Ever hear a song, and then hear the remix, and the remix is SO MUCH BETTER you wonder why folks didn’t do that with the song the first time around? That’s pretty much a clunky parallel to how I feel about gothic romance. Old Skool gothic romance? Terror-laden women in floaty nightgowns running from unknown or known villains, and usually trapped or ensconced in a castle that’s drippy, damp, and altogether creepy. Mix in subtle … Continue reading Castle of the Wolf by Sandra Schwab →
Ingredients: 1 aristocratic female, used once and discarded 1 scientifically-minded, commitment-phobic male 1 heartless rake 1 doting stepmama 1 doting father, adorably clueless 1 daunting, autocratic father 1 rival for heroine’s affections in the form of a tall, dark and handsome colonel 1 secret baby 2 tablespoons matchmaking efforts 1-1/2 cups unlikely coincidence 1 large stick romantic tension 1 cup witty banter 3 gallons guilt and self-recrimination 2 cups unlikely ending 1 giant red bow, … Continue reading Not Quite a Lady by Loretta Chase →
Candy sent me this book in a box full of other books with the warning, “I’m sending you this because you have to read it. I can’t.” If Candy can’t bring herself to read it, I’m in such deep trouble. And yup, this book pretty much irritated the shit out of me right from the get-go. Calantha, Duchess of Clairborne is the reclusive and quiet widow of what had to have been a right bastard … Continue reading Take Me by Lucy Monroe →
Yo. Bitch. Why is it such a challenge for you to write this review? A few reasons, but mostly because I’m having a hard time balancing my thoughts on the reaction to the story, and the story itself. Jeez. Whiny bitch, much? Well, yes. And also, bite me. If I had to line up my first reactions to this book, which has been discussed much everywhere and by many (and by some who haven’t read … Continue reading Claiming the Courtesan, by Anna Campbell →
Sarah, pages 1-30 of Devil’s Cub: Man, someone is going to march to Jersey and fly my ass on a skillet when I review this and say that I didn’t like it. But holy crap this thing is starting out SLOW. I can appreciate the use of ancillary characters to develop the plot and reveal the backstory through their own gossip and conversation at a ball, but Lord. Move ON already. Sarah, pages 30-end of … Continue reading Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer →
I’ll admit: I’m a sucker for royalty stories, on-the-road romance, secret identities, and secret babies. No, wait, not that last one. But definitely the first three. The Prince Kidnaps a Bride is the third book in a trilogy centered on Prince Rainger’s search for the three lost princesses of Beaumontagne, a kingdom in the Pyrenees. Jumping into a trilogy with the third book is never easy or advisable, but while I do appreciate a larger, … Continue reading The Prince Kidnaps a Bride, by Christina Dodd →
When I first wrote down my notes to review this book, I had downgraded it to a C- and mentally subtitled it, “A Review that Will Make Candy Stomp Her Foot at Me.” But since it was a Candy-recommended read, and because I know she enjoys a book that she can ruminate over for a good while, I figured I should let the plot simmer in the back of my mind for awhile and come … Continue reading Lucien’s Fall by Barbara Samuel →
An unconventional, independent boy whose melodramatic parents don’t understand him is raised mostly by his uncle, meets a hare-brained girl from a disreputable family, becomes friends with her and ends up accompanying her on a half-baked scheme to recover some family treasure. Oh, and somewhere along the way, his uncle and her mother fall in love. Fine, I’m lying. Lord Perfect isn’t a historical YA novel. But I wish it had been. Peregrine, the straitlaced, … Continue reading Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase →
It Happened One Autumn in seven sentences and one acronym: Sassy American heiress meets high-in-the-instep English earl. Sassy American heiress immediately rubs high-in-the-instep English earl the wrong way. Sassy American heiress gets to rub high-in-the-instep English earl the right way, grrrwoof. Sassy American heiress snipes and spars some more with high-in-the-instep English earl. Sassy American heiress rubs high-in-the-instep English earl again. Rinse and repeat until marriage proposal. Impecunious aristo buddy of the high-in-the-instep English earl … Continue reading It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas →
I swear I’ve read Suddenly You before. I even think it was on my BnF queue and I had it in the house. I remember seeing the cover on my foyer table, in the old house. But did I remember the plot? Not at all. Which is odd; usually I can remember a Kleypas plot. She’s one of my solid-B writers, an author whose books are usually replete with good dialogue and interesting plots or … Continue reading Suddenly You, by Lisa Kleypas →
Colonel Moncrief of the Lowland Scots Fusiliers is in a ticklish situation. One of his captains, Harry Dunnan, refuses to write to his wife, and this has her so worried that she has resorted to writing him to find out if her husband is alive and well. The problem is, Harry Dunnan doesn’t give a rip about his wife (or other men’s wives, or honor, or honesty, or his horse, or other people’s lives—yes, he’s … Continue reading Till Next We Meet by Karen Ranney →
