Entries Tagged 'G-I' ↓
March 21st, 2010 — 1.5 Stars, 3 Stars, 4.5 Stars, Book Review, Business, Cooking, G-I, Gambling, Historic America, Housekeeper/Maid, Inspirational, Prostitute, Religious, United States of America, Virgin Heroine, Widow or Widower, Working with Land
I really wanted to like this novel. In fact, I would have if it hadn’t been for the ending. It did not give me what I wanted. The only person in the Van Buren family to grow was Rachel, the heroine, and that really irked me as it was the younger sister, Lissa, who flouted the heroine’s authority, refused to do honest work, pursued scandalous behavior, and rubbed her sister’s face in it all the time. I kept waiting for Lissa’s comeuppance and/or repentance and it never happened.
Michael, the brother, he was okay until he decided to hurt the heroine by saying her morals were nastier than their other sister’s promiscuous and lazy behavior. (As if he had a leg to stand on – being 14 and gambling behind Rachel’s back.) Yes, the heroine could have been more tolerable but she was doing the best she could with the morals instilled by their parents on what was right and wrong.
For the time the other sister’s behavior was wrong. If was me and my 15 year old (going on 16) sister was determined to ruin herself I would have wrestled her to the ground and shave her head or something so she wouldn’t be so full of herself, her own worth and beauty. I guess that means I’m not heroine material, but honestly, Rachel was too much of a doormat in regards to Lissa’s and Michael’s behavior, she just couldn’t control them.
The hero, Johnnie, was of no help. He enabled Michael and Lissa figuring it was better for them to screw up and do stupid things under his presence where he could watch over them, supposedly to see no true harm came to them. So he rented Michael a table at his hotel/saloon and watched Michael take a man’s entire living (which Johnnie had done at the start of the novel) and only begins to regret and question himself after the gambler goes outside and shoots himself in the head.
I could have closed this book deliriously happy with it because there were many things I liked, but I couldn’t get over how it all ended up. It just made me mad.
Rachel is twenty and in charge of her younger brother and sister. They are stranded in San Francisco when the crew abandons ship and rushes off to find gold. Determined to do the best she can for Michael and Lissa, Rachel takes on a mantle of parental responsibility. I can hardly imagine how their father would have handled Lissa and Michael had he survived the trip, but believe me he would have nipped their rebellious behavior in the butt or forcibly marry Lissa within a day if she didn’t straighten up.
Rachel procures living arrangements, food, pay and jobs under Johnnie Parker at his establishment City Hotel. Johnnie is an ex-missionary and determined never to marry sanctimonious sunbonnets ever again as he feels they are the worst hypocrites alive. Sanctimonious is not an adjective I’d attribute to the heroine which is why I feel so keenly on how everything was handled.
I put up with a lot, as did the heroine and in the end was left with a bitter pill to swallow. More realistic? You decide as it's still a relatively happy ending with all the prostitutes, fallen women, arrogant brats and the heroine being friends again in the last few pages.
My feelings with ending: 1.5 Stars
Overall Rating: 3 Stars
If ending was different: 4.5 Stars
Buy: The Measure of a Lady: A Novel
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March 17th, 2010 — 4.5 Stars, ARC, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Captain, Comedy of Manners, Gentry, Georgette Heyer, Great Britain, Kidnapping, Mistaken Identity, Pirate, Pirate, Sailing, Seas, Secret Agent, Spain, Travel, Tudor, Virgin Heroine
Beauvallet is one of my top favorite Georgette Heyer romances. It’s one I would recommend for a guy to read because of how daredevil the hero is and how much action and high jinks take place.
Sir Nicholas Beauvallet is a dashing pirate with a rakish charm. He’s the bane of the Spanish empire and good friends with other famous privateers such as Sir Francis Drake. He’s gallant, courageous to the point of foolhardiness, and full of confidence. His ego is adorable because it’s so over-inflated and lighthearted.
Dona Dominica de Rada y Sylva is a gutsy heroine. When captured she steals Beauvallet’s dagger and waves it at his nose. When forced aboard Beauvallet’s ship she snubs him, flirts outrageously with another officer, and ignores him. Obviously she’s just hiding her true feelings—the instantaneous crush, the deepening attraction, the utter fascination. The more she pushes him the more under his spell she falls.
When he promises to win her hand in marriage, she scoffs. Not likely! When he says he’ll pursue her right to her doorstep in the heart of Spain, she laughs. Impossible! When he says, “Risk not!” she begins to hope. But can it be done?
Some of the funniest scenes are Beauvallet flaunting his presence under the Spanish aristocracy and nobody being the wiser. I’m so happy that Heyer kept it in mostly Beauvallet’s point of view because we got to his side of the story and laugh at the supposedly mystical and magical escapes he managed to execute under Spanish noses.
It’s also an unusual historical I feel because of the monarchs and events happening.
Relative Time Period – Tudor:
- Spanish Inquisition – 1478 to 1834
- Henri III – 1551 to 1589
- Elizabeth I – 1533 to 1603
- Phillip II - 1527 to 1598
- Sir Francis Drake – 1577 to 1580 – around world trip
The references to the Spanish Inquisition are just cloying and realistic enough to make you shudder with all the “infinite kindness of the church” and whatnot. I’m not an expert of anything, but the way the dialogue happened almost made one think that King Phillip had no idea what truly happened during the churches inquisition sessions. Does anybody know if he did or not?
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Buy: Beauvallet
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March 14th, 2010 — 2.5 Stars, Blind, Book Review, Business, Category, Children, Contemporary, Divorced, G-I, Housekeeper/Maid, Marriage of Convenience, Older Woman/Younger Man, Secretary, Tycoon, United States of America, Virgin Heroine
Philomena Peabody made a promise to her mother. She took care of her three younger sisters and when the last one got married, her youth had slipped away. Now at 27, Phil has a lot of thinking to do.
Penn Wilderman is in a custody battle with his ex-wife for Robbie, their adopted son, his nephew. In the midst of all this he’s recovering from snow blindness. (Hurray for an original blindness idea!) When he hears Phil for the first time he thinks she sounds like someone’s mother.
This makes him think she’s much older than him. She’s actually about 10 to 12 years younger (something that gets confused later when he asks his family servant what people would think of him marrying her.) Phil tries to correct him a few times, especially when he calls her “sweet little old lady.” Every time though, he always cuts in and ignores her protests.
Penn convinces Phil first to move into his mansion to help him watch over Robbie, then later to a marriage of convenience in order to help him win at the custody hearing. The plan however nearly backfires on him… because it wasn’t for Robbie’s sake Penn wanted Phil. It was for his own.
It was pretty insulting at the end when he sees her (for the second time, because he couldn’t place her the first time) and tells her he thought he was going crazy imagining himself in love with an old woman. Talk about double standards.
The writing is pretty confusing in parts and some things aren’t as well explained as they could be. Which is too bad because another category romance of hers I really really like and doesn’t have this problem.
The ending resolution could have been dragged out a little. Phil was clever when she ran – she went to work first and deleted her employment history so he couldn’t track her down. He was clever and got to her quickly. Phil begs his forgiveness when he shows up and it’s all HEA in two seconds.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: If Love Be Blind
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March 13th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Arranged/Forced Marriage, Artist, Big Misunderstanding, Book Review, Captain, G-I, Georgian, Great Britain, Kidnapping, Low Self Esteem/Confidence, Pirate, Pirate, Rape/Abuse, Runaway, Sailing, Seas, Secret Baby, Survival, Travel, United States of America, Virgin Heroine
I first heard about Crimson Rapture
from a HaBo post over at Smart Bitches: Trashy Books. I can’t remember now if this book was the actual book or just one of the suggestions, but I guess it hardly matters. It sounded cool and I got it immediately from Paperback Swap.
It was originally published in 1986 and definitely has forced seduction in it—the kind where he does it for her own good and because he desires her too much to let another moment pass. There’s a lot of it, but it is well written, so if you’re in the mood for it, I would highly suggest this novel. A warning though… the comeuppance of the uppity bitch in the story is gang rape by the pirate crew which the pirate captain (hero) sanctions because she tried to kill someone (no, not the heroine.)
The story is one of those that goes everywhere (Boston, London, open seas, remote island in the Phillipines, Jamaica) and does everything (kidnapping, monsoons, shipwrecks, runaways, fake marriages, babies, plots and betrayal, and so on.)
It starts when the ship the heroine and hero are on is caught in the doldrums. The heroine is headed for Australia to live with her cousin and his family after her father’s recent death. The hero, Justin Phillips, is locked up in the hold somewhere on his way to his execution. He spies her presence one day and strikes up a conversation. He can’t really see her, but he figures she’s extremely plain.
Christina Marks is actually very beautiful. As the daughter of a reverend she is kind, naive, and innocent. Also, she is terribly shy except when she talks to Justin through the small opening. She gives him her rations to help him keep his strength up. When the wind breaks and Justin’s crew comes to his rescue he kidnaps Cristina determined to ensure her safety and wellbeing.
The adventure has only begun though and passion can’t be denied.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
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March 11th, 2010 — 4 Stars, Blackmail, Book Review, Dukes and Earls, G-I, Georgian, Great Britain, Mistress or Courtesan, Scarred Hero, Secretary, Virgin Heroine, Widow or Widower, Writer
I have wanted to read this book for a while. I can't tell you how happy I am that I finally did read this book! As I closed the book, I was gushing. There were so many aspects of this story that I liked, it's hard to find any to point out as negatives, but there are two side plot arcs that could have been left well enough alone and the story would have been tighter focused and undiminished.
As both arcs together make the bigger blackmail arc in the story, I'll just detail them really quickly. One was the woman who slept with Anna's late husband, and wanted that information hidden. The other was the lover of the woman who wanted his pockets lined. Of the two, the male lover blackmail arc was completely superfluous and unnecessary.
What I liked:
- Anna working as Edward's secretary.
- Edward's internal monologues.
- Anna masquerading herself and claiming Edward at a "luxury" brothel.
- Edward's proposals.
- The sex. Hot stuff, I tell you.
Anna is a respectable widow. Her late husband a complete scoundrel and adulterer. She can't have kids, or so she thinks (as is the way with most romance novels - the heroes just have mightier seed - it's a fact!).
Edward's late wife died in childbirth. He found out after he married her just how much he disgusted her. He won't make that mistake twice. He's currently wooing a baron of an old family line for his daughter, and reassuring himself more than once that the daughter wants to be wed to him. This side arc makes sense for the time period, but it was just another unneeded obstacle in the story.
Meanwhile, Anna has gone to work for him. From the moment he meets her officially, he can't take his mind off of Anna. She's invaded his senses so much, he runs to London to seek release in a high end brothel so he won't ruin her respectability. Little does he know... evil grin.
In parting I want to add just how much I loved the wren and raven symbolism and it's correlation to the fairytale posted at the beginning of every chapter.
Review: 4 Stars
Buy: The Raven Prince
Originally posted 2009-06-08 03:05:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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March 3rd, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Contemporary, G-I, Guest Reviews, Pilot, Survival, United States of America, Widow or Widower
By: Marcia, guest reviewer
Bailey Wingate is living what many would believe to be a charmed life in Seattle, but she has problems. Not that she is complaining. She knows that she is fortunate. Having grown up impoverished, she became the personal assistant to James Wingate, a wealthy businessman and father of two extremely self absorbed, spoiled, greedy, adult children. After James' wife died, he realized that his own will had not been updated since his children where very young. He also realized that turning over large estate to these two irresponsible people was not advisable. While in the process of setting up trust funds for his children, James found out he was terminally ill. He then approached his assistant, Bailey.
Bailey is now the widow of James in full control of all of his assets and his children's trust funds. She did not inherit any of the estate, but is paid a very handsome salary. She also has use of several homes. Seth and Tazmin Wingate are unaware of all the particulars of the father's arrangement with Bailey. All they know is that she controls their money.
Cameron Justice is part owner of J&L Executive Air Limo along with his best friend, Bret. Their largest client is the Wingate Group. He is a former Air Force pilot, calm and steady when under fire. Due to a series of unfortunate events, he is awakened early in the morning and asked to fly Bailey to Colorado where she is scheduled to meet her brother and sister-in-law and go on a white water rafting vacation. Early morning call not withstanding, Cam is not happy about having to fly Bailey anywhere. He thinks that she is a cold, haughty snob. Bailey thinks the same of Cam and they get off on the wrong foot when, while loading her luggage onboard, he appears to be critical of all the supplies she has brought with her.
As they are approaching snow-capped mountains in Idaho, the plane's engines shut down. Only Cam's flying ability keeps them from slamming into the rocky peaks. He is able to bring the plane down to the tree line hoping to cushion their fall. The wing is torn off and tree limbs come into one side of the plane. Both Bailey and Cam are knocked out. When Bailey regains consciousness, she discovers that Cam's injuries are worse then hers. The temperature is below freezing and she must take care of Cam and build them shelter until Cam recovers. Not surprisingly, all the clothing and supplies she packed come in handy. They have to put their differences aside to survive and having to sleep together in order to conserve heat doesn't hurt the road to love.
Linda Howard has researched her subject thoroughly. The detailed airplane crash and survival scenes add realism and drama to a humorous and sensual romance combining into a great summer read.
Rating: 3 ½ Stars
Buy: Up Close and Dangerous
Writing a review is easy! Submitting one is even easier! If you would like to write LRP a critique on a novel that you've read check here for submission guidelines.
Originally posted 2008-12-05 17:04:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 27th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, ARC, Amnesia, Bride Stealing, Captain, Children, Cursed Lead, Duchess, Countess, Marchioness, Dukes and Earls, G-I, Great Britain, Love Triangle, Memory Loss, Revenge, Scarred Hero, Soldier, Widow or Widower
I'll be the first to tell you I'm not a fan of the love triangle for many reasons. The first and foremost reason is because I feel it's just a ploy by an author to fuel the angst and drama of a mediocre story. Haymore proves me wrong. She does not do this. The love triangle is a valid part of the plot and wholly integral with the storyline. She approaches the love triangle in a very unique manner. I don't want to spoil anyone, because it's so different than anything I've encountered before in my readings.
Another reason I have trouble with the love triangle situation is the waffling. I simply don't get it. I'm told this is because I haven't been in one and until I have triangles are hard to appreciate or sympathize with. If you're like me you probably think it's very black and white and very little gray. In my head, I know it's gray. I know that it is possible to love two people at once, but the Grinch side of me feels that if you can't make a choice between them then you don't love either one enough and should let both go. Haymore made me feel the conflict that Sophie, who is in the middle, goes through. I appreciate her position and I sympathize with her, something that is way out of the norm with me.
I have a feeling that a second read through will make it a better read, because I know where it's going. I was looking at all the wrong things in the book the first time and therefore was anxious and worried about how the plot was developing, certain that Haymore was going to bungle it. I just couldn't see how it was going to work out.
Haymore surprised me, the ending surprised me, and that says something. It made me reevaluate the whole book and all my complaints and worries held no weight.
A fan of the love triangle will be placing this novel on their favorite shelf. Someone who like me, needs a little persuasion about the loving the love triangle can read this and appreciate it. Who knows, it may hook you so completely you can't wait to grab a hold of another love triangle!
A brief summary:
Sophie loved Garrett since she was 16 years old and was devastated when he didn't return home from Water-Loo. Tristan is her best friend and together over many years they healed from their mutual loss. One night after their marriage Garrett returns. Everything as they knew it is changed from property to titles, from money to marriages--Haymore explores Regency law and Regency hearts.
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars
Buy: A Hint of Wicked
Originally posted 2009-05-31 03:48:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 23rd, 2010 — 3 Stars, 4 Stars, Blind, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, France, G-I, Handicap, Historical Romance, Kings, Princes, Sheiks, Chiefs, Mistaken Identity, Mistress or Courtesan, Poor Eyesight, Revenge, Rogues and Rakehells, Scarred Hero, Science, Seas, Virgin Heroine
For the most part I truly enjoyed reading Beast. It’s a twist on the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast and has a scarred hero who just happens to be a prince… a prince of nothing as it were because it was a French aristocratic title bestowed after the dissolution of the monarchy. The hero is extremely fond of perfumes and perfume ingredients. He’s a botanist, chemist, and a nose which is to say an expert at smelling things. He’s quite a vain creature who has worked very hard to be charming, well thought of, wealthy, and seen as handsome instead of grotesque. His manners are faultless, his skill as a lover unparalleled, and his person dressed and draped in the finest money can buy.
The heroine is a vain person as well, but hers is a beauty that was bestowed upon her from birth and not anything she ever had to work to achieve. In fact she sneers at anyone who comments upon her beauty. If only they could see the girl beneath whomever that girl may be… She doesn’t want to marry at all and she’s certainly not inclined to marry someone who is not as beautiful as she is because isn’t that something she deserved? Couldn’t the man she married be handsome as well as titled, wealthy, charming, and whole of body?
It was a good set up but about halfway through I thought wouldn’t it be great if the hero to put the heroine in her place. Of course it never happened. In fact the reverse did. Why though? Sadly, I believe it is how the initial key plot points unfolded. So despite the hero perpetrating the whole disaster and the heroine being the cause of the disaster, the hero was forced to grovel.
So what happened? Louise found out her husband wasn’t as magnificent as her parent’s said he was and she was determined to find a lover who could give her everything she was certain her new husband could not. Charles overheard and hatched a scheme to force her to see beyond his face and his original intentions were to reveal himself and make her the butt of the joke. Instead he fell in love and tried to unsuccessfully woo her as himself in daylight. She figures it out eventually because he slips up. He’s tried to tell her who he is/was but Louise is clueless and refuses to see the connection because that would just be too horrible!
So because Louise didn’t grow up and Charles did the only growing I’m going to have to give Beast 3 Stars instead of the 4 Stars I would have if the heroine had owned up all of her faults instead of just a few and try to make amends to her husband.
Buy: Beast
Originally posted 2009-04-08 05:27:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 21st, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, Big Misunderstanding, Book Review, Farming, G-I, Gentry, Historic America, Inspirational, Kidnapping, Marriage of Convenience, Religious, Survival, United States of America, Virgin Heroine, Wartime
Tobacco brides were sent by The Virginia Company of London to the Virginia colony where men could buy the brides with 150 pounds of tobacco leaves. In the beginning, the brides were spinsters, widows, and orphans, but few women were willing to risk all to come to America. In 1643, more likely the brides were criminals and felons who had to choose between the new colony and prison. All except one, Lady Constance Caroline Morrow was kidnapped!
The daughter of an earl, Constance (Connie/CC/Sissy) escaped from her companion to visit her uncle onboard a ship headed for the Virginia colony before it set sail. He was to do his time as an indentured servant in the new world. She was detected and captured under the captain’s orders and locked with the other women below the hold.
Constance is bought by Drew O’Connor along with her friend Mary. Under the governor’s and council’s orders Drew must marry one of them, he chooses Constance. It is to be a marriage in name only, because Constance wants to go home to England and is certain her father will come for her. For his part, Drew wants to never love and lose again so the deal while not ideal is fine with him.
It’s a cute story. I don’t like it as well as Bride in the Bargain. There’s an equal amount of research. As the heroine is fond of mathematical equations there are a lot of strange little riddles littered throughout. You’ll be tempted to solve them, but it’s best to leave that to the heroine and hero.
The 1644 massacre, which starts the second Anglo-Powhatan War, sneaks up unexpectedly. It is the second massacre Drew has gone through. The reconciliation between Drew and Constance is wrapped up in it. Characters are lost in it. The ending is relatively happy despite the sadness of the events surrounding it.
Like Bride in the Bargain, it too is an inspirational Christian romance, but not as subtle. There’s more agenda to this novel than in Bride in the Bargain, so that’s something to consider. The presentation of it was still lovely, light, and sweet. It didn’t bother me, but it might some readers.
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars
Buy: A Bride Most Begrudging
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February 17th, 2010 — Erotica, G-I, Guest Blogger, Paranormal, Supernatural
by Eliza Gayle, guest blogger and author of Lucas: A Black Cougar Novel
To be honest it was a fast and furious trip. Despite my love for reading and my early adventures in fanfic, (although I had no idea the fact I was writing sequels to Star Wars movies was called fanfic back then) I had not really given much thought to becoming a writer.
From the very beginning it’s been all about romance. I used to hide in the corner of the library devouring Rosemary Rogers as a pre teen and eventually wound my way to Nora Roberts. I’ve never been a reader of Horror of Science Fiction so it wasn’t until Sherrilyn Kenyon started writing the Dark Hunters that I realized paranormal romance was awesome. I fell in love with Valerius and that was it for me I was hooked. I sought out more books to read and I kept my library hopping for quite a while. Then two things happened that changed my life.
I picked up a copy of the Romantic Times magazine and I found Ellora’s Cave. My first EC book was by Lora Leigh and I swear my eyes were probably bugging out of my head. I kept turning to my husband with that OMG, deer in the headlights look. I even commented to him “They can write that? Wow!” Yes, I was truly oblivious to erotica until that moment. Somehow I’d made it into my thirties unaware. But I loved it and the wheels started turning. I wanted to write some but I didn’t have a clue even how to get started.
This is where the Romantic Times magazine comes into play. I came across the advertisement for the 2006 RT Convention in Daytona, Florida where they offered a pre-convention beginner’s writers course. That was only an hour away from my childhood home and my mother had been bugging me to come for a visit anyways so why not? I took that course with Judi McCoy who I will credit forever with starting me on this crazy path that I love so much. Her realistic approach to the business is awesome and I couldn’t recommend it more highly.
I returned from that trip in May of 06 and sat down and began writing a story about shapeshifters in the North Carolina mountains. I finished it in September and put it away. I needed some distance from it before I began edits and I had a short story idea I was dying to write. The short I finished in two weeks and sent it off to two publishers. The first rejection came and I sent it out again. The story sold a few weeks later and thus Eliza Gayle was born and it’s been crazy ever since.
That very first manuscript? Well, I poked it and prodded it here and there until in late 2008 I finally got serious with it. It needed a lot of work but I couldn’t let go of the premise. After a few name changes and a couple of other hurdles that book is now called Lucas and is my latest release and the first in the Black Cougar Trilogy.
Here is the blurb:
Lucas: A Black Cougar Novel
Kira MacDonald is in trouble. Plagued by false visions and erotic dreams of a man she’s never met, she fears losing both her psychic powers and her sanity. The cure? Finding and bonding with her mate. The stubborn red-haired warrior might not want one, but fate has other plans, plans that include her rescuing Lucas Gunn.
As the Guardian of his shape-shifting clan, Lucas Gunn lived a quiet, solitary life. Until he was kidnapped, examined, and tortured. Now imprisoned, his only tie to the outside world is the memory of his dreams and the passionate woman who appears nightly in them. He thought she was nothing more than a vision. Then she came for him.
An uneasy alliance, a mating call that won’t be denied, rituals that must be honored, and unrelenting enemies who will stop at nothing to get what they want. It all comes together in the first of Eliza Gayle’s sensational Black Cougar Series. Passion and Pride. Duty and Danger. In the end, there’s really only one choice…for Lucas.
The link to read an excerpt is http://elizagayle.net/books/lucas
Buy: Lucas: A Black Cougar Novel
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February 8th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Friends, Georgette Heyer, Great Britain, Regency, Runaway, Spinster, Virgin Heroine
Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer is one scrumptious romp of trouble after the next. It all begins when Miss Charity Steane was found wandering the hillside, luggage in one hand and very sore feet. She is picked up by Viscount Ashley Desford and whisked away in his curricle as blasé as anything you please. He knows he can’t convince her to return to her miserably wretched aunt and so must take it upon himself to see that she is taken care of.
Cherry (Charity) is of course pleased beyond measure that he is not putting her through a lecture and more than willing enough to carry her the rest of the way to London. She has high hopes of running down her grandfather and begging him to take her up. Even if she has to resort to another menial position like the one she held at her aunt’s inside his home.
But the pickle of it becomes when Cherry and Desford find out that her grandfather is not in town. The neighbors do not know his direction, and the sole man inside the home refuses to speak about his master. Desford immediately sets about getting Cherry off his hands and into some more respectable ones. He doesn’t want to damage her reputation and as a single bachelor he can’t feasible continue to keep her in his care. So he settles her at Lady and Miss Silverdale’s home.
Miss Henrietta Silverdale and Desford were once a long time ago thought by their fathers to be an excellent match. They of course both knew better. Now Henrietta is entertaining new suitors and Desford seems to have his eye on Cherry. He is certainly gong well above and beyond the call of duty to locate her grandfather and find her a respectable situation.
What will happen when Desford confronts her grandfather with the charge of his granddaughter? Will Cherry remain in the good graces of Lady Silverdale? Will Henrietta’s brother, Charles, whisk Cherry off to call his own? What will Henrietta’s suitor think of the whole affair? Full of messes as well as larks, Charity Girl will have you alternately tutting like an old hen and giggling like a schoolgirl over all the crazy shenanigans.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy: Charity Girl
Find and buy more Georgette Heyer novels.
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Originally posted 2008-12-05 09:04:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 8th, 2010 — 4.5 Stars, 5 Stars, Book Review, Cooking, Foster/Orphan, G-I, Historic America, Inspirational, Logging Industry, Mail Order, Nurse, Religious, Seas, Travel, United States of America, Virgin Heroine, Widow or Widower
I didn’t know I was thirsting for this type of novel until I glutted myself on it. The story itself is an inspirational set in America during the Civil War aftermath. I picked it up and read and read and read. It’s sweet and chaste, with both leads good God fearing people, which I found refreshing and charming. Deeanne Gist is a master weaver of storytelling, effortlessly combining fact and fiction into one cohesive whole.
The premise of the book truly is based on fact, which is really cool. Obviously the writer exercised creative license with her research but a good amount of that research appeared in some manifestation in the book. Clippings from newspapers, edited and/or condensed, are sprinkled throughout the novel and help set the mood. The letter to the heroine from her father was inspired by a similar missive one man sent his daughter. And so forth…
It does not talk down to you and doesn’t hold any ulterior religious agenda. Yes, both leads are Christian and quote the Bible, but neither they nor the author try to persuade the reader into Christianity or a particular sect of Christianity. There are only two churches and they’re named after the color of their paint. You shouldn’t shy from this book because of the fact it’s inspirational. I have limited experience in inspirational romance, but that will change because of this novel and Deeanne’s expert handling. I plan to get all of her published works from the library and glom on them.
When you open the book you are transported to 1860s Seattle (part of the Washington Territory at that time). Joseph Denton is a lumberjack whose land claim is in jeopardy because his wife died and never showed up in the Territory. It wouldn’t be an issue, except he’s being sued by a man he fired.
The judge through marriage is related to this man and while having a bias is pretty fair-minded toward Joe. He gives Joe a year to get a new wife or hand over his wife’s death certificate. Against his better judgment, Joe takes part of Asa Shinn Mercer’s bride importation project for the Territory. He would go East to get war widows and orphans and bring them back to the Pacific Northwest.
Anna Ivey, one of Mercer’s Girls, desires to be a cook and not a bride. When Mercer gives her a certificate for passage it’s with the understanding that her future employer would settle the debt and she would work it off. Needless to say Joe is not happy, but then it’s not Anna’s problem. Her paperwork from Mercer is different from Joe’s.
The judge is not happy but he gives Joe an extension. Joe is fortunate enough to have another choice, but the woman is old enough to be his grandmother and she hasn’t any teeth and refuses to wed until she gets them!
So Joe brings Anna back where she starts to cook for him and his men. Not even a week passes before news comes that his elderly betrothed’s husband is not dead, but very much alive and coming to claim his wife. That leaves Anna and Joe is more than happy to pursue her… but she can’t find out his intentions or about the returned husband until her answer to his proposal is yes.
Rating: 4.5-5 Stars
Buy: A Bride in the Bargain
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February 6th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, France, Georgette Heyer, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Kidnapping, Mistaken Identity, Regency, Virgin Heroine
Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer is enchanting and will assuredly transport you to another world. Georgette Heyer, praised to be the new Jane Austen, was born in 1902 and her tales are quite old but hold the same classic feel as any one of Austen’s novels. I can picture the whole novel as a movie and am surprised that I’ve not seen it made into one. Of course I haven’t checked in at IMDB so I could be quite wrong about its silver screen status.
This is my first time reading Heyer and such I found it tough to start (as such it's affected my rating). The writing while at first difficult to read and to get into because of the level of vocabulary and particular word phrasing which is unusual for today’s standard’s. However it gets easier the more you read. By the end of the book you’re practically flying through the pages trying to get to the end of the story and see the leads get their happily ever after.
In the true spirit of a Regency novel, this novel includes a secondary romance to entertain us. Neither romance goes to the bedroom, in fact the first and only kiss mentioned is at the very end of the tale. My one fault with the story was there was much too much time spent on ditherings going on around the leads and not nearly enough time focused on them. They were more thrown together in the beginning when Dominic kidnapped poor Mary than later.
Mary Challoner is determined to save her sister from scandal and intercepts a letter from Marquis of Vidal to her sister Sophie arranging an illicit tryst. A daring scheme to take her sister’s place and fool Vidal comes to her and Mary rushes through with it, barely thinking out the consequences.
When Vidal finds out he’s most upset and assuming her to be like her untoward and loose sister, Vidal forcibly takes her the rest of the way to France. Once there, Mary is able to make her true nature known and flummoxed Vidal is forced to do the one thing he never thought to do – propose marriage. Imagine his surprise when Mary refuses! What’s a Marquis to do?
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy: Devil's Cub
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Originally posted 2008-09-02 05:43:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 3rd, 2010 — 4 Stars, Architect, G-I, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Regency
By: Marcia, guest reviewer
It is always a treat to read one of Madeline Hunter's books. They are very well written with compelling plots and historical subplots as well as wonderful characters. Secrets of Surrender is the third book in the Rothwell Series about a family that is declining socially.
Roselyn Longworth has come down almost as far as possible. Her respectable family has been impoverished for sometime but after her parents' death, her brothers became bankers. Adding to her distress, her older brother has been killed as a freedom fighter in Greece her younger brother fled to Paris, after his embezzlement of bank funds was discovered, absconding with roughly 100,000 pounds (about $10,000,000 today). Her cousin's husband, Lord Hayden, has tried to repay all those affected but there is still a great deal of resentment, most notably from Lord Norbury. Unaware of his connection with her brother, Roselyn has agreed to be Lord Norbury's mistress thinking that he cared for her, but his attentions are anything but romantic.
In the opening scene we find her at a house party hosted by Lord Norbury. This is not a respectable affair. The only attendees from society are men, the women they are escorting are not their wives or mistresses but common prostitutes. She tells Lord Norbury that she will not continue with this affair, but he is unwilling to let her go and indicates that he will hold her by force.
Kyle Bradwell is a local boy who has risen up in the world thanks to the patronage of Lord Norbury's father. He is an architect and arrives thinking to discuss some business with Lord Norbury. When he discovers that there is a house party in progress, he intends to leave as soon as his business is competed. Lord Norbury invites him to stay long enough to have dinner with the rest of the guests whom Kyle has not yet met.
Entering the dinning room Kyle is offended by the company, but he is dazzled by a beautiful, graceful woman across the room and soon realizes that she is here with Lord Norbury. During dinner Lord Norbury rises and addresses the company. He tells his guests that Roselyn no longer chooses to be his mistress and that he is glad to be rid of her because she is so cold and unskilled, although he does list some favorable and intimate physical attributes. He wants to be compensated for the money he has spent on her so far and he offers to auction her to the highest bidder. Kyle is horrified by these proceedings and realizes, when looking over the men that are bidding, that Roselyn is in grave danger. They are not nice men regardless of their standing in society. The bidding starts at 50 pounds and proceeds with several gentlemen in the running. Kyle wastes no time and bids 950 pounds. The room is silenced and Kyle leaves quickly with an ungrateful Roselyn who is unaware of his honorable motives.
What follows is a beautifully written story of two kindred spirits on the outskirts of society who find love, completeness, home, security and acceptance with each other. Adding depth and interest is an historical backdrop dealing with the English justice system during the Regency period and the inequities of justice for titled gentlemen vs. the common man and men vs. women.
4 Stars
Buy: Secrets of Surrender
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Originally posted 2008-08-12 05:42:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 31st, 2010 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Cinderella, Comedy of Manners, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Estranged, Gambling, Georgette Heyer, Great Britain, Heiress, Regency, Virgin Heroine
The second Georgette Heyer novel that I read was a lot easier to get through. It helped that there was few if any references to my lord or my lady in the narrative. The diction used is as exacting and up there as Devil’s Cub. This novel was longer but I read it in less time devouring it with enthusiasm. I do have one question, when did the term Tom, Dick, and Harry first get used? Heyer used it in the novel and I thought it was a modern term not one that dated back to the Regency period.
In a single sentence Friday’s Child is a fantastic tale of a poor besotted girl and a rich spoiled Viscount. Lord Anthony Sherington, Sherry to his friends, is in a pickle. He has a few years left on his trust until he can access his money in full. Worse, both of the two uncles managing his estate are not doing so in his best interest; one is negligent and the other is pulling money aside to feather his cap. Sherry has gambling debts to pay and refuses to get another loan from loan sharks. His idea is to marry.
Of course Sherry goes after the Incomparable Beauty of the season, a girl from his past that he has known all his life who also happens to be an heiress. Sherry is just one of the men that float around the Incomparable, others vying for her affections include a Duke, a nasty man who disguises his true face underneath a mask of charm, and a volatile soul who also happens to be Sherry’s friend George. (George for his part loves Isabella, the Incomparable Beauty and tries his hardest to gain her affections throughout the book.)
When the Incomparable turns him down flat, Sherry in a fit of pique vows to marry the first girl he sees. That girl is the penniless Miss Hero Wantage. Hero has also known Sherry all her life and when she was younger she used to follow Sherry around and be his fetch and go girl. They marry in London through a special license with Sherry’s friends as witnesses. Sherry nicknames Hero and everyone starts to call her Kitten by this point.
Well Kitten gets into scrape after scrape not meaning to do so but unable to stop herself. She doesn’t know the rules of society having been bred as the poor relation in her cousin’s home with the idea she would become a governess. All of Sherry’s friends are sympathetic and watch out for her the best they can – Sherry too when he pays attention. Unfortunately for Kitten one scrape gets to be one too many and Sherry explodes causing her to run away. Will spoiled Sherry realize his mistake? Will he realize he loves having her in his life? Will he find her? Will his friends help him or Kitten, whom they adore?
In short I find Heyer’s Regency set tales quite unique – we should start a Heyer Book Club! She after all has written over fifty novels, it could be fun!
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Friday's Child
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Originally posted 2008-09-08 05:07:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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