Wednesday

The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie, the AAR Project Begins

March 28, 2018
Things are looking up. 
 
So, as an experiment, I have to say my All About Romance project is working. Of course, this is only the first book in the project.

The Perfect Rake written by Anne Gracie in 2005 was a delightful story. It is the first in the Merridew Sisters series. Over the years I have read Anne Gracie off and on, but she is not one of my auto buy authors. Lucky for me The Perfect Rake was one I had missed. I smiled almost all the way through the book thanks to our delightful hero and heroine, Gideon and Prudence.

You know how occasionally I have ranted about Jerry Lewis comedy. The kind of comedy that never stops; it goes on and on until it’s no longer funny. Well The Perfect Rake could have done that, but it didn’t. While the comedic part of this book was close to being outrageously farcical, Ms. Gracie knew when to stop and let some poignancy flow in.

The plot – sort of. Prudence is the oldest of the Merridew sisters; there are five all together. They are living with their horrible, abusive, maniac, grandfather. Their lives have been utterly miserable. Over the years all of them have suffered at the hands of this guy. He has a problem with red-heads and left-handed women. He also has a problem with beautiful women. In fact, he just has a lot of problems. When the story opens he is beating the youngest sister. Prudence races in to rescue her sister. Her grandfather turns his ire on her and chases her down the steps. In so doing, their grandfather falls down the stairs becoming incapacitated.  At least for about six weeks. Then the story turns from this depressing scene and we are reintroduced to a different Prudence. 


This Prudence has lots of ideas; most of them require a lot of subterfuge. She and her sisters concoct a plan in which one of them gets married and then saves the rest. Part of the plan requires that they run off to London and lie to their Great Uncle Oswald. Oswald is the kind-hearted brother of their grandfather. Prudence then invents an engagement between herself and the Duke of Dinstable. Well, Uncle Oswald is upset with Dinstable because he thinks Dinstable has taken advantage of Prudence. Oswald decides to confront Dinstable. Panicking, Prudence races out of the house, runs to Dinstable’s house, burst into the place and tries to warn the handsome man who is sitting behind a desk. She immediately starts yammering out the story she made up to the man who seems to be taking it all in. She is encouraged that the Duke is taking it so well. Unbeknownst to her the handsome man is not the Duke but his cousin, Gideon.  This whole scene between Gideon, Prudence, Oswald and the real Duke was a whole lot of fun. It raised the bar for the rest of the book and the momentum carried me through the pages. Was Ms. Gracie able to sustain the momentum? Mostly. Let’s take a closer look.

Gideon. I loved Gideon. When he was on the page, the book sparkled. He was funny, irreverent, arrogant, and obnoxious. He always had a comeback. Did he occasionally misunderstand things? Yes. But, even his misunderstandings were delightful. But, he wasn’t just a clown. He was also a caring guy and he hid a childhood which had some dark secrets. I cannot say too much more about Gideon without over gushing, but what a great character!

Prudence. I’m undecided when it comes to Prudence. For me, she seemed as if she were two people. When she was on the pages with Gideon, she was this strong, witty woman who found Gideon irritating but who had no trouble putting him in his place. The funny strong Prudence I liked a lot. But there were two sides to Prudence. Spoilers. The Boo-Hoo Prudence remained loyal to her slug of a fiancĂ© for four long years. This guy took advantage of her when she was just sixteen, and left her pregnant to face her maniac grandfather. Promises are promises - I get it! How she could hold onto a dream of a life with that slug was beyond me. And, her obstinacy with this issue was out of character with the funny Prudence, the one who matched wits with Gideon. These two sides of Prudence’s did not match.


I was also a little disturbed with a final melodramatic scene with the crazy grandfather. He kidnaps Prudence, ties her up, and starts to beat her. My funny Prudence should not have been tied, she should not have been victimized. The Prudence who sparred with Gideon would have been able to yank the whip out of the old man’s hands and smack him with it. I’m saying all of this because the Prudence who is irritated by Gideon deserved a better direction at the end of the book than the one Ms. Gracie gave her. The irritated Prudence, the one who I was so fond of, didn’t need Gideon to save her. My favorite Prudence would have been allowed to save herself, and that is the one issue I had with this book.

Overall. I truly enjoyed this story, there were parts of this book which were filled with some pretty remarkable writing. Ms. Gracie knows how to write humor and then make it wonderfully poignant. Gideon was a wonderful hero and his scenes with Prudence were full of vitality. The comedy was not over the top. Where the book didn’t work so much for me was when Prudence became a victim. I didn’t think it was necessary to make her into one. Having said that, I do recommend The Perfect Rake.


Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
 

Monday

Holy Cannoli!!! Time is Flying By! Upcoming Historical Releases are Just Around the Corner

Authors with an asterisk*, I'm picking up! For more Upcoming Releases that aren't historical see HEY DELIA!! April 15, 2018 to May 14, 2018. By the way, it is not my fault if a publisher changes the release dates - just so you know, they do not consult me.
Historical Romance
Cathy Maxwell,*
http://cathymaxwell.com/
A Match Made in Bed
The Spinster Heiresses series
April 17

Carol Townend
http://www.caroltownend.co.uk
The Knight’s Forbidden Princess
Princesses of the Alhambra, series
Paperback - April 17, Ebook, May 1

Cici Cordelia aka Char Chaffin and Cheryl Yeko
https://ccromance.com/
The Substitute Wife
Brides of Little Creede
May 9

Cooper Davis
http://www.cooperdavisbooks.com/
A Gentleman Revealed, m/m
Lords of Avenleigh
April 17

Ida Curtis
https://www.idacurtis.org/
Song of Isabel
April, 17

Janice Preston
https://janicepreston.co.uk/
Lady Cecily and the Mysterious Mr. Gray
The Beauchamp Betrothals
Paperback - April 17, Ebook - May 1

Janna MacGregor
http://www.JannaMacGregor.com/
The Luck of the Bride
The Cavensham Heiresses series
May 1

Joanne Shupe
http://www.joannashupe.com/
A Scandalous Deal
The Four Hundred Series
April 24

Laura Martin
https://lauramartinromance.com/
An Earl to Save Her Reputation
Paperback - April 17, Ebook - May 1

Courtney Milan*
http://www.courtneymilan.com/
After the Wedding
Worth Saga series
April 24 - ebook (Courtney Milan date)

Leigh Greenwood
http://www.leigh-greenwood.com/
Born to Love
Night Riders series
May 1

Lisa Berne
http://www.LisaBerne.com
The Bride Takes a Groom
The Penhallow Dynasty series
April 28

Madeline Hunter*
http://www.madelinehunter.com/
A Devil of a Duke
Decadent Dukes Society series
April 24

Mary Balogh*
http://www.marybalogh.com
Someone to Care
A Westcott Novel series
May 1

Sophia James
http://sophiajames.com
A Night of Secret Surrender
Gentlemen of Honor series
Paperback - April 17, Ebook - May 1

Stephanie Laurens
http://www.stephanielaurens.com/
The Designs of Lord Randolph Cavanaugh,
The Cavanaughs series
April 24

Tatiana March
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2344429.Tatiana_March
The Outlaw and the Runaway
Paperback - April 17, 2018, Ebook - May 1

Theresa Romain
http://theresaromain.com
Lady Rogue
Royal Rewards series
April 24

Valerie Bowman
http://www.ValerieBowmanBooks.com
A Duke Like No Other
Playful Brides series
May 1
Virginia Heath
http://www.virginiaheathromance.com
A Warriner to Seduce Her
The Wild Warriners series
Paperback, April 17, Ebook - May 1
Historical Fiction

Amanda Skenandore
http://www.amandaskenandore.com/
Between Earth and Sky
April 24

Genevieve Graham
http://www.GenevieveGraham.com
Come from Away
April 24

Paula McLain
http://www.paulamclain.com
Love and Ruin
May 1
Rahna Reiko Rizzuto
http://www.rahnareikorizzuto.com
Shadow Child
May 8

Friday

All About Romance aka AAR Project

March 23, 2018
Ah, those brainstorms. Yes, I had a brainstorm which might help with my reading slump. I'm a big fan of the website All About Romance - have been for years. I even contribute to that big old end of the year list. So, I know they have lots and lots of lists on their website. They have lots and lots of different kinds of lists. You have to do some hunting, but listed under their Annual Readers Poll are some gems. So, I went into their "Favorite Books by Favorite Authors" and did some shopping. Do I care that these lists haven't been updated since 2009? For my purposes - no. After perusing, I have picked a nice little selection of old books to get me through. Some I've read, some I have not. But I am excited.

First one up: The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie - 2005. Even though I am not finished with this one, things are looking up - I just laughed out loud. That's always a good sign.

Thursday

From Governess to Countess by Marguerite Kaye

March 22, 2018
Onward

http://www.margueritekaye.com/

Marguerite Kaye's series Made in Scandal takes us on a journey to St. Petersburg, Russia in From Governess to Countess. And, that's all right by me. A change of scenery is sometimes beneficial, especially if you are given the words that take you there. While I applaud Ms. Kaye's attempt to entice by moving the scenery to a different climate, I didn't think it necessarily worked. For me, it might as well have been located in a cold England. While all the historical "stuff" which I identify with Russia in the 1800s was there, the ambience of the place didn't come alive for me. Maybe my problem is I've read an awfully lot of non-fiction books about historical Russia. I'm very much aware of just how horrible Russian nobility was. The elite of Russian society would have been a hard path to maneuver through. Especially if you were a governess. Which is what our heroine Allison Galbraith is. You know, a mind, which is distracted while reading can be a terrible thing. I was immediately disturbed with the scene in the beginning of the book. In that scene our hero, Count Aleksei Derevenko, takes his governess, Allison, to an aristocratic party and introduces her around, as a guest. I found it hard to believe that a lowly governess would even be allowed to cross through the doors of any palace in Russia, especially as a guest. When it comes to Romanceland, there are a lot of things I will gloss over, or even come to accept if the writing interest me. For me, this scene became a big blinking red light flashing before my eyes. But I continued, even though I don't think a governess would have been allowed on the dance floor - I persevered. Even though I knew in about 100 years the society these people belonged to would disappear under a barrage of bullets - I persevered. You see, I had to finish some kind of book in 2018.

Here’s the plot. Allison Galbraith is an herbalist who has been disgraced in England. She is given another chance by a mysterious woman calling herself “The Procurer”.  Allison is packed off to Russia to help Count Aleksei with his orphaned nieces and nephew. She will pretend to be a governess while all the time helping Aleksei solve the murder of his brother and sister-in-law. Aleksei must have a foreign herbalist because he cannot trust any Russian. So, this story has a romance, two murders, three resentful children, the decadent court of Alexander I, and a boatload of suspects for us to shift through. Even though it had all the ingredients to make a good story, for me there just wasn’t any spark.

First the romance between Allison and Aleksei lacked chemistry. Oh sure, they fell instantly in-lust, but I wouldn’t have realized that if I hadn’t been told that they were hot for each other. There wasn’t any fire. The three children were introduced later in the book than I expected. They were pretty flat; there wasn’t any chemistry between Allison and the children – good or bad. They start out resenting her, we are told - then they don’t. This is a case where the children in the book do not steal the show. Then there are the murders to be solved. What can I say about the murder/mystery? No thrill, no suspense, then it is solved solved.

Tours. I guess because this book takes place in Imperial Russia, we are given guided tours of the place. We get to look at room, after room of over-indulgence. Even though everything is described in detail, there was a lack of life brought to these settings. Sometimes when I read a book I can actually feel the place, smell it, and hear all the sounds floating around. I couldn’t find any ambience of a place in this story.

While I finished this story, sad to say it was hard to do so. I didn’t find any of the characters in the tale exciting and what should have been a colorful setting turned out to be just gray. Big disappointment, I was hoping for something to pull be out of my slump.
 

Time/Place: Russia during Alexander I early reign
Sensuality: Flat

Tuesday

March 14, 2018
DNF vs Return to TBR
If you are wondering why I haven't done too many reviews lately, I'll tell you. It's not that I haven't read any books. Far from it. It's just that I have been setting aside the ones I've started for a variety of reasons. So, are these DNF books or are they return to TBR books? I don't know, yet. Only time will tell if I return to the following books. 




From Duke to Dawn by Eva Leigh. The story of lost love started out promising. Then it turned into a pickpocket-secret-identity story which takes place inside of a gambling establishment. Too much angst for me to think about. Got to page 59.

Bedchamber Games by Tracy Warren. Woman disguised as a man story, made it to page 19.

The Trouble with True Love by Laura Lee Guhrke. You know, I love Ms. Guhrke. She's one of my auto-buys. However when I stumbled across the words "no-win" I was totally thrown out of this story. This takes place sometime in the Victorian era; there are telegrams and trains, etc. So we are getting close to modern time and I know slang was used in all time periods. But there was just something about the term "no-win" that stopped me and made me turn to ye' olde' dictionary. The term "no-win" first showed up in American English language in the 1960s. At least according to my dictionary. But, I continued reading until I arrived at page 61. On this page our hero has a fading black eye injury which he is looking at in a mirror. He comments to his valet that it makes him look like an Apache. Once again I was stopped by a plethora of questions running through my head. First of all, how would he know what an Apache looks like? Was he out west or did he see them in a movie? Wait a minute, movies weren't around yet. Maybe he saw a photograph taken by Edward Curtis, but since I don't know the date of this story I don't know if that is possible. While Edward Curtis took a couple of photographs in 1895, it wasn't until 1906 that he started his giant photographic project of taking photographs of Native Americans. So, I doubt he would have seen any photographs. In what way is the black/purple eye like an Apache? I was flummoxed; thrown out of the story and had to check that a veteran author was indeed the writer. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't Apache be capitalized? It wasn't. I made it to page 61.

The Rogue is Back in Town by Anna Bennett.I became annoyed with the heroine who is trying to save her family allllll on her own. Stopped at page 30.

My Once and Future Duke
by Caroline Linden. Aakkk! Another gambling den! Made it to page 44, which made me sad because I was looking forward to this book.

Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas. It pains me to say this, but I was so underwhelmed by the latest by Lisa Kleypas I could not go on. This made me sad because Ms. Kleypas is one of my favorites. But I could just not connect with the hero and heroine. Page 75.

Devil in Tartan by Julia London. A supposedly smart hero whose brain dissolves at the sight of a female chest. Stopped at page 17.

A Devil in Scotland by Suzanne Enoch. I was very distracted by the heroine marrying her dead husband’s brother. Granted I know nothing about Scottish marriage laws. I know that Scotland was a lot different from England when it came to marriages, and maybe in Scotland one could marry a brother's wife. But there wasn't anything in the book that let me know that, and I spent way tooooo much time trying to find the answer. I wish Ms. Enoch had stated the laws in the beginning of the book or made the brothers cousins. I still don't know what this marriage would have been called in Scotland. I also ended up trying to read Canon law - it wasn't pretty. Besides that, the hero was a real bonehead. Made it to page 71.


So as you can see, I'm really trying. If only others would cooperate.

Monday

A Duke in the Night by Kelly Bowen

March 12, 2018
You call it coincidence, I call it circular.

http://www.kellybowen.net/

Kelly Bowen is really blooming into a very good writer. In A Duke in the Night, the first book in the Devils of Dover series, we have August Faulkner, the Duke of Holloway and Clara
Hayward. Usually I focus on the heroes in the book. But in this one, even though I loved the way August Faulkner was written, Clara Hayward stole the show. What a wonderfully drawn heroine. The writing of her character was very subtle, very understated; and yet she proved to be very strong, again and again. I loved Clara, she will join my list of memorable women characters. Watching August and Clara play off of each other was quite captivating.

August is controlling. He has his reasons for that control. You see, his father was in debtors prison. He and his sister, Anne, had quite a struggle surviving when they were young. Now he is a Duke and has accumulated great wealth over the years. He buys out failing businesses, takes them apart, and then puts them back together in ways which work. He is brilliant when it comes to business, but sometimes he misses the effect his restructuring of businesses has on the people involved. His way is the right way, which is why he cannot understand why his sister Anne is so very unhappy. He gives her everything any woman would be happy with: clothes, jewels, etc. He has her life all planned out for her. So, he is blindsided when she sort of runs away to the Haverhall School for Young Ladies. I say sort of because she does leave behind a “don’t worry about me” note – which as anyone with parenting experience knows doesn’t work. Haverhall School for Young Ladies is owned by Clara Hayward.

Everything is circular. Once upon a time Clara Hayward was a young, wealthy, wallflower. Men would avoid her at all costs. She didn’t fit in with the rest of the flibbertigibbets. Why? Well, it would seem that a young Clara was extremely intelligent and most men were not looking for someone who was smarter than they could ever hope to be. One evening while Clara was being a wallflower at a dance, a very young August asked her to dance. While Clara may have been young, she didn’t just get off the boat yesterday. She only has to look across the dance floor to see a group of sniggering young men and realize that August’s asking is a set-up. Yes, he only asks her to dance on a dare. Even though she knows she is being mocked, she accepts his dance anyway. It isn’t long into the dance that Clara is holding the upper-hand. It is a dance which neither August nor Clara will forget.

Fast forward 10 years. August is now a wealthy Duke. He’s a powerful, ruthless, business man. He is interested in buying the Strathmore shipping company. The Strathmore shipping company is on its last legs, just the kind of thing August loves to take apart and rebuild. Now it just so happens that the shipping company is owned by Clara’s brother. Clara and her sister will do anything to help their brother save the family shipping company. Clara has sold her beloved school and property to help keep her brother afloat (so to speak). In his never ending quest to own the world, August has purchased Clara’s school. This is before he finds out that his sister has skedaddled off to Clara’s Haverhill School for Young Ladies. But he has developed a plan. Ah, nothing better than a hero with a plan. He plans on bringing his sister back and while he’s at it he will also persuade Clara to introduce him to her brother. Once the introductions are done, it will be very easy for August to buy the company. Poor August.  August is in way over his head in his dealing with Clara; he also is very much out of touch with his sister. While Clara may not know all of August’s dealings, especially the part about who owns the school, she doesn’t let August get away with a whole lot in this story. As I said before, Clara is a strong woman, she is the dominating character in this story. She is a very liberated, comfortable in her own skin, and she doesn’t have to become a tyrant to win. She uses her intelligence to succeed, and most of the time August just never knows what is happening to him.

Everything in this story is connected to something else, it was all so circular. I loved the way it was written. I loved the way Clara’s brother supported her, how he listened to her, how he let her make her own decisions. There was a great boatload of secondary characters, probably too many to squeeze into this series. Clara’s sister and brother will both probably have their own book. I’m not so sure about August’s sister Anne, but she may. There were also a number of interesting girls enrolled in the school. By the way, what a great school curriculum.

Overall, this is a book which is not to be missed. I highly recommend it, And, Kelly Bowen is an up and coming author who everyone needs to keep an eye on. She’s just getting better and better.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot