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Miranda O

Miranda O

has 150 followers and is following 110 people

I like cozy, funny mysteries like Donna Andrews and paranormal, cozy, funny mysteries like Shirley Damsgaard. I enjoy all kinds of romance - paranormal, historical, funny, contemporary - just nothing too depressing. I love magical realism like just about anything by Gunter Grass and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I enjoy good shoujo manga like Boys... more »
  • NY, USA
  • member since March 11, 2008

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 202 reviews
  • Love Is Blind
    • Rated 5 stars

    “This is my first and only historical by this author that I've read. I loved it. The heroine, Clarissa, needs to wear glasses....however due to various accidents & her stepmothers admonitions against wearing around prospective suitors, she frequently goes about without wearing them. Adrian, the hero, has a scar on the side of his face gotten while being a soldier. He believes that women either think he's hideous or else want the thrill of being with a deformed freak. In reality his scar has settled over time and only makes him look dashing. The two meet and it's instant chemistry. I loved that there was really no conflict between the couple. The main conflict involved somebody trying to do Clarissa harm and the mystery surrounding that. The source of conflict was the internal one had by both hero & heroine - Clarissa was reluctant to have Adrian see her wearing glasses for fear it would be a turn-off & Adrian worried that if she had the glasses on she would see his scar and freak out. In spite of these internal conflicts, I was happy that neither party acted out in a negative way toward each other.”

    Miranda O wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Blame It on Bath
    • Rated 4 stars

    “This is book 3 in this series but only the 2nd book I've read by this author.

    This is the basic story arc - The old Duke of Durham died. Somebody was trying to blackmail/upset the family by stating that they know the details of the Duke's 1st (and never terminated) marriage when he was younger. If proof was revealed, his 2nd marriage would be proven bigamous thereby making his three children bastards and losing their inheritance. The three children are Charlie (oldest), Edward, and Gerard (youngest). This book is about Gerard, the youngest and soldier of the family. His plan was to try and search out the blackmailer. Even if they solidified their claim on their inheritance, he would still only be a third son so his other current purpose is to find a rich wife. He is not totally mercenary. He wants to find somebody who he can talk to and have a satisfying marriage with as well as get a fortune in the bargain. Katherine Howe is a widow with a large bank account. However, she is getting pressure to marry her late husband's heir (somebody she finds thoroughly disagreeable for many reasons) but also......she had a tendre for Gerard when they were younger, even though he doesn't remember her.

    I like this book for a few reasons. I like the characters. I like the women Linden creates. Usually they are not total knockouts, but neither are they hags - they are real. Which means a heroine who might be considered "plain" but who has beautiful blue eyes, or a fantastic smile, or any number of things that make them stand out. The interactions between the hero & heroine were interesting & good (you got things from both point of views). Enough sizzle balanced with enough good story. Although I personally would have liked it if a piano would have dropped on Katherine's mother.
    ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Wednesday, April 18, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • Buried in Buttercream
    • Rated 5 stars

    “It can be difficult nowadays to find an author w/ consistently good stories. At some point a series starts to lose steam & you start to lose interest. NOT SO with this mystery series. I have read all the previous books in this series and this one is just as enjoyable as the others before it. If anything, it's made slightly more enjoyable after having read the others in the series and getting to know the characters. This is such a great series for anybody who likes cozies, strong female characters, good supporting secondary characters, and little bit of funny and a little dash of romance in their mystery.

    The victim in this story is a wedding planner extraordinaire. There are many possible suspects because the victim did not have a huge fan club. I enjoyed the travel to different locales to hunt down clues and pry info out of people. The teamwork involved & relationships between all the detective agency members always makes me smile.

    Satisfying ending for longtime fans of the series. Can't wait until the next book comes out! :) ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Wednesday, March 28, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • Unspoken
    • Rated 4 stars

    “I got a copy of this book as an advanced reader copy through Net Galley. I don’t usually read Young Adult novels. I don’t for a few reasons – I’m not a young adult, but I also find that authors sometimes try too hard to make the characters “typical” teenagers and they come out sounding like stereotypes. That is not the case with this book. The teenage characters are interesting, quirky, non-stereotypical characters.

    The main character in this book is 17yr old Kami Glass. She lives with her father, mother and two younger brothers Ten & Tom. I enjoyed the author’s exploration of the Glass family. Her brothers are a trip. I loved how three-dimensional all the characters were. I enjoyed reading the parts where Kami & her friends were playing detective and hunting down clues. She and her friends are working for the school newspaper and looking into the strange goings-on around town.
    Since Kami can remember she’s had a voice in her head sharing her thoughts, her “imaginary friend” Jared. Eventually Jared & Kami meet – surprising each other by turning out to both be real people and not just the “imaginary friends” they had thought. The “how” and “why” of their special relationship is revealed near the end of the book. I love how the author has Kami & Jared deal with their relationship – it seemed very real and not forced to me. There are some very funny parts in the book, even though the tone of the story gets a little heavier and intense as the end nears. I loved Kami’s best friend Angela – very beautiful, not a people-person, and perpetually lazy like her older brother Rusty. One of my favorite lines from the book is: “Oh my God, Jared. Don't tough-talk the lambs.” I still smile when I read that.

    I was frustrated that the book ended on a cliffhanger. This book captured my interest from the moment I started it and I read it straight through until the end. I cannot wait until the second book comes out so I can see what happens next. I’m dying to know.
    ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Wednesday, March 21, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • A Werewolf at the Falls
    • Rated 5 stars

    “I took a chance on this book. The setting is not too far from my neck of the woods & I'm in a werewold kind of mood. It's a short story - def not the size of a full length book. A lot of negative reviews complained about the size for the price. It cost about $4 for my Kindle. Yeah, for the size it could have been a tad cheaper, but the quality was there. I was happy w/ my purchase. It was exactly what I expected & wanted - low on conflict, nice brain candy werewolf fluff. I do think that this series could work if the author ever decided to make the series w/ full length size stories, but whatevah. :) I will check out others by this author & others in this series.”

    Miranda O wrote this review Friday, March 16, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing
    • Rated 5 stars

    “This is not the first wolf book I've read by Terry Spear. I love the books in this series for a few reasons: I love werewolf books, the world is very layered & well-created, you like & care about the characters, the chemistry between the hero & heroine is fab, & the story keeps you guesing & interested. Normally I don't care for a lot of action in my romances, but the romance balances out the action.

    Finn (the hero) is a Navy SEAL & a werewolf. He is part of Meara (the heroine)'s brother's SEAL group. Sparks fly between the two right from the beginning. But other than some serious teasing, there is no nastiness in their verbal sparring, which I appreciated. It was fun guessing throughout the story who the evil mastermind was. Some new interesting characters were introduced: Bjornolf (deep undercover good guy operative), Anna (part of Finn's SEAL team), & Paul. Rourke (a character from a previous book) was re-introduced and his character was made more interesting throughout the story - making the reader hoping that the author will give him a book of his own in the future. Great book & series! ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Thursday, March 15, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • Nick of Time
    • Rated 4 stars

    “I decided to read this for two reasons. First, I had a really good first experience w/ this author and was looking to try other things by her. Secondly, the description made me think of MacKenzie's Magic by Debra Dier - and I loved that story. This time travel/body swapping went a little differently than the Dier story. In that story the reader kind of had to guess if it was a genuine "body swap" & by the end it appeared that it was a permanent change. Also, the non-hero male swapper wasn't a hard core villain. He was just your typical wealthy, rake full of his own importance. The baddie in this book was a wife-beater/giggolo/potential murderer. So in the Dier book the tension/conflict was all about the hero & heroine's relationship & trust issues. There was a little bit of that her, but there was more of a sense of urgency here - because the heroine would be in mortal danger if left with the man who was really her husband.

    The heroine is based in England, 1810 & the hero travels through time and body swaps her husband. he comes from the year 1997. Story kept my interest and there was a satisfying ending/epilogue but the Dier story is still my fav. :)
    ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Wednesday, March 14, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Wary Widow
    • Rated 3 stars

    “I would have rated this one higher, but...... about halfway through the book I got more interested in the secondary character's potential romance.

    Here's the plot: Andrew is engaged to Elizabeth. Chloe is Elizabeth's widowed cousin & chaperone. Andrew thinks Elizabeth is "ok" but he falls for Elizabeth in a big way. Chloe falls for Andrew too, but doesn't want to betray her dead husband's memory or her relationship w/ her cousin. *Trust me, the mood of the book is not as heavy as the description would imply* Anyway.... Andrew's twin brother Michael really likes Elizabeth. There are some twin switching places hijinx. The way things shake out at the end makes me ravenous for the next book which is Michael & Elizabeth's.

    One thing I liked about this story - some books would have had the "Elizabeth" character really one dimensional & shallow thereby making the hero & heroine seem less in the wrong for getting together while the hero is engaged to somebody else. Elizabeth is sympathetic - she is beautiful & intelligent, but caring toward her cousin and other family. She emotionally strays from her fiance but only because he is all cold & aloof, never showing any interest in her. ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Monday, March 5, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • A Ghost of a Chance
    • Rated 5 stars

    “This was an oldie (1996) but a def goodie. This is a good series for anybody who loves romances with ghosts. But be forewarned - there are many authors who contributed books to this series so it's possible that not all of them are of the same caliber. This book had both a real ghost and a fake ghost. The actual ghost was the one working for the greater good and higher purpose - she is also the heroine's mother.

    This is the setting w/ the opening prologue - it is the wedding of Daphne Harkwell to Iain Ashingford, Marquess Lindley. Daphne has had a tendre for Iain for years. Daphne's mother is a very strong personality - think Lillian Bowman from the "Wallflower" series by Lisa Kleypas. There was a bad history between Daphne's family and Iain's family. Daphne's family acquired Ash Park which originally belonged to Iain's family. Daphne's mother - Isadora - didn't believe in the whole marriage mart, "season" idea much to the frustration of Daphne & her father. Daphne's father was able to work out a settlement w/ Iain. Daphne was naive and was somehow unaware of how bad the blood was between their families, and also of how her family acquired Ash Park. I liked Daphne but I did find this a teeny bit hard to believe - especially having the very vocal mother that she did. Anyway..... the morning of the wedding, after the ceremony, Isadora calls Iain aside to have a heated word w/ him. She basically says that "nah nah nah, you'll never really have Ash Park because it's entailed through the female line. So Daphne could get an annullment and you'd never get your hands on it." Iain feels duped. He made a vow to his dying father that he would get the property back in the family. I assure you that Iain has more depth than is immediately apparent. He storms off, Daphne is devastated, and Isadora drops dead.

    The whole story involves Iain falling for his wife, her falling even more so for him, naughty & nice ghost hijinx, plenty of romance, and good storytelling. ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Saturday, February 18, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • Constant in Love

    Constant in Love

    by Elayne S. Venton
    • Rated 0 stars

    “I bought this for 2 reasons - it worked for the February challenge in my Historical group & the description looked interesting. It is an Ellora's Cave book so I expected it to not skimp on the sex but I've been reading quite a few EC books lately w/ good characters & good stories. This was not one of those types.

    This is the basic story: the story opens w/ the heroine abandoned by her fiancee in their journey to Gretna Green - she's deflowered and broke (yep, he stole her money too). It's in this sorry state that she runs into her longtime childhood friend Philip & his buddy. She thinks he has come to rescue her - oh happy day! He has been loopy over her for years but she always gave him the brush off. That - to me - sounds like a good premise for a story, however...... right after the loser fiancee bolts, she and Philip barely exchange "hellos" and then they rush up stairs to knock boots. I find this just a little too "ew" and "Jersey Shore" for my tastes. I could deal with it if they meet up, and she maybe goes off w/ him and later on down the road she falls for him and they work something out...... but two minutes ago she was "in love" w/ her fiancee and they were bangin' so I just can't see any depth of character for a chick who would do that. Secondly, I can't see any guy - except for maybe one of Anne Stuart's heroes - having sex w/ a chick they were seriously interested in who just got done having sex w/ somebody else. Major turn-off. This was a porno/farce.
    ”

    Miranda O wrote this review Monday, February 13, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
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Displaying 1-10 of 202 reviews

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