by Jasmyn | Jan 4, 2019 | Book Reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Readers
Payback continues the story of The Sisterhood, a group of women that seek revenge on people that have wronged them (so far it seems to be all men).
In my review of Weekend Warriors, the first book, I mentioned that the suspension of belief for a contemporary was a bit of a stretch in this series. I think it’s similar to thinking that a businessman could create things like Batman and go solve crimes without anyone realizing who he really was. While fun, it’s not very believable.
The second book throws a ghost into the mix that speaks to two of the women, basically encouraging them to continue seeking revenge on people who have wronged them and escaped traditional justice.
Once again, the person they hunt deserves to have something happen to them. But again, the punishment really turned my stomach. I think these stories would be so much better if instead of a physical revenge, they found a way for the real justice system to get these guys.
In the background you have the added drama of Jack, an attorney that used to be engaged to one of the women, catching on and trying to prove they are doing things. Jack is a good guy, and he gets swept up in the revenge, and it just makes me like the main group of characters even less.
Still, there is something about this series that I can’t look away from. Even with the typos, plot contradictions, errors, and awful acts the Sisterhood take part in, I somehow need to keep going to see what’s next.
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Title: Payback (The Sisterhood #2)
Author: Fern Michaels
Genre: Woman’s Lit
Content Rating: R
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Meet the Sisterhood–seven very different women who found one another in their darkest days and formed an indelible friendship, strong enough to heal their pasts and bring laughter and joy back into their lives. In Myra Rutledge’s beautiful, Virginia home, amid hugs and fresh iced tea, shrimp fritters and shell-pink tulips, the friends have gathered to embark on their second mission of sweet revenge for one of their own. Julia Webster’s husband, a U.S. Senator, has used his wife’s graciousness and elegance to advance his career even as he’s abused her trust at every turn and left her dreams for the future in tatters. Now, on the eve of his greatest political victory, he’s about to learn a serious lesson in payback. Because the senator crossed the wrong woman. . .and there are six more where she came from. . .
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by Jasmyn | Jan 3, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Romance
Rose Bride is my absolute favorite of the Lust in the Tudor Court series by Elizabeth Moss. I think seeing the court from a different perspective, but still close enough to all the nobility and even the King, really allowed the book to weave its own story while still giving that amazing Tudor feel.
I did not like Margerie the first time I met her. I thought she was a little bit up in everyone’s business, but I was quickly proven wrong. She’s a sweet woman that has had her past manipulated and she has only recently come into her own self.
Virgil was a great character. Trying his best to help King Henry get his new queen pregnant, he has to resort to some new herbs and medicine, but he isn’t allowed to use them on the King until he has tested them himself. I loved how this set up some very interesting confrontations between him and Margerie.
I wish there was more to the series, but it also ended in a really great place for all our characters. I think this is a series (especially book three) that I will have to revisit again sometime soon.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Rose Bride (Lust in the Tudor Court #3)
Author: Elizabeth Moss
Genre: Historical Romance
Content Rating: R
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Hilary Mantel meets Sylvia Day: the final installment in a deliciously erotic trilogy begun in Wolf Bride, set against the sumptuous backdrop of the scandal-ridden Tudor Court by Elizabeth Moss.
SHE’S FALLEN TOO FAR…
Margerie Croft yielded her virginity before her wedding night, and then fled King Henry VIII’s court, knowing she couldn’t marry a man she did not love. Now she is viewed as soiled goods, fit only for the role of a courtier’s plaything.
Virgil Elton has heard the wicked rumors, but something about Margerie calls to him. Drawn close despite himself, he invites her to help in his work to restore the king’s flagging health. But as he comes to know her, Virgil discovers beneath the layers of protective reserve a woman who is as intelligent and passionate as she is beautiful. He will stop at nothing to heal the damage the court has inflicted, even if it means falling himself…
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by Jasmyn | Jan 2, 2019 | Book Reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Readers
I’m not entirely sure what to think about this one. The setup and introduction to the characters were really good, and I couldn’t wait to see what they would do to “fix” things. They formed the Sisterhood and set out to right the wrongs vigilante style. But they have the help of a woman with a seemingly endless income and an ex-British special ops guy.
As the book progressed, I had to suspend belief more and more. For contemporary fiction, it seemed to border on fantasy with the way the special ops guy and their funding never seemed to let them down. It was just a little too much to take in and think could happen even in the far reaches of the possible.
But, I was still intrigued and kept reading. Then it hit me like a car accident and I just couldn’t look away. These women do things that are just as awful as the people they are supposedly getting revenge on. It was horrible. I’m all for a punishment fitting the crime, but this went way over that line. It was incredibly violent – which really surprised me, and I found slightly disturbing
I think I’ll give the series another chance, but this was not the best series starter by a long shot. I have loved some of Fern Michaels’ other stories (particularly the Christmas ones) and this is nothing like them at all.
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Title: Weekend Warriors (The Sisterhood #1)
Author: Fern Michaels
Genre: Woman’s Lit
Content Rating: R
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The first in an exhilarating new series following a group of extraordinary women who are out to see justice done … a step at a time. Nikki Quinn is devastated when her best friend Barbara is knocked down and killed by a hit-and-run driver who claims diplomatic immunity. But Nikki has her work and her lover, fellow lawyer Jack Nolan, to keep her going, whereas Barbara’s mother, Myra, has nothing. Festering in a sea of recriminations and hatred, unable to gain a sense of perspective, Myra is lost…until one day she switches on the evening news and sees Marie Lewellen, mother of a murder victim, take matters into her own hands and stab her daughter’s killer. An idea is born, and within months Myra and Nikki have drawn together a group of women who have one thing in common: they have been failed by the American justice system, they’re down but they’re not out, and they’re ready to find their nemeses and make them pay. First up is Kathryn, a long-distance truck driver who was raped at a road stop by three motorcyclists as her paralysed husband watched, helpless. Banding together, the Sisterhood plot the ultimate revenge — but with dissension from inside the group and out, there’s no saying if the plan will work until the moment of truth arrives.
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