Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Vintage Kay Hooper

So by this time, most of you know that I'm a huge fan of Kay Hooper. I've discovered Ms Hooper through her FBI SCU series, which are paranormal romantic suspense books. However, long, long ago, Ms Hooper wrote straight romance for Loveswept. To my greatest pleasure, many of them are being re-printed by Bantam Books (cos really, they are really hard to find... also, I bet the covers are much niver now LOL).

So this summer, she had Something Different, Pepper's Way (both are part of a tradepaper back compilation) and C.J.'s Fate re-released. She has another coming out in December called The Haunting of Josie :P

So here we go:

Something Different
first published in 1984
Restless and imaginative, mystery writer Gypsy Taylor was used to following her muse. Her nomadic lifestyle was perfectly suited for her creative work but not for lasting relationships. That left her new next-door neighbor Chase Mitchell only four months to change Gypsy's life before she moved on forever. The handsome architect wants to build a life for both of them, but first he'll have to solve the passionate mystery of this one-of-a-kind woman — a mystery not even Gypsy herself can unravel.
My thoughts: I enjoyed this book :D Ms Hooper has always been able to infuse something special in her characters, either habits or personality or the character in general. In addition, I've always liked the "gypsy/new age heroine thaws out straight and stuffy hero" LOL :P There is a little conflict, but it's basically the story of two people getting to know each other. Sounds boring, but it is not... you easily get sucked in the story and next thing you know, you're finished.

Grade: B


Pepper's Way
first published in 1984

Tall, fit, and with a large house on considerable acreage, Thor Spicer was exactly the man Pepper had been looking for when she placed her ad — for a dog sitter. But it's Pepper herself, Thor senses, who really needs his attention. For beneath her globe-trotting, adventure-seeking lifestyle, Pepper is running. And for the first time in a long while, she realizes that it just might be possible to stop and face what she fears the most — losing her heart to the kind of man she'd risk everything to love
My thoughts: Hmmm, I was more reluctant to read this book; however, I also really enjoyed it! LOL :P You all have a friend that's special and stands out more than others... she's multi-talented and people seems to gravitate around that person... at least, I have a friend like that... and Pepper is that way. I liked her character though, as well as Thor :D Again, it's the story of two persons falling in love and getting to know each other, but I think I was as intrigued as Thor by Pepper... which by the way, is not her name, but a nickname... her name is Perdita Elizabeth Patricia Elaine Reynolds... LOL! Who doesn't want to know her story with such a name? By the way, the conflict between the two made sense and was understandable. Anyway, I liked it :P

Grade: B


C.J.'s Fate
first published in 1984

Librarian C. J. Adams thinks marriage is a fine tradition—for somebody else. The love of her life is history, and in her experience, few men compare with the daring heroes who shaped civilization. Well-traveled, well-educated, and content to stay single, C.J. is convinced she isn't missing anything. But her close friends disagree. When they resolve to find her soul mate during a trip to Aspen, C.J. stays a step ahead of them by enlisting a gorgeous stranger to pose as her lover. But the man proves to be far more charismatic—and convincing—than she expected, and C.J. soon discovers a side of herself she didn't know existed. She never imagined that the Rockies had more in store for her than a skiing trip with friends, but whether she likes it or not, C.J.'s fate is about to be sealed.
My thoughts: Out of the three, I thought this one was the weakest. I liked the beginning very much however... C.J. is up in Aspen with 5 friends whom have known each other for about 20 years... C.J. is the least sophisticated of all, as in she doesn't really care about her appearance, and her friends are a bit desperate... now that they're all married, they wish for C.J. to find happiness as well. To avoid any matchmaking, C.J. walks up to Fate Weston, a total stranger, and "acts" as a couple... Fate goes along and together, they act as a couple in love. My problem is that Fate went along way too easily... actually, no, my problem is that he fell in love and decided he was going to marry her immediately. This book however is a great show of friendship and seriously, I wished I had friends like C.J.'s. Anyway, other complaints are 1) there was a definite 80's feel to this book, not that it's bad, but... I don't know... 2) the writing style is very flowy, and Ms Hooper goes over a lot of things without exploring them and 3) I wish Ms Hooper would have explored the friends a bit more, but I guess she didn't have space.... by the way, Fate's attempts to guess what C.J. stood for were funny :D

Grade: B-


Just in case you are wondering, these are all 80's books in addition for being Loveswept... don't expect too much sex in them LOL :P