May 14, 2013
Whew, I can now breathe a sigh of relief.

http://www.kaseymichaels.com/
Here's how my brain works.  I've been reading romance novels for a l-o-n-g time and I have multitudinous authors who I have read from the very beginning of their careers.  I have

become very loyal to these authors.  We have grown old together.  But, as we all know time marches on, my taste changes, their taste changes (or doesn't).  And, what happens?  I start losing interest in their books.  This makes me very sad, because these authors are like old friends.  What do I do when my favorite authors start to fade?  Well, my routine has always been to continue to buy their books, but just not read them and then one day I just stop buying them.  Ms. Michaels is/was one of those authors, one of my auto-buy authors and I was becoming concerned.  Her Romney Marsh series was not one of my favorites and her first book in the Redgrave series, What an Earl Wants, almost became a wallbanger for me.  So, it was with some trepidation that I began reading What a Lady Needs.  However, it didn't take me long to realize that Ms. Michaels was back at the top of her game.

I enjoyed What a Lady Needs, oh sure it's not perfect, but the couple in this story blended together really well.  Dare I use the term "adorable" when speaking of them?

I liked both Kate and Simon.  When we were first introduced to Kate in What an Earl Wants, I thought she had all the earmarks of a future TSTL heroine.  Even though she had those characteristics, those moments when she might run into a burning building or confront someone who was holding five guns.  You all know what I’m talking about; they usually happen right after the hero tells the heroine not to move.  Do not fear gentle readers, with Kate all those moments were believable and I found myself cheering her on.  Kate was a fun character, smart, loyal, tricky and usually one step ahead of the hero.  She was a force to be reckoned with and our charming hero Simon never had a chance.  Actually, from the moment Simon met her, he accepted his fate...although he didn't let her know right away.

For once in a romance we have a couple who worked together.  They were honest with each other, and even when Simon tried to hide something from Kate, it didn't do any good because she always found out.  She was one sharp woman and I just loved her.  This was also one time I was able to buy into the independence of a woman in a particular time period; Kate was authentic in her uniqueness.

There was a return of some characters from the first novel.  Trixie, Adam, Richard and Valentine all put in an appearance.  This time the secondary characters didn't overwhelm the story.  I do have to say that Adam was starting to get on my nerves.  He needed to be either funnier or maybe turn to the dark side.  Speaking of the dark side, we also had the return of the secret society, those people with flowers in their lapels.  There won’t be an end to the mystery of the secret society any time soon, even though their members were dropping like flies.  Maybe there won’t be anyone left or just maybe there will be only one person left and that person will be the “master”.  Anyway, unlike the last book, the secret society did not overwhelm the story and neither did the sex.  In fact, if you blink in this book you might miss it.

Overall, I found What a Lady Needs to be a vast improvement over the last Redgrave story.  Kate and Simon just may be my favorite romance couple this year.  And, I won't be saying goodbye to Ms. Michaels any time soon.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality:  Sensual but don't blink

Beauty and the Blacksmith by Tessa Dare

May 14, 2013
Welcome back to Spindle Cove

http://tessadare.com/
The Spindle Cove series is one of the best series' around currently.  I don't think I've enjoyed a continual storyline quite so much since Julia Quinn's Bridgerton family flew in.  However, I

did have a problem with Tessa Dare's latest, Beauty and the Blacksmith.  That problem was the length of the story.  Much to my disappointment, Beauty and the Blacksmith was published as a novella aka short story, so there wasn't much in the way of rich narrative.  And, that's too bad because this story just screams for more details. 

You see, we have an unlikely couple pairing - one between the beautiful aristocrat Diana Highwood and the local blacksmith Adam Dawes.  I found the pairing of these two from totally different classes very intriguing.  However, there just wasn't enough time allotted in this book to make their relationship work (without a very big stretch of the imagination, that is).

The set up for Adam and Diana's romance was pretty funny.  When the story begins, Adam was hammering away on some of Diana's broken jewelry.  He was shirtless and sweaty and muscle-ly and Diana was discretely drooling.  You see, this wasn't the first time Adam had to fix one of Diana's jewels.  She'd been secretly breaking them just so she could hang around ye ol' anvil and feast her eyes on all that manliness.  I do have to say that Adam was drool worthy - he was one hot blacksmith.  The chemistry between Diana and Adam fairly steams off the pages.  Both characters are great, but their story really needed to be longer.  There wasn't enough of this tale to make it really outstanding.

Overall, Beauty and the Blacksmith makes a nice addition to the Spindle Cove series, it just wasn't as special as I wanted for the characters of Diana and Adam.

Time/Place:  Spindle Cove 1800s
Sensuality: Hot

Where the Bodies are Buried by Chris Brookmyre

May 7, 2013
Who'd have thunk English had so many variables.

I don't know whether it is an advantage that I've never read a Brookmyre novel before or

not, so, I'm starting out fresh with Where the Bodies are Buried by Chris Brookmyre.  This is the first book in the crime series involving the characters of Catherine McLeod and Jasmine Sharp.  McLeod is in the police force of Glasgow Scotland and Jasmine is a out of work actress who is also a wet-behind-the-ears private eye.

This was an interesting read; some parts grabbed me and some parts frustrated me.  From the very beginning we are buried in murder and mayhem.  There are two parallel stories going on at once, McLeod's and Sharp's.  And Brookmyre seems to have a talent for connecting unlikely dots.  There were a gazillion mysteries and none of them seemed to be related to each other, but in the end they were all woven together...and there is even a surprise ending.  I had no idea it was coming, and I wanted to go back and reread just so I could find all the clues that were set out for me.  However, I didn't because I have other books staring at me and calling my name.

There were parts of this book that were exciting, and moved at a pretty fast clip.  However, there were parts that slowed down to a snail's pace and I had to force myself to continue reading.  I liked both the main characters, although I thought the Jasmine character was a little young to be doing what she was doing.  But then, she didn't do it very well, so maybe that was all right.  The thing I liked about her was that she wasn't the most secure person around, which I found both irritating and fun.  It was probably a good idea for Brookmyre to make her not quite so savvy when it came to being an investigator; which leaves a lot of room for development in future books.

The other character, Catherine McLeod, is more mature, more wise to the ways of the world, and made a great contrast to Jasmine.  However, they didn't really meet until the last part of the book.  I hope in future books, they are together more. I'd like to see how they play off of each other.

Now, on to getting lost in the book.  When I watch foreign films I always watch with subtitles so I can understand what's being said.  There were times in this book I wished I had subtitles to translate for me what just came out of some character's mouth.  You see, this takes place in Scotland, so there were plenty of aboots, cannae, and ye ken's around.  However, on top of the Scottish brogue is an abundance of what I can only assume is underworld Scottish slang, although the police were saying it too.  The dialogue, while it added color/colour to the book, also slowed me down.  I'm not saying the author should go back and change it to my kind of English, I'm just saying my brain had a hard time translating.  There was also a wee matter of remembering who was who. I got lost trying to remember which background character did this and which did that, which one was a criminal and which was a cop, which one is a good cop and which was a bad cop, who is the head of what crime family, who is looking for whom...and they're all speaking Scottish or Scot-English or Scottish cant or English cant.  I did have to chuckle a few times because I found myself getting frustrated with trying to keep track of all the talking people.

And, after that whine, I have to say for a crime story it was pretty good, I didn't figure out who it was...that might be because I couldn't keep track of everyone.  And, I love the surprise at the end of the book.  I will be reading the next in the series and hoping that the slang doesn't swallow me up.  I am interested in following Jasmine and Catherine.

Time/Place: Present day Scotland
Sensuality: Kiss
Violence: Graphic

A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara

May 1, 2013

Come in out of the rain!!!  Puleese!

http://ashlynmacnamara.net/
I've never been a big fan of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.  I always found the second sister to be rather irritating, in fact a lot of Jane Austen characters irritate me.  All that silly catching-colds-because-they-were-in-the-rain business sometimes can be annoying.  Ashlyn Macnamara's debut novel, A Most Scandalous Proposal, has a bit of a Sense and Sensibility flavor about it (although there wasn't any rain-cold illness).  We are led to believe that the main romance in A Most Scandalous Proposal is the between Julia and Benedict, however the romance between Julia's sister, Sophia, and Rufus was given almost as much exposure.  When the author chose to combine the St. Claire sisters' love story into one book, the formulating of any in-depth character development was stymied.  What could have been a great romance turned out to be a tolerable read.

I liked the male leads in this story, especially the considerate, wise Rufus who falls for the annoying if-there-was-a-downpour-I'd-stand-in-it Sophia.  Sophia is the secondary female, and has been in luv with the pseudo villain of the piece, Clivesden.  This infatuation can only be based on good looks, cause this guy is a real whanker...how anyone could love this smirking rotter is beyond me.   And it took the exasperating Sophia forever to discover how wonderful Rufus was and drop Clivesden.  Rufus was a missed opportunity for some great character development.  There are things that are hinted at from his past, but we are never really given the chance to see what they are.  I wanted to see what Rufus was all about. 

The other romance in the book is between childhood friends Julia and Benedict.  I do like stories of childhood friends who discover at some point that they are in love with each other.  Once again, because the two stories were bouncing back and forth, Julia and Benedict were not fully developed.  I have to say I didn't care for Julia that much either.  She happens to be one of those heroines who is never going to marry for love.  Not her!  She's not going to fall in love, even if someone loves her back.  Even if that someone would do anything for her.  Julia was too stubborn...too hard and I really couldn't sympathize with her boo-hooing routine.  She will never, ever love the person she marries...wha, wha.  I wasn't actually sure why, although I believe it had to do with her atrocious parents.  And, by the way, her parents really deserve the Mommie Dearest award. 

The other problem I had with this story was the construction.  There were diffidently two stories, which doesn't bother me if those stories are put together well.  These stories had a jolting quality. They were abrupt in the way they went back and forth between the two sisters.  There just wasn't any smooth blending.  

And then there were the mean people.  This book was full of mean, nasty people who I think were supposed to be funny.  However, for me they all seemed to be bullies.

A Most Scandalous Proposal had all the ear marks of a could-have-been-great romance, if only more time
had been spent developing the characters.  And, because of the could have been, I'm not ready to give up on this particular author.  I will be checking out her next book and hope that there is only one couple to keep an eye on. 

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Hot

So behind...

I just returned from a vacation visiting relative in the east...It was great...loved every bit of it!!!  But, now I must get caught up. 

And, by the way, we went through Niagara Falls on the way and turned into typical tourists.  You may not believe this, but I did do some whining about the little jaunt to the Falls.  However, I was talked into getting on the Maid of the Mist...OMG...what an exhilarating 10 or so minutes.  So, if you ever find yourself near the Falls, you must get on one of those scary looking boats with the life-jackets that are locked up and join the rest of the tourists.  Once you get past the gazillion sea gulls, I promise you, it is a ride you will remember. 

On My Radar May 15 to June 14, 2013

April 23, 2013
Lecia Cornwall
http://www.leciacornwall.com/

The Secret Life of Lady Julia
Sequel to How to Deceive a Duke
Release date May 28, 2013
9780062202451

Tessa Dare
http://tessadare.com/
 
Any Duchess Will Do
Spindle Cove series
Release date May 28, 2013
9780062240125  

Olivia Drake
http://oliviadrake.com/

Stroke of Midnight
Cinderella Sisterhood
Release date June 4, 2013
9781250002099  

Tammy Falkner aka Lydia Dare
http://tammyfalkner.wordpress.com/
 
The Magic of "I Do"
Fae series
Release date June 4, 2013
9781402268151 

Karen Hawkins
http://www.karenhawkins.com/
 
How to Pursue a Princess
Duchess Diaries series 
Release date May 21, 2013
9781451685206

Eloisa James
http://www.eloisajames.com/
 
Once Upon a Tower
Fairy Tale series 
Release date May 28, 2013
9780062223876 

Courtney Milan
http://www.courtneymilan.com/
 
The Heiress Effect
Brother Sinister series
Release date: 
Some time between May and August

Connie Mason and Mia Marlowe 
http://miamarlowe.com/index.php
http://www.conniemason.com/

One Night with a Rake ebook
Royal Rake series
Release date, June 4, 2013
9781402272448

Michele Sinclair
http://www.michelesinclair.com/
 
Seducing the Highlander
The McTiernay series 
Release date, June 4, 2013
9781420126518 





For a more complete list of upcoming titles see Hey Delia!!

Sweet Madness by Heather Snow

April 19, 2013
Would Elizabeth Bennet have done that?

http://www.heathersnowbooks.com/
The Sweetest Madness was problematic for me.  While the writing by Heather Snow was what one comes to expect from Ms. Snow, I had a hard time thinking of this as an historical specific to the Regency time period.  I don't think I would have had as much of a problem with this story if it had been set in maybe the Edwardian time period; in fact it would have been quite lovely.

The characters of Gabriel and Penelope are likeable and well-developed.  They even make a great couple.  They are the kind of couple I like: they are honest with each other, they talk to one another, and they are friends.  Although, I do have to say Gabriel's attraction to Penelope at times bordered on stalker material and I didn't quite get why he was attracted to her.  Oh sure, she was effervescent, but that's all she was, at least in the beginning.  For me there just wasn't anything behind her shining eyes.  After her husband dies and she is once again thrown in with Gabriel, I still didn't see anything other than friendship (at least on her part.)  Sometimes when you read a romance the sexual tension between the couple fairly burns the pages, but in this case it seemed to me it was more of being told Gabriel found Penelope exciting but I didn't really feel that fizz.  I never did figure out what was lacking, except maybe it was Penelope's obliviousness to Gabriel's drooling pulsations. 

As I said before, Penelope and Gabriel made great friends and Penelope's desire to help Gabriel was extraordinary, dare I say Super Woman Stupendous.  She even goes so far as to kidnap him to save him.  You see, he has developed a psychological problem due to being in the war and he is about to be committed to an asylum.  So, phenomenal Penelope conceives a stretch of the imagination romance kidnapping scheme and tricks him into leaving with her.  Then the astounding Penelope hides Gabriel in the country so she can cure him.  I have to ask, really?  I don't think Elizabeth Bennet would do that.  Oh, maybe Elizabeth would try to get help from a man, maybe her uncle, but Ms. Bennet would not go traipsing off into the country and then think that she could actually cure someone with a mental disorder.  Although, she might just utter a smarmy comment or two. 

Back to the astounding Penelope.  While we are talking about the carriage ride to sanctuary, I have to confess I had a icky ewwww moment.  We have are first kiss between Penelope and Gabriel in that carriage.  You know I've read all sorts of first kiss scenarios over the years and some of them really are ridiculous in the setup, but this one I had a little bit of an adverse reaction to.  As our couple are bouncing along the country road to refuge, Gabriel starts having one of his episodes and what is Doctor Penelope's solution to his dilemma?  Why to kiss him, of course.  This scene actually bothered me quite a lot, there were all kinds of ethical boundaries crossed just so we could have a kiss.  If I had been asked, which I wasn't, I would have suggested not having that moment used as the first kiss.

On to another difficulty I had with this book - the astounding Penelope's understanding of psychological problems, in this case battle fatigue/exhaustion (which, by the way, was a term used in WWII and before that it was shell shock in WWI.  In the Civil War [U.S.] the term used was "irritable heart," sometimes Da Costa's syndrome.  It actually wasn't until WWI that shell shock/battle fatigue/exhaustion was recognized as something other than cowardice.)  So, every time I saw the word pop up in the book I was thrown out of the story.  And, while there were some people around who might have been enlightened enough to recognize the psychological problems that happen when you fight in battle, I don't think there would have been enough research on mental disorders around for Penelope to be so wise.  We are talking about a time period where one of the medical treatments was bleeding someone to release humors (not the funny ones).  The medical profession at this time is one of the reasons I would not time travel to meet Mr. Darcy.  Anyway, while I appreciate Ms. Snow's attempt to bring a refreshing change to the Regency landscape, I would have liked it better if the story had been set at a later time period.

And, one last moment of being thrown out of the book: if you are hiding out in the country, you don't want anyone to find you, you are trying to heal your friend, why do you go to a dress-up party?  Oh sure, Penelope wanted to see if her "cure" had worked, but couldn't you have dressed up in servants' outfits and gone to a crowded fair?

Now, having said all that I have to say if this couple had been placed in a later time period the whole story would have worked better for me.  They were a lovely couple; they were friends and there was an enormous amount of trust on both sides. I just wish I hadn't been propelled out of the book so many times. There were too many things that were a stretch for me and that's too bad because I really did like Super Penelope and her sidekick Gabriel the torch-bearer. 

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Hot