Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Book Corner # 19 – Bachelor Blogs by Carly Phillips

Bachelor Blogs series by Carly Phillips only got 2 books in total. It can be read out of orders since both stories work just fine as a stand-alone. The books intended for adult readers with age 18 years and above.
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Serial Bachelor Blogs yang dikarang oleh Carly Phillips terdiri dari total 2 buah buku. Keduanya dapat dibaca secara acak tidak perlu sesuai dengan urutannya karena masing-masing jalan cerita utamanya berdiri sendiri dan tidak saling berkaitan satu sama lainnya. Kedua buku ini ditujukan bagi pembaca dewasa yang sudah berumur di atas 18 tahun.
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1.            Book 1 : Kiss Me If You Can (Bachelor Blogs #1)
      
 (Sam Cooper & Lexie Davis)
Copyright © 2010 by Carly Phillips
First Published in Indonesia on 2014 by PT. Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Paperback, 18 Chapters + Prolog + Epilogue, 400 Pages
Genre : Contemporary Romance, Adult Novel
Other books in the series : Love Me If You Dare (Bachelor Blogs #2)
         
He’s New York’s Most Eligible Bachelor…
She’s just not interested!

Sam Cooper (“Coop”) has just become the most eligible bachelor in New York City. After foiling a jewelry store robbery, and being rewarded with the ring of his choice, single women all over the city are fawning over the crime reporter. But Coop isn’t interested in the admirers sending racy underwear his way. His attention is centered solely on Lexie Davis, the only woman in the city who claims not to be interested in his bachelor status.

Instead free-spirited Lexie is more interested in Coop’s antique ring, and its (potentially scandalous) history in her family. But Coop is quickly becoming more than just her route to the ring But when Coop’s investigation starts to uncover the truth, will she trust her heart – and her family secrets – to this most eligible bachelor?
     


Kiss Me If You Can set in modern days New York City. It tells a love story between Sam ‘Coop’ Cooper with Alexis ‘Lexie’ Davis. The story starts one day when Coop catch a robber when he just leaving a jewelry store. As a gratitude of his brave actions in saving them, the owner’s daughter rewarded him a ring which he chose reluctantly. To his surprise, it turns out that the ring is an antique, parts of a sets of jewelry which stolen years ago. Coop is determined to investigate about the ring deeper, especially when there’s some people interested to the ring, one of them is Lexie.

Lexie wants to buy the ring from Cooper to give it to her grandmother for her birthday present next month. But when Cooper cannot sell that ring to her and inform her the reason, she also become curious and offer to help Cooper with his investigation. And so their adventure begins, along with their love life as they struggling to make their opposite way of thinking works in order for the relationship to lasts.

Well, Kiss Me If You Can quite interesting in the story concept, except that the execution failed and the story feels dragging. If you looking for mystery or thriller, this is definitely not the book you’re looking for. If you seek for great romance either, this book definitely not deliver. Sorry, but everything in this book (the story, the plot, the characters’ development, even the humor) feels kinda flat for me.
         
Rating for Kiss Me If You Can is 6/10.
         
Characters in Kiss Me If You Can are as follows :
Sam ‘Coop’ Cooper : the Hero, working as a criminal reporter for Daily Post newspaper. Bachelor Blogs declared him as the most Eligible Bachelors because of his actions in saving a Jewelry shop from a robbery.
Alexis ‘Lexie’ Davis : works as a website designer, 29 years old.
Charlotte Davis ; Lexie’s grandmother.
Sylvia Krinksy : Charlotte best friend and neighbor.
Claudia Milne : Lexie’s programmer, 24 years old.
Amanda Nichols : fashion editor at Daily Post.
Ricky Burnett : the owner of Vintage Jewelers.
Anna Burnett : Ricky’s daughter, the one giving the ring to Cooper the day Cooper saved her store from a robbery.
Grant Davis : Lexie’s father.
Caroline Davis : Lexie’s mother, Grant’s wife.
Jack Cooper : Cooper’s father, a police retirement.
Matt Cooper : Cooper’s older brother, a policeman.
Sara Rios : Cooper’s next door neighbor.
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Kiss Me If You Can berlatar belakang kota New York di masa modern. Buku ini mengkisahkan cerita cinta antara Sam ‘Coop’ Cooper dengan Alexis ‘Lexie’ Davis. Kisah dalam buku ini dimulai pada suatu hari ketika Cooper menggagalkan perampokan sebuah toko perhiasan dan menangkap penjahatnya saat orang tersebut keluar dari toko. Sebagai tanda terima kasih atas jasa Cooper menyelamatkan mereka, anak pemilik toko perhiasan itu menghadiahkan sebuah cincin yang dengan agak enggan Cooper terima. Namun Cooper sangat terkejut ketika mengetahui bahwa cincin itu merupakan barang antik, yang merupakan bagian dari satu set perhiasan yang dicuri beberapa puluh tahun yang lalu. Cooper lalu mulai menyelidiki asal usul cincin tersebut secara lebih mendalam, terutama ternyata ada beberapa orang yang juga tertarik terhadap cincin itu, salah satunya adalah seorang wanita bernama Lexie.

Lexie ingin membeli cincin itu dari Cooper untuk diberikan kepada neneknya sebagai hadiah ulang tahunnya yang jatuh pada bulan depan. Tetapi ketika Cooper tidak mau menjual cincin tersebut dan memberitahu Lexie alasannya, Lexie juga penasaran dengan asal usul cincin itu dan menawarkan untuk membantu Cooper dengan penyelidikannya. Dan petualangan mereka pun dimulai, bersamaan dengan hubungan asmara mereka saat mereka berjuang untuk menyatukan cara pikir dan gaya hidup mereka yang saling berlawanan agar hubungan mereka dapat berhasil.

Well, sesungguhnyakonsep cerita dalam Kiss Me If You Can cukup menarik, hanya saja jalan cerita dalam buku ini terasa sangat lambat dan eksekusi jalan ceritanya kurang dapat tercapai. Jika kau ingin mencari kisah misteri ataupun thriller, buku ini kurang cocok masuk di dalam kedua kategori itu. Jika kisah cinta super romantis yang sangat mengesankan yang ingin dicapai, buku ini juga gagal mencapainya. Sorry, tetapi semuanya yang ada di dalam buku ini (jalan ceritanya, plot, pengembangan para karakternya, bahkan juga humor-humor yang coba diselipkan di dalamnya) hanya terasa datar-datar saja.
         
Rating adalah Kiss Me If You Can adalah 6/10.
         
Adapun para tokoh dalam Kiss Me If You Can adalah sebagai berikut :
Sam ‘Coop’ Cooper : tokoh utama pria, bekerja sebagai seorang reporter kriminal di koran Daily Post. Dinobatkan sebagai Bujangan yang sangat layak oleh oleh Bachelor Blogs atas tindakannya dalam menyelamatkan sebuah toko perhiasan dari usaha perampokan.
Alexis ‘Lexie’ Davis : bekerja sebagai seorang perancang website, 29 tahun.
Charlotte Davis : nenek Lexie.
Sylvia Krinksy : sahabat dan tetangga Charlotte.
Claudia Milne : programmer yang bekerja untuk Lexie, 24 tahun.
Amanda Nichols : editor fashion di Daily Post.
Ricky Burnett : pemilik toko perhiasan Vintage Jewelers.
Anna Burnett : anak perempuan Ricky, yang memberikan cincin kepada Cooper atas tindakannya yang menyelamatkan tokonya dari usaha perampokan.
Grant Davis : ayah Lexie, anak laki-laki Charlotte.
Caroline Davis : ibu Lexie, istri Grant.
Jack Cooper : ayah Cooper, seorang pensiunan polisi.
Matt Cooper : kakak Cooper, seorang polisi.
Sara Rios : tetangga Cooper, seorang polisi.
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2.            Book 2 : Love Me If You Dare (Bachelor Blogs #2)
   
(Rafe Mancuso & Sara Rios)
Copyright © 2010 by Karen Drogin
First Published in Indonesia on 2014 by PT. Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Paperback, 21 Chapters + Epilogue, 392 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)
Genre : Contemporary Romance, Adult Novel
Other books in the series : Kiss Me If You Can (Bachelor Blogs #1)

The perfect catch is about to fall for the one woman he's always resisted...

When hostage negotiator Rafe Mancuso takes a bullet to save Sara Rios, his former partner, his actions make him a bona fide hero—and New York City's newest most eligible bachelor. Then Rafe admits that Sara is much more than just another woman he's rescued. Suddenly, a firestorm of gossip turns him into exactly what he doesn't want to be: the Bachelor Blog's newest hot topic. His only solution is to leave town and get himself out of the spotlight…and sexy, jaded Sara out of his mind. 

NYPD officer Sara Rios has Rafe to thank for saving her life, and Rafe to blame for the media chaos surrounding her. She wants to throw herself back into duty at full throttle, but until her injuries heal, she's on leave and in search of her rescuer. From the moment she finds Rafe and meets his large, boisterous family, she's hooked. But mutual attraction doesn't always mean happily-ever-after, and these two have a long way to go to find their fairy-tale ending…
      


Love Me If You Dare sets in New York City and Hidden Falls, a small city near the Canadian border and Ontario Lake. It tells the love story between Sara Rios and Rafe Mancuso (that was introduced in the few last chapters of Kiss Me If You Can). The story begins where Kiss Me If You Can have left off, the night at the Lancaster Auction, when Rafe was hurt trying to save Sara from a robbery turn hostage situation. His actions also make the Bachelor Blogs declare him as a hero and the next Eligible Bachelor. But that instant popularity brings unwanted attention and more trouble than good, especially for Sara, who has to stay away from media attention for a while since she is a key witness to an upcoming murder trial in the next few weeks. So when Rafe leave New York to escape all the madness in the city, Sara decided to go after him to his small hometown near Lake Ontario. Part of Sara’s reasons are to lay low before the trial schedule, and only Rafe that she can trust fully to protect her when there’s murder threat send to her apartment in New York.

Ok I can say that Love Me If You Dare is a bit more interesting than the previous book, Kiss Me If You Can. I like the supporting characters better in this book than the previous one. The story line also improving than in the first book. It is quite entertaining for a light reading.

Rating for Love Me If You Dare is 7.5/10.

Characters in Love Me If You Dare are as follows :
Sara Rios : the Heroine, an NYPD officer.
Rafe Mancuso : Sara’s former partner in NYPD, 31 years old.
Sam Cooper : Sara’s best friend and next door neighbor, working as a criminal reporter for Daily Post newspaper.
Capt. Hodges : Sara’s boss at the NYPD.
Amanda Stevens : Fashion Editor for Daily Post.
Nick Mancuso : Rafe’s older brother.
Angelina ‘Angel’ Mancuso : Nick’s wife, owns a small inn in Hidden Falls.
Pirro DeVittorio : Angel’s father, Nick’s father-in-law.
Vivian : Pirro’s new wife, Angel’s step mother, Nick’s and Rafe’s aunt (their father’s younger sister)
Joanne : Nick’s and Rafe’s older sister, 37 years old.
Toni : Joanne’s daughter, 13 years old.
Carol : Joanne’s, Nick’s, and Rafe’s younger sister, 28 years old.
John Morley : a murder suspect waiting for trial.
Mariana Mancuso : Rafe’s mother.
Frank Mancuso : Rafe’s father.
Biff : one of the guest at Angel’s Inn.
Todd : one of the guest at Angel’s Inn.
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Love Me If You Dare berlatar belakang di kota New York dan Hidden Falls, sebuah kota kecil di dekat perbatasan Canada dan danau Ontario. Love Me If You Dare menceritakan kisah cinta antara Sara Rios dan Rafe Mancuso (yang diperkenalkan di beberapa bab terakhir dalam Kiss Me If You Can). Kisah dalam buku ini dimulai pada akhir cerita dalam Kiss Me If You Can, di malam Lelang Lancaster, ketika Rafe terluka saat menyelamatkan Sara dari situasi perampokan yang berubah menjadi penyanderaan. Tindakan heroic itu membuatnya dinobatkan sebagai Bujangan Paling Layak terbaru oleh Bachelor Blogs menggantikan Sam Cooper. Tetapi popularitas dadakan itu lebih membawa masalah dan perhatian yang tidak diinginkan olehnya daripada manfaat, terutama terhadap Sara, yang saat itu sedang mencoba tidak menarik perhatian media sementara ia dijadwalkan untuk memberikan kesaksian kuci terhadap sebuah kasus pembunuhan dalam beberapa minggu kemudian. Jadi saat Rafe pergi meninggalkan New York menghindari semua kekacauan di kota, Sara memutuskan untuk menyusulnya ke kota kecil kelahiran Rafe di dekat Danau Ontario. Salah satu alasan Sara meninggalkan kota adalah untuk benar-benar menghindari pemberitaan yang dialihkan kepada dirinya begitu Rafe pergi dari kota, dan hanya Rafe yang dapat dipercaya Sara untuk melindungi dirinya ketika ada beberapa ancaman pembunuhan yang dikirimkan ke apartemennya di New York.

Ok menurutku Love Me If You Dare sedikit lebih menarik daripada buku sebelumnya, Kiss Me If You Can, walaupun jalan ceritanya masih terasa ditarik dan sedikit membosankan. Aku lebih menyukai para karakter pendukungnya dibandingkan dengan para karakter dalam buku sebelumnya. Jalan ceritanya juga lebih baik dibandingkan dengan buku sebelumnya. Namun buku ini cukup menghibur sebagai bahan bacaan ringan.

Rating untuk Love Me If You Dare adalah 7.5/10.

Adapun para tokoh dalam Love Me If You Dare adalah sebagai berikut :
Sara Rios : tokoh utama, seorang anggota polisi NYPD.
Rafe Mancuso : mantan partner kerja Sara di NYPD, 31 tahun.
Sam Cooper : sahabat dan tetangga Sara, bekerja sebagai reporter kriminal untuk koran Daily Post.
Capt. Hodges : bos Sara di NYPD.
Amanda Stevens : Editor Fashion di Daily Post.
Nick Mancuso : kakak laki-laki Rafe.
Angelina ‘Angel’ Mancuso : istri Nick, mempunyai sebuah penginapan kecil di Hidden Falls.
Pirro DeVittorio : ayah Angel, mertua Nick.
Vivian : istri Pirro, ibu tiri Angel, bibi Nick dan Rafe (adik perempuan ayah Nick dan Rafe)
Joanne : kakak perempuan Nick dan Rafe, 37 tahun.
Toni : anak perempuan Joanne, 13 tahun.
Carol : adik perempuan Joanne, Nick, dan Rafe, 28 tahun.
John Morley : tersangka pembunuhan yang sedang menunggu jadwal sidang.
Mariana Mancuso : ibu Rafe.
Frank Mancuso : ayah Rafe.
Biff : salah satu tamu yang menginap di Angel’s Inn.
Todd : salah satu tamu yang menginap di Angel’s Inn.
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Book Corner # 7 – Enchanted Inc. Series by Shanna Swendson

Enchanted, Inc. series so far contains 8 books and 2 short stories. I got the first book Enchanted, Inc. almost a decade ago in paperback...