Showing posts with label Janet Elizabeth Henderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Janet Elizabeth Henderson. Show all posts

Monday, February 17, 2020

Monday Book Review: The SInclair Sisters trilogy by Janet Elizabeth Henderson







About Book One:

There aren't many jobs available in the tiny village of Arness, Scotland, which is why Mairi Sinclair works online—as a virtual girlfriend. For a weekly fee, she emails, messages and sends photos to desk-bound geeks around the world. Nothing dodgy, mind you, she keeps her clothes on! Mairi loves her job, because the last thing she wants is to be tied down to one man forever. Life is so much simpler when you can keep men at a distance.

And that's why she's upset when her virtual boyfriends start turning up in town. Someone has hacked her online presence and given out her real life address. To make matters worse, they've told the world that she's looking for a husband and the first virtual boyfriend to romance her properly will win the role in real life. Mairi needs help to fend off the hordes. She needs help to hide and find out who sold out her details. Fortunately, local mechanic and one time boyfriend, Keir McKenzie, is more than willing to help her—for a price. He too wants a chance to win Mairi's heart and tie her down forever.

About Book 2:
The local branch of the Scottish Women’s Institute want to use Kintyre Mansion to hold their annual fundraising ball. There’s only one problem—its owner.

Duncan Stewart is a young widower, still reeling from grief two years after losing his wife, and making the town suffer while he does it. The artist doesn’t paint anymore—he’s become a bad-tempered recluse. The only person he can tolerate for any length of time is his housekeeper—whom he feels overly protective toward, in a professional sort of way…mostly. It seems his grief is coming to an end, and the only woman who interests him in the slightest is the one who’s off limits. The one who works for him. And, the one who’s very much up to something…

Donna Sinclair, the mansion’s housekeeper, is well known for her three weaknesses: being a sucker for a good sob story, an injured animal and a lost soul. And there are days when her boss is all three—and it makes him a little cranky. Which is why she hasn’t told him that she’s given the Women’s Institute permission to hold their fundraising ball at the mansion. Now all she needs to do is get him out of the building for the weekend of the party. There’s only one problem with her plan—Duncan is practically a hermit and has barely set foot out of the mansion since his wife died.

But Donna has a secret weapon on her side—her crazy sisters who would do just about anything to help her out!

About Book 3:
It turned out hell was a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Oh, sure, the locals called it Invertary, but Agnes Sinclair knew better—the town even had an old woman everyone called Satan. If that wasn’t a sign she was in hell, she didn’t know what was. All Agnes had ever wanted was to get out of Scotland, and now she was stuck there with no escape. And all because of one teeny, tiny incident (he totally deserved it!) that got her blacklisted in the hotel industry. Now, her only career option is managing a hotel owned by a guy who looks like Disco Santa, in a town where everyone marched to their own damn beat. And, as if being trapped in hell wasn’t bad enough, a spate of thefts at the hotel makes the owner call in a member of Benson Security to help her get to the bottom of them. Agnes doesn’t need help. She especially doesn’t need it from a sexy single father whose every breath tempts her to reevaluate what she wants out of life. A man who makes her wonder if Invertary is where she truly belongs. 
My Take:

If you've never read a book by Janet Elizabeth Henderson, you are sorely missing out on one of the brightest authors writing romantic comedy and suspense today. Her characters are laugh-out-loud funny and her dialogue crackles with wit and wisdom. The situations she dreams up are so enjoyable and completely entertaining, and are a wonderful escape from the dreary grey of winter.

Her Sinclair Sisters trilogy includes three stories that each stand on their own, but are so much more enjoyable when read all together. They also overlap slightly with two of the other series she writes, but you can pick up any of the books and read them as standalones and still totally enjoy the ride.

Of these three, I'm not even sure if I can choose a favorite story. Each is unique in its storytelling and character arc, as each sister is different from the next. I totally recommend starting with Book 1 and reading all three, but you can also pick and choose in no particular order. 

Each is available in Kindle for $4.99 and worth every penny.

Grab your copies on AMAZON today. 

 

Monday, June 4, 2018

Monday Book Review: Goody Two Shoes, by Janet Elizabeth Henderson


Goody Two Shoes, by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

Published 2014
 
About the Book:
Take one American singer who doesn’t believe in falling in love…

Josh McInnes’ biological clock is ticking and he wants to get married—now. After 20 years singing soppy love songs, he knows that there is no such thing as romantic love. There’s only hormones and lust. At thirty-five, he’s tired of his playboy lifestyle. He wants a wife who isn’t interested in fame, money, or romance. A sensible wife, who values commitment. He wants a partnership, a friendship, and none of the craziness that goes with falling in love. As far as he can see, there’s only one way to get exactly what he wants—he needs an arranged marriage.

…add a Scottish librarian who has given up on ever falling in love…

Caroline Patterson terrifies men. With her no-nonsense attitude, and ice queen demeanour, she’s in control of everything—and everyone—around her. Her sensible shoes and grey skirt suits act like a force field, repelling male attention. At thirty-one, she can’t remember the last time she went on a date and is beginning to think she’ll never have a family of her own. When an American stranger approaches Caroline with a marriage proposal that resembles a business contract, she quickly accepts. She doesn’t expect romance. But she does expect to control each and every detail of their lives together. Because as life has taught her—if you aren’t in control, bad things happen.

…and you get romance Invertary style!

Josh and Caroline learn the hard way that falling in love isn’t something you can avoid. And it definitely isn’t something you can control. Their well laid plans are about to degenerate into chaos, as they fall in love the Scottish way.

My Take:
This is my second book by Janet Elizabeth Henderson, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. Quirky characters in a small Scottish town, this fun romantic comedy kept me turning pages as fast as I could. The characters who were introduced in the first book still populated the background, but the new main characters dominated the story lines, with a subplot of second chance romance that added dimension to the main story. I had no idea this was a series, or I would never have waited this long to read the second book!

This is a standalone romantic comedy, and you don't need to read the first book or any of the subsequent books to be satisfied and smiling. Everyone is introduced in the context of this story, without background explanations needed. However, of you find you enjoy the authors voice and style, I can wholeheartedly recommend book one as well, Lingerie Wars, which gives us Caroline's best friend Kristy's story.

Josh McInnes is famous for singing ballads and love songs, but doesn't believe in love.  He decides he wants - no needs- an arranged marriage in order to protect himself from gold diggers and women trying to use him to further their own careers.

Caroline Patterson lives and works in the small Scottish town of Invertary where Josh has recently purchased a castle as a vacation home and recording studio. Headstrong Caroline heads multiple committees around town and is the one who organizes and gets things done.

Stubborn Josh has decided Caroline checks all the right boxes to make a suitable wife, and an arrangement is agreed upon. A commitment where love is not involved.

This may not sound like the setup for a romantic comedy read, but the clashing of the strong-willed main characters is fabulous and  the circus of secondary (mostly geriatric)characters are sprinkles on this sundae of fun. The subplot of Josh's parents and their marital troubles shows a softer and totally different angle to finding and keeping love alive, enhancing the situation the main characters find themselves in... When they actually begin to fall in love.

Tons of fun, well written, and totally recommend for your summer reading list! Grab a copy on AMAZON