The Door to Forever (The Land of Magic: Book 2) by Shirley Martin

On 2017-04-032019-01-03 By JolieIn book review, Books We Love Ltd, Non ARC1 Comment

Title: The Door To Forever

Author: Shirley Martin

Publisher: Books We Love Ltd

Date of publication: November 9th, 2016

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Number of pages: 218

POV: 3rd person

Series: The Land of Magic

The Door To Forever – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

As a teenager, Kaylee suffered an attempted sexual assault. Now a woman, she remains fearful of men. She vows she’ll avoid the opposite sex.

When her dreams take her to an alternate world, a land of peace and harmony, she wishes she could stay in this world. There, a psychic with a crystal ball tells her she will find love, for he sees a man reaching out to her. He tells her she must learn to trust men.

Kaylee has no idea who this man is, and she knows she can never put her faith in a man. The memory from her teenage years is too painful.

Then she meets Logan. Will he be the man to change her mind? World-weary and cynical, Logan declares a respite from women. When he meets Kaylee, he knows she is a woman like no other. His head tells him to stay away from her, but his heart refuses to listen.

My review:

I really didn’t know what to expect when I started reading The Door To Forever. I honestly, don’t think that the blurb does this book justice at all. There is more meat to the story than what is described. This is one instance that I would say, don’t go by what the synopsis says….read the book.

Kaylee did have some major issues at the beginning of the book. She was deeply scarred from an attempted rape at 13 and then another attempted sexual assault when she was in college. After those experiences, she didn’t trust men. Which I don’t blame her. But then she starts dreaming of a land that she can only get through by opening a door in a dark, dismal forest. The land is called Vestoria and it is the home of elves. On her first journey there, she meets an elf called Nemek. After a few visits, she tells Nemek about her tragic past and he is appalled that men are allowed to treat women that way in her society and not be punished. It was at this point that I put the book down and applauded the author for putting this in because it is the truth. Sexual assault and attempted sexual assault are not like other crimes and only a small handful go to trial.

Vestoria is a land of peace and tranquility. Just reading about it made me wish that Vestoria was real. Violence towards women (or anyone really) was not tolerated and was swiftly dealt with. But it was a backward society. Women were expected to stay at home until they found their lifemate (ie got married). But it called to Kaylee (like me). After a few visits, she was granted visitation with the king and he told her that she needs to heal. To learn to trust men again and to find love.

I think Logan was the right person for her. He was the 1/2 owner of the restaurant she worked at and he taught English at the local university. He also came from money but he didn’t rely on his parents to pay his way in life. He was attracted to Kaylee but he didn’t want to go too fast because he sensed that she had been hurt in the past. He was the one to find out who was behind all of Kaylee’s mishaps at work and he was the one who stuck up for her when his friend wanted to fire her. Which he should have. I mean she didn’t come into work for a few days.

The romance between Kaylee and Logan was very sweet. To be honest, I was surprised when certain events happened because, honestly, I didn’t think it was going to happen. I really thought that Kaylee was going to end up with Nemek or someone from Vestoria.

The bad guys in the book, Gitta and Drummond, kinda annoyed me. Drummond seemed like he was a tool and Gitta, well she was power-hungry and didn’t double-check to see if the people she killed were really dead. Because she was surprised when she met up with her arch nemesis, Zurina, a witch from the first book. I was also a tad disappointed at how easily Gitta was defeated. But, Drummond escaped and I know he will make an appearance in the next book.

I liked the ending and loved how everyone was so happy. Normally I am a poop and I don’t like super happy endings but I loved this one!!

How many stars will I give The Door to Forever: 4

Why: I really liked this book. This is one of those books that you could read at the pool or a beach. The plot wasn’t too involved and the characters likable. While rape and attempted rape are mentioned, it wasn’t thrown in your face the entire book. It was part of who Kaylee was and the author didn’t dwell on it.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Some violence and both of Kaylee’s attempted sexual assaults were kinda graphic. There is one sex scene, at the end of the book, but it isn’t very detailed.

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**

Homeward Bound by Kat Attalla

On 2014-01-202022-11-07 By JolieIn book review, Books We Love Ltd, Non ARCLeave a comment

3 Stars

Publisher: Books We Love LTD

Date of publication: June 18th, 2012

Genre: Romance

Where you can find Homeward Bound: Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

On stage, she is Leather, a Rock’n’Roll fantasy. Her music dominates the charts, while the “Queen of Flash” struts across the concert stages. She is a tease, a shameless flirt–and a glittering illusion. Kate Costello has had enough of the music scene. She takes off for New Mexico in search of the anonymity she’d bargained away for fame.

Jake Callahan is a single father. A decade ago his wife left the farm, leaving him to raise his daughter. He spent his savings bailing out his wild twin brother and is now facing cash-flow problems. Renting out the empty house on his property seems like an ideal solution until he sees the woman who answers the advertisement. Jake doesn’t want the reclusive millionaire renting the house on his farm. But he has a teenager to deal with and bills to pay.

And now–a sexy tenant he can’t seem to ignore.

Sparks fly between the cowboy and the rocker who believe they have nothing in common except a menagerie of good-hearted matchmakers determined to prove they’ll make beautiful music together.

Why do the books I have been reading have the main male character being an asswipe? And why are the women OK with the men acting like they are 3?

That is what I don’t like about this book. Jake is an idiot and acts like one in almost every scene in the book. From his first meeting with Kate to the big reveal, he acted like an idiot. The only scene I didn’t blame him for being a jerk was when Kate took Chloe out of school without telling him. As a parent, I can 110% understand what that would feel like.

I did feel bad for Kate. I do agree that she shouldn’t have held back who she was. But with how he reacted, I can understand why she hid who she was. She should have been straightforward with Jake from the beginning. Of course, she didn’t know that she would end up banging her landlord either.

With those faults aside, it was a good read. Enough sex keeps your attention, and enough drama to keep the pages turning. I recommend this book as a pool/beach/lazy day read.

This is going on my “maybe read again” shelf for the reasons listed above. I love the author, but the hero in this book rubbed me the wrong way and colored my view of this book.

Codename: Romeo by Kat Attalla

On 2014-01-122022-11-07 By JolieIn book review, Books We Love Ltd, Non ARCLeave a comment

Publisher: Books We Love Ltd

Date of publication: May 22nd, 2012

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Suspense

Where you can find Codename:Romeo: Amazon

Goodreads synopsis:

“Victoria Jansen, card-carrying MENSA member, can write a book about Quantum Physics—but get her around a handsome man and Charlie Chaplin looks graceful compared to her. She’s determined to break out of her shell, though, and she’s going to start with the sexy plumber in her basement.

Erik Sanders doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that Victoria is trouble. The physicist has the mind of a computer and the body of a centerfold model—too bad she’s also the prime suspect in his industrial espionage case. Working undercover as a plumber will get him the evidence he needs to close this case.

Once he realizes his prime suspect is an innocent pawn, he must protect her until the real criminals are brought to justice. And as her bodyguard, Erik finds himself guarding her body more closely than he should. Suddenly scientific principals like chemistry and forces of nature are taking on a whole new meaning.”

This was a cute romance. It got bonus points for being held in my home state of MA.

When Erik was staking out Tori at Logan Airport from the beginning, my attention was caught. The chemistry between Erik and Tori was hot, hot, hot!!!

The ending seemed to be a little rushed. I liked that the author didn’t have Tori and Erik get married or knocked up. To be honest, I was expecting it, with all the sex they were having.

This will go on my “read again shelf.”

If you enjoyed Codename: Romeo, then you will enjoy these books.