20 June, 2013

Guest review: The Children's Doctors Special Proposal

Today I bring you the first of three guest reviews that resulted from the book I read to meet the romance part of my 13 in '13 challenge. (hosted by Miss Dove herself!)

 
The challenge was then thrown down to Miss Dove, Miss Car and Miss Kirsty* to read one of the three books I had managed to avoid.

*Kirsty doesn't blog, but the link goes to a wonderful article she wrote for Mamamia.

Today, is Miss Dove's review of:





So over to you Miss Dove!



There’s nothing quite like the excitement of an unexpected parcel waiting in the mailbox. A quick check of the back revealed it was from Kylie, who had mentioned a week or so prior that she had a parcel for both Car and myself. A tempting little book shaped box. Maybe something to do with our Pride and Prejudice challenge perhaps? Whipping it open with the aid of some scissors, I saw some Ferrero Rochers and a little box of Guylian, framing a note. Awww, thought I, she’s sent some loving to the sweet-tooth pregnant woman. HA. Ha de ha ha ha. While I’m there drooling over the choccies and gushing about the fabulous taste in friends I seem to have, the evil Miss Kylie is busy twirling her moustache. Lifting up the note, I honest to goodness burst out laughing. This was no “you’re a sweetie” care package. This was the Little Care Package of Horrors.







I laughed for a good five minutes, and knew I’d brought this on myself. A while back, Kylie had asked if a certain book counted as romance, and while I agreed it would, I also suggested I would pay good money to see her read and review a Mills and Boon on the blog. And look where that got me – now I’m the proud owner of The Children’s Doctor’s Special Proposal (by Kate Hardy).
A special bride for a special doctor – New consultant paediatrician Rhys Morgan is everything the hospital grapevine promised. He is also Katrina’s boss, but she thinks she’s safe from Rhys’s charms. Until they discover a shared commitment to their little patients – and a heartfelt passion for each other. Rhys has never believed in happy families, yet Katrina opens his eyes to what love and family really means – and her courage and vulnerability create a fierce desire to protect her. Enough, perhaps, to make Rhys risk his heart with the most special proposal of all…
There’s nothing quite like the blurb of a category romance, is there? Anyway. Let’s cut the cheese. Most of these types of books follow a reasonably predictable format. Of course, in this case, we have the enigmatic hero who is anti-social and of unknown relationship status. We have the "faint hint" of an accent, and "an incredibly sensual mouth". Oh and the heroine who has sworn off workplace romances after the last one went bust. We can all see where this is going, right? And of course, what would a first chapter be without the handshake that left both with a strange fission of awareness?

But all joking aside, it was a sweet story, nice and light and fluffy, and missing the angst which seems to be a common inclusion. You know the type. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, hook up, tragic happenstance/misunderstanding drives them apart until the figure out it was just tragic happenstance/misunderstanding, and have epic make-up cuddles. Charmingly, this one missed the OTT drama – not that it was all rainbows and unicorns, but it was nice.

A M&B/category romance is never going to be a cerebral brain teaser that moves the reader to campaign for social betterment. Going in, I knew what to expect, and I got it. A nice light bit of fluff I could knock over in a couple of hours on a Friday night. A bit of escapism, a giggle and chat with some friends, and nothing too taxing on the old noggin after a big day of kid wrangling. While it’s not my first choice of reading matter, it serves its purpose, and I found it quite readable. Three stars.

So there you have it. No where near as scathing as my review of my romance, but still not enough to make me want to read it!
Now I wait with baited breath (as I am sure you all do) for what Miss Car and Miss Kirsty have to say about their romances!