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Monday, July 19, 2004
Again The Magic, by Lisa Kleypas
Some comments in the July 1st, 2004 ATBF at AAR made me want to read a book that had previously not caught my fancy: Again The Magic, by Lisa Kleypas.
Well, this is a Big Secret book. For a Big Secret plot to succeed with me, I need that the secret be really "Big", that is, important enough that it be reasonable that the character with the secret be so worried that it may come out. Also, I need that it be kept secret only long enought as it's reasonable that the character does so.
Did Again The Magic fulfill those criteria? Well, it's complicated. Ok, this is not really a spoiler, as we know about it early on, but if you don't want to know, stop right here:
s
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the reason Aline doesn't feel she can have a relationship with McKenna is that she had an accident not long after he was sent away and her legs got burned and are now a mass of scar tissue and so on. She doesn't want him to see them, because she fears he'll either be repulsed or sorry for her.
Another secret is the reasons why Aline told McKenna to leave in such a merciless way: she knew he wouldn't stay away unless he thought she really wanted him to, and she feared for his safety unless he left. This secret was ok to me, because, actually, she didn't reveal it only because it made it easier for her to keep it secret, in the sense that McKenna was less likely to pressure her into having a relationship if he thought he was a bitch who had played with his feelings all those years ago (the reason she didn't want him to love her being, of course, the other secret). Hope this all makes sense!
Ok, then, the secret about her legs. On one hand, this is the type of thing people actually do feel very insecure about, so it didn't exactly stretch my credulity that Aline would be so bound and determined to keep it a secret. A single instance of trying to put herself into McKenna's position (how would *I* feel if his legs were scarred all over) would have been enough, I guess, but I understand how she could have been a little irrational about it all. So far so good.
However, on the other hand, I got the feeling that Aline was a bit too determined to be a martyr about her legs. Also, all her insistence, near the end of the book, not to reveal her secret was about preserving her pride, no matter how much this made her and McKenna (the man she supposedly loved) suffer. This was much less palatable to me, and meant that the Big Secret plot didn't completely succeed with me.
What I did like, and a lot, was McKenna's attitude towards Aline. Yes, his plan is to get revenge on her, but it's terribly obvious that he still loves her too much to follow through with his plans. He just cannot be cruel to her. And the scene near the end, when he tells her it doesn't matter if she doesn't love him, he has more than enough love for both... awww. It really exacerbated my frustration with Aline, unfortunately.
I also enjoyed the secondary romance, between Aline's "ruined" sister and McKenna's alcoholic American partner. I especially liked the resolution, it felt much more realistic that those alcoholics magically cured from one day to another by the love of a good woman.
I liked the plot very much, the complete focus on the relationships and the lack of an extraneous suspense subplot. A couple of things felt a bit anachronistic, though, like the ease with which both Aline and Livia would go around making out and even having sex with their lovers all over the place, right under their brother's nose, seemingly unworried that someone would notice.That stretched even my credulity, and I'm not much of a stickler for historical accuracy.
All in all, a very enjoyable book.
She gave him her innocence . . .Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable -- John was sent away, and Aline was left to live in the countryside . . . an exile from London society . . .and he took her love.Very readable, but also a bit frustrating. I'd give it a B.
Now McKenna has made his fortune, and he has returned -- more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decide whether to let vengeance take its toll . . . or risk everything for his first, and only, love.
Well, this is a Big Secret book. For a Big Secret plot to succeed with me, I need that the secret be really "Big", that is, important enough that it be reasonable that the character with the secret be so worried that it may come out. Also, I need that it be kept secret only long enought as it's reasonable that the character does so.
Did Again The Magic fulfill those criteria? Well, it's complicated. Ok, this is not really a spoiler, as we know about it early on, but if you don't want to know, stop right here:
s
p
o
i
l
e
r
the reason Aline doesn't feel she can have a relationship with McKenna is that she had an accident not long after he was sent away and her legs got burned and are now a mass of scar tissue and so on. She doesn't want him to see them, because she fears he'll either be repulsed or sorry for her.
Another secret is the reasons why Aline told McKenna to leave in such a merciless way: she knew he wouldn't stay away unless he thought she really wanted him to, and she feared for his safety unless he left. This secret was ok to me, because, actually, she didn't reveal it only because it made it easier for her to keep it secret, in the sense that McKenna was less likely to pressure her into having a relationship if he thought he was a bitch who had played with his feelings all those years ago (the reason she didn't want him to love her being, of course, the other secret). Hope this all makes sense!
Ok, then, the secret about her legs. On one hand, this is the type of thing people actually do feel very insecure about, so it didn't exactly stretch my credulity that Aline would be so bound and determined to keep it a secret. A single instance of trying to put herself into McKenna's position (how would *I* feel if his legs were scarred all over) would have been enough, I guess, but I understand how she could have been a little irrational about it all. So far so good.
However, on the other hand, I got the feeling that Aline was a bit too determined to be a martyr about her legs. Also, all her insistence, near the end of the book, not to reveal her secret was about preserving her pride, no matter how much this made her and McKenna (the man she supposedly loved) suffer. This was much less palatable to me, and meant that the Big Secret plot didn't completely succeed with me.
What I did like, and a lot, was McKenna's attitude towards Aline. Yes, his plan is to get revenge on her, but it's terribly obvious that he still loves her too much to follow through with his plans. He just cannot be cruel to her. And the scene near the end, when he tells her it doesn't matter if she doesn't love him, he has more than enough love for both... awww. It really exacerbated my frustration with Aline, unfortunately.
I also enjoyed the secondary romance, between Aline's "ruined" sister and McKenna's alcoholic American partner. I especially liked the resolution, it felt much more realistic that those alcoholics magically cured from one day to another by the love of a good woman.
I liked the plot very much, the complete focus on the relationships and the lack of an extraneous suspense subplot. A couple of things felt a bit anachronistic, though, like the ease with which both Aline and Livia would go around making out and even having sex with their lovers all over the place, right under their brother's nose, seemingly unworried that someone would notice.That stretched even my credulity, and I'm not much of a stickler for historical accuracy.
All in all, a very enjoyable book.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Dreaming of You, by Lisa Kleypas
Dreaming of You seems to be most readers' favourite Lisa Kleypas book. The first time I read it, years ago, it simply didn't make much of an impression, so I decided to give it another try.
I think that where I differ from those who find this book the greatest romance novel ever is in my reaction to Derek. I feel sorry for his past and I admire his ability to rise above it, I even find him sexy and sweet, but I didn't completely fall in love with him, as those who adored this book seem to have done. I kind of felt at a distance to him as a character. I don't know how to explain it, really, and it frustrates me that I can't, so I'll leave it at that.
Surprisingly, I actually liked Sara quite a bit, probably because in spite of appearances, she was far from the typical naive, martyr heroines who populate historicals. She knows what she wants, she isn't afraid to ask for it, and she actually saves herself when in danger. I thought she showed great courage in throwing in her lot with Derek, because there was quite a big possibility that he wouldn't be able to feel the love she needed.
Kleypas creates really, really great chemistry between Sara and Derek, and this made for an extremely sexy and hot book. The best thing was that the love scenes were terribly emotional, for both of them, so to me, this added a lot of heat to them. The book also has some heartwrenching scenes that I loved, like near the end, when Derek thinks Sara has been killed.
I didn't really like the subplot about the crazy Lady Joyce, a former lover of Derek's who's obsessed with him, but luckily, she came into the picture only for little whiles, during the book and near the end, and so, the book wasn't about Derek and Sara trying to survive her machinations but about them falling in love and building a relationship, with this nutcase adding a couple more difficulties and actually creating circumstances that helped move their relationship forward.
So, even if I didn't think this was the best book ever, it was pretty damn good!
In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Fielding puts pen to paper to create dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe haven -- and into Derek Craven's dangerous world.This is good, really, really good, but "only" a B+ for me.
A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from poverty to become lord of London's most exclusive gambling house -- a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding into his world -- with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here, in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper "mouse" can be transformed into a breathtaking enchantress -- and a world-weary gambler can be shaken to his cynical core by the power of passion...and the promise of love.
I think that where I differ from those who find this book the greatest romance novel ever is in my reaction to Derek. I feel sorry for his past and I admire his ability to rise above it, I even find him sexy and sweet, but I didn't completely fall in love with him, as those who adored this book seem to have done. I kind of felt at a distance to him as a character. I don't know how to explain it, really, and it frustrates me that I can't, so I'll leave it at that.
Surprisingly, I actually liked Sara quite a bit, probably because in spite of appearances, she was far from the typical naive, martyr heroines who populate historicals. She knows what she wants, she isn't afraid to ask for it, and she actually saves herself when in danger. I thought she showed great courage in throwing in her lot with Derek, because there was quite a big possibility that he wouldn't be able to feel the love she needed.
Kleypas creates really, really great chemistry between Sara and Derek, and this made for an extremely sexy and hot book. The best thing was that the love scenes were terribly emotional, for both of them, so to me, this added a lot of heat to them. The book also has some heartwrenching scenes that I loved, like near the end, when Derek thinks Sara has been killed.
I didn't really like the subplot about the crazy Lady Joyce, a former lover of Derek's who's obsessed with him, but luckily, she came into the picture only for little whiles, during the book and near the end, and so, the book wasn't about Derek and Sara trying to survive her machinations but about them falling in love and building a relationship, with this nutcase adding a couple more difficulties and actually creating circumstances that helped move their relationship forward.
So, even if I didn't think this was the best book ever, it was pretty damn good!
Friday, July 16, 2004
Miss Wonderful, by Loretta Chase
Loretta Chase's classic Lord of Scoundrels is a particular favourite of mine, so when she released Miss Wonderful, her first book in some time, I pretty much auto-bought it.
The book is a perfect blend of comedy with more serious issues, and it works wonderfully. I just adored the characters, both of them. Alistair, with his almost "silly ass" façade and his dandy-ism, trying to hide his hurts that way, was a dear. He was a war hero with real problems, not just the odd nightmare, and tried to hide the consequences with levity and his very distinctive sense of humour. Mirabel, too, was wonderful: sensible and warm, also with a lovely sense of humour. And I actually thought it was refreshing to have a heroine who would resort to somewhat underhanded tactics to get what she wants.
The development of their relationship was beautiful, and really romantic, too. I especially liked the way their conflict about the canal was given the exact right importance in their interactions... important enough that they were at odds, but both were perfectly aware that it wasn't the end of the world.
Miss Wonderful was a keeper until the last part, where a suspense subplot kicked in, out of the blue, and took over much of the story. Not only wasn't this needed to provide conflict, because there was more than enough tension between Alistair and Mirabel due to the canal, it didn't fit in well with the tone of the rest of the story.
Still, with two engaging characters and a wonderfully witty writing style, this book was a winner.
Alistair Carsington really, really wishes he didn't love women quite so much. To escape his worst impulses, he sets out for a place far from civilization: Derbyshire--in winter!--where he hopes to kill two birds with one stone: avoid all temptation, and repay the friend who saved his life on the fields of Waterloo. But this noble aim drops him straight into opposition with Miss Mirabel Oldridge, a woman every bit as intelligent, obstinate, and devious as he—and maddeningly irresistible.Miss Wonderful was not quite as wonderful as LOS, but it was still a delightful book. A B+.
Mirabel Oldridge already has her hands full keeping her brilliant and aggravatingly eccentric father out of trouble. The last thing she needs is a stunningly attractive, oversensitive and overbright aristocrat reminding her she has a heart--not to mention a body he claims is so unstylishly clothed that undressing her is practically a civic duty.
Could the situation be any worse? And why does something that seems so wrong feel so very wonderful?
The book is a perfect blend of comedy with more serious issues, and it works wonderfully. I just adored the characters, both of them. Alistair, with his almost "silly ass" façade and his dandy-ism, trying to hide his hurts that way, was a dear. He was a war hero with real problems, not just the odd nightmare, and tried to hide the consequences with levity and his very distinctive sense of humour. Mirabel, too, was wonderful: sensible and warm, also with a lovely sense of humour. And I actually thought it was refreshing to have a heroine who would resort to somewhat underhanded tactics to get what she wants.
The development of their relationship was beautiful, and really romantic, too. I especially liked the way their conflict about the canal was given the exact right importance in their interactions... important enough that they were at odds, but both were perfectly aware that it wasn't the end of the world.
Miss Wonderful was a keeper until the last part, where a suspense subplot kicked in, out of the blue, and took over much of the story. Not only wasn't this needed to provide conflict, because there was more than enough tension between Alistair and Mirabel due to the canal, it didn't fit in well with the tone of the rest of the story.
Still, with two engaging characters and a wonderfully witty writing style, this book was a winner.
Friday, July 16, 2004
The Legend of Banzai Maguire, by Susan Grant
The Legend of Banzai Maguire (excerpt), by Susan Grant is the first in a new futuristic series Dorchester will publish. I'm so happy futuristics are hot again!
The main strength of this book was the worldbuilding, which was really fascinating and fresh. Grant did a good job in setting it up, giving us just enough that the action here was understandable but still giving us some tantalizing hints of other things that will be explored in the next books. It definitely sounds complicated enough that it'll take all 5 books to explore. This is what I want in a futuristic! And BTW, the reviews of the next books sound really good, and I know that book 4 is by Patti O'Shea, an author whose only book so far I enjoyed very much.
The romance part of it all was ok, though not amazingly good. I liked Bree very much. She's a really kickass heroine and a very sympathetic one. Ty was less interesting, he was basically your garden variety SEAL hero, though he did have some interesting edges, like his ambiguity about the country he was defending. There's actually not a lot of focus on the romance, and that would be one of the very few negatives I found.
I did found that in certain ways this is very much destined to US readers (duh!) ;-) What I mean is, there are some patriotic rah-rah-rah things there, not about what the US is then (or rather, what the US became then), but about what it is and supposedly simbolizes now. I guess the intention was to make the reader feel proud and stir her patriotism, but well, not being American, my reaction was more in the line of snorting and muttering "Yeah, right". This is not too heavy-handed, though, so I was well able to ignore it.
Anyway, I'm really pumped about the series and am eagerly awaiting the next one (I know it's out already, I'm waiting for it to get here).
The year: 2006. The mission: routine. Or so U.S.A.F. pilot Bree "Banzai" Maguire thinks. Then she's shot down over enemy airspace, captured and put in bio-stasis. When she wakes, everything's changed. It's one hundred and seventy years later.An intriguing start to the series, I'd grade it a B+.
2176: the world is in crisis, and Banzai's a hotly contested prize. Once, her job was to protect democracy; now a mysterious voice claims she must bring it back.
Two men vie for her heart. Kyber, her captor, the rich, ruthless Emperor Prince of Asia, has all a man could desire. Then there's U.C.E. SEAL commander and would-be rescuer Ty Armstrong. He has all the right moves. With two such choices, Banzai regrets she has but one heart to give for her country.
The main strength of this book was the worldbuilding, which was really fascinating and fresh. Grant did a good job in setting it up, giving us just enough that the action here was understandable but still giving us some tantalizing hints of other things that will be explored in the next books. It definitely sounds complicated enough that it'll take all 5 books to explore. This is what I want in a futuristic! And BTW, the reviews of the next books sound really good, and I know that book 4 is by Patti O'Shea, an author whose only book so far I enjoyed very much.
The romance part of it all was ok, though not amazingly good. I liked Bree very much. She's a really kickass heroine and a very sympathetic one. Ty was less interesting, he was basically your garden variety SEAL hero, though he did have some interesting edges, like his ambiguity about the country he was defending. There's actually not a lot of focus on the romance, and that would be one of the very few negatives I found.
I did found that in certain ways this is very much destined to US readers (duh!) ;-) What I mean is, there are some patriotic rah-rah-rah things there, not about what the US is then (or rather, what the US became then), but about what it is and supposedly simbolizes now. I guess the intention was to make the reader feel proud and stir her patriotism, but well, not being American, my reaction was more in the line of snorting and muttering "Yeah, right". This is not too heavy-handed, though, so I was well able to ignore it.
Anyway, I'm really pumped about the series and am eagerly awaiting the next one (I know it's out already, I'm waiting for it to get here).
Thursday, July 15, 2004
For The Thrill of It!, by Patricia Ryan
For The Thrill of It!, by Patricia Ryan is one of those books I've no idea why I bought. I usually avoid pregnancy plots like the plague!
On the positive side, it was a friends-falling-in-love story, which I always enjoy, and it featured a yummy guy falling hard for an intelligent, good-looking but not model-like heroine, which is always a nice fantasy.
On the negative side, as much as the author really tried to make it all feel as natural as possible, there's no escaping the fact that this was an "only in romance novels" situation. I kind of bought into their decision to marry (even if the "hero deciding to marry to get away from matchmakers" is so contrived it hurts), but the contortions to try to keep the rest of the family from finding out the truth about the marriage were beyond what I was able to accept.
Still, cute book.
Clay Granger thrived on life in the fast lane. He wasn't afraid to take on his friend Izzy's "problem." Besides, a temporary wife was just what he needed; matchmakers were making his life miserable.It was a nice book. Nothing too remarkably good, nothing too remarkably bad. A nice enough way to spend a couple of hours. I'd rate it a B-.
Izzy Fabrioni was pregnant and alone, except for her best friend, Clay, who just happened to be the most eligible bachelor in the world. The most eligible and the riskiest. He'd do just about anything just for the thrill of it--including marrying her!
On the positive side, it was a friends-falling-in-love story, which I always enjoy, and it featured a yummy guy falling hard for an intelligent, good-looking but not model-like heroine, which is always a nice fantasy.
On the negative side, as much as the author really tried to make it all feel as natural as possible, there's no escaping the fact that this was an "only in romance novels" situation. I kind of bought into their decision to marry (even if the "hero deciding to marry to get away from matchmakers" is so contrived it hurts), but the contortions to try to keep the rest of the family from finding out the truth about the marriage were beyond what I was able to accept.
Still, cute book.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Kill and Tell, by Linda Howard
I recently reread Kill and Tell, a book I remembered as one of my favourite Linda Howards.
The problem was that Kill and Tell has a lot more emphasis on the suspense subplot than I remembered. I'd say about a third of the book is devoted to scenes showing the plotting and machinations of the villains, and I'm afraid that bored me out of my head. Luckily, I remembered the bare bones of it, so I could just skim over those sections and zero in on the romance.
Not only were these parts very uninteresting, I must say that certain things in them made me very uncomfortable, like when they talk about John Medina's father, Rick, and his work as a sniper in Vietnam, the author portraying as a "righteous kill" an "execution, not a murder" the torture of two Vietnamese done with the purpose of teaching a lesson. As Howard herself puts it: "after that, the young American soldiers had enjoyed a bit more safety when carousing in the Saigon bars and whorehouses". That makes me want to gag.
Completely ignoring all this, the romance was pretty good. It should be creepy, how Marc focuses on Karen on an instant and coolly decides he wants to have a relationship with her and starts deciding which steps he needs to take to manipulate her into agreeing fast, before she needs to leave. However, even if intellectually I recognized how creepy it is, I still found it all very satisfying.
So, basically, my grade for the romance would be a B+ verging on an A-, but the rest of the book lowered it quite a bit.
Still reeling from her mother's recent death, Karen Whitlaw is stunned when she receives a package containing a mysterious notebook from the father she has barely seen since his return from the Vietnam War over twenty years ago. Unwilling to deal with her overwhelming emotions, Karen packs the notebook away, putting it—and her father—out of her mind, until she receives a shocking phone call. Her father has been murdered on the gritty streets of New Orleans.I still very much enjoyed the romance in it, but it wasn't exactly as good as I remembered. A B.
Homicide dectective Marc Chastain considers the murder nothing more than street violence against a homeless man, and Karen accepts his judgement—at firt. But she changes her mind when her home is burglarized and accidents begin to happen. All at once, she faces a chilling realization: whoever killed her father is now after her. Desperate for answers, Karen retrieves the only think that links her to her father—the notebook he had sent months before. Inside its worn pages, she makes an unsettling discovery: her father had been a sniper in Vietnam and the notebook contains a detailed account of each one of his kills.
Now running for her life, Karen entrusts the book and its secrets to Marc Chastain. Together they unravel a disturbing story of politics, power, and murder—and face a killer who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the kill book.
The problem was that Kill and Tell has a lot more emphasis on the suspense subplot than I remembered. I'd say about a third of the book is devoted to scenes showing the plotting and machinations of the villains, and I'm afraid that bored me out of my head. Luckily, I remembered the bare bones of it, so I could just skim over those sections and zero in on the romance.
Not only were these parts very uninteresting, I must say that certain things in them made me very uncomfortable, like when they talk about John Medina's father, Rick, and his work as a sniper in Vietnam, the author portraying as a "righteous kill" an "execution, not a murder" the torture of two Vietnamese done with the purpose of teaching a lesson. As Howard herself puts it: "after that, the young American soldiers had enjoyed a bit more safety when carousing in the Saigon bars and whorehouses". That makes me want to gag.
Completely ignoring all this, the romance was pretty good. It should be creepy, how Marc focuses on Karen on an instant and coolly decides he wants to have a relationship with her and starts deciding which steps he needs to take to manipulate her into agreeing fast, before she needs to leave. However, even if intellectually I recognized how creepy it is, I still found it all very satisfying.
So, basically, my grade for the romance would be a B+ verging on an A-, but the rest of the book lowered it quite a bit.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Total Surrender, by Cheryl Holt
On Sunday, I started Total Surrender (excerpt), by new-to-me author Cheryl Holt.
The opening of the book is terrible. First of all, the hero comes across as the most hypocritical, judgemental whiner I've ever read. He absolutely despises all those rich amoral women, who screw around, and yet he's the one they screw around with. He tries to justify it with some nonesense about how it's partly to punish their husbands, because they're just as debauched and amoral, but as far as I'm concerned, this makes him look even more hypocritical. Um, honey, who appointed you God?
Then, the first scene, when Michael is invited by Sarah's cousin to come to Sarah's room, is laughable. Of course, he assumes she's one of "those" women he despises so much, and is simply playacting when she says no. This could have been a provocative opening, in the hands of a good author, but it felt very awkward, with Sarah reacting like a total ninny, and then, when she managed to get the message across that she wasn't willing, for some reason she starts questioning the guy who almost raped her about what exactly sex entails. WTF? Paraphrasing: "If we'd continued in this vein you would have taken my virginity?" "And what would that have entailed?". Oh, please!
After that, Sarah discovers her room has a peephole into a secret room. She can't resist the temptation to look, and sees Michael having sex with various women, throughout three nights. Apparently, this is a kind of game they play in this orgiastic party. He'll be there, and any woman in the party who wants to be serviced by him simply needs to enter the room and state what she wants.
I almost chucked the room in the first scene this happened, and I'm sorry I didn't. It wasn't just the fact that, as a rule, I dislike seeing the hero having sex with another woman. My main problem was the almost cruel way he used these annonymous women. He was terribly contemptuous and didn't even care enough to give most of them pleasure, just simply had them suck him off. That's what I couldn't accept about him. Not the fact that he'd had a not very discriminating sex life, but that he would have sex with women he despised. If he'd simply been promiscuous but had had some fondness for his partners, or got some joy out of the sex, ok, I wouldn't have been crazy about this, but it would have been tolerable. But no, he tries to "denigrate" the women he screws (and yes, he actually does think that he intends to denigrate them), and this is such a sick, sick attitude that I can't accept this guy as the hero.
I guess these scenes are supposed to be erotic, but they felt so tawdry and skanky that I simply didn't find them erotic or titillating, simply distasteful. And the fact that Sarah finds herself getting excited about watching him there... yuck!
I didn't like the writing style, either. I don't usually even notice writing style, unless it's remarkably good or remarkably bad, and Holt's unfortunately falls into the latter category. It's horribly, horribly purple. It's as if Holt's idea of something that sounds "historical" is to grab a thesaurus and change as many words as possible for their more complicated-sounding synonyms. It didn't work, the writing just felt bloated and unnatural and it was very distracting, because she'd often pick a synonym that had different connotations than the word she was obviously trying to substitute, so she'd end up with some really puzzling choices.
I really hate not to finish books, but I've got far too many promising novels in my TBR shelf to waste more of my time with this. Unfortunately, I have another of Holt's books there, Absolute Pleasure. I won't be reading it any time soon.
He was a master in seduction...I'm now on page 150 and cannot bear to go on. This is awful, absolutely awful, and I refuse to continue to put myself through the aggravation of trying to read it. It may be unfair of me, since I haven't finished it, but I rate Total Surrender an F.
With the last of her family's possessions gambled away by her dissolute brother, Lady Sarah Compton has traveled to a country house gala for one last moment of grace and beauty. But she is unaware that the occasion is actually a notorious trysting event, where members of the aristrocracy can indulge their every sensual fantasy and erotic whim. Nor does she realize that the striking man who has stolen into her bedroom is none other than Michael Stevens—a rake who gives and takes his pleasures boldly...
She was a pupil, willing to learn...
The bastard son of an earl, Michael Stevens relishes his reputation as London's most notorious seducer. But he has no idea what to make of the auburn-haired beauty he'd nearly mistaken for a new conquest or how such an innocent could possibly have been invited to a gathering where London's bored elite caters to each other's carnal desires. When the lady refuses to heed Michaels' warning—to leave the house for her own protection—a powerful attraction grows, and soon, he longs to tutor the very proper Lady Sarah Compton in the art of passion...
The opening of the book is terrible. First of all, the hero comes across as the most hypocritical, judgemental whiner I've ever read. He absolutely despises all those rich amoral women, who screw around, and yet he's the one they screw around with. He tries to justify it with some nonesense about how it's partly to punish their husbands, because they're just as debauched and amoral, but as far as I'm concerned, this makes him look even more hypocritical. Um, honey, who appointed you God?
Then, the first scene, when Michael is invited by Sarah's cousin to come to Sarah's room, is laughable. Of course, he assumes she's one of "those" women he despises so much, and is simply playacting when she says no. This could have been a provocative opening, in the hands of a good author, but it felt very awkward, with Sarah reacting like a total ninny, and then, when she managed to get the message across that she wasn't willing, for some reason she starts questioning the guy who almost raped her about what exactly sex entails. WTF? Paraphrasing: "If we'd continued in this vein you would have taken my virginity?" "And what would that have entailed?". Oh, please!
After that, Sarah discovers her room has a peephole into a secret room. She can't resist the temptation to look, and sees Michael having sex with various women, throughout three nights. Apparently, this is a kind of game they play in this orgiastic party. He'll be there, and any woman in the party who wants to be serviced by him simply needs to enter the room and state what she wants.
I almost chucked the room in the first scene this happened, and I'm sorry I didn't. It wasn't just the fact that, as a rule, I dislike seeing the hero having sex with another woman. My main problem was the almost cruel way he used these annonymous women. He was terribly contemptuous and didn't even care enough to give most of them pleasure, just simply had them suck him off. That's what I couldn't accept about him. Not the fact that he'd had a not very discriminating sex life, but that he would have sex with women he despised. If he'd simply been promiscuous but had had some fondness for his partners, or got some joy out of the sex, ok, I wouldn't have been crazy about this, but it would have been tolerable. But no, he tries to "denigrate" the women he screws (and yes, he actually does think that he intends to denigrate them), and this is such a sick, sick attitude that I can't accept this guy as the hero.
I guess these scenes are supposed to be erotic, but they felt so tawdry and skanky that I simply didn't find them erotic or titillating, simply distasteful. And the fact that Sarah finds herself getting excited about watching him there... yuck!
I didn't like the writing style, either. I don't usually even notice writing style, unless it's remarkably good or remarkably bad, and Holt's unfortunately falls into the latter category. It's horribly, horribly purple. It's as if Holt's idea of something that sounds "historical" is to grab a thesaurus and change as many words as possible for their more complicated-sounding synonyms. It didn't work, the writing just felt bloated and unnatural and it was very distracting, because she'd often pick a synonym that had different connotations than the word she was obviously trying to substitute, so she'd end up with some really puzzling choices.
I really hate not to finish books, but I've got far too many promising novels in my TBR shelf to waste more of my time with this. Unfortunately, I have another of Holt's books there, Absolute Pleasure. I won't be reading it any time soon.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
The Prince of Midnight, by Laura Kinsale
I've been on a bit of a Laura Kinsale phase lately, so even though I hadn't heard much about The Prince of Midnight, I borrowed it from a friend as soon as I heard she had it.
What I liked best was how fresh The Prince of Midnight felt, and not just because it paired a totally romantic and idealistic hero with a very tortured heroine, which is something you definitely do not see every day. It also had settings and situations which haven't been done to death, and that's always good.
I enjoyed the romance. Leigh could have been a little hard to warm up to, with her almost gratuitous coldness towards S.T., but there were always enough hints of her past that I could understand her. My own opinion was that she was still in shock, and trying very hard to remain in that condition, so as not to feel anything. I guess she thought that if she allowed herself to feel something, even the smallest warmness towards S.T. (or Nemo, or the horses, for that matter), all her defenses would have come down and she'd feel so much grief and anger and sadness that she wouldn't be able to function well enough to do what she had to do.
It was interesting to see this experienced, tortured heroine, who seems perfectly capable to separate sex from love paired up with a hero who's so romantic and idealistic and so NOT able to separate sex and love. I really liked the romance.
On the negative side is that it all felt a little overcrowded by the many, many things that were happening, which meant that certain aspects, like the religious cult which had taken over Leigh's hometown were a little underused, I thought. Their fight against this was anticlimatic... too easy, I guess, considering that this was what they'd been working up towards during most of the book. Still, this wasn't too bad.
On the whole, a worthy way of spending some hours. So far, every Kinsale I've read has been very different, both from each other and from the usual romance fare, and this is what I especially appreciate about this author.
Oh, but before I forget! God, what a horrible, horrible cover! I had to cover the book in brown paper to resist the sick compulsion to just stare at that cheesy Fabio. I refuse to put this horror on my blog, so just click here if you'd like to see it.
He was once a legendary highwayman. Now he's a recluse, living out his life in a ruined hideaway. When Lady Leigh Strachan comes looking for a man who can teach her how to wreak revenge on her enemy, she's disgusted and disillusioned to find that the famed Prince of Midnight can hardly stand steady on his own two feet. S.T. Maitland wants nothing to do with his former criminal career, or with this fierce, beautiful, unhappy woman, until the old thrill of living on the cutting edge of danger begins to rise in his blood again.This didn't make it into my favourite Kinsale list, but it was still quite good. A B+.
What I liked best was how fresh The Prince of Midnight felt, and not just because it paired a totally romantic and idealistic hero with a very tortured heroine, which is something you definitely do not see every day. It also had settings and situations which haven't been done to death, and that's always good.
I enjoyed the romance. Leigh could have been a little hard to warm up to, with her almost gratuitous coldness towards S.T., but there were always enough hints of her past that I could understand her. My own opinion was that she was still in shock, and trying very hard to remain in that condition, so as not to feel anything. I guess she thought that if she allowed herself to feel something, even the smallest warmness towards S.T. (or Nemo, or the horses, for that matter), all her defenses would have come down and she'd feel so much grief and anger and sadness that she wouldn't be able to function well enough to do what she had to do.
It was interesting to see this experienced, tortured heroine, who seems perfectly capable to separate sex from love paired up with a hero who's so romantic and idealistic and so NOT able to separate sex and love. I really liked the romance.
On the negative side is that it all felt a little overcrowded by the many, many things that were happening, which meant that certain aspects, like the religious cult which had taken over Leigh's hometown were a little underused, I thought. Their fight against this was anticlimatic... too easy, I guess, considering that this was what they'd been working up towards during most of the book. Still, this wasn't too bad.
On the whole, a worthy way of spending some hours. So far, every Kinsale I've read has been very different, both from each other and from the usual romance fare, and this is what I especially appreciate about this author.
Oh, but before I forget! God, what a horrible, horrible cover! I had to cover the book in brown paper to resist the sick compulsion to just stare at that cheesy Fabio. I refuse to put this horror on my blog, so just click here if you'd like to see it.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Daughter of the Game, by Tracy Grant
Daughter of the Game, by Tracy Grant spent quite a few months in my TBR. I wish I'd read it earlier!
A London night in November 1819. Outside, a mist hovers over the cobblestones and yellow pools of lamplight glow with murky radiance. And inside the glittering mansions of society's finest families lushly dressed ladies dance the night away with coolly elegant gentlemen...and the latest gossip is exchanged with a tilt of a fan. Surely in a world of such supreme confidence, no evil could touch those charmed lives.Ok, wow! Just, wow! This is only my second A+ book this year.
On this cloud-shrouded evening the unthinkable comes to pass: six-year-old Colin Fraser vanishes from the cocoon of his family's Berkeley Square home. His disappearance plunges his socially -- and politically -- prominent parents, Charles and Mélanie Fraser, into a maze of intrigue, one that stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars.
Charles is a former intelligence agent and the grandson of a duke who is now a member of Parliament. He possesses a cool intellect and a burning sense of justice. Driven by the devastation he saw during the war and by his own family's sordid history, he is a man who will not rest until he discovers the truth. Mélanie is a war refugee who charms London's beau monde at routs and receptions, all the while writing pamphlets on child labor and women's education. In a world where marriage is a matter of convenience and love is a game, their union is a model of constancy.
As Colin's ransom, his captors demand a ring...not just any ring, but the legendary Carevalo Ring. Many people, it seems, are enticed by the gold and ruby ornament, but are they lured by its beauty or by the promise of power that surrounds it? And there are those, perhaps even elements in the British government, who would kill to possess it.
Charles and Mélanie's race against time to recover the ring and save their son becomes a dark and perilous game, where plot plays upon counterplot. Their hunt takes them to the Drury Lane Theatre and the debtors' prison in the Marshalsea, a London gaming hell and a Brighton racing stable, a gin-soaked brothel and a Thames-side villa. They uncover a chilling labyrinth of secrets, both personal and political, that binds them together in unexpected ways and threatens to destroy them.
I'll try to not give to much away in my comments, but if you prefer absolutely no spoilers (and this is a book in which it would be a good idea to go in not knowing anything), you might want to stop reading.
Like the other book I gave an A+ grade, Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night, Daughter of the Game is not a "romance novel", but a mystery with a strong romance element.
While both books were completely different, both in the type of mystery and in the circumstances of the characters' romance, I actually saw a bit of the Peter - Harriet relationship in the total equality of Charles and Mélanie's, the way they respected one another's capabilities and understood that each person, in the end, belongs only to him or herself. This was especially clear in the end, in the respect shown by the fact that Charles was able to accept and understand that, as the author puts it, Mélanie wasn't only his wife, but a woman with her own goals and loyalties and honour before she met him, and that he would have done the same thing.
I know Mélanie will be a character difficult to accept for many readers, but I greatly admired her. She did what she had to do to defend the ideals she believed in. I can find nothing reprehensible in her behaviour. And I especially respected her for still believing in these ideals and for never making excuses, just accepting the consequences of her behaviour.
Charles I also admired, for having the broadness of mind to consider other viewpoints than the generally accepted. Actually, I enjoyed the fact that both his and Mélanie's worldviews kind of meshed with mine. I guess it's fashionable right now to be very black and white about good and evil, and very despective of moral relativism, but that's what I believe in. I find absolute certainty very unattractive.
In this vein, I also liked that we are not fed the same old, same old English good - French bad you see everywhere. That has always made me uncomfortable, because knowing what I knew about what had happened politically after Waterloo, I always felt more than a little sympathy for the French's cause. Grant really delves into this, and I especially loved what she did with Charles. I also find blind patriotism unattractive....
The plot was interesting, basically gathering all the pieces of a puzzle, slowly, piece by piece. It was a bit repetitious at times, because most of the steps they took played out similarly, but I guess this makes sense. I did guess that final twist, but only because I started thinking "if I were the author.... " It's almost an obligation to add a final twist in the end, and it felt a little too straighforward to have the only villain be exactly who we had known it to be from the beginning. There was only another possibility, so that had to be it.
Still, without Charles and Mélanie and their backstory, this would have been just an ok mystery. These two were wonderful together, they worked perfectly both as "detectives" and as a couple. It's true that we don't really see much of their functioning as a couple throughout the book, but when the book was over, I knew that however hard it would be to accept and process all the revelations of the previous days, these two loved each other enough to do this and were generous enough to not end up throwing certain things in the other's face.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Golden Fires, by Colleen Shannon
I know I read Golden Fires, by Colleen Shannon some 10 years ago, but I didn't remember a thing about it. However, after reading the wonderful Heart of Fire, I was up for another jungle adventure romance.
It wasn't a bad book either, not at all. For every thing that bothered me about the characters, or the plot, or the storytelling, there were others I enjoyed. The way I felt about the characters illustrates this perfectly.
Lina, for instance, had quite a few things to her that I liked. She was very much a feminist, and I liked and admired the way she was so determined to be an archeologist, and I really understood her frustration at the men around her seeing her just as a pretty ornament and not recognizing that she, too, could feel the need to explore the world. So far, so good.
The problem was that she combined this basic character that I enjoyed with episodes of extreme stupidity. From disregarding Jeremy's advice in the jungle, even though she knows he has lots of experience there (her father and the other guy in the expedition, Baxter, did the same, to be fair) to pulling such TSTL stunts as getting so distracted by an insect that she chases it right over the edge of the boat (forcing Jeremy to dive in after her and wrestle a crocodile to save her), or diving into the jungle alone at night to rescue a jaguar cub (just what's the message there? That a real woman's should have such overdeveloped maternal instincts that she should be ready to rush into danger to rescue anything that's small and/or cuddly?).
And then, after all these idiocies, she proves to be an extremely competent archeologist and capable of saving herself and others during fights, and she even refuses to cave in to Jeremy's demands that she give up everything for him! Who was this woman, feisty, TSTL spoilt little girl or cool, competent feminist archeologist? Her characterization often didn't make much sense.
And then there's Jeremy. He's got the potential to be an interesting character, but I got the feeling that most of his character development had been done in the book this one's the sequel to The Tender Devil. Shannon has him recount his past to Lina, but it never really came alive to me, so I didn't come to understand him. Lina keeps thinking about how he's such a lonely man, so hurt by his past, with so many issues... and I just don't see it.
Another negative was that at certain points, the story becomes pretty repetitious, so much that I sometimes felt as if it was caught in a loop. I lost count of how many times Lina and Jeremy were about to make love, and were interrupted by Lina's father, who upbraided her like a naughty girl. And the scene in which Lina feels close to Jeremy, only to feel soooo hurt when at the least danger, he wants her out of the way? I saw that one even more times.
On the positive side, I really enjoyed the settings, from the quick glimpse of Monaco in the 1880s we got in the beginning, to life on Jeremy's ship, to Mexico and its cities and jungle. This was very well done, as was the actual plot about what happened during the excavation.
So, in the end, a story which was very promising and had a lot going for it ended up being hard to read. Very unfortunate.
AN ADVENTUROUS WOMAN: Lina Collier knew the archaeological expedition would be a grand adventure -- and a great success. She was sure there was gold to be found -- but she didn't realize she would discover another treasure, as well...Golden Fires had some elements I enjoyed, but on the whole, it wasn't a very good book. A C.
A RUGGED MAN: Expedition guide Jeremy Mayhew was sure the journey to Mexico would be a disaster -- but he was swayed by the arguments of the seductive, headstrong girl ... and by her charms.
It wasn't a bad book either, not at all. For every thing that bothered me about the characters, or the plot, or the storytelling, there were others I enjoyed. The way I felt about the characters illustrates this perfectly.
Lina, for instance, had quite a few things to her that I liked. She was very much a feminist, and I liked and admired the way she was so determined to be an archeologist, and I really understood her frustration at the men around her seeing her just as a pretty ornament and not recognizing that she, too, could feel the need to explore the world. So far, so good.
The problem was that she combined this basic character that I enjoyed with episodes of extreme stupidity. From disregarding Jeremy's advice in the jungle, even though she knows he has lots of experience there (her father and the other guy in the expedition, Baxter, did the same, to be fair) to pulling such TSTL stunts as getting so distracted by an insect that she chases it right over the edge of the boat (forcing Jeremy to dive in after her and wrestle a crocodile to save her), or diving into the jungle alone at night to rescue a jaguar cub (just what's the message there? That a real woman's should have such overdeveloped maternal instincts that she should be ready to rush into danger to rescue anything that's small and/or cuddly?).
And then, after all these idiocies, she proves to be an extremely competent archeologist and capable of saving herself and others during fights, and she even refuses to cave in to Jeremy's demands that she give up everything for him! Who was this woman, feisty, TSTL spoilt little girl or cool, competent feminist archeologist? Her characterization often didn't make much sense.
And then there's Jeremy. He's got the potential to be an interesting character, but I got the feeling that most of his character development had been done in the book this one's the sequel to The Tender Devil. Shannon has him recount his past to Lina, but it never really came alive to me, so I didn't come to understand him. Lina keeps thinking about how he's such a lonely man, so hurt by his past, with so many issues... and I just don't see it.
Another negative was that at certain points, the story becomes pretty repetitious, so much that I sometimes felt as if it was caught in a loop. I lost count of how many times Lina and Jeremy were about to make love, and were interrupted by Lina's father, who upbraided her like a naughty girl. And the scene in which Lina feels close to Jeremy, only to feel soooo hurt when at the least danger, he wants her out of the way? I saw that one even more times.
On the positive side, I really enjoyed the settings, from the quick glimpse of Monaco in the 1880s we got in the beginning, to life on Jeremy's ship, to Mexico and its cities and jungle. This was very well done, as was the actual plot about what happened during the excavation.
So, in the end, a story which was very promising and had a lot going for it ended up being hard to read. Very unfortunate.
Friday, July 09, 2004
Heart of Fire, by Linda Howard
I have enjoyed many of Linda Howard's books, which is why I don't understand why I never felt the need to read Heart of Fire before. Unlike some of her books, which I don't think I'll ever read, like All That Glitters or Sarah's Child, people seem to like it, and what I'dheard of it sounded tempting. And yet, I never did grab it until last weekend.
I'm not usually crazy about jungle adventure books, but in this one, even the adventure side of it caught my fancy. I was fascinated by the archeological side of the thing, and thought Howard managed the pacing of the book (usually too fast for my taste in adventure romance) really well. The best thing, though, and what made the book so good, were the protagonists and their relationship.
Ben. Oh, Ben! *sigh* I'm not an alpha kind of girl, but Linda Howard can create some that are absolutely yummy. Some of her heroes cross the line into alpha jerks, but Ben is firmly on the right side of that line. When he got possessive and protective, I didn't get irritated, I melted. The difference was that he explicitly recognized that Jillian was more than able to take care of herself and respected and admired her for this.
LH is a master at creating sexual tension between her characters, and I actually enjoyed Ben's continuous and almost obssessive mental lusting. And when they finally got in the sack, wow! I needed a glass of ice water to cool down. Most important of all, by the time the book was over, I was firmly convinced that Ben and Jillian were in love and that they would deal very well with each other in the future.
Jillian was great, too. She didn't let herself be intimidated by Ben and could more than handle him sexually. They were so much fun together. She also wasn't at all a damsel in distress and was more than ready for what their expedition required of her in regards to physical strenght and mental preparedness.
As a South American myself, and having visited Brazil a few times (if not the Amazon) I was especially interested in how true the setting rang. The verdict: pretty good. There were some whoppers right at the beginning, though, which scared me a little, like Jillian "smuggling in" birth control pills into Brazil. Huh? What the hell does LH think we Latin Americans do for birth control? Pretty much the same they do in the rest of the world. And, I forgot, it's not that the issue is that she couldn't bring in medications into Brazil, which could be possible, because she disguised the pills as antihistamines to bring them in. That really baffled me.
So, there are things like that, but then she has, for instance, a character named Bolivar, which makes it obvious that there was some research there, because no way she could have made that up, or the final scene, in which Ben is watching a football game on TV, and it's the "soccer" kind of football, and he's watching the Brazilian National Team.
On a different note, and this is something that, while inspired by something in the book, isn't about it, I got thinking about the double standards so common in romance novels and got a bit frustrated. There's a character named Therese at the beginning of the book who is a waitress with whom Ben has occasional sex. Now, LH's portrayal of her is quite positive, actually. She's someone who likes to have a lot of sex and isn't too discriminating about who she has it with, but LH doesn't really portray her as a slut, or pit her against Jillian to emphasize that Jillian is more innocent and thus, more worthy of Ben. Also, at one point Ben even gets offended when someone labels her a slut, because, as he thinks, she's not a slut, she's just a fun-loving woman who likes sex.
The thing is, what got me angry was thinking that Ben was very much like Theresa, both in his past and his attitude towards sex and yet, while Ben can be a romance hero and no one will bat an eyelid, there's no way a woman like Theresa could be accepted as a viable romance heroine in today's market. Just depressing.
A fabulous lost Amazon city once inhabited by women warriors and containing a rare red diamond: it sounded like myth, but archeologist Jillian Sherwood believed it was real, and she was willing to put up with anything to find it -- even Ben Lewis. Ruffian, knock-about, and number one river guide in Brazil, Ben was all man -- over six feet of rock-hard muscles that rippled under his khakis, with lazy blue eyes that taunted her from his tanned face. Jillian watched him come to a fast boil when she refused to reveal their exact destination upriver in the uncharted rain forests -- and resolved to stand her ground. Neither of them could foresee what the days ahead promised: an odyssey into the fiery heart of passion and betrayal, and a danger that would force them to cast their fates together, immersed in the eternal, unsolved mysteries of love....It was a wonderful read, which kept me riveted to my seat for the hours it took me to read it. An A-.
I'm not usually crazy about jungle adventure books, but in this one, even the adventure side of it caught my fancy. I was fascinated by the archeological side of the thing, and thought Howard managed the pacing of the book (usually too fast for my taste in adventure romance) really well. The best thing, though, and what made the book so good, were the protagonists and their relationship.
Ben. Oh, Ben! *sigh* I'm not an alpha kind of girl, but Linda Howard can create some that are absolutely yummy. Some of her heroes cross the line into alpha jerks, but Ben is firmly on the right side of that line. When he got possessive and protective, I didn't get irritated, I melted. The difference was that he explicitly recognized that Jillian was more than able to take care of herself and respected and admired her for this.
LH is a master at creating sexual tension between her characters, and I actually enjoyed Ben's continuous and almost obssessive mental lusting. And when they finally got in the sack, wow! I needed a glass of ice water to cool down. Most important of all, by the time the book was over, I was firmly convinced that Ben and Jillian were in love and that they would deal very well with each other in the future.
Jillian was great, too. She didn't let herself be intimidated by Ben and could more than handle him sexually. They were so much fun together. She also wasn't at all a damsel in distress and was more than ready for what their expedition required of her in regards to physical strenght and mental preparedness.
As a South American myself, and having visited Brazil a few times (if not the Amazon) I was especially interested in how true the setting rang. The verdict: pretty good. There were some whoppers right at the beginning, though, which scared me a little, like Jillian "smuggling in" birth control pills into Brazil. Huh? What the hell does LH think we Latin Americans do for birth control? Pretty much the same they do in the rest of the world. And, I forgot, it's not that the issue is that she couldn't bring in medications into Brazil, which could be possible, because she disguised the pills as antihistamines to bring them in. That really baffled me.
So, there are things like that, but then she has, for instance, a character named Bolivar, which makes it obvious that there was some research there, because no way she could have made that up, or the final scene, in which Ben is watching a football game on TV, and it's the "soccer" kind of football, and he's watching the Brazilian National Team.
On a different note, and this is something that, while inspired by something in the book, isn't about it, I got thinking about the double standards so common in romance novels and got a bit frustrated. There's a character named Therese at the beginning of the book who is a waitress with whom Ben has occasional sex. Now, LH's portrayal of her is quite positive, actually. She's someone who likes to have a lot of sex and isn't too discriminating about who she has it with, but LH doesn't really portray her as a slut, or pit her against Jillian to emphasize that Jillian is more innocent and thus, more worthy of Ben. Also, at one point Ben even gets offended when someone labels her a slut, because, as he thinks, she's not a slut, she's just a fun-loving woman who likes sex.
The thing is, what got me angry was thinking that Ben was very much like Theresa, both in his past and his attitude towards sex and yet, while Ben can be a romance hero and no one will bat an eyelid, there's no way a woman like Theresa could be accepted as a viable romance heroine in today's market. Just depressing.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
A Deal With The Devil, by Liz Carlyle
So, with A Deal With The Devil (excerpt), I finally get to my last Liz Carlyle and have no more of hers to read. A real shame. I've enjoyed my reread of her backlist very much.
Like the way it explores the fine line existing between a romance between boss and employee and a story about sexual harassment. I like that Carlyle didn't shy away from showing that even having Giles not blackmail Aubrey into giving in to his requests isn't enough, because Aubrey fills in the blanks herself. She doubts whether he can trust his assurances that he wants her to be willing, and he can never be sure that she understands that she won't be fired for refusing him. Both are very aware of this, and the best parts of the book are when they are dancing around this issue. It gives the book a piquancy, an element of the forbidden that I liked and an angst and sexual tension that I really enjoyed.
In the last part of the book, once things are more settled between them, this source of tension mostly disappears, and the emotional power of the book diminishes a bit, but it was still very satisfying.
Also, very fortunately, Carlyle continues the tendency she started in The Devil You Know and moves away from the heavier and heavier suspense subplots present in her previous books. The emphasis here was wholly on Giles and Aubrey, not on the suspense subplot. And what there was of it, was actually enjoyable, giving us a chance to catch up with some characters from previous books. This was really enjoyable, because the appearances by these characters weren't pointless, as they often are in other books. They had roles that made perfect sense in this story. And at last! A hero and heroine who are happy to leave the investigation of a crime to the experts!
I was actually a sad to finish this one. Now I can only wait for The Devil To Pay next year...
Aubrey Montford claims to be a widowed housekeeper. Desperate to keep her new post - and her secrets - she transforms desolate Castle Cardow into a profitable estate. Yet soon after her employer, Lord Walrafen, returns from long years of absences, Aubrey is suspected of murder. Sparks and tempers ignite whenever she and the smoldering earl meet, but he may be her only hope.My first impulse is to say that this one was thisclose to being an A-range book, but compared to other of Carlyle's, it just didn't deliver as much emotional punch. However, when I compare it to other books in the market and having let a couple of weeks go by, which has allowed me to "mature" my impressions of the book, so to speak, I feel I need to give this an A-.
Walrafen returns reluctantly to the childhood home he loathes. Cardow is said to be haunted - by more than the earl’s sad memories - but it was no ghost that murdered his uncle. Is the castle’s beautiful chatelaine a murderess? At the very least, she’s a liar - he has proof. Yet the truth of his soul is that he’s drawn to her with a fierce passion he’s never known...
Like the way it explores the fine line existing between a romance between boss and employee and a story about sexual harassment. I like that Carlyle didn't shy away from showing that even having Giles not blackmail Aubrey into giving in to his requests isn't enough, because Aubrey fills in the blanks herself. She doubts whether he can trust his assurances that he wants her to be willing, and he can never be sure that she understands that she won't be fired for refusing him. Both are very aware of this, and the best parts of the book are when they are dancing around this issue. It gives the book a piquancy, an element of the forbidden that I liked and an angst and sexual tension that I really enjoyed.
In the last part of the book, once things are more settled between them, this source of tension mostly disappears, and the emotional power of the book diminishes a bit, but it was still very satisfying.
Also, very fortunately, Carlyle continues the tendency she started in The Devil You Know and moves away from the heavier and heavier suspense subplots present in her previous books. The emphasis here was wholly on Giles and Aubrey, not on the suspense subplot. And what there was of it, was actually enjoyable, giving us a chance to catch up with some characters from previous books. This was really enjoyable, because the appearances by these characters weren't pointless, as they often are in other books. They had roles that made perfect sense in this story. And at last! A hero and heroine who are happy to leave the investigation of a crime to the experts!
I was actually a sad to finish this one. Now I can only wait for The Devil To Pay next year...
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Mistress, by Amanda Quick
I did a reread of Amanda Quick's Mistress this weekend. The last time I'd reread it had been in January 2003, over a year and a half ago. Here's my post from that date. I gave an A that time.
Here's the blurb I posted there:
Here's the blurb I posted there:
After a year of grand adventures touring the classical ruins of Italy and Greece, Iphiginia Bright returned to England to discover that the real excitement was at home. It seems that her Aunt Zoe has fallen victim to a sinister blackmailer and only Iphiginia can hope to stop the culprit before he can do more harm. Her plan is inspired: Imitating history's most legendary beauties--Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Aphrodite--the former schoolmistress will remake herself, and descend upon London Society as the dazzling mistress of Marcus Valerius Cloud, the infamous Earl of Masters. Rumors hint that the Earl has disappeared at the blackmailer's hands, and by posing as his unknown mistress, Iphiginia is convinced she can ferret out the villain.Reading what I wrote then, I don't have much more to add. I liked exactly what I liked then, and disliked the same, namely the suspense subplot. I'd give it an A- this time, though. It all depends on one's mood, right?
Overnight, Iphiginia is transformed into a vision with a host of eager admirers, including one she does not expect -- the Earl of Masters himself, who strides into a shimmering ballroom one evening to cooly reclaim his "mistress". He is everything they say he is... arrogant, attractive, devastatingly seductive, and Iphiginia can't help but be enthralled. But when Marcus agrees to play along with her charade, she doesn't know that the determined earl has plans of his own: to tease and tempt her, until the beautiful deceiver becomes more than his mistress in name only.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Heaven and Earth, by Nora Roberts
Heaven and Earth is the second in Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island trilogy, coming after Dance Upon the Air and before Face The Fire.
Most people will agree with me that Mac is a really yummy hero. He's a genuinely nice guy, highly intelligent, with a touch of the nerd in him, but also built and confident and strong.
Ripley I'm sure is much more problematic. I liked her very much myself, but I'm sure her crankiness and insistence on denying her powers will have turned off many people. It didn't really bother me. I mean, she's rude and quick to become angry, but she's rarely cruel or mean. I very much enjoyed her sparring with Mac, and I loved the way both were so baffled by the chemistry between them. I also liked her attitude towards sex. When reading the first book in the trilogy I wondered if Roberts was really going to write a character who was... not promiscuous, really, but a bit more casual than usual towards sex. I was afraid she'd tone it down; not make her a secret virgin, because I know Roberts' books enough to know she wouldn't do that (I hope!), but more uptight than she seemed. She didn't. Ripley is just as promised, and I liked it.
The best part of the book was the development of the romance. Mac was, of course, the one to fall first, and he was so endearing when he did. I loved that guy!
The subplot about the evil forces attacking the island and the playing out in the present of the 16th century legend about the three witches wasn't as good, though I did like it much more than I expected. I actually enjoyed the way all of them, Ripley and Mac, together with Mia, Nell and Zach, worked together.
All in all, a really enjoyable book.
Ripley Todd just wants to live a quiet, peaceful kind of life. Her job as a sheriff's deputy keeps her busy and happy, and she has no trouble finding men when she wants them-which, lately, isn't all that often. She's perfectly content, except for one thing: she has special powers that both frighten and confuse her-and though she tries hard to hide them, she can't get them under control....I'm probably alone here, but this one's my favourite in the trilogy. a B+.
Distraction soon arrives in the handsome form of MacAllister Booke-a researcher who's come to investigate the rumors of witchcraft that haunt Three Sisters Island. Right from the start, he knows there's something extraordinary about Ripley Todd. It's not just her blazing green eyes and her sultry smile. There's something else. Something he can detect, but she'll never admit. Fascinated by her struggle with her amazing abilities, he becomes determined to help her accept who she is-and find the courage to open her heart.
But before Ripley and Mac can dream of what lies in the future, they must confront the pain of the past. For Three Sisters shelters centuries of secrets-and a legacy of danger that plagues them still....
Most people will agree with me that Mac is a really yummy hero. He's a genuinely nice guy, highly intelligent, with a touch of the nerd in him, but also built and confident and strong.
Ripley I'm sure is much more problematic. I liked her very much myself, but I'm sure her crankiness and insistence on denying her powers will have turned off many people. It didn't really bother me. I mean, she's rude and quick to become angry, but she's rarely cruel or mean. I very much enjoyed her sparring with Mac, and I loved the way both were so baffled by the chemistry between them. I also liked her attitude towards sex. When reading the first book in the trilogy I wondered if Roberts was really going to write a character who was... not promiscuous, really, but a bit more casual than usual towards sex. I was afraid she'd tone it down; not make her a secret virgin, because I know Roberts' books enough to know she wouldn't do that (I hope!), but more uptight than she seemed. She didn't. Ripley is just as promised, and I liked it.
The best part of the book was the development of the romance. Mac was, of course, the one to fall first, and he was so endearing when he did. I loved that guy!
The subplot about the evil forces attacking the island and the playing out in the present of the 16th century legend about the three witches wasn't as good, though I did like it much more than I expected. I actually enjoyed the way all of them, Ripley and Mac, together with Mia, Nell and Zach, worked together.
All in all, a really enjoyable book.
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Irresistible Forces, an anthology
I've been eagerly anticipating reading the anthology Irresistible Forces since I first read the review. I really like sci-fi romance, and this one seemed to be something different from the cheesy barbarian / virgin healer variety.
The anthology starts on a high note with Lois McMaster Bujold's story, Winterfair Gifts. The story takes place during the preparations for Miles Vorksigan and Ekaterin Vorsoisson's wedding. I've read only one Bujold so far, Shards of Honor, which the first book about Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, parents of Miles, and I read this one about a year ago.This means that much of the background here was lost on me. I have a vague knowledge what's what in this universe, and absolutely none about Miles and his friends. So, all the stuff about all the guests coming and going, which I suppose was designed to make long-time followers of the series catch up with old friends, was lost on me. Some names were vaguely familiar, like Bothari, but I don't really know who they were.
However, it was possible to ignore these distractions and the story narrated here was really engaging. The romance between the shy, provincial palace guard and the gigantic, bioengineered bodyguard with the intimidating fanged smile (this last was the female, btw), was lovely, and the story was a good blend of plot and character development. I'd give it a B+. I really have to get the rest of the books in the series...
The second story was The Alchemical Marriage, by long time favourite author Mary Jo Putney. I still adore her historicals, especially her Fallen Angels series, but I didn't think she did very well in her contemps. The new direction she seems to be taking, with paranormal historicals, sounds like a step in the right direction.
The next story was Stained Glass Heart, by Catherine Asaro. Here's the blurb from the review at Escape to Romance:
First of all, these two, Vyrl and Lily were much too young! I mean, they were what, 14 when they got married? In the epilogue Vyrl is 19 and they have a 4-year-old. The worst part is that they not only are 14 or 15, they act their age, so I had a hard time buying into them being "in love" enough to get married.
Also, got the impression that if Vyrl had only sat down with his parents and had a serious talk with them, they would have listened and not forced him to marry Devon Majda. The way their relationship to their son was depicted would indicate that they wouldn't have forced him to do something like marry against his will. The whole elopment was, to me, mostly about a young boy's love of a dramatic gesture, more than about any real love he felt for Lily. Also, what are they, rabbits? Everyone seems to have 10 kids here! *shudder*
I found General Majda much more interesting, and I'd have prefered a story about her and her clerk. This was a C+ for me.
The fourth story was definitely my least favourite. Skin Deep was written by a new-to-me author, Deb Stover.
The very next story, The Trouble With Heroes, by Jo Beverley, was my favourite. The blurb I'm going to post is pretty long, but it's worth it.
Still, this was so fascinating that I'd give the story an A-. I hope Beverley has plans to write a full-length sci-fi romance novel at some point in the future.
The last story, Shadows in the Wood, by Jennifer Roberson I also liked very much, which was a surprise, because a priori I wasn't too interested in reading about Robin Hood and Marian going on a mission with Merlin. I've never been too intrigued neither by the Robin Hood nor by the Arthurian legend, but this melding of the two definitely captured my attention the minute I started it. It's very short, but it gives me a nice look at what this author has done with the Robin Hood legend. She has a couple of novels about it, according to the short bio at the back, and having read this, I'm tempted to look for them, especially because Marian seems to be a really kick-ass heroine in Roberson's telling. This story was a B.
So, there was a bit of everything here. Some of the stories have a sci-fi feel, some are just paranormal historicals, some are more fantasy. All in all, it's an interesting collection, and I'd give it a B.
The anthology starts on a high note with Lois McMaster Bujold's story, Winterfair Gifts. The story takes place during the preparations for Miles Vorksigan and Ekaterin Vorsoisson's wedding. I've read only one Bujold so far, Shards of Honor, which the first book about Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, parents of Miles, and I read this one about a year ago.This means that much of the background here was lost on me. I have a vague knowledge what's what in this universe, and absolutely none about Miles and his friends. So, all the stuff about all the guests coming and going, which I suppose was designed to make long-time followers of the series catch up with old friends, was lost on me. Some names were vaguely familiar, like Bothari, but I don't really know who they were.
However, it was possible to ignore these distractions and the story narrated here was really engaging. The romance between the shy, provincial palace guard and the gigantic, bioengineered bodyguard with the intimidating fanged smile (this last was the female, btw), was lovely, and the story was a good blend of plot and character development. I'd give it a B+. I really have to get the rest of the books in the series...
The second story was The Alchemical Marriage, by long time favourite author Mary Jo Putney. I still adore her historicals, especially her Fallen Angels series, but I didn't think she did very well in her contemps. The new direction she seems to be taking, with paranormal historicals, sounds like a step in the right direction.
In "The Alchemical Marriage," the hero, Sir Adam Macrae, is a stubborn Scottish weather magician who is imprisoned in the Tower of London because of his intemperate remarks after Queen Elizabeth executed Mary, Queen of Scots. Expecting death, he is shocked when he receives two visitors to his cell. One is John Dee, the Queen's own sorcerer (a real historical figure), and the other is Isabel de Cortes—descendant of Spanish Marranos, and a gifted mage who is not of the Guardian families.This was a fun story.The idea that the storm that defeated the Great Spanish Armada was actually created by a British weather mage tickled my fancy. The romance itself...hmmm. Not that good. Not enough development, basically, and I really found the "magic sex" cheesy. Maybe a B-?
Dee makes a startling offer: Adam can win his life and freedom if he uses his weather mastery to fend off the Spanish Armada. But can a loyal Scot use his power to help England? Isabel de Cortes will be his assistant, and she is a woman like no other. Perhaps they belong together—if they can survive the dangerous magical work required to save Britain.
The next story was Stained Glass Heart, by Catherine Asaro. Here's the blurb from the review at Escape to Romance:
Prince Havryl Torcellei, Vyrl, has fallen in love with a farmer's daughter, Lilly. He plans a life with Lilly, only to find that his parents have betrothed him to the older, offworlder Devon Majda. They seek an alliance between the house of Majda and Vyrl's own family, the Ruby Dynasty.I loved the worldbuilding. I'm guessing this was part of her Skolian Empire series, which I haven't read yet, but I never felt lost here. And Asaro paints such a beautiful picture of this world! However, the romance was a failure, to me.
First of all, these two, Vyrl and Lily were much too young! I mean, they were what, 14 when they got married? In the epilogue Vyrl is 19 and they have a 4-year-old. The worst part is that they not only are 14 or 15, they act their age, so I had a hard time buying into them being "in love" enough to get married.
Also, got the impression that if Vyrl had only sat down with his parents and had a serious talk with them, they would have listened and not forced him to marry Devon Majda. The way their relationship to their son was depicted would indicate that they wouldn't have forced him to do something like marry against his will. The whole elopment was, to me, mostly about a young boy's love of a dramatic gesture, more than about any real love he felt for Lily. Also, what are they, rabbits? Everyone seems to have 10 kids here! *shudder*
I found General Majda much more interesting, and I'd have prefered a story about her and her clerk. This was a C+ for me.
The fourth story was definitely my least favourite. Skin Deep was written by a new-to-me author, Deb Stover.
Shapeshifting, angelic mission, divine intervention, or insanity? All Nick Riley knows for sure is that he's no Dolly Levi, and being sent back to Earth to find the right man for his own widow is cruel and unusual punishment of the most bizarre kind imaginable....I actually wasn't too enamoured of the premise, because it reminded me to much of certain movies, like What Women Want, comedies with humour which doesn't work for me. And since the story felt very like this type of movie, it didn't work, either. I wasn't charmed by Nick and his reactions at being in a woman's body simply didn't ring true. As for Margo and Jared, well, I never knew anything about Jared and I took an instant dislike to Margo on seeing her reactions in the first scene, at the strip club. The plot of the story was boring, the humour was unfunny and the characters unlikeable. Result? A D- story.
The very next story, The Trouble With Heroes, by Jo Beverley, was my favourite. The blurb I'm going to post is pretty long, but it's worth it.
The people of Earth have learned to travel to the stars, though they have found no other highly developed neighbors. Earth-like planets are adapted for colonization with, in theory, due respect for any life forms already there.I never would have thought of Jo Beverley as a sci-fi romance writer, but she's VERY good at this. She creates a fascinating world here, and gives us a melancholy story, one set during a war and exploring its effects on regular people and especially on the heroes. It does suffer a bit from its length, because this is a story where such huge things are happening that it might be better suited to a novel, especially because the romance simply doesn't have enough space to develop.
When the planet now known as Gaia was discovered, it was the prize; an idyll almost perfect for humans and their chosen animals yet without any large creatures. There was one problem. A force, a something, that appeared to consume animals down to ash, but it was rare and hard to understand, and everything else was so perfect. So, despite the Hostile Amorphous Native Entities, Gaia was settled and has prospered, helped by the fact that over the generations, some Gaians developed an ability to sense and destroy HANES -- or as they are more commonly called, Hellbanes. This ability has a useful side effect. These people can fix almost anything.
Gaia was settled on the Earth Community Plan, which means that colonists set up communities according to their Earth nations and customs, and this story takes place in the English community, Anglia. Jenny Hart is an ordinary citizen leading an ordinary life until the Hellbanes begin to rise, fear drifts on the air, and everyone, but especially her childhood friend, Dan Fixer, begins to change.
Still, this was so fascinating that I'd give the story an A-. I hope Beverley has plans to write a full-length sci-fi romance novel at some point in the future.
The last story, Shadows in the Wood, by Jennifer Roberson I also liked very much, which was a surprise, because a priori I wasn't too interested in reading about Robin Hood and Marian going on a mission with Merlin. I've never been too intrigued neither by the Robin Hood nor by the Arthurian legend, but this melding of the two definitely captured my attention the minute I started it. It's very short, but it gives me a nice look at what this author has done with the Robin Hood legend. She has a couple of novels about it, according to the short bio at the back, and having read this, I'm tempted to look for them, especially because Marian seems to be a really kick-ass heroine in Roberson's telling. This story was a B.
So, there was a bit of everything here. Some of the stories have a sci-fi feel, some are just paranormal historicals, some are more fantasy. All in all, it's an interesting collection, and I'd give it a B.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
I Thee Wed, by Amanda Quick
I think I Thee Wed was the book after which I stopped adoring Amanda Quick's books and started just liking them as comfort reads.
On the positive side are nice characters and Quick's trademark humour. What there was of the romance was quite nice, too. I really enjoyed certain elements like how Emma kept insisting that Edison write her her reference, and Edison's reaction, his annoyance, was a nice way of showing that he had started to care about her and simply didn't want to think about her going her own way when their investigation was over.
The problem was that I felt there just wasn't enough emphasis on the romance, and this made the book a bit flat. They were a bit too focused on the mystery, and this simply wasn't engaging enough for me to be happy to give up space to it that could have been devoted to the romance.
Oh, well, I think I'll do better to go and reread my old Quick favourites.
It isn't easy making a living as a lady's companion when one possesses a sharp tongue and an original mind. That's why Emma Greyson has gone through three such positions in six months. Her current post at a tiresome country house party has her bored to tears--until an extraordinary encounter with the legendary Edison Stokes leads to a secret position as his assistant.I Thee Wed is actually hard to grade. It's very easy to read and very engaging. I'd probably give it a higher grade if it had been written by new author X. I realize this is unfair, but I know Amanda Quick can do so much better, that the disappointment factor has to apply. My grade: a B-.
Stokes is on a peculiar mission, searching for an anonymous thief who has stolen an ancient book of arcane potions. He suspects his quarry is among the party's guests--and that the villain is looking for an intuitive woman on whom to test a certain elixir. A woman just like Emma...
For Emma, the new post brings unexpected passion and chilling danger. But when murder strikes, she realizes the awful truth. Unless she and Edison devise a scheme to outwit a merciless killer, she could forever lose the man of her dreams--and even her very life....
On the positive side are nice characters and Quick's trademark humour. What there was of the romance was quite nice, too. I really enjoyed certain elements like how Emma kept insisting that Edison write her her reference, and Edison's reaction, his annoyance, was a nice way of showing that he had started to care about her and simply didn't want to think about her going her own way when their investigation was over.
The problem was that I felt there just wasn't enough emphasis on the romance, and this made the book a bit flat. They were a bit too focused on the mystery, and this simply wasn't engaging enough for me to be happy to give up space to it that could have been devoted to the romance.
Oh, well, I think I'll do better to go and reread my old Quick favourites.
Monday, June 28, 2004
Lovescape, an anthology
I decided to read the anthology Lovescape based on a question from a friend's sister: "have you read the one with the alien hero?" Who could she have been talking about if not Dara Joy?
The anthology starts with a story by a new-to-me author, Anne Avery, titled A Dance on the Edge.
The next story was Toss The Bouquet, by Phoebe Conn. I've read only one of this author's books, but it was a futuristic, written as Cinnamon Burke, so this was completely different.
The third story was Heart Craving, by Sandra Hill, by far my least favourite in the entire book.
My One, by Dara Joy closed the anthology, and it was the best story, IMO.
Really nice sex, too. I enjoyed that Trystan was a virgin in physical terms, having only practised his alien version of sex, one that was solely mental. The scenes where he's so bewildered at the things his body's doing when it's near Lois were a riot. And the humour worked for me just fine, including all that about how Trystan chose the T-Shirt he was wearing. LOL! This one's a B+.
So, a good story, two just ok ones and a wall-banger, which makes this a B- anthology to me.
The anthology starts with a story by a new-to-me author, Anne Avery, titled A Dance on the Edge.
When interior designer Marlis Jones battles with architect Jack MArtin over email, they discover a love powerful enough to blow their circuits.It was quite a nice story. The most interesting thing about it is that it's narrated almost entirely through emails. There are just a couple of regular scenes, very short, and the rest is just an email exchange. The gimmick actually works very well because, in effect, it means the protagonists spend the entirety of the very short story (about 65 pages) communicating and communicating. They share their innermost feelings and their dreams and goals, so in the end, though the recognition that they were "in love" did feel a bit abrupt, I believed in that love more than I have in many longer stories. A B-.
The next story was Toss The Bouquet, by Phoebe Conn. I've read only one of this author's books, but it was a futuristic, written as Cinnamon Burke, so this was completely different.
After her boyfriend falls short of the altar, bridal florist Regan Paisley spends her vacation days at the beach alone. Then she meets a seductive Italian cyclist who pedals his way into her bed - and her heart.Not too bad. A yummy hero, an idiot heroine, but the hero was nice enough for me to enjoy most of the story, even while realizing the guy was a walking, talking stereotype of an Italian. I didn't see what on Earth he saw in Regan, though. A C+.
The third story was Heart Craving, by Sandra Hill, by far my least favourite in the entire book.
Nicholas DiCello is desperate - his wife Paula plans to divorce him. So when a fortune-telling floozy in a flowered dress swears the only way to win back his wife's love is to discover her heart cravings, he listens.Hill is another author I haven't read much of, only one very forgettable book some years ago. I vaguely remember the humour simply didn't work for me, and this happened again with this story. I actually couldn't even finish it. I simply stopped after 40 or so pages and proceeded to the next story, because this was just unreadable. I found the humour forced and stupid, the hero a jerk and the heroine a weak, shrill little twit. After two scenes where the hero, in spite of the heroine wanting a divorce, practically forces himself on her, and she immediately allows him to, I only wanted to slap the two of them. A D.
My One, by Dara Joy closed the anthology, and it was the best story, IMO.
When Lois Ed pleads with the cosmos to help her through her hard times, she never expects her cry to be answered - by a hunk of an alien with the wildest sense of passion she's ever experienced.Quite a fun story, this one. Trystan was very, very alpha, but he was so teddy bear sweet I actually liked him. I never did get a sense of who Lois was, though. Trystan I got, but not she. Probably wasn't space for her development, because there was so much sex here.
Really nice sex, too. I enjoyed that Trystan was a virgin in physical terms, having only practised his alien version of sex, one that was solely mental. The scenes where he's so bewildered at the things his body's doing when it's near Lois were a riot. And the humour worked for me just fine, including all that about how Trystan chose the T-Shirt he was wearing. LOL! This one's a B+.
So, a good story, two just ok ones and a wall-banger, which makes this a B- anthology to me.
Monday, June 28, 2004
The Kissing Game, by Suzanne Brockmann
As much as I enjoy Suzanne Brockmann's SEAL books, I have a soft spot for the books she used to write before, with no military in it. The Kissing Game is an old favourite.
I'm always a big fan of stories about friends falling in love, and I especially liked that it was Simon who did the pursuing here, the one who decided he wanted more. I especially loved the scene at the hotel when he felt he was losing her to another man. Oh, and that last scene! One of the most romantic I've ever read.
It's actually a very sweet story, and one that's completely character driven. There's no suspense subplot to speak of, Frankie's case is simply to look for someone who has received an inheritance, and there are no dark secrets lurking there.
Nice!
Allowing Simon Hunt to play her partner on her latest assignment probably wasn’t Frankie Paresky’s best idea ever, but the PI found it just as hard as most women did to tell him no! When a chase to solve a long-ago mystery sparked a sizzling attraction between old friends, Frankie wavered between pleasure and panic. Could the best bad boy she’d ever known be the man she’d always love?Well, The Kissing Game is nothing earthshattering, but it's a nice, light, funny read. I happen to think light commedy is as hard to do as dark, intense angst, so I'll give it a B+.
I'm always a big fan of stories about friends falling in love, and I especially liked that it was Simon who did the pursuing here, the one who decided he wanted more. I especially loved the scene at the hotel when he felt he was losing her to another man. Oh, and that last scene! One of the most romantic I've ever read.
It's actually a very sweet story, and one that's completely character driven. There's no suspense subplot to speak of, Frankie's case is simply to look for someone who has received an inheritance, and there are no dark secrets lurking there.
Nice!
Thursday, June 24, 2004
One Sultry Summer, by Laura Leone
Laura Leone's old categories are among my favourites, and I have a few of them in my TBR. The latest one I read was One Sultry Summer.
From what I see in the author's website, One Sultry Summer was her first published romance novel, and I'm afraid it shows. I prize her books because she always has fascinating backgrounds, because she avoids contrived setups and because she always has characters who are grown-ups and who actually talk about things.
This book does well on the first front, setting the action at a kennel. This was really fun. On the second aspect, contrived setups, well, she has the heroine, Vicky, and hero, Race, each inheriting half of a business. Each has different plans for it, and they agree that if after that summer, if Vicky hasn't managed to make the kennel pay its own way, Race will be free to build on the land. So, they must spend the summer both on the estate. This isn't ridiculously contrived, not at all, but it's been done to death. What saves it is the way Vicky and Race deal with the situation, at least at first.
And here we go into the third aspect, the characters who are mature adults and reasonably always talk things through. That's what they are at first, dealing very well with the terms of the will, agreeing on a course of action that is obviously fair. Also at first, I liked how their increasing attraction was done.
But then, things start going downhill, with Vicky coming across as increasingly shrill. One minute she throws herself on Race and the next she pushes him away. And then come the big misunderstandings and stupid assumptions. She receives a phone call for Race from a woman so obviously, she's his girlfriend, and the guy's just toying with her. She finds Race's drawings of possible houses to build at the site and goes nuts because he's going to destroy her dream (I didn't completely understand this one, actually. She has made a deal, surely the guy has a right to make plans for what he might do if he wins?).
And then, near the end of the book, there's an extraneous plot that crops up, involving the family of the guy who left Race and Vicky the estate. A newspaper has broke the story that this guy has left this property to his illegitimate son (Race) and to a woman they suppose was his mistress, so they make this big scandal, so now the family want to contest the will. What drove me crazy wasn't the actions of the family, but the way we're expected to believe that this is such a HUGE news story, big enough that journalists are now staked out in front of the house. Please!
So, there were things I liked, especially at first, but the last part was simply a chore to read. I could see the promise of good books to come here, but this one wasn't good.
A feisty young woman has only one summer to convince her reluctant new partner that her pet boarding kennel can be successful.It's got some nice touches, but even so, I can't give it more than a C+, though some things were good enough that I wish I could.
From what I see in the author's website, One Sultry Summer was her first published romance novel, and I'm afraid it shows. I prize her books because she always has fascinating backgrounds, because she avoids contrived setups and because she always has characters who are grown-ups and who actually talk about things.
This book does well on the first front, setting the action at a kennel. This was really fun. On the second aspect, contrived setups, well, she has the heroine, Vicky, and hero, Race, each inheriting half of a business. Each has different plans for it, and they agree that if after that summer, if Vicky hasn't managed to make the kennel pay its own way, Race will be free to build on the land. So, they must spend the summer both on the estate. This isn't ridiculously contrived, not at all, but it's been done to death. What saves it is the way Vicky and Race deal with the situation, at least at first.
And here we go into the third aspect, the characters who are mature adults and reasonably always talk things through. That's what they are at first, dealing very well with the terms of the will, agreeing on a course of action that is obviously fair. Also at first, I liked how their increasing attraction was done.
But then, things start going downhill, with Vicky coming across as increasingly shrill. One minute she throws herself on Race and the next she pushes him away. And then come the big misunderstandings and stupid assumptions. She receives a phone call for Race from a woman so obviously, she's his girlfriend, and the guy's just toying with her. She finds Race's drawings of possible houses to build at the site and goes nuts because he's going to destroy her dream (I didn't completely understand this one, actually. She has made a deal, surely the guy has a right to make plans for what he might do if he wins?).
And then, near the end of the book, there's an extraneous plot that crops up, involving the family of the guy who left Race and Vicky the estate. A newspaper has broke the story that this guy has left this property to his illegitimate son (Race) and to a woman they suppose was his mistress, so they make this big scandal, so now the family want to contest the will. What drove me crazy wasn't the actions of the family, but the way we're expected to believe that this is such a HUGE news story, big enough that journalists are now staked out in front of the house. Please!
So, there were things I liked, especially at first, but the last part was simply a chore to read. I could see the promise of good books to come here, but this one wasn't good.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Tempted, by Pamela Britton
I first discovered Pamela Britton a few months ago, when I read the wonderful Seduced, and I immediately bought her next release, Tempted.
The book was almost fairy tale-ish , which would be another way of saying that I didn't get much of a "period feel" from it. But then, I'm not much of a stickler for total accuracy. Yes, I do enjoy it when I get it, but I'm very flexible that way, and in a romp like this, I guess accuracy's not the point, and I can enjoy the book anyway.
The basic plot I liked. Mary was a really fun heroine, with zero torturedness (is this even a word??) in her because of her origin. She makes no apologies for her past, tells the truth at an appropriate point, and believes she deserves happiness. Good for her! I'm sick of all those martyrs, so it's very refreshing to get a heroine who refuses to be pushed around, be it by her father, by society or by the hero.
I loved to see her paired with Alex, so stiff-necked and priggish. I loved the way being around Mary made Alex more and more discomfitted by his feelings for her, and how he had to fight so hard to control his impulses. He was a nice hero, basically because his prigishness was tempered by kindness and a sense of humour.
I even had fun with the nanny angle, and the way Mary very definitely wasn't the perfect mommy. She didn't feel all gooey and motherly at the sight of Alex's daughter. In fact, she wasn't particularly fond of kids.
The only problem I had with it was that it may have been too much of a romp for me, too concentrated on being wacky and zany for me to absolutely and totally LOVE it. I did enjoy it and had a good time with it, but it just didn't deliver the kick in the stomach that is, IMO, the mark of a DIK. Still, it was a good way of spending some hours.
He is Alexander DrummondI had lots of fun with Tempted.. A B.
Marquis of Warrick, one of the most feared Revenue Commanders to sail the high seas.
She is Mary Callahan
Smuggler's daughter, sent as a spy to his lordship's household under the guise of a nurse, only...she doesn't like children.
He thinks she's the most outspoken, sharp-tongued shrew he's ever met.
She thinks he's the most uptight, pompous bag of wind she's ever encountered.
However, then, did they ever fall in love?
The book was almost fairy tale-ish , which would be another way of saying that I didn't get much of a "period feel" from it. But then, I'm not much of a stickler for total accuracy. Yes, I do enjoy it when I get it, but I'm very flexible that way, and in a romp like this, I guess accuracy's not the point, and I can enjoy the book anyway.
The basic plot I liked. Mary was a really fun heroine, with zero torturedness (is this even a word??) in her because of her origin. She makes no apologies for her past, tells the truth at an appropriate point, and believes she deserves happiness. Good for her! I'm sick of all those martyrs, so it's very refreshing to get a heroine who refuses to be pushed around, be it by her father, by society or by the hero.
I loved to see her paired with Alex, so stiff-necked and priggish. I loved the way being around Mary made Alex more and more discomfitted by his feelings for her, and how he had to fight so hard to control his impulses. He was a nice hero, basically because his prigishness was tempered by kindness and a sense of humour.
I even had fun with the nanny angle, and the way Mary very definitely wasn't the perfect mommy. She didn't feel all gooey and motherly at the sight of Alex's daughter. In fact, she wasn't particularly fond of kids.
The only problem I had with it was that it may have been too much of a romp for me, too concentrated on being wacky and zany for me to absolutely and totally LOVE it. I did enjoy it and had a good time with it, but it just didn't deliver the kick in the stomach that is, IMO, the mark of a DIK. Still, it was a good way of spending some hours.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
The Devil You Know, by Liz Carlyle
I read Liz Carlyle's The Devil You Know (excerpt) over a week ago, but I've been very remiss in posting.
Since the AAR reviewer mentioned that one of the biggest problems she had with The Devil You Know was that too many important things were tied up to events happening in previous books, I decided I had better reread those books before tackling this one. I'd enjoyed them all and hadn't reread them in some time, so it wasn't much of a hardship.
TDYK is the story of Bentley Rutledge, brother of Cam (Beauty Like the Night) and Catherine (No True Gentleman) and of Frederica d'Avillez, niece of Evie (My False Heart).
Note: I'll try to be as cryptic as possible below, but be advised that there might be some spoilers.
I was so very enthusiastic about reading The Devil You Know, that I became more than a little worried as I started it. It fascinated me at once, so that was not the problem. What worried me was that I didn't know if I was going to be able to enjoy a book with certain elements that this one had. There was the very young (18 years old), very innocent heroine, paired up with an older, much more experienced, extremely promiscuous hero. Thank god, he was quite young, about 26 and a bit boyish, so it wasn't too icky in that sense (I didn't get the pedophilic vibe I would have got if little Freddy had ended up with a 35 year old, very serious and mature hero!), but I'm afraid Bentley was the most disgustingly slutty hero I've read in ages. There's something he says at one point, about how he didn't sleep with the same woman twice, never went more than two days without sex, that horrified me. That would be well over 1000 lovers! Add to all this that Bentley and Frederica end up married because she's pregnant, and she spends most of the book in this condition, and you get a set-up that looked pretty problematic for someone with my tastes.
I don't know how Carlyle did it, but I adored this. For hours after finishing it I couldn't stand to read anything else. I watched a couple of football games on TV, worked on a crossword puzzle, read newspapers... I just wasn't up to getting into another story, because TDYK, and especially Bentley, haunted me. I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd just read. I even went back and reread certain scenes, something I've done only very few times. One scene in particular (Bentley and his brother Cam talking, near the end of the book, the scene where B. reveals all) I think I must have read 4 or 5 times. A book this powerful, one that affects me so strongly, has to be a keeper! An A- for me.
How on Earth could I like Bentley so much? Carlyle gives us some circumstances that give him an excellent explanation for his promiscuous past. In general, I hate it when an author feels she needs to make excuses for a character's sexual past, when she implies that the sex was only a reflection of a deeper problem, especially when the character in question is the heroine, but in Bentley's case, I don't know, I guess I thought it was necessary. If he'd been so indiscriminate only because he enjoyed it, I don't know that I would have been able to buy that he'd now be faithful to his wife for the rest of their lives.
I guessed his secret pretty early, probably because I'd just finished reading the previous books, but, like Freddie, I didn't realize the significance of certain dates (was that cryptic enough?). Thus, I was as horrified as she and Cam, and the final scenes, where everything is revealed, hit me hard. I enjoyed that there was no psychobabble. It's pretty obvious the modern psychology behind Bentley's actions his whole life, but Carlyle doesn't make the mistake of anachronistically put it into the words of the characters. This is set in the 19th century, and she doesn't forget it.
I still think, though, that there was no need to make Frederica so young. Or rather, to have Bentley with such a young heroine. I got a definite feeling that there was a "saved by her purity" thing going on here, and that I didn't like at all.
Another great thing about this book was that there was no suspense subplot. It was all character driven, and I never thought it dragged. I noticed some books ago that Carlyle seemed to be adding more and more suspense subplot with each book, and this was something I didn't like, so I was very happy about the way this process seems to have stopped.
Anyway, this was very enjoyable. I have another new one to read, and then I'm going to have to wait for 2005.
Bentley Rutledge is a rake, a rogue, and an out-and-out blackguard. Scandal trails in his wake, and fair maidens steer well clear of him. Frederica d’Avillez knows better than to trifle with Hell-Bent, but her youthful heart has been crushed by a fickle suitor, and she burns to throw caution to the wind. Who better to burn with than that handsome, hell-bound scoundrel all the ladies whisper about?This was a book with certain elements which I would have thought I'd hate, and yet given my reaction to it, I have to give it a keeper grade. An A-.
Unfortunately, Rutledge is far from the carefree charmer he pretends to be. And when Freddie’s impulsive decision has dire consequences, Rutledge forces her to choose between the devil and her freedom. Soon, an innocent young woman is battling the dark undercurrents of Bentley’s life, struggling against an evil so poignant and painful, it could undermine even the deepest devotion. No one believes this impetuous marriage has a prayer...except Freddie.
Since the AAR reviewer mentioned that one of the biggest problems she had with The Devil You Know was that too many important things were tied up to events happening in previous books, I decided I had better reread those books before tackling this one. I'd enjoyed them all and hadn't reread them in some time, so it wasn't much of a hardship.
TDYK is the story of Bentley Rutledge, brother of Cam (Beauty Like the Night) and Catherine (No True Gentleman) and of Frederica d'Avillez, niece of Evie (My False Heart).
Note: I'll try to be as cryptic as possible below, but be advised that there might be some spoilers.
I was so very enthusiastic about reading The Devil You Know, that I became more than a little worried as I started it. It fascinated me at once, so that was not the problem. What worried me was that I didn't know if I was going to be able to enjoy a book with certain elements that this one had. There was the very young (18 years old), very innocent heroine, paired up with an older, much more experienced, extremely promiscuous hero. Thank god, he was quite young, about 26 and a bit boyish, so it wasn't too icky in that sense (I didn't get the pedophilic vibe I would have got if little Freddy had ended up with a 35 year old, very serious and mature hero!), but I'm afraid Bentley was the most disgustingly slutty hero I've read in ages. There's something he says at one point, about how he didn't sleep with the same woman twice, never went more than two days without sex, that horrified me. That would be well over 1000 lovers! Add to all this that Bentley and Frederica end up married because she's pregnant, and she spends most of the book in this condition, and you get a set-up that looked pretty problematic for someone with my tastes.
I don't know how Carlyle did it, but I adored this. For hours after finishing it I couldn't stand to read anything else. I watched a couple of football games on TV, worked on a crossword puzzle, read newspapers... I just wasn't up to getting into another story, because TDYK, and especially Bentley, haunted me. I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd just read. I even went back and reread certain scenes, something I've done only very few times. One scene in particular (Bentley and his brother Cam talking, near the end of the book, the scene where B. reveals all) I think I must have read 4 or 5 times. A book this powerful, one that affects me so strongly, has to be a keeper! An A- for me.
How on Earth could I like Bentley so much? Carlyle gives us some circumstances that give him an excellent explanation for his promiscuous past. In general, I hate it when an author feels she needs to make excuses for a character's sexual past, when she implies that the sex was only a reflection of a deeper problem, especially when the character in question is the heroine, but in Bentley's case, I don't know, I guess I thought it was necessary. If he'd been so indiscriminate only because he enjoyed it, I don't know that I would have been able to buy that he'd now be faithful to his wife for the rest of their lives.
I guessed his secret pretty early, probably because I'd just finished reading the previous books, but, like Freddie, I didn't realize the significance of certain dates (was that cryptic enough?). Thus, I was as horrified as she and Cam, and the final scenes, where everything is revealed, hit me hard. I enjoyed that there was no psychobabble. It's pretty obvious the modern psychology behind Bentley's actions his whole life, but Carlyle doesn't make the mistake of anachronistically put it into the words of the characters. This is set in the 19th century, and she doesn't forget it.
I still think, though, that there was no need to make Frederica so young. Or rather, to have Bentley with such a young heroine. I got a definite feeling that there was a "saved by her purity" thing going on here, and that I didn't like at all.
Another great thing about this book was that there was no suspense subplot. It was all character driven, and I never thought it dragged. I noticed some books ago that Carlyle seemed to be adding more and more suspense subplot with each book, and this was something I didn't like, so I was very happy about the way this process seems to have stopped.
Anyway, this was very enjoyable. I have another new one to read, and then I'm going to have to wait for 2005.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
For My Lady's Heart, by Laura Kinsale
For My Lady's Heart, by Laura Kinsale is a book I've long wanted to read, but I was a bit leery of Kinsale, as well as being a bit intimidated by the fact that the dialogues here are written in Middle English. After My Sweet Folly, however, I gathered my courage and took the plunge.
(Read what the author has to say about the book. Interesting!)
I've been waiting for years to read a heroine like Melanthe. I know many romance readers don't like her. I've seen many posts about it online, even one recently wondering if she changed later on, otherwise the poster felt she wouldn't be able to enjoy the book. Wow, I must be the complete opposite of these people! It was always obvious to me who and what Melanthe was and why she behaved the way she did, and it simply didn't strike me negatively. I admired her from the beginning, and loved her strength. If she's cruel, it's because she feels she has to. If she lies, it's because she feels she has to. The woman is in danger! I admired that she took her destiny in her own hands and did what she needed to do, instead of waiting around, waiting to be rescued.
And about lying, I can't believe how incredibly refreshing it is that she knows how to lie, and very well. I'm not overly fond of liars IRL, but I'm up to here with romance novel heroines who have to be so damned perfect that they can't tell a lie to save their lives. They start stuttering and blushing, even if it something like they're telling the villain they don't know where the McGuffin is. Not Melanthe, not by a long shot. Melanthe has been practically raised in the Monteverde court, and educated in the ways of court intrigue and deceit by a master, her late husband Prince Ligurio. She's excellent at it.
The problem is she simply can't stop doing this. She'll plot and plan even when she doesn't have to. Witness her behaviour and her fears at Ruck's holding. I found this heartrending, how she's so used to being always in the defensive, always figuring every angle, always afraid. No wonder she wants refuge, to be left alone by all these people who want either to use her or to destroy her, and to be safe.
Ruck is the perfect person to give her this refuge she needs. He's her complete opposite in this sense. Steadfast, faithful, kind and gentle, even if he's a trained warrior. A bit naive, contrasting with Melanthe's cynism, and sweet.
Their love scenes were wonderful, tender and sweet and actually funny, especially the way Ruck has educated himself about carnal manners by paying attention to the pointed questions asked by priests during confession. And there wasn't even one gratuitous line in them, it all served to tell us more about these people and their relationship.
The way Kinsale wrote the background for this love story was amazingly good. She's excellent at creating a setting that feels real, but what made it even more real to me was that these people were so definitely NOT 21st century people dressed in costume. Their whole mindsets were different to ours, and often felt foreign to me, and this was fascinating. Some things blew my mind, like Ruck's attitude towarts the Catholic church. He's been fucked over repeatedly by them, first with his holding and title, then with his first wife, Isabelle. He's seen its corruption and thirst for power first-hand and yet, he still heeds priests pronouncements about matters. He still feels they speak for God.
And all this about how real it all is brings me to the issue of the language. As I said, I was a bit apprehensive about the dialogues in Middle English, but these fears were proved to be unfounded. It was perfectly understandable. Even the words I didn't know were made clear by their context. Most important of all, it was beautiful. I can't imagine Ruck and Melanthe speakind differently to each other, now.
The plot was a good blend of external and internal conflict. I generally prefer internal conflict, and try to stay far a way from books too loaded with political machinations and court intrigue, but I did enjoy the plot of For My Lady's Heart even if it was very rich in all this.
Finally, Allegretto. Oh, wow! Lucky I bought Shadowheart when I had the chance. I'll have to rest a bit after reading this, but I'm definitely reading it as soon as I can.
Oh, and one last thing, not related to the content of the book itself. The cover. The stepback cover was one of the best I've seen. First of all, they are dressed ;-) And appropriately, too. They look exactly as I'd imagined. Their clothes are as described and beautiful, Ruck wearing chain mail and armour and Melanthe a green dress with embroidered dragonflies. And even the models fit my image of the protagonists. He's got that boyish but tough thing going on, while she looks very sophisticated. Perfect, and so is the background. I wish I could find an image of it to post here, but I haven't been able to find one online, and I've already returned the book to the friend who lent it to me (my very own copy's on its way!), so I can't even scan it :-(
(Read what the author has to say about the book. Interesting!)
young knight will take up his sword for the honor of a beautiful and mysterious princess--and risk his life for the love that burns between them.I can only say... WOW!!! I'm horrible at raving about books, but this deserves that I try. An A.
I've been waiting for years to read a heroine like Melanthe. I know many romance readers don't like her. I've seen many posts about it online, even one recently wondering if she changed later on, otherwise the poster felt she wouldn't be able to enjoy the book. Wow, I must be the complete opposite of these people! It was always obvious to me who and what Melanthe was and why she behaved the way she did, and it simply didn't strike me negatively. I admired her from the beginning, and loved her strength. If she's cruel, it's because she feels she has to. If she lies, it's because she feels she has to. The woman is in danger! I admired that she took her destiny in her own hands and did what she needed to do, instead of waiting around, waiting to be rescued.
And about lying, I can't believe how incredibly refreshing it is that she knows how to lie, and very well. I'm not overly fond of liars IRL, but I'm up to here with romance novel heroines who have to be so damned perfect that they can't tell a lie to save their lives. They start stuttering and blushing, even if it something like they're telling the villain they don't know where the McGuffin is. Not Melanthe, not by a long shot. Melanthe has been practically raised in the Monteverde court, and educated in the ways of court intrigue and deceit by a master, her late husband Prince Ligurio. She's excellent at it.
The problem is she simply can't stop doing this. She'll plot and plan even when she doesn't have to. Witness her behaviour and her fears at Ruck's holding. I found this heartrending, how she's so used to being always in the defensive, always figuring every angle, always afraid. No wonder she wants refuge, to be left alone by all these people who want either to use her or to destroy her, and to be safe.
Ruck is the perfect person to give her this refuge she needs. He's her complete opposite in this sense. Steadfast, faithful, kind and gentle, even if he's a trained warrior. A bit naive, contrasting with Melanthe's cynism, and sweet.
Their love scenes were wonderful, tender and sweet and actually funny, especially the way Ruck has educated himself about carnal manners by paying attention to the pointed questions asked by priests during confession. And there wasn't even one gratuitous line in them, it all served to tell us more about these people and their relationship.
The way Kinsale wrote the background for this love story was amazingly good. She's excellent at creating a setting that feels real, but what made it even more real to me was that these people were so definitely NOT 21st century people dressed in costume. Their whole mindsets were different to ours, and often felt foreign to me, and this was fascinating. Some things blew my mind, like Ruck's attitude towarts the Catholic church. He's been fucked over repeatedly by them, first with his holding and title, then with his first wife, Isabelle. He's seen its corruption and thirst for power first-hand and yet, he still heeds priests pronouncements about matters. He still feels they speak for God.
And all this about how real it all is brings me to the issue of the language. As I said, I was a bit apprehensive about the dialogues in Middle English, but these fears were proved to be unfounded. It was perfectly understandable. Even the words I didn't know were made clear by their context. Most important of all, it was beautiful. I can't imagine Ruck and Melanthe speakind differently to each other, now.
The plot was a good blend of external and internal conflict. I generally prefer internal conflict, and try to stay far a way from books too loaded with political machinations and court intrigue, but I did enjoy the plot of For My Lady's Heart even if it was very rich in all this.
Finally, Allegretto. Oh, wow! Lucky I bought Shadowheart when I had the chance. I'll have to rest a bit after reading this, but I'm definitely reading it as soon as I can.
Oh, and one last thing, not related to the content of the book itself. The cover. The stepback cover was one of the best I've seen. First of all, they are dressed ;-) And appropriately, too. They look exactly as I'd imagined. Their clothes are as described and beautiful, Ruck wearing chain mail and armour and Melanthe a green dress with embroidered dragonflies. And even the models fit my image of the protagonists. He's got that boyish but tough thing going on, while she looks very sophisticated. Perfect, and so is the background. I wish I could find an image of it to post here, but I haven't been able to find one online, and I've already returned the book to the friend who lent it to me (my very own copy's on its way!), so I can't even scan it :-(
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
No True Gentleman, by Liz Carlyle
I first read No True Gentleman (excerpt), by Liz Carlyle in mid 2002, during a time when the situation in my country was pretty unsettled - the whole financial system seemingly failing, supermarkets being looted, the local currency crashing... In the midst of that, I was reading this book and finding it hard to get into it. Was it the book or was I just (understandably) distracted?
Catherine and Max were mature people.
Max was a fascinating character. First of all, he wasn't British, which made him one in a million in the world of Regency-set romances. He was part Italian, part Alsatian and part Catalonian. Carlyle really worked to create his background. He was an aristocrat by birth, but his upbringing in England as a war refugee and his work as an investigator first for the River Police and then for the Home Office gave him some interesting rough edges.
These rough edges made his romance with Catherine earthier and more... carnal, I guess I could call it, than the other books I've read by this author. And Carlyle's prose adapted to this, and lost much of the sumptuousness and lushness that usually characterized it, becoming better suited to the story.
I liked Catherine, too, though she was a less interesting character than Max. I liked that she was no innocent virgin, but a widow, and one who had a good first marriage and enjoyed the sex. She actually missed this aspect of being married, and was open to the possibility of taking Max as a lover because of this.
What I enjoyed less here was the suspense subplot. That's something I'd noticed before, that Carlyle has progressively been giving the suspense subplots more and more space in each book. It was my main criticism of Woman of Virtue, and given Max's job, this aspect was given even more space here.
Still, that's a small problem, and on the whole, this was a very good book.
After a year in mourning for her husband, Lady Catherine Wodeway has come to London to escape her grief. And even though she’s a country girl, Cat realizes that no true gentleman would presume to kiss a lady senseless without a proper introduction—not even to save her life. Yet somehow, police inspector Max de Rohan’s dark good looks and mysterious past make it all too easy to forget that she’s a lady.After rereading it now, I think I simply wasn't in the right frame of mind to read anything at that time. It wasn't my favourite Carlyle, but it was excellent. A B+.
Although de Rohan is stunned by Catherine’s beauty, honest, and charm, he knows firsthand that getting mixed up with a noblewoman can end badly. But when Catherine stumbles onto the key to his murder investigation, he will risk everything to pull her out of danger and into his arms. Too late, he realizes that Catherine’s brother Bentley is his prime suspect...
Catherine and Max were mature people.
Max was a fascinating character. First of all, he wasn't British, which made him one in a million in the world of Regency-set romances. He was part Italian, part Alsatian and part Catalonian. Carlyle really worked to create his background. He was an aristocrat by birth, but his upbringing in England as a war refugee and his work as an investigator first for the River Police and then for the Home Office gave him some interesting rough edges.
These rough edges made his romance with Catherine earthier and more... carnal, I guess I could call it, than the other books I've read by this author. And Carlyle's prose adapted to this, and lost much of the sumptuousness and lushness that usually characterized it, becoming better suited to the story.
I liked Catherine, too, though she was a less interesting character than Max. I liked that she was no innocent virgin, but a widow, and one who had a good first marriage and enjoyed the sex. She actually missed this aspect of being married, and was open to the possibility of taking Max as a lover because of this.
What I enjoyed less here was the suspense subplot. That's something I'd noticed before, that Carlyle has progressively been giving the suspense subplots more and more space in each book. It was my main criticism of Woman of Virtue, and given Max's job, this aspect was given even more space here.
Still, that's a small problem, and on the whole, this was a very good book.