Recent Reads {The Touch of Sage}

The Touch of Sage by Marcia Lynn McClure - This was a predictable but engaging love story, and a bit of a tear-jerker at times. The supporting cast of characters - an eclectic foursome of widows at a boarding house run by the main character Sage - made the story lively and fun. The main characters Sage and her love interest Rebel were interesting too. Sage has looked after her younger sisters since the death of their parents and it seems as if her chance for happiness may have passed by. She's lonely and starting to wonder if she'll stay that way, when the nephew of one of the widows comes to town to work the widow's cattle ranch. The widows come up with some crazy matchmaking schemes to push Sage and Rebel together, but it seemed to me they didn't need a lot of help noticing each other. The final matchmaking scheme was completely harebrained and unbelievable, but at least it was humorous. Sage is gullible and doubts herself, and Rebel is courageous in the face of danger but a coward when it comes to facing Sage after he saves her life. There wouldn't be much to the story if there weren't some obstacles to the happy ever after part, so there are misunderstandings and fears that keep the two from a happy relationship too early. And then just as it seems everything will work out, Rebel's ex-fiancee shows up with some lies and deceit that muddy the waters even further. Some of the characters, such as ex-fiancee Ivy and the preacher and his wife were really not believable. The other thing that bothered me was the spelled-out dialect which I felt was overdone and distracting. It was also inconsistent, such as a character saying "you" and "ya" in the same speech. The author seemed fond of the non-word "caressive", which was  used at least four times, and constantly used "might" instead of "mite" such as in: "I'm a might tired." All in all, this was a fluffy and over-dramatic western-themed romance but still had moments that were entertaining and tugged at the heartstrings.

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Recent Reads {Pride's Prejudice}

Pride's Prejudice by Misty Dawn Pulsipher - I'm not entirely sure, but I think this modern day take on Pride & Prejudice is intended to be young adult fiction. In any case, it was surprisingly enjoyable! I definitely appreciated that it was a modern romance that stayed clean and that the characters had high moral standards. Yet it wasn't "preachy" as if it was attempting to force some moral point on the reader.

Beth Pride is a college student who meets young businessman William Darcy at a charity fundraiser dance when neither of them are having a very good day. Just as in Austen's original, each of them form some first impressions that aren't accurate and lead to continued misunderstandings and prejudice. Beth feels that William insulted and humiliated her, and she is unwilling to forgive and forget, or to accept that he may be a much nicer guy than she's given him credit for. As it turns out, Beth's roommate and best friend is soon in a relationship with William's best friend, so the two find themselves in each other's company frequently. Beth struggles to set aside her prejudicial attitude about William as he tries to get her attention and win her affections. Although the main character motivations were rather unclear at times and I noticed some minor plot holes, on the whole this was a cute and clean love story with characters that were modern yet had the noble and honorable character traits of Austen's Darcy and Elizabeth.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/