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| 1402276060
| 9781402276064
| B007SXANNQ
| 4.26
| 325
| Apr 01, 2012
| Apr 01, 2012
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert**
"Atsa fine I'll have a nice cold glassa lemonade."
- Chico Marx, Duck Soup After finishing the wonderful Captive Love series by G **spoiler alert** "Atsa fine I'll have a nice cold glassa lemonade." - Chico Marx, Duck Soup After finishing the wonderful Captive Love series by Grace Burrowes, I decided to delve into her debut series about the Windham family. According to her website, Ms. Burrowes was/is quite a prolific writer and had 20 or so books under her belt before she became published. That's a boat load of books and connected characters! I'm very happy she's been published. Here's the deal - the first three in the debut series needed an editor or a writing buddy or someone to say, "whoa, I know all of your words are like babies you've given birth to, but really, you need to cut some.” Let's do some exploring of these three books, The Heir, The Soldier, and The Virtuoso, starting with ,The Heir. Rubbing my hands together and chuckling with glee I started to read The Heir. The Heirbegins with a bang, especially when one considers the hero is bonked over the head by the heroine. Knocked out cold. Yes, our heroine, Anne Seaton clobbers Gayle, Earl of Westhaven over the head because she thinks he is abusing a housemaid. Now, this could be a problem. You see, she's his housekeeper and one should probably not knock ones employer out. Not good for employee/employer relationships and all that. Anyway, Anne realizes she may have been mistaken and decides to play nursemaid to Gayle. Maybe he won't fire her if she helps him recover. Once he is awake and on the slow road to recovery, a romance slowly starts to take place. Of course there is always a rough road to romance and this one is no different. Gayle is hiding out from his father's manipulations. His father wants grandchildren and he doesn't really care how he goes about it. Even going so far as to employ Gayle's latest mistress into becoming pregnant. Anyway, Gayle is hiding out at his estate. As you may know, in Romanceland both the male and female leads have to have problems and a manipulating father seems to be Gayle's. Anne is the one with the biggest problem because she has a secret - a bigggg secret. Be warned, this is one of the pattern's I found in the Windhams series. It is always the female lead who has the dark deep secret, the one that is more troubling, and the one that makes all of these women skate close to being TSTL. As much as I loved the Captive series, I could not find it in my heart to love these three stories. The Heir started out well and I was thrilled. In the beginning I loved the hero and heroine, but then something happened about three fourths of the way through. The story just kept going and going and going. When I perceive a story has reached its ending but it keeps on going, then I find myself becoming irritated with things that only a few pages ago were acceptable. Lemonade. Let's start with the lemonade. Just how many lemon trees were growing on Westhaven's estate? Every time you turned around Anne was breaking out the lemonade. This is Regency times for Pete sake, it's not as if one has a container of Country Time instant lemonade handy. We are talking real lemons. Squeezing and squeezing and squeezing tons of those little yellow things. I used to watch my dad make lemonade. It takes tons of lemons to make just one pitcher of lemonade. The amount of lemons Anne had to go through must have been phenomenal. She must have had some mighty strong digits - they came in handy later. Let's move from the oral fixations of lemonade to the romance irritates. Trust and hy-po-cri-sy. A lot of times in romance novels trust and hypocrisy walk hand and hand. Oh no! Say it ain't so! Yes, my little petunias, I say trust and hy-po-cri-sy! Anne has trust issues, and, she should, because her brother is a real piece of work. But she can't seem to trust her employer, Gayle, who is a nice guy and with whom she falls in love. Even though she's falling in love with him, even though she's allowing him intimacies, even though she allows him to brush her hair, even though she spreads her wings wide - she cannot trust him. It was a continual lovely scene followed by I can’t' trust you. It went on waaaay toooo long. And, what's with a servant allowing her employer to brush her hair? If you are looking for any kind of historical accuracy, look elsewhere. The lines between servant and master are nonexistence and this story stretches a lot of boundaries. But, I can allow for historical inaccuracies. I can believe a relationship between servant and master. I read Julia Quinn after all. But there was tooo much of a struggle to get to the end. There was just too much churning of the same things over and over again. The not knowing when to end was too bad, because there were some mighty lyrical words in this book. But those find words were overshadowed by one too many chapters. On to the next in the series, The Soldier. Be warned: I had numerous digressing moments when I read this story. This tale is about Devlin St. Just, the illegitimate son of Percival Windham, the Duke of Moreland and the half-brother of Gayle from The Heir. For our heroine we have Emmaline Farnum who lives on the Rosecroft estate and is a guardian to Winnie, the previous Earl of Rosecroft's by-blow. Through some kind of legal maneuvering, which we didn't get to read - thank goodness - Devlin is now the new Earl of Rosecroft. By the way, the old Earl of Rosecroft was the villain in the last piece. As with the other book, our heroine, Emmie has a dark secret and she cries all the time and she is tired and has unexplained bruises which have nothing to do with the story. She makes apple tarts and lemonade. Oh no - not lemonade! She also thinks she is a proper guardian for the six-year-old Winnie. Winnie, for some reason, is a wild creature. Digressing question: if one thinks one is a proper guardian for a - say, a six-year-old, would said proper guardian leave that child with a perfect stranger? A male stranger? Of course, they have dinner together for about an hour or so and he does have big thighs, so I guess it's ok to leave a child with somebody one doesn't know. By the way, the estate Devlin's father maneuvered for him was pretty run down - thanks a lot dad. The Soldier is almost a carbon copy of The Heir. It started out good, then just kind of ran out of steam and the same old song and dance routine of trusting someone enough to confide in came into play. So, we had another woman who has her hair brushed, cries and doesn't trust someone but is willing to jump into bed with that person. On to another distraction. I call this my touchy-feely distraction. I confess: I do not come from a touchy-feely family, and none of my friends are touchy-feely. When I come across it, I think "oh isn't that nice." But in this book there were some eye-brow raised moments. One of them involves Devlin and his brother. Devlin's head on his brother's lap and his hair being caressed. Touchy-feely. Odd. But another one came into play with Devlin's friend Douglas and the rubbing of the lotion. It just had an odd feel about it. I like buddies in books. I like the male comrades who would do anything for their friends. But most of those guys don't touch each other. That's a whole different kind of romance, one I don't have anything against by the way. It's just this time it didn't feel right. Even when we are talking about shared war memories. I think back to two of my friends who were in a war together - one was a sniper and one awarded a Purple Heart. So, these two friends had some pretty intense things happen to them. With all of the pain they shared and the bond that was between them, they were not touchy-feely; they didn't have to be. The presence of their friendship, the support they gave each other became the "touch" between them. While The Soldier once again had wonderful language, the story went on too long and everything that made it good was lost. The conflicts just kept on churning. The heroine cried and was tired and made lemonade and apple tarts and just could not confide to the man she loved. The Virtuoso On to the third brother, Valentine. Valentine plays the piano, he is a virtuoso, hence the title The Virtuoso. However his hand is swollen and painful. He has been told by his doctor that the hand needs to rest, so he goes off to a run-down country estates and starts doing physical labor. How that "rests" his hands I was never able to figure out. It must be the cream that our heroine made and rubbed on it. Her name is Ellen, Baroness Roxbury and guess what. She has a dark deep secret. A guilty secret. Something she blames herself for. Something which when it is revealed I had a "you have got to be kidding me" moment. "How could you possibly blame yourself?" AAArrrgh. This is basically a repeat of the other two books, except the names are different. Although, there wasn't as much lemonade in this one. But there was a lack of historical feel about it, a lack of proper space between the main characters. And, we have a friend unbuttoning another friends pants in this one. Not sure why, doesn't add anything to the story. Adding things to stories. I am of the opinion that unless one is going to use something later on in the story, its presence in the book is a waste of time. It's filler. If it doesn't add to the atmosphere, the smell, the time period, it isn't necessary to add it. Our couple Valentine and Ellen shared a kiss a year before the story begins. It is a kiss which neither of them can forget. And, it seems to have lessened the 19th century principles of these two people. There is a certain 21st century easygoing feel to this book. They bare their feet, roll up their pant-legs/dress and splash around in a pond. While the conversation between them was lovely, the scene was improbable and my eyebrows went up. Ellen was a hot and cold person when it came to propriety. He couldn't use her given name, but they could make love in the open air. There were a lot of characters in this book, and that was a tad bit overwhelming. As with the other two books, the ending was in the wrong place. The guilt trip, the angst, the boo-hoo went on waaay too long. The couple was engaging and their language was lyrical, but then they are thrown into a situation that is problematic historically and all that loveliness gets lost. Bottom line. I'm very glad I started with the Captive series and True Gentleman series and not this one. I know from reading those two series that Ms. Burrowes can write up a storm, but The Heir, The Soldier and The Virtuoso were a miss for me. KaysBlog Merged review: "Atsa fine I'll have a nice cold glassa lemonade." - Chico Marx, Duck Soup After finishing the wonderful Captive Love series by Grace Burrowes, I decided to delve into her debut series about the Windham family. According to her website, Ms. Burrowes was/is quite a prolific writer and had 20 or so books under her belt before she became published. That's a boat load of books and connected characters! I'm very happy she's been published. Here's the deal - the first three in the debut series needed an editor or a writing buddy or someone to say, "whoa, I know all of your words are like babies you've given birth to, but really, you need to cut some.” Let's do some exploring of these three books, The Heir, The Soldier, and The Virtuoso, starting with ,The Heir. Rubbing my hands together and chuckling with glee I started to read The Heir. The Heirbegins with a bang, especially when one considers the hero is bonked over the head by the heroine. Knocked out cold. Yes, our heroine, Anne Seaton clobbers Gayle, Earl of Westhaven over the head because she thinks he is abusing a housemaid. Now, this could be a problem. You see, she's his housekeeper and one should probably not knock ones employer out. Not good for employee/employer relationships and all that. Anyway, Anne realizes she may have been mistaken and decides to play nursemaid to Gayle. Maybe he won't fire her if she helps him recover. Once he is awake and on the slow road to recovery, a romance slowly starts to take place. Of course there is always a rough road to romance and this one is no different. Gayle is hiding out from his father's manipulations. His father wants grandchildren and he doesn't really care how he goes about it. Even going so far as to employ Gayle's latest mistress into becoming pregnant. Anyway, Gayle is hiding out at his estate. As you may know, in Romanceland both the male and female leads have to have problems and a manipulating father seems to be Gayle's. Anne is the one with the biggest problem because she has a secret - a bigggg secret. Be warned, this is one of the pattern's I found in the Windhams series. It is always the female lead who has the dark deep secret, the one that is more troubling, and the one that makes all of these women skate close to being TSTL. As much as I loved the Captive series, I could not find it in my heart to love these three stories. The Heir started out well and I was thrilled. In the beginning I loved the hero and heroine, but then something happened about three fourths of the way through. The story just kept going and going and going. When I perceive a story has reached its ending but it keeps on going, then I find myself becoming irritated with things that only a few pages ago were acceptable. Lemonade. Let's start with the lemonade. Just how many lemon trees were growing on Westhaven's estate? Every time you turned around Anne was breaking out the lemonade. This is Regency times for Pete sake, it's not as if one has a container of Country Time instant lemonade handy. We are talking real lemons. Squeezing and squeezing and squeezing tons of those little yellow things. I used to watch my dad make lemonade. It takes tons of lemons to make just one pitcher of lemonade. The amount of lemons Anne had to go through must have been phenomenal. She must have had some mighty strong digits - they came in handy later. Let's move from the oral fixations of lemonade to the romance irritates. Trust and hy-po-cri-sy. A lot of times in romance novels trust and hypocrisy walk hand and hand. Oh no! Say it ain't so! Yes, my little petunias, I say trust and hy-po-cri-sy! Anne has trust issues, and, she should, because her brother is a real piece of work. But she can't seem to trust her employer, Gayle, who is a nice guy and with whom she falls in love. Even though she's falling in love with him, even though she's allowing him intimacies, even though she allows him to brush her hair, even though she spreads her wings wide - she cannot trust him. It was a continual lovely scene followed by I can’t' trust you. It went on waaaay toooo long. And, what's with a servant allowing her employer to brush her hair? If you are looking for any kind of historical accuracy, look elsewhere. The lines between servant and master are nonexistence and this story stretches a lot of boundaries. But, I can allow for historical inaccuracies. I can believe a relationship between servant and master. I read Julia Quinn after all. But there was tooo much of a struggle to get to the end. There was just too much churning of the same things over and over again. The not knowing when to end was too bad, because there were some mighty lyrical words in this book. But those find words were overshadowed by one too many chapters. On to the next in the series, The Soldier. Be warned: I had numerous digressing moments when I read this story. This tale is about Devlin St. Just, the illegitimate son of Percival Windham, the Duke of Moreland and the half-brother of Gayle from The Heir. For our heroine we have Emmaline Farnum who lives on the Rosecroft estate and is a guardian to Winnie, the previous Earl of Rosecroft's by-blow. Through some kind of legal maneuvering, which we didn't get to read - thank goodness - Devlin is now the new Earl of Rosecroft. By the way, the old Earl of Rosecroft was the villain in the last piece. As with the other book, our heroine, Emmie has a dark secret and she cries all the time and she is tired and has unexplained bruises which have nothing to do with the story. She makes apple tarts and lemonade. Oh no - not lemonade! She also thinks she is a proper guardian for the six-year-old Winnie. Winnie, for some reason, is a wild creature. Digressing question: if one thinks one is a proper guardian for a - say, a six-year-old, would said proper guardian leave that child with a perfect stranger? A male stranger? Of course, they have dinner together for about an hour or so and he does have big thighs, so I guess it's ok to leave a child with somebody one doesn't know. By the way, the estate Devlin's father maneuvered for him was pretty run down - thanks a lot dad. The Soldier is almost a carbon copy of The Heir. It started out good, then just kind of ran out of steam and the same old song and dance routine of trusting someone enough to confide in came into play. So, we had another woman who has her hair brushed, cries and doesn't trust someone but is willing to jump into bed with that person. On to another distraction. I call this my touchy-feely distraction. I confess: I do not come from a touchy-feely family, and none of my friends are touchy-feely. When I come across it, I think "oh isn't that nice." But in this book there were some eye-brow raised moments. One of them involves Devlin and his brother. Devlin's head on his brother's lap and his hair being caressed. Touchy-feely. Odd. But another one came into play with Devlin's friend Douglas and the rubbing of the lotion. It just had an odd feel about it. I like buddies in books. I like the male comrades who would do anything for their friends. But most of those guys don't touch each other. That's a whole different kind of romance, one I don't have anything against by the way. It's just this time it didn't feel right. Even when we are talking about shared war memories. I think back to two of my friends who were in a war together - one was a sniper and one awarded a Purple Heart. So, these two friends had some pretty intense things happen to them. With all of the pain they shared and the bond that was between them, they were not touchy-feely; they didn't have to be. The presence of their friendship, the support they gave each other became the "touch" between them. While The Soldier once again had wonderful language, the story went on too long and everything that made it good was lost. The conflicts just kept on churning. The heroine cried and was tired and made lemonade and apple tarts and just could not confide to the man she loved. The Virtuoso On to the third brother, Valentine. Valentine plays the piano, he is a virtuoso, hence the title The Virtuoso. However his hand is swollen and painful. He has been told by his doctor that the hand needs to rest, so he goes off to a run-down country estates and starts doing physical labor. How that "rests" his hands I was never able to figure out. It must be the cream that our heroine made and rubbed on it. Her name is Ellen, Baroness Roxbury and guess what. She has a dark deep secret. A guilty secret. Something she blames herself for. Something which when it is revealed I had a "you have got to be kidding me" moment. "How could you possibly blame yourself?" AAArrrgh. This is basically a repeat of the other two books, except the names are different. Although, there wasn't as much lemonade in this one. But there was a lack of historical feel about it, a lack of proper space between the main characters. And, we have a friend unbuttoning ano ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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not set
not set
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Jan 11, 2016
not set
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Jul 23, 2024
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ebook
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| 0062897357
| 9780062897350
| 0062897357
| 3.96
| 622
| Jan 25, 2022
| Jan 25, 2022
|
liked it
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Nice!! I needed a break from my Lorraine Heath glomming project, so, His Lessons on Love came along at the right time. This is the third book in Cathy Nice!! I needed a break from my Lorraine Heath glomming project, so, His Lessons on Love came along at the right time. This is the third book in Cathy Maxwell’s, A Logical Man’s Guide to Dangerous Women series. Let me be honest, I don’t think I read the two previous books in the series. Since Cathy Maxwell is an auto-buy for me, I suspect that I started to read them, but set them aside. I think I’ll go back and try reading them again…but I have my Heath glom I’m doing! Oh dear! A conundrum! Never fear, I shall work it out. Anyway, His Lessons on Love is a real treat, and I recommend it. Our loving couple. There is the rake, profligate, opium-addict hero, Lawrence Grant Talmadge Eddington, Earl of Marsden, aka Mars. Matched to him, or against him is our heroine, Clarissa Taylor. Clarissa is a stiff-necked, judgmental, uptight, unlucky-in-love, woman. These two have never agreed about anything, they dislike each other immensely. They get on each other’s nerves – significantly. These two are well-written antagonists. One day, while Mars is recovering from a night of overindulgence, one of his ex-mistresses delivers a surprise to his doorstep. His bastard daughter, Nora. This child comes as somewhat of a shock to him, considering that he was always careful as to where he flung his seed. But considering the opium, one wonders just how careful he could have been. Anyway, a number of things happen to him, he falls immediately in love with his daughter, and then panics because he has no idea how to take care of a baby! Mars’ introduction to the responsibility of parenthood was all very amusing. In fact, the whole fatherhood narrative in this book was charming. Then there is Clarissa, the up-tight-heroine. She is such a direct opposite of Mars. I had so much fun reading about Clarissa and Mars as they circled each other. I loved the banter between them. The chemistry was strong, and the baby was adorable. Nothing better than a baby who coos. The secondary characters were great! Not only were the aristocratic characters well-defined, the servants added some well-written narrative. Even the sort-of villain of the piece was interesting. And, let’s not forget Marsden’s mother-from-hell. She was a really nasty piece of work. I found myself wishing for more of her back story, but then this book was about her son, so I was happy with the vision of her I was given. Her character leads me to the one issue I had with this book…revenge. Over the years I have developed quite a large amount of plot devices I’m not fond of, one of those being the revenge plot. In this case, Marsden wants to kill the man who is responsible for his father’s death. Or, at least that’s what he has always obsessed about. It has been the driving force of his life. So, I forced myself to grumble silently, and continue reading. I have to say, I was pleased with the solution to the revenge problem. I was satisfied that Ms. Maxwell didn’t wrap up the redemption of the characters with butterflies, and little fairies dancing in the sunshine. The problems didn’t magically go away, but we still had our HEA. Overall, I recommend this story. There were light moments, funny moments, and poignant moments. Our hero and heroine were a good match, and I’m sure they will have a HEA. My one issue – revenge – not fond of revenge. ...more |
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2
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not set
not set
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Feb 24, 2022
not set
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Jan 31, 2022
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Mass Market Paperback
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| 0063045095
| 9780063045095
| 0063045095
| 4.20
| 2,457
| Nov 30, 2021
| Nov 30, 2021
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really liked it
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Well, That Was A Treat! What a nice surprise. You know, sometimes I forget how good Julie Anne Long’s writing can be. After the Dark with the Duke, is Well, That Was A Treat! What a nice surprise. You know, sometimes I forget how good Julie Anne Long’s writing can be. After the Dark with the Duke, is the fourth book in the Palace of the Rogues series. When I started reading the story, I thought: uh oh! This book has some of my hot buttons. One of the big buttons was the age difference of about twenty years between the hero and heroine. On top of that, the antagonism between the couple in the beginning was also a little off-putting. But then I found myself being drawn into the story, and my buttons didn’t go off. I couldn’t put the book down. Mariana Wylde is an opera singer, and she has been judged harshly. She has been run out of her apartment, and seeks shelter at the Palace of Rogues boarding house. She has also been gifted with the unfortunate moniker of Harlot of Haywood. She is totally innocent of all the gossip, or at least the important parts. She’s tired of being judged wrongly, which is why James Blackmore, the Duke of Valkirk steps on all of her nerves. James is a righteous dude. He is a legend, he is a hero. He is almost ready for a bronze statue at some park. He judges Mariana badly, and she bites back. Then one day his barbs cross the line of what is acceptable, and he is forced to apologize. They call a truce of sorts. That truce involves spending great amounts of time learning Italian. Makes sense to me. And then the magic begins. The chemistry between these two is intense. Make sure you have a fan close at hand, because there are some hot, whankee-woo scenes in this book. Yipes!!! And, let’s not forget the great cast of supporting characters. I love strongly written characters who maintain their charisma throughout a series. It was great seeing some of the permanent fixtures who live at the boarding house. It was as if I was with a group of my old friends. Bottom line. I loved this book, and I highly recommend it. It may have started out trying to push my hot buttons, but I quickly got over that. This story has some great writing, great narrative, and great characters. A perfect gift for yourself for the holidays, and something to go back to later on in the year. Enjoy! ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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not set
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Dec 14, 2021
not set
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Oct 28, 2021
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Mass Market Paperback
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| B07CMMRFV7
| 4.11
| 64
| unknown
| Apr 24, 2018
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did not like it
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Well, sometimes ideas should just stay ideas. When the little voice in my head whispered that I should read a bunch of old books, including Laura Kinsa Well, sometimes ideas should just stay ideas. When the little voice in my head whispered that I should read a bunch of old books, including Laura Kinsale, I thought – hey, why not? When has that voice ever steered me wrong? After all, I was in a mood. At the time, reading Laura Kinsale right after reading Anne Stuart made sense. I chose to read three stories in an unconnected series: Uncertain Magic (1987), Midsummer Moon (1987), and My Sweet Folly (1987). These three stories are being marketed in a box set called the Regency Romances. Other than the time period, there isn’t any connection between the books. I completed two books in the group, but one of them, My Sweet Folly was a DNF for me. The hero was too dark, and I’m not too fond of nicknames attached to heroines, especially when they demean. I found myself explaining things away by saying…oh well, that was written in the 80s. And that last statement shouldn’t be allowed as an excuse. For me this story didn’t age well. On to the ones I finished. Uncertain Magic (1987). Roderica “Roddy” Delamore has a problem. She can read minds, be they human or animals. So, I guess she can interpret barks, and meows. Anyway, there is a lot of noise going on in her mind. Then she meets Faelan Savigar, and much to her surprise, she cannot read his mind. There is a lot in this story. It’s a tad bit weird, and not everything in the story makes sense. First of all, unlike a lot of other romance novels we are never given the POV of the hero. I like my stories to have at least the hero and heroines POV present. I’m assuming because Roddy cannot read Faelan’s mind, we are not given access to it. They get married. They go to Ireland. There’s an Irish revolt going on, there’s fairies and paranormal stuff. He has an odd mother, who I first thought was some kind of fairy. Turns out she’s just psychotic. There was also mention of an uncle, but he doesn’t have anything to do with the story. There is also a big Faelan secret, which in the end turns out to be a tad bit silly. Then we have the age difference, she’s 19, he’s 35…that’s a 16-year difference. Here’s the deal…he could be her father!!! A couple that have 16 years between them sets off ick button. I don’t care how much power the guy has, there is just too much between those years that make it unpalatable. In his romantic moments, he calls her ‘little girl”. He also assumes, all the time, usually wrong assumptions. For instance, he forgets that sometimes mommy-parts can break without the benefit of a Timothy Toad. Sometimes riding without the benefit of a sidesaddle can rip things! But maybe his brain is foggy from the drugs. He’s been drugged all of his life. What can one expect? What happened? How did he partake of drugs? Well it seems somehow his mother was able to drug him, even when he was away at school. Oh angst. Oh boo-hoo. Turn from the dark side Faelan Savigar…puleese. While I managed to complete this story, it was almost a wall-banger a couple of times. D+ Midsummer Moon (1987). Of the three books in the Regency series this was … how shall I say it? This was the least objectionable. But, there were plenty of issues. We have an absent-minded heroine and an autocratic hero. Merlin Lambourne is an inventor, an absent-minded one, but not the funny Fred MacMurray kind. She’s more of the “how-did-you-survive-this-world” kind. She is totally oblivious to everything. Was this funny in the 80s? I don’t know, but it’s not very funny now. There is obviously a problem with her, and it is a problem that our hero uses to his advantage. That taking advantage of by the hero; the dominating, manipulating, over-bearing bone-head, is the real problem with this book. If Merlin hadn’t been portrayed as such a scattered-brained child, maybe this story would have had a chance. Salt. She is so oblivious that she serves the hero, Ransom, salt. There is a mistake with the label. The salt is actually an aphrodisiac. Under the influence of the “salt”, Ransom beds an oblivious Merlin. I shall take this time to ponder. It’s my opinion that the only thing that goes up when one uses a so-called aphrodisiac is one’s blood pressure. Of course, there could be a kidney failure or two, but to stimulate a libido into uncontrollable lust is just an excuse for bad behavior. I’m done pondering. Anyway, this book is filled with all kinds of plots: fear of flying, spies, secret agents, stuttering children, amnesia, manipulation, family problems, a divorced couple, Napoleon…on and on. The topper is the bone-head hero. He doesn’t want Merlin to invent things, especially things that fly. It is all about him after all. So, what does he do when Merlin has amnesia? He burns all of her notes…Yep, years and years of flying machine notes…up in flames. A real bone-head. C- Bottom line- This was one of my experiments which didn’t work. While I’ve done some maturing over the years, dare I say, even been enlightened, these three stories have not. Sorry to say, none of them aged well. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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not set
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Oct 10, 2021
not set
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Oct 28, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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| B08NPNVHFX
| 4.12
| 184
| 2021
| May 25, 2021
|
really liked it
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Hey! Guess what! The title and story are simpatico! A Proposal to Risk Their Friendship, is the fifth book in Louise Allen's Liberated Ladies’ series. Hey! Guess what! The title and story are simpatico! A Proposal to Risk Their Friendship, is the fifth book in Louise Allen's Liberated Ladies’ series. I don't remember the other books in the series, which in my case doesn't really count for anything. I do intend to refresh my memory, and either read, or reread the others. Our heroine is Melissa Taverner, a part of the liberated ladies. Somehow, she has managed to talk her family into letting her live on her own in London, with only an odd, forgetful chaperone for company. My eyebrows did go up when the chaperone was on the page. She was a pretty loose chaperone, and I was puzzled as to how Melissa’s despot of a father allowed this to happen. But oh well. The lack of supervision did allow our heroine the ability to run all over London saving damsel’s in distress. When Melissa isn’t saving damsels, she’s a want-to-be-writer. It is at one of these damsel-saving events that our hero, Lord Henry Cary, first spots her. He's mighty impressed by her tactics, and introduces himself. He is intrigued with Melissa, and invites her for a walk. She accepts. And, they walk, talk, and become involved in each other’s lives. Their friendship grows, and becomes all encompassing. Henry even goes so far as to include Melissa in some of his government spying activities. Henry’s “let-me-talk-about-spying” business also happened to raise my eyebrows. My eyebrows were very busy during this book. But, I will be honest with you, I overlooked all the eyebrow raising moments in this story. Why's that, you may ask. Well, my little Petunia's, I really enjoyed watching Melissa and Henry form a friendship. They had some great chemistry. They talked, laughed, discussed, and were fun to listen to. This story created a tension in me, because I knew that sometime, someplace, something would happen to ruin their friendship. That something was called sexual attraction. Neither Melissa or Henry wanted to ruin their friendship by admitting they were attracted to each other. So, it was interesting to see how they handled everything. If I were to look at this story logically, the hoops which Melissa and Henry jump through are way over the top. But, this is not a logical story. This is a love story. A Proposal to Risk Their Friendship, is a well-written, character driven romance. The friendship formed between our two main characters was delightful, and a pleasure to read. Even with all the eye-brows at the top of my head, I found this a refreshing story. I enjoyed reading about the amazing friendship formed between a man and woman. I do highly recommend this story. ...more |
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| 1250801567
| 9781250801562
| 1250801567
| 4.00
| 3,393
| Sep 28, 2021
| Sep 28, 2021
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liked it
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Sometimes I have brilliant ideas!! Sometimes they work! Some time ago, I decided to add to my list of monthly TBR’s at least one “new” author, or an a
Sometimes I have brilliant ideas!! Sometimes they work! Some time ago, I decided to add to my list of monthly TBR’s at least one “new” author, or an author who I had stopped reading for some mysterious reason. Kate Bateman happens to fall into the category of “new” authors. Fantastic Fiction lists four books written by Kate Bateman since 2019. A Reckless Match is the first in the Ruthless Rivals, and I found her voice refreshing. She also has written some novels under the name of K C Bateman. So, she’s a young author just spreading her wings. Now, on to A Reckless Match. A Reckless Match is a historical romance, with a boatload of modern language interspersed throughout. I’m not going to gripe too much about the use of modern language in historical romance novels. First of all, it doesn’t do any good. Secondly, so many authors write with a modern voice, I’m not sure they recognize the difference between a contemporary voice and a historical voice. Nor do I think some authors know how to balance the two. After all, I really don’t want to spend my evening deciphering Chaucer. But authors, puleese, watch the slang! I was thrown out of this story with the word “uptight”. Be careful using slang in a historical romance novel. Remember, slang has been around for a long time. Do some research, find the slang appropriate word for the time period your novel is set in. Might I suggest buying a copy of The Classical Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue (1788). Or, do what Georgette Heyer did, and make up your own slang. Ms. Heyer was a master of blending her invented words with the time period her books were set in. I’m not sure if Ms. Heyer was being creative, or just trying to stop plagiarism. Regardless the reason, her slang words bring color and atmosphere to her books. Remember, historical romance readers are an interesting group of people, and nothing will make a Romnancelander rant quicker than a perceived historically inaccurate word…or clothing…or furniture…or a name… or a flute glass. By the way, the flute glass was correct. I did say perceived. Family Feud. In A Reckless Match we have a family feud. The feud has been going on for so long no one remembers why it started. Some say it was a love affair gone wrong, some say it was a stolen pig. Regardless the reason, in order to maintain the peace between the Davies and Montgomery families, someone from each family must meet on a bridge and shake hands. They must do this on the summer equinox. If they don’t, they forfeit some land. This year Maddie Montgomery is waiting for Gryffud Davies, and he’s late. That’s ok by her, because if he doesn’t show up, the Davies family forfeits the land. Maddie really, really, really needs that land. Maddie is happy that stupid Gryffud is late, she’s rubbing her hands together with glee. That no good handsome guy…she hateeesssssss him. Just hatessss him. He’s been a thorn in her side since childhood. The time of the hand shake is approaching, the land is almost in her grasp…what’s that she hears? Clopping. Clopping. A horse with a rider. Gryffud! A smug Gryffud arrives, and the fire works begin. Gryffud and Maddie made a delightful couple. Plenty of banter, verbal battles, and fun. There was also a reasonable amount of sexual tension. Along the way, there were smugglers, hidden treasure and adventures in caves. Were there bumps in the road, issues that raised one of my eyebrows? Yes. I did think Maddie had a large amount of freedom, especially considering the time period. But, I overlooked that so I could enjoy a new author. Another bump in the road: I must admit, after reading a gazillion romances in my lifetime, the “losing your virginity before you die” routine is becoming a little tiresome. And finally, the use of modern language set off my historical accuracy nagging voice. Such a bothersome high-pitched voice that is. However…. My issues vs. a new voice. While there were a few things in this story which I had an issue with, I still feel comfortable recommending A Reckless Match. I’m hopeful that Romanceland has found a refreshing new voice in the form of Ms. Bateman. I did have a smile on my face when I finished this book, and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t stumble across the word “uptight” in the next one. ...more |
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Oct 28, 2021
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Nov 14, 2021
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Aug 30, 2021
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Mass Market Paperback
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| 0593200543
| 9780593200544
| 0593200543
| 4.19
| 1,599
| Aug 24, 2021
| Aug 24, 2021
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liked it
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Yes, it's possible for female friendship in Romanceland! The Scoundrel’s Daughter, by Anne Gracie, is the opening book in the Brides of Bellaire Garde Yes, it's possible for female friendship in Romanceland! The Scoundrel’s Daughter, by Anne Gracie, is the opening book in the Brides of Bellaire Gardens series. While not quite as delightful as The Perfect Rake, it’s still a nice read. We even have two romances in this book, a mature one, and a not mature one. We also have a horrible father, who just might be a creepy villain. The premise of this story revolves around blackmail. The person being blackmailed is Alice, Lady Charlton. Poor Alice, luck just hasn’t been her friend. She’s a widow, which is probably the only thing good to ever happen to her. Her husband was an emotionally abusive man, kept a mistress, and left Alice destitute. The only one in Alice’s family she has any fondness for is her nephew, Gerald. He is one of the nice guys in a book full of man-slugs. As luck would have it, Alice’s husband happened to leave a number of love letter’s laying around. The problem with those love letter’s is that her husband did not write them to Alice, but to his mistress. They have also fallen into the hands of a nefarious con-artist, Octavius Bamber. Octavius Bamber will not win the father of the year award. Let’s talk about women. There are two romance stories in this book. The main romance is between Alice, Lady Charlton and James, Lord Tarrant. A secondary romance blossoms between Lucy Bamber and Alice’s nephew Gerald. For the most part, those romances had some interesting interaction, but let’s talk about the real chemistry in the story. The relationship between Alice and Lucy. Alice is being blackmailed into launching a reluctant Lucy into society. The blackmailer is the winner of the worst father of the year award, Octavius Bamber. At first, when sulky, stubborn Lucy is introduced to Alice, I thought: oh boy another horrible spoiled woman. But it turned out I was wrong. First of all, Alice and Lucy talk to each other, they find a common enemy – Octavius. Not only do they find a common goal, they develop a friendship. They both have been emotionally abused by the men in their lives. They see the world through less than innocent eyes. Do they always agree with each other? No. But they do talk to each other, and they accept each other short-falls. It was relaxing to view two women characters who actually worked together, and liked each other. The relationship between Lucy and Gerald was fun. They irritate each other. When Gerald is given the assignment of finding a suitable husband for Lucy, his candidates are atrocious. Lucy turns the tables on Gerald, and seemingly enjoys his matchmaking attempts, which in turn annoys him. It was all great fun. Now on to Alice and James. As mentioned before, Alice’s husband was real dog-doo. Until Octavius came along with his blackmail, Alice was happy with her widowhood. When James enters her life, she is attracted to him, but not trusting of men. She is willing to be a friend to James. James on the other hand is a tad bit manipulative. He wants Alice, and he isn’t above using “friendship” as a means to keep her. Once again…how do you “keep” someone? He even uses his three charming daughters as a weapon. It would have been nice if Alice could have had a HEA with a man who didn’t use “friendship” as a means to his end. I wish Alice had been given the opportunity to decide to marry James without being manipulated. Bye the way, the villain/father Octavius vanishes somewhere on the Island of Misplaced Villains. Overall, I loved the relationship between Alice and Lucy. I also thought the chemistry between Lucy and Gerald was fun. The issue I had with this story was James being a I-know-what’s-best guy. Alice was a mature woman who could think for herself. I just wish that James would have allowed her to be her own person. While there were parts of this story I liked a lot, this was not my favorite Anne Gracie book…that would be The Perfect Rake. ...more |
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| 1335506179
| 9781335506177
| 1335506179
| 4.07
| 83
| Apr 01, 2021
| Apr 27, 2021
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really liked it
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“You are wise, but perhaps unusually lucky to understand friendship to be the best possible foundation a marriage can have.” – Queen Charlotte (sort
“You are wise, but perhaps unusually lucky to understand friendship to be the best possible foundation a marriage can have.” – Queen Charlotte (sort of) What a lovely book. You know, I’m a pretty big Elizabeth Rolls fan. When I read one of her books, I feel as if I’m reading a book where the author has taken her time putting her words together. I’ve never felt Ms. Rolls throws her words on a page just to make a quick buck. In A Marriage of Equals we are presented with some very thoughtful narrative. We are also given the opportunity to meet a very determined woman in the person of Psyche Winthrop-Abeni. Psyche is the daughter of a slave owner, and an enslaved Jamaican woman. Psyche is a young girl when her dying father brings her to Great Britain, and leaves her with his uncle. The household Psyche is brought to is loosely based on the household of William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. Mansfield raised two orphan nieces: Dido Elizabeth Belle, and Lady Elizabeth Murray. In case you’ve never heard of these people, do some reading, or watch the movie Belle. Anyway, this story is about a very tenacious woman, who has found her place in the world. She owns a successful business, and doesn’t really need any man. But this is Romanceland, and we know that somehow, our author must make room in our liberated woman’s heart for a man, or love interest to fit in. Don’t be too concerned my little Petunia’s; Ms. Rolls brings our couple together with relative ease. In fact, I would have to say this entire book is pretty smooth. This was a lovely romance. Let’s talk about Psyche. Ms. Rolls has done a wonderful job of bringing a fully developed character into being. Psyche’s childhood is told through flashbacks, and we are presented with the dehumanizing effects of slavery. We view things through her eyes, and see the pain she was faced with. But, we are also presented with a character who hasn’t let her past defeat her. This story does not turn into a rosy world where discrimination doesn’t happen. Psyche is very much aware of what is around her, she even fears what may happen if she steps in the wrong direction. She’s a wise woman. She is also a woman of her time, and not a woman of the 21st century with a long dress on. While this book has some statements to make, I wasn’t hit over the head with those issues. This story didn't push me out, it pulled me in. This story is most of all about a very strong, beautiful woman who has found a way to be her own person, and along the way finds someone to love. Let’s talk about our hero, Will Barclay. Will Barclay is not a Duke, but he works for one. He is a very smart guy, and very, very understanding. Sometimes he is toooo understanding, but whose complaining. He is just right for Psyche. Will’s family background could ruin his relationship with Psyche, but they are honest with each other, and work through it. He and Psyche make a balanced couple. I do recommend this book. I think this might be one of the best female characters I’ve read in a long time. Psyche is a heroine I will remember for a long time. ...more |
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May 23, 2021
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Apr 13, 2021
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| 1335506071
| 9781335506078
| 1335506071
| 4.15
| 185
| unknown
| Feb 23, 2021
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it was ok
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Let's Make a Deal The Duke's Runaway Bride, by Jenni Fletcher, is a marriage of convenience story...sort of. Or, it could be a story of luv at the Grea Let's Make a Deal The Duke's Runaway Bride, by Jenni Fletcher, is a marriage of convenience story...sort of. Or, it could be a story of luv at the Great Romance Bake Off. You know it's funny, those careers you thought might be great when you are a young tadpole, don’t always stand up to the test of time. I always thought it would be neat to work in a bakery. All those cookies, pies, cakes, etc. Recently, I happened to be in a gourmet cookie shop purchasing wonderful cookies, when I noticed the smell. There was an overwhelming sweet, sugary, spicy smell; it permeated my sinuses. And, I was wearing my mask! Kudos to the people on the other side of the counter. You are all very brave to spend the whole day inhaling all that sweetness. When I staggered out into the fresh air, I crossed "bakery owner" off my list of dream careers. Which leads me to The Duke's Runaway Bride, and our heroine Beatrix Roxbury, the Duchess of Howden, aka Belinda Carr. Belinda Carr likes to make biscuits. By the way, a biscuit may not be what you think it is. It all depends on your location. In the United States, biscuits are little round breads that are served warm, and then you slather butter all over them. In Great Britain, biscuits are what people from the U.S. would call cookies. I think. Watch The Great British Bake-Off for a better definition. Anyway, Belinda has a secret...she's hiding out at a bakery in Bath...a dream of hers. What-o! Hiding out you say! Why would she be doing that? She must be hiding from someone! What horrible person could she be hiding from? Well, she's hiding from her new husband Quin, the Duke of Howden. Boy, he must be a real creep! Nope, not really. In fact, he's a nice guy. But she doesn't know that he's nice, because she ran off shortly after the wedding. Evidently Quin needed money, Beatrix had money, her uncle was a smarmy guy who sort of sold her to Quin. I don't know what her Uncle gained, but I know Quin was able to save his estate. Too bad his bride is missing. But do not worry, because he knows where she's hiding, he's just waiting for the right moment to appear before her. The right moment turns out to be a letter from her saying, "Hey, I'm ok." Quin appears at the bakery where Beatrix is hiding, and they make a deal. She wants a divorce, he doesn't, they compromise. She will give him six weeks to win her over, if at the end of the six weeks he hasn't, she can leave and go back to the bakery. Seeing as how she never intends to stay with him, the deal seemed a little lopsided to me. Besides that, he has a horrible family. He has a brother who is determined to either be an alcoholic, or die from a social disease. His younger brother and sister are constantly fighting, and his mother is the mother-from-hell. She is one nasty piece of work, there is nothing subtle about any of the vitriol she spews. But don't worry my little Petunia's, it isn't long before super-duper-problem-solver Beatrix has them all dancing with the butterflies. My eyeballs did some rolling through these moments. But I could live with the horrible family. It was the will-she-won't-she moments which I found irritating. Quin and Beatrix formed a friendship fairly quickly. They communicated (sort of). They liked each other. Quin was a wonderful man, or at least most women would think he was. But not Beatrix! Noooo, she just wants to be free to beat eggs. Quin bent over backwards for this woman, and still she couldn't make up her mind. He had no clue whether she would stay with him or not. The “will-she-won't-she” thing went on way tooooo long. I suspect the reason why it went on for so long, was to create some kind of tension between the two. You see my little Petunia’s, this couple didn’t have any spark. Yes, I confess, I found Quin and Beatrix to be rather dull. I think it would have helped if Beatrix hadn't been such a selfish twit, but that's just me. Sorry to say, this story was not my cup of tea. ...more |
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Apr 13, 2021
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Oct 28, 2021
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Apr 13, 2021
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| 1538735660
| 9781538735664
| 1538735660
| 3.74
| 1,533
| Oct 13, 2020
| Oct 13, 2020
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it was ok
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Busy, busy, busy. It’s been awhile since I finished the book Any Rogue Will Do. I’ve had other, more important things to do!! Like skulking. Like watc Busy, busy, busy. It’s been awhile since I finished the book Any Rogue Will Do. I’ve had other, more important things to do!! Like skulking. Like watching Bridgerton for the 50th gazillion time! I bet I can quote Rege-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor verbatim by now. Yes, it’s a sad tale of obsession. I’m thinking about joining Bridgerton Anonymous. Anyway, back to my thoughts on Bethany Bennett’s debut novel, Any Rogue Will Do. I believe that, once again, I am in the minority of not liking a book as much as others do. For the most part, I believe this book was a decent first novel, with a few minor issues and one really big issue…at least for me: the heroine. There are a lot of things going on in this book: a fake engagement, an indifferent father, an old scandal, a reformed drunk Scot, and more. Our heroine, Lady Charlotte Wentworth and our hero, Ethan Ridley, have a past. Seven years ago, he was a drunk, and she fell in love with him – I guess. Then he called her a Paper-doll Princess, and left after her father refused his offer of marriage. So, she became belligerent. She had some anger issues with Ethan, even though it was her father who refused him. Anyway, she’s blue, she’s angry, and she’s mad. Now, the years have passed and Ethan has reentered Charlotte’s life, and he wants to make amends. Like any heroine worth her salt, she can’t let that happen. For Pete’s sake, the story would be over too soon for that. In the convoluted story plot line, it seems that Charlotte and her father have made a deal with each other. He has given her a few months to find a husband of her choice. Her choice is a man who will let her live her life the way she wants. Yeah, that’s going to happen! Anyway, she wants to remain single and manage a little “estate” of her own. Her father has picked James Montague as her husband. Montague is a real peach of a man. He is a Snidely Whiplash kind of villain, real oily, a real snake in the grass. He needs Charlotte’s money, and he will do anything to get it. He starts by rehashing the old “paper-doll princess” scandal. It is at this point that our hero Ethan steps in. He has a Romanceland Plan. Ethan decides that a fake engagement will be just the thing to stifle the gossip. I found this an odd plan, especially since neither Ethan or Charlotte seemed to really care about the gossip. One minute they cared, the next they didn’t. Paper-doll princess. I guess I’m going to have to look up a definition for paper-doll princess, because honestly, I didn’t get the negative connotation. Unless it has to do with someone being perceived as perfect. How would that be scandalous? Having had a boatload of paper-dolls when I was young, I see nothing wrong with them, nor do I see anything wrong with being called one. Maybe paper-doll means wanting only money. Well, would being called that create a scandal? Isn’t that what the families of the aristocracy were all about? Maybe, it indicates someone who is perfect, but hasn’t any brains. Would that create a scandal? I don’t think so. I suspect I’m missing the point of the term, and I’m really too busy to look it up. After all, I have Netflix to watch. So, I’ll just complain about it. But, I didn’t understand the intention of the terminology, and that was a distraction. And, that is my problem, but it also indicates a problem with the narrative. When slang is used, there should be words surrounding that term which give one a hint as to the intent. Oh dear! Did I do a skip read? I don’t know, I can’t remember! Oh well. On the other hand, I did understand how being dumped publicly by a guy would be insulting, and scandalous. I could also see how smart society would enjoy every minute of Charlotte's downfall. I just don’t understand how society would have sided with a drunk, working class Scotsman against one of their own. The pieces didn’t fit. I guess what really bothered me about this story was that Charlotte worried about what others expected of her, then she didn’t. She wanted a life that would have been completely unacceptable for that time period, one of separation from society. But then she worried about what they would say, or what her incredibly horrible father would say. And by the way, how can a husband and wife love each other so much that they exclude their children? I’m not fond of that trope in Romance. Bottom line: When a romance works for me, there is magic in the pages. When I look back on the romance couples that I love, they all have something in common. They have captured my attention. I become entranced by their story, and I want them to have their HEA. I remember the characters I love long after I put the book down. It didn’t happen with this story. While I think the author may be promising, for me, Charlotte and Ethan didn’t work. The story was too scattered, and I found it too easy to walk away from. I was disappointed in this one, but will probably give the second story in the series a chance. As Captain Taggart says: Never give up! Never Surrender! Time and Place: Regency England Sensuality: Warm/Hot ...more |
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Apr 13, 2021
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| 1393940358
| 9781393940357
| B08BV1DMHM
| 4.00
| 43
| Jan 12, 2021
| Jan 12, 2021
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did not like it
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Not my cup of tea. DNF Couldn't get past Regency spinster/sisters/twin speaking about sex in 21st Century cadence. The heroine, Grace, seemed to be pret Not my cup of tea. DNF Couldn't get past Regency spinster/sisters/twin speaking about sex in 21st Century cadence. The heroine, Grace, seemed to be pretty unlikable. she also appeared to have a nice sister/mean sister thing going. I couldn't connect to her disagreeable personality. Jumping to the end of the story didn't help either, so I quit. Time/Place: 21st Century Regency England Sensuality: I have no idea. ...more |
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Dec 23, 2020
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| 0645015105
| 9780645015102
| B08MBSNHBK
| 4.05
| 820
| Nov 09, 2020
| Nov 09, 2020
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really liked it
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What better way to spend some time, but with a short holiday book! Unless of course, it’s a short holiday book loaded with carbs!!!! Yes! Welcome to t What better way to spend some time, but with a short holiday book! Unless of course, it’s a short holiday book loaded with carbs!!!! Yes! Welcome to the Chance sister series by Anne Gracie, and her short story The Christmas Bride. I have to tell you, I was about half way through this book when it dawned on me just how many carbs were being consumed by the characters in the story. There’s alllll kinds of English holiday food being eaten by everyone. There are no fat-free, fake sugar, olive-oil butter treats in this story. There’s real cream! Real butter! There are cream cakes, plum pudding, shortbread, mince pie, fruit pie, ginger biscuits, apple cakes, almond biscuits, bread, sausage rolls, gingerbread, crumpets, muffins…and none of them are gluten free!! It was enough to make me go into a sugar induced swoon, and the story wasn’t bad either. Unlike a lot of short stories, this one had a well-constructed story line, and a number of delightful characters. When the story begins, Blake Ashton is peacefully traveling through the English country side. His peace is interrupted by the call of “stand and deliver.” Never one to ask to many questions, Ashton defends himself, wounding the highwayman in the process. Ashton is in for a surprise. Guess what! Go ahead guess. The highwayman turns out to be a woman. Her younger brother comes out of hiding and attacks, and soon Blake has the brother, sister and his horse headed toward a tumble-down cottage which the sister and brother have been hiding out in. And, a sweet little romance begins. Along the way, we get to read some wonderful banter, delightful narrative, and a short story that seems as if it is a full-length novel. There is a sweet romance between Blake Aston and Charlotte Underwood, aka Charley the highwayman. Also present in this short story is a scene stealing secondary character by the name of Toby. Toby is Charlotte’s little brother, and he is honest, painfully honest, and oh so adorable. Also present in this book are characters from the previous stories in the series. Of course, I don’t remember them. My brain cannot retain books after one month. Was this story perfect? Almost, except for the reason Aston’s gives for not being in England for ten years. When the reason is revealed, my gut reaction was…boy that was lame. I thought his reasoning was a tad bit silly. He had a guilt trip that was way over the top, and his zero contact with his family downright selfish. I don’t know how Ms. Gracie could have explained his absence differently, cause that’s not my job. But it was just not my favorite part of an otherwise enjoyable story. Regardless of Ashton’s odd thinking, I do recommend reading this holiday story. Just remember, you can always start eating salads in January. Time/Place: Regency England Sensuality: Warm ...more |
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Dec 23, 2020
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Kindle Edition
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| 1488071705
| 9781488071706
| B08CSQFWVB
| 4.03
| 78
| 2021
| Feb 01, 2021
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liked it
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I have a younger brother too…but he's not a slug! I think I’m in a mood. This one was hard to review for me. There was some really fine writing, espec I have a younger brother too…but he's not a slug! I think I’m in a mood. This one was hard to review for me. There was some really fine writing, especially the vivid description of the Battle/s of Waterloo. But the brother in this book was…how shall I put this nicely…a real scum-sucker. Diane Gaston’s latest, Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo brings us the story of Rhys Landon and Lady Helene Banes, a couple with a history. It is the eve of the Battle/s of Waterloo, and Helene is in Brussels trying to find her idiot brother. Her brother has come to Brussels because he wants to watch the battle. He’s recently been elevated to a lord, but he is resentful and doesn’t want to be called a lord…unless it gets him into the Duchess of Richmond’s ball. He hangs out with the Duchess’s son, a real person by the way. He does all kinds of horrible things to his sister, ignores her, disappears, doesn’t tell her where he’s going. He doesn’t want anyone to tell him what to do. His sister, Helene, has a big “walk-all-over-me” sign pasted to her back. I detested her brother. Then I started wondering…just what does one do when one is related to an immature person who wants to be a spectator at a battle? I do remember my brother being annoying, but I don’t think he would have been as selfish as this guy was. Anyway, I didn’t like the brother. And, just so you know, there were spectators on some battlefields. The romance. The romance between Helene and Rhys was a standard misunderstanding-I-hate-you. Then they talk, then they love each other again. So, it was just so-so. The Battle of Waterloo. After I have whined about the horrible brother, and intimated that the romance was bland, let’s look at what really stood out in this story. I was overwhelmed with the feelings that were captured in this narrative of warfare. From the battle itself, to the Richmond ball, to the chaos of people trying to escape Brussels. It was all very intense. Helene’s flight to the battlefield, her helping with the wounded…once again all tense-filled moments. The aftermath of battle…all so devastating. The writing in this part of the book was superb. Even though the romance was just passable, and the brother was one of the most immature men I’ve seen in a long time, I have to recommend this book. The tale of the battle, and its aftermath was a most powerful story to behold. Waterloo/Brussels: A Romance: B Brother: D ...more |
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| 3.56
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| Jan 12, 2021
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Well, I hope this year gets better. My second DNF of 2021. What can I say, other than I just could not get into this book. The only characters that g Well, I hope this year gets better. My second DNF of 2021. What can I say, other than I just could not get into this book. The only characters that grabbed me were the young boy, Wakefield and a pig named Duchess. Even though I found Wakefield to be the star of the show, he had a saying he kept repeating. At first it was clever, but when I found myself saying it before he did. I became irritated. I found the sister, Margaret, to be horribly mean. Anthony and Jane were just plain bland, and had no chemistry. Anthony was also a hot and cold kind of guy who could just not make up his mind. Besides that, he used the heroines innocence against her. He'd kiss her, then back away from her. He was not my kind of hero. I also found the writing to be rather stilted. I tried to keep reading, but wasn't able to become interested in the book. Eventually, I found myself skipping around looking for something to grab me. Alas, I finally gave up. Disappointed - again. Time/Place: Regency England Sensuality: Not anywhere I could find. ...more |
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| Jun 29, 2021
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Westcott Family Alert! If you like a series with all of the secondary characters showing up, then Someone to Cherish is for you. Yes, the Westcott’s ar Westcott Family Alert! If you like a series with all of the secondary characters showing up, then Someone to Cherish is for you. Yes, the Westcott’s are back…alllllll of them. And, all of the female Westcott’s are scheming about what to do about Harry. Poor Harry, all by himself and blue. You remember Harry. Harry had it all going for him. He was a pampered aristocrat, surrounded by a loving family, and due to inherit an Earldom. Then it was discovered that maybe his father was just a little tooooo loving, and had married another woman before he had married Harry’s mother. Oops. Bigamy. Enter the Westcott horde and all the connecting books. Harry turns from a fun-loving bon vivant into an embarrassed young man. He loses himself, joins the army, fights Napoleon, gets wounded, is brought back to England, and eventually hides out at a family estate located close to a small village. He has become a pretty isolated young man; living life, but not really being part of it. He’s existing, but he doesn’t smell any roses. And, then one of Mary Balogh’s quiet heroines shows up in his life. Mary Balogh excels at writing quiet women. And, she has written quite a dynamic one in the form of Lydia Tavernor. Lydia is the widow of a charismatic preacher. She quietly goes about her business in the small village. She lives by herself, bakes bread and cakes, talks to her dog, and chops her own firewood. She visits her friends, goes to church, and is held in high esteem by the locals. A lot of that neighborhood high esteem, is due in part to the spell her magnetic husband cast over the village people. She’s uncomfortable being on her husband’s pedestal, and she’s lonely. Sort of. Well, she is lonely. However, she thinks that taking a lover would solve her loneliness. If she had asked me I would have told her, being with someone will not make you less isolated. But, she didn’t ask me. So, at a neighborhood party her eyes alight on Harry, and she starts pondering. She ponders a lot. Ponderssssss. Through some interesting coincidence, Harry ends up walking Lydia home after the party. She invites him in, and after some conversation and pondering, Lydia asks Harry if he’s lonely. With that one little question everything changes. She instantly tries to retract the question. Harry, on the other hand, becomes very much more aware of her. They both ponder. There’s a lot of thinking in this story, Lydia more so than Harry, but I didn’t keep track. It’s just a feeling I had. Lydia also does repetitive pondering. I didn’t mind all the brain thinking from Harry or Lydia. But, let’s talk about what I did mind: the plethora of Westcott’s. I know we love our Romanceland seriesesesesesssssss. I for one love to read books with connecting characters. But that comes with a caveat. I need to remember them. I know I can’t be alone in this, but when an author has a series of three, it’s easier to keep track of than…oh, let’s say a series of eight. There are authors who have series’ which go on forever, for example: Lynsay Sands’ Argeneau family. However, not all of Ms. Sands’ characters show up in one book. The Westcott’s were overwhelming in this story, and it took away from the overall narrative of our couple, Harry and Lydia. On top of all the Westcott noise, was the atrocious matchmaking efforts of the Westcott women. I found their interference annoying. Bottom-line. Harry and Lydia are a great couple. The romance is slow, the reflective moments are detailed. I loved Lydia’s back story. Her relationship with her husband was intriguing. In fact, the spell he cast over the village was so reminiscent of some of our present-day cults, it was a little scary. I just wish Ms. Balogh had left the Westcott’s in London, and saved them only for the butterfly/unicorn epilogue. Someone to Cherish only needed the small village, Harry, Lydia, and the dog to make it into a great book. This was not my favorite story in the Westcott series, and it could have been. ...more |
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| 3.98
| 1,994
| Feb 09, 2021
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But, what about Francesca? Book: B Francesca/Angus/Eloise/Matthew: D So, is this the last of the MacTaggert’s series…or is there room for a few more stor But, what about Francesca? Book: B Francesca/Angus/Eloise/Matthew: D So, is this the last of the MacTaggert’s series…or is there room for a few more stories? Well, I don’t know, but I do know that all three of the brothers have found their happy ending. If you enjoyed Wild Wicked Highlanders, all is not lost! There are some secondary characters who might get a story – Jane for one. I also would hope that Ms. Enoch fixes the romance between Matthew and Eloise. And, when I say fix, I mean do something with that snake of a fiancé Matthew, besides break his nose. In case you didn’t guess, Matthew has never been one of my favorite characters. He’s a weasel. Maybe Eloise can forget what a drip he was, but I can’t. But, Hit Me with Your Best Scot isn’t about him, it’s about Coll MacTaggert, Viscount Glendarril and Persephone Jones aka Temperance Hartwood. Yes, watch out for a name change part way through the book! If you are not familiar with this book, or this series, let me remind you which one this is. This is the series with the mother who has been on my Mommie Dearest list for the last two years. At seventeen, Francesca married a Scotsman by the name of Angus MacTaggert. She hated Scotland. She wanted to reside part of the year in England. Angus wouldn’t let her. She had three boys, then she had a girl. When she had her daughter, she decided her daughter couldn’t grow up in Scotland. She abandoned her husband, and three young sons, and hunkered down in England for seventeen years. Never during any of that time did she attempt to see her sons. Needless to say, the sons are not all that fond of her. And, neither was I. Now she is forcing her sons to marry an English woman, or she will jerk the money which runs the Scottish estate out from under everyone. And, that also includes the people who live on that estate. The three sons sullenly go to England, and at the time this story starts, two of them have found their better half. That only leaves the eldest, most stubborn one: Coll. When I opened this book, I was hoping for a resolution to the Francesca/Angus story. Did I get the resolution I wanted? We shall see later. One evening while Coll is escaping from his mother’s matchmaking clutches, he ends up backstage at a theater. There he sees the actress Persephone Jones, and he is instantly smitten. Coll and Persephone are mature people, neither are innocent. They are both aware of how to play games, and they proceed to use each other. Don’t get too upset with that, because they are honest with each other in their manipulations. I thought their chemistry was interesting, and honest. That means there are no big secrets, right? Well, that’s not quite true. There are secrets. Persephone has a secret. Not only that, but someone is trying to murder her. Then there is the pretend romance she and Coll play, just to annoy Francesca. Coll was a wonderful hero. He was strong, protective, loyal, understanding, sexy, and in the end a friend. Coll and Persephone make a delightful couple. They are comfortable with their reaction to each other, and it isn’t long before they are playing tiddlywinks. While they are twiddling, Coll is searching for the person who is trying to murder Persephone. And, here is one of the irritating moments for me. If Persephone had told Coll her secret, it would have helped him find the villain. Considering how honest they were with each other, and that they had already shared spit, it was disappointing to me that she didn’t confide in him sooner. But that was just a minor hiccup. Now, let’s talk about the major hiccup in the story. There are two hiccups for me in, Hit Me with Your Best Scot. It may be because I’ve been following this series from the beginning. I’ve been hoping for a strong wrap-up of two plotlines which were threaded through the series. The first plotline involved the very young Eloise and her loathsome toad of a fiancé Matthew. They are both very young. Eloise seems to be especially young, and overly class conscious. I was hoping that there would be some indication that she was having second thoughts about marrying Matthew Moosebutt. I’m still hoping that Ms. Enoch does something further with Matthew and Eloise, because their story in this particular book left me feeling empty. The other hiccup in the story was BBBIIIIIGGG. Francesca and Angus: the parents from hell. For two books I have been waiting for something to happen which would redeem Francesca and Angus. It didn’t happen. Oh sure, we find out that she did write letters to her sons, and her sons wrote to her. And…Angus hid them allll! There was the biiiggg scene where Angus brings in a big-o-box of letters and dumps them on a table. See, your mother did love you!!! She wrote alllll these letters to you for seventeen years, and I hid them!!! See, she’s not so bad. And do you know what I say to that my little Petunia’s? To quote Daffy Duck: PFFFFFFTTTttt! I’m hoping Ms. Enoch is not finished with Francesca and Angus, because that plotline needs to be resolved. But there was nothing in this book that made me look at either Francesca and Angus and say, oh you poor dears…you have suffered so much. Oh, you only had your children’s best interest at heart. Again, I will let Daffy Duck speak for me: PFFFTTTttttt! So, what did I think? I actually liked the parts of the book which Coll and Persephone inhabited. I thought they made a great couple. I was also pleased that Coll didn’t turn out to be the Bonehead he was represented as in the first two books. In fact, he was a wonderful hero. Coll and Persephone were a delightful couple, and the romance in this story was excellent. The mystery/murder was also interesting. I just wish Francesca/Angus/Eloise/Matthew had been handled differently, or maybe a hint as to future stories. As it was, those four characters “bummed me out.” Time/Place: Regency England (I guess) Sensuality: Warm/Hot/Mature ...more |
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| Dec 29, 2017
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At last! A good story….mostly!
Yes, finally Elisa Braden gave me a story I liked…a lot. Well she didn’t actually give it to me, I did buy it. Anythi At last! A good story….mostly! Yes, finally Elisa Braden gave me a story I liked…a lot. Well she didn’t actually give it to me, I did buy it. Anything but a Gentleman is the 8th book in the Rescued from Ruin series. If you’ve read any of the other books in the series, you should be familiar with the leads, Sebastian Reaver and Augusta Widmore. Both of these characters were eye-catching secondary characters in those stories, and I will be honest, this was one of those times I had high expectations for these two characters when they had their own story. I was happy that Ms. Braden didn’t disappoint. Sebastian is a Romanceland gambling establishment owner. Hence he’s rough around the edges, and at first glance, he seems to be pretty menacing. He is also someone it is never wise to cross. But, he is about to meet someone who doesn’t abide by his rules…Augusta Widmore. Alert! Augusta is one of those Romanceland women. You know the ones I’m talking about! Those red-headed females with long legs! Oh no, not long legs!!! Not vibrant red-hair! Of course, she doesn’t know what a beauty she is, but I liked her too much to care. Was she a perfect heroine? Of course not. She had a number of qualities which I didn’t care for, the most important of these not being able to listen to her sister. But, I forgave her, eventually. It seems that her younger sister, Phoebe, is pregnant, and not married. The man responsible for is a cad, a real bounder, and he’s also a gambler. And, not a good gambler. He has left a lot of “markers” at Sebastian Reaver’s gambling establishment. Augusta has a plan! I’m sorry, my little Petunias, but heroine think up Romanceland plans too. Yes, she has a Romanceland plan, and it’s a doozy. She means to get those markers from Reever…somehow. She hasn’t really thought out the how. Anyway, once she has the markers, she plans on forcing the “cad” to marry her sister. There is so much wrong with this plan, I don’t even know what to say. But I will go ahead anyway. One of the things I disliked about Augusta was her mind-set on forcing her beloved sister, Phoebe, into wedlock with the “cad/bounder/worthless creep.” Augusta is rather strong-willed, as Sebastian finds out. She needs to talk to him, he refuses. Ok, he refuses to talk to her, so she will find ways to get into his establishment, and force him to pay attention. She keeps breaking into his gambling house. He keeps kicking her out. At one point, even throwing her over his shoulders and tossing her out. Augusta does not give up. Eventually, he comes up with a plan. His plan is to scare her into running away. He offers to give Augusta the markers if she will become his mistress. And, he waits for her to turn tail and run. He waits, and waits. Much to his surprise, she accepts. Now, we get to watch the menacing Sebastian turn into a cuddly bear. I enjoyed the relationship between Sebastian and Augusta. There were misunderstandings, snappy dialogue, and an occasional chuckle. The only fly in the ointment was the sister, Phoebe and the secondary romance she becomes involved in. I found the secondary romance between the weaker Phoebe and Sebastian’s partner Adam Shaw a distraction. I was never fond of Phoebe. She waited too long to find her voice. Adam Shaw was an incredible scene stealer and deserved a book of his own, and a heroine who wasn’t so wishy-washy. The secondary romance didn’t add anything to the overall voice of the book. In conclusion. So far, this has been my favorite book in the Rescued from Ruin series. I thought Sebastian and Augusta made quite a delightful couple. I would have given this book a higher rating if not for the secondary romance. It was a bit of a distraction, and Adam deserved his own book. The other issue which bothered me was Augusta’s stubbornness in insisting her sister marry such a blackguard. She should have talked things over with Phoebe. Her assertion that she had all the answers was frustrating. Also, Phoebe could have grown a backbone sooner. But I do recommend this book. ...more |
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| Jan 04, 2015
| Jan 04, 2015
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did not like it
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Nothing says romance better than an abusive relationship.
The Madness of Viscount Atherourne is the first in Elisa Braden’s, Rescued from Ruin seri Nothing says romance better than an abusive relationship. The Madness of Viscount Atherourne is the first in Elisa Braden’s, Rescued from Ruin series. Of course, I have read them out of order, starting with number four and progressing from there to here. It was interesting placing everything in order. When I got to this book, the first thing that popped into my little gray cells after reading was, “Man it’s a good thing I didn’t read this one first. If I had I would not have read the others.” Why is that? Well I shall tell you in one word: revenge. I hatessssss revenge plots. In my opinion, it is very rare that an author can pull these stories off, and this story is no exception to the rule. The revenge plan has been thought up by none other than our “hero” Lucien, Viscount Atherbourne. Notice I put hero in quotes. Anyway, Lucien is seeking revenge on Harrison, Duke of Blackmore. Now, don’t get me wrong. Lucien has a valid reason to hate Harrison…or at least he thinks he does. You see Harrison killed Lucien’s brother, Gregory, in a duel. So, that’s one reason to be mad. If that was not bad enough, there is the reason for the duel. It seems that Harrison seduced Gregory and Lucien’s teenage sister, and then abandoned her. She was with child, emotionally unstable, and ended up taking her own life. As you can tell, Lucien has a strong axe to grind. However, his revenge plan pretty much sucks. You see Harrison also has a sister, our heroine, Victoria. Lucien’s grand plan is to seduce Victoria, and in so doing, create a scandal. This scandal will ruin Victoria, and make Harrison sad. Or something like that. Or, maybe his plan revolves around creating the scandal, forcing Victoria to marry him, then denying Harrison any access to his beloved sister. That could be the plan! It must be the plan, because that is what eventually happens. As with most Romanceland plans, it was not thought out very well. Now, a question may have popped into your gray cells, as happened with me. It cannot be that easy to seduce a morally upright woman…can it? Ha, ha, ha…I laugh. Let me introduce you to Victoria. Victoria is at a ball with her fiancé…yes, fiancé. She’s not especially fond of the guy, but she is engaged. And, then her eyes fall on a handsome stranger who just walked into the room. She gets hot. Different areas of her body are twitching. She is so warm; she must exit the room and go out on the balcony. Oh no, not the balcony!! Guess who shows up? The handsome stranger. It isn’t long before the handsome stranger has his hands up her dress, caressing her moist cavern walls. The stranger and Victoria seem to forget that there is a party going on in the next room. But, eventually the gossipy members of the party arrive on the scene, and Victoria and the stranger are caught. Oh what a scandal! Turns out the stranger is none other than Lucien. The revenge is in place. Lucien shows up at Harrison’s doorstep the next day, and proposes marriage as a way to prevent scandal. Wait a minute! I thought that was the whole idea! I was very confused. But, Lucien’s plan is going down the other path now. His plan is to keep Harrison away from Victoria. That way he can rub his hands together in glee as he watches Harrison get sadder and sadder. He watches Victoria’s every move. He does not allow her to visit her brother. He does not allow her to go anywhere her brother might be. He intercepts correspondence between the two. He does not let her know that Harrison has tried to visit her. He is a real weasel. During this time, does Victoria ever wonder why her brother is ignoring her? Nope. She’s too wrapped up in Lucien’s magic flute to bother. His Timothy Toad is a true wonder! It bewitches her. It is hers, hers, hers. But remember, she has the magical cavern, and that magical cavern is Lucien’s. There is moisture and heat all over the place, all the time, in every room, on every piece of furniture. Then one day Victoria finds out that Lucien has been keeping her from her brother. She is mad. Then she is not. It's the magic flute again. Then Lucien discovers something. It was not Harrison who seduced Lucien’s sister! Did I forget to mention there was another brother in Victoria’s family: Colin. Colin was a real piece of work. And, sad to say my little Petunia’s, a future hero. Anyway, Colin is a drunkard, a gambler, and a seducer of young girls, or at least one unstable one that we know of. Yes, he seduced Lucien’s sister, but he thought she understood the rules. He thought she would understand that he was not ready for any kind of commitment. However, she didn’t, she kept sending him letters of entreaty, which he ignored. He also was not aware she was with child, because he never opened up any of her letters. He never told anyone he was the one responsible for her fall from grace. He let his brother take the blame for the seduction; he did not attempt to stop the duel that killed Gregory. He just went on playing, drinking, and being a big old stinkbug. Then everyone learns the truth. Harrison is sad, Victoria is sad, and Lucien is sad. Lucien is also a little red-faced. There is groveling (not enough). This was a disturbing book. It has page after page of sex, and page after page filled with an abusive relationship. Remember abuse does not always take on a physical form. Victoria and Lucien’s relationship is not a healthy one. Lucien is a possessive abuser, and Victoria is a fool. The only character who was likeable in this book was Harrison. I will end with what I said in the beginning. If this had been the first book in the series that I read, I would not have continued with the rests. Even though this is part of a series, I cannot recommend this book. There is nothing romantic about the relationship between Lucien and Victoria…even when they get the HEA. In my opinion, there was just tooooo many damaging issues to overcome in the page numbers allotted for this book. ...more |
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| 0380785625
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| 3.85
| 20,234
| 1996
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Minx, 1996. At last, I saw a foreshadowing of the writer Julia Quinn was to become. In this book, Ms. Quinn begins to find her distinctive voice. This
Minx, 1996. At last, I saw a foreshadowing of the writer Julia Quinn was to become. In this book, Ms. Quinn begins to find her distinctive voice. This is the story of Henrietta (Henry) and Dunford. Dunford was the wisecracking, advice giving best friend in the other two books in the Blydon Family saga stories. He is the character we have been looking forward to seeing the shoe on the other foot. You know him; he is the one who has been handing out all kinds of advice on love. As if he really knows anything about the subject. At last, we get to see how he handles advice when he tumbles into love. And, it is quite a fun tumble. This book made me smile. I found both Henry and Dunford delightful, and their dialogue, banter, and humor was wonderful. When Dunford inherits an estate, he gets more than he expects. He gets a female overseer. Now, I will admit, I found it a little hard to swallow Henry’s taking over management of an estate at the age of 14, but hey, she was an adorable character so I chose to overlook that small problem. I loved Dunford’s complete lack of control over everything, including his lack of control over his Timothy Toad. It was all great fun. There was only one bump-in-the-road in this story, and that was a silly misunderstanding. I’m not sure why the misunderstanding was tossed into the narrative. The story was flowing along nicely and then a scheming woman tells a lie to our heroine. It was unexpected. I once again blame this bump on an author finding her wings. Thank goodness, it did not go on too long. For the most part, Minx is the book that saved this trilogy, and gave us an author who would go on to do improved things. After all, she gave us the Bridgertons. ...more |
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| 0380780755
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| 0380780755
| 3.75
| 19,036
| Dec 1995
| Aug 25, 2009
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did not like it
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Dancing at Midnight seemed like an experiment gone wrong. I have to say, if an author's niche is light-hearted, witty stories, with fun characters, ma
Dancing at Midnight seemed like an experiment gone wrong. I have to say, if an author's niche is light-hearted, witty stories, with fun characters, maybe one should stay the course. At least until one becomes a little more polished, a little bit more experience. Then turn to the dark side. I’ve always been of the opinion that “funny” was harder to write. Making someone laugh is a real art, because not everyone has the same sense of humor. So, to write something which a majority of people find amusing is a good thing, it is a talent. It is possible for dialog with wit to become so fine-tuned, eventually the underlying emotions will shine through. Trying to write angst for the sake of having angst does not work. That is what happened in Dancing at Midnight. The hero, John, was drowning in misplaced guilt. He thinks he is responsible for the rape and death of a woman…he is not. The balance between fun, and angst in Dancing at Midnight didn’t work. The trauma of his war experience did not work with the silly, fun part of the rest of the book. The writing felt rather hackneyed. Moreover, the heroine, Belle, was a TSTL heroine through most of the book. Then a light appeared in the distance: Minx. ...more |
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|
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|
| 4.03
|
liked it
|
Sep 23, 2021
not set
|
Dec 22, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 3.56
|
did not like it
|
Jan 19, 2021
not set
|
Dec 01, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 4.05
|
liked it
|
Jul 23, 2021
not set
|
Dec 01, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 3.98
|
liked it
|
Mar 22, 2021
not set
|
Dec 01, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 4.21
|
really liked it
|
Aug 31, 2020
not set
|
Oct 07, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 3.85
|
did not like it
|
Aug 17, 2020
not set
|
Oct 07, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 3.85
|
liked it
|
May 27, 2020
not set
|
Oct 07, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 3.75
|
did not like it
|
May 25, 2020
not set
|
Oct 07, 2020
|
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