Outlandish Dreaming

How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins

2012-01-21T13:09:00.002-05:00

Book Description:
It's hardly the type of wedding Fiona MacLean dreamed of. No family, no guests, just a groom who's been dragged - literally - to the altar. But if marriage to Black Jack Kincaid, the handsome wastrel she'd sworn never to see again, will avert a bloody war between their clans, so be it. Surely she can share his bed without losing her heart...

Known throughout Scotland and London as a wild rogue, Jack is accustomed to waking in dire situations, but...married? Long ago, he and Fiona reveled in a youthful passion. Now, the fiery, sensual lass is his once more. And though their marriage is in name only, Jack is determined to win her forever - body and soul....

First in the MacLean Curse series, I had mixed feelings about this book, I was bothered by the improbable forced marriage scenario and the fact the hero is such a cad at first and then does such an about face about his feelings for the heroine. First, he's outraged that she has tricked him into marrying her (which I had trouble with on her part) and then he decides he might as well make the best of it, bedding her and then leaving in the middle of the night to gamble and carouse about London leaving his wife back in bed at home. Then, after much ado he falls madly in love with her once he realizes he could lose her. He had a lot of shortcomings to get over and she, who is supposed to be an independent and spirited-minded kind of lass, was incredibly naive about her newly married situation and what is simply not done in London Society.

The story begins in Scotland. Fiona MacLean's dear brother Colum has been killed by a member of the Kincaid clan. Their two families have been feuding forever. She is certain her other brothers will retaliate and more bloodshed and killings will take place. In order to thwart this inevitable event, she conveniently has her men fetch the rakish and dead drunk Black Jack Kincaid (and former love of her life) who is passed out in a heap in the road - in a great rainstorm - which she has brought on (the MacLean's have a supernatural ability to create rainstorms at will when they are emotionally upset.) The rakish Kincaid has just come from the arms of his married mistress (who crops up later in the book). Fiona's strong men bring Jack to the church where Fiona has a vicar ready and waiting and marries them while he's very nearly unconscious. He's barely cognizant of where he is and what's going on until he wakes up in a comfortable clean bed to find he's married to Fiona MacLean, the girl who jilted him umpteen years before when he wanted to run away with her. The girl he never quite got over (though he won't admit it, least of all to himself.) She had second thoughts at the time and changed her mind, due to the ongoing feud between their two clans, even though she gave her virginity to him. She's remained a spinster ever since and he became a rogue and a wastrel, vowing to never lose his heart again.

Now fifteen years later they are married - in name only - and Jack is furious. But, he looks on the bright side, takes her to London with the intention of having the marriage annulled. (Why a Scottish lord lives in London I don't know, but it serves it's purpose.) Fiona is only happy to go along with him, for as soon as her big brothers learn about what she's done, they're going to come after her. She wants the marriage to "stick" which means they have to consummate it. Plus, she wants to have a baby. She makes an agreement with Jack that as soon as he gets her pregnant, she'll return to Scotland, have their baby and raise it alone. He'll be off the hook and won't have to have anything more to do with her. He's all for this arrangement to jump into bed with her and he takes this part of the agreement seriously, only he makes love to her - thoroughly. If there's one thing that hasn't changed - the sex is still great! But then he does the unthinkable - he leaves her and goes out for a night on the town - alone!

This won't do, which is the crux of the story. Can Jack wise up and realize what a good thing he has with Fiona and that he's going to have to settle down and stop acting like a rake when he now has a beautiful wife whom he's loved for years anyway? When is he going to forgive her for leaving him at the altar fifteen years earlier? He may not realize it, but the hurt he felt that night when he found out she had changed her mind, never left him. Hence his reason for drinking and carousing and all sorts of other things - because he never got over her. Now that he's got her, he's got to let it go and look to the future. Forgive and forget.

Of course, it takes him forever to get to that point. In the meantime, they both fall in love with one another all over again, yet neither will admit it to the other and all sorts of things happen while in London, where the majority of the book takes place. He insists on continuing his rakish ways of gambling and staying out all night (I really couldn't stand him during this phase of the book) and she, in retaliation, decides to go out on the town - alone as well. Her opinion is, "If he can do it, so can I!" There's another male Scottish acquaintance who is only to happy to escort her about to Jack's usual haunts, places not fit for a lady of Fiona's background and naivete. He has a score to settle with Jack, plus he's eager to seduce Fiona at the same time. A dastardly villain, basically. There's lots of jealousy that crops up, miscommunication and the usual "I've-loved-you-all-along-why-didn't-you-tell-me?" dialogue that goes on. It's not until Jack realizes he can lose Fiona to another man that he decides to settle down and be a good husband. Jealousy always works when it comes to reformed rakes. Plus, when he's afraid she's carrying his baby he doesn't want her to leave him and go back to Scotland to carry out their bargain. Predictably, he changes gears, but Fiona's not buying it at first.

This book was a series of frustrating missteps on the part of the hero and heroine with some sensual scenes between them from time to time. Overall I wasn't overly fond of either of them. Too many mind games go on with no real emotional pull to the story to keep me interested. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Still, I will read on in the series for I like Hawkins and there's more ahead for Fiona's big and brawny Scottish brothers - and their weatherly supernatural powers.

3.5/5

Open Season by Linda Howard

2012-01-15T22:15:00.001-05:00

Book Description:
Be careful what you wish for....

On her thirty-fourth birthday, Daisy Minor decides to make over her entire life. The small-town librarian has had it with her boring clothes, her ordinary looks, and nearly a decade without so much as a date. It's time to get a life -- and a sex life. The perennial good girl, Daisy transforms herself into a party girl extraordinaire -- dancing the night away at clubs, laughing and flirting with abandon -- and she's declared open season for manhunting. But her free-spirited fun turns to shattering danger when she witnesses something she shouldn't -- and becomes the target of a killer. Now, before she can meet the one man who can share her life, first she may need him to save it.

This was such a great read, I loved it! Funny, suspenseful, hot - you name it! Plus it had an adorable golden retriever puppy in it! What more could you ask for! I adored it!

Staid small town librarian, Daisy Minor, gives herself a makeover on her birthday. It's high time she moved out of her mother's house and got a place on her own - and a sex life. She's thirty-four years old and really needs to change things. With her new blonde haircut, make up and an updated wardrobe she happens to attract the attention of the town's brawny police chief - Jack Russo! A brash out of towner from Chicago, she is less than thrilled with Jack and his Yankee ways. Yet, they keep bumping into each other and pretty soon the whole town is talking about their hot love affair! But... wait a minute... there is no affair - yet. Meanwhile, Daisy is testing out her new look at the nearby dance clubs and unwittingly witnesses a murder one night in the parking lot of one of them and becomes a target herself. Who's there to save her? You guessed it!

The plot is a complex one, full of interesting side characters involving the mayor of the town who is behind a white slavery ring, bringing girls in from Mexico and Russia, selling them to the highest bidders - virgins commanding the highest prices. Daisy has witnessed the murder of one of the guys working for the ring and she has to be gotten rid of so she can't testify. The cast of characters are colorful and lively and I was really drawn into the story - it was nearly impossible to put down! I loved the way we see how it all unfolds and just what kind of a mess the mayor finds himself in - all very clever and well written!

Back to Jack and Daisy... soon enough, Jack and Daisy's non-affair turns into a full blown real one, the chemistry between the two is electric and despite Daisy's early protestations that she doesn't want to have anything to do with Jack, she's ripe for a fling and finds he's too hard to resist. His large countenance (in every respect) and "won't take no for an answer" attitude is impossible to ignore. Plus, he's great in bed. *sigh* The one catch - she thinks he's not into getting married - yet she's not getting any younger and she wants to have babies! Hence her whole reason for the make over. She's out to snag a husband and have a family! Hmmm... what to do, what to do?

One of my very favorite things about this book was the humor. I found myself chuckling over and over again over the frequent meetings between Jack and Daisy. One particular moment in the drugstore with a box of condoms is hilarious! They have many funny moments and conversations throughout the book. The dialogue between them is fast and sassy, she can hold her own with him. Yet, as they get closer, he becomes ever more protective of her. Since Daisy has moved out and living alone in a not so great part of town - albeit a small southern sleepy kind of town - she buys herself a watch dog. Jack has advised her to get a no nonsense canine - something like a German Shepherd. What does Daisy get - a golden retriever puppy! As the owner of a golden retriever myself, I thought Jack's reaction was priceless.

"That's a golden retriever puppy." She cuddled the baby to her. "So?" With measured movements, Jack closed the door, locked it, then rhythmically beat his head against the frame. "What's wrong with my puppy?" Daisy demanded.

"He's a puppy." ...

"He'll grow," she said. "Look at the size of his feet. He's going to be huge."

"He'll still be a golden retriever."

"What's wrong with that? I think he's beautiful."

"He is. He's gorgeous. But goldens are so friendly, they're no protection at all. They think everyone is their friend, placed on earth just to pet them. He might bark to let you know when someone comes up, but that's about it."

"That's okay, he's perfect for me." She kissed the top of the puppy's head. He was squirming trying to get down so he could investigate this new human.

Sighing, Jack reached out and took the little guy in his big hands. The puppy began licking madly at every inch of skin he could reach. "So, his name's Killer?"

"No, I've just been trying out names. Nothing seems to fit."

"Not if they're like Killer, they won't. You name goldens something like Lucky, or Fuzzbutt." He lifted the puppy until they were nose to nose. "How about Midas or Riley or --"

"Midas!" Daisy said, her eyes lighting as she stared from him to the puppy. "That's perfect!" She threw her arms around him, stretching up on tiptoe in an effort to kiss him, but the newly named Midas got there first and licked her on the mouth. She sputtered and wiped her mouth, "Thanks sweetie, but you aren't half the kisser the guy is."

"Thanks," Jack said, holding Midas at a safe distance as he leaned down and their lips met. And clung. The kiss deepened. The melting started again.

"Do you mind if I spend the night?" he murmured, trailing kisses down her throat.

He is sinfully sexy. I loved Jack. He's big and commanding - a real alpha. Yet he knows when to be sweet and gentle when it matters. Aside from his too short haircut and a little overdoing it with the muscles, I'd say he was near perfect. I also really loved Daisy, but she got a little left out of the book towards the big climatic ending. Jack told her to stay put and keep out of trouble while he handled things with the bad guys - and she did!

Do yourself a favor and read this book, it was so much fun and a real keeper! Linda Howard has become one of my favorite contemporary romantic suspense authors, she really is great with this genre.

4.5/5

P.S. Ms. Howard's descriptions of owning a puppy are right on target. Lo and behold, I looked it up and yes, she is the proud owner of a golden or two. I knew it! They are such scamps as puppies, but so adorable! I'm treating you to some pictures of my Hector when he was a little pup - about 10 weeks! Oh my how time flies! He's nearly ten years old now!

Those cute little legs behind him, only a puppy can do this!

Always smiling up at you - always happy!


What a sweetie!


One of his two speeds: sleeeping


All Grown Up

Married to the Viscount by Sabrina Jeffries

2012-01-15T20:33:00.005-05:00

Book Description:
One kiss...

Abigail Mercer was breathless with anticipation at being reunited with Spencer Law, whom she met once and later married by proxy. But now the dashing Viscount Ravenswood denies all knowledge of their union! Far too many witnesses have made it impossible for the secretive Spencer to reject his "bride" without causing a scandal. So he has proposed a marriage in-name-only until they can locate his mysteriously absent younger brother - who is responsible for everything! - and untangle this messy affair.

Abigail is incensed, irate...and irresistibly attracted to this handsome, infuriating man who hides his smoldering passion behind a proper exterior. So the lady will agree to his terms on one condition: Spencer must seal their bargain with a kiss. But he finds that one deep, lingering, unforgettable kiss isn't nearly enough. And keeping his hands off his pretty wife is going to be much harder than he thought...

Last of the Swanlea Spinster Series, though this can be read as a standalone, I was a bit deflated by this historical romance. Maybe it was because it was the last of the series, or maybe because it was just "okay", nothing about it really grabbed me, despite an interesting premise. My main gripe with it was Spencer, the hero of the story. He had his appealing moments, but his overbearing take charge manner created too many problems and angst and I found I had little sympathy for him. Bottom line: if the hero doesn't do it for me, I'm not going to love the book.

Former spymaster Spencer, the Viscount of Ravenswood (from the previous book in the series) finds out he is married by proxy to the beautiful American, Abby Mercer, whom he eyed the year before while visiting his younger brother Nat, in Philadelphia. He soon learns that he can thank his brother for this bizarre turn of events that finds him married. Fresh from America, Abby shows up on Spencer's doorstep in London, thinking she is married to him (on paper) but that's not the case at all! To avoid scandal, they must pretend they are really married while Spencer tries to get to the bottom of how this all came about. His brother Nat has disappeared, so Spencer and Abby must pose as happily married newlyweds in front of the ton. This poses a problem, for despite their mutual attraction to one another, Spencer has a deep dark secret that prevents him from marrying. Hence his intentions to dissolve the marriage as soon as he can. But his growing feelings for Abby makes it harder and harder for him to keep his vow of remaining a bachelor. So what does he do? He keeps pushing her away, then succumbing to her charms, and then pushing her away again - thus hurting her feelings over and over. Uggh. She has no knowledge of his secret, so she's confused and distraught over the mixed signals he's sending her.

Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, Abby's father manufactured a special elixir knows as "the Mead" which Spencer's brother, Nat invested in while he was in America. When Abby's father died, she took it upon herself to continue the manufacturing of it. Nat, who believed his brother needed a wife, arranged and forged the marriage between the two by proxy which gave him the rights to manufacture the Mead. Upon her father's death, Abby travels to London (with her Scottish maid - whom I liked) to take her place as her husband's bride and work out the details of manufacturing "the Mead". Of course, nothing happens as it should. Abby tries to fit into London Society, uncomfortable because Spencer keeps assuring her that their marriage will eventually be dissolved, even though they have to keep "pretending" until Nat is found. Not an easy task. To further complicate matters, the biggest gossip monger in town discovers Abby's Mead and decides to sponsor her. Lo and behold, it becomes a huge success as a perfume and becomes the hit of London's fashionable set! Still, Abby and Spencer are having a hard time of it with his constant warring over his feelings for her. He's used to running things to the point where he believes he must control every aspect of her role as his wife. Basically he's being an ass and he can't stand the temptation she is to him! I could have killed him!

This wasn't a bad romance but Ravenswood's constant and overbearing behavior with no explanations to Abby drove me crazy and I found I had less and less sympathy for him. He did some pretty jerky things to her, but she forgave him, of course, once his secret and motivation was revealed. Still...

Also, I'm scratching my head over the cover, as far as I can recollect, there was no bathtub scene like this in the book.

3.5/5

Lord of Fire by Gaelen Foley

2012-01-09T22:29:00.007-05:00

Book Description:
After years of preparation, he has baited his trap well, luring the depraved members of Society into his devil’s playground so he can earn their trust and uncover their secrets. Yet no one in London suspects that Lord Lucien Knight is England’s most cunning spy, an officer who has sacrificed his soul for his country. Now an unexpected intruder has invaded his fortress of sin, jeopardizing his carefully laid plans–and igniting his deepest desires.

Beautiful, innocent, Alice Montague finds herself at the mercy of scandalous Lord Lucien. But as he begins his slow seduction to corrupt her virtue, Alice glimpses a man tormented by his own choices, a man who promises her nothing except his undeniable passion. . . .

I'm afraid I just wasn't as bowled over by this second installment in the Knight Miscellany series as others before me. It started out well when we are first introduced to Lucien Knight, who seems to be the leader of some sort of Hellfire Club, throwing orgies and wild parties in a cave beneath his house. What makes him even more interesting is the idea he gets into his head to seduce his mistresses' oh so perfect and moral sister in law, Alice Montague.   But then we learn that Lucien is not all that he seems to be. He's not a rogue at all. It turns out he is a spy. Oh no. Another regency spy story... I'm growing so tired of these storylines, which must have been the thing back around 2002-2003 when many of these books were written. All the romance authors seemed to have glommed onto the Regency spy bandwagon - or else their publishers insisted on it. Whatever it was, this book lost all steam and credibility for me when the plot line turned toward the spy game direction.

Not only was I sick to death of this kind of scenario, (how many times do I have to read about how the hero is really good, but has to keep it a secret, so he acts the cad?) but as soon as I realized Lucien was a spy who was trying to gain secrets from all the debauched people that came to his parties, I was turned off in general.   The orgies in his grotto at his home? I found it all a bit distasteful, no matter what his real reasons were for holding them.

Alice's side of the story was slightly more refreshing. She is an on the shelf spinster taking care of her adorable young nephew, Harry, whose father died. Caro, her widowed sister-in-law (and mother to the boy) is a complete nympho who could care less about raising her son, remaining perfectly happy to have her sister-in-law do all the work in raising the boy. When Harry comes down with the chicken pox, Alice tracks down Caro to bring her home to be with him (fat chance). This is how Alice winds up in Lucien's grotto during one of his all night "parties." It was all extremely far-fetched and Alice was too naive to be believed. Still, it threw Alice and Lucien together and of course, Lucien is bowled over by her innocence and incredible beauty as soon as he sees her. But even more crazy, as innocent as she was, she comes mighty close to touching and holding his - ahem - staff of pleasure. Huh? I'd say the virginal Alice is one pretty fast learner. Who knows what would of happened if her sister-in-law hadn't walked in when she did to interrupt their brief interlude.

What gets me though is how Lucien, this highly clever spymaster, does the unthinkable as soon as he lays eyes on Alice for the first time. Because he is so bowled over by her purity and beauty - he must have her? He tricks Alice and a shameless Caro (who is now his ex-mistress) and manages to keep Alice with him for a week while her promiscuous sister-in-law goes off to be with her son (fat chance) while he's recuperating. Did I mention the embarrassing spectacle Caro makes of herself over Lucien (in front of Alice)? She resembled a cat in heat. There were many WTF moments in this book, and in my opinion, Lucien lost all credence with me by the way he behaved over Alice, keeping her with him so he could seduce her in the privacy of his own home where she must remain for a week. It was selfish and out of character for him. It just didn't seem to make sense to me. If he really was a no good rake - then yes, I'd believe it. But, he is just acting like one. If he's really a good man and not a lecherous womanizer, why would he do such a thing? Plus, I kept asking myself, "Why her? What did Alice have that made him ask her to marry him in a week? Their special week together sure worked wonders! They get to know one another and by the end Alice comes around to him and realizes, "Gee, he's really not that big a jerk after all - I think I'm in love with him!" - it boggles the mind! Plus, all this time she's still unaware of his real persona as a spy. Yet despite all this, she still thinks he's pretty neat, even though he's planning on holding another one of his orgies in his grotto in a few days! Warning bells would have been going off in my head non-stop! If I were Alice I wouldn't have had anything to do with him!

Eventually, they all wind up back in London (surprise, surprise, Caro dragged sick little Harry with her because she wanted to be near all the fun!) Alice goes after them and the plot turns to the hunt for the French spy, Bardou, who once tortured Lucien for five weeks. Bardou is out to bomb London on Guy Fawkes night, which will kill hundreds of innocent people. Lucien is busy looking for him, unaware that his slutty ex-mistress Caro has taken up with the evil Bardou, thinking he's some Prussian count! Well, she rues that mistake before long. Frankly, this plot-line was all over the place and ... believe it or not, I was kind of bored during some of it, despite the crazy, far fetched over the top melodrama! It just didn't keep me interested.   As dashing and handsome as Lucien was, I really just don't like story lines with tortured misunderstood heroes who conveniently use their unhappy childhoods to behave like cads to try and prove something. (Why is it then all wind up being spies?) Lucien had an unhappy childhood because he had... asthma! Heavens! Alice started out as a strongish heroine and then turned into a puddle. If only she hadn't turned into such a nitwit. Her naivete and goodness added up to just plain stupidity! I don't get it. Before she met Lucien she seemed like a sensible, capable young women. Then as soon as she meets him, she completely falls for him and believes she's in love with him and they're going to get married! Of course, it didn't quite happen that way, she did give him a hard time at first - for about a day.

I'm leaving tons of the book's plot line out and it really wasn't as bad as I'm making it out to be (pardon my sarcasm), but it was just so far-fetched!   I was disappointed in both hero and heroine as well, especially after being so revved up to read this book which I thought I was going to love! And please don't get me started on all the talk she has with him about her "womanly courses" and his asking her about where she is in her cycle!? As if they even knew about that sort of thing during Regency times, despite his excuse that he once studied to be a doctor! *another eye rolling moment*

Still, after all that, I like this author. The writing itself was good as were the details and descriptions, but I had to roll my eyes several times throughout the novel. On a final note, I found the teaser about his icy twin brother Damien an intriguing twist. I like his type and the next book is about him - let's see if he's really going mad or not!

3.5/5

Take A Chance on Me by Susan Donovan

2012-01-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

Book Description:
For animal behaviorist Emma Jenkins, romance has been at the bottom of her daily "to do" list since making it through a messy divorce. But everything changes the day six-feet-of-gorgeous Thomas Tobin walks into her office with a quivering Chinese Crested named Hairy, a canine that looks more like an underfed rodent than a dog. Sure Thomas is sending her mixed signals-but that charming smile just sent Emma's dormant sex drive through the roof...

Thomas isn't looking for a fling. In fact, he wants nothing to do with women. He just wants to know if Hairy witnessed his owner's murder. But something tells him that asking Emma to help him with the case will spell nothing but trouble-trouble in the form of serious temptation.

Thomas knows that relying on Emma's expertise-and her soft touch with a weird dog that has somehow become his-may be a crazy way to track a killer. Especially when Emma's down-home warmth makes him want to believe that anything is possible-even true love.

There are spoilers in this review.

This was a cute contemporary about a lady vet, Emma Jenkins, who meets studly gorgeous law enforcement undercover investigator, Thomas Tobin, who has acquired a Chinese Crested - this little pipsqueak of a dog with some big emotional problems because it witnessed its owner's brutal murder. Emma is a behaviorist with animals and Thomas has brought the dog to her to see if she can help him get the dog back to "normal." You see, this little dog is a mess - poor thing! Plus, this dog might be the only chance the police have to finding the killer.

Emma and Thomas both have issues when it comes to relationships. Recovering from the recent divorce from her husband who was also her partner in their veterinary practice, she is now living with her father out on his farm. In addition, she's recently become the surrogate mother to the teenaged daughter of her best friend who was killed in a car crash - under dubious circumstances in L.A. Between her practice, her "new" daughter and the fact she hasn't been laid in about a year - Emma's a bit stressed out. On the other hand, Thomas has his own set of problems, mainly because he doesn't trust anybody and his wife abruptly left him when she found out he was sterile. As far as he's concerned, everybody has an ulterior motive for what they do - especially women. In his line of business, he's seen the worst side of relationships because his undercover work is to pose as a hit man who people hire to kill their spouses. As fate would have it, these two are thrown together when one of Thomas' informants has been murdered and Thomas is stuck with the scared and traumatized dog left behind - hence what brings him to Emma's office. Little do they know this odd little dog will bring them together, and he winds up being more emotionally stable than our hero and heroine, who's insecurity problems mirror his.

There's an attraction as soon as they meet, both are ripe for a relationship. But they are both so skittish and clumsy! Thomas winds up making a total ass of himself over and over again and Emma keeps misreading his signals and misunderstands just about everything he says and does. For an animal behaviorist, she hasn't a clue when it comes to humans, but Thomas isn't making it easy with his mixed signals at first. There is a mutual lust thing going on big time but neither is willing to take a chance on getting hurt again. Thomas does some really incredibly awful things at first, but finally he wises up, yet by that point he has some major hurdles to overcome to get Emma to go out with him. Yet despite their relationship handicaps, and the fact that Emma is raising an impressionable teenager - falling in love is a certainty.

I really enjoyed this quick and entertaining read. Plus, the sexual build up was great, but I did find it annoying that just when they're finally going to do the deed, his idea of foreplay is to come clean and tell her that he's sterile! Full disclosure and all that. But, couldn't he have managed to pick a better time to drop the bombshell? Thank goodness, it didn't completely ruin everything - but it came close! Then, once they're happily ensconced in a relationship and things are looking rosy, she drops an unexpected zinger on him and again - he acts like a complete jerk! Uggh! I hate it when heroes do stupid knee-jerk things and disregard any attempts at understanding and listening to an explanation!

Aside from Thomas' stupidity when it comes to important relationship building blocks like love and trust, I really liked these two and was rooting for them to work out their issues while evading Emma's psycho ex-husband. The writing is smooth and well done, I enjoyed all the side characters too. They're not just cookie cutter figures, they have personalities and add a little oomph to the background. I also liked the locale of Baltimore, Maryland and the whole "crab feast" thing that goes on there. A crab dinner with a mallet, melted butter, spicy crab seasoning and cold beer made for an interesting first date, though all I could think of was how poor Emma wore her sexy nice dress to such a messy dinner! LOL! It was a good story with many funny moments in it too with some laugh out loud scenes. I really enjoyed the whole canine aspect with Hairy - the ugliest dog that ever existed. Although I must say, when I looked up a picture of what a Chinese Crested looks like they don't seem so bad to me. This one below is pretty cute! But wearing a maxi pad? OMG! And Thomas' underwear as a chew toy? No wonder Thomas was embarrassed!

Still, I'm glad all ended well and Hairy was able to continue his "career." I must admit, I learned a few things!

I recommend this romance and will definitely read more by this author. I met her at RWA last June in New York and told her how much I loved her collaboration with Celeste Bradley on A Courtesan's Guide to Getting Your Man. I explained how I wasn't a big contemporary reader, but Susan convinced me to try one of her romances. I'm glad I finally did and I look forward to reading more of her books! Thanks Susan for giving me that nudge in the contemporary direction!

4/5

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King (audio)

2012-01-01T12:19:00.003-05:00

Book Description:
ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963, THREE SHOTS RANG OUT IN DALLAS, PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED, AND THE WORLD CHANGED. WHAT IF YOU COULD CHANGE IT BACK?

In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away—a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life—like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963—turning on a dime. Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.

Normally I am not a big Stephen King fan, his books are too scary for me. I have read some of his fantasy, non-horror stuff, such as the first few books of his Gunslinger Series, but that's about it. When I heard about this book and that it was about time-travel and the 1960's - it sold me! It's one of my favorite eras, having grown up during this time, the youngest of a large family. When I look back on my earliest memories, the early '60's seemed like an idyllic time. I was too young to remember JFK's assassination, but I do remember Bobby's and Martin Luther King's. Before those tragic events, days were long and lazy, before the escalation of Viet Nam and the race riots in Newark - which were not far from where I grew up. For me, as I was about to start first grade, summers were endless, catching lightning bugs at dusk before bed without a care in the world except for maybe the occasional worry about learning how to read in the upcoming school year and if I'd like my new teacher. I associate those days with the music on the radio as well: Petula Clark's "Downtown, " the Young Rascals "Groovin'" as well as any number of Beatles songs (my sisters were avid Beatlemaniacs).

Is it any wonder I ate this book up like candy? On audio it was spellbinding. Craig Wasson, an actor that I only know from his role in the movie, Body Double, did a fantastic job of narrating the novel in the first person as the protagonist, Jake Epping. He does a myriad of voices for the many characters in the book. As much as some may think it gimmicky, he used impersonations of well known Hollywood actors for some of the characters. I recognized Jack Nicholson (as Frank Dunning, Harry's father). Burt Lancaster and Jimmy Stewart popped up as well. I liked it! It brought the book to life, as if I were listening to a movie that left nothing out from the book! An ideal situation! I had a similar reaction when reading The Help. Wasson also does women's voices as well - I loved the soft southern drawl of Jake's love interest, Sadie, as well as Miz Mimi and Ellen Dockerty.

11/22/63 brings back many yesteryear memories. I won't go over the whole plot, which you can read in the book description above, but King weaves a fabulous story of how Jake Epping travels back in time to 1958 to undo certain events that created misery for people he knew personally or knew of. The book is broken up into parts, beginning in Maine, then Florida and ultimately to Jodie, Texas where the bulk of the book takes place not far from Dallas leading up to the assassination attempt on Kennedy. It's a great, great time travel story that lets us experience life in the late '50's and early '60's from Maine to Texas through Jake's eyes and especially as he falls in love with a young school librarian, Sadie Dunhill.

His time in Jodie and his relationship with Sadie was especially satisfying to read. It's the one romantic element to the book, but not overly done. I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of romance ;) and I found no issues with King's sex scenes - though I believe the book made it onto some Bad Sex in Fiction Award short list for 2011. Pay no attention, they're tasteful and pretty tame compared to what I've read elsewhere. Plus, he's given me a new appreciation for pound cake. I'll always have a smile on my face when I have some from now on. ;)

While in Jodie, Jake takes on the persona of George Amberson, a substitute teacher at the local high school. A highlight of the novel for me is when he is directing the school play "Of Mice and Men." On audio is was great as he describes opening night and the audience's reaction to the young star of the play - Mike Coslaw. Wonderful! Wonderful! I get teary eyed just thinking of Lenny and George... His characters are well drawn, real people to me. I miss them and I was involved with their lives. Jake/George made many friends in Jodie and it was a good life he had there for a while...

But as we get closer to November of 1963, the plot turns gritty and menacing - the past is obdurate. The bigger the event that is to be changed, the more obstacles time sets up to prevent it. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what calamity was going to prevent Jake from fulfilling his goal. Lee Oswald and his wife Marina are now center stage and the focus of the book. Would he be able to pull it off - can he stop the Kennedy assassination and if so, what will happen to the future if he does? That is the $65,000 question. If Jake stops the assassination, how will it change events in the future, and will he even be able to return to 2011? And what about Sadie? Can he leave her behind? Can he risk bringing her back with him to an uncertain world of 2011? Will it be that much different?

I'm leaving a ton out so as not to spoil the book for those of you who want to read it. It's epic-like, Jake's many tasks and journey from Derry, Maine (the same evil, dark and dank town as in his novel, It) to Dallas takes us on a roller coaster ride. Some critics have said this is a self-indulgent chance for King to write a book and spout off on his feelings about Viet Nam, etc., but I say, ignore all that and read it for the entertainment alone and don't think too hard about what the author's intentions were. I say he wanted to write a time travel novel and it's one of the best I've ever read - and I've read many. Although, as good as it was, there were a few things that bugged me about it, the book wasn't perfect after all. There were some similarities to another great time travel novel, Replay by Ken Grimwood and towards the ending, it tended to ramble and go on and on. I also found the ending a little overly sentimental and bittersweet. But, overall, I can overlook these minor matters. I just simply loved it and even gave it to my husband and brother for Christmas!

Nothing like starting the new year off with a five star review! This was a fabulous, memorable book! Don't miss it, and on audiobook it's amazing!

5/5

P.S. I love the "what if" back cover in the hardcover!

2011 Book Poll and My Best of 2011

2011-12-31T23:25:00.005-05:00

Want to take my book poll and see how many of the books I read this year you've read too? You don't have to have read them this year, just tick off the one's you're read ever!

*Updated: Ack! Looks like only LiveJournal members can take the poll! Darn! Well, at least you can see the books I've read if you can't take the poll.

Julie's 2011 Poll

2011 was a great reading year for me. I read some fabulous books and discovered new to me authors who became favorites such as Ciji Ware and Suzanne Enoch. I finished up some series, such as the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning and read the whole Swanlea Spinsters Series this year by Sabrina Jeffries. I also finished the last book in the Mistress of the Art of Death series and discovered some new historical mystery series by Kate Ross and C.S. Harris. I started a few more promising romance series, such as the Knight Miscellany by Gaelen Foley and A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. All of Judith McNaught's books were great, and I finished up all her historicals (sniff, sniff) I'll be reading her contemporaries this coming year in 2012.

Some of my favorite books of the year were surprisingly on audio, such stand outs were, Replay by Ken Grimwood and 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Both time travel books set in the 60's which were great. Katherine by Anya Seton, a book I'd heard about for years, everyone telling me I should read it - and it was good! Bossypants was hilarious and made me appreciate Tina Fey (I'm now a 30 Rock fan, catching the reruns on TV). Linda Howard's Dream Man was fabulous, I loved it too!

Some of my absolute favorite reads this year in addition to the audiobooks mentioned above were Island of the Swans and A Race to Splendor, both by Ciji Ware. Diana Gabaldon's The Scottish Prisoner -one word: Jamie. In The Proposition by Judith Ivory I discovered a new hero I love - Mick! Another favorite was Winter Garden by Adele Ashworth. What a great story, it was so moving it brought me to tears. Another surprise hit was She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell, labeled as Christian Fiction - it wasn't preachy or religious at all! I don't know why it has that label. Whatever it is - I loved, loved, loved it!

I loved The Winter Rose and The Wild Rose, great finish to Jennifer Donnelly's Tea Rose Series - I ate them up! A few surprises in the romances, I adored A Courtesan's Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley. Supposedly they are coming out with a sequel (Swan's story) but I haven't seen any news about when. An oldie but goodie was a charming book, Daddy Long Legs (it's free on kindle) by Jean Baker - great! I've loved Julie Garwood's medievals, but she totally bowled me over with The Lion's Lady, it was just marvelous and so different for a Regency too! Elizabeth Hoyt has become an auto-buy for me, she is firmly entrenched in my favorite romance authors list - every book she's written has been terrific! Finished up her Four Soldiers series this year which I loved, particularly the Beauty and Beast themed, To Beguile a Beast and started her new Maiden Lane series - quite intriguing!

Have a Happy New Year everyone and I hope 2012 is another great reading year for us all!

In Bed With the Highlander by Maya Banks

2011-12-29T21:25:00.002-05:00

Book Description:
Ewan McCabe, the eldest of the McCabe brothers, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mairin may be the salvation of Ewan’s clan, but for a man who dreams only of revenge, matters of the heart are strange territory to conquer.

The illegitimate daughter of the king, Mairin possesses prized property that has made her a pawn—and wary of love. Her worst fears are realized when she is rescued from peril only to be forced into marriage by her charismatic and commanding savior, Ewan McCabe. But her attraction to her ruggedly powerful new husband makes her crave his surprisingly tender touch; her body comes alive under his sensual mastery. And as war draws near, Mairin’s strength, spirit, and passion challenge Ewan to conquer his demons—and embrace a love that means more than revenge and land.

Quickie Review: After skimming some other reviews of this book, I guess I'm not the only one out there who felt they were reading a Julie Garwood medieval. This started out similarly to Ransom (with the kidnapping of a laird's son) and then morphed into The Bride (one of my all time favorite romances.) Mairin, the heroine has lived in an abbey for the past several years - in hiding. She is an heiress and she is kept hidden so that no one will try and kidnap her and marry her for her dowry. Of course, the villain in the book succeeds in capturing her, but she manages to escape and winds up in the safety of the McCabe's. As soon as the hero, Ewan sees her and learns who she is - he wants to marry her - for her money and because of the way she makes his blood heat up. She is very beautiful (of course.)

Mairin has a number of endearing type qualities that are supposed to make the reader think she's adorably quirky, one of which is mumbling to herself while unaware that she's speaking aloud. I just couldn't help comparing her to a Garwood heroine, and because of that, I felt Mairin was a copycat. I know it's crazy, but I just couldn't help it. She's also incredibly naive when it comes to kissing - not unlike the heroine, Jaime, in The Bride, who feels she isn't a good kisser. Here, Mairin, tells her soon to be husband, Ewan, that he doesn't know how to kiss right. Everything Mairin knows about kissing came from her mother superior - a nun - while living at the abbey. I told you she was naive.

And then she gets hit by an arrow and doesn't even know it? How can you not know when an arrow goes right into you?

And please don't even get me started about her vomiting. I don't think I've ever come across a heroine that vomits as much as this one does, though I have come across a hero who does it. It's understandable when she's first pregnant and suffering morning sickness, but then it starts to become a chronic problem. Is it just from the pregnancy? Finally, when the dastardly villain in the story, Cameron, tries to bed her, she throws up all over him - hmmm... that's one way of dampening a man's ardor.

To sum it up, this book was a retread of several Julie Garwood novels I've read in the past, only without the winsome and endearing heroine. Nor as funny. Instead, this heroine is much too sheltered to be believable and her tendency to vomit is belabored upon much too often. Okay, I get it already, she has morning sickness morning, noon and night! It wasn't bad, but nothing is as good as Garwood when it comes to this genre. I also felt there could have been more background on who Mairin's father was and what Neamh Álainn was. Was it land, a castle, land and money - what?? Whatever it was, everyone wanted it! Also, when exactly did this book take place? I gather it's some sort of medieval period, but the author really doesn't give us much background in that department. There are three Scottish kings named Alexander in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which one was supposed to be Mairin's father?

I've decided to skip the rest of the series, of which this is the first for fear I'll only be disappointed. If someone wants to convince me otherwise, be my guest!

3/5

Reforming a Rake by Suzanne Enoch

2011-12-29T21:01:00.000-05:00

Book Description:
A governess must never be alone with a man. Her reputation mustn't have even a hint of scandal. She must never reveal personal emotions. No matter how strong the provocation by her employer. A governess never questions her employer's commands. Even when he's tempting her to forsake respectability for desire? She must never, ever, fall in love with someone above her station. Especially a rake - no matter how devastating his kisses may be ...

Alexandra Gallant is a governess extraordinaire - and if it weren't for that unfortunate incident at her last position, she wouldn't now be forced into the employ of Lucien Balfour, the most notorious rake in London. Though the sinfully attractive earl hired her to teach his young cousin, his seductive whispers and toe-curling kisses suggest he has something far less respectable in mind . . . And that will never happen. For although Lucien seems determined to teach her about pleasure, she has a few lessons to teach him about love!

Quickie Review: I love, love, loved this regency which really was about reforming a rake! Lucien Balfour has a horrible reputation as a lady-killer, but the highborn governess he hires to teach his cousin finishing etiquette so he can marry her off, changes him into a better man. Of course there are plenty of bumps along the way, and Alexandra, the governess, was a bit too stubborn in her ways for my liking, but by the end I had tears in my eyes when these two finally have their happy ending.

Lucien is the kind of rakish hero I love. Big, bad and oh-so swoon-worthy. Women drop at his feet - except Alexandra - although inside she's melting at his advances. Lucien has hired her because he's been saddled with his cousin and her mother - two women he wants to get rid of as soon as possible. As far as he's concerned, they are uncouth, uncivilized and have absolutely no taste. He needs someone to whip them into shape so he can introduce them to society - and marry the cousin off - and have her mother go with her! As soon as Alexandra, who's much in need of a position, takes on the job she realizes Lucien is going to be harder to teach than his cousin! He can't help coming onto her from the beginning, and she is constantly berating him, while trying not to melt in his arms! Eventually, he becomes too hard to resist, and against her better judgment she succumbs to his charms. But, I have to hand it to her, she put up a good fight and he didn't make it easy to resist.

I really enjoyed the back and forth between Alexandra and Lucien, but in the end, I felt that Alexandra needed to give him more of a break once it was clear he loved her. Her doubts about him were based on the fact that he is notorious and what could he possibly see in a governess, other than the challenge of seducing her. She finds it hard to believe his feelings for her are true - but he really is in love and he goes towards great lengths to prove it to her - even locking her in his basement! Still, that's not enough, despite her desire for him. She ultimately leaves him and goes to teach at the same girl's school she attended herself. He comes after her, a poignant scene, ready to do anything she asks of him, but she is unconvinced that they are meant for one another. I found it hard to forgive her for what she put him through at that time, but it was a very satisfying end by the time she comes to her senses and realizes she can't live without him.

I recommend this delightful book, first in the With This Ring Series. I'm really starting to love this author!

4/5

The Other Guy's Bride by Connie Brockway

2011-12-29T11:01:00.002-05:00

Book Description:
Determined to prove her worth as a budding archaeologist, Genisse Braxton vows to solve one of the world's greatest mysteries-to find the location of the lost city of Zerzura. Unfortunately, no man dares take the risk of escorting the resolute young scholar across the open desert. But on her way to Egypt, Genisse engages in a daring deception-she will switch places with Mildred Whimpelhall, who is traveling to meet her fiancé.

Cynical adventurer Jim Owen will do anything to escape the dark secrets of his troubled past. Betrayed by the woman he loved, scorned by proper society, he agrees to carry out a danger-fraught task: escort Mildred Whimpelhall across a lawless desert to her intended. But Jim is about to learn that "Mildred" isn't exactly what she seems...and the dangers they face together are eclipsed only by an even greater peril: falling in love, against all reason, with another guy's bride...

Quickie Review: At long last a sequel to As You Desire, one of my favorite historical romances! I must mention that this book is a first for Connie Brockway, who decided to break away from the traditional publishing world by "going rogue" and self publish this e-book. Then Amazon made a deal with her to publish it in print as well, so she had the best of both worlds. Tired of having to kowtow to what her publishers wanted her to write, she wanted the freedom to write what she wanted to write! I applaud her courage to break away and - I'm so glad she did!

This story revolves around the daughter of Harry and Dizzy Braxton from As You Desire. Ginny, following in her parent's footsteps, has a passion for archeology, but she is chagrined because no one will take her seriously. Plus, her tendency to wreak havoc wherever she goes has given her a reputation amongst the locals - avoid at all costs! No one wants anything to do with her, convinced she is a jinx. Certain she has made a new and spectacular discovery, she sneaks off to the Saharan desert passing herself off as the fiancée of the commander of a British outpost in the middle of nowhere. Her guide is Jim Owens, a quasi American cowboy who's a scoundrel but knows his way in the desert. The commander of the post has hired Owens to escort his fiancée, Miss Whimpelhall, since Owens owes him a big favor. Of course, no one has any idea that Miss Whimpelhall got seasick and decided to take a different route to Egypt. Ginny, a fellow passenger on their ship, takes advantage of Miss Whimpelhall's change of plans and blithely dyes her hair a garish henna red and "becomes" Miss Whimpelhall.

In Cairo, Ginny and Jim hook up and their journey together begins. It soon become clear that Ginny is a magnet for problems and small catastrophes. Yet Jim still finds himself falling in love with her. Ginny is just as you'd expect Dizzy and Harry's daughter to be, she holds her own against Jim, although their constant bickering and miscommunication with one another after her identity is revealed grew tedious and frustrating. Still, the ending was very romantic, which made up for some weaker parts in the middle in the book. But overall, this was a real treat. Ginny and Jim are a great pair and I loved his secret and the way it all unfolds - it really was a fun plot line with lots of humor that is expected with a Connie Brockway novel, adventure, sand storms, kidnappings and even some glimpses of Harry and Dizzy as parents to their large brood of children! (I loved Harry's reaction when he finds out his daughter has been alone - in a cave - with the notorious Jim Owens!) It all made for a very satisfying read! *clapping*

4/5

Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

2011-12-28T16:58:00.000-05:00

Book Description:
Dear Reader,

Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day.

As a love-slave, I know everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and onto the world. She taught me to love again.

But I was not born to love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace--the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse?

Julian of Macedon

Quickie Review: This contemporary paranormal romance set in New Orleans, started out sort of interesting but then fizzled somewhere in the middle. First of the Dark Hunter Series, Grace Alexander, a sex therapist, (of all occupations), hasn't had a boyfriend for umpteen years.  For her birthday present, her psychic friend conjures up a sex slave for her for a month - Julian of Macedon. Julian has been trapped in a magical book for two thousand years. The only time he gets out is when he is summoned to be a sex slave to some lucky woman. How did he get in this predicament?  A curse was put on him way back when in ancient Greece by his half brother, who is a god - an angry god.

The summoning works and Grace finds herself face to face with this gorgeous hunk of man. But, she's wary of the whole set up and refuses to have sex with him until she gets to know him better. But that doesn't stop her from doing everything else with him! She also doesn't want to "use" him as others have over the centuries. Did I mention he can't have an orgasm either - until the curse is broken? Poor man! So, instead he spends all his time pleasuring her - lucky Grace! ;) As they spend more and more time together she wants to help him break the curse, which isn't easy. They must wait to have sex in order to break the curse. For the rest of the book, we are waiting for the big moment when the time comes to break it. If they do it wrong - he will be sent back immediately to the book forever. Julian and Grace have a rollicking good time together leading up to the big night, but always there is the worry of the curse hanging over their heads. It stops her from completing falling head over heels for him and both are tense and sexually starved by the end!   In addition to that, Grace is convinced that once the curse is broken, he'll go back to his own time and forget all about her. He does want to go back - but for revenge.   He falls in love with her, but he worries about what would he do in modern day America - he's a Spartan warrior! They wind up bickering and the usual big misunderstanding due to a lack of communication. Meanwhile, there's a pesky weirdo stalking her and wouldn't you know it - Grace kicks Julian out of her house just when she needs him the most to protect her!

Frankly I got a bit fed up with this whole storyline. Grace did nothing for me, and I found this whole love slave thing ridiculous. Yes, I know this is a paranormal romance, but it was so far-fetched and I didn't have much sympathy for either the hero or the heroine. I just wanted to get to the end and see them finally have sex and break the curse already!

This is a very popular series, so I'm sure the rest of the books are better than this prequel - but I'm just not really sure if this is my cup of tea.   Fantasy just isn't a favorite of mine, but I'll give it one more chance...

3.5/5

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

2011-12-22T14:16:00.003-05:00

Book Description:
London, 1760. For Jamie Fraser, paroled prisoner-of-war in the remote Lake District, life could be worse: He’s not cutting sugar cane in the West Indies, and he’s close enough to the son he cannot claim as his own. But Jamie Fraser’s quiet existence is coming apart at the seams, interrupted first by dreams of his lost wife, then by the appearance of Tobias Quinn, an erstwhile comrade from the Rising.

Like many of the Jacobites who aren’t dead or in prison, Quinn still lives and breathes for the Cause. His latest plan involves an ancient relic that will rally the Irish. Jamie is having none of it—he’s sworn off politics, fighting, and war. Until Lord John Grey shows up with a summons that will take him away from everything he loves—again.

Lord John Grey—aristocrat, soldier, and occasional spy—finds himself in possession of a packet of explosive documents that exposes a damning case of corruption against a British officer. But they also hint at a more insidious danger. Time is of the essence as the investigation leads to Ireland, with a baffling message left in “Erse,” the tongue favored by Scottish Highlanders. Lord John, who oversaw Jacobite prisoners when he was governor of Ardsmiur prison, thinks Jamie may be able to translate—but will he agree to do it?

Soon Lord John and Jamie are unwilling companions on the road to Ireland, a country whose dark castles hold dreadful secrets, and whose bogs hide the bones of the dead. A captivating return to the world Diana Gabaldon created in her Outlander and Lord John series, The Scottish Prisoner is another masterpiece of epic history, wicked deceit, and scores that can only be settled in blood.

This is the best of the Lord John books, no doubt about it. Why? Because of Jamie Fraser. *sigh*

I've enjoyed the previous Lord John books but because this one is such a direct tie in to Gabaldon's Outlander series I found it the most compelling and entertaining to read. As I've found in the previous Lord John mystery books, the actual mysteries aren't that great or complex. It's Lord John himself, his character and those that surround him that make the story. The mysteries don't hold me or make me wonder nor are they real whodunits. It's more like what kind of a mess has Lord John stumbled upon and how is he going to get out of it? I found the same to be here. The actual mystery in the The Scottish Prisoner - the Wild Hunt Jacobite plot line which takes Lord John to Ireland was so-so. I knew all along who did what, it was no surprise to find I was right. What was great was that Jamie Fraser was with him!   Together, Jamie, Lord John and Tom, his valet, made a great trio! I wouldn't call this a mystery, it's more like the adventures of Jamie Fraser and Lord John Grey in Ireland and how Jamie rescues Lord John from a big mess and they're able to forgive and forget that unfortunate matter that happened in the stables at Helwater.

Gabaldon gives us plenty of more reasons to love Jamie Fraser in this book. I loved the back story on him and our insight to his life at Helwater with Willie, his young son whom he cannot acknowledge as his own. But what's really insightful is the fact that he even leaves Helwater for a while to go to Ireland and London! This is all new and wonderful! Jamie is in fine form here - vintage Jamie. His interaction with John's family is fascinating in London - this is a whole new world and side to Jamie we haven't seen before. He is an older Jamie than we know and love from Dragonfly in Amber and glimpsed in the early chapters of Voyager. Jamie is brought to London to help with a poem that he may be able to translate. Lord John's brother has summoned him to his townhouse in London. While there, after an initial unpleasantness, Jamie is able to be "himself" again - a laird, a gentleman, as he was before Culloden.  Jamie is once again recognized and referred to as Lord Broch Tuarach, instead of as a convicted traitor and prisoner.   It's great to see him this way! He's larger than life, I fell in love with him all over again. *sigh* He can hold his own against anyone he comes up against, including Lord John's brother Hal, the Duke of Pardloe, and the Duke's enemies. A favorite scene of mine takes place in the Duke's library, as Lord John and an enemy battle it out, Jamie blithely watches them make fools of themselves before breaking it up. He's just so damn cool! But despite the fact Jamie is in fine form here, his yearning for Claire was heartrending, his dreams and nightmares - and the constant prayer, that she might be safe.  She and the child. This is always hanging over Jamie's head, plus he can't completely accustom himself to the idea of being "free" while away from Helwater. In his heart he is tied to Helwater - because of Willie. He's not completely whole, he's a changed Jamie due to his lost life and...Claire

Basically, Jamie makes this book, but all the characterizations are vibrant and colorful - even Lord John's valet Tom is great! Interesting enough, there is a very surprising story regarding the Duke of Pardloe's wife, Minnie. Hal's duchess and her background as a spy, whom Jamie knew in Paris before the Rising, raised an eyebrow. The glimpses we get of her relationship with Hal and their astonishing courtship would make a great book in of itself! I wonder if Diana will ever write it, including that hearth rug scene! ;)

Overall, The Scottish Prisoner is a worthwhile, excellent addition to Gabaldon's Outlander and Lord John series. Do you need to read the earlier books in the Lord John series to get into it? No, but it helps. Do you need to read the Outlander books to like this? No, but if you're an Outlander fan, you'll simply love it, otherwise it will be an above average book if you're unfamiliar with Jamie Fraser's character. As much as the mystery itself wasn't all that scintillating, the relationship building and characterizations were top rate. They make the book, as well as filling in some of the lost years for Jamie while at Helwater and the bittersweet relationship with his son. One of my favorite picks of the year for 2011 and a nice holdover until book eight, Written in My Own Heart's Blood is published.   A keeper for any Outlander and Lord John fan.

4.5/5

Tender Rebel by Johanna Lindsey

2011-12-18T09:24:00.001-05:00

Book Description:
Scottish heiress Roslynn Chadwick needs the safety of marriage to protect her from an unscrupulous cousin and from the army of fortune-hunting scoundrels who covet her wealth and beauty. And Anthony Malory is everything she has been warned against.

A ruthless, irresistibly handsome English rogue, Malory's sensual blue eyes speak of limitless pleasures. How she wishes she dare to love such a man... to believe the whispered murmurings of his passionate promise... and to follow the enchanting dream...

Once again, I was let down, I still can't say I'm thrilled with these Malory Family books, which had been much touted and recommended to me. What am I missing? Tender Rebel was slightly better than Love Only Once, but not by much. Maybe it's because this is an older book, from the '80's and this was a popular type of scenario then. Fiery, hot tempered Scottish heiress, Roslynn, must marry to thwart her dastardly cousin's scheme to marry her for her money. Fleeing to London before her cousin can get to her, Roslynn seeks out the safety of an old school friend who helps introduce her to society. You see, Roslynn must marry - fast, before her sneaky cousin can kidnap her and force her to marry him.

Once in London, Roslynn seems to be a magnet to the Malory's: the rakish Anthony and his brother James, James' seventeen year old son, Jeremy and their niece Regina (from Love Only Once, who is now married to former rake, Nicholas Eden, Viscount of Monteith.)   Roslynn and Anthony have an instant attraction, but Roslynn had been warned off about rakes from her friend and also her grandfather before he died (yet, he also advised her that they can make good husbands too.) Anthony proves to be irresistible and he has no compunction in chasing her down like a gazelle running from a lion. She too easily winds up in his arms, even though he's a known womanizer and confirmed bachelor. I was quite surprised at how easily she allowed herself to become seduced by him, in a solarium no less, where anyone can see. For a well raised Scottish miss, she should know better.

Lo and behold, Anthony really begins to care for Roslynn. They come to an understanding, he knows she must marry quickly so he agrees to help her find a suitable husband. A familiar storyline, of course no one in his eyes is suitable and and after rescuing her from a close call due to her cousin, he proposes marriage himself - of convenience - in order to protect her. After many refusals, Roslynn finally agrees to marry, seeing that it is the most sensible thing to do at the moment. (I admit, I loved the lie he told her about one of her would be suitors, insinuating brother and sister have been having a fling for years! Shameful!) But she puts the stupidest condition on the marriage. She insists that he keeps a mistress for she thinks he can't possibly be faithful to her, due to his notoriety as a ladies' man. She doesn't want to fall in love with him, so she wants to make sure she's going into the marriage with her eyes open - it was so dumb! He agrees even though he has no intention of keeping to her ridiculous bargain, for he's dying to get her into bed and make her his (even though he's already done had her the night before they marry).

Her crazy kind of logic was ridiculous, and once they married and she thinks he's been cavorting with some tavern wench the storyline grew tedious in the extreme. She freezes him out because she thinks he'd doing exactly what she required of him! No matter how much he denied it, she refused to believe him. All they did was argue and play mind games with one another. She just wouldn't believe him or trust him, no matter what he said or what his actions confirmed. He was always "teaching her a lesson" thinking up ways to make her want him - and basically have a normal marriage where the husband and wife like each other - how novel! If I were Anthony I wouldn't have put up with her and I would have done all in my power to prove to her my faithfulness rather than have it drag out forever!

Roslynn was so stubborn and blind to the fact Anthony really was in love with her, I barely liked her and her marital conditions. Apart from her pretty face, what did he see in her anyway? She was plucky, I'll give her that, I liked the way she jumped out of a window into a hay cart to escape from her cousin. That took guts. Anthony was already rich, so he didn't need her money - I think it was because - dare I say it - it was love at first sight. Plus, she was a challenge and then she began to grow on him and the final straw was when he rescued her. That was the end of his bachelor days. For some reason, she'd gotten under his skin and he wanted to protect her from her cousin once and for all, and marriage was the only way (as well as punching the cousin out, Anthony also happens to be an expert pugilist.)

All in all, this book was so-so. Too many mind controlling games in a marriage spells disaster and makes it hard to trust one another which was the basic gist of their problem and theme of this book. It took forever to get Roslynn to come around, although Anthony believed in her from the beginning and he was willing to bide his time until she came to her senses about him and admitted she loved him. I guess Roslynn's grandfather was right, reformed rakes do make good husbands - I'm sure we'll see in future Malory books if we get glimpses of this couple in the coming years.

3/5

Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole

2011-12-17T18:00:00.001-05:00

Book Description:
Néomi Laress, a famous ballerina from a past century, became a phantom the night she was murdered. Imbued with otherworldly powers but invisible to the living, she haunts her beloved home, scaring away trespassers - until she encounters a ruthless immortal even more terrifying than Néomi herself.

To prevent him from harming others, Conrad Wroth's brothers imprison him in an abandoned manor. But there, a female only he can see seems determined to drive him further into madness. The exquisite creature torments him with desire, leaving his body racked with lust and his soul torn as he finds himself coveting her for his own.

Yet even if Conrad can win Néomi, evil still surrounds her. Once he returns to the brutality of his past to protect her, will he succumb to the dark needs seething inside him?

I loved this story, which was very different from the previous Immortals After Dark books. Here in Book 4, we have killer vampire, Conrad Wroth, who has been a vampire assassin for centuries and is now going insane because of this whole mess that's inside him from killing so many people over the past several centuries. He is the biggest, baddest, craziest vampire around - and he's out to kill his brothers because they turned him into a vampire in the first place! His brothers succeed in capturing him (not an easy task) and chain him up in an old abandoned plantation house near New Orleans (a familiar locale for this series) where they hope they can cure him of his insanity before he kills them!

While chained to his bed, in and out of consciousness, Conrad becomes aware of a ghost, Néomi, the former owner of the manor and now a phantom who is able to communicate with him. A well known ballet dancer from the roaring twenties, Néomi was murdered on the night of her big party in the same house. Her jealous ex-fiance brutally stabbed her and she's been alone as a ghost ever since - without being able to leave or communicate or touch anyone - until Conrad.   This ghostly scenario reminded me a tiny bit of Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. Néomi is fascinated to finally have someone to talk to - and he's this big, luscious specimen of a man - well, okay a vampire, but a manly vampire! A virgin vampire too!

It was a great and compelling story which I read it one day. Over the course of several weeks, Néomi is able to help Conrad regain his sanity and the two gradually fall in ~~lust~~ love. Of course, she is beautiful and he is gorgeous (as all these immortals are) but she is incorporeal, he can't touch her - hold her, kiss her. And boy, does he want to! The sexual build up was great as was the chemistry between this unlikely couple. It's a bit difficult, if you get my drift - though they manage to do some creative things to overcome this basic problem. Still, its not enough, Néomi wants to have sex (who wouldn't?) and a body! Some nearby witches from the same coven we've gotten to know in the last book in the series are able to cast a spell to give her a body, but there's a catch - it's temporary. Néomi doesn't know for how long it will last before she gets killed somehow. She won't tell Conrad the truth of how she became incorporeal, she wants to just have this chance to be with him with no sadness hanging over their heads. Of course, she knows and it's tearing her apart, but he's oblivious and is loving her, wants to marry her. She is his lifelong mate as far as he's concerned - the whole nine yards - he's been blooded (it's what they call it for vampires when they've found their soul mates). Yes he has no idea it's all going to come crashing down on the two of them any minute. Néomi puts him off and won't agree to marry him because of the uncertainty and he wonders why... there's something she's keeping from him...

I kept wondering how were they going to solve the problem of keeping her alive. For everything does come crashing down eventually. It kept me reading and I couldn't put it down. At first I wasn't crazy about Conrad, for good reason since he was so crazy and a monster. But, he changes completely over the course of the book, once he's solved his sanity problem (at a cost!) and forgives his brothers. Néomi was also hard to gauge at first too, she's so different since she's a ghost, but I grew to really like her and her background and dilemma! They made a great pair and I wanted them to be together and have their happy ending! It was good to see some old characters from the previous books too, it's a cool world that the author has created for this series and this is a great addition to it as well! This is a good one!

4/5

The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters (audio)

2011-12-15T16:49:00.002-05:00

Book Description:
Can fear kill? There are those who believe so but Amelia Peabody is skeptical. A respected Egyptologist and amateur sleuth, Amelia has foiled felonious schemes from Victoria's England to the Middle East. And she doubts that it was a Nineteenth-Dynasty mummy's curse that caused the death of a night watchman in the British Museum. The corpse was found sprawled in the mummy's shadow, a look of terror frozen on the guard's face. What or who killed the unfortunate man is a mystery that seems too intriguingly delicious for Amelia to pass up, especially now that she, her dashing archaeologist husband, Emerson, and their precocious son, Ramses, are back on Britain's shores. But a contemporary curse can be as lethal as one centuries old and the foggy London thoroughfares can be as treacherous as the narrow, twisting alleyways of Cairo after dark when a perpetrator of evil deeds sets his murderous sights on his relentless pursuer... Amelia Peabody!

Another hilarious installment in the adventures of the Emerson family: Amelia, Radcliffe and... Ramses. Home in England made for a refreshing change from the previous books. The threesome handle many things simultaneously: annoying relatives, murders at the British museum and a bit of matchmaking between a young newswoman, Miss Minton (who looks like a younger sister to Amelia) and the ever zealous newspaperman Mr. Kevin O'Connell. Masked aristocrats, orgies and pagan rituals abound! I loved every minute of it on audio with Barbara Rosenblat narrating in her usual style that only adds to the hilarity!

The murder mystery itself seems almost secondary to the rest of the mayhem that takes place. Still, the murders serve their purpose in giving Amelia something to do and an excuse to get away from her son's experiments and her unsettling niece and nephew who have been foisted upon her by her errant brother while he goes off to India. Amelia loves to solve a mystery and the idea of Egyptian mummies, curses, a pagan ritual involving a sacrificial virgin and masquerading as a hired "extra" at said ritual - well, that's right up Amelia's alley!

I was really in stitches in some parts of the book. A favorite, and what I consider a very funny scene: Amelia at the tavern with Mr. O'Connell, the reporter. Amelia is a scream as she insists the bosomy bar maid that takes their order take Amelia's scarf - to keep warm, of course, since the young woman must obviously be in need of one! Amelia presses it upon her as "a gift." I laughed at Amelia's sheer audacity and refusal to take no for an answer.

I am stilll finding Ramses greatly amusing. His loquaciousness - and Amelia's reaction to it - is quietly hilarious. Ramses is such a character, there's no one else like him, I'm sure, in literature. He disguises himself easily, practices his own embalming experiments as well as other types of experiments involving gun powder (where does he get it from, I'd like to know!) His cousins who have come to visit for the summer put a cramp in his style, but he manages to withstand them. A tender moment (if you can call it one) between Amelia and Ramses was very nice (for they rarely happen) when we learn the truth of what the cousins are about!

I was sorry there was no sign of the "master criminal" in London, though I kept on expecting him to show up unexpectedly dressed as an Egyptian priest. Other things made me wonder too - I half expected Miss Minton was some sort of missing half-sister to Amelia, since the fact they resembled one another and were so alike was mentioned several times throughout the book. As it turns out, she is the granddaughter to a duchess - alas, with no money, but she captures the interest of a few gentlemen - some good, some bad.

Last but not least, Amelia and her handsome - and robust - Emerson are still at it. In love, partners together in every sense of the word. It is a pleasure to read about their exploits. I'm happy to see that parenthood and being old marrieds hasn't dampened their spirit one bit - in and out of the bedchamber! ;)

A wonderful addition to the Amelia Peabody series, I recommend it!

4/5

Dance of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries

2011-12-13T15:33:00.002-05:00

Book Description:
She won't let a thief steal her heart . . .

It's difficult enough for Lady Clara Stanbourne to run her London home for reformed young pickpockets without having to contend with a criminal in business right next door! The mysterious Morgan Pryce is obviously dealing in stolen property, and she will never allow the handsome scoundrel to lead the children astray! Pryce is very much mistaken if he believes her a delicate rose he can wilt with soft words and passionate, unspoken promises. Now if only Clara could douse the fiery yearning the charming cad ignites inside her . . .

This bold, beautiful temptress is indeed a distraction-and Morgan wishes he could tell the exquisite Clara the truth: that he is working undercover to break up a notorious crime ring. His mind should be on his duty-not wondering how it would feel to hold Clara in his arms and taste the sweetness of her luscious lips. But now that she has entered into his most dangerous game, Morgan knows he must have her, despite the very real peril to his secret mission ... and to his heart!

Coming off the fabulous After the Abduction, the previous book in the Swanlea Spinsters series, Dance of Seduction just didn't grab me (plus what did the title have to do with the plot line??) Fourth in the series, the plot revolves around former sea captain, Morgan Pryce (from After the Abduction) who is posing as a fence in Spitalfields, a poorer section of London. He's working for the Home Office and meets Lady Clara Sanbourne who runs a home for reformed pickpocketing children just down the street. Unfortunately, I grew a bit bored with the reforming storyline regarding the Home for the children and Clara's willy nilly dashing about into danger without a single thought in her head for her own safety.

Morgan is secretly trying to catch a well known criminal in the area, known as The Spectre and Clara believes he's a disreputable wretch who is only encouraging her "children" to continue their thieving ways. She wants to get him to close up shop and take his nefarious ways somewhere else! But her blood is hot and she can't deny the way he makes her feel when he flirts with her - and so the attraction begins. But her meddling is interfering with Morgan's covert operation to capture the Spectre!

As their romance heats up with one particularly well done seduction scene in the library at a ball (which I think is the book's cover, see below postcript), Clara and Morgan begin to care for one another - and fall in love. But how long can Morgan keep up his false identity with her? She's going to find out soon enough - what will happen when she does? Fortunately, she takes the news well, but despite that, they find they are at an impasse when it comes to whether they marry or not: he wants to go back to sea and have command of a ship of his own. She wants to be with him, but doesn't want to leave her Home for the children behind - nor does she want to be a lonely ship captain's wife who sees her husband once or twice a year (if she's lucky!) Memories from his troubled childhood further complicate their romance. A former pickpocket himself as a child in the streets of Geneva, he wants to escape the big city of London which only reminds him of his youth. He's running away from his problems rather than trying to overcome the lingering guilt and shame from his early years. Clara tries to help him understand but he's in denial. As much as he cares for Clara, he doesn't feel he can be a good husband to her. What to do? The last thing he needs now is this dilemma that sidetracks him as he tries to entrap the master criminal in Spitalfields.

Unfortunately, I grow weary of these Regency espionage romances and this is another one that didn't wow me. I think I've had my fill.

3.5/5

P.S. Is the cover supposed to be the scene when they are sequestered in the library at the ball? The inside flap certainly appears to be! Click here to see!

Ravished by Amanda Quick

2011-12-13T15:13:00.001-05:00

Book Description:
There was no doubt about it. What Miss Harriet Pomeroy needed was a man. Someone powerful and clever who could help her rout the unscrupulous thieves who were using her beloved caves to hide their loot. But when Harriet summoned Gideon Westbrook Viscount St. Justin to her aid, she could not know that she was summoning the devil himself…

Dubbed the Beast of Blackthorne Hall for his scarred face and lecherous past, Gideon was strong and fierce and notoriously menacing. Yet Harriet could not find it in her heart to fear him. For in his tawny gaze she sensed a savage pain she longed to soothe…and a searing passion she yearned to answer. Now, caught up in the beast's clutches, Harriet must find a way to win his heart — and evade the deadly trap of a scheming villain who would see them parted for all time.

My first romance by Amanda Quick, this has been on my TBR list for a long time. I found it to be a pretty good romance but not as great as I thought it would be, considering it's #42 on the Top 100 Romance list at AAR. I will admit, it had it's good points, the heroine was deliciously ditzy, so preoccupied with her fossil hunting. Living along the coast of England, Harriet spends a lot of time in the underground caves nearby her home. Upon discovering the caves are being used for illicit smuggling, she contacts Viscount St. Justin, the owner of the land, to rub out the criminals. Her primary concern is not so much that smuggling is illegal, but she's worried the smugglers may discover her fossils and her latest find "a tooth."

As she tells Gideon, the Viscount, when she first meets him, "there are unscrupulous rogues lurking everywhere!" Apparantly fossil hunters have no reservations in stealing other people's finds and laying claim to them as their own. Gideon is struck by this charming beauty and fossil loving heroine. For one thing, she doesn't even bat an eye at his disfigured face which is marred by a long scar down it's side. He's also amazed at her complete disregard towards her own safety which leads to a night together in one of the caves. A night that compromises her by Society's standards and in reality. Gideon, notorious and much maligned as the Beast of Blackthorne Hall due to a previous scandal, makes love to her in the cave and a forced marriage is soon in the works.

Harriet tries to avoid marriage, but finally relents when she realizes she must do as her aunt and sister insist upon. We're led on a merry ride to London where Harriet is taken to acquire a bit of "polish." Some parts were very funny and Harriet is an orginal. I laughed aloud many times, particularly in regard to her precious "tooth." Not surprisingly, she becomes the target of a scheming former friend of Gideon's who's after revenge, but she holds her own and clobbers him over the head, running to Gideon and explaining to him how she "accidentally" killed him. She didn't actually, but the whole thing, which could have been a nasty affair is smoothed over by Gideon, who is soon realizing his future wife is a handful!

I liked Gideon's side of the story too. Accused of ravishing a young woman and then refusing to marry her, he is castigized for her resulting suicide. He has spent the last several years trying to overcome the scandal and lost respect and admiration - from his father. A hopeless case - until Harriet comes on the scene. His situation with Harriet and the circumstances of their impending nuptials are eerily familiar, but Harriet wins his parents over. Their first meeting is indeed memorable! I loved it!

This really was a fun story! My one gripe - the tepid love scenes, but overall, I recommend it!

3.5/5

The Proposition by Judith Ivory

2011-12-08T20:45:00.004-05:00

Book Description:
No man, gentleman or otherwise, has ever looked at Lady Edwina Bollash the way the brash, handsome man standing before her is doing now. Edwina has accepted the challenge to transform incorrigible Mick Tremore into a gentleman in just six weeks. And although the linguist is sure she can rise to the task, she isn't at all certain she won't swoon under his frankly sensuous gaze before her job is done. Mick has lived outside of London society long enough to know that appearances can be deceiving. Edwina might look all buttoned up—the perfect English lady—but there is unleashed passion existing just below her placid facade (not to mention a great pair of legs!). And as she prepares him to take his place in society, Mick prepares Edwina to take her place in his heart...and in his bed.

This book has it all, I loved it! Based on the same premise as one of my favorite plays, Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, Edwina Bollash is a linguist who takes on a wager that she can turn Cornish/Cockney, ratcatcher, Mick Tremore into a gentleman in time to attend a grand ball. Mick is to die for - I simply loved him! Oh my, he's become a new favorite hero to add to my list! The sexual tension that builds between these two is magnificently written.

Mick Tremore grew up in Cornwall with slews of siblings but moved to London to make a living and send money home to his family. Despite the sound of it, he's proud of his profession - as a ratcatcher - he's good at it too! He has a pet ferret or two that help as well catch them. One day, while trying to catch a mouse at a modiste's shop in London, he spies a pair of gorgeously long legs in a dressing room. He is captivated - Mick is a "leg man" - the longer the better. Will he ever be able to find out who the owner of those legs are? Before he can work on that problem, all hell breaks loose in the shop and he winds up running for his life and winds up in a tea shop. One thing leads to another - as in Pygmalion and two young men - twins - make a wager that Mick could be passed off as a gentleman at a fancy ball. Edwina who has stepped in to help Mick from the snafu he has landed in at the moment impulsively agrees to be his linguistic coach and teach him to be a gentleman. Mick agrees to it for he's promised a certain amount of money if he succeeds.

Little do Mick and Edwina know what sort of mayhem develops, for Mick moves into her townhouse (to the horror of her staff!) and she begins her daily lessons. Just getting him to take a bath for the first time with her stoic butler was hilarious! Mick is an original - and he's instantly attracted to Edwina, with her spectacles and buttoned up collars and sensible boots. He audaciously makes it plain what he'd like to do to her as they become closer and has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve to get his way. Be still my heart, the tension that builds between the two of them is amazingly carried out. Once he gets wind that she's the owner of the tantalizing long legs he admired at the dress shop - there's no holding back. He must see them - naked... on a raised table - as if a pedestal (not unlike the ancient myth of Pygmalion and Galatea). What amazed me is how Edwina goes along with it! Although on second thought, it's not so amazing because as Mick is becoming more and more like a gentleman, she's becoming more and more enamored of him! He's really starting to resemble a lord - he's the air about him, the looks, the hands - the accent. He's a quick study - amazingly quick - maybe too much.

I won't spoil any more of the plot, but trust me this is a great, great romance! I'm not nearly doing it justice in this short review, but it's witty and has strong characters in both Edwina and Mick. He is simply fabulous, but Edwina easily holds her own with him. They are great together. His personality dazzles, he charms everyone - plus his looks are to die for - except for his mustache. Did I forget to mention his mustache? The mustache - his pride and joy? In the late Victorian era when this book takes place, many men sported a mustache and beard and Mick is oh so proud of his. It's long and thick, luxuriant, walrus-like (or so I imagine it to be) and guess who hates it! Edwina wants him to get rid of it pronto! He agrees and makes a bargain - just how do you think he gets her up on top of that table revealing her legs to him? Ooooh, it was rich!

Besides the obvious story of turning Mick into a gentleman and whether or not it's possible, there was also the side of the story of Edwina falling for a common man - can she? Can she overlook his humble beginnings? As the granddaughter of a duke, it's unheard of and would be considered quite a step down in Society. She'd be an outcast. But her feelings for him are strong - more than just wanting to have him in her bed - she cares for him - she's fallen in love with the big lug. Then, there's Mick's side to consider - does he really want to leave his ratcatcher life and become a "gent" and speak well so he can become a valet for some nob up in Newcastle? He knows better. He can't possibly expect her to marry a valet. If he does go to far away Newcastle - uggh, just the thought of it - it's the same place Wickham and Lydia were ignominiously sent to in Pride and Prejudice! Will Edwina ever see him again? Doubtful. What happens after the ball? As the dreaded big night nears both must face truths about their feelings for one another and the realities of British Society in the late nineteenth century. It seems hopeless... As the night of the ball gets closer, things heat up more and more between them, to the point of no return. At the same time, we also learn the truth of what the real wager is all about with the twin gentlemen and what they're up to. It all comes to head on the climatic night of the ball as family secrets are revealed, but it's also a bittersweet revelation, yet maybe an answer to their dilemma - oooh! How I loved it!

Read this book, buy it on kindle (as I did) or track it down somewhere else in print - it's a keeper and worthy of a re-read. Mick is one of those unforgettable heroes and Edwina is the lucky gal that gets him!

5/5

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (audio)

2011-12-04T20:52:00.003-05:00

Book Description:
The novelist Maurice Bendrix's love affair with his friend's wife, Sarah, had begun in London. One day, without warning, Sarah had broken off the relationship. It seemed impossible that there could be a rival for her heart.

A classic book that I've heard of for years, but had never picked up. Finally I got around to listening to it on audio. What a surprise, this was not what I expected at all. It's the story of how Maurice Bendrix, a novelist in post WWII-London, copes with the end of an affair with a married woman whom he was seeing for two years. She breaks it off unceremoniously, no explanation, no scenes, no recriminations - nothing. He's in the dark and mistakenly assumes she has gone on to someone else. Most of the story is from Maurice's point of view. It's aftermath, his questions of faith, God and the Catholic Church are all covered as he comes to terms with and learns the unexpected truth behind their break-up. A masterfully done audio, narrated by Michael Kitchen. The bitterness and sadness conveyed by Maurice is real and palpable, I felt like Maurice was telling his story to me.

Maurice is bitter - very bitter. He loved Sarah Miles, the wife of an acquaintance who lives nearby. Their affair lasted for nearly two years, but they began to bicker and doubts of each other's love began and unexpectedly she stopped seeing him after an air raid in which he nearly died. Like that - it's over. Maurice has tried to forget her and get on with his life, but once he runs into her husband, Henry, a mild mannered man who is clueless in regard to his wife's extramarital activities all those old feelings were dredged up again. Running into Henry that night in the rain, leads to having a drink together which then leads to Henry admitting he suspects something is going on with Sarah and wonders if he should hire a private detective to follow her. Someone discreet. He's been given the name of a reputable service that specializes in this sort of thing. But, the thought of it is so distasteful to him, he wants to forget about it. Yet Maurice has the bug now. His own selfish desire makes him offer to hire the detective for Henry. As if he's doing Henry a favor. Henry says he'll think about it, but Maurice goes ahead anyway. He is obsessed with the idea that Sarah has moved on to someone else and he wants to know who is the man she is sleeping with now. Is it the man she left him for?

Events do not turn out quite the way Maurice expected, although the detective makes it possible for him to get hold of Sarah's private diary. Maurice unashamedly reads it, going over the time of their affair and afterwards and realizes he had been completely wrong about her. She writes she still loves him, always has. Still desperately in love with her - he cannot wait to tell her so. She can leave her husband and they can live happily ever after...

Of course this doesn't happen. Irony comes into play. We learn that Sarah left Maurice because she believed God had saved him from dying in that air raid. She prayed to God and promised she would leave him and go back to her husband if only God would keep him alive. The question is, did Maurice die in that raid or not? Sarah was convinced he was dead at one point - and then he wasn't. She was convinced God answered her prayer and brought him back to life - so she kept her promise and left him. Maurice had been unaware of all of this until he read her diary. Once he learns the truth he calls her, he must see her! She resists, she is unwell, she tries to put him off. She has vowed to God not to see him. He won't take no for an answer and tells her he is coming right over. His call drives her out into the rainy dark night to avoid seeing him, despite her bad cold.. I bet you can see where this is going... Events lead to the worst possible thing that can happen and Maurice and her husband, Henry must both deal with it. The questions of religion, God and the Catholic Church, in particular, are brought up. Is there a God? Sarah had been a non-believer up to this point (though she had been baptized a Catholic, but didn't know it). Maurice doesn't believe in anything and detested the pious priests in their hassocks, preaching truth and goodness - all sanctimonious bullshit, as far as he was concerned. He blames God... for losing Sarah.

This was really a great story, primarily because of the heartfelt emotions we experience through Maurice. I don't think I've ever read another book that conveyed such an intense sense of loss from a man's point of view over a broken love affair. On audio, I felt like I knew Maurice. I could turn my head and he's be there smoking a cigarette, taking a deep drag and continuing his monologue of what happened to him. First his anger over having her leave him for, what he is convinced is another man. Then his morbid curiosity to find out who she is sleeping with and what she is doing now through the services of the nice but somewhat bumbling detective and his young son (a very interesting and worthwhile diversion to the overall bitterness of the main storyline.) Then, the revelations of her diary and the aftermath and ensuing tragedy that happens next. It was like a Hardy novel!

Overall, this is a worthwhile read, I highly recommend it on audio, it is very strong yet arms length in that late 1940's British way. It's hard to describe. Repressed emotion, quiet intensity. Still waters run deep. Maurice never breaks down and cries over Sarah, but he is distraught and bereft, but also so angry and bitter! Who can blame him? The irony is astounding as well as the philosophical aspect of whether there is a God or not? A memorable book. Read it.

4/5

A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross

2011-11-28T21:16:00.005-05:00

Book Description:
No detection team was ever more mismatched: Julian Kestrel, the debonair and elegant Regency dandy, and Sally Stokes, a bold and bewitching Cockney prostitute and thief. But one night Fate throws them together, giving them the only clue that can unmask a diabolical killer. It all starts in London's notorious Haymarket district, where Sally picks up three men one after the other and nicknames them Bristles, Blue Eyes, and Blinkers. From each of them Sally steals a handkerchief - and from one she mistakenly steals a letter that contains an urgent appeal for help as well. But which man did she get the letter from? Who is the distraught young woman who wrote it? And where is she being held against her will? These questions take on a new urgency when Sally finds the writer of the letter - dead. Luckily, Sally's brother is none other than Dipper, reformed pickpocket and now valet to gifted amateur sleuth Julian Kestrel. The authorities dismiss the girl's death as suicide, but to Kestrel it looks more like murder. To prove it, he must track down Bristles, Blue Eyes, and Blinkers, and find out which of them had the dead girl's letter. Sally uses all her ingenuity and daring to help Kestrel solve this case. But she is out to solve another mystery as well: Is there a man of flesh and blood under Kestrel's impeccable clothes?

I loved the first book in this Regency mystery series, Cut to the Quick, which introduced us to the dapper Julian Kestrel, a gentleman in London famous for the cut of his clothes and good taste. Having solved a murder mystery in Cut to the Quick, he is now somewhat famous as an amateur sleuth. In A Broken Vessel we pick up with Julian again, as well as with his valet, Dipper, a former pickpocket whose proud to have left his old career for a new and respectable one. Julian and Dipper make a good pair, but I had a tough time getting into this mystery.   Instead of a pair, there was a threesome that developed - and it made me uneasy.

Sally Stokes is a prostitute who is also Dipper's sister. From the detailed book description above you get the gist of what takes place. Sally gets around and picked up three different men in one night. She likes to steal a little something from them - a handkerchief usually, as she did with each of these three men on this one particular evening. But, she fingers a letter too, written by an unknown lady which sets in motion the mystery. Who is the writer of the letter, which is a plea to come rescue her from some place - where? That same evening, one of Sally's customers beats her up and Dipper brings her back to Julian's to patch her up. She winds up staying there until she's better and discovers the letter among her things. She brings it to Julian and Dippers attention and they all take an interest in it. In a short amount of time they investigate the possibilities and are able to determine the location of the young lady. It is a house where fallen women can go to turn their backs on their former lives and become good Christians again through hard work and prayer.

The mystery thickens as Sally volunteers to pretend she wants to be "saved" and goes to the house to see if she can find out who wrote the letter. Whoever it was seems to have been a lady, which makes it all the more odd and mysterious. Julian feels honor bound to try and discover how he may be able to help this poor young lady who obviously is ashamed and afraid to go to her family. Something terrible must have happened that made her take such a drastic step which led to this house of redemption.

Meanwhile, Julian is developing an unseemly attraction to Sally, which he is resisting, being the gentleman he is. But, Sally is hot and heavy for him as well! Still, Julian tells her no, he must not and Sally understands and stops throwing herself at him. But, once Julian seemed to have made up his mind to resist her, it made him think of her all the more! This made me a bit uneasy for 1) I didn't like the idea of Julian actually having any kind of lasting attachment to a prostitute, no matter how charming she can be and 2) She's Dipper's sister, and I felt it was a bit creepy for Julian to contemplate something with Sally when Dipper is his friend and valet! The whole thing just didn't bode well for me. It was off.

Back to the mystery side of the story... When Sally first goes to the house for fallen women, she finds out the person who wrote the letter has just died the night before - by poisoning herself. No one knew who she really was, for she would not divulge her real name. The house is in an uproar over it and after much discussion with Dipper and Julian Sally returns a week or so later and is admitted in as an "inmate." Sally learns all sorts of things while there, picking up loads of clues.   It soon becomes apparent that the young lady who killed herself was probably murdered to make it look like a suicide. The plot becomes more and more complex and it was clever, but I grew weary of Sally, Sally, Sally for a great part of the book centers on her while in the house - with no Julian or Dipper in sight. This Julian Kestrel mystery was turning into a Sally Stokes mystery instead - and I didn't like it!

As much as Sally was a game girl and a daring rookie sleuth, I expected there to be more of Julian and Dapper's end of the story. Still, the mystery was a good one, well thought out and complex, though it seemed to be bunched up in the end with lengthy explanations of why and who did what. A recap of motives and background that grew a little tiresome. To add to my chagrin - Julian proves he can only take so much. He is a man after all - a man who cannot resist temptation - Sally finally gets her way.

Overall, I would have preferred that a relationship between Julian and Sally had not developed into a sexual one. I'm all for sexual tension building which I think would have been better between them. I really thought it was unbelievable that Julian succumbed and took her to his bed, and even a little skeevy when her own brother, Dipper liked the idea his sister was sleeping with his employer (though Sally and Julian tried to hide it from him.) I don't know, I guess I prefer my Regency English gentlemen to do the honorable thing and pay for their prostitutes rather than become their boyfriends!

Still, I won't let this minor indiscretion stop me from continuing on in the series - as long as Sally is not going to be front and center in the future. Her mysterious departure at the end of this book gives me hope!

3.5/5

A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin

2011-11-26T12:09:00.003-05:00

Book Description:
In 1176, King Henry II sends his daughter Joanna to Palermo to marry his cousin, the king of Sicily. Henry chooses Adelia Aguilar, his Mistress of the Art of Death, to travel with the princess and safeguard her health. But when people in the wedding procession are murdered, Adelia and Rowley must discover the killer's identity . . . and whether he is stalking the princess or Adelia herself.

I've really enjoyed this medieval mystery series by the late Ariana Franklin. I consider A Murderous Procession to be the best - and unfortunately - it is the last of the series. I found it hard to put down, reading until all hours of the night. Clever and evocative the story begins in England and ends up in Salerno on an agonizing cliffhanger of which we'll never know the conclusion, since the author died before she could write more.

Adelia Aguilar, a singular female doctor during the reign of King Henry II, is set up comfortably raising her precocious daughter in England. Finally having agreed to become Rowley, the Bishop of St. Alban's mistress, she is content with her life. But, she is unaware of the madman, Scary, who is stalking her. Two years earlier she had killed his lover in self defense. Scary has now returned to avenge his beloved's death. The gist of the mystery in A Murderous Procession is - who is Scary and how does he plan on killing Adelia?

King Henry II wields his authority far and wide. His favorite doctor is Adelia Aguilar and he insists - no, commands she escort his daughter, the young Princess Joanna to Sicily for her marriage to King William II. Of course, all sorts of problems occur en route. First of all, Adelia does not want to leave England in the first place, especially since she will have to leave her daughter behind. Rowley Picot, a former knight and her lover who Henry II made a bishop, wants her to leave for he has gotten wind of the threat on her life, brought to light by a series of near mishaps and fatal accidents to Adelia. He believes she will be safer away from England and the threat on her life. Ally, her daughter is left in the safe care of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry's estranged wife. With no other choice, Adelia begrudgingly escorts the young Joanna to Sicily, unaware that Scary, blending in and disguised as someone traveling with the large entourage, is accompanying her on the journey. Right under her nose, she has no idea - nor does anyone else - of the danger she is in.

The journey is long and soon it becomes apparent all is not as it should be. More accidents befall Adelia and eventually she and Rowley, as well as some new and old friends realize Scary is with them. But who is he? She's never seen Scary before so she can't identify him. The mystery was very well done and I guessed at one point who Scary was, but I changed my mind a few times and wound up being surprised. This is typical of the Mistress of the Art of Death mysteries. The culprit is always someone in plain sight - but who? They're devious and highly clever in the way they set their traps.

I'm deliberately being coy and leaving a lot out so as not to spoil the mystery, but much happens to Adelia and her traveling companions on the journey. She and her friends, Mansur and Ulf are nearly hanged at one point, narrowly avoiding death, though they are rescued in the nick of time. I found the storyline riveting - a real page turner all the way up to the climatic ending in the city of Salerno at the wedding of the princess. The author pares down the cast of suspects who are gradually removed one by one, narrowing them down to only a few possibilities. Often I thought I knew just who it was - only to have that character absolved - paralleling how Adelia conducts her murder investigations through autopsies. At one point during her stay for a few weeks while in hiding at a castle, she manages to solve the case of what killed an errant goat found dead. An autopsy gave her the answer thus preventing a great kerfuffle between two neighbors! A slight diversion from the rest of the storyline.

I highly recommend this series, the research is first rate, the plot lines are clever and not a little macabre due to the nature of the murders and motives. Adelia is a strong and independent heroine, reminiscent of Claire Fraser in the Outlander series with her talent and knowledge of medicine. One scene here has Adelia remove a ruptured appendix which I couldn't help but compare to when Claire in Drums of Autumn performs surgery on a grown man's testicle.

Her love interest with Rowley Picot is the constant throughout the entire series which also delivers a bit of angst since he becomes the Bishop of St. Albans, thus preventing them from ever marrying. They must keep their love secret for it is unseemly for a bishop to have a mistress. If only Adelia had said yes when he first asked her... but alas, they lost their chance due to her fierce independent streak and stubborn pride. If only... if only.

I loved this book and am so sorry this is the last to be seen of Adelia, Mistress of the Art of Death. The cliffhanger ending and introduction to the Irishman, Captain O'Donnell, a possible rival to Rowley, brings up all sort of possibilities for future books in the series. It makes me wonder what the author, otherwise known as Diana Norman, would have done in her future books. I am so, so sorry about her untimely death. Such a great loss to the literary world.

Overall - a memorable and well done historical mystery series that I've enjoyed immensely! I will miss it!

4.5/5

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James (audio)

2011-11-23T14:57:00.010-05:00

Book Description:
Miss Kate Daltry doesn't believe in fairy tales . . . or happily ever after.

Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince . . . and decides he's anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman—a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.

Gabriel likes his fiancée, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn't love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.

Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.

Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble . . .
Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune . . .
Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.

Eloisa James is a hit or miss author for me. This was a miss, so I'll limit this to a short review.

On audio this romance was almost excruciatingly painful to listen to. The narrator, Susan Duerden was all right from a technical standpoint, but her choice of accent on the hero to the breathy helplessness of the heroine in the throes of passion had me rolling my eyes. I came near to chucking the whole thing, yet I persevered and finished it. If I had been reading it instead of listening, I never would have finished it. The plot itself did nothing to make the book more endurable either.

Beautiful cover, though.

This Cinderalla romance starts off with a convoluted plot - typical of what I've previously read by this author. It takes a while to get used to who is who and there are always too many side characters to keep track of. Kate Daltry, our heroine, is the daughter of a deceased wealthy gentleman who remarried shortly after the death of Kate's chronically ill mother. We find out he never loved her, and his second wife turned out to have been his mistress for many years. It turns out that Kate's stepsister (who is a nice girl - she isn't evil) is really her half-sister. Their father left all his money to his wife, who in turn gave it to her daughter as a dowry. The evil and vain stepmother winds up treating Kate like a servant, but Kate bears up well and is good and kind and all the usual stuff like in a fairy tale.

Kate's half-sister, Victoria, is engaged to be married to a very young man, Algernon - Algie, who has gotten her pregnant. She isn't the brightest, but she is nice - though she cries a lot. She is considered very beautiful though a bit eccentric. She wears wigs all the time (this takes place during Regency times, I believe) in all sorts of odd colors. She also brings her three little yappy dogs with her wherever she goes. Due to an unfortunate infection on her lip (ew gross), Victoria cannot join Algie to be presented at a ball to meet his cousin, Prince Gabriel Albrecht Fredrick William von Aschenberg - who is a prince from some small country in Europe that is now living in a castle in Lancashire. It's still a bit unclear to me about why he is living in England in the first place. Gabriel is short on money and engaged to a Russian princess with a huge dowry. By marrying her he can take care of all his many relatives who live with him in the castle - as well as a menagerie of animals, including a lion that eats dogs. There was no end to this bizarre tale.

Marianna, Kate's evil step-mother decides to send Kate instead, posing as Victoria. This is the first of many implausible plot points. No one is going to realize they are two different people? Algie is in on the ruse, but once they arrive at the castle, there are going to be plenty of people there at the ball who have previously met Victoria, won't they notice a difference? Kate is reed thin - as we are told over and over in the book, to the point where I imagine she must look starved. Victoria, on the other hand, is on the rounded plump side. These people may be snobby aristocrats but they're not blind or dumb! Sure enough, there is one person there who sees through her disguise...her ~~fairy~~ godmother - of course!

At the castle Kate meets the Prince who takes an instant fascination to her. Why? She's nothing much to look at, none of her clothes fit because they're all borrowed from Victoria, she wears false wax boobs (because she is flat chested and Victoria isn't) and she's always wearing these ridiculous wigs! Why in the world would Gabriel drop everything and risk scandal and an advantageous marriage for this ... this... nobody? He finds out soon enough she's not really Victoria Daltry, and he assumes she's some illegitimate child to a nobleman. He keeps trying to seduce her, even though he knows she's a virgin. Does Kate ever tell him who she really is? No. She keeps hemming and hawing and wringing her hands about what to do! He promises he'll take her to paradise - do everything to her except deflower her. *rolls eyes* After much protestations and shocked sensibilities she eventually decides to let him - all on the night of this big ball in which his fiancee is being introduced to Society (having just arrived from Russia.) Kate waits upstairs in his room, taking a bath, reading magazines, doing her nails, blah, blah, blah (okay, I'm exaggerating) while he runs upstairs during breaks to ravish her! What a joke!

The next night she attends another ball at the castle and this time she goes as herself. She's finally wearing something that fits and her own hair! She is the most beautiful girl there. The Prince can't take his eyes off her, it's obvious they love one another when they dance, yet... he's engaged to the Russian Princess. At midnight Kate flees after a kiss...

Deflowered and no longer a virgin, she leaves the castle and the Prince forever since she knows he can't marry her because he needs the money for his family and castle. It's a hopeless situation, except her godmother, who just so happens to be at the castle and recognizes who she is immediately, (even though she hasn't seen her since she was an infant,) takes Kate into her care and lo and behold - it turns out Kate's really an heiress! How convenient!

Some weeks later Gabriel shows up, unmarried (he couldn't go through with it with the Russian princess) and asks Kate to marry him - and she has money too! Now they don't have to worry and be poor! But, he planned anyway to support them with his bestselling book on ancient archeology and the legend of Dido and Aeneus. *cough*

And so you have it, I'm leaving loads of this outlandish plot line out, but I found it hard to like any of the main characters in this book (I did actually like the godmother). Gabriel was selfish for most of the story until the very end, Kate was an idiot to go along with this dumb plan to begin with and then give into the Prince, Victoria was TSTL, same with Algie. Two of Gabriel's friends weren't bad, I liked them, one being his illegitimate half brother and the other someone named Toulouse. A side plot with a girl who was accused of molesting a nobleman was diverting, but basically this was one unbelievable story!

2.5/5

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne

2011-11-20T10:08:00.003-05:00

Book Description:
When veteran spy, Justine DeCabrillac, is attacked on a rainy London street, she knows only one man can save her: Adrian Hawkhurst, her oldest friend . . . her oldest enemy.

London's crawling with hidden assassins and someone is out to frame Hawker for her murder. The two spies must work together to find out who wants to destroy them.

This was a terrific addition to the Spymaster's Lady series. Fourth in the series, this is Adrian's story - 'Awker. The young guttersnipe we meet in Bourne's earlier books is now a grown gentleman and the Spymaster in London. Rich and worldly, it is 1818, over 20 years since he first met Justine in France. He looks back on his life with her as he struggles to keep her alive after an assassination attempt. Adrian and Justine's story is a twist on the classic spy vs. spy story. The poignancy of the flashbacks help us see how much they both meant to each other, of how they grew up - together and apart - in the spy business, on opposite sides of the playing field. These windows in time fill in the blanks of the events leading up to the present day when Justine fights for her life. I loved this book and was up half the night reading it.

Adrian (Hawker) and Justine's relationship is complex. They first meet as young teenagers, both trying to outdo the other. Justine, working as a spy for the French, carries the burden of her bitter childhood memories. Born a French aristocrat whose parents were killed in the revolution, she was forced to become a child whore in a brothel. Rescued from that life and recruited as a spy for the French, she threw herself into the spy business, trying to forget her former life and the self loathing that went with it.

It helps to have read Bourne's previous, The Forbidden Rose, for we first meet Justine there. I went back and skimmed it and I must admit, I have a greater appreciation for the book now, after reading The Black Hawk. I wasn't bowled over by The Forbidden Rose at the time I read it. Now, in retrospect I like it more for it really sets the stage for Justine's story here in The Black Hawk. I wonder if it would have been better to have read The Black Hawk first, for I would have appreciated some of the scenes in The Forbidden Rose more if I had. It's ironic The Black Hawk's title suggests Adrian's story, but I really think of it more as Justine's, though much of it is seen through Adrian's eyes. Justine's story is bittersweet, the life of a spy is not easy. Although Justine finds a career that helps her overcome her past and regain her dignity - she pays a price. She gives up her younger sister (to Doyle and Maggie, as seen in The Forbidden Rose) and she must give up the man she loves - Hawker. Her life goes from one mission to another, sometimes she runs into Hawker, sometimes she manages to get away to see her sister in England, but often, she's on the run or in hiding and disguise in some other country.

I loved seeing how they both grew up throughout this book as the story unfolds. Each flashback gives us another indication of how they grew and matured.   We see how they first become lovers and the way Hawker helps Justine overcome her tragic background. He's such a smart and clever young man. I applaud the way Bourne crafts her poignant tale as Adrian looks back over his memories with Justine and their complicated life together. We glimpse what their life must have been like. Stolen moments, climbing through windows, trysting - guarding their secret life as lovers - for their careers as opposing spies to one another could get them both killed if found out. Their affair was also a friendship, a mutual admiration and respect for each others craft. We learn many things, including what ultimately happened that caused their separation and the permanent rift that ended their love affair. Some parts were so exciting and riveting, I had a hard time putting this book down. Very, very cleverly done, the author knows the ways of a good undercover operative. I dreamed of Justine and Hawker. In addition to the espionage portions of the book and their assignments, the events described were memorable and meaningful, especially when compared to the same events in The Forbidden Rose, all leading up to present day 1818 when Justine is close to dying.

Of course, there is also the additional story line of who tried to kill Justine and why are they trying to make it look like it was Hawker. Who's behind all of it? Lots of scheming and intrigue, but I found the ultimate show down a bit anti-climatic. I really thought the villain was going to be someone else.   Oh well... kept me guessing.   Anyway, the best part of this book is the relationship between Justine and Hawker. It's an understatement to say I was thrilled with their happy ending.

I highly recommend you give this series a try if you haven't already. My favorite book to date is the first in the series, The Spymaster's Lady, but The Black Hawk is a close second!

4.5/5

P.S. I love the cover! It's just how I imagine Adrian to look! Perfection!

Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt

2011-11-19T20:53:00.004-05:00

Book Description:
Their lives were perfect . . .
Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn't bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .

Until they met each other.
Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect - and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire - desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero's wedding nears, and Griffin's enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?

I loved this romance, second in the Maiden Lane series. I even thought it was better than it's predecessor. The series continues with Lady Hero Batten, daughter and sister to a duke, who is the perfect, respectable young lady. Set during early Georgian times, which is one of my favorite romance time periods, Hero is engaged to be married to the oh so respectable Marquis of Mandeville. She doesn't love him, but it's a good match that her brother has arranged for her. Everything seems to be coming along smoothly until she meets his disreputable brother, Griff.

I admit, I was a bit taken about by how they meet. Our first impression of Griff is that he is just as his reputation says, a womanizer, a philanderer, reckless and dissolute. Basically, he's a dog. When he and Hero first meet it is at a ball. Griff is busy getting it on with with a married lady as Hero walks in on them. Ever cool under pressure and a lady in any circumstance, Hero then proceeds to help cover it up to the lady's husband who is about to enter the room! What a first impression! Memorable, to say the least!

Despite the fact he's a known rake, can the respectable Lady Hero throw caution to the wind and give in to the passion she develops for her future brother-in-law? They are thrown together over and over again and before long they can't deny they are crazy about one another. Not only is it a sticky situation, but he's the owner of a gin still in London's East End! Will she go ahead and marry his staid brother, the Marquis (who has his own secrets and issues)? Or will she run off with Griff? What will her brother do when he finds out about her affair? It will not exactly keep her in his good graces, plus he can ruin Griff, especially when he finds out that he runs a gin still!

I know this is off the wall, but in regard to her brother, I couldn't help comparing the way that Hero's parents were murdered to that of Bruce Wayne's parents in Batman. While attending the theatre in the East End, they were set upon and murdered. Very similar. Bruce Wayne becomes the crime fighting Batman and Hero's brother, the Duke of Wakefield rabidly hunts down all the gin stills in London in order to clear them out. Is he the mysterious sword wielding minstrel that pops up from time to time in this series? It would really be similar to Batman if that were the case - but I don't think so. I have my suspicions of who it is but I won't reveal them just yet.

As much as I loved this book, I did have trouble believing that Hero could fall for such an obvious womanizer and commit the unthinkable! She must be crazy to fall for him but as she gets to know him better, the two seem to go together well, like (as he says) "bread and butter." But, they're also like oil and vinegar. What will she do? If she breaks her engagement and goes with Griff, she'll be ostracized by society. Plus, there's an old rumor that the reason Griff and his brother, the Marquis, don't get along with one another is because Griff slept with the Marquis' first wife who died in childbirth - supposedly with Griff's baby! Was it true? Can we trust Griff or not? I had a lot of issues with him - primarily his connections with the gin still. Turns out he's the financial brains behind the family and keeps it so that he can support his family and their expensive lifestyle. If he married Hero, she is an heiress and that would solve his money problems. Of course, that makes Hero wonder - does he want to marry her for her money or because he loves her?

I'll keep this brief, but the whole thing winds up with an exciting conclusion and we get a glimpse of what's coming in the next book in the series... more of the seamy side of London's East End and it's Hogarth-like descriptions.

Overall, I liked this hot and steamy follow up to the first in Hoyt's Maiden Lane series. Elizabeth Hoyt is one of my favorite romance authors, so I'm eager to get to the next. Her writing is first rate, the clothing, settings and characterizations are all very, very well done. The chemistry and snappy dialogue between Hero and Griffin really makes the book, despite their implausible relationship. I would have rated this higher except for the fact Griff was a little "too much" of a bad boy for me. Still, he does manage to redeem himself, but the relationship between them was a bit far fetched - enjoyable and sizzling - but far fetched.

4/5

Sweet Magik by Penny Watson

2011-11-11T13:42:00.005-05:00

Book Description:
Oskar Klaus' job is killing him. Not even his favorite hobbies (extreme snowboarding and browsing old bookstores) are enough to snap him out of his funk. It's not easy living in the shadow of four successful older brothers and a father named Santa. Little does he know that a kiss on New Year's Eve is about to turn his life upside-down.

Kiana Grant's Manhattan life is a world away from her childhood in Oahu. She traded sunsets and surfing for a respectable career in library science, but Oskar Klaus is a temptation that's hard to resist. Before she knows it, she's in the midst of an outrageous adventure in the North Pole, dealing with mischievous elves, wicked demons, and a devastating attraction to Santa's youngest son.

There's just one problem...a bitter elf hell-bent on revenge threatens the future of everyone in the North Pole, even Santa himself...

Book Two of the Klaus Brother's Series that takes place in Glasdorf aka The North Pole. This is a heartwarming holiday romance that pairs charming bad boy, green haired, snow boarding Oskar Klaus, the youngest of the Klaus boys, with the unlikely Kiana Grant, a staid librarian he meets at his brother's New Year's Eve party in Manhattan.

Oskar's having some job issues these days. He feels like he's gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to his occupation. His older brothers all seem to have really cool jobs supporting the family industry known as Santa Klaus - their father. Oskar's job? He's in charge of keeping Santa's elves in line. Elves. They're an irascible lot, prone to overindulging in alcohol and magical pranks (winters are long at the North Pole). Somebody's got to make sure they get all their orders completed in time for Christmas Eve and Oskar has the honor of being in charge of all elves related matters in Glasdorf. It's been an exhausting month getting the Christmas orders in and by the time Oskar makes it to his brother's party on New Year's Eve, he's ready for a break. Sick and tired of his lacklustre job, he's going through a quasi mid-life crisis - even though he's way too young for one. Vapid supermodels just don't seem to appeal to him any longer. His yearning for something - but doesn't know what. He's ready for something different, something... gray and wearing glasses. Something that looks like a librarian?

As we soon learn appearances aren't always what they seem. Oskar spies Kiana Grant, who is dressed to "repel" at his brother's party. She's disguised as a frumpy wallflower - and likes it that way - or so she thinks. Denial, baby. Coming off a hard break up with a two timing boyfriend in her native Hawaii, Kiana has relocated to New York City to live with her best friend Trish. They just happen to live in the same building as Oskar's brother. Oskar's instant curiosity with Kiana leads to a magikal kiss at the stroke of midnight that catches them both off guard. Could this be that elusive thing called love - or is it all from a magikal spell cast by a disgruntled (and drunken) elf in Glasdorf?

Watson brings the world of Glasdorf to life as the story shifts to the North Pole where Oskar must find out who is wreaking havoc amidst the elven world. A dark and evil magical force has been unleashed and, with Oskar in the lead, he and his brothers - as well as some helpful and (repentent) elves set out to capture the bad guy. Little does Oskar know there's a stowaway on his high speed sleigh back to the North Pole. Kiana has hitched a ride and Oskar has a lot of explaining to do! As much as he's glad to have Kiana nearby, he also worries she may be in danger. Although that doesn't stop them from getting to know each other better, involving a pretty steamy shower scene. Hot. Kiana takes the whole Santa, North Pole phenomenon pretty well, considering how off the wall it is. I would too if I had an Oskar Klaus on my arm. Having had almost no family to speak of in her childhood, she takes to the Klaus clan wholeheartedly - and the feeling is mutual. All seems to be going great between them, until they find out their love for one another might be nothing more than a love spell - that will soon wear off! Huh? Uh-oh.

I won't go over the entire plot line, but this is a fun story with plenty of action, adventure and a cute little waif in need of a mother and father. Did I mention there are some wicked love scenes too? The characterizations are right on target with depth and background, giving weight to the tender and bittersweet moments that crop up in the storyline. It was a pleasure to read about how both Kiana and Oskar surprisingly evolve to find they are truly made for one another, reinforcing the "don't judge a book by its cover" theme*. This romance has everything! If you enjoy contemporary holiday themed romances with bits of whimsical fantasy and magical elements thrown in - this is the book for you! I recommend it!

4/5

*Speaking of covers - this one is great! I simply love it and it fits with the story perfectly!

**This book was given to me by the author for review - thanks Penny!