Gwen HayesCritiques

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 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.

I bought this in October, and finally finished reading it. It's not long, there are good points, and it's even kinda fun, but I had trouble with her writing style. The structure of the information was more scattered than I expected, leaving me with the impression that it was written in a hurry.

What she offers is ideal, a pattern for a romance plot, what elements build interest and tension (between the characters and for the reader, and why the elements are in that order. But what the book contains is more jumbled in the middle than is helpful. It could have been laid out much more clearly.

Still, it did help me clarify where my novel needed more buildup and tension. Helpful, but in a way annoying enough that I give it average marks. IMHO, this needed a better editor.

Just too bored to continue. Wasn't buying the couple.

One of many writing books I read over three months. This one is all about the beats (meet cute, wouldn't touch them if they were last person on earth, growing attraction, etc.) needed in romance books, IN ADDITION to all the other stuff required for the traditional three act structure (inciting event, etc.). Interesting. Amazing that romance books are so short with that much more structure.

When sheltered teenager Theia Alderson meets Haden, the strikingly handsome new boy at her school who is the same compelling figure that has visited her in her dreams, she has no way of knowing the extent to which her life will ultimately be changed.

Falling Under is a paranormal romance that feels well written. But—it is the start of a new series. Sigh. The first book isn’t all that thick, so I am wondering if the publisher or author decided to stretch it out. It seems like the new thing the write is series. The covers are beautiful, though.

“The cell phone was a compromise…. He didn’t know I could read e-books on the phone, he didn’t even know what e-books were. Father just thought he’d finally broken me of reading by flashlight. It never would have occurred to him that I hadn’t been broken—I’d graduated.” (p 12.) My favorite quote comes early in the book; I would have been just like Theia if cell phones had been around when I was a kid. The ending is okay, it’s not a cliff hanger as such, but there is still trouble to resolve.

This was a fun, quick read packed with information. I read a ton of romances, and this book explained well why some books work for me and others I just put down. If I ever try to write my own romance, I will definitely utilize the great information Hayes shares here.

Excellent story

I love 2nd chance stories and this one didn't disappoint. Alasdair and Willow are great characters and their story is very well written.

I read this via Kindle Unlimited. On to the next in the series!

A wee guide to how romance novels tend to be structured/which beats readers tend to expect for a solid romance story. Does what it says on the tin. Recc'd if you are trying to clobber such a beast together, as I am.

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 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.

While I was looking for a specific book, I found this book, the cover and title caught my eyes and I bought it; I wasn't sorry, I just opened the first chapter to read it and suddenly I found myself reaching chapter 6, and I couldn't put the book down, or stop thinking about it.

This book will surprise you and will keep you wondering what will happen next, it has everything from great characters to creepy dreams and dark moments. In some ways the book reminds me a lot of Peter Pan and Wendy but in a darker sense and mostly for older people.

The only thing you should know before starting is this:

Down is Up, and Up is Down.

Enjoy!

[Sunday, May 29, 2011] I can't wait for this book!!! 2012 is so far away!!!

While I was looking for a specific book, I found this book, the cover and title caught my eyes and I bought it; I wasn't sorry, I just opened the first chapter to read it and suddenly I found myself reaching chapter 6, and I couldn't put the book down, or stop thinking about it.

This book will surprise you and will keep you wondering what will happen next, it has everything from great characters to creepy dreams and dark moments. In some ways the book reminds me a lot of Peter Pan and Wendy but in a darker sense and mostly for older people.

The only thing you should know before starting is this:

Down is Up, and Up is Down.

Enjoy!

I liked a lot of the concepts, but got annoyed with the plot.½

DNF. This book pretty much marked the death of my love affair with paranormals. Another witch/demon story that was no different than the last one I read.

This was also another book I read all the way through but I did not enjoy overmuch. The imagery and sensuality in this book is palatable. Ms. Hayes has a gift, that I can assure you, but I was not fond of the story in this book. It just seemed to...far out there. I was happy that there was no love triangle though, as are most of the books like this one today. I will try other things by this author, she is an excellent writer...I just hope her plotting becomes more to my taste.

As you can see, after I thought about the book more...I stopped enjoying it.

What an incredibly fun and sexy read! It's a quick paced story but it doesn't feel rushed at all. Makes for a great lunchtime read! Two bloggers set up on a blind date from hell!! Such fun. Grab this one right away.

Charming Christmas story filled with romance, warmth and heart that provides a happily ever after for two men who definitely deserve to have one – Great Story! Being snowed in at Simon’s house was not what either Simon or Adam expected but the time they spent together made a positive impact on both of them. The story is very short but packs in a lot of emotion, caring and charm providing enough backstory and character development to make this a believable m/m love story filled with Christmas spirit. It also presented Silver Pines in a way that made me want to read more about Stella and any others like her that live in the community.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the copy to read and review.

I have had this book on my to be read pile for quite a while. This book ended up being exactly what I thought it was going to be. It was a very typical YA paranormal romance. The writing was okay and so was the story; but nothing all that interesting or creative. This is the first book of a duology, the second book is called Dreaming Awake.

Theia leads a very sheltered life with a very strict father. However, things start to change when she sees a boy fall flaming from the sky. Then the burning boy Haden starts appearing in her dreams, followed by his appearance at her school. Theia finds herself drawn to Haden but she knows he’s not normal...probably not even human. Haden is determined to protect Theia from the danger he represents, but is he strong enough to push her away?

Everything about this story was very typical paranormal YA. Theia is your super uptight repressed heroine that has a hidden wild side. Haden is your dark and dangerous yet sensitive bad boy. Right away you know he’s not human but has something to do with demons.

The first part of the book was pretty bad; Theia is constantly making puppy dog eyes at Haden even though he is emotionally abusive and a bit of a stalker (super unhealthy relationship between these two). The second half of the book was more interesting, this is the part where they visit Haden’s home...however I won’t say more than that because of spoilers.

I did enjoy the irony at the end of the story (which ends on a pretty bad cliffhanger). I wish I had known that this was the first book of a duology when I started the book.

Overall this is an okay and very typical YA paranormal romance. The first half of the book is flat out bad and boring, but the second half was more interesting. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend reading this book, there is much much better YA PNR out there. I won’t be reading the second book in this duology because I just don’t care.

I loved the ending of this book when we got to see things from the other characters view instead of just Theia's. I hope there is another book to show how she's going to rule Under with Haden I think that would definatly be interesting.

Butterface by Gwen Hayes is a book about a girl I can understand.

Elizabeth Anderson was born with Hemifacial Microsamia, a facial deformity. She had managed to not be inundated with the kidney and hear problems that plagued some patients with this birth defect. Often, “they” would say she was lucky. In Beth’s mind, lucky people aren’t born with facial deformities. She keeps her hair messy as a curtain to help hid the scars from the deformity. She had learned how to hide the asymmetry of her face by camouflaging it with the hair in different ways, how she held her neck, her cheek. Anything that would soften the profile she had.

Lucas O’Leary, better known as Lucky is one of the University’s star soccer players, who lives with six of his teammates, rather than at the dorms on campus. He’s spending a lot of time at Bing’s Diner, because it was open all night and served breakfast 24/7. Several of Lucky’s teammates show up at the diner one night and suggest that he take Liz to the “Dog Dance.”

I related to how Beth felt, as I was born with a uni-lateral cleft lip, a cleft palate, and have scars and a flattened nose as a result of the surgeries. I remember going home I tears after not only kids but teachers made fun of me and my speech impediment. How Ms. Hayes managed to show us so quickly, and satisfactorily the two main characters and get us to like them is a testament to her writing ability.

This story will leave you with a smile, and hopefully, you’ll be drawn to learn more about Hemifacial Microsamia as I was.

This book receives a ****1/2 from me. Thank you, Gwen, for writing a story about an imperfect looking heroine.

Butterface by Gwen Hayes is a book about a girl I can understand.

Elizabeth Anderson was born with Hemifacial Microsamia, a facial deformity. She had managed to not be inundated with the kidney and hear problems that plagued some patients with this birth defect. Often, “they” would say she was lucky. In Beth’s mind, lucky people aren’t born with facial deformities. She keeps her hair messy as a curtain to help hid the scars from the deformity. She had learned how to hide the asymmetry of her face by camouflaging it with the hair in different ways, how she held her neck, her cheek. Anything that would soften the profile she had.

Lucas O’Leary, better known as Lucky is one of the University’s star soccer players, who lives with six of his teammates, rather than at the dorms on campus. He’s spending a lot of time at Bing’s Diner, because it was open all night and served breakfast 24/7. Several of Lucky’s teammates show up at the diner one night and suggest that he take Liz to the “Dog Dance.”

I related to how Beth felt, as I was born with a uni-lateral cleft lip, a cleft palate, and have scars and a flattened nose as a result of the surgeries. I remember going home I tears after not only kids but teachers made fun of me and my speech impediment. How Ms. Hayes managed to show us so quickly, and satisfactorily the two main characters and get us to like them is a testament to her writing ability.

This story will leave you with a smile, and hopefully, you’ll be drawn to learn more about Hemifacial Microsamia as I was.

This book receives a ****1/2 from me. Thank you, Gwen, for writing a story about an imperfect looking heroine.

(Dislaimer-I received an Advanced Readers Copy through Goodreads to review.)

"Falling Under" by Gwen Hayes is a Young Adult story. It is not your typical 'boy meets girl' and they live happily ever after. Though they do have a happy ever after...of sorts.

Theia is a teen age girl living her life with an emotionally absent father. Haden is a teen age boy who comes to school and life changes. Serendipity Falls is where it all takes place.

To say much more is to give away the most important secret of "Falling Under" so I will stop on that note and begin with a different one.


For me personally, I felt that it took far too long to get to the crux of what the book was about. It may simply be that I am a 45 year old woman who does not normally read Young Adult fiction, so I didn't count that too high in my decision to give "Falling Under" a 4 star. I would have given 4 1/2 if that was possible. I think that Ms. Hayes did a very good job on this book and would read more of hers given the change. (I have read "Butterface" and that was an excellent book that I related to)

I definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy Young Adult Fiction. You won't be sorry.

Holly is the girl next door. Dane is Mr Virile. They both blog about relationships... from opposite sides of the spectrum!

Imagine these two being setup by their literary agents in a blind date. Not an easy task to achieve, but effective in the end. They both could not be more different in their approach to dating, etc. He is of the mind to train single men to love 'em and leave 'em. She is helping women understand why men act the way they do in the dating ritual. Yes, these are competing opposites alright!

In order to boost the appeal of their blogs and upcoming books, they agree to temporarily fake date each other. Through this dating process, they cannot help themselves and they become friends and maybe more?

This is an enjoyable and sexy story, well worth spending an afternoon reading.

Why couldn't it have gone on longer?!

This was so short and so sweet. But it ended before it barely began. I don't know what this was about, but I never would've guessed that the pretty as a picture girl on the cover would've made it to a "dog dinner."

Besides, it has been said too many times, "Scars are just tattoos with better stories."

This novella was so, so much fun! Well-written banter, a side romance to root for, an awkward rescue mutt, and an enemies-to-lovers romance with a he said/she said rivalry going on--very reminiscent of every rom-com movie I've ever watched and loved :)

Holly and Dane's progression from friends to lovers to something more was nicely done, and realistic. Even though it's a novella, the time frame was not at all rushed. The excerpts from their individual blog posts were a nice touch, and revealed much about their characters and mindsets.

I only have one complaint here:

"Tell me a little bit about the man of your dreams."

She sent him a startled look. "Well, he's...nice."

A huff of incredulity escaped Dane's lungs. "Nice? The man of your dreams is nice? Try again, this time give me some of that honesty you were talking about the other night."

"Oh, all right. But he is nice. It's not a crime, you know. I happen to like nice men."

Something pulled in his gut. "I'm a nice man."

Holly laughed. "No you're not. You're..."

"A scoundrel?" he offered.

"I was always more of a Luke Skywalker fan than Han Solo anyway."

You see my problem here, right? As if any sane person would pick Luke over Han! ;)

A rating.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.