Lessons Learned [Paperback]

I've had this in my to be read pile for a while now and finally got to it. I wish I had read it a lot sooner. I came away with such a feeling that all is right in the world when I read this. It was the perfect distraction. Kate Davies does diverse characterization very well and her heroes! Well, all I can say is "yum!". The sexual tension is as high, if not higher, than the stakes. Thank you, Ms. Davies for a great read. Happy Sigh. :)

This book contains two stories about Prince Alex and Princess Lucia who are brother and sister. They rule the province Laurivenia in Europe (think Monaco).

3.5 stars for LESSONS IN LOVE.
Story Brief:
Alex is running the country and hires people to care for his five-year-old daughter Carissa. His wife had died. He recently hired Brynn to be Clarissa's teacher and nanny. Both Carissa and Alex fall in love with Brynn. For conflict the story had the following. Alex didn't want to advertise that he was hiring a private teacher/nanny because too many women would try for the job to be near him not his daughter - he being such an eligible bachelor. Therefore, he hired Brynn, from America, who didn't know about him. Brynn thought she was hired to teach in a private school, not just one student. A second conflict involved the paparazzi.

Reviewer's Opinion:
A sweet, nice story. Predictable fairy tale. Reminds me of eating an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top. I must complain about the cover picture not matching the girl. In the book she has curly hair, a white dress, and her necklace is a rope of pearls with a fairy charm in front. The girl on the cover has straighter hair, a black dress and no charm on her pearls. It's not that hard to modify a picture. Has the publisher not heard of Photoshop?

Data:
Story length: 148 pages. Swearing language: none. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 11. Setting: current day Laurivenia. Copyright: 2008. Genre: contemporary romance.

2.5 stars for LESSONS LEARNED.
Story Brief:
Someone is sending death threats to Princess Lucia, but her staff doesn't tell her. They automatically forward all negative mail to security. Her brother hires Eric to be her personal bodyguard without telling her. She tries to get rid of Eric and fire him, but she can't because her brother hired him. She later learns about the threats and accepts his presence. The stalker escalates causing property damage and bodily harm.

Reviewer's Opinion:
This was ok, but I found my mind wandering a few times as I was reading. I guess that means it didn't keep my interest. As with the first story, this was nice, but predictable. The characters in both stories are typical for the genre. I prefer something a little different, an occasional flaw or oddity.

Data:
Story length: 127 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 1, 4 pages long. Setting: current day Laurivenia. Copyright: 2008. Genre: contemporary romance.

OTHER BOOKS:
To date, I've read one other story by Kate Davies. I gave 3.5 stars to "Home for Christmas" copyright 2007, which appears in the anthology "The Perfect Gift." My 4 star review for the anthology was posted on 8/19/08.