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Little Miss Straight Lace by Maria Romana

Little Miss Straight Lace is the debut suspense-romance novel from Maria Romana. The focus is on Josie Natale, a beyond-brilliant biostatistician who uncovers too much while doing pharmaceutical research for one of her clients. Josie’s journey will lead readers into a web of lies, deceit, murder, sex, and drugs. The plot is suspenseful, and there are enough twists in the game to make your head spin, but Romana clearly knows her way around the pharmaceutical world and her knowledge can keep readers interested. I enjoyed the love story between Josie and Nic, the security expert from South America, and the fierce friendships between the core group of characters. I have said before that I love mysteries that leave me guessing until the end, and this book definitely had me thinking until the very last page.
I did have a few issues with Little Miss Straight Lace. First, the amount of characters was a little intimidating. With so many different characters and their stories and them each having a voice, I got confused trying to keep track of everyone. And I found a few contradictions along the way in reference to the characters and their attitudes and beliefs that would throw me off. The consistency seemed to get jumbled as the story progressed. I think my biggest upset with the story is that it seemed to never end. I felt the story could have been a lot shorter and still just as suspenseful, without the plot dragging along and bringing more and more characters into each scene. By the time I was ready for the novel to be wrapped up, I still had another five chapters to read!
Though Little Miss Straight Lace will not be reaching my Favorites List, I still think Maria Romana is a talented writer, and I think the mystery will interest many readers. I will warn that there are some uncomfortable subjects discussed in this novel, including rape and religious cults, so if you are not a fan of those subjects, I would suggest passing this one by.
Rating: 3/5

In My Mailbox: Week of August 29th

In My Mailbox: Week of August 29th

Title: Single in the City
Author: Michele Gorman
Received: From Michele Gorman
Synopsis: It’s official. Hannah has left her friends and family in the US behind and is following her dream. To live in London. She’s going to find:

1. Her dream guy. A prince or Hugh Grant would be nice. Or does she have to settle for her half-naked Australian housemate or an “English gentleman” with terrible hygiene habits?
2. Her dream job. Something fantastic in fashion. So how has she ended up being the mini-me for an evil party planner who doesn’t even trust her to arrange the paperclips?
3. Her dream friends. But everyone in London seems to have known each other for years and Hannah doesn’t know the rules of engagement. Who’s she going to have fun with?

Dream life? Should Hannah just dream on? She wanted a big change but maybe it would have been simpler and cheaper to just get a new haircut. Was she mad to move 3,000 miles away from everyone she knows? Will she ever find love and her perfect life in England?

Title: Chronicles of a Midlife Crisis
Author: Robyn Harding
Received: From Robyn Harding
Synopsis: Lucy had no clue that her husband of sixteen years was about to bolt. Now she’s dealing with shock, loneliness, and girlfriends who alternately pity her and provoke her. She also-unbelievably-is apparently competing with her own teenage daughter for a new man’s attention.

Trent pictured freedom, self-discovery…and maybe some sex with actual passion. So far, he’s mostly watching hockey in a hotel room and wondering what’s next. Being middle-aged and married isn’t easy. The jury’s still out on being middle-aged and single…

There are two sides to every breakup. In this witty, heartfelt novel, Robyn Harding explores them both-and takes us on a journey through the end of a marriage and the beginning of something new…which may or may not be something old too.

Title: Slim to None
Author: Jenny Gardiner
Received: From Jenny Gardiner
Synopsis: Abbie Jennings is Manhattan’s top food critic until her expanding waistline makes staying incognito at restaurants impossible. Her cover blown on Page Six of the New York Post, her editor has no choice but to bench her—and suggest she use the time off to bench-press her way back to anonymity. Abbie’s life has been built around her career, and therefore around celebrating food. Forced to drop the pounds if she wants her primo gig back, Abbie must peel back the layers of her past and confront the fears that have led to her current life.

Title: Little Miss Straight Lace
Author: Maria E. Romana
Received: From Maria E. Romana
Synopsis: When a brilliant biostatistician learns too much about her pharmaceutical client’s research, her life begins to spin out of control, and a dashing computer security expert from South America seems the perfect antidote. But is his arrival really just the happy coincidence it appears to be? Find out in this complex tale of suspense, humor, and romance.