Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

HaBO: Nicholas of St. Ives?

This request comes from Kinsey Holley, who is begging for help. BEGGING I tell you. 

It's a Regency (maybe Georgian, but 19th cent. England) and the hero is a rakish Earl with a penchant for opera dancers and the heroine is a rather plain - not unattractive, just not pretty - young lass whose father is a dissolute gambler who basically wagers her with the hero and loses, and the hero finds himself with all the father's worldly goods AND his daughter to boot.

I specifically remember a phrase that pops up all through the book  - "diamond of the first water." The heroine mentions several times that her mother was a diamond of the first water - i.e., gorgeous - but she knows that she's not.

I can even recall (I think) the hero's title - Earl of St. Ives. Given name, Nicholas. You'd think I could find that with Google, right? Nope. When I Google it I get two results - St. Ives, the skin products company, and.....a comment I left in a SBTB review back in 2009.

Pllleassee?

And if it turns out that this is an easy peasy one… read more »

HaBO: Mom was a Fairy with Outdated Clothes

Dark Puck is looking for a historical paranormal that sounds really interesting!

I'm trying to remember the title of a romance novel I read.

 

It was set during the Regency period, like most of the romances I read. The
heroine, I believe, was a widow with a young son; the hero was an It's
Complicated with a daughter.

The Complicated part came in whereupon his wife was a fairy. On the birth of
the daughter, she was forced to return to her own realm. Since then she has
been scheming for her daughter to take her place, so she can resume her
whatevers in the mortal world. I don't remember what it was.

There may or may not have been a dog, but the widow was mentioned to have
once been at the height of fashion, and still wearing those same clothes
some few years since they had gone out of fashion. I think there may also
have been a tower tour. And the widow could see the magic stuff? Or sense
it, or something.

That's a… read more »

HaBO: WhatsHisName gets Shot

Vixenbib is looking for a book that's been plaguing her for awhile:

I'm looking for a Harlequin/Silhouette? contemporary romance which I read at least ten years ago but the book was second-hand and could've been at least a couple of years old when I picked it up. The book is one of a series.

The hero (some kind of special-ops government agent, possibly named Dan or Sam or Tom - or maybe not) spends most (if not all) of the book confined to a wheelchair, as the result of an injury sustained in an undercover special-op-gone-wrong, in the first chapter or possibly even the prologue.

Our hero is, I think, the agency?/bureau? chief, and he's desperately in love with a female colleague. The bullet which disables him comes just at the point where she and he are tentatively declaring their (previously suppressed in at least one earlier novel) feelings for each other. The rest of the team know that he and the heroine are in love and have been waiting for them to get their act together. Dan/Sam/Tom and the heroine declare themselves and share their first kiss on a tense… read more »

HaBO: There’s a LOT of Detail, and a Shoeless Heroine

Kathleen is looking for this book, and she remembers a LOT about it - except the title. Good thing we're here! 

I am trying to find a book that I recall quite a lot of detail about except
of course that elusive title, author, and the name of the heroine.

 

It was published I believe sometime in the years between 2000 and 2010, and
it is a Western.

It begins back East where the hero (Jason may be his name) is visiting the
home of rich man for a business dinner. He is encouraged to go for a walk in
the garden. When he spots the daughter of his host, he thinks that it is a
setup for him to meet the girl. However, the girl is reading without her
shoes on and doesn’t at first notice the hero when he walks up. She is
quite embarrassed to be found shoeless, but she and the hero talk for a bit.

HaBO: Two Harlequins, One Searching Reader

Jessica writes in looking for two books she lost:

I'm looking for two books, both Harlequins. A bit of backstory: I grew up in
a duplex my parents owned, and they rented out an apartment behind our
house. We had the tenants from hell in 1995 (to give you an idea, they
played dance music at all hours of the night and tried to sell the
appliances to pay the back rent), and when my mom was finally able to evict
them they left behind stacks and stacks of 1980s Harlequin romances. They
were everywhere: Small piles in every corner of the apartment, behind the
toilet, in the oven, on every shelf in the kitchen cupboards. We're still
puzzled over why they left them; while my mom isn't big on romance, she
doesn't hate Fabio or anything.

HaBO: She Found the Book, but a Page is Missing

Selene was featured in a previous HaBO and found the book she was looking for - only there's a problem, and she's asking for help:

Sally posted the answer and I got the book - It's THE BABY GIFT by DAY LECLAIRE.
I bought the book but one page of it has some missing words :(

I got another copy same problem. I haven't been able to find another edition. Could you ask Sally if she has a copy of the book and she could just send me what the last paragraph on page 164 of the book says? Or could you put up a post for me asking anyone who has the book if they could just post up the words of the last paragraph on page 164 for me, please?

I'd be very grateful.

Btw, the book isn't creepy - it's very romantic and touching. I don't think I came out right abt the stick figures - they are just little decorative figures made of twigs and leaves and whatever you can get on hand - christmas decorations. like reindeer etc. Just thought I'd let you know - becoz it's… read more »

HaBO: The Heroine was Post-Mastectomy

 Cyndi asked for some help finding a book wherein the heroine is a survivor of breast cancer. 

A while ago you had a post about novels with heroines who were breast cancer survivors. I read a book with such a heroine sometime in the early 2000's. Since your post I've been trolling the Internet fruitlessly trying to find the book. Hopefully one of your awesome readers can help :) This was one of the first romances I read that really struck s chord with me.

 

Here's what I remember...

HaBO: The Librarians are Stumped by the Horse Show Romance

Librarian Linda is looking for help with a book that a patron is seeking:

[O]ur library’s Book Hunters service had a recent “help me find a specific book” question that we are having trouble resolving.  You know how that drives librarians crazy!  We thought your readers might remember the scene our customer is referring to, because we’re stumped.

She read a book about 4 years ago that she thinks is a regency romance, although it could be historical.  It is set in England.  We have tried every source we can think of (Novelist, Google Books, Amazon, Stump the Bookseller, Google Search, etc.).  Her description:

HaBO: An 80s Mills & Boon in South Africa

Lizzie is looking for a Mills & Boon she read a while ago - with a really interesting setting! 

After unpacking a box of old Mills & Boons that had been in my mom's attic
for 20 years i didn't find a book that I don't remeber as being
particularly good but I remember so many key details that I'm keen to read
it again.

 

 

HaBO: Is That Your Tallywhacker?

 Inez Kelley sent me this inquiry, and it's hilarious. 

Through out school, my best friend and I swapped books like lovers swap spit and this one made us howl with laughter. I'd love to be able to track down a copy (ebay anyone?) and gift it to her after so many years. Strangely I remember a lot of details but no names, title or author. It was either a Harlequin or a Silhouette from the 1980's. It was the first we'd read that didn't feature a super wealthy hero and a gorgeous heroine. The heroine was bit ditzy and was looking for work. She was caring for two young children(her siblings maybe??)- a blossoming teen girl who had bigger boobs than the heroine and wanted mascara desperately and a cute little boy that is less memorable. The Hero owned a junkyard, was a widower/divorcee and had a little girl. His wife had cheated on him before she died/left.

HaBO: A Lost Family Saga

Vinca is seeking a book she read a long time ago, and it's not quite a romance, but holy smokey is it one hell of a plot summary. 

So a bit of backstory about this one.  I picked the book up from an
Irish nurse who I met while on a stopover/vacation in New Zealand
after a semester abroad in Australia.  While in Oz books were a
precious commodity for my classmates and I, especially during the last
couple months that were filled with camping and long, long bus rides.
We would trade them back and forth, often accompanied by long,
elaborate periods of bargaining ("Okay, so I'll give you the Beowulf
retelling in return for Even Cowgirls get the Blues and the really
cheesy scifi about time travel, aliens, and dinosaurs?"  "Throw in
Memoirs of an Erotic Bookseller and you've got a deal." etc.)  I
continued this practice once I got to New Zealand, trading books with
other travelers I met along the way.  The book I'm looking for I
… read more »

HaBO: Leprosy again!

Pat wrote in looking for a book she read a long time ago, and she's been looking for it since then:

I am looking for a title/book. I found your website through a "romance
novel leper highway man" search.

I thought it was "Rosamond" by Rosemary Somebody or other, but now I can't find the title or it anywhere. I read it
back in the 80's. 

HaBO Saturday! Has Bookpushers Looking for Romance

Has from Bookpushers is looking for a romance she read a long time ago:

This book has remained with me for a long time because it was such an unsual historical romance ever since I read it as a teen in the early 90s. I cant seem to remember the title or the author but I do remember the plot. It was a book that spans three generations of women with the story split into 3 parts and starts off just after the end of the US Civil war I think- and ends post WW2 in the US. The first half starts off with the 1st heroine losing out on her inheritance on a ranch/land and starts a big feud with the family that takes over. She hooks up with an outlaw who isn’t happy with the family also and they try to take back the ranch but fails. She ends up having a daughter with him but becomes very bitter about this feud and brings her up with the same feelings.

HaBO Saturday!

Janine emailed and asked for your help with a rather unique-sounding romance:

The recent BEJEWELED ELEPHANTS crazysauce review made me think of a
historical romance set in India that was actually…pretty good. I got it
years ago from a library paperback “take one-bring one” shelf and would
love to reread it—but of course I cannot come up with title, author, or
names of any of the characters.

HaBO: Back in the 80s

Tiffany is looking for this book she read a long, long time ago:

I have a HaBO that has been driving me nuts. In typical late 80s/90s
fashion, I don’t remember the book being particularly good, but it has just
stuck in my mind. And it WILL NOT LEAVE! It’s a contemporary that takes
place somewhere in the Midwest, if I recall correctly.

The hero hates models and women who are overly gorgeous. The heroine is a small town mousy girl
who left home and comes back all grown up. The hero likes how squeaky clean
and sweet she is and they start dating. The heroine continually gets teased
for being so plain. Ultimately, it comes out that she is actually one of the
top supermodels of the day. Shows what a little mascara can do for you! This
is one of the first romances I read and for nostalgia reasons I’d like to
go back to it—if only so I can finally forget about it. Please…HaBO!

I still think everyone remembers their first romance novel, and to some extend has a nostalgic love for… read more »