Book Review: Kiss of a Stranger

"Reading gives us somewhere to go when we have to stay where we are."

Mason Cooley

I love that quote. It states exactly why I have always been a reader.  I love to travel!  I love the escape. Reading allows me to stop thinking while still thinking. Does that make sense?  

BUT, I have always wished that books were rated like movies. I cannot count how many books  I have bought after hearing rave reviews, only to be forced, by a guilty conscience, to stop reading before I finished. I hate that!  It isn't that I am a prude but reading is an investment of time, which is valuable. I don't want to invest time reading something that makes me a worse person than who I was before I began a book. For example, I fought ferociously with the parents who opposed Harry Potter at my first teaching position. On the other hand I fully supported the parents who fought equally hard in opposing The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  Some books are worth reading even if the subject matter is hard to swallow, but some are just perverse for the sake of being perverse.  I have led book clubs where women were offended by the use of the "N" word by Mark Twain, even though the usage was historically accurate. I thought it was funny when these same women would then suggest a totally provocative Harlequin-type novel as an alternative.  This is why I thought I would occasional post a book review on my blog. I will let you know whether it is Church Book Club material or something you should donate for restroom reading at the local strip club. Trust me,  I am no literature major. I read mostly for pleasure with the hope that I learn something while being entertained. 

I finished Kiss of a Stranger this week and if you are a sucker for romance, you will love this book.  Sarah Eden is an LDS author so the "wooing" is tasteful without being too corny, which is sometimes the case with religious authors.  This book is definitely church book club material.  The author writes of the regency period and while she isn't Jane Austen, her characters have the same likable quality. The book reminded me of Pride & Prejudice VS. My Fair Lady.