The Shadow and the Star, by Laura Kinsale

I've had The Shadow and the Star, by Laura Kinsale in my TBR for some time, but I dug it out immediately when I read Jorie's post about it at her blog. Careful if you haven't read it, there are some spoilers there (I couldn't figure how to link to the post itself with the spoilers hidden), though I have to say, I did read those spoilers and I think knowing what I knew might have even enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

Ah, before I forget, TSATS is a spinoff of Kinsale's first novel, The Hidden Heart. I had both, but I was so anxious to read TSATS that I skipped THH, and while I was intrigued enough that I'm planning on reading the latter soon, TSATS stands alone perfectly well.

He is a man of dark secrets -- wealthy, strong, majestically handsome -- the master of the ancient arts of a distant land. Scarred by a cruel childhood, he has sworn only to love chastely ... yet he burns with the heat of unfulfilled desire.

She is innocent and nearly destitute, yet she possesses a beauty as incandescent as a heavenly orb. And she is drawn to this powerful stranger by a need she cannot deny.

Never has such passion so consumed a man and a woman. But by giving his heart freely, the Shadow risks everything he believes in. And to follow her enigmatic warrior means the Star must enter his world of intrigue, vengeance, and desire -- and surrender to the most dangerous love there ever could be.

The Shadow and the Star is difficult to grade. I thought it was brilliant, but one of the aspects that made the book so good, that both Samuel and Leda were wholly of their time, definitely NOT 21st century transplants, was also responsible for making me feel a bit frustrated. So this, together with an ending which took the focus from Leda and Samuel, where it had been squarely fixed throughout the book, and concentrated on a not particularly interesting action subplot, make the grade slip from an A to an A-.

I can't imagine writing my review any better than Jorie did, so I'll just say "what she said". The handling of Samuel's past and the effects it's had on him as an adult, Leda's characterization, the development of Samuel and Leda's relationship, both in and out of bed, it was all amazing.

I do differ in a certain something, and that's one of my only two negatives: the ambiguous effect that Leda, especially, had on me. On one hand, I appreciated the fact that she was so much a product of her time and her upbringing by a group of old ladies who Kinsale describes thus:

"Proper, generous, proud; sure of what was right and what was wrong, they gave me a foundation, a place to stand in life. Perhaps they were as shocked by a crooked hem as by a crooked banker, but there was always a pie or a boiled custard going out the door for an ill neighbor. They represent a feminine community and a standard that has quietly sustained civilization for centuries, unnoticed and unreported in newspapers and history books. "

Problem is, people like this drive me crazy. I don't find them admirable, I find them dangerous. Their preocupation with appearances and what's proper can result in the neglect of what really matters (Leda being put in danger of pretty much starving because the old ladies couldn't find the proper book that would help them write the proper character), or in their being actually cruel to people for whom appearances don't matter and what counts is the reality. For instance, when Leda would worry so much about not behaving in a way that could result in her being thought "fast", I couldn't help but think of the fact that the flip side of this worrying would be an excessive ease in labeling other people fast.

So, when Leda would act so perfectly in character, exactly like she was raised to act, one part of me would adore Kinsale's characterization, while the other would scream in frustration. What an incredible book! ;-)

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The MacKades, by Nora Roberts

The MacKades was a series Nora Roberts wrote for Silhouette in the mid-90s, about four brothers living in the fictional town of Antietam, in Maryland. I hadn't reread it in some time, and this time I did it as I've started to do with all my Noras, and I read the entire series all in a row.

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The first book is The Return of Rafe MacKade, about "the baddest of the bad MacKades", as the author herself calls him. Rafe had left Antietam years before, leaving behind a town convinced that he'd end up behind bars before long. Since he was a kid, he has been fascinated with the old Barlow place, a run-down old house reputed to be haunted since the Civil War, and he promised before he left that he'd own the place.

The book starts as he returns home, a successful businessman who runs a construction company and the new owner of the Barlow house, which he intends to restore and set up as an inn. As soon as he comes back he meets newcomer Regan Bishop, who owns the new antique store in town and who he hires to help him furnish his inn.

This was a pleasant, comfortable read, but nothing earth-shattering, really. Both Rafe and Regan are very likeable characters, but there just isn't that much conflict to keep things interesting. A B-

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The Pride of Jared MacKade comes next, and it was much more exciting. Jared is the eldest of the MacKades, and the more serious and bookish one. He's a lawyer and of the four, he's the one who's built a more refined, sophisticated life, complete with a boring, refined ex-wife and a boring, refined law office.

As always in romance novels, conservative Jared gets paired with a very definitely not conservative heroine, illustrator Savannah Morningstar, who happens to be a single mom and former stripper, street artist and myriad other things.

I really, really liked Savannah. She was a much more interesting character than Regan, much livelier and more colourful. I loved that she made no apologies for her past, and simply refused to play the victim, the poor little woman, seduced, impregnated and abandoned when she was 16. Jared I felt was a bit of a jerk in the end, but at least his difficulties in accepting Savannah's past were interesting. And really, I don't think it was so much a sexist, double-standard thing, as much as frustration at not being able to go back in time and make things easier for Savannah. The scenes in which he tortures himself when he hears just how difficult some things in her life were pretty powerful. A B+.

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The book about the third brother, The Heart of Devin MacKade used to be my favourite in the series, but I liked it a bit less this time.

Devin has been in love with Cassie Connor (now Dolin) pretty much forever. He had a thing for her even when they were in high school, but he dragged his feet a little too much and the disgusting Joe Dolin beat him to it and married her as soon as she got out from high-school... and proceeded to make the following 10 years or so of her life a living hell. Devin, who became sheriff of Antietam, was perfectly aware of the fact that Cassie has been suffering Joe's physical and mental abuse, but he couldn't do much more than make Cassie aware of her options, which in turn, made Devin's life pretty hellish as well.

This book starts a couple of years after Cassie finally decides to leave her husband (an event which happens in book # 1). Ever since this happened, Devin has been biding his time, waiting for the moment to be right for him to make his move. When Cassie gives him a chaste little kiss, Devin finally explodes and let's it all out, and their romance gets moving.

Devin is a lovely, wonderful hero, and I just adore stories about guys who have been madly in love with the heroine for years and years. So why didn't I love, love, love this story? The answer is Cassie. Unlike many readers, it's the heroine who makes or breaks a romance for me, and I just wasn't all that crazy about Cassie. The problem was basically that I couldn't really understand her, and I feel like a bitch for saying this. I know intellectually that she's probably a perfectly accurate character, but I simply couldn't get her emotionally.

Why didn't she leave Joe much earlier? Everyone in town knows he's been beating her up, so it can't be shame at confessing what has been happening, what she has been "letting" him do. And she has the explicit support of pretty much everyone except her zealot mother, so it can't be that she has no other options. Also, there's no evidence of Cassie ever being convinced that Joe loves her in spite of what he does to her... she seems to have accepted from the beginning that she's nothing more than a punching bag for him. As for her kids, I know she isn't aware of the fact that Joe has been physically abusing their son, but how can anyone really believe that the kids are better off with both parents, in an environment where they obviously know their mother is getting beat up every week, than there would be only with a single, caring parent? Of course I'm oversimplifying, and I know that the psychological issues that can make an abused woman stay with her abuser are much more complicated than this, but for all the theoretical knowledge I can have, I just can't completely understand Cassie, and this lowers a bit my enjoyment of the book.

Still, I did like this quite a bit. The love story between Devin and Cassie is lovely and sweet, and I loved the way Devin wins over Connor, Cassie's son. A B.

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The last book of the series is The Fall of Shane MacKade, about the younger brother and ladies' man extraordinaire. Nora is spot-on when she differentiates between a womanizer (who would be a user, basically) and someone like Shane, who simply adores and is fascinated by women, every single kind of woman.

Shane's fall begins immediately after he meets Rebecca, Regan's brilliant, brainy former roommate in college. Rebecca is quite simply, a nerd, and it's always fun to see a suave, experienced hero become fascinated by someone like Rebecca. Some of the scenes were pretty much telegraphed from the beginning... I mean, I knew right from page 1 that this would end with Rebecca saying some variety of "Well, bye-bye, so long, it's been fun" and Shane freaking out because this time it's he who wants more, but this didn't make this scene any less effective, and it alone raised the grade from a B to a B+.

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This series has a nice paranormal thread going through it, about the ghosts from an episode of the battle of Antietam haunting both Rafe and Regan's inn, the MacKade farm and the woods around it. It's an interesting element, and doesn't overwhelm the stories, it simply adds an extra interest to them.

As always in Nora's series, one of my favourite things was the way the family interacted. I was totally convinced that these four men obviously love and support each other, even if I did feel that they were a bit too fond of pounding on each other ;-) And I loved the way their wives were successively integrated to the group, quickly becoming part of the whole family.

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In Bed With the Boss, by Susan Napier

Susan Napier is pretty much the only Harlequin Presents author I read regularly. Her books use the HP staples, sure, and her titles are often horrendous, but still, she manages her stories feel fresh. My latest read by her was In Bed With the Boss.

Kalera and Duncan Royal have the perfect working relationship. Polite, professional-except for an accidental, intensely passionate one-night stand that should have never have happened! Both have tried to put it behind them-or so Kalera thought. But Duncan is haunted by their one reckless night together, and he's furious when Kalera announces her engagement to another man. Whatever it takes, Duncan intends to entice Kalera back into his bed, and his life-permanently!

I want to make it very clear that my grade of C+ is not really for In Bed With the Boss, but for a slim book in Spanish called Campaña de Seducción, which I couldn't resist picking up when I took my grandma to change her "novelas rosas" at the UBS the other day. Campaña de Seducción (a title that actually fits the story better) is supposed to be a translation of In Bed With the Boss, but I strongly suspect it's more of an adaptation of it... or rather, a butchering.

First there's the fact that while Harlequin Presents usually come in at about 190 pages, this one is only three quarters that length; that's enough to make one suspicious. And, by now, I kind of know Napier's writing, and there are a couple of things I refuse to believe she wouldn't have developed a little bit more, like Kalera's past, living in a commune with her parents, for instance. It's made clear that she hated it, but even after Duncan meets her parents, she never talks about it with him. I'm not 100% sure, of course, and if you've read the book and there isn't any exploration of this subject, you're welcome to correct it, but I'm willing to bet something was cut there.

Oh, and also, there's practically no action here from Duncan's point of view. Given that there has been some hero POV in all three books by Napier that I've read, it would have been suspicious if there had been *nothing* from Duncan. It's even more suspicious in this case because there's actually one paragraph from his POV lost in the middle of one scene. One, and then nothing else in the rest of the book, as if the translator forgot to remove that one, as he or she did the others. And this are just a couple of examples, there were too many instances of too-abrupt transitions and lack of development.

Anyway, it pisses me off, because I liked the bare bones of the story, Duncan is a great character, with his flamboyant ways and mercurial temper, and I enjoyed reading about his way of doing business. And I just loved the ruthless way in which he fought to get Kalera, it reminded me a bit of Another Time, my favourite Napier. Kalera was also nice, even if she was a little obtuse about her fiancé, Stephen. I appreciated that she had had a wonderful first marriage, and that Napier didn't trash her first husband to make her hero look better. In fact, both Duncan and Kalera still love Harry by the end of the book.

This is definitely one book I'll be getting in English too, if only to find out what exactly was cut!

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I've updated my links

Well, I've finally updated my links, especially those to romance-centric blogs. I tried to keep the list manageable and to keep to sites that are updated regularly (a couple haven't posted since mid-February, but I'll hold on to them for a while longer).

One of the things I did was to change the names a bit from what I had. What I did in most cases was list them under the name of the blog owner (the name she uses when she posts) and when you roll your mouse over the link, you see the name of the blog. Otherwise, the names were sometimes too long and took two or three lines, or they were too generic and I couldn't remember who exactly they were until I went looking.

So, let me know if you're not there and you want me to list you, too, or if you're there but would like me to list you differently.

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Scent of a Woman, by Jo Leigh

Like Kristin Hardy, Jo Leigh is one of the very few authors whose Blaze titles I always buy. The latest I read was Scent of a Woman.

When Susan Carrington sees David Levinson in a boutique, she impulsively propositions himjust a little sex, on a weekly basis. Afraid shell regret it later, she decides to meet David at the pre-arranged time and place, thinking at least shell be with a man who wants her for her and not for her money. What starts out as pure physical attraction soon blossoms into something more. But can their true identities foul up any type of potential romance?

Scent of a Woman is among the hottest Blazes that I've read so far, probably even crossing the line into Romantica territory. But hey, I like good romantica, and since this is very good, no problem! My grade: a B+.

The book is basically about two grown-ups exploring their sexual fantasies by creating an environment and a situation in which they feel safe enough to check their inhibitions at the door. No gimmicks, no stupid, contrived sexual neuroses, just two mature people who start realizing that in addition to finding each other sexually attractive, they have begun to fall for the real people who shine through in these sexual encounters.

Both David and Susan are likeable and they are scorching together. Leigh has a way with love scenes, and manages to infuse them with emotion, using them not (only) to titillate but to tell us more about her characters.

I also enjoyed that as always, Leigh's characters actually do feel like real young people, with attitudes and lifestyles that ring true (even if both David and Susan did have much more money than a regular person their age would). Plus, I liked their having strong, supportive groups of friends. Love it when romance incorporates certain elements of chick lit!

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About a Boy, by Nick Hornby

From Chick Lit to Lad Lit: About a Boy was my first book by Nick Hornby. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I had only a vague idea of what it was about.

Will is thirty-six but acts like a teenager. Single, child-free and still feeling cool, he reads the right magazines, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He's also discovered a great way to score with women at single parents' groups, full of available (and grateful) mothers, all waiting for Mr. Nice Guy.

That's where he meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old in the world. Marcus is a bit strange: he listens to Joni Mitchell and Mozart, he looks after his Mum and he's neve even owned a pair of trainers. Perhaps if Will can teach Marcus how to be a kid, Marcus can help Will grow up and they can both start to act their age.

Well, my first read in the genre was impressive. The story felt fresh and original, and I enjoyed it. So maybe the reason why I couldn't predict what direction the story would take was simply because I'm a novice here, but still, I had a wonderful time reading this, and that's what counts. My grade: a B+.

I loved the way Hornby wrote Will and Marcus' relationship, which is the whole meat of the book. There's no sentimentalistic, immediate father-son bonding, their relationship is much more complicated than that. But it does develop quite a bit and I found it fascinating and even more touching than I expected. Both these characters are wonderfully drawn and, for all their flaws, very endearing.

I think I have a couple of other Hornbys in my pile (including one with a lot of football in it, if I remember correctly). I'll definitely have to dig them up!

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The Plumed Bonnet, by Mary Balogh

The Plumed Bonnet, by Mary Balogh, is the 4th book in a series that includes Dark Angel, Lord Carew's Bride and one of my favourite Baloghs: The Famous Heroine.

When the Duke of Bridgwater picks up Stephanie Gray in his carriage one day, she is wearing a fuchsia colored cloak and a bright pink, garishly adorned bonnet. He draws his own conclusions about her and listens to her story about being on her way to claim an inheritance with a great deal of amusement. By the time he realizes that she is telling the truth, it is too late--he has compromised her virtue and must marry her.

Like The Famous Heroine, this one's a misunderstanding-based story, one of my least favourite devices, and yet it works. My grade would be a B+.

There's actually two different misunderstandings here, and while they are quite different, both worked just fine, each in its own way.

The initial misunderstanding is a bit like the one in The Famous Heroine in that it's all funny and light-hearted. Alistair takes one look at Stephanie's clothing, especially that plumed bonnet, and assumes she's a courtesan. He spends the entire trip not believing a word of her story, in the mistaken understanding that she's aware of this and simply spinning her story to keep him amused, a bit like Scherezade.

Alistair's thoughts, as he tries to predict what contrivances Stephanie will add to her story (governess getting an unexpected inheritance, needing to get married to get it, and so on) and guesses correctly most of the time, are very funny. I also liked that, even believing whole-heartedly that she's not what she says, Alistair is always perfectly polite and kind to Stephanie. I've read too many books in which the hypocritical hero takes the heroine's perceived lack of virtue as an excuse to treat her like crap, so this is always a plus.

Once this misunderstanding is cleared up and these two are forced to marry, a new misunderstanding creeps up, and this one changes the tone of the book completely, something that, surprisingly, I wasn't bothered by. While up until that time the book hadn't been particularly intense, Balogh piles on the angst in the second half, as Stephanie and Alistair each misunderstand what the other wants from them.

Alistair wants a wife he can love and be loved by, and he's powerfully drawn to Stephanie. She, meanwhile, believes he simply wants a proper duchess and that she's indebted to him for marrying her, saving her from being compromised, so she tamps down her joie-de-vivre, exactly what Alistair loves about her. So, while she doggedly becomes the perfect duchess, becoming miserable in the process, Alistair comes to believe she basically can't stand him.

It probably sounds frustrating and a bit contrived when I describe it, but believe me, it felt perfectly realistic, that each would think what they do. And it's not one of those situations in which it feels stupid that they won't sit down and clear up the misunderstanding. On the contrary, it would have felt very fake if these two had simply had a heart-to-heart about their innermost feelings, not true to character at all! As it was, it was just wonderful to read, and I loved the scene in which they realize the other's real feelings. It wasn't an easy "I love you - oh, and I love you!" scene, and I greatly enjoyed the resolution.

I haven't liked all of Balogh's Signet Regencies, but I know many people believe that they were her best. I don't know, I've liked a few of her single titles quite well, but I've got to admit some stories, like this one, fit perfectly in the lenght of a Trad and would have felt too stretched out in a single title.

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Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown

Angels and Demons is a prequel to Dan Brown's blockbuster The Da Vinci Code.

An ancient secret brotherhood.
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
An unthinkable target.

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization -- the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth...the long-forgotten Illuminati lair

Most of those of my friends who've read both books have actually told me they liked Angels and Demons better than The Da Vinci Code, but I liked it a bit less myself. Still, I'd give it a good grade, a B.

What I liked best was the treasure hunt aspect, following Langdon around Rome as he deduced, step by step, the Path of Illumination. And thanks to the Internet, I was even able to see what each place looked like. I didn't think to use the author's own site for this and ended up googling, but if you've already read the book, here are pictures of all the locations, courtesy of Dan Brown.

I was also very interested by the stuff about the Vatican and the way a new Pope gets elected, especially since the speculation has already started these days. And anyway, even without this, a papal conclave is fascinating, anyway.

Even with this, I wasn't all that crazy about the book right until near the end. I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just say that I liked what was actually going on much better than what it seemed was going on.

The pacing was another of the things I didn't like very much. I'm just not fond of break-neck speed, race-against-time books. I know this is very personal, and most people won't agree (in fact, this was the reason my mum liked A&D better than TDVC), but I prefer not to get that stressed out. I'm just weird that way ;-)

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Can You Keep a Secret?, by Sophie Kinsella

I have my own copy of Can You Keep a Secret? (excerpt), by Sophie Kinsella on its way here, thanks to the wonderful Màili, but when a friend mentioned she had a copy, I was weak and borrowed it. You see, it was just before I voted at the All About Romance poll for best reads of 2004 and I'd read almost nothing in the Chick Lit / Women's Fiction category.

Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets:

Secrets from her mother:
- I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur.
- Sammy the goldfish in my parents’ kitchen is not the same goldfish that Mum gave me to look after when she and Dad were in Egypt.

Secrets from her boyfriend:
- I weigh one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. Not one eighteen, like Connor thinks.
- I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken.

From her colleagues:
- When Artemis really annoys me, I feed her plant orange juice. (Which is pretty much every day.)
- It was me who jammed the copier that time. In fact, all the times.

Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world:
- My G-string is hurting me.
- I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is.

Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger.

But come Monday morning, Emma’s office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO. Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. Things couldn’t possibly get worse—Until they do.

I immensely enjoyed this one. My grade for it was a B+. Actually, I was a bit surprised, because I've heard a lot about the Shopaholic series, and that one sounds exactly like the type of chick-lit I don't like at all.

At first, I was ready to be irritated by Emma. The first couple of scenes seemed to show the type of humour I hate, the type which relies on the heroine behaving like a nitwit. Emma seemed to make no effort in her job and to be inept. But then she started to grow on me. She's just a normal young woman, one who loves her parents and yet is tremendously irritated by some of the things they do; one who has a job she isn't the best ever at and which doesn't particularly fulfill her, but hey! she knows there are worse jobs out there and hers isn't that bad! She gets along fine with some people and despises others, and isn't above being a little bitchy to them. And last, but not least, she has a strong honourable core and tries her best to be responsible, as evidenced by the fact that she's absolutely serious about paying her father back the money she owes him and actually cuts back on shopping for clothes and ends up buying stuff at charity shops.

The plot is a lot of fun. Kinsella took full advantage of all the possibilities afforded by having Jack knowing every single little secret of Emma's, and the result was hilarious, and sometimes even surprisingly poignant. A book as laugh-out-loud funny as this one risks lacking a bit of emotion (The Royal Treatment, anyone?), but Can You Keep a Secret? actually almost made me cry a few times. I simply loved, loved, loved the scene in which Jack stands up to her family for her, really sticking it to her annoying cousin! And the scene of Jack's betrayal.... wow! Powerful stuff!

If there's anything that kept this from being an A read it was the fact that I felt Jack was a little underwritten. I didn't know him as well as I wanted to, and this made the romance not as satisfying as it could have been.

Still, that's a small problem. On the whole, this was an amazing book!

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While She Was Sleeping, by Suzanne Forster

I hadn't read Suzanne Forster in years (and I don't remember enjoying her books that much, to tell the truth), but While She Was Sleeping sounded interesting, even if the reviews were lackluster.

He knows when you're alone...
He abducts women from their beds at midnight, gagging and terrorizing them and then dumping them, drugged but alive, days later. None of the victims have been able to identify him, and the Seattle police have no leads-until now...

And after the lights are out...
There's been a new abduction, but with a terrifying twist--the latest victim, a cop working on the case, has been found dead. But the police may now have the break they need-a witness...

He comes for you...
The sole witness is a homeless woman with a shaky memory. Forensic sketch artist Jennifer Nash has been called in by the SPD. However, her unconventional techniques have made her unpopular with cops­--one cop in particular. Russ Sadler was the victim's ex-partner. He's now the chief investigator --and the last person Jennifer wants to work with. Their affair left them both burned, but they can't let their emotions interfere. The killer is a lot closer than anyone realizes, and now he has his eye on Jennifer...

Well, I should have listened to the reviews and stayed away from this one, my grade for it is a D.

Russ didn't make a good impression at the beginning. He looked like the worst kind of cop, the kind which will actively sabotage someone (Jennifer, in this case) who has a real chance to break the case simply because he wants to "win" himself. I just couldn't believe the way he hid the witness from her and contaminated the witness' memories, all the while knowing that Jennifer's methods, however polemic, were so often successful.

Still, in the beginning, the book at least looked interesting, even with Russ behaving like a baboon. Soon, however, it started to drag and drag and drag. Nothing would happen for pages, they kept either running around in circles or doing nothing that would help catch the murderer. Even Jennifer's sketching thing, which was interesting, was ruined by her stupid, stupid behaviour when it came to the way she evaluated her results. So the "police procedural" part was basically a bust.

And the characters! I didn't perceive even a smidgen of chemistry between these two former lovers. Their interactions felt wooden, and my personal un-favourite part of the book was the way their previous break-up was explained. Lots of meaningless psychobabble from Jennifer about her father and trust and having lied to her mother, and this apparently made sense to Russ, as a good reason to leave someone practically at the altar? No way!

Things picked up a bit at the end, but only because the Forster made Jennifer behave like a brain-dead twit and recklessly endanger her life just because. I ended up skimming the completely unbelievable ending.

What a waste of time! This one's going straight to my trade list!

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AAR 2004 annual reader poll

The results of AAR's 9th annual reader poll were published today, and I had great fun looking at the results and reading the accompanying analysis column. Since I voted this year (as I have for the past few years since I started keeping a reader journal), here's my comparison between my ballot and the results:

- Best romance: Yay! I voted for Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me, and it was the winner! I loved Bet Me and gave it an A. It was by far my favourite read this year.

- Favourite Funny: That was definitely Bet Me for me, too. This is the type of smart, witty humour, complete with wonderful banter, that I adore. I also liked the book which got an honourable mention, MaryJanice Davidson's Undead and Unwed and thought it was really funny, though I might have burnt out a bit on MJD after reading too many of her books in a row.

- Most Hanky read: Yet another category in which I picked the winner, When He Was Wicked, by Julia Quinn. I'm so proud of myself, but I've no idea why, since this is in no way an achievement of mine. I guess it's nice to have one's taste validated ;-) Anyway, I liked this "new" direction of JQ's. The first part of the book, especially, was heart-wrenching.

- Most Luscious Love Story: Ah, here is the first I sort of don't agree with. I did read the winner, Adele Ashworth's Duke of Sin, but while I did like it and thought it was an improvement on her latest couple of books, I wasn't crazy about it. As for its "lusciousness"... hmmm, ok, it was a sexy book, but I've read a few others which were much more so. My pick was actually a short story, Night Owl, by Emma Holly, published in the Hot Blooded anthology. That one was burn-your-fingers hot! My close runner-up in this category was the book that won the honorable mention at the poll, Shadowheart, by Laura Kinsale. Those love scenes really did work for me, which means I'm probably "adventurous", as LLB says in her column ;-)

- Best Cabin / Road romance: I left this category blank in my ballot, because after thinking and thinking, I hadn't read any books I'd enjoyed that fit the bill. That's actually weird, since it's a theme I enjoy. I have already procured a copy of the winner, My Seduction, by Brockway, so I'll be getting to it as soon as it gets here.

- Best New Author: I confess I haven't read many new authors this year. I voted for Robin D. Owens, one of the only 2 or 3 new authors I've read from 2004. As in the last category, I've got the winner, Marianne Stillings' first book, on its way.

- Best Buried Treasure: I haven't read the winner here either, Under a Lucky Star, by Diane Farr, though it's in my Wish List. My vote went to Fair Play, by Deirdre Martin, which I guess could count as a buried treasure, even though it did get a bit of buzz.

- Guiltiest Pleasure: I didn't read Night Play, but Sherrilyn Kenyon. I did read the first in that series and liked it, but I never did continue. I might, even if I find Kenyon / MacGregor's heroes way too tortured, crossing the line into over-the-top. My vote here went to Heart Duel, by my favourite new author, Robin D. Owens.

- Author Most Glommed: Mine was an author I really got into late in the year, Susan Napier. I've started collecting her extensive backlist.

- Best Medieval: I voted for the winner in this one: Shadowheart, by Laura Kinsale. I didn't read many 2004 medievals, and this one was so good it was head and shoulders above anything in the field.

- Best European Historical: I meant to read the one which won, Slightly Dangerous, by Mary Balogh before voting, but I was advised to read at least the previous couple of books in the series before, and I never did get around to it, though I have them all in my TBR. I voted for Liz Carlyle's A Deal With the Devil, which barely edged out my favourite most-hanky read, When He Was Wicked, by Julia Quinn.

- Best Traditional Regency: The winner in this category, Nonnie St. George's Courting Trouble was actually the only 2004 Trad I read, so technically, it was my best of the year. I didn't like it at all, though, so I left this category blank.

- Best American Historical / Frontier: Yet another category I left blank. I'm just not into these genres very much, and I didn't read any book here.

- Best Contemp: Oh, yes, definitely Bet Me. I know some people try to vote for different books in the "best romance" category and in the genre it belongs to, to spread their votes around, but I figure if a contemp was my favourite book of the year, I should vote for it as best romance and best contemp.

- Best Series novel: My vote went to Darkness Calls, by Caridad Piñeiro, a wonderful, gritty, vampire book. The Winner, AKA Goddess, by Evelyn Vaughn, is yet another book that is on its way here. The winner of the honourable mention isn't one I'm too interested in, since I believe Catherine Mann writes military romance, right? And I didn't much like the book of hers that I've read.

- Best Romantic Suspense: I voted for Northern Lights, by Nora Robers. Wonderful book! I haven't read Howard's Kiss Me While I Sleep yet (you guessed it, it's currently on its way here), but I did read the winner of the honourable mention, Brockmann's Flashpoint and I liked it.

- Best Alternate Reality: I liked Divided in Death, by JD Robb a bit better than I liked the book which won here, Undead and Unwed, by MaryJanice Davidson.

- Best Chick Lit / Women's Fiction: Like LLB, I didn't consider Bet Me chick lit, but I do understand why people voted for it here, since it did contain my favourite elements from chick lit. My choice was Can You Keep a Secret?, by Sophie Kinsella, which I read just in time to vote. I meant to wait for my copy to get here (thanks Máili for sending it!), but my 2004 chick lit reading had been so sparce that I couldn't resist it when a friend mentioned she had a copy.

- Best short story: I didn't read the winner here, my vote went to the story which won my vote for most luscious love story: Night Owl, by Emma Holly, from the Hot Blooded anthology.

- Most Tortured Hero: For some reason, I never even thought of Allegretto when time came to make my choice in this category, but he does deserve the title. I voted for Robert Carroway, from Suzanne Enoch's England's Perfect Hero, a book which started out well but basically went down a cliff in the second half. Still, Robert was pretty tortured, even in the most literal sense of the word.

- Strongest Heroine: As I said, I haven't yet read the book which won here, and the winner of the honourable mention is also on its way here, after it came out in paperback. I voted for Meg Galloway, from Northern Lights, by Nora Roberts, a really kick-ass heroine!

- Best Hero: I loved Cal and Nate, and I haven't yet met the others, but I can't think they can beat my choice, Julian Hampton, from Madeline Hunter's The Romantic, truly one of the most wonderful, amazing and yes, romantic heroes I've ever read.

- Best Heroine: My favourite was also my strongest heroine, Meg Galloway, from Northern Lights, though I liked Min, the winner, too.

- Best Couple: I picked the winners here, Min and Cal, from Crusie's Bet Me. They were truly wonderful together!

- Best Villain: I never know whether to vote for the most scary, disgusting, horrible villain, or for my favourite. I chose the latter option this year, and voted for the one from The Legend of Banzai Maguire, by Susan Grant. I hadn't read Brockmann's Flashpoint at the time of voting, but if I had, I would have been tempted to vote for the truly terrifying Padma Bashir. That guy really did make my skin crawl.

- Most Annoying Lead: Oh, the winner, Aline Marsden, from Kleypas' Again the Magic really was annoying, but I thought Declan MacDonald, from The Sexiest Dead Man Alive, by Jane Blackwood was even worse. I hate whiny little boys. Of the dishonourable mentions, I actually liked Theresa Falconetti, from Deirdre Martin's Fair Play!

- Author You Gave Up On: I left this category blank, as I don't think I really gave up on anyone this year.

- Author Others Love That You Don't: Oh, I'm one of the people who love the "winners" here, Nora Roberts and Suzanne Brockmann! My choice was Christine Feehan, after (if I remember correctly) several years of voting for Julie Garwood.

- Most Disappointing Read: I haven't read the winner and don't plan to, from everything I've heard about it. My vote went for Married to the Viscount, by Sabrina Jeffries. I chose it because I had previously enjoyed everything I'd read by Jeffries, so I was really expecting something much better.

- Worst Read: Oh, dear, I'm planning to read The Real Deal! Let's hope I like it better than most people! My vote here went to The Spare, by Carolyn Jewel. I've often left this category blank in the past, because my worst books of the year were just "not that good", not truly awful, but I truly disliked The Spare.

- Purple-est Prose: Definitely Christine Feehan's short story in the Hot Blooded anthology. I don't read Nicole Jordan, and this doesn't tempt me to do so, either!

My thanks to LLB and everyone who helped with this at AAR, I look forward to this every year!

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The Boyfriend School, by Sarah Bird

The Boyfriend School, by Sarah Bird is probably the book that has spent the longest time on my Wish List. I recently found an old file on my computer containing one of my earliest versions of it, from back in 1998, when I first started buying books online, and The Boyfriend School was already there, the only one of the books on it that I hadn't been able to get since.

Gretchen Griner is an underpaid, underappreciated photographer for the Austin (that’s Texas) Grackle, part-time lover of Peter Overton Treadwell III (known as “Trout”), and major consumer of Cup O’ Soup. That is, until she meets Lizzie Potts—otherwise known as Viveca Lamoureaux, romance writer extraordinaire. Lizzie has a plan for Gretchen’s life—and it includes Lizzie’s brother Gus. But Gretchen has her own plan, and it does not feature a “wispy goon” named Gus. Of course, fate also has a plan for Gretchen, and it doesn’t care what Gretchen wants. So Lizzie will give Gretchen Gus, Gus will give Gretchen the man of her dreams, and among this oddball cast of marvelous misfits, someone just may discover the secret to true romance.

I loved this book, my grade would be a B+.

I was surprised to find that The Boyfriend School actually fits in perfectly well within the Chick Lit genre, for all that it was written back in 1989, before this genre was... formalized, I guess would be the word. The focus on the story is Gretchen's life, even if there's quite a bit of romance, too.

I loved the romance novel angle. I worried a little bit at the beginning, when Gretchen had just arrived at the romance novel convention (the Luvboree), that it was going to be all clichés and romance-novel bashing, but I soon realized it was going to be nothing like that. Bird obviously reads and loves romance novels, and it shows, especially in the way she does criticize certain things about them... not the things snobby non-readers keep harping on, but the type of things that drive me, for instance, crazy.

I don't really know how accurate the publishing scene is for 15 years ago, but it sounds basically good, if a little exagerated. My main impression was that the settings sounded so much fun! Much more variety than there is nowadays. I don't know if it was that free, but I do know that this is an area that has become much more conservative lately.

The characters were a delight. I especially adored Lizzie and Juanita, Gretchen's romance writer friends. And Trout, Gretchen's fascinatingly repulsive on-and-off lover! Everyone was a bit exagerated, not enough to make them cartoons, but just enough to make them fun.

The romance was good, too. I don't want to give anything away, but there was a certain plot twist that surprised the hell out of me, enough that I needed to go back quite a few pages and reread them from this different optic. I'll say this, though: I really loved the hero!

If this book had a negative, it would be that I ended up with the feeling that Gretchen was a bit shallow and hung up on appearances. The good thing is, Bird is perfectly aware of this and so is Gretchen, so the HEA ending was more believable than it would have been otherwise, especially because it was a bit of an open-ish ending, less definite than what usually happens in romance novels.

I adored reading this book. Everything was enjoyable, from the characters, to the dialogue, from the setting to the author's writing style.

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Prince of Darkness, by Barbara Michaels

I can't remember the last time I reread Prince of Darkness, by Barbara Michaels. In fact, I could barely remember what Prince of Darkness was about!

A mysterious visitor from England has come to the exclusive and captivating town of Middleburg, Maryland. And when this handsome stranger becomes a bit too involved with the beautiful Tiphaine Blake, the local villagers fear the revelation of dark secrets. Secrets of the living and the dead -which can only be resolved by the great Prince himself...

Prince of Darkness started out intriguing and mysterious, but I thought it lost a bit of its charm near the end. My grade would be a B-.

The first two-thirds of the book are narrated from the point of view of the mysterious Peter. In this part, Michaels manages to keep Peter's motivations and intentions a mystery, without making me feel she was being obnoxiously enigmatic (the blurb didn't help at all in explaining this). We saw Peter's actions and some stray clues as to what he intended and why, but it wasn't until the last third that everything got explained.

And when we finally know who he is, and the point of view changes to Kate, the story loses some interest. It's not that the explanations don't make sense, it's just that for all the over-the-top drama, I didn't think it was all that interesting or frightening.

Still, an interesting book, the first part more than makes up for the weaker ending.

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Tell Me Lies, by Jennifer Crusie

Tell Me Lies was my first Jennifer Crusie, and it started me collecting her entire backlist (or, at least, the ones not prohibitively expensive!). Other books have become my favourites by this author (Welcome To Temptation, Bet Me, Anyone But You... ), but Tell Me Lies has a special place in my shelves for getting me started with this wonderful author.

Maddie Martindale has been the nice girl of her small town of Frog Point where gossip is major entertainment. Comfortably, if not happily, married to bigshot Brent, who is running for mayor, and mother to a sweet girl, Maddie seems to have a perfect life. But after she finds crotchless panties in her husband's car, Maddie's pristine reputation unravels. An imminent divorce, her husband's murder, and the precipitate return of Maddie's sexy high school flame, C.L. Sturgis, lead to her quick fall. C.L., the rebel bad boy who never dropped his torch for Maddie, has straightened out handsomely and plays a seductively vital role. The town is agog with talk of Maddie, the adulteress and murderess.

The back of the book has a comment from a reviewer comparing Crusie to Susan Isaacs, and in this book, I really do see the similarities. It was a B+ for me.

I really enjoyed reading Maddie's metamorphosis from a woman determined to live the life her whole town seems to want her to live to a woman who decides to take control of her own life and do what she wants with it. At first, Maddie frustrated me with her insistence on keeping up appearances, not creating gossip, looking like the perfect wife. She was a doormat for everyone, from her cheating husband to her dominating mother, and the contrast between her pleasant, compliant facade and what actually goes on inside her head, her snarky thoughts and needs to rebel, was heartbreaking.

So I cheered when that facade started cracking and she realized that she'd go crazy if she kept on with that type of life. It wasn't an instantaneous process, and she really tortured C.L. with her back and forth, but the woman who emerged in the end was wonderful!

C.L. was an interesting character, a knight-in-shining-armour accountant, who had remained half in love with Maddie since high school, but this was Maddie's story, so he was a bit less prominent in the story. What there was of the romance was lovely, though :-)

I liked the plot, too, and most of the secondary characters. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Frog Point, but I did think it suited Maddie and C.L., so I didn't finish the book wanting to scream at the hero and heroine to get the hell out of that horrible place, as I've often done with other books set in gossipy small towns.

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Flashpoint, by Suzanne Brockmann

I love Suzanne Brockmann. There's something about her writing that just clicks with me, so much that I venture into a genre I don't like, the military romance, just to read her books. I've previously snapped out her books as soon as they came out, but for some reason, I was able to wait for Flashpoint (excerpt) to come out as a paperback. I don't know if it was the low after Gone Too Far (I confess it, I'm one of the people who adores Sam and Alyssa and waited anxiously for their book), or that the buzz online about Flashpoint wasn't that good, but I was able to withstand the wait quite well.

Jimmy Nash has already lived two lives--and he can’t talk about either of them. Formerly an operative of a top secret government agency, he has found a new job with a shadowy company called Troubleshooters, Incorporated. Created by a former Navy SEAL, Troubleshooters, Inc. helps anyone in desperate need--which provides a perfect cover for its other, more perilous objective: covert special operations.

Now Nash and a quickly assembled team of expert operators have come to the earthquake-ravaged country of Kazbekistan in the guise of relief workers. There, amid the dust and death, in a land of blood red sunsets and ancient blood feuds, they must track down a missing laptop computer that may hold secrets vital to national security.

To get it done, Nash does what he does best: break every rule in the book and manipulate those who can help him get what he needs. But this time, Nash may have met his match in Tess Bailey, a Troubleshooters operative with all the right instincts--and zero field experience. The deep attraction between them is immediate... and potentially volatile, with risk at every turn.

Now these two professionals must play out their dangerous games in the world’s most dangerous place-- isolated from their own government, cutting deals with people they can’t trust, and guarding forbidden passions that threaten to compromise their crucial mission.

Flashpoint had many of the things I like about Brockmann, but the main romantic storyline was a bit lacking. My grade would be a B.

The plot was interesting and well-developed, there was a fascinating secondary relationship and it was all written in the style I love, but I couldn't work up all that much interest in the main couple. Tess was ok... par for the course for a Brockmann heroine (let's face it, her heroines tend to be just ok, it's her heroes who are to-die-for), but Jimmy I never warmed up to. I thought he was bland and a bit juvenile, and I just didn't find him very interesting.

It might have helped if there had been more to the secondary relationship between Sophia and Decker. Don't get me wrong, I was fascinated by what there was between them, and it simply wouldn't have worked if their relationship had developed more during this book, since I didn't feel Sophia would have been anywhere near ready for it. However, the fact that this relationship was so much in its early stages by the end of the book meant that I couldn't find in the secondaries the stomach-clenching romance I wasn't getting from the protagonists, which is what I have done in some earlier Brockmanns.

Hmmm, sounds all I had were problems with this, but really, I enjoyed reading it very much. I'll even do my best to get Hot Target as soon as possible, even if it is in hard cover. My cousin's boss, who lives in Texas is coming next month to Uruguay, and she offered to bring me a couple of books if I wanted to have them delivered to her house. I might just take her up on the offer...

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As Bad As Can Be, by Kristin Hardy

Kristin Hardy is one of the very, very few authors whose Harlequin Blaze releases I make a point not to miss. As Bad As Can Be (excerpt) is the second in the Under the Covers series. It comes right after Scoring, and it's also related to My Sexiest Mistake.

For Becka's neighbor, Mallory Carson, opening her own bar is a dream come true, and she'll do whatever's necessary to keep it going. Her brother -- and silent partner -- Dev gets nervous when he hears that she's trying outrageous hooks to draw customers into "Bad Reputation," and he sends his buddy, Shay O'Connor, to watch over her.

A local tavern owner, Shay doesn't approve of Mallory's Coyote Ugly approach to attracting a clientele. The more he tells her to clean up her act, the more Mallory gets the urge to show him just how bad she can be.

The only thing hotter than the sparks that fly around when they're together is the passion that sizzles between them.

As Bad As Can Be was a pleasant, if unsubstantial, read. I'd grade it a B-.

The characters were likeable and I liked the plot. I know it's probably clichéd, but I'm always fond of books about a relationship that starts as a fling but soon has the guy wanting more, with the heroine resisting. I liked Mallory, though I thought her "bad girl" thing was a bit self-conscious... it felt a bit immature, like all those heroes in historicals who go around calling themselves "scoundrels" and "rogues". Shay was lovely, so serious and responsible, and I had fun seeing Mallory bring out his well-hidden wilder side.

They did have chemistry and the book had some nice moments, but I never could bring myself to get excited about them. It was a nice read, though, and sometimes that's just fine.

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Chesapeake Bay trilogy, by Nora Roberts, books # 1 & 3

I finally got a copy of Chesapeake Blue, the book Nora Roberts wrote some years later to add to her Chesapeake Bay trilogy, so I decided to reacquaint myself with the original trilogy, which I hadn't reread in some time. I read the first one, Sea Swept and then I realized I had lent the second one, Rising Tides to a friend. I did remember that one quite well, so I just skipped it and went on to read book 3, Inner Harbor.

Sea Swept:

A champion boat racer, Cameron Quinn traveled the world apending his winnings on champagne and women. But when his dying father called him home to care for Seth, a troubled young boy not unlike Cameron once was, his life changed overnight.

After years of independence, Cameron had to learn to live with his brothers again, while he struggled with cooking, cleaning and caring for a difficult boy. Old rivalries and new resentments flared between Cameron and his brothers, but they tried to put aside their differences for Seth's sake. In the end, a social worker would decide Seth's fate, and as tough as she was beautiful, she had the power to bring the Quinns together -or tear them apart.

Inner Harbor:

Phillip Quinn had done everything to make his life seem perfect. With his career on the fast track and a condo overlooking the Inner Harbor, his life on the street was firmly in the past. But one look at Seth and he's reminded of the boy he once was...

Phillip had intended to fulfill his father's dying request and considered Seth to be a duty. He never expected he would grow to love Seth, and soon his promise to his father became more than just obligation. Seth's future as a Quinn seems assured -until a stranger arrives in town. She claims to be researching St.Christopher's for her new book, but the true objects of study are the Quinns. Her cool reserve intrigues Phillip. He is determined to uncover her motives, but she is holding a secret that has the power to threaten the life the brothers have made for Seth. A secret that could tear the family apart... forever...

This one's probably Roberts' most consistently excellent trilogy. Both Sea Swept and Inner Harbor were amazing, each an A, and I remember Rising Tides as pretty excellent, too.

The romances in each book are wonderful. Each of the characters is different, but lovely in their own ways. Cam and Anna, from Sea Swept are earthier and lustier, while Phillip and Sybill are more sophisticated and elegant. I especially enjoyed Phillip, who coupled his cool, cosmopolitan, urban tastes with a side which was perfectly comfortable horsing around with his brothers.

But however much I adored the romances, the dynamics between the three older brothers and Seth were the best parts of the trilogy. These were the parts that put a lump in my throat, the parts that made this trilogy so much better than others. There's not a cloying, sentimental moment in the entire three books, and the emotion feels genuine.

The only... not negative, exactly, but not quite completely positive moment in the whole thing wasn't even something in the books. The fact that from what I've read about Chesapeake Bay I now know that Gloria wasn't completely beaten by the end of Inner Harbor, that she continued to make trouble for Seth for years, was something that took a bit from the wonderful ending of the third book.

Still, that's a small thing. The Chesapeake Bay trilogy is, to me, the one someone wanting to try Roberts for the first time should start with.

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Patriot's Dream, by Barbara Michaels

Patriot's Dream, by Barbara Michaels was written in 1976, in time to celebrate the bicentennial of the American Revolution.

Jan Wilde came to Williamsburg, Virginia, for a much-needed vacation. But her dreams at night were far from restful... Night after night, a stranger called to her, reached out to her from two centuries past, fueled by the fires of war and the fury of passion. He seemed so real, so close -yet by morning, he was just a memory. Who was this lover from the past? Only Jan's dreams could reveal the truth.

This is a bad blurb, it makes it sound as if there's a romantic link between Jan and this dream man of hers. The dreams are much more than that: in them, she follows the life of a group of people in the years before and during the American Revolution. She becomes especially attached to one of these people, Jonathan, the pacifist, the radical, the idealist, but I didn't perceive anything sexual about it. She did care (and passionately) about him, but this is no romance-caught between-time kind of thing. Anyway, I really enjoyed Patriot's Dream. I'd give it a B+.

The book goes back and forth between Jan's life, vacationing with her great-aunt and uncle in Williamsburg, and, through her dreams, Charles and Jonathan's time, starting in 1774. Both parts are fascinating, and whenever I'd reach the end of a chapter I'd wish I could stay in that time, right until I got caught up in the next chapter and felt the exact same way when I reached the end of that one!

I was especially interested in the parts set in the past, basically because while I do know the rough facts about the American Revolution, it was all mostly new to me. I suppose it would all be much more familiar for the book's intended American audience, but history lessons in school here focus on Uruguayan history. I know all kinds of details about the Uruguayan fight for independence (or rather, to rejoin the United Provinces), but what I know about the American Revolution is a couple of history lessons in high school and whatever I picked up from fiction books.

So, while I'm not taking this as a serious history book, I was fascinated by the glimpse I got here into that particular moment. And I especially liked that while Michaels obviously admires many of the men involved and what they did, she has a very clear-eyed and unromantic way of looking at things. Her vision of the times isn't idealistic, and she accepts and points out the inconsistencies in things like fighting for lovely ideals like liberty and at the same time keeping slaves.

The parts of the book set in the present were wonderful, too. I enjoyed Jan and her relationship with her relatives, and I really liked the romance. She has a couple of candidates, but no one who's ever read this author would ever doubt who she'll end up with.

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No Man's Mistress, by Mary Balogh

No Man's Mistress, is the sequel to Mary Balogh's More Than a Mistress. It's hero is the youngest Dudley, brother, Ferdinand.

Lord Ferdinand Dudley lives passionately, recklessly. And he is accustomed to getting what he wants...that is, until he appears at the door of Pinewood Manor, attempting to claim his rightful estate, and is met by the bewitching fury of Viola Thornhill. She refuses to cede him the home she calls her own. He refuses to leave. So the contest begins between these two foes to force one to acknowledge the other's claim. Nor will they acknowledge the passion brewing between them. But Viola knows it is a game she cannot afford to lose. Marriage is out of the question and she will be no man's mistress.

On the whole, this book pissed me off, because it was just so, so close to something I've always wanted to read. My grade would be a C.

I've long wanted to read a romance between an experienced courtesan and an inexperienced man. This book was exactly that, yes, but while I really liked Ferdinand, Viola drove me crazy. She was so stupid, so completely determined to prostitute herself, whether there was a better option or not.

I didn't mind the fact that she had been a courtesan and had, at her own admission, slept with so many men that she had lost count. What I did mind was that I never bought that this really had been a last resort. Hmmm, no, that's not exactly right, either. If she had simply decided that she prefered to be a courtesan (one who worked one night a month, apparently) instead of going to work as, I don't know, a scullery maid or a lady's companion or something, that wouldn't have been a last resort either, but I would have been ok with it.

What bothered me was that for her, working as a courtesan had been really awful, she would have preferred any of those other jobs, but she allowed herself to be bullied and manipulated and forced into prostitution. And that is what I didn't buy, that she had had no recourse but to give in to those manipulations and bullying. I truly believe she could have fought the bastard who wanted to "manage" her career. But, oh, no, she couldn't ask her family for help, she had to sacrifice! That's not being a good person, that's being an idiot.

And she was even more of an idiot late in the book when yet again, she allowed herself to be forced into taking up her career again (don't worry, she was saved in time). In this case, she had even more options, even more ways of staying out of this. She finally did something, but it was too little, too late for me, she was already forever an idiot for me.

And then there was the ending, with the entire ton accepting Viola into its fold, even with everyone knowing about her past. Yeah, right.

It's a shame, really, because this could have been a lovely story. Some things were wonderful, like Ferdinand's total devotion to Viola, no matter what she has done in her past. And of course, it was well written. But this story made me think of one of the entries in the Purple Prose Parody at All About Romance, one which ended up winning one year, if I'm not mistaken. The heroine tearfully confesses to the hero that she has been forced to sell herself to pay for the butcher's bill, or something like that. It then turns out that the hero would have returned in two days time, that the butcher would have been perfectly happy to wait a while for his money, that all manner of people would have lent her the money. While I read No Man's Mistress, I couldn't help but hear in my mind the voice of the hero in the parody "I. Was. Coming. Home. Thursday!!!"

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More Than a Mistress, by Mary Balogh

Mary Balogh can be hit or miss for me (though the last couple of her books that I've read and reread have been all good), but when she's good, she's so good that I keep trying her. The latest I read was More Than a Mistress.

When Jane Ingleby interrupts a duel in London's Hyde Park, Jocelyn Dudley, Duke of Tresham, gets shot in the leg, and Jane, late for work at a milliner's workshop, loses her job. She is angry enough to demand a new job of Jocelyn, and he is angry enough to give her one--as his nurse. He vows to make her believe that starvation would have been a better option. However, the dangerous duke, whose will no one has ever dared cross, is soon vowing that just once in his life he is going to have the final word in his frequent verbal battles with Jane. And soon too he is offering her a different job--as his mistress.

Really, really nice! As a rule, I don't usually have a problem putting a book aside to go to bed, even with books I'm enjoying, but More Than a Mistress had me staying up way too late. My grade would be a B+.

Jocelyn and Jane's relationship was just engrossing. For some reason, I couldn't get a handle on where the story was going. I needed to know what would happen next, in what direction Balogh would take the story, and I simply couldn't stop reading.

I really liked what she did with Jocelyn. He seemed like a rigid, humourless bore at the beginning of the book, but Jane had the knack of making the much nicer person underneath that come out. Jocelyn had his ideas about what the master-and-servant and man-and-mistress relationships should be, but Jane kept changing this, refusing to conform to what he expected. It took a while, and the slightest suspicion had him putting up the "duke" mask back again, but by the end of the book, I'd become fond of this vulnerable, artistic man who had been molded by his father into his idea of what a Dudley should be. I loved the scenes in which he recognizes his desperate need for someone to love him and, more than that, someone to understand and like the real person inside him.

Jane was a good character, too. She did behave like a headless chicken a couple of times, but most of the story she was great, standing up to Jocelyn and not allowing him to bully her into submission. I liked that there was no hint of sacrifice in her becoming Jocelyn's mistress. She made her choice freely, recognizing that this was the most convenient thing for her, and a deciding factor was that it was also something she wanted. She never kidded herself about it, and I liked her for it, and for being sensible and negotiating like crazy for the best conditions possible for her employment.

This was an A read throughout most of the book, but I thought Balogh faltered a bit near the end. When Jocelyn found out Jane's secret, I thought he overreacted, and the ending, with the resolution of the big secret from Jane's past and it's threat to her and with Jocelyn's efforts to get her to marry him, wasn't up to the wonderful level of the rest of the story. Still, the rest of the book was enjoyable enough to make this a success.

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Kinsman's Oath, by Susan Krinard

Kinsman's Oath (excerpt), by Susan Krinard is set in the same world as the author's short story in the Out of This World anthology, which I bought for the J.D. Robb In Death story. For once, I never got around to reading the rest of the novellas, so I was new to this universe when I started Kinsman's Oath.

Ronan VelKalevi was a man torn between two worlds. Born into the human race, he was kidnapped at the age of six by the alien shaauri. More than twenty years later, he has found himself on the run from the aliens who raised him--and being saved by a ship of humans. Captain Cynara D'Accorso, commander of the Pegasus, has no reservations about rescuing the telepathic Kinsman from his damaged ship. But she isn't expecting the dangerous emotions this troubled man awakens in her--or that he isn't the innocent fugitive he claims to be. Now, as their hearts fall prey to passion, Ronan and Cynara must discover the paths to which they were born before their destinies destroy them both...

Kinsman's Oath stands head and shoulders above most futuristic romances in terms of the intrincacy and consistency of its world-building, but unfortunately, I was a bit less enthused by the romance. My grade would be a B-.

The universe Krinard created is fascinating and original, and I enjoyed spending time there. She doesn't make things simplistic and black and white; each world has its good and bad points. They are all different, so each new one was an interesting place to visit and discover. I was especially fascinated by the Shaauri-ja, with its distinctive form of organization.

The characters and their romance were a bit of a disappointment. I immensely liked Cynara, but the whole thing with her and Tyr, especially the revelations at the end, was just too weird for me. Ronan was even more problematic, because I felt distant to him most of the book. I think what got me there was the back and forth with the mind stuff: the false memories and hidden compulsions and programmed amnesia and all that. It made it hard to get to know a character, when I never could be sure of what he seemed to be thinking, if it was the real person's thoughts or something planted there by telepaths.

Still, for all that, I did enjoy the book. I hope there are more books like this coming, futuristics which go beyond the barbarian and psychic virgin healer mold!

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St. Oswald's Niche, by Laura Frankos

Since Barbara Mertz is no longer publishing any books under the Barbara MichaelsI pseudonym, I am on a perpetual lookout for books that are reminiscent of those. St. Oswald's Niche, by Laura Frankos was the latest that was recommended to me. And the author even dedicates it to Mertz, "for all her books", so I took that as a good sign.

From the moment Jennet moves in with the other students working on archaeologica digs in beautiful York, someone seems to be setting her up as a thief. Small things disappear, and her dormmates make ugly insinuations. Then, disaster: an exquisite medieval chalice uncovered in the St. Oswald's dig is stolen.

By this time, Jennet has suspicions of her own. Something very odd is going on at the St. Oswald's dig, and with the help of a fellow student from California, Jennet takes out her tools and embarks on another kind of dig -one that looks to the present for answers.

While I didn't see much of a resemblance to B. Michaels, I greatly enjoyed this one, in spite of a couple of problems. My grade would be a B.

My main problem was with the beginning, the first 60 or so pages. The book started slow, and it took me a while to really get into it. I even put it aside for a couple of days while I read something else. The main problem was that it felt very much like a first effort. I don't know if this is so, because I haven't been able to find almost any information about the author on-line, but the little I've found mentions only this particular book, so I guess it might be so. Anyway, what I mean is, the author kept "intruding" while I was reading... the characters didn't feel like real people, but like constructs the author was trying to make me believe in, and not quite succeeding. Especially the British characters, they felt like Frankos was trying way too hard. In a way, this reminded me of the two Lillian Stewart Carl's books which I read earlier in 2004.

Still, after the two-day hiatus, when I sat down with it again and forced myself through a few more pages, things started getting much, much better. I think what happened was that the plot got going, and this gave the characters something a bit more external to react to, so they started to become more real to me. It still didn't become perfectly polished, but the story moved at a nice enough pace that it pulled me along, and the plot really was interesting. I just love stories of treasures and scholarship.

The best thing about the book was the academic ambience. In that area, Frankos obviously knew what she was doing, and I was fascinated by the discussions and the work... even the lectures about medieval eclesiastical history, and the characters backgrounds in that area were beautifully done. I liked how important knowledge, even knowledge for its own sake, was for all of them, how it was valued and how they were still young, for all their expertise in subjects like Roman history or medieval warfare.

Some other positives about the book were things like the settings, the character interactions, even the romantic threads. Jennet's romance was a bit too abruptly resolved, but it was a relationship I did see a future for, so I was fine with it.

I hope the author has written something else, I'm going to have to keep searching!

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Faking It, by Jennifer Crusie

Faking It )excerpt), by Jennifer Crusie is a sequel (or rather, a kind of spin-off, as Crusie calls it) to Welcome to Temptation, one of my favourites by her.

Meet the Goodnights, a respectable family who have run a respectable art gallery for generations. There’s Gwen, the matriarch, who sedates herself with Double-Crostics and double vodkas; Eve, the oldest daughter, who has a slight identity problem (she has two); and Nadine, the granddaughter, who’s ready to follow in the family footsteps as soon as she can find a set that isn’t leading off a cliff. Holding everyone together is Matilda, the youngest daughter, who’s inherited the secret locked down in the basement of the Goodnight Gallery, a secret that she’s willing to do almost anything to keep, including breaking into a house in the dead of night to steal back her past.

Meet the Dempseys, or at least meet Davy, a reformed con man who’s just been ripped off for a cool three million by his financial manager, who then gallantly turned it over to Clea Lewis, the most beautiful sociopath Davy ever slept with. Davy wants the money back, but more than that, he’ll do anything to keep Clea from winning, including breaking into her house in the dead of night to steal back his future.

One collision in a closet later, Tilda and Davy reluctantly join forces to combat Clea, suspicious art collectors, a disgruntled heir, and an exasperated hit man, all the while coping with a mutant dachshund, a jukebox stuck in the sixties, questionable sex, a painting of three evil fishermen closing in on a dyspeptic tuna, multiple personalities, miscellaneous Goodnights and Dempseys, and the growing realization that they can’t turn their backs on the people they were meant to be... or the people they were born to love.

Faking It was tremendously enjoyable, full of wit and humour and likeable characters. A B+ for me.

I was a bit surprised at how much I liked it, actually, because I had resisted reading it for a while, since I'm not really attracted by the whole "con man meets woman part of a hugely dysfunctional family" thing it seemed to be about. However, very suprisingly to me, I really liked the con angle. I'm a bit uptight about thief characters and all that, but I loved that part of Davy, probably because he had it well under control now. But anyway, I was weirdly charmed by the way his first instict when faced with a situation was to figure out how he could work a con. ;-) And the dysfunctional family in question was a blast. Evie with her alter ego, Gwennie pretending to be happy, Nadine's struggles to find her way... the whole secondary cast of characters made the book shine.

Tilda and Davy were lovely together, too, and I really appreciated how Crusie dared show a first time which wasn't at all good, as they sometimes aren't. It made me cheer even harder for these two. I felt, as I don't often feel, that they really understood each other, under the fake facades they were used to wearing.

Such fun, it even makes me want to give Fast Women another chance!

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Forbidden, by Jo Beverley

I can't remember why I decided to reread Forbidden (excerpt), by Jo Beverley, but I suppose I must have read something about it in one of my discussion groups, because not 2 days after I finished it, my friend who belongs to those groups as well asked me if she could borrow it!

The death of her husband has freed Serena Riverton from life as an abused sex-object, but now her brothers plan to force her into another similar marriage. Fleeing, she is helped by Francis, Lord Middlethorpe. A passionate encounter leaves her pregnant, but no keener on marriage than before. He is virtually committed to marrying a sweet-natured lady. They marry anyway, and struggle to make something of their lives amid the disapproval of all around them.

Forbidden had some really good things going for it, but also enough bad ones that my grade for it was a B-.

What I liked best were the protagonists. Francis and Serena are both really interesting characters, not at all common in romance. Serena could have been the irritating heroine who complains because she's beautiful until one feels like slapping her for being an idiot, but she wasn't. Beverley was able to convince me that, for Serena, her beauty was truly a curse, that it had brought her nothing but grief all her life, not because she had made herself a victim, but because she'd had simply not had any choice. The scenes where the horrors of her marriage were revealed were heartbreaking, especially the ones featuring the jewelry from her marriage. As for Francis, well, he's a sweet, honourable man, who does his best to help Serena and treat her well, even if he has no obligation to her. He's also a virgin, and I really liked the role reversal in their relationship, with Serena being the "experienced" one. Of course, she wasn't really experienced in balanced, equally pleasurable for both partners sex, so their relationship had an element of discovery for both of them.

Unfortunately, the suspense subplot was terribly distracting and I intensely disliked it. Francis is a member of a kind of club carried over from his schol days, the Company of Rogues, and the endless scenes featuring this club was probably the thing I liked least in the whole book. This is book 4 in that series, and the whole clubby thing is a huge part of the scheme. I really disliked this, and not just because grown men doing this whole thing always feel like dweebs. It was also the fact that they called themselves "Rogues"... I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh at these supposedly mature men running around, so proud that they were "rogues". ;-)

In addition, the whole thing was hugely distracting, because the author spent way too long unnecessarily detailing the backstories of many of the members of the Company. It's weird, because even in cases like this one, in which this kind of info is de trop and I get irritated at the author for wasting my time, I often end up feeling some interest in these stories anyway. In this case, however, I wasn't even the slightest bit tempted to search them out.

So, basically, while I liked the scenes with Serena and Francis, the rest of the book just wasn't enjoyable to me.

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Duke of Sin, by Adele Ashworth

Adele Ashworth's Winter Garden is one of my favourite romance novels ever, it even came in in the top 5 (or thereabouts, I don't have the list with me right now) in my Top 100 list. Unfortunately, her books since that one have been disappointed, but rumour had it Duke of Sin (excerpt) was a return to Winter Garden levels.

A scandalous liaison with a mysterious, disreputable rogue may be the only way the desperate lady can guard her shocking secret…

He is called "Duke of Sin" …a notorious rogue and recluse whose reputation is as black as the Cornish night. They speak of his conquests, his past, and his mysteries in breathless whispers. And now lovely and desperate Vivian Rael-Lamont has no choice but to enter William Raleigh's lair.

Vivian prayed that the scandal that drove her from London would never be revealed — but now she will be exposed to the world… unless William can protect her. She has heard the rumors about the infamous Duke of Sin, yet she is unprepared for the man's raw, sensuous power… or for the traitorous response of her own body. Surrender, however, could prove most dangerous indeed — for both of them. For while the duke is intrigued by the guarded, intoxicating lady who has invaded his solitude — and fully intends to discern her every secret through sweet, unhurried seduction — it is his own heart that will be imperiled when passion takes them farther than he ever intended.

While Duke of Sin was a definite improvement, I'm afraid it was also a little disappointing. I'd grade it a B, a good grade, but I was expecting something much, much better.

I liked both characters, and enjoyed most of their relationship. I especially liked Will, a reclusive man whose mistreatment and isolation by society hasn't made bitter. I loved how he really needed Vivian, not just on a sexual level, but for companionship. Vivian I liked, too. I enjoyed reading about characters who were more mature and sensible than usual.

My problems came with the accumulation of details that kept the story from ringing true. It was all details which wouldn't have mattered much on their own, but together, the effect was noticeable. I'm talking about things like the ease with which Will's penniless in-laws were able to get a well-connected and generally well-liked, powerful duke accused of a murder for which there wasn't the slightest proof. Or of how impossible it was for Vivian to get an annulment. I mean, her word against her husband's that he wasn't able to consumate the marriage? Not quite, aren't we forgetting Vivian's virginity? That's quite easily confirmable. Then there was the introduction of Will's two best friends, who were totally unnecesary to the story and whose inclusion smacked of setting up the next stories in the series. And the suspense subplot also felt flimsy and improbable.

So, in the end, what we had here was couple of likeable protagonists falling in love against a truly mediocre backdrop. The romance is always the most important thing to me, but really, I had a hard time not getting distracted by all the other flaws. Plus, I wasn't too crazy about the ending of the romance itself, with a certain late revelation. It was just unnecessary and, like Vivian's virginity, felt like something not integral to the story but calculated to keep from offending rigid readers.

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Truth or Dare, by Jayne Ann Krentz

Truth or Dare, by Jayne Ann Krentz is a sequel to Light in Shadow. It follows the same protagonists, Zoe and Ethan, as well as the various secondary characters from the previous books.

Zoe is an interior designer with a unique sense of style. But even more uncanny is her sense of what's going on under the surface, the secrets a house can hold.

At the moment, though, Zoe isn't concerned about a client's space. She's more worried about what's going on in her own house in Whispering Springs, Arizona, where she lives with her new husband, private investigator Ethan Truax. After a whirlwind courtship, and a dangerous adventure, they've gambled on commitment, hoping that their powerful attraction can help them learn to live together despite their utterly opposite personalities.

But newlywed life is suddenly interrupted when a shadowy figure from Zoe's past shows up in Whispering Springs, and her closest friend is put at terrible risk. For Zoe and Arcadia Ames share a shocking secret. And as they seek to protect the truth, they must join together, and with Ethan's help, accept a very dan-gerous dare

While not the best JAK I've ever read, Truth or Dare was very enjoyable, the type of book I know I'll be rereading over and over in the years to come. Sometimes you just know, as you are reading it the first time, that a book will become a perfect comfort read. My grade for it is a B+.

I found it ver remarkable how busy the book was. On the romance front, there's the main romance plot about Ethan and Zoe adapting to their marriage, and there are a few other subplots: Arcadia and Harry, Bonnie and Singleton Cobb, even Ethan's competitor, Nelson Radner, and the mystery about whether his wife is cheating on him.

On the more suspensey front, there's also a main one and a few minor ones. First there's the whole matter about Arcadia's husband trying to find her and murder her. There's also the thing about Dexter Morrow's potential threat on Ethan, a spillover from a former case. Then there's the old murder case Ethan is investigating for the town, about the murder of a famous writer who used to live in Whispering Springs. And finally, not really suspense, but there's the rivalry between Zoe and another designer, and Zoe's problems with her building manager.

Sounds like a bit much for a 350-page book, doesn't it? But it works surprisingly well. It didn't feel to me as if any thread was neglected, and when the focus changed from one to the other, I never got irritated because I wanted to stay with the previous one, as often happens when you read a book with several subplots.

My favourite was the main storyline about Zoe and Ethan, exactly as it should be. I liked how the story focused on them learning to live together and finally coming to terms with their inner selves and accepting that the other really loves them. Those parts were lovely.

I had a wonderful time reading this, and I'm looking forward to reading JAK's latest.

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Shadowheart, by Laura Kinsale

I read Laura Kinsale's For My Lady's Heart last year and it was a revelation. I hadn't liked the only Kinsale I'd read until last year, the much beloved Flowers From the Storm, so I had thought this author was not for me. But then I read My Sweet Folly and loved it, so I dared read FMLH and I thought it amazing. I've had Shadowheart (excerpt) since not long afterwards, waiting for the right moment to read it.

Readers were first introduced to Allegreto, the elegant assassin, in For My Lady's Heart. Now, he is a charismatic, dangerous man who will stop at nothing to regain his rightful place in the rich Italian principality of Monteverde. And the perfect tool has just fallen into his hands, in the lovely form of Lady Elena--the long-lost Monteverde princess. Only she can solidify his claim...but the dark passion that grows between them is more dangerous than any treachery mortal men could devise.

Shadowheart was just as incredible as FMLH, an A.

I started reading it already knowing much of what would happen, since I can't resist spoilers and the discussions about the book last year were long and detailed. I remembered much of the criticism it had received, and though I see where other readers might feel in those ways, what bothered many people I worked wonderfully for me.

Let's start with Elena's character. There was much talk about how people couldn't buy her behaviour in the bedroom and in the boardroom, so to speak, her being so adept at political intrigue. In a way, it might have been because I'd read the spoilers, but I looked at her very closely from the start, and both felt very appropriate to her personality to me. The sexual part, especially: I saw the potential for it in her from the beginning. I saw her as trying very hard to be a regular modest young woman, and having to try even harder because there was something stronger inside her which she thought she shouldn't let show. With Allegreto, she could finally let this aspect of her out, and the way she was both scared of it and delighted was perfect. I've heard it said that there's no way someone as sexually innocent as Elena could have conceived of doing what she did, but this wasn't a case of those typical virgins in romance novels who one minute are asking "you're planning to do what with that??" and the next are going down on the hero and deep-throating him. Kinsale wrote the process of sexual discovery believably, as far as I'm concerned.

And speaking of the sexual aspect of Elena and Allegreto's relationship, this was... just perfect. I thought it was a wonderfully eloquent way of showing their inner selves and how they saw themselves. The way the dynamics of their sexual relationship evolved echoed the way they evolved themselves, especially with Allegreto. And I hesitate to confess that I found it all very, very exciting.

In the politics area, I do admit that the instinctive way in which Elena grasped the intrincate political intrigues of Monteverde strained credibility a bit. The actual things she did were fine, I bought those perfectly, but that she immediately "got" what had taken Melanthe, from FMLH years to master... hmmm. Still, it wasn't enough to throw me out of the story.

As for Allegreto... well, what can I say, he was just as complicated and intriguing and fascinating as he was in FMLH. We saw him mostly from Elena's eyes, which made him even more mysterious, and the fact that there were only a few scenes from his POV was the right thing to do, I thought.

Something else that I liked was the way Kinsale incorporated religion to the story. It's not the focus, but we never lose sight of the fact that it's ubiquitous in every character's life. Such a way of thinking is very foreign to me, but it rang true to who these characters were. The threat of hell was so real to them, confession so necessary, even if they saw the Church's hierarchy's sins clearly. Also, the author was able to use to create some incredibly poignant moments. I would never have thought that an agnostic like me could tear up with a scene showing a character getting absolution for his sins from what I see as a corrupt, despicable Church, but I did.

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