Tag: Emma Chase

Royally Matched by Emma Chase, narrated by Andi Arndt & Shane East

May 15, 2017 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: This is one from my own TBL.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Some men are born responsible, some men have responsibility thrust upon them. Henry John Edgar Thomas Pembrook, Prince of Wessco, just got the motherlode of all responsibility dumped in his regal lap.

He’s not handling it well.

Hoping to help her grandson to rise to the occasion, Queen Lenora agrees to give him “space”—but while the Queen’s away, the Prince will play. After a chance meeting with an American television producer, Henry finally makes a decision all on his own:

Welcome to Matched: Royal Edition.

A reality TV dating game show featuring twenty of the world’s most beautiful blue bloods gathered in the same castle. Only one will win the diamond tiara, only one will capture the handsome prince’s heart.

While Henry revels in the sexy, raunchy antics of the contestants as they fight, literally, for his affection, it’s the quiet, bespectacled girl in the corner—with the voice of an angel and a body that would tempt a saint—who catches his eye.

The more Henry gets to know Sarah Mirabelle Zinnia Von Titebottum, the more enamored he becomes of her simple beauty, her strength, her kind spirit… and her naughty sense of humor.

But Rome wasn’t built in a day—and irresponsible royals aren’t reformed overnight.

As he endeavors to right his wrongs, old words take on whole new meanings for the dashing Prince. Words like, Duty, Honor and most of all—Love.

A major spoiler for the previous book follows – proceed at your own risk.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): There really are some weird and unusual names in the British aristocracy. Even though this is Wessco (is it supposed to stand for “West Scotland”?), I think Sarah’s name is meant to poke a bit of fun at them. Although the “von” seems out of place even in a fictional country like Wessco.

I enjoyed Royally Screwed when I listened to it recently. I didn’t adore it as others had before me but I hadn’t actually thought it would be my cup of tea at all so I guess it started behind the line. Fictional royalty isn’t something I go out of my way to read or listen to – it’s too easy for me to think of the actual British royal family. Still, it was rated so highly, that I ended up giving it a go and it turned out to be a good listen. Continue reading

A Tale of Two A**holes, or: What a difference female agency makes

June 10, 2013 / Kaetrin

I recently listened to a book with an asshole hero and, around the same time, read another with a similar type of male lead. Though there were problems with both, one of the books worked much better for me than the other. The main reason I disliked the first book was that I could not like the hero. But in both books, the hero is an asshole. So: why did I like one and not other? This post is the result of my mental ramblings on the topic. And it all comes down to female agency.

Book 1 was Fever (Breathless #2) by Maya Banks. This author seems like a lovely lady from what I can tell from Twitter. My opinion of this book is in no way an opinion of her. She tends to be a hit or miss author for me. I loved Sweet Surrender and I enjoyed Rush, the first book in the Breathless series quite a bit. But Fever was not a success. While lots of people loved Fever (which is fine because Vegemite), it didn’t work for me.

The second book was Tangled by Emma Chase. Ms. Chase is a new author but I enjoyed her writing style and the humour of the book very much. (and again, just because I thought Drew was an ass, doesn’t mean I think she is. Just to be clear).

The two books are very different in tone. But they have in common that the male protagonist is a jerk. I discussed Drew a fair bit in my review of Tangled. As the book is told from his point of view, we are steeped in Drew from start to finish.Fever is told in third person with the POV shifting between the two main characters. But, Fever is almost always in the male gaze so our hero, Jace Crestwell is the most prominent character in the book by a factor of about a million.

Tangled by Emma Chase

May 29, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?He’ll tell you he has the flu.But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything – or anyone – derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I am a hero-centric reader so stories told from the hero POV are always ones which pique my interest. I knew going in that Drew was an asshat. And he REALLY is. For most of the book (and in some areas, all of it – more on that later), he is a COMPLETE jerk. What saved him (mostly) for me was that he got his comeuppance (brought low by true lurrve (TM) don’t ya know?) and that (and he) was (often) very funny.