Harland Sanders

This book could have been good if it were an actual parody of Harlequin romance, using KFC and its food as a plot device. Unfortunately, we get... this. There's an occasional jab at the genre, but not quite nearly enough to make this a real satire, and honestly, I'm not quite sure these jabs were actually intentional, or just the author slipping up on anachronism.

The book reads like something set in the 19th century (which seems to be the most popular century for Harlequin-type romances in show more my reading experience) but the cover shows the woman very clearly in 20th-century attire. WTF.

There's also an over-use of metaphors and purple prose. Generally, I don't read Harlequin novels as romance is not my favorite genre, but this was just so over-wrought in a bad way that I had to wonder what was even the point of this. What was KFC thinking with this book? Who approved this book? Why didn't it have KFC in it??? (compared to an actual Harlequin book, this was pretty meh, so it's not even good as a straight-up Harlequin!)

This book had so much potental as a comedy/tongue-in-cheek/satire/KFC promotion and it failed miserably on all fronts. show less

What a wasted opportunity! This historical romance had the opportunity to be tongue-in-cheek, but instead was poorly written with so many problems. I am assuming it was supposed to be Victorian as the young lady mentioned hoops, but the language didn't match the time period. Well, neither did the cover as it was certainly a modern period piece, complete with car keys. There were all the problems of a gently-bred young lady disappearing and no one noticing or looking for her. Her horse is show more barely mentioned. I suspect the writer considered it to be much like a car, parked and taken out sometimes to make sure its battery doesn't drain.

It is no longer available for download; don't waste your time on this one. show less

A big disappointment and a missed opportunity. This should have been hilarious, with the Colonel teaching his love, runaway English Lady Madeline, about his secret eleven herbs and spices, maybe showing her how to butter a biscuit... but instead, it's straight-forward and dull romance with most of the story being about an annoying rich teenager and her stupid angst. *Spoiler* The Colonel doesn't fry a single drumstick!

Needs more chicken.

Okay, so this is a free novella put out by KFC for Mother's Day, as a "thank you" to all the hard-working moms who bring dinner home in a bucket sometimes. This must have been the most bizarre bit of marketing that didn't involve goat sacrifice or racist tweets.

The problem is, this book is played straight. It's a basic Victorian regency story about a high-class woman conscripted to marry. She runs away from her English mansion and becomes a waitress in a pub, working for a show more tough-talking but heart-of-gold barmaid. She falls in love with one of the patrons, a sailor. But the cover is Colonel Sanders embracing a suburban mom holding a fried chicken leg. So you can understand my confusion. I mean, it's CALLED "Tender Wings" and there's not even so much as a drummie within. I think it takes place before fried chicken was invented, if that's irony for you.

I was expecting something more tongue-in-cheek, something with more humor. Because come on, the whole concept is ridiculous. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it just turns out that the beau she falls in love with is named "Harland Sanders", and we only learn that through a letter calling him back to America for his "chicken empire"? I guess it's too subtle for me.

But it's competently written. More than I expected for a free eBook coming from one of the lesser fast food chains (seriously, I haven't seen a KFC around my parts for years. The nearest one is twenty miles from my house). I have fond memories of KFC -- my mom WAS the person bringing it home for dinner on nights she couldn't cook (although she didn't read bodice rippers). So, just like the food this place delivers, my expectations were met. show less