Mary Ann Rivers - Laugh

Dr. Sam Burnside is convinced that volunteering at an urban green-space farm in Lakefield, Ohio, is a waste of time—especially with his new health clinic about to open. He only goes to mollify his partner, suspecting she wants him to lighten up. Then Sam catches sight of Nina Paz, a woman who gives off more heat than a scorcher in July. Her easy smile and flirty, sizzling wit has him forgetting his infamous need for control.
 Widowed when her husband was killed in Afghanistan, Nina has learned that life exists to take chances. As the daughter of migrant workers turned organic farmers, she’s built an exciting and successful business by valuing new opportunities and working hard to take care of her own. But when Sam pushes for a relationship that goes beyond their hotter-than-fire escapades, Nina ignores her own hard-won wisdom. She isn’t ready for a man who needs saving—even if her heart compels her to take the greatest risk of all: love.

Comment: This is the second installment in the Burnside series by author Mary Ann Rivers. I was a bit disappointed in how the first book was executed so I had lower expectations about this one. But honestly, because I had the trouble of getting it, I decided to read it anyway, if only to just get it out of the way.

 

In this second story we have Sam as a protagonist, he's the older of the four brothers, a doctor who recently joined forces with the family's friend Lacey to open up a clinic.

Sam is considered a controlling, always serious man so he decides to try volunteering at a farm that will have a partnership with the clinic just to show those around him he has what it takes to be social and carefree. There he meets Nina Paz, the owner of Paz Farms and a woman he feels very attracted to. Nina is equally attracted but life isn't just about ourselves so both of them have a lot to deal with except the growing feelings between them...

 

I'll start by saying I found this book much more appealing and interesting than the first one. Not only did I like the man characters more, but I also think the author eased up on the writing style, which made this easier to read.

My biggest issue with the first book was how uninteresting the writing was because despite being very beautiful and precise it didn't captive me to be interested in knowing more and each chapter was a challenge to overcome. In this second story, I felt things were running smoother, better. I still think she took too many words and sentences to present something that less complication would have turned into something wonderful. I know, it's her style and prerogative as the author to do things the way she wants and feels it's her, but at this end, for me personally, the writing style is a little bit too complex for the needs of the story and the tone she gives them.

I mean, this isn't classic fiction, it's obvious the intent is write romances, but the writing just isn't appealing to me. I know other love it, but it's the way it is.

 

The plot is interesting, I liked knowing about farms and clinics, but there's a lot of technical talk which adds veracity to the story but at times it gets too wordy for me, I mean, it's nice to know all those things but does it really matter to the flow or the goal of the story?

Towards the end, stuff happens and I didn't see it coming. It was a smart way to solve things, I assume also to prepare future stories? But sincerely, I didn't really care, I just wanted to know how that would affect the romance.

 

The human studies one can make in the author's books are certainly unique. But that writing removes any fun out of finding out more, I think. Anyway, the romance features Sam and Nina, people with different backgrounds and experiences. I liked seeing them fall in love but there is something clinical about their relationship despite the efforts to not make it so. I wanted a bit more romantic elements, more towards a romance than a fictional tale that has a romance in it, because it was what it felt like. I'm glad they ended up happy but the path to it wasn't as special as that, it wasn't a fantasy happening like in other romances and it was the subtlety of a fiction story. I can't explain it well.

 

There other issues happening in the story, concerning other characters and that was interesting, probably to be important to following stories one day. The secondary characters offer good elements to support the action, as they should, but for the most part everything gets complicated with the author's constant explanations about what everyone is feeling and the two protagonists inner thoughts. I think it's actually real how they think, because most people in RL think complex in their heads but to read about it it's not as fun. Or maybe I'm not smart or intellectual enough.

 

All in all, this was better, I think it run smoother and more fluid, I liked Sam better than Destiny from the first book but there's still some difficulty in processing what should be simpler.

Nevertheless, a better effort in my opinion, especially with a good happy ending as that.

Grade: 6/10

Mary Ann Rivers - Live

If there’s an upside to unemployment, Destiny Burnside may have found it. Job searching at her local library in Lakefield, Ohio, gives her plenty of time to ogle the hottest man she has ever laid eyes on: the sexy wood-carver who’s restoring the building. But as the rejection letters pile up, Destiny finds an unexpected shoulder to cry on. With his rich Welsh accent, Hefin Thomas stirs Destiny so completely that, even though he’s leaving soon, she lets herself believe the memory of his scorching kisses will be enough.
Hefin can’t help but notice the slender, confident woman with ginger hair who returns each day, so hopeful and determined. So when the tears start to fall, his silence—penance for a failed marriage—finally cracks. Once he’s touched her, what Hefin wants is to take her back to Wales and hold her forever. But Destiny’s roots run too deep. What they both need is each other—to learn how to live and love again.

Comment: I've had my eye on this book since last year. Probably not long after it was published but I only managed to get it this year and I've build up some expectations about it, so I was very eager to start it this month and then I finally did it and.... like a balloon, I deflated.

 

This is the story of Destiny Burnside, a young woman who we meet in the library looking for a job and sending emails and in a unemployment position I wish she could get out of. Destiny's days in the library have a positive aspect, she can look at one of the woodcarvers who's working in a project in the building and he's quite attractive, if some years older than she is. One day, on top of all the stuff in her sibling's lives that worries her, Destiny finds another rejection email and everything is too much for her, she cries.

Hefin Thomas has had his eye on the redhead that comes to the library all the time, who has a routine and seems always friendly and composed. Then one day he sees her cry and can't help himself, he talks to her and tries to help.

This is how their relationship started but with all the personal baggage, all the things in their lives now and the prospect of a separation, can these two find a happy ending?

 

A book featuring an unemployed woman, who had people to take care of, who would present a friendly façade but actually is feeling worried and desperate feels like something I definitely would like considering this is a description of my life right now. I was more than eager to read a story about overcoming obstacles and finding love. And I totally believed this was what I would get with this book and, in fact, it started to be so. But then the author decided to focus on things I really think just ruined everything.

 

This is labeled as a contemporary romance and it is, but I think the author inserted more fiction vibes than romance. Yes, the book has a couple falling in love and having sex, but there's an almost technical, clinical side to the how of their relationship that it got all the fun out of it for me. To summarize, the story seemed something we could appreciate, but the author complicated everything in order to give a more fancy and elaborated written work. I suppose this is the author's style, the way she felt she had to write, the way she likes to write. But what could be a sweet and engaging turns out to be a study in behavior, expectations and how to think about things, it was like there's a technical side to present a story and this is it. I think we are supposed to think about this as wonderfully written fictional piece of written art but I just think it was exaggerated and made me want to finish as quickly as possible and stay away from it.

 

Destiny is unemployed so I thought the author would focus on that and how she would feel falling in love and so on and how things would change for her, but this was put aside right away, Destiny somehow has a new job and a love life (even her thinking about it is almost philosophical) but her family has some trouble and the man she is falling for will be gone.

All this are good ideas but the author didn't convince me with the way she executed the plot. Lots of confusing things, the secondary characters had some interesting details but I wasn't very invested in them to care.

Hefin is an intriguing character but he lost his power to me when seemed to almost get a secondary role in detriment to Destiny. I can't explain but he wasn't the fact he kept saying he would leave, that he had to (even if understandable) made his presence pointless and hurtful for both. I didn't find any interest in seeing them together after a while. There's a HEA, very fantasy-like, in a way fine at least there's some good thing out of this, but in a way it was too unlikely to feel true and didn't really match the "tone" of the plot.

 

I wasn't sold on this one. I'm not sure I want to read the next one (I really had my hopes up!) but only to get it out of the way...

I think the author has here a fiction story with too many useless sex scenes but labeled this contemporary so offered a HEA where it maybe shouldn't because the story is meant to make the characters feel and analyze things, not exactly develop a romance story.

The writing style and intent behind the way this is written really isn't for me. There are some interesting elements, the initial scenes are good and fascinating, promising, but then it just becomes a study on behavior and it turned out boring for me. I feel disappointed, yes.

Grade: 5/10