Sizzle & Swoon: Our Favorite Tropes

We've concluded our contemporary portion of Sizzle & Swoon, and we're back with a general post before we kick off into more reviews & fun! Head over to Alexa's for more Sizzle & Swoon fun. Here at The Book Barbies, all three of us are sharing our:

Favorite Tropes

(Remember that (+A) (+S) (+R) means that (+Alexa), (+Sharon), or (+Racquel) agrees with that pick!)

 

ALEXA'S PICKS

1) Wallflower gets noticed by a noble man (+R) - I'm a wallflower myself, so I always feel like they're living MY story when I read these. I like to think that personality trumps looks in the end.
Favorite: Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

2) "Rescue the fair maiden/dear prince" - I'm a sucker for these stories because they remind me of fairytales. It's always fun when the prince saves the day. However, sometimes, it's the other way around too.
Favorite: An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

3) Siblings in linked stories in a series (+R) - I just love being able to read more about my favorite families or characters. Best series examples? The Bridgertons. The Clayborne Brides. Cheseapeake Bay. And of course, The Travises.

RACQUEL'S PICKS
1) Arranged Marriage - yeah I went there! There is something I like about arranged marriages when the characters find love with the person they're already with!
Favorite: Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas & Confessions from An Arranged Marriage by Miranda Neville

2) Brother/sister of best friend (+A) (+S) - I like how the heroine and hero already know each other for sometime plus this kind of falls under forbidden which makes me love it more!
Favorite: Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

3)  Already Married/Marriage in trouble - I love this one because to me, it's real romance! Romance doesn't have to be just the falling on love phase, but the lifetime that follows too.
Favorite: Making it Last by Ruthie Knox & Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

SHARON'S PICKS

1) FORBIDDEN (+R) - Judge me all you want, but I freaking LOVE the forbidden aspect of relationships. Whether it's because it's a friend's ex, the heroine is his ward, he's a special agent in charge of her, WHATEVER. If it's forbidden, I'll probably love it more.
A Favorite: The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans

2) I-really-really-really-don't-want-to-want/love-you-but-I-can't-help-it-dang-it-dang-you-*insert-kissage-here* (+R) - It's hot. What can I say? I love the inner turmoil, the massive amounts of tension, and the passion that comes along with the inevitable caving.
A Favorite: Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry

3) We're Just Friends (But Secretly, I've Loved You for Years) (+A) - I love a good friends-to-lovers story. I love it when the characters know each other for real, without the pressure of dating, and fall in love. The I-love-you scenes in these tend to be the most emotional, and I'm all about the emotional reads.
A Favorite: Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

Do you agree with any of the tropes listed here? Do you have any favorite tropes or plot devices that we didn't list? Let us know!

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|Review| Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

More Sizzle & Swoon! Head over to Alexa's to see our favorite heroes while I kick off the Travis family galore. All three of us love The Travis Family series beyond comprehensible words and we decided Sizzle & Swoon is the perfect opportunity to share that love by reviewing this series. Since there are three books and three of us, this works out perfectly! I'm reviewing Sugar Daddy, the first book in the series and while I love this book and it's in my top ten all time favorite books, it comes in third place in my favorites from the Travis Family series which is why I'm reviewing it. I really don't have words to articulate my love for Blue-Eyed Devil and Smooth Talking Stranger.

Title: Sugar Daddy

Author: Lisa Kleypas

Series: Travis Family #1

Published March 1st 2007 by St. Martin's Press

Genre: women's fiction, contemporary romance
Rating: A

Goodreads summary: 

SHE'S FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS
Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas---if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty Jones is a complication he doesn't need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them.

HE'S THE ONE MAN SHE CAN'T HAVE
When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty finds herself under the spell of a billionaire tycoon---a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family's past.

WILL THEY FIND THEIR HEARTS' DESIRES OR WILL HEARTBREAK TEAR THEM APART?
Two men. One woman. A choice that can make her or break her. A woman you'll root for every step of the way. A love story you'll never forget.

Sugar Daddy is about Liberty Jones and it begins when she's "fourteen and three quarters" and had just moved to a new town. 

"Welcome is where I lost everything, and gained everything."

Which is pretty accurate. This set up means Sugar Daddy is half women's fiction, half contemporary romance which is important to mention because I don't want anyone to be surprised. The book spans 10 years of Liberty's life, and covers first kiss, first love and a lot of really important things that shape up Liberty and the outcome of her life but I won't mention any of that for spoiler reasons.

When I read this book 3 years, I didn't quite read anything like it and today, after about 7 rereads of Sugar Daddy and reading a whole bunch of other romance books, I can still say I haven't read anything like it and that's not a negative thing. Lisa Kleypas manages to balance Liberty's journey and the romance (the primary, HEA romance comes in the second half) really well so this book doesn't just fall into women's fiction section and calling it contemporary romance wouldn't be inaccurate. I didn't appreciate this so much when I first read it because I was shocked and surprised but here we are 3 years later, and I'm constantly rereading this book and falling more and more in love with it. The narrative of this story is just really wonderful, and it's told from first person POV unlike most contemporary romance which is great because this story couldn't have been told any other way.

Because the book does span a long time, there was a lot of telling and not showing but Lisa Kleypas makes it work and I was never ever bored in all the times I've read this book. I've always reread it in mere hours. It's just really wonderful to meet Liberty at 14 years old and follow her through everything, whether its tragic, good or rough. It's so easy to root for this down to earth woman, who didn't quite have the best of it in her teen years but always made the best of everything.

The summary says "Two men. One woman." and while this is accurate, I never thought this book was a love triangle. It was always first love vs. finding a new love. Liberty needs to learn to move on from her first love and learn to adjust without him and Lisa Kleypas shows that transition really well.

The mix of this book being Liberty's journey, first person narritve and Lisa Kleypas's fab writing makes Sugar Daddy a great book to recommend to people who want to dabble in contemporary romance and while this book is NOT YA, I think it has crossover appeal because it does start with Liberty when she's 14 but I repeat, it's not YA!

As for all the secondary characters, they were all so very real. We're introduced to the Travis family and Churchill Travis, the father who also plays a role in Blue-Eyed Devil. We also have Gage Travis who's the oldest Travis son, a hot, hot man (he's taken though. My best friend claims him!) and the hero. He was so wonderful with his gray eyes and committmentphobia (ha!) and there is Hardy Cates (only my favorite character in the history of characters in the history of books in the history of the world in the history of the universe in the history of the galaxies. Just saying.) a hero and even antihero of Sugar Daddy. What I like about Lisa Kleypas's heroes, and we see this in Gage and the heroes of the rest of the Travis series, is that while they're 100% alpha, they're not assholes and I'm a frequent user of the term alpha-hole so that's saying something!

This is book and this series is one of my all time favorites. The writing is beautiful but that's no surprise, it was written by Lisa Kleypas who's my all time favorite author. It's so easy to love and root for Liberty and all the other characters were also complex. I loved following Liberty through the tough and good times in her life and I will love following for many more years because I'll never tire from rereading this book. I cannot recommend Sugar Daddy enough but I also cannot recommend the rest of the series enough. Blue-Eyed Devil is my all time favorite book EVER. Like EVER EVER EVER and Smooth Talking Stranger might be my second favorite book. So this series gets *even* better after Sugar Daddy because I think the next two books reach new levels of wonderful. I recommend reading the series in order because even though it's a companion series, there is character development that span Sugar Daddy and Blue-Eyed Devil and I don't want anyone to miss out on that! 

Rating: [A] A beautiful, well written masterpiece. 

First:

When I was four, my father died in an oil-rig accident.

Favorite:

"Because I'm an unrepentant sinner."
"So am I." It wasn't true, of course, but if this boy was an unrepentant sinner, I wanted to be one too.

Teaser:

"but he and Miss Marva had broken up a month earlier on suspicion of infidelity. She said he could come back when he figured out which shed to put his tools in.

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Sizzle & Swoon: Go-To Contemporary Authors

Our contemporary portion of Sizzle & Swoon continues! At Alexa's, she's reviewing a new adult  contemporary, and here at The Book Barbies, all three of us are sharing our:

Go-To Contemporary Authors 

(remember that the (+A) (+S) (+R) means that (+Alexa), (+Sharon) or (+Racquel) agree with that pick!)

 

ALEXA'S PICKS

1) Nicholas Sparks (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) - I know that his books do follow a formula for the most part. But he writes stories that almost always break my heart into itty bitty pieces.
Favorite book: The Wedding

2) Nora Roberts - This is particularly because of her Sea Swept series. Plus, she also writes contemporary books with magic in them too...
Favorite book: Sea Swept

3) Is it sad that I can't find a third? I don't read a lot of contemporary romances. I suppose I could say Jude Deveraux. Or does Danielle Steele count?

ALEXA. This is why we are here! We have RECS for you to fill your third spot ;D

RACQUEL'S PICKS
1) Ruthie Knox - I fell in love with Ruthie when her first two releases made me laugh so hard and I've been a fan ever since. Each release of hers has been getting better and better and I can't wait for even MORE from her!
Favorite books: How to Misbehave & Making it Last

2) Lisa Kleypas (+A) (+S) - My favorite author! I will read ANYTHING Lisa Kleypas writes. Whether it's historical romance, contemporary romance or magical realism or heck, non-fiction because I know I will love it. Her Travis series has the best three books I've ever read and her Friday Harbor series is SO fun. Lisa Kleypas, is simply, THE best.
Favorite book: Blue-Eyed Devil

3)  Julie James (+S) - Julie James writes extremely well-written smart, sexy, funny & sassy romances that are set in Chigaco and her love for the city just shines in her books. What makes her books though is her badass characters, not just the sexy heroes, but also the awesome, succesful & confident females. These ladies are my type of ladies. Badass for the win! Also, as a lawyer herself writing about lawyers, I love how everything in her book is sure and Julie James's knowledege is obvious.
(current) Favorite book: Love Irresistibly

SHARON'S PICKS
(There was some author overlap with the Favorite Contemporary Romances post, so I chose different books by each author that are just as good!)

1) Jill Shalvis  (+R) - I am so glad I found Jill Shalvis! Lucky Harbor is my favorite contemporary series. She writes some of the best heroes, and I adore her sense of humor.
Favorite book: Slow Heat

2) Kristan Higgins - Back when I first discovered Kristan Higgins, I went on a huge author binge, and I keep coming back for more! I love her ability to write very relatable and unique characters.
Favorite book:  Just One of the Guys

3) Sarah Mayberry - Sarah Mayberry is basically the queen of friends-to-lovers, which is HUGE in my world. But she is very versatile and can write all sorts of stories and characters. No matter what she is writing, the story is sure to be emotional and captivating - two of my favorite qualities in a book.
Favorite book:  Her Best Friend

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|Review| Love Irresistibly by Julie James

So we kicked of Sizzle & Swoon yesterday with an intro & why we read romance (Same for Alexa! Check out her post) and today we're jumping into the romance goodness with our contemporary portion of Sizzle & Swoon. Here at The Book Barbies, I'm reviewing a fabulous contemporary romance book while at Alexa's, she's sharing our favorite contemporary romance books. So without further ado, here is a book that both Sharon and I loved. I read it the day it came out and I've been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Sizzle & Swoon so I can share my review and love of the book!

Title: Love Irresistibly
Author: Julie James
Series: FBI / U.S Attorney #4
Published April 2nd 2013 by Berkley
Genre: adult contemporary romance
Rating: A
Goodreads summary:

HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS…

A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.

AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HER.

A savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love . . .

It's hard to actually review this book because the three times I've read it since it came out (yes, three times in two months!) I was chanting "this book is perfect this book is perfect this book is perfect" and I had a grin on my face from the first page to the last page. Simply put, Julie James has done it again. She did it with her past 5 books and she did it with Love Irresistibly. Another extremely well-written smart and sexy book, just like I expected. Seriously, Julie James's books just get better and better.

When it comes to romance, it's easy to get caught up about talking about the hot hero but when it comes to Julie James, move over heroes, because her heroines are just as hot and even somewhat better. Her heroines are not broken with 99+ problems, waiting for the hero to save them while they save him in return, they're smart, confident, driven and happy people. I have to mention the happy part. Happy people exist. And you CAN write a story about them because Julie James has done it. I'm over angsty and sure I like broken here and there but thank you god, for giving us Julie James who in return gives us badass heroines in the realistic sense. Brooke Parker, lawyer first, businesswoman second, was a fantastic heroine. I loved how driven she is and what I loved even more is how her motivation is sparked by her less than modest living BUT that never turns into a Very Big Thing. We don't get countless chapters about her being poor and it's never a tool used to create more drama. No, Brooke Parker had to work hard and she got places and instead of dwelling in the past, we see the "going places" part.

I obviously love Brooke but I'm just so damn happy to see these type of heroines! Okay I'll admit, I do alpha heroes but my heart will burst for these sorta alpha heroines and with that being said, I'll finally talk about Cade Morgan, who I loved and I've been excited to read about him ever since we met him in About That Night. I think we get to know Cade Morgan the most from all of Julie James's heroes (Besides Kyle Rhodes) because we learn about his family in detail and we also get to see him interact with them. I absolutely loved that and those scenes are some of my favorite. Cade Morgan was also an ex-football player and seeing his law outside of the law, was also wonderful.

Getting to know the hero on another personal level and the fact that Love Irresistibly was all Brooke and Cade, their personal lives and romance, all the time, does give Love Irresistibly a different feel than the other Julie James books and anyone who's worried that Julie James is getting repetitive in her storytelling, doesn't have to worry any longer. No side plot with a corrupt men and gun action and this worked really, really well. Come on, I read this book three times in the two months its been out. All three times, I finished in mere hours. This book is the farthest thing from boring and Julie James delivers a page turner that's all romance, all the time. This makes me happy because I now have the perfect example that books, especially romance, don't need to be dragged by a million plots to work.

The setting of Julie James's novels is always Chicago but it's worth mentioning because her love for the city just shines in her books, and it's no different with Love Irresistibly. Julie James paints Chicago as a magical city and I want to visit! Another thing I've noticed, Julie James must like food and wine because they are a big part of her books and it's done so well that even the description of pizza (I do not eat pizza) made me crave pizza.

I obviously loved everything about this book, from the sassy heroine to the hot blue-eyed hero, fantastic witty dialogue and rest assured, hot sex. I daresay it's my new favorite Julie James! So I'll just go cry now until April 2014 arrives because I've already read this 3 times. I need more Julie James. And it goes without saying (but I'm saying it anyways) that if you are a contemporary romance fan, than you should read Love Irresistibly and any Julie James novel. Because if you haven't... you're doing contemporary romance wrong. Way wrong.

Rating: [A] my favorite romance of 2013? Why yes and I already know it's unbeatable.

First:

Brooke Parker stepped up to the bar at The Shore restaurant, ready to place her lunch order. 

Favorite:

"I pulled out too late with her," he said simply.
Vaughn nearly dropped his glass. "Oh fuck. Brooke's pregnant?"
"Whoa, there. No. Nobody's pregnant. I meant that I pulled out of the relationship too late."
"Oh." Vaughn paused. "You know, you really want to add that clarification next time."

Teaser:

"Certainly explains why Tuck and I later found you passed out cold on the kitchen floor, buck-ass naked, with one hand wrapped around a bowlful of strawberries," Charlie said. 

Have you read Love Irresistibly? Did you love it as much as I did? If you haven't read it, I hope I convinced you to read it! Also, the Sizzle & Swoon activities continue on Alexa's blog today :D

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Sizzle & Swoon: Introduction + Why We Read Romance

It's no secret that here at The Book Barbies, we're fans of romance all its forms -- mainly YA, contemporary, and historical. This is a love we share with Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books, a fabulous lady who approached us a while back with the idea of doing a fun summer romance event. Because who doesn't want to read something hot in the heat? So for two weeks, we'll have discussions, lists, reviews, and simply general merriment whilst celebrating the awesomeness of romance! Please feel free to join in! We're always up for talking about anything related to romance.

We'll kick off today with:

Why We Read Romance!

Racquel: I've always enjoyed romance in books ever since I got my first taste of it in a YA book-- before I know what YA was! Then came a period of time when I couldn't find the books with the right age group so I settled for reading online. Stories written by other teens and some were bad, some were good, and some are better than the published books I've read. I've met a lot of teens during that time but I made a friend who I now call a bestfriend 3 years later (who says you can have online friends?!) She recommend Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas and the rest was history. I did read a few (stolen from my mom haha) Harlequin Blazes books and free romance books online but Lisa Kleypas hooked me. After that, I became a serious reader but I only read contemporary YA and romance. Though (shocking, I know!) I only discovered historical romance last summer!

I think the reason I read romance is because it's in real life, I'm not a romantic at all. I don't like anything cheesy or sweet or cute and my idea of romantic involves burger king and nutella. But in books, I get to know the characters personally and I can believe their story *is* romantic, not just something a hallmark commercial is trying to sell or a mainstream idea of what is romantic. Movies/TV shows and life are filled with romantic gestures but I don't care for it because it's just not personal. Any girl can get flowers from her boyfriend and the girls in school will "ahhh" while I roll my eyes. What if she hates flowers? What if she's allergic? But on the other hand, she could love flowers and he could be the love of her but I don't know so I don't care. But no doubt I have a romantic bone or two in body because I enjoy the hell out of a well written romance! I just like my romance personal and subtle, no need to shout from the rooftops to make me swoon.

Sharon: My love affair with romance officially began when I was about 12 years old.* One day, I discovered a small stack of romance novels in the guest room of my grandparents' house. Naturally, I picked up the one that looked like Christmas (the title of which I still don't know, despite frantic Googling). Thus began the time of my life I've dubbed The Super Secret Romance Ninja Years, during which I (secretly, due to not exactly being allowed to read them yet) devoured dozens upon dozens of romances borrowed from my aunt's basement. They were mostly Harlequin Presents romances from the 1980s wherein the heroines were "mousy," the heroes were habitually 10-16 years older, and love conquered all in the end. Penny Jordan was my favorite by far, with my other favorites being Janet Dailey, Violet Winspear, and Anne Mather.

Though I will occasionally pick one up for sentimental reasons, I rarely read 80s Harlequins anymore. I read historical romance, contemporary romance, and YA (which are obviously not "romance novels" technically, but they are often pretty darn romantic. And anything with a good love story is fair game during this feature.), with occasional appearances by the Christian, western, and paranormal subgenres thrown in to mix things up. Whatever the genre, I love a good romance. I'm not satisfied by some cheese and purple prose thrown together with a couple of cardboard cutouts (which, despite the stereotype, is not what the romance genre is). I want well-developed characters and relationships. Thankfully, the romance world is full of them.

For the introduction, we're supposed to talk about why we love romance. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I can pinpoint one specific reason. I sometimes say I'm "incomprehensibly romantic." I'm a pretty practical person in real life, and I like logic and organization. I've gotten a lot of surprised looks when people learn that I love romance novels. I guess I don't seem to be the type of person who would like romance. But if there's anything I've learned from being involved in the book blogging community (and stalking Smart Bitches, Trashy Books for a couple years before that), it's that romance readers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, lifestyles, and backgrounds.

In conclusion, why do I love romance? I love getting to know characters. I love seeing them interact with each other. I love the humor or the angst that can accompany a good love story. I love swooning over dashing heroes or perfect kisses. I love seeing examples of healthy relationships. I love the hope that springs from seeing an unlikely couple find love. I love how there can be 30 completely unique love stories that share the same basic plot. I could go on, but I'll leave it there for now.

*I say "officially" because I already loved romance; I just didn't know it yet. I loved the love stories in The Sound of Music, Tarzan, The Lion King, and others. My little heart went pitter-patter over Laura & Almanzo, Clark & Marty, Nancy Drew & Ned, and Jo & Laurie (I'll never get over them!). It was really only a matter of time before I discovered that there were books entirely dedicated to love.

Now we're turning it over to you! We don't want to just throw these posts out there. Talk back to us! Talk to each other if you're so inclined! There's nothing like a love of romance to bring people together. Do you read romance? If so, why? What was your first romance (that you remember)? If you're not a fan, why not?

Can't get enough of this event? Check out Alexa's introduction post.

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