FF Friday

Meant To Be Me, Wendy Hudson

This is Hudson's third novel, and in my opinion her most successful so far. While it's in the same (romantic suspense) genre as her first two, Meant To Be Me introduces a stalker, which results in an effective claustrophobic feel, far more than either Four Steps or Mine to Keep. It relies a little too much on coincidence, but I found it an engrossing read, and didn't put it down until I got to the end.


Marriage of Unconvenience, Chelsea M. Cameron

I have an enduring fondness for the marriage of convenience trope, and this was a classic example of the genre. Loren and her best friend Cara agree to marry in order to claim an inheritance from her grandmother, but of course it isn't as simple as that...

That's really all there is to it. I found the characterisation, particularly that of supporting characters, rather thin, and there was never any real doubt as to how things were going to end up, but this was a pleasant way to pass an hour or so.


Fire on the Ice, Tamsen Parker

An erotic romance, part of a series set at the 'Snow and Ice Games', a thinly disguised Winter Olympics. The main characters are a speed skater (Blaze) and a figure skater (Maisy) who rekindle a romance from the previous Games.

The pacing in this was a bit off, and I did find myself wondering whether there'd ever be any ice skating in among all this sex. (There was, eventually, but I would have enjoyed more!) Actually, I'd have liked more plot generally: Maisy's parents, who were the main antagonists, remained shadowy off-screen figures, and the narrative raised interesting questions of media influence which it then didn't answer.

This is Wendy Hudson's second book; like the first one, Four Steps, it's a combination of meet cute and murder that works considerably better than that description makes it sound. Maths teacher Erin Carter is touring the Scottish borders looking for her father, who she hasn't seen since she left with her mother at the age of five or six. Abby is the chef at the hotel where she's staying. Abby volunteers her local knowledge to help Erin with her quest of discovery; they end up sharing rather more.

I enjoyed the developing relationship between the two leads, and the details of hotel life, more than the storyline involving Erin's father, which felt a little far-fetched. But overall this was a quick, absorbing, read.

Content note: the book opens with a description of domestic violence and murder.