The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden 8.5 hours on Libby

 Well, I always wondered about Covenant Communications and their "proper romances," and now I know! Thanks to our Ridgeview Ward book club, and Karen Lossee, we are reading this one and another one for our group. And since I enjoy these women so much, I'm carrying on. And I especially enjoy Karen and her thoughts and comments on what we've read. So, I was kind of surprised at the inanity of this book! She warned us it was a lightweight, and she was correct. I do have to say, though, that I enjoyed it sometimes. Lightweight can be fun, but this was too much, too silly, and too long. The plot was absolutely absurd and the premise was nuts, and yet, I could have lived with that except the prolonged misunderstanding between the two potential lovers went on and on and on. I thought at one point, this would be a good novella. Or even a short story. But over 8 hours of this absurdity? But that's on me... When I went to the library to look for the second one she recommended, I saw a whole shelf full by this author! Not the Persphone one that we will be reading, however. It's okay, I don't think I need to waste any more time on this genre. 

The handsome Lord Cavratt kisses the beautiful Catherine in a garden to blunt the advances of another suitor. Catherine's uncle insists he marry her, and so he does, and the rest of the story is absurd legal machinations that would never happen in a million years. But still... The absolute reliance on the opinion of others and the polite society was reminiscent of Jane Austen's work, I wonder if that's what the author was going for? What society thinks and the gossips, etc., got very tiresome to hear about. Okay, enough ranting. I will try to be kind when we meet to discuss this book. The good news is, it kept me amused sometimes on long hot summer walks!

Cross My Heart by Julie Wright

 This is the book that is dedicated to my friend, McKenna Mendenhall, by her mother, the author, Julie Wright. Again, it's an entirely predictable story, with cute characters and good descriptions of the setting--Boston. Enjoyable but entirely too fluffy for me. I'm giving it away to Beth Farley, also a friend of McKenna's, who claims this is her favorite genre. She's a busy mom, so this might be just what she needs!

Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright

 McKenna Mendenhall in our ward is a darling young mother, just bursting with enthusiasm and charm. One day after church I was visiting with her, and she told me her mother, who lives locally in Santa Clara, is a prolific writer. She writes "proper romance" for Shadow Mountain, a spinoff, of sorts, of Deseret Book. I asked her which one was her favorite, and she mentioned "Cross My Heart" because "It's dedicated to me!" When I went online to look for it, I also saw this one and was enticed to order both.

This is a modern tale, where the young woman is thwarted in love, and continually reflects on what Jane Austen would do. Each chapter begins with an Austen quote. It's quite charming, and the conversations are lively. The plots are so predictable in this genre, but still it's fun. Sometimes the sheer goodness of the good characters are a little over the top. It was a little frustrating to have it be so lightweight, but this author writes better than most. 

I enjoyed the southern California setting, of the story, and the description of the brothers and their parents. All very wholesome and good... Still, not my genre of choice...