[4HK]∎ PDF Free Welcome to Paradise The Kincaids Book One Rosalind James 9780988761957 Books

Welcome to Paradise The Kincaids Book One Rosalind James 9780988761957 Books

Download As PDF : Welcome to Paradise The Kincaids Book One Rosalind James 9780988761957 Books

Welcome to Paradise The Kincaids Book One Rosalind James 9780988761957 Books

It's rare that I like a book better as it goes along, but this story started out with two major strikes against it: a HUGE cast of characters, and Mira, who as our heroine was on the borderline of TSTL. Or at least, too stupid to date, because Scott is never anything but a Grade-A controlling jerk. It was hard for me to believe anyone could fall for his blatantly obvious emotional manipulation.

However, like any contest-style reality TV show, the huge cast of forgettable characters quickly gets pared down to a small handful of memorable ones, so I guess the initially overwhelming amount of names is forgivable. I mean, I love Top Chef, I can probably name all the winners if I dig through my memory banks, but the people who got eliminated in the first few challenges each season? There's no way I remember their names.

And Mira, well, we get to know Mira, and it turns out she's not as stupid or naive as she first appears. I'm not entirely sure I ever really liked her, but by the end I could tolerate her.

So why does this book still get four stars from me? GABE. I like my heroes thoughtful and considerate, and boy howdy, is Gabe just about the best of them. Can I marry Gabe? Because I would.


Tags : Welcome to Paradise: The Kincaids Book One [Rosalind James] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. By the bestselling author of the Escape to New Zealand series--</i> <b>They're going to party like it's 1885. </b> Mira Walker is hoping that competing on a living history reality show will give her what's missing from her real life. Maybe she'll get closer to her boyfriend,Rosalind James,Welcome to Paradise: The Kincaids Book One,Rosalind James,0988761955,Adult & contemporary romance,Fiction - Romance,Fiction Romance Contemporary,Romance - Contemporary

Welcome to Paradise The Kincaids Book One Rosalind James 9780988761957 Books Reviews

I waffled with the rating of this book, but decided to finally give it three stars because despite some major problems with it, in the end it was an engaging read.

The plot for this book involves a romance that takes place during a behind the scenes look at a reality competition.

The show is a Survivor-meets-Big Brother type show where the contestants have to live like people from the 1800s. We meet all the participants and disappointingly they all feel type-cast the way you would see in a real reality show. The problem is that even while there is a meta commentary on type-casting for the show, the author falls within the same trap. All of her characters live up to (or down to) their stereotype. The gay guy is immediately bitchy. The black guy complains about racism. The blonde sorority girls are all about make-up, hot guys and are treated as kind of dumb. The villain-jerk is an even worse villain-jerk than you think.

Despite my initial dismay at the characters I kept reading, wondering if, as the story went on, we'd get some depth to them. Sadly, no. The author doesn't take the time to give any of these characters any layers outside of their type-cast. They stay that way throughout the book. We don't get to see that maybe under the surface they are more than what they initially present. But by that time, even though I was not impressed with the character development, I began to enjoy the plot.

I think the game play was much more interesting than the characters. I think the author set up some interesting strategical dilemmas that could have had a much better pay-off if she hadn't telegraphed how two-dimensional the characters were.

As far as the romance, Mira and Gabe are the hero and heroine and both are very appealing. But like all the rest of the characters, what you see first is what you get. Mira is nice and decent and has some self esteem issues. Gabe is very handsome and self assured. They connect almost instantly despite the fact that Mira has a boyfriend.

I thought the climactic scene was idiotic on so many levels. Just not very believable and dramatic to the point that it took an already over-the-top character and made him into a caricature.

But like I said, in the end the behind-the-scenes stuff was fun and engaging enough that I could give a pass on some of the more problematic elements.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I purchased this I'd read (and really liked) the author's other books (the Escape to New Zealand rugby romance series) so figured "why not?"

I am SO GLAD I made that decision. This is a romance for readers who appreciate an interesting, informative, intricate story written by a clearly erudite writer.

After the success of British tv's "Victorian House," "Manor House," etc., PBS did a few of its own plopping-modern-families-in-historical-settings series, starting with "Frontier House." In it, three new millennium families lived as 1883 homesteaders in Montana. I LOVED that series and reading Rosalind James' "Welcome to Paradise" so happily brought that series to mind. Admittedly, I am not knowledgeable about that era, but what she wrote really jibed with what I remembered from the tv show. Her descriptions and settings, let alone the characters (to follow), were all so interesting that I truly forgot I had purchased a book classified as a romance instead I was simply reading a well-written, well-paced, interesting book with characters I liked doing things which intrigued me, and I wanted to know MORE.

Even though the story is a romance between Mira and Gabe, it never felt to the exclusion of other character developments.

As you can already tell from reading the description and other reviews which are summaries, the plot is that eight pairs of adults are competing on a reality tv show where they are living the authentic homesteader life. Gabe and his twin brother, Alec, Mira and her okay-for-now boyfriend, Scott, are our main characters. Scott has an ugly competitive streak and an equally ugly disposition; Mira has some self-esteem and backbone issues (which Scott takes advantage of and makes us root against him); Alec is a bit of a player but has a positive, strong relationship with his brother -- we don't get to know Alec well in this book, but his relationship with Gabe is enough to mark him as a Good Guy, and Gabe is a hardworking, fair and generous man who also happens to be a physician.

Of the other contestants, two and a half others are really fleshed out which was nice -- they added to the fullness of the story and to our attachment(s) to all the characters. Stanley (his adult son joins him in the competition) is an older widow who has a heart of gold and is highly ethical, a real straight-shooter and an all-around kind human. Zara is an older woman (her husband is also in the competition), a semi-famous folk singer (or maybe more famous than semi-) who is also a hard worker and incredibly industrious. She is no-nonsense but without being a nag -- she is kind and knows how much work there is to do so she is going to get to it and expects her fellow housemates to do their share as well. The "half" is Kevin, whose sister is competing with him. Kevin is very strategic but he is aboveboard about it he never comes across as shifty. He works hard, isn't as naturally gifted at being a homesteader as some of the other contestants, but again, his transparency enables us (reader) to like him.

They are all first trained in the homesteader life before being sent out to live it, followed by cameras.

And the fun begins! Mira had already been having niggling doubts about Scott and participating in the show only highlights them, makes her realize he doesn't really care about her, doesn't want to please her. It's all about him and how Mira (whom he calls Grace, her middle name, as he doesn't like the name Mira) can support him, undergird his goals. Mira's realization feels organic, proceeds at a pace which feels natural, and you root for her. Along the way, she and Gabe figure out their mutual attraction, and it was lovely. It was a romance in the truest sense of the word, making me now smile and think "ahhh" about their kind acts toward one another and gentle, innocent flirting. There are some fun and descriptive intimate acts, and I liked them -- they didn't feel gratuitous. One in particular (Mira's gift for her birthday) was heartstoppingly dear.

The story takes place over a few months, and we really spend that time with them, learning details about their chores on the homestead. The author has such a gift with description because not once did I get bored or lose interest -- I was fascinated with learning about their lives, their period dress, the food, the tasks, the interactions.

There was just one "what?!?" for me in the book, toward the end, but given how much I liked all aspects of the story (historical references, descriptions, characters, writing) I'm happy to give it a pass.

Definitely pleased I purchased and read this book -- a treat.
It's rare that I like a book better as it goes along, but this story started out with two major strikes against it a HUGE cast of characters, and Mira, who as our heroine was on the borderline of TSTL. Or at least, too stupid to date, because Scott is never anything but a Grade-A controlling jerk. It was hard for me to believe anyone could fall for his blatantly obvious emotional manipulation.

However, like any contest-style reality TV show, the huge cast of forgettable characters quickly gets pared down to a small handful of memorable ones, so I guess the initially overwhelming amount of names is forgivable. I mean, I love Top Chef, I can probably name all the winners if I dig through my memory banks, but the people who got eliminated in the first few challenges each season? There's no way I remember their names.

And Mira, well, we get to know Mira, and it turns out she's not as stupid or naive as she first appears. I'm not entirely sure I ever really liked her, but by the end I could tolerate her.

So why does this book still get four stars from me? GABE. I like my heroes thoughtful and considerate, and boy howdy, is Gabe just about the best of them. Can I marry Gabe? Because I would.