Julie's Reviews: All I Want is You

Summary: SHE'S STEALING HIS HEART . . . Vintage boutique owner Venus Smith is stunned to realize her newest acquisition comes with a larcenous legend. Stolen years ago, the antique mermaid brooch belongs to the Clayworth family. The right thing to do would be to return it, but that means facing Connor Clayworth O'Flynn, the sexy department store heir Venus has had an unrequited crush on since childhood-and the man who helped ruin her father. ONE KISS AT A TIME... Connor knows that Venus has never forgiven him for what happened between their families. But business isn't personal, even though Venus's father's betrayal still cuts him like a knife. So when Venus proposes a deal-she'll return his family's brooch if he helps clear her father's name-he reluctantly agrees. As action-packed days turn into flirtatious fall nights, it isn't long before old memories resurface . . . and new desires ignite. Can two young lovers leave the past behind? Or must they first admit that all they've ever really wanted . . . is each other? ~amazon.com  


Review: All I Want Is You is a fun, romantic comedy with a mystery entwined. It was just what I needed after reading a few books that were a bit more on the heavy subject matter side of my reading. I love that Ms. Bodine chooses Chicago as the setting for some of her novels. I love it when I can picture the places I'm reading as clear as day since I know the city pretty well. Now, Ms. Bodine knows the social scene of the elite more than I ever will but that's what makes it that much more fun to read. I have to wonder if some of her characters are based on people she's met at functions.  Here we are introduced to the tenacious Venus Smith, owner of the vintage store, Pandora's Box and Connor O'Flynn, heir to the Clayworth Department Store and their mutual dislike of each other. For two people who dislike each other they sure do think of each other all the time.

I liked that Venus was so tenacious in her beliefs that her father was wronged and that she could find the real culprit of the stolen mermaid brooch. I love that she won't stop until she figures out both problems. I also love that Ms. Bodine has written her as a woman with curves. I mean really how many of us real life women look like a board with big breasts? Yeah, not many.

It's not like Venus and Connor getting together is going to be any big secret as you start the book but it's satisfying how the tension builds, then is resolved, builds again and then resolved with finality. The tension between these two is thick with want and desire which neither of them know how to deal with. Connor has always closed off his emotions and Venus has always worn hers on her sleeve, so who will have the best poker face?

I liked the secondary characters in the book as well. They were well rounded and helped move the plot line along.  The mystery of the novel wasn't complex but it was interesting and served the purpose of bring the protagonists together.

This is the 2nd novel that has featured the Smith sister's and the Clayworth family. The first one was A Black Tie Affair which I read and enjoyed as well. I'm hoping that Ms. Bodine does another book that features the last Smith sister, Diana. I find her to be intriguing and a bit more mysterious than Athena and Venus.

Final Take: 3.75/5



Thanks to Dana Kaye at Kaye Publicity for a copy of the book.



 

Julie's Review: A Black Tie Affair

Summary: Fashion curator Athena Smith will do anything to get her perfectly manicured hands on the Clayworth family's celebrated couture collection for her exhibit. So when she's called in to make sure the gowns are the real deal, she's ecstatic...until a dress she's examining turns out to be loaded with toxins (talk about killer threads!) and Athena faints, only to wake up face-to-face with the One That Got Away, notorious Chicago bachelor Drew Clayworth. Drew still believes Athena betrayed him all those years ago, and he's sure he can't trust her. But when the priceless gowns go missing, she offers to help track them down. Reluctantly allied in the quest, Drew and Athena are soon stunned by the barely restrained passion still sizzling between them...and memories both bitter and sweet. Is their new partnership just a business arrangement? Or is this something more than...~amazon.com

Review: 2 words - Bodice Ripper. Not that those don't hold a place in my heart because in my teens and early 20s I read my fair share of Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel and even Ivanka Trump, but I find I like these types of books in small doses. A Black Tie Affair is a bit more than just a romance, it does have the air of mystery to it as well. Plus well I really read it because it's set in Chicago. Having lived here my entire life, I love going into the city. It's quite obvious that Clayworth's and Company is the iconic Marshall Field's and Company.

We meet Athena and her sisters, Venus and Diana who are the gems of the Chicago Society pages. We also meet Drew Clayworth and his cousin Connor, who are of course, Chicago's most eligible bachelor's. We find out very quickly that there is history of both the very recent kind and teenage years between Athena and Drew. As soon as the author described Drew as "Paul Newman from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", she had me hook, line and sinker.

It's not like we don't know that Athena and Drew are going to end up together right? It's the journey they take us on to get there. I have to give Ms. Bodine credit, she saved the clothes ripping towards the end of the book.

I'm not into clothing so I didn't get all the vintage references, except to mean that they were expensive. Although they did sound exquisite when described. You can tell that Ms. Bodine did her research on the subject and/or is a big fan of vintage couture.

Besides, where the vintage dresses disappeared to, the biggest mystery is why Athena's father, up and retired from Clayworth's and Company. Did he embezzle money, lose the company millions? We never really find out and I was a bit disappointed in that. I think it would have been great to have that resolved.

This is a perfect book to curl up with when feeling a bit low or in need of a quick, fun read. I highly recommend taking a nice bubble bath with it. Trust me, you'll finish it during that time.

I want to thank Dana at Kaye Publicity (website) for sending me a copy of the book to read and review. It was a nice change of pace from my typical reading.


Final Take: 3.5/5