January 14th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Comedy of Manners, G-I, Gentry, Great Britain, Highlander, Kidnapping, Rape/Abuse, Scarred Hero, Virgin Heroine, Warrior
Julie Garwood is a staple, a household name, and Wedding is the first book of hers I ever read. Recommended to me by my closest friend, I came to the conclusion that it must go to the top of my TBR pile. I found the Wedding to be a delightful combination of bride stealing, tortured hero, and a quest for justice. The tortured hero was my favorite part, though the heroine was pretty great too. The Wedding is the sequel to The Bride
, but I don’t think you miss anything by reading this one first; it is after all what I did first. I also found pieces of text to get choppy when going from scene to scene near the end or from heroine to hero point of view. Overall it wasn’t a bad start to learning about who this fabulous author is. Spoilers ahead…
Wedding focuses heavily on a revenge plot, which in the end I felt could have been wrapped up better. When young Laird Connor McAlister comes to his father’s death bed, he is made to promise to seek justice for the wrongs of his father. At ten, one would not think this would be particularly important or something that would be a driving force in the child’s life but we’re underestimating the loyalty between father and son, the pride of the Highlanders, and of course the time period. Connor seeks protection from Alec, forms a lasting brotherhood with the man and grows up to search for his father’s killers.
The man Connor’s father thought was behind the plotting is getting married. Since he cannot prove his involvement with his father’s death, Connor decides to seek a lesser revenge by stealing his bride, Brenna Haynesworth. Lucky for Connor, his soon to be bride, Brenna, shares a bit of history with him. I’ll give you it’s a relatively brief history, but this history is needed so that Connor can justify his actions to his brother Alec. See, Brenna as a young girl asked Connor to marry her three times during his one and only stay at her childhood home. Brenna is an amusing heroine because she loses her possessions constantly. Hair ribbons, knifes, shoes, it all follows behind her like a trail of bread crumbs.
When the novel focused on the hero and heroine falling in love, it was a very good read but then it drifted back into the revenge plot and stuck there with a few too many clichés. Connor's stepmother is plainly evil. She affects a loving spirit still in mourning for her dead husband in front of Connor, but sabotages Brenna at every turn and picks on all her fears about herself and Connor whenever the man isn’t looking. And Brenna is so concerned about gaining his stepmother’s favor and love that she doesn’t bring up her problems with Connor or anyone for that matter.
Then when Connor’s stepbrother arrives on the scene he is a lecherous cretin, bent on seducing Brenna as soon as possible, not caring at all if she’s willing or not. While this is going on the man Connor thinks plotted his father’s death is moving his players around and causing mischief so that Connor cannot be near Brenna or observe what is going on in his own household until it’s nearly too late. Then to top it all off is another communication misunderstanding and the happily ever after is almost caput. In the end they have it, but I would have preferred Garwood to draw it out more instead of tacking it on at the end as if she’d forgotten about it.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
 |
|
US $4.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $3.00 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $.79 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $.01 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.00 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.48 |
Sale |
Originally posted 2008-12-27 09:35:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
January 7th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Estranged, G-I, Great Britain, Headaches, Historical Romance, Scarred Hero
Wolf at the Door is one of those stories that starts with a pebble falling off the side of a mountain and ends in an avalanche. The pebble is the little white lie Millicent Hyde tells her stepsister about being engaged. The snow drift starts when Sherry asks Captain Alec Wolferton if it is true, that he is engaged to Millicent. The avalanche is when Alec agrees in warm rich tones, that yes, he is Millicent’s fiancé.
Poor Millicent Hyde is in a pickle now. Always impulsive, she has been known to make one bad decision after the next – from running off with a poof who leaves her at the altar to telling the truth and creating scandal. Disowned by her father at her stepmother’s whim, it’s all she can do to watch the perfect Miss Sherry flutter her lashes and glide across the ballroom. Her own mouth gets her in trouble again and the noble Captain Alec Wolferton was just trying to help. Now his reputation is tangled with hers and Millicent is terrified the truth will come out and she’ll never reconcile with her father because of it.
For his part, Captain Alec Wolferton is quite pleased with this fake engagement. He’s on a mission for the London War Office to expose Sherry Hyde’s fiancé a corrupt and evil man. Colin Rafferty is also the man responsible for wounding Alec during the Crimean War leaving him scarred for life and doomed to endure forever constant throbbing headaches. It’s a personal vendetta for Alec to ruin Colin Rafferty as he had been ruined and not even the pretty, delectable Miss Millicent Hyde will get in his way.
The bedroom scenes are very steamy and enjoyable.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Originally posted 2008-11-28 11:08:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
January 5th, 2010 — 5 Stars, Book Review, Dukes and Earls, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Regency, Virgin Heroine
I loved In the Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries. It was dazzling, sexy, full of wit and great dialog. The characters and their motives were well thought out and spun together to create a wonderfully fantastic tale. This is the first of the Royal Brotherhood trilogy.
Alec Iversley, comes home from abroad at his father's death to find his inheritance gone and in its place a large debt. His childhood home is a wreck, his finances a wreck, his tenets and servants in terrible shape, and his honor in question because of his father's misdeeds. He needs an heiress and he needs those funds yesterday if he is going to save Edenmore and all the fortunes of those that depend on him.
Miss Katherine Merivale needs to get married. Her grandfather left her a large sum of money as her inheritance, but it can only be retrieved upon her marriage. Her mother needs the money to pay off her father's debts from gambling and whoring. Katherine and her childhood friend, Sydney Lovelace, have had a long time understanding that they will wed. So why hasn't he bucked up the courage to overthrow his mother's tyranny and declare her his bride?
From a deal struck up with his half-brothers the other byblows of the Prince of Wales, Alec has in his possession the name of his future heiress. At Lady Jenner's cherry blossom themed party he spies a lovely young miss with flame-red hair and a wildly exotic red dress. When he finds out afterward that this woman is his heiress he thinks to himself, 'no man can be that lucky.'
But Katherine has defenses Alec can scarcely hope to breach. She believes in the gossip about his past, dislikes rakehells, and defends herself at every turn from seduction. Lucky for him, she's a passionate woman with a streak of recklessness yearning to be set free and that Sydney is a spineless wet towel. Now all he has to do is prove he's not the man the gossip paints him, woo her with drugging kisses, and somehow show her that he's the better man.
Rating: 5 Stars
Originally posted 2008-11-26 21:57:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
April 16th, 2009 — 1 Star, 4 Stars, Book Review, Estranged, Farming, G-I, Gentry, Great Britain, Historical Romance, Mistress or Courtesan, Movie Reviews, Pregnant, Rape/Abuse, Rogues and Rakehells, Runaway, Secret Baby, Survival, Virgin Heroine
The movie: BBC 2008 v. staring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne, and Hans Matheson
I read this book in eighth grade at the urging of my English teacher who thought I would enjoy this book above all others he had offered up for students to read and on which to do a report. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Tess of D’Ubervilles was my first DNF (did not finish) ever. I learned how to speed read with this book. I learned out to read the bare minimum and still understand what was going on in the book.
I suppose it is meant to be one of the greatest love stories ever written but even watching the movie, a much condensed version, acted wonderfully makes me want to find the eight hundred plus page book and hurl it at a wall.
There is so much sadness in this story. Lots of spoilers; in fact I tell the whole story below:
Mr. D’Uberfield finds out he and his family are of noble blood and when things go badly on the farm sends Tess to speak with their rich relatives. Alec D’Ubervilles immediately lusts after her and offers her a position in his family’s home. At first opportunity he rapes her. Tess runs back home, pregnant from the event. The baby dies.
Tess goes off again to work as a dairy maid. There she meets Angel Clare and falls in love. He does too. They marry. He finds out about Alec and the baby and leaves her. For a year perhaps two I’m not quite sure but he stays away in South America.
Meanwhile Alec finds Tess again and pursues her like a dog after a bone. Tess writes to Angel begging his forgiveness and his help. Angel never got the letters but after surviving yellow fever goes back to England determined to find Tess. He searches and searches and follows Tess’ trail until finally he finds her as mistress/wife to the object of her downfall.
Tess tells Angel to go away and never return because she’s already dead. Brokenhearted all over again Tess turns and goes upstairs where after a confrontation with Alec she kills him with a bread knife. From there she runs to Angel’s side and tells him she’s murdered the man that has ruined her/them and now that she has can he forgive her and take her back. They run off together, find an empty home and for the first time he makes love to Tess.
When they are found by a servant they run off again. They stop at Stone Henge. Tess talks about dying. Tess begs him to take care of her family and marry her younger sister. He begs her not to ask this of him. They fall asleep.
Upon waking they are surrounded by law enforcement agents. There is no escape. The story ends Angel and her younger sister wait outside the city where the bell tolls Tess’ execution.
Book: 1 Stars because the story is completely terrible and angst driven. There’s no happiness to be found not even in Tess and Angel’s stolen moments.
Buy Book: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Buy Audio Version: Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Mini-Series: 4 Stars… the acting, scenery, and script are all perfectly executed. Gemma makes a lovely Tess, you really feel for her. Eddie is perfect as Angel, beautiful, sweet, kind, loving. Alec could not have been betters played by anyone. Hans does a phenomenal job. He’s easy to despise; playing the entitled gentleman who thinks little beyond his own pleasures so adeptly.
Buy Mini-Series: Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Online Stores
December 4th, 2008 — Gifts, News
Alec Greven is a 4th grader who began to write his book on dating advice when he was eight. He spent time observing boys and girls on the playground at school and wrote down things he saw that worked and also things that didn't. The book is full of little pearls of wisdom. For instance:
"Whatever happens, just don’t act desperate. Girls don't like desperate boys."
Desperation never looks good on anyone. Desperation also translates to needy, clingy, whiny, and exceedingly urgent. Think sweaty palms, babbling, mumbling, shifty features, and occasionally a mean comment or too. This leads into this next gem:
"Many boys who have crushes don’t know how to act around a girl. Some boys tease girls they like and are mean to them. Some boys say silly things to girls and act goofy. Some boys think they are acting cool by showing off."
Who is the book for?
Wives have given it to husbands as a joke. Alec Grevan says it's for anyone and others say it's for ages eight to eighty. He says boys should start young. I say if you're eighty and started at eight and still haven't figured out girls to some extent then something is wrong! The inside has cute little black and white line drawings and covers forty-eight pages.
And before you ask this little heartbreaker doesn't have a girlfriend or even a crush at the moment. Grevan is currently on tour for his book as has two other books written about talking to moms and dads.
Online Stores
