A Town Like Alice is a classic romance (among other things), by Nevil Shute. It was published in 1950, and reflects the bias and prejudices of its time, but it’s also a powerful book about a smart, tough, resourceful young woman. If you really want to go into this spoiler free, don’t read the plot synopsis below – but I’m not telling you anything you can’t deduce from the front and back covers of the … Continue reading A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute →
Mansfield Park is my least favorite of Jane Austen’s novels. For me, the story is overly moralistic and doesn’t necessarily translate well to a modern reader. But when I saw that the BBC had done a radio drama of the novel featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant in the cast, I knew I had to listen. Those men have two of the sexist voices in media, and I’d listen to them read the phone book. … Continue reading Mansfield Park: BBC Radio Drama →
Spy Fall is a crazy historical romance about a French paratrooper spy named Marie who crash lands on top of a drunken English Lord named Dunsmore. The story is insane but it’s a ton of fun, although the ending is a bit of a mess. The heroine of Spy Fall, Marie, is part of a family of balloonists — people who fly hot air balloons, although technically some are powered by hydrogen gas and others … Continue reading Spy Fall by Diana Quincy →
I’ve read at least one book by Tracy Anne Warren before – The Trouble With Princesses, which I rather enjoyed (but didn’t review). I did enjoy this book, but there were a few things that I needed to discuss. Ultimately, it works out in to a pleasant beach read (God I wish there were a beach here right now). Lord Leo Byron is the second-youngest son (of six- his twin is the youngest) of a … Continue reading The Bedding Proposal by Tracy Anne Warren →
I was really excited when I heard about Agnes Moor’s Wild Knight on Twitter because it’s a medieval novella featuring a heroine of color. I enjoyed the book, but it was just too short and I needed more to the story. Agnes Moor (or Agnes Black) is one of the “exotics” at King James IV and Margaret Tudor’s court. As a black woman, Agnes obviously stands out and is treated as an outsider. When the … Continue reading Agnes Moor’s Wild Knight by Alyssa Cole →
There’s been quite a few people asking for non-noble, non-titled heroes, and then Romain gives us a “non-titled, poorish Anglo-Indian” hero who is a little bit snarky and long suffering. This was delightful. Augusta Meredith is the heiress to a beauty products company, and she’s got more than two braincells to rub together, and she uses them to get her company board to do what she wants them to do, all while making them think … Continue reading Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress by Theresa Romain →
The minute I finished Lady Windermere’s Lover I picked up The Duke of Dark Desires because, OMG, Julian. Sometimes you find a book that is all your catnip and you roll around in it and rub your face all over it, and this was that book for me. This is probably all you need to know: dissolute, rakish duke + dispossessed noblewoman disguised as governess + stolen art + The French Revolution = ALL THE THINGS. The dissolute, roguish … Continue reading The Duke of Dark Desires by Miranda Neville →
Marian sent me an email that began: One thing I love about the new site design is that I discovered all the rants. That reminded me I’d written something similar, so I’ve attached my rant. The book was one of those you’d like to throw to the floor and jump up and down on, except for it being library property. So all you can do is write about it, and maybe share with someone who’ll … Continue reading Book Rant: Breathless by Anne Stuart Made Marian Angry →
I know why I started reading this book. I have a really scary pile of ARCs and this was one I wanted to read and then send it out in to the world. I like Henley and her habit of slathering on crazysauce sprinkles on top of the crazy sauce fondant covering the crazy sauce cake (Remember that time where the villain got choked to death by leeches? That was awesome). What I don’t know … Continue reading Lord Rakehell by Virginia Henley →
There was a tremendous amount of squee’ing here at the Bitchery when the eARC of Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover was released. Fans of MacLean, and of the Rules of Scoundrels series had been waiting for Chase’s story FOREVER and the big reveal at the end of No Good Duke Goes Unpunished made the waiting even WORSE. RedHeadedGirl and I dove right in. ATTENTION. SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST THREE BOOKS IN THE SERIES FOLLOW. … Continue reading Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean →
The story behind Mona Maclean, Medical Student is riveting. Alas, the book is not. While some Victorian novels have stood the test of time, Mona is quite clearly the product of a bygone age. As an ex-English major with an interest in history, I saw a potential paper topic on every page, but it did not make for entertaining reading. Mona was written by Margaret Georgiana Todd and first published in 1894 under the pseudonym … Continue reading Mona Maclean, Medical Student, by Margaret Georgiana Todd →
