Gwen Hayes

This is a simple, quick read about the formula for romance novels and novellas. Yes, I said the dreaded "F" word. All genre novels are formulaic in their own way, and that's okay. In the words of Gwen Hayes, think of the "formula" as a set of reader expectations. When I read romance, I expect a couple to fall in love with mounting sexual tension and then live happily ever after by the end. If I read fantasy, I expect different things, and the same can be said of mystery novels. Formula in of show more itself isn't a bad thing. It's how you use it, and I think Hayes did a good job laying out what needs to be constant in romance novels and what can be changed/subverted.

The key takeaway from Hayes's book is the formula for romance novels is flexible, and the author still needs to employ creativity in order to create a compelling story. However, if aspiring writers (myself included) keep in mind the basic structure we see in many many many romance novels, we will succeed or at least have a ton of fun in the attempt. Highly recommend this book for anyone looking to write romance. show less

A feel-good holiday romance!

I really enjoyed Lisa and Joe's story. The fourth child in two sets of twins and the only introvert in the bunch, Lisa's used to fading into the background. After the disaster of her last relationship, she actually welcomes it...until "Sarge" Joe Carter notices her, and then she's not too sure...

Joe's childhood was about as far away from Lisa's happy and warm family home as it could get. The Army gave him a substitute family, but now that he's retired he doesn't show more know where to go or what to do. Invited to spend Christmas with the family of one of his former soldiers, he accepts, but once the special order classic car he's bought is ready, he plans to be on his way...to...well, somewhere. He's not quite sure yet.

When he sees Lisa, though, he's suddenly even less sure about his path. He's sure he's too old for her and not at all the kind of guy she deserves. But fate, Lisa, and her family have other plans.

Lisa and Joe were an adorable couple. I loved how he refused to let her keep on fading into the woodwork, and that he was able to help her to get rid of the ghosts of her last disastrous relationship. And for the record, I sincerely hope that Stella's able to convince at least one of them into adopting a dog ;)

Speaking of Lisa's almost-cousin Stella, there's a teaser for her book at the end (All I Need) that definitely grabbed my interest. A made up boyfriend who's suddenly your boss? I'm so there! The fact that we'll probably get to see more of Lisa and Joe (and find out how Lisa's mom is doing) will be a nice bonus too. Can't wait!

Though this is book 3 in the Silver Pines series, it works just fine as a standalone. (Actually, book 2 in the series takes place in the 1980s, so at this point only books 1 and 3 take place in the same decade, until book 4 comes out.)

4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. show less

So...I've been waffling a little because I wasn't sure I was going to write a post for this book. Falling Under is a book I bought for myself, purely based on the cover. I think this quite possibly may be the most gorgeous cover, EVER. I like to have a few books I read just for myself, no note-taking, just reading. But I just can not help myself. Here's the deal. I LOVE this book. Major love. I can't-freaking-wait-for-the-sequel kind of love. You may be asking yourself: "Has she completely show more gone off her rocker?" And, maybe I have. My kids have been away for two weeks. I've been staying up until 2am every night reading. Reading all day. Reading, reading, reading. So you don't think I'm just babbling, let me tell you why I loved Falling Under.

The Characters.
Haden and Theia. He's a dark, mysterious stranger with hidden, dangerous secrets. She's a reserved good girl, always forced to push her true self down to please a demanding father. When their worlds collide, the love they share could possibly destroy everyone around them. And sure, sometimes they acted in ways that infuriated and exasperated me. I literally wanted to shake Theia at a few different points. Real characters, just like real people, do that to us. Theia and Haden weren't kept apart by little misunderstandings or jealousies or any other minor obstacles. They were given horrible, disastrous obstacles. The kind of obstacles that are life-threatening and earth-shattering.

The Villain.
Well...to avoid spoilers, I can't say who is the villain in Falling Under. But I will say this. This villain is literally what nightmares are made of. He/She and the world they live in scared the crap-ola outta me. I'm still kinda creeped out.

The Story.
Like I said before, I bought this book based on the cover. I barely skimmed the synopsis. So, I didn't even really know what it was about before I started reading. For the first bit, I thought it was a tortured by differences love story, a la Twilight. There were a few similarities. The dangerous boy falling in love with the innocent girl. Will he kill her; will he overcome his nature to be with the girl he loves? I would have been completely fine with that. But this book took me to so many different places, a whole other world. At certain points, it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. I really could go on and on. I was left swooning one moment and creeped-the-hell-out the next. I loved that this book continually surprised me and kept me on my toes.

Gwen Hayes' Writing.
This is the first book of Hayes' that I've read. She roped me in from the first line: "Everything changed the night I saw the burning man fall from the sky." She wrote real, heart-breaking, evil, fear-inducing characters. Hayes gave a beautiful depiction of this world and a spectacular, horrific other-world. She managed to keep my head spinning and inspire a few nightmares. Gwen Hayes also earned herself an enthusiastic (in case you didn't notice) new fan, probably for life.

The sequel to Falling Under, Dreaming Awake, is set to release January 2012. I'm dying to get my hands on that book. But until then, I'll longingly look at my precious, Falling Under, and stalk Dreaming Awake of GoodReads. show less

I normally don’t like these kinds of books. It had a lot of the elements that Twilight was both famously loved and hated for — Virginal protagonist, supernatural bad guy. A classic case of hunter and prey, or in this case “and so the lion fell in love with the lamb..”. Ugh. Gag me. He even actually calls her ‘Lamb’. Truthfully however, I actually rather enjoyed their romance. The build-up wasn’t very slow,and it pretty much came out of nowhere, but it seemed really genuine on show more both their parts. I also liked that Theia’s friends weren’t just there as supporting actors/actresses. They were real, and I found that I could relate to them and often found myself excited to learn more about Donny, Amelia, Varnie, and Gabe. I wish that everyone were lucky enough to have friends like Theia’s. I was jealous of her, and she isn’t even real!! Lol.

Around the middle-ish of the book, our heroine gets her shit together and finally goes after what she wants — our tortured, sensitive man candy. The damn choir sang, I gotta say.

Hayes is a very talented writer. The way she describes things is so unique and realistic. There were many times I found myself in awe at something she’d written and I’d go back over it to memorize it. She was also skilled at reminding us Theia is british with some of her terminology without throwing it in our faces and making it hard to understand. I was particularly impressed with this world of Under that she created and described.

From the moment I saw the burning man with Theia, I was hooked and fell under. A dark fairytale combining a backwards prince and a princess willing to risk everything, Falling Under is an amazing read. show less