Finished Carrie Goes Off the Map by Phillipa Ashley. This is a contemporary romance.

Carrie Brownhill is hurt and angry when her fiance abruptly ends their relationship. Even worse is when she finds out that he’s marrying another woman just a few months later. Carrie decides to go on a trip through the English countryside to clear her head and finds herself traveling with Matt Landor, a doctor who’s trying to come to terms with an accident that he was involved in. Carrie and Matt don’t exactly get along at first, but they eventually find themselves admiring and getting close to one another. But their trip has to come to an end sometime, and neither one knows what to do about their future …

I thought this sounded like an interesting read, and there were some things I enjoyed about it, including the characters and the overall voice. Plus, it’s set in England, and I always think it’s interesting to see the differences in the language and more between various countries.

However, the book, the characters, and the situations are pretty run of the mill. You know as soon as Carrie gets dumped that her ex is seeing someone else and that Carrie will find out about it in the worst way possible, which she does. Also, you know that she and Matt will fall for each other as the road trip goes along. Plus, the ending felt a bit hurried to me. I would have liked to have seen more of Carrie and Matt working out their problems together.

Overall, this one didn’t quite work for me, but if you enjoy books set in England, you might want to check it out.

My grade: D

Would I read this author again: Yes. I liked Ashley’s voice.

Memorable quote: “The edge of sarcasm in his voice made her hackles rise. This wasn’t the man she’d known for the past ten years, and it definitely wasn’t the one she was looking forward to marrying in two weeks’ time. This wasn’t her Huw. She tried to stay calm, hoping he’d cool down and sober up.”

Finished The Next Always by Nora Roberts. This is the first book in her Inn BoonsBoro contemporary romance trilogy.

Architect Beckett Montgomery is busy restoring a historic Maryland inn, along with the help of his brothers and mother. Like everyone else in town, bookstore owner Clare Brewster is intrigued by the work on the inn and becomes interested in Beckett as well. Clare is cautious about dating again, since she is widowed with three boys to raise, but Beckett soon wins her and her boys over. However, not everyone is happy about Beckett and Clare’s burgeoning romance …  

I thought this book had a nice cover, and I’ve been meaning to read more by Roberts. All the elements I like in a contemporary romance are in this book — a picturesque small town, likable characters, some funny situations. (There are some scenes with Beckett and Clare’s boys that are really cute.)

However, my big complaint with this book is that there is just too much information about the restoration of the inn. There’s a lot of description of the work being done, the furnishings that will be put into place, etc. I wanted to see more of the characters and less of the nuts and bolts of the restoration process.

Also, the book feels a little scattered. There’s a romance element, a suspense element, even a paranormal element. The mishmash of the various plot lines just didn’t work for me. I would have liked the book better if it had been more focused on the romance.

Overall, this one didn’t work for me, but if you’re interested in architecture, you might enjoy it.

My grade: D

Would I read this author again: Maybe. I’ve enjoyed some of her J.D. Robb books.

Memorable quote: “It looked old — it was old, he thought, and that was part of its beauty and appeal. But now, for the first time in his memory, it looked tended.”

Is over at:

Literary Escapism

I’ll be doing an online chat tonight from 8-9 p.m. EST with Literal Addiction Paranormal Book Club. I believe you have to be a member of the club to participate in the chat. Hope to see you there.

So I’ve finally got some cover art to share for Dark Frost, the third book in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series. This isn’t the final version of the cover, but this is pretty much what it will look like. I like the way the overall style/theme from the first two covers continues with this one.

Also, here’s the back cover copy for the book. Please note that it does contain some spoilers for Kiss of Frost. So if you haven’t read Kiss of Frost yet, you may want to skip over the back cover copy for Dark Frost:

I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall.  I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me — again.

Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects — and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school.  But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way.  The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom.  So why do they have it in for me?  It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me — and I’m in for the fight of my life.

You can read the first chapter of the book here, although once again please note that it does contain some spoilers for Kiss of Frost.

Dark Frost will be released on May 29, 2012. The book is up for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.