Spellbound by Nora Roberts

First things first: Spellbound by Nora Roberts is not a novel. At 81 pages, I would barely even call it a novella. It was released in 1998 as part of Once upon a Castle, a compilation of short stories. It was released in 2005 as a stand-alone story.  Unlike most of Roberts’ books, this one has an equal number of one- and five-star reviews on Amazon. Keep all of that in mind.

Spellbound is the story of American Calin Farrell, an over-worked, famous, 30-year-old photographer who has long had strange dreams. After a particularly stressful period, Calin decides on a whim that he is going to take off and relax in Ireland.

When he arrives in the countryside, he finds himself at a ruined castle, where he discovers that his fantasy dreams might not have been dreams, after all. At the castle, Calin quickly comes across Bryna, the beautiful woman — oops, I mean witch — who he’s seen in his dreams since childhood.

Turns out, Bryna and Calin have been bound together for more than 1,000 years through ancestry and spells. And now, Bryna needs Calin’s help before it’s too late…

While the love story between Calin and Bryna is definitely fast-paced and interesting, it’s simply too shallow. Because of the length of the story, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to develop any type of relationship or emotions for the characters. It’s hard to follow the thought process behind their actions, since there isn’t time for an explanation, and at times its difficult to understand the development of the situation. There isn’t enough back story for everything to make sense.

It’s too bad, because the premise is interesting, though maybe a little clichéd. The story had potential, but Roberts simply didn’t take the time to develop it into a full-blown novel. I would have liked to see more from this story.

If you would like to read Spellbound, I would recommend picking it up from your library or purchasing it for Kindle or in your local bookstore. Don’t buy it online in paperback form — it’s not worth the price of shipping. 

Title: Spellbound | By: Nora Roberts | Publisher: Penguin | ISBN: 978-0515140774 | RLB Grade: C

Find it on Amazon: Spellbound

Romance Psychology: Do Romance Novels Reflect Fantasies?

A few days ago I mentioned an interesting blog post from a female psychologist who studies romance novels. In that article, Maryanne Fischer, Ph.D., and associate professor at Saint Mary’s University, called romance novels “candy for women’s brains.”

The romance genre is so popular, she writes, because the formulaic plot represents an appealing, but often unattainable, set of circumstances. The romance book allows a woman to indulge and treat herself. That action of indulgence and relaxation is similar to how a woman might feel while eating candy or an ice cream cone: happy, content, and just maybe, a wee bit guilty.

Think about it. In a romance, the heroine is seldom described in much detail. This way, the author limits the ways in which she can alienate readers. In fact, author usually strives to create a heroine that is similar to as many women as possible. She believes herself to be pretty average: Attractive, but not overly beautiful; intelligent, but not a genius; resourceful and independent, but still could use a little help from time-to-time. Pretty much describes the self-view of a lot of women I know.

The hero, on the other hand, is described in great detail. As readers, we get to learn everything about him. That way, the author hopes, we will get to know him a little more, perhaps lust after him a bit, and learn to relate to him, as well, despite the fact that he’s usually a jerk at the beginning of the book.

In fact, according to Fischer, the fact that the hero is a jerk is exactly what attracts women to the romance genre. Because he usually goes through a transformation, Fischer argues, women get the best of both worlds in the hero: They get the bad boy at the beginning, who is so desperately in love with the heroine that he is willing to change his ways, and in the end, becomes the settled, monogamous family man.

It’s appealing, Fischer acknowledges, because it doesn’t really happen that way in the real world. The change reflects a fantasy of women — something special, something that is not at all common. In her article, titled “How Much Do Romance Novels Reflect Women’s Desires?” Fischer writes:

What woman doesn't swoon at this (situation)? What woman can resist wanting a daring, confident, attractive man who also is so deeply in love with her that he can't even look at another woman? And he wants to marry her, on top of it all. She's having her cake and eating it too. She gets all the benefits without any of the costs. The cad won't expect hot, casual sex and then take off- he becomes the dad, who, given his history, isn't boring.

What do you think? Do you agree with her analysis, or think it’s a big ol’ crock?

In addition to her role at Saint Mary’s University, Fischer also acts as a consultant for Harlequin. She is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Chemistry of Love.

Review Revisited: Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels

The first romance novel I ever read was Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels. At the time, I was working at a health club, and the publisher had sent over boxes and boxes of the book in honor of Harlequin’s 60^th anniversary. Never one to turn down a free book, I picked it up and read it. Of course, I wasn’t expecting much. After all, how could a free romance novel be any good?

Turns out, that free novel was awesome. I expected it to be full of raunchy sex scenes, terrible dialogue and to have a thin plot. Yes, I bought into the common misconceptions and stereotypes about the genre.

It only took one book, though, to completely change my mind.

In Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch, Dana is reunited with Hud, her former fiancé and lover, when she discovers a dead body in a hole on her ranch in Montana. Hud, a police officer, has recently returned form LA, and until he reports to the crime scene on her property, Dana doesn’t even know he’s back in town.

Now forced to work together to solve the murder, Dana finds she still has feelings for Hud. She might finally get some answers about why he turned up in her sister’s bed all those years ago…

Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch is an easy read, it’s paced well, and the characters seem real enough to keep me interested. In addition it’s still free for Kindle users. Who can pass up a deal like that?

From the Vault: read more about the first romance novel I ever read - Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch

Title: Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch | By: B.J. Daniels | Publisher: Harlequin, 2009 | ISBN: 0373150903

Find it on Amazon — A Free Kindle Book! Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch

The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason

I originally started writing the review for The Vampire Voss before I was finished with the book. It turned out to be futile, though, because my opinion changed dramatically within the last 40 pages. So I started over.

I was really excited to read this book because it combines two of my favorite subgenres: paranormal and historical romance. About 340 pages in, I was still a little disappointed — not because it was a bad book, but because I loved the heroine and hated the hero. Author Colleen Gleason managed to write a change in the hero that changed the way I felt about him and the novel as a whole.

In this regency romance, Angelica Woodmore finds herself in the precarious position of imposition on Dimitri, Earl of Corvindale, with whom she and her sisters have been sent to live. Angelica’s brother Chas, the head of the Woodmore household, has disappeared, and he has arranged for Corvindale to guard his three younger sisters in his absence.

In doing so, Chas, who happens to be a vampire hunter, has thrust his sisters into the middle of the vampire underworld. Ironically, a vampire is hunting Chas, as he has taken off with the sister of Moldavi, one of the most powerful vampires in Europe.

In an effort to bring Chas forward, Moldavi also is searching for Angelica, who happens to have the Sight — a gift from her Gypsy lineage that allows her to see when others will die.

Angelica’s gift is valuable to each of the vampires, but especially so to vampire Voss, Earl of Dewhurst, who fancies himself a collector and seller of information. When he begins to lust after Angelica, however, the stakes change. (I said stakes. Haha He’s a vampire.)

Initially, I started out liking Voss a bit, despite some foreshadowing in the prologue that showed Voss’ personality. It didn’t take long for my opinion of Voss to change, though, and by the time he violated Angelica, I began to despise the character. A truly old-school type hero, Voss was simply repulsive for most of the novel.

Luckily, though, Angelica is a strong and likeable enough character to carry the book. In fact, the offset of the hero and heroine might be what makes the books work. I liked Angelica’s honest and sweet personality so much that it made me momentarily hate Voss even more for his actions. 

But eventually, Voss starts to see the light. Though it’s hard to feel sympathy for a man who violated a woman (albeit not sexually) and made a deal with the Devil, Voss’ character improves. Notice, I didn’t say I liked him. He just became tolerable.

Despite conflicting feelings about Voss, and the clichés rampant in the novel, The Vampire Voss is interesting and worth a read. The pace is fast, and even if you hate Voss, Angelica is a worthy character. I will probably pick up other books from the Regency Draculia series in the future.

Title: The Vampire Voss | By: Colleen Gleason | Publisher: Mira, 2011 | ISBN: 9780778329527 | RLB Grade: B | Find it on Amazon: The Vampire Voss (Regency Draculia)

Driftwood Cottage by Sherryl Woods

I just finished Driftwood Cottage this morning. I think I would best describe it as sweet, maybe a little innocent, definitely slow paced.

The story, one of Sherryl Woods Chesapeake Shores series, kind of meanders, to tell the truth. Meandering books are a litttttle boring to me. I prefer some danger and a few sex scenes, but meandering and sweet does hit the spot for some people.

This particular story features Heather and Connor, who have recently split because Connor refuses to marry Heather. As a divorce lawyer, Connor has seen his fair share of marriages dissolve and is unwilling to place his faith in the institution of marriage. When he considers the split — and eventual remarriage — of his parents, there is simply no way in the world he is going to take that leap, he thinks.

But Heather is the mother of his child, and when she gets into an accident, he begins to wonder if maybe he should rethink his staunch position. His massive, meddling family certainly thinks so, and soon Connor has moved from Baltimore to the Chesapeake shore for good. But is it too late for Connor and Heather?

It’s interesting to see the transfer of power take place in this book. Initially, Connor appears to have the power in the relationship, but as soon as that accident happens, Heather seems to gain the power. While that transfer adds an extra dimension to the book and helps Woods to write for an additional 50 pages or so, it’s at that point when you can really start to see Connor change. That’s when he becomes that dynamic character needed in a novel.

The change, though, is really anti-climatic. It comes after pages and pages or arguments about marriage, and then immediately following a cliché accident. How predictable.

Despite the lack of any real action, however, the story does espouse a good message: In the face of setbacks and problems, perseverance, dedication, hard work and love will help you accomplish your goals in the end.

Title: Driftwood Cottage | By: Sherryl Woods | Published: Mira, 2011 | ISBN: 978-0778329473 | RLB Grade: C

Find it on Amazon:Driftwood Cottage (Chesapeake Shores)