truly unique kind of heroine as she might talk a lot, especially whenever she is nervous, but it is that aspect of her character that really made her shine throughout this book!  I also loved the fact that Eleanor is an extremely kind hearted person who is willing to put everyone else’s needs before her own and it was fantastic seeing her help Hart discover more about life besides his political career.   As for Hart Mackenzie, he was a truly fantastic hero as he is much nicer and gentle than he really lets on and I enjoy the scenes where he tries to repair his broken relationship with Eleanor while at the same time, trying to discover that there is more to life than just controlling it for his political ideals.  As for Hart's magnificient body, if you have not seen the cover of this book, then you will know that he is seriously one well built hero as he is constantly being described as having a muscular body that just made me gush over every time I read about it!  While Hart and Eleanor were my favorite couple in this book, the character that really stood out in this book was Ian Mackenzie himself!  I loved the fact that Ian was actually trying to help Hart and Eleanor get back together again and I loved the fact that he was being a good friend towards Eleanor throughout this book. Also, the romantic scenes between Hart and Eleanor were hot and sizzling as Hart may have a difficult time confessing his dark secrets towards Eleanor, but he certainly knows how to romance Eleanor in many different ways!

For anyone who does not like reading sex scenes in any novel, this novel has many sex scenes that are explicit, so it might be best to skim over these scenes.  Also, the reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because I often got a little frustrated with the characters.  For one thing, I was practically screaming towards Hart to just let Eleanor discover the real him and stop keeping so many secrets from her.  I understand that Hart was having a hard time trying to vent out his feelings for Eleanor and to not let her know about his dark past, but I just wished that he made his feelings known early on in the book and actually trusted Eleanor with some of his secrets.  Also, the main problem I have with novels where the plot is focused on the couple trying to get back together after they had broken up is that you can not really experience the new and raw feelings of a blossoming romance since that couple’s romance was started early on and sometimes it was hard for me to really get into Hart and Eleanor’s relationship with each other because they already had a relationship with each other before they tried to get back together again.

Overall, “The Duke’s Perfect Wife” is a great story about Hart and Eleanor and I seriously cannot wait to see more from the “Highland Pleasure” series, especially the next book in the series, “The Seduction of Elliot McBride!”

Here are my favorite “Highland Pleasures” starting with my favorite:

1. The Many Sins of Lord Cameron
2. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie
3. Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage
4. The Duke’s Perfect Wife

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Fantastic Four Volume 3 by Jonathan Hickman

Title:  Fantastic Four Volume 3

Author:  Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Neil Edwards


Genre: Superheroes / Action / Adventure

Year Published: 2010

Year Read: 2013

Series: Fantastic Four #3

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 12+ (Fight Scenes)
 

Introduction:

After reading the first two volumes of Jonathan Hickman’s highly acclaimed “Fantastic Four” series, I was a little skeptical about reading more from this series because:

a)      The stories in the first two volumes were confusing to me and I thought that I would never get into the stories no matter how many volumes I have read from this series.

b)      I did not quite enjoy the second volume as much as the first volume, so I was not sure if I was going to enjoy the direction this series was going.

But, I went on to read the third volume of “Fantastic Four” and I actually enjoyed it way more than the second volume!  It seems that the events that happened in the first two volumes are starting to come together and we will start seeing massive changes happening to the Fantastic Four!

What is this story about?

The story starts off with Reed Richards deciding to start a school for young gifted students called the Future Foundation while Susan Storm was off to the Four Cities acting as Earth’s diplomat.  Meanwhile, Johnny Storm takes Franklin to the toy store only to run into an old enemy Arcade while at the same time, Valerie offers a cure to Ben for his rock form!  While all of this is going on, Nathaniel Richards, Reed Richards’ father, time travels to Reed’s past in order to receive his help in defeating a mass murderer while also receiving help from none other than a younger version of Dr. Doom!

What I loved about this story:

Jonathan Hickman’s writing: Once again, Jonathan Hickman had done an excellent job at writing the relationships between the characters and trying to set up a much larger story in the future. I loved seeing the relationship between Johnny Storm and Franklin Richards as they have a love-hate relationship with each other and every time those two are involved in any kind of adventures, you can bet that the adventures will definitely be hilarious!  Probably the story that really caught my interest was about Valerie possibly finding a cure for Ben Grimm as I rarely see a “Fantastic Four” story line where it focuses on Ben Grimm possibly being cured of his rock form and I really cannot wait to see where Jonathan Hickman is going to take this plot in the future volumes.  I also loved the way that Jonathan Hickman portrayed Reed Richards’ character as Reed is shown being intelligent and doing everything in his power to save the world and I am loving the idea about Reed opening up a school for intelligent students, which I cannot wait to see whether or not the students will play a major role in the future “Fantastic Four” stories.

Neil Edwards’ artwork:  Even though I preferred Dale Eaglesham’s artwork from the previous “Fantastic Four” volumes, Neil Edwards had done a great job at detailing the characters’ facial expressions and I loved the shadowing on the characters’ faces whenever they have dark thoughts about the situations at hand.  I also loved the images of the buildings as they look truly realistic and my favorite image of the buildings was when Spider-Man was briefly seen swinging on the buildings!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

One of the main issues I was having with Jonathan Hickman’s run on “Fantastic Four” was that every time I read a volume from this series, there is just too much going on and I get way too confused with what is going on in the story.  I would have preferred it if the volume focused on one storyline and then wrap that singular story arc into the next volume so that way each volume would make much more sense.  Also, the reason why I gave this volume a four star rating was because there are many slow scenes that I slightly bored me and I was waiting to see some kind of action happen to the characters.  Also, there is some violence and language in this volume, although it is not as bad as something you would read out of any Vertigo or Image comic book.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Fantastic Four Volume Three” is a step up from the previous volume as everything is starting to come into place and I cannot wait to see how things will unfold in the future volumes!

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Chew: Flambe Volume 4 by John Layman

Title:  Chew: Flambe Volume 4

Author: John Layman

Artist: Rob Guillory


Genre: Crime / Humor


Year Published: 2011


Year Read: 2013


Series: Chew #4


Publisher: Image Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence and Strong Language)

Introduction:

Seriously, will I ever put this series down?  Every time I pick up a volume from John Layman’s Eisner Award and Harvey Award winning series “Chew,” things just keeps getting crazier and more interesting than ever before!  In this volume, “Chew: Flambé,” things get even more crazy for Tony Chu and John Colby as there is a panic going on in the United States when strange alien letterings suddenly show up in the sky!

What is this story about?

In this volume, after a mysterious alien language suddenly pops up in the sky, everyone starts panicking and believes that an alien invasion is about to come to Earth!  So, it is up to the FDA agents Tony Chu and John Colby to find out about this supposed alien conspiracy and what will it mean for Earth?

What I loved about this story:

John Layman’s writing: For the past three volumes, I have always said that John Layman’s writing on the “Chew” series has been nothing but fantastic!  Well, in this volume, John Layman really brought out true surreal humor as Tony Chu and John Colby get into even more crazy adventures than usual!  I loved the way that John Layman made things even more interesting with the mystery surrounding the strange alien language suddenly appearing in the sky and it was great seeing the build up towards solving the mystery of the alien language and what it would mean for Earth.  John Layman’s humorous writing is just as top notch in this volume as it was in the previous three volumes and I really love the moments shared between Tony and his twin sister Antonelle “Toni” Chu as Toni is like the annoying younger sibling towards Tony and I love how she truly cares about him despite annoying him at every chance.  I also love the character “Poyo,” the rooster who for some strange reason is able to do some kung-fu fighting (do not worry; you will see its moves in this volume)! It was also interesting seeing Tony’s daughter (yes, Tony actually has a daughter) Olive Chu as she seems to have resentment towards Tony and it would be interesting to see in future volumes whether or not her relationship with Tony will improve or not.

Rob Guillory’s artwork:  Rob Guillory’s artwork is as usual, extremely hilarious and detailed at the same time as it brought in so much humor and tension to the story.  I loved the way that the characters look bizarre as their bodies are done in exaggerated proportions, making the artwork truly creative to look at.  I also loved the way that Rob Guillory drew the gory scenes during the crime scenes, even though the blood splattering scenes might be a bit too exaggerated, but it just made those situations more humorous to look at than making you cringe in disgust (which I never thought would be possible)!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like gory scenes and strong language, this volume definitely has plenty of strong violence and language.  There are many instances where the characters drop the “s” and “f” bombs throughout the stories and that might offend anyone who does not like reading such strong language in a graphic novel.  Also, there are many violent scenes of characters getting shot and cut up and blood splattering everywhere and that might make anyone uncomfortable if they are not used to gory scenes.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Chew: Flambe” is really setting things up and I definitely cannot wait to see what this mysterious alien language in the sky is going to do to the characters in the future.  I would definitely recommend this volume to any fan of John Layman’s “Chew” series and also check out the other volumes that came before this one:

Chew: Taster’s Choice

Chew: International Flavors

Chew: Just Desserts