I liked this one. But the parts were greater than the whole, imo.
Interesting heroine with a sad backstory who transforms herself and becomes3.5 stars.
I liked this one. But the parts were greater than the whole, imo.
Interesting heroine with a sad backstory who transforms herself and becomes triumphant. Very swoony hero. And as usual BJ inserts some really interesting history so that this isn't a wallpaper historical. I liked the dialogue and the supporting characters. But something about the actual romance did not quite click for me 100%. But still it was enjoyable to read....more
So I am still approximately 4 years deep into a semi-reading slump.
*** taking a moment to do an 'old an yells at cloud' ******
The reason being is thaSo I am still approximately 4 years deep into a semi-reading slump.
*** taking a moment to do an 'old an yells at cloud' ******
The reason being is that a lot of newer books just aren't doing it for me. I have DNF'd so many books because they either aren't capturing me or sustaining my interest or I can predict every single plot beat. It would help immensely if I just didn't feel like I was reading a laundry list of tropes in every book.
***** ok back to our regularly scheduled review *******
So I am exploring authors/books that have been around but I just have passed over for one reason or another.
My first foray was into Anne Stuart's Rohan series. I have heard about this series for YEARS. YEARS!
I have always shied away because I wasn;t a fan of the premise of the hero being this hedonistic rake ho who ran orgies. Not my jam.
But what the hell.
And... yeah. Pretty much confirmed my bias.
Francis Rohan is a British ex-pat who is living in France during the Georgian era. He is super duper rich, dark, anti-heroic, conflicted, bored, hypersexual and hosts a group of rich aristocrats known as the Heavenly Horde who basically dress up, play out sexual games, gamble, and just about anything else sinful you can think of.
Elinor Harriman is the eldest daughter of a dissolute noblewoman whose excesses have landed her, her daughers which includes Elinor her exquisite younger sister, and two devoted servants onto the ragged edges of poverty in the French slums. They are just this side of still respectable. And all it will take is one bad decision before they are beyond destitute.
As the book starts that bad decision happens. Elinor's mother, who is in the end stages of Syphilis has decided to escape from the house with their last few valuable and gamble them away. Elinor learns that her mother has gone to one of Rohan's revels. Elinor, described as tall, plain and resolute... takes her tall, plain and resolute self into the Devil's lair to get her mother.
From there we have a weary but resolved Elinor who is doing her level best to keep her family's head above water clash with the sinister Rohan who sees in Elinor someone fresh and new to drag him away from his boredom This commences a cat and mouse game. But to Elinor's credit, she gives and good as she gets and thus, Rohan's attention is completely captured.
To be fair, this is one of those plots that litter romance all over the place. An older experienced rake who has seen and done it all is finally felled by a younger, innocent woman who leads with her chin out and arms akimbo. But the characterization, the road from A to B to C to HEA, and the writing in this is quite good.
Even so, I could not love it, love it. I am not a fan of the profligate man-ho. And honestly, Anne Stuarts writing was so good and so vivid, I could practically smell the 18th century body odor and STDs wafting from those sex parties.
But it did capture and keep my attention and I wanted to read it to the end. It showed a couple falling in love with a detail that was common in these older romance novels that sometimes feels missing in the newer works. And it also allowed the decidedly anti-hero Rohan several really effective and triumphant hero moments.
There is a side villain plot, a heartbreaking background secret of Elinor's, and a secondary romance for Elinors' younger sister.
So I'll put this one in the win column even though it was not a slam dunk....more
For some reason, I was in a Highlander mood in May. I think every book I read was a Highlander book. Who knew?
Anyway, this one was good. The Chapter 1For some reason, I was in a Highlander mood in May. I think every book I read was a Highlander book. Who knew?
Anyway, this one was good. The Chapter 1 heading tells us this takes place somewhere in Scotland in the 1200s. This is good because without knowing that, it just reads like a vaguely historical romance during medieval times in a place where there are Lords and a Keep and an unnamed king. So the actual history-time-place really would have felt really vague without the note.
But the story was engrossing and Cree was very much all ROWR alpha warrior strong with his numerous band of warriors at his beck and call. The heroine, Dawn was that sort that has built in jeopardy. She is bullied and a bit of an outsider because she has a disability (she is mute) and is kinda low on the pecking order.
As the book opens Cree (who has a ROWR alpha warrior fearsome reputation across the entire land) is taken prisoner and paraded through the village by the smarmy villain of the book. He is imprisoned and for reasons, Dawn is the one who is tasked with looking after him. All is not as it seems.
Things happen... tables are turned... Dawn intrigues Cree... they fall in love... she gets attacked and or kidnapped a few times.
This is one of those books that don't have a lot of plot-plot but events happen that carry the protags along. There is a mystery of sorts that develops, namely someone really wants Dawn dead. And then we get a couple of twists. There are a lot of very convenient things that happen, naturally, so that things can fall into place neatly. But I am not too mad at it. As I said, the story was engrossing and entertaining and the romance/chemistry was very well done.
And one other thing I really liked, was that Dawn was not miraculously cured of her muteness. The book makes it clear it is not selective mutism but some sort of genetic thing that is inherited. She can't make any sound whatsoever. I was so sure we'd get some miracle cure, but was gratified we did not.
This is the first book in a series and a bunch of novellas that follow Cree and Dawn along even after they marry. ...more
This series is still going strong. I am glad I stockpiled a bunch of them to 'binge' them so to speak.
In this one, we get a deeper glimpse of Lord GaThis series is still going strong. I am glad I stockpiled a bunch of them to 'binge' them so to speak.
In this one, we get a deeper glimpse of Lord Gage's inner humanity. Throughout this series he has been a gaping asshole really. Cold, harsh, autocratic. But here and there he shows a glimpse of something underneath. And then we got to An Artless Demise where he performed an act of compassion and allyship that was so unexpected yet kinda hardcore that I had some hope for him. So the payoff here was kind of nice.
This book picks up where the last one left off. Keira and Sebastian got an urgent note saying Lord Gage had been attacked and was on his deathbed. They along with their trusty servants, their infant daughter and Lord Gage's illegitimate son, Henry, rush to his side.
When they arrive they find that it was no random highwayman attack, but a targeted attack. Of course this requires Keira and Gage to investigate and figure out what is going on. Like a lot of their investigations, the sins of the past have roared onto the present to exact a price.
This was a good quick read. Lots of interesting side characters. The doctor who is treating Lord Gage and who opens his home to Keira and Gage to stay while Lord Gage is recuperating and as they investigate is an especially interesting character whose background I found very interesting.
But beyond the mystery there was a lot of EXTRA family dramaahhhh! In this one. The Gage men got into it and often. Sebastian confronting his dad on his infidelities, Lord Gage being his usual cuttting and cruel self, lashing out at Henry and even at Keira. But the book does a good job of unpacking a lot of that where the family ends up in a hopeful place. It doesn't hurt that Lord Gage is absolutely smitten with his granddaughter. It was a little comical how everyone was flabbergasted that he basically melts in a puddle around her.
The mystery was concludes nicely. I gather that ALH likes a dashing anti-hero rogue like figure because we get a character who is a lot like Bonnie Brock in this one.
And because Lord Gage was not created in a vacuum, we learn a lot about his family... which leads right into the mystery of the next book....more
Not the 'hmm, I liked it well enough and it was pleasant' 3 stars but not quite the 'I enjoyed this quite a bit' 4 stars.
BaThis is a solid 3.5 stars.
Not the 'hmm, I liked it well enough and it was pleasant' 3 stars but not quite the 'I enjoyed this quite a bit' 4 stars.
Balogh is squarely in her big family, big series phase. If you've read the Wescott series, then you know what I am talking about. It feels like the Wares are the new Westcotts.
To her credit, Balogh always manages to tease out some interesting themes and dilemmas her characters grapple with in her different books. This one is no different. But some of the more interesting stuff gets a bit diluted among the increasingly larger number of family and friends that seem to wander through the drawing rooms and ballrooms in this book. Which is why I don't rate it higher.
The setup of the story is rather simple. Phillipa is headed to London for the season for her come out, a few years later than she should have and Luc is also headed to London because it is imperative he gets married and gets his wife pregnant forthwith or the Dukedom to which he is the heir is in danger of falling into the hands of a terrible cousin. The current Duke is in precarious health and so time is of the essence.
The conflict between Phillipa and Luc is immediately apparent and goes back to the previous book in the series. She overheard him say something that was less than complimentary about her to someone else. What was a snarky throwaway line, soon forgotten in the ensuing years by Luc, has sat with and festered in Phillipa's brain at that same time. It -- in combination with the other things in her family -- had a profound effect on her.
As a result, Phillipa is finally having her season and she is sure she will be a failure because of what Luc said.
But Phillipa soon learns that her perceptions have been terribly skewed and really nobody cares, knows, or thinks like Luc. So she is happily in the clear.
But not so fast, because to her horror, she finds herself thrown immediately into Luc's sphere.
One thing I loved is that now that circumstances permitted, Phillipa is finally able to confront Luc about what she overheard so long ago. And she did not wait. The first chance she got she did. I was so gratified by that.
The rest of the book is a curious thing. Luc and Phillipa have very different perceptions of that old overheard conversation. Yeah, he was an ass for what he said, but like Philipa, he has been carrying his own baggage for years and what he said had nothing to do with her. They talk it out and once that happened I expected a more traditional trajectory toward romance. But I don't feel that is what happened.
I struggle to define how I feel about their romance. It felt kinda typical and yet it felt like a lot of shortcuts happened to get us from point A to point B. I want to say it felt 'bloodless' but with smoke and mirrors to make it seem more romantic than it was. I dunno, I felt both unsatisfied and ok with it at the same time.
Outside of those two, we get a lot of face time with both their families. I would like to mention Luc's sister, Jenny. She has what sounds awful like polio and is in a wheelchair. Balogh over the years has done a lot of disability rep. Her entire Survivors series features MCs with some type of physical or emotional disability. And I thought that series was well done in that sense. But I had a bit of a problem with Jenny in this one. It isn't a huge, in-your-face thing, but I wish the Jenny subplot had been done differently. There is almost a 'you go girl' undertone in most of the interactions with Jenny. Again, I struggle to define what my issues are there, I just know it didn't sit quite right with me. I will say did like her romantic dilemma ad would have liked for Balogh to dig a bit deeper there. I liked that her erstwhile beau was not demonized but his reality was presented as a matter-of-fact thing. I wonder if Jenny will get her own book?
At any rate, we get our HEA and everything works out well for our couple.
So this was fine with some interesting character beats and a romance if not 100% romantic at least it worked well. I may revisit this one in another couple of years to see how it hits me after a re-read because I am still not sure how I feel about it really....more
“Mark my words, we will be rich. And my vow is this: you will not be a countess, but I will treat you like a queen the whole of your life. I will love“Mark my words, we will be rich. And my vow is this: you will not be a countess, but I will treat you like a queen the whole of your life. I will love you as though we invented love.”
If you asked me what some of my least favorite tropes were, I'd say Fake Dating and Forced Proximity are near the top of the list. But I am widely enough read to understand that some authors are talented enough to take your least favorite elements and make them work.
Julie Anne Long did that with this book.
This is the 6th book in her Palace of Rogues series. I like this series. It is sort of like... one of those tv series from the 80s like Hotel or Love Boat where you have your regulars who are always there and who are creating a place of enjoyment and comfort and then you have the 'guest stars' who come in with their temporary set of problems, we get to watch them play out and then they leave resolved.
If you read this far into the series, you know the regular denizens of The Grand Palace on the Thame (TGPOTT) and their personalities and backstories. I liked that in this one their narrative continues and we get some more side stories for them.
But as for the 'guest stars' this week, we get Daphne, the daughter of an Earl who is having a bit of a cash flow problem, who has had to hire herself out as a lady's companion to help keep the family afloat and Lorcan St. Ledger, an ex-pirate current privateer, who is very handsome, has an earring and scar and a wicked sense of humor.
Lorcan comes across Daphne as she is dangling from a window with tied together sheets. She is escaping from the handsy husband of her employer. There is a storm of all storms headed their way that will wash out roads and bridges so they need to find shelter quickly, so they head toward TGOPTT to ask for rooms to let. Alas there is only one room available. And because that place is a respectable establishment (despite its prior location as a notorious brothel) Daphne and Lorcan are forced to impulsively pose as a married couple.
This is the point where I usually sigh, cuz Tropes I don't like. But... there is so much more going on in that scene with all the characters that is becomes a balancing act of comedy and information that you almost don't notice the trope being slipped in.
And then we get to the meat of the story. Daphne, Lorcan, the two proprietresses of TGOPTT, their fearsome husbands, their two regular guests, a prior returning guest, three German musician guests, and the colorful staff of the hotel-- are all stuck there during the storm -- bumping along having to interact while dealing with their own little issues.
What JAL excels at is allowing a romance to unfold and develop on page between two people that is both deeply romantic and fun to behold. The dialogue is great, we get to know each of them as they get to know each other. Lorcan and Daphne, despite themselves, settle into this lovely unconscious domesticity that feels lived in and rather sweet while at the same time juggling this tension of having to 'lie without lying' to their proprietresses.
As much as I liked Daphne, I lovedLorcan. He was funny, charming, and man, oh man, he did a couple of things that is what romance novel heroes are made for. And his marriage proposal was straight fire!
Very good book. It was funny, romantic, lots of great character moments and wonderful dialogue. I listened on audio and it was well performed by Justine Eyre....more
Ah... the third book in the Brandon Brothers series featuring artist and youngest brother Leo.
His heroine is a young lady, Charlotte, whose mother anAh... the third book in the Brandon Brothers series featuring artist and youngest brother Leo.
His heroine is a young lady, Charlotte, whose mother and stepfather died and is now under the control of her shady step brother. Not really because she is of age, but somehow he got his hands on the will and won't tell her what is in it. Also he claims that the estate of her mother and bio father has renters so she can't go and live there. Oh... all sorts of shady things. We, Dear Reader, immediately understand that is is possibly Charlotte has a lot 'o money and Shady Stepbrother is embezzling from her because she doesn't have the resources or wherewithal to find out anything on her own.
He intercepts a letter meant for her as the eldest daughter of the Monstesoro family (hence the title of the book) and that is of course Charlotte (her dad was Venetian) to come claim their legacy. He of course plans to go and 'retrieve it for her'. Uh yeah. Charlotte, for once knowing something he doesn't about what he will need in order to retrieve said legacy (and something he doesn't have), happily stands on the proverbial doorstep waving him goodbye on a long trip to Venice. She plans to use the time to get some answers.
Into her sphere comes Leo and through all sorts of shenanigans, Charlotte suddenly finds herself with a lot of resources, namely Leo's older brother Max and the 007-like agency he and his wife work for who have been secretly investigating the shady stepbrother.
This was a super fun book. I liked all the plot twists and turns. Some were predictable -- of course the shady stepbrother was stealing from Charlotte -- but some were gratifyingly not. I liked all the side characters, the plots within plots, some near misses, and people get their just deserts.
I really enjoyed the romance between Leo and Charlotte and I especially liked Leo's relationship with Charlotte's brother.
Nice way to spend time and Alex Wyndham's narration is always good....more
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