A duo of romance novels in which heroes (maybe?) kill their fathers - ummmm...
Those books have nothing in common except that one rather disturbing plot point. Well, that and the fact that I enjoyed both.
Jackson Rule by Dinah McCall - I am not big on contemporary romances (gimme period and fantasy any day) but this was the rare one I enjoyed - I was sold as soon as I saw the OTP were an ex-con and a preacher's daughter :) Our eponymous hero, Jackson, has just been released from prison after serving a 15-yr sentence for killing his abusive father. Since Jackson went in at 16, he is having a hard time adjusting to normal life, as well as having a job - nobody wants to hire a convicted murderer. Enter Rebecca, the preacher's daughter. Rebecca runs a nursery (for plants, not kids) and hires Jackson as a helper. I think you can guess how it's going to go - if you are a sucker for h/c, tough wounded guys with hearts of gold (about the only thing Jackson doesn't do is save a kitten from a tree), and some seriously heartwarming romance with "I am not worthy of her" issues, this one is for you! If I were a grumpier person, I might quibble with the author's take that anyone with Jackson's life would be in any way functional and not locked up in a loony bin, but sometimes I like to be hopeful too. Psst, if you are like me, you would have guessed the twist before it happens, but it only makes it more awesome.
Something Wicked by Jo Beverley - set in 1760s England, this one is part of her Malloren series. Specifially, its heroine is Lady Elfled Malloren (yes, all the Mallorens have insane Saxon names) and its hero is Fortitude Ware, Earl of Wareham who I remember from My Lady Notorious (arguably my favorite JBev book and one whose heroine is Fort's younger sister). I didn't really care for the brief glimpses of either Elf or Fort in MLN, but surprisingly, I adored them here. There is a plot against the King and whatnot, but the crux of the book are the interactions between Elf and Fort - Fort is a man tormented by his past and hatred of the Mallorens, but he and Elf cannot help but be drawn to each other because he doesn't know who she is and she keeps her identity secret. And so his walls come down, his secrets come out, and Elf's heart is won. Though once he learns who she is, she is worried there will be hell to pay. You think? I have two pretty minor quibbles - one is that I think the book should have been angstier than it was (the man killed his own father! and in part it was to protect the royal family and also save his sister, but in part because he hated him and was terrified of him due to childhood from hell! I think the transformation from 'angry wreck' to 'functional and happy human being' should not happen off-page with just a one-sentence summary if you want me to really buy said transformation) and the other is that something Rothgar, Elf's omnipotent older brother, said made no sense to me. I know JBev was trying to toe the line and not make Rothgar into a villain, but he always made most sense to me as someone who cared for his own family and was fine with the rest of the world exploding if it suited him. Let's face it. Rothgar manipulated the situation in MLN so that Fort would have to kill his own father (!!!!!) when there were plenty of Mallorens there and ready to take the old man down, simply because he thought it would be inconvenient for a Malloren to be involved and because he wanted to have leverage against Fort. That is NOT an action of a nice or even decent person. While I think Fort needs a good shrink, his hatred towards the Mallorens is not irrational. And then somehow in this book I am supposed to believe he didn't realize killing his own father would bother Fort - he apologizes for not realizing that and I am supposed to think it's sincere?! WTF! His whole explanation for this bizarre belief is that Fort liked drinking and partying?! I would think even the world's biggest fratboy would have issues about killing his own father. That's quite a jump from 'likes to pay for sex with high-class hookers and can deal with a hangover' to 'doesn't mind shooting his old man.' I mean, unless Rothgar thought Fort a sociopath, which he doesn't seem to have, his belief makes no sense, making me think him either an idiot or a liar. Or a sociopath himself. Probably not where JBev wanted to go. Anyway, despite those two quibbles, the book is delightful, and I shipped Fort/Elf like mad, and the bit near the end where she kept wooing him with flowers, gifts and singers, was hilarious and adorable. (Oh and the sex in this book? Super hot).
Jackson Rule by Dinah McCall - I am not big on contemporary romances (gimme period and fantasy any day) but this was the rare one I enjoyed - I was sold as soon as I saw the OTP were an ex-con and a preacher's daughter :) Our eponymous hero, Jackson, has just been released from prison after serving a 15-yr sentence for killing his abusive father. Since Jackson went in at 16, he is having a hard time adjusting to normal life, as well as having a job - nobody wants to hire a convicted murderer. Enter Rebecca, the preacher's daughter. Rebecca runs a nursery (for plants, not kids) and hires Jackson as a helper. I think you can guess how it's going to go - if you are a sucker for h/c, tough wounded guys with hearts of gold (about the only thing Jackson doesn't do is save a kitten from a tree), and some seriously heartwarming romance with "I am not worthy of her" issues, this one is for you! If I were a grumpier person, I might quibble with the author's take that anyone with Jackson's life would be in any way functional and not locked up in a loony bin, but sometimes I like to be hopeful too. Psst, if you are like me, you would have guessed the twist before it happens, but it only makes it more awesome.
Something Wicked by Jo Beverley - set in 1760s England, this one is part of her Malloren series. Specifially, its heroine is Lady Elfled Malloren (yes, all the Mallorens have insane Saxon names) and its hero is Fortitude Ware, Earl of Wareham who I remember from My Lady Notorious (arguably my favorite JBev book and one whose heroine is Fort's younger sister). I didn't really care for the brief glimpses of either Elf or Fort in MLN, but surprisingly, I adored them here. There is a plot against the King and whatnot, but the crux of the book are the interactions between Elf and Fort - Fort is a man tormented by his past and hatred of the Mallorens, but he and Elf cannot help but be drawn to each other because he doesn't know who she is and she keeps her identity secret. And so his walls come down, his secrets come out, and Elf's heart is won. Though once he learns who she is, she is worried there will be hell to pay. You think? I have two pretty minor quibbles - one is that I think the book should have been angstier than it was (the man killed his own father! and in part it was to protect the royal family and also save his sister, but in part because he hated him and was terrified of him due to childhood from hell! I think the transformation from 'angry wreck' to 'functional and happy human being' should not happen off-page with just a one-sentence summary if you want me to really buy said transformation) and the other is that something Rothgar, Elf's omnipotent older brother, said made no sense to me. I know JBev was trying to toe the line and not make Rothgar into a villain, but he always made most sense to me as someone who cared for his own family and was fine with the rest of the world exploding if it suited him. Let's face it. Rothgar manipulated the situation in MLN so that Fort would have to kill his own father (!!!!!) when there were plenty of Mallorens there and ready to take the old man down, simply because he thought it would be inconvenient for a Malloren to be involved and because he wanted to have leverage against Fort. That is NOT an action of a nice or even decent person. While I think Fort needs a good shrink, his hatred towards the Mallorens is not irrational. And then somehow in this book I am supposed to believe he didn't realize killing his own father would bother Fort - he apologizes for not realizing that and I am supposed to think it's sincere?! WTF! His whole explanation for this bizarre belief is that Fort liked drinking and partying?! I would think even the world's biggest fratboy would have issues about killing his own father. That's quite a jump from 'likes to pay for sex with high-class hookers and can deal with a hangover' to 'doesn't mind shooting his old man.' I mean, unless Rothgar thought Fort a sociopath, which he doesn't seem to have, his belief makes no sense, making me think him either an idiot or a liar. Or a sociopath himself. Probably not where JBev wanted to go. Anyway, despite those two quibbles, the book is delightful, and I shipped Fort/Elf like mad, and the bit near the end where she kept wooing him with flowers, gifts and singers, was hilarious and adorable. (Oh and the sex in this book? Super hot).