Hairy Armpit Guy!!
I am about to do my digressing right away. How do I/me/myself select which books I read?
Well, glad you asked. I go through a number of different thought processes. First, I have a rather large group of auto-buy authors from which to select. Of course, you must understand, that list of auto-buys have changed over the years. I have dropped some, and added others. My list is always evolving. That is why I am always on the lookout for new authors. Here is where my problem begins. I can no longer depend on my old sources…cause they are not there!!!!!There have been many changes to the publishing world in the last few years. I realize in the glory days of publishing, numerous promising authors were lost in the shuffle to the top. It was hard to break into the publishing business. Maybe some authors did not have an agent, the right editor, the right cover letter…whatever the reason they were never published. Well, now we have self-publishing, and everyone can be an author…if that is what they want. However, here is the problem as I see it. Not everyone can write. While I rejoice that everyone is tipping their toes into the writer pool, there are only so many books one can buy…and I buy mine. I like to own my books. While I have easy access to the library, I am more of an owner than a borrower. So, what do I look for? Well, I will tell you my little Petunias. It all boils down to what I like and more importantly, what I do not like. There are certain “flags” I am on the lookout for, when selecting a “new” author to read. Here are a number of things I have grown leery of. Covers. Yes, covers. I am aware of the old adage: never judge a book by its cover, blah, blah, blah. However, when one is looking at a cover which is badly drawn, has mediocre clip-art, or in the case of historical romance: a modern wedding dress/prom dress which does not in any way look historically accurate. So, yes I now judge a book by its cover. What a bad cover says to me is that someone does not care. A good cover should say to me that someone has spent time, and thought constructing artwork, which echoes what is inside.
Whine number two. I am leery of good reviews…tons of good reviews. I do not always trust them, especially when I see an author who has published 10 books in five years. Unless those books were laying under a bed for years, the swiftness of writing that many books in that short time period suggests to me that, something, somewhere has been overlooked. Maybe the editing is sloppy, or the author’s best friends are her/his critique group. It could be any number of things. In the rush to make money, be a best seller, and make that exclusive author list, character development suffers. I am a consumer; I purchase my books, so I do have concerns as to the money going out of my pocket. Therefore, if something about a book triggers one of my alarms, I do not buy it. Now on to The Devil is a Marquess.
The Devil is a Marquess, published in 2016, is part of a 10.5 book series. It also happened to have a couple of my triggers. Which is why in 2016, I did not read it. The cover bothered me. I am not necessarily fond of hairy armpits on book covers. Yes, I am aware that everyone has hairy armpits, but I am just not sure I like to see them staring at me from my Nook. I like to think of my heroes as not having too many bodily functions…except for one. Then I found out that the author published 10.5 books in only five years. That is a lot of fast writing. Therefore, my alarms were going off. Then just recently, Delia and I were talking about heroes, and she recommended The Devil is a Marquess. She said she would be interested in what I thought about it. Now, I do not know why she did; because we never had a chance to discuss it…I think it was probably something nefarious, probably the hairy armpits. I suspect she wanted to see my reaction. So, I purchased the book and here is my reaction to it.
I am done digressing about armpits. The Devil is a Marquess is the fourth book in the Rescued from Ruin series by Elisa Braden. While Elisa Braden is not a polished author, she does have promise…she just needs to slow down, and tie up those ends. She needs to make sure that some of the actions of her characters make sense.
The hero of The Devil is a Marquess is Benjamin Chatham, the Marquess of Rutherford. He is a dissolute rake…surprise! He drinks too much! He is broke! He has debt collectors moving furniture out of his house! He has a horrible mother! He also has a terrible secret! His Timothy Toad does not have any diseases, but he should. The story opens with Chatham leaving the bed of the woman he just serviced…and I do not mean fixing her brakes. He also accepts payment for said services…still not brakes. Lilacs. He is getting a blinding headache from her lilac perfume. He’s seeing stars, he’s going to throw-up, pass out…he’s just not in good shape…his Timothy Toad may have been functioning, but not him. I suspect it is the lilac smell, I know nothing makes my head throb faster than my neighbor’s Lilac bush. He gets these blinding headaches a lot. It is never fully explained why he is getting headaches. Are these headaches due to migraines, or are they because he has a drinking problem? The symptoms could have been either. Author’s, I am not a doctor. If someone in a book has a physical problem, I like to have a little bit more clues as to their illness. I kept pondering whether they were migraines or alcohol abuse. Eventually, they clear up…until he loses his temper for no apparent reason later on in the book. The hero was not a nice guy. He said hateful, hurtful things to our heroine, and he did it deliberately. He was a hard man to like. Then we have the heroine.
Charlotte. I liked Charlotte, although I grow tired of tall redheaded women who do not know how stunning they are. I have to ask…were short blonde-haired women in vogue during the 1800s? I do not know, I should probably look that up. I know pale skin, round faces, and rounded bodies were popular…but hair, I do not have a clue. But really, who could look away from a vibrant redhead? Anyway, Charlotte’s father forces Chatham and Charlotte into a marriage. Neither one of them is too keen on the idea, nor do they necessarily like each other, but they have no choice. Soon after Chatham and Charlotte marry, they are off to Chatham’s run-down estate. Run-down is a mild term for Chatham’s country estate. The place is in shambles, there are rotten stairs, falling plaster, leaking roofs, tarnished brass, bird’s nest, spider webs, rot all over the place. There are weeds outside, humongous weeds, the land has been allowed to turn fallow, the out buildings are falling apart, and the people who once worked the land are no longer there. Plus, the giant stone fence is crumbling. What a mess. However, that is ok, because super-duper Charlotte and Chatham and two servants get it all in ship-shape condition in just a matter of weeks. I found my eyebrows raising at the amount of work four people could accomplish in such a short time. Two of those people had probably never ever seen a shovel or broom in their entire life. That little clean-up scene was a bit…silly. Obviously, the author has never experienced the joy of polishing a wooden floor in a 150 year-old house…and without the benefit of an electric floor polisher.
You might think I did not like this book…well, it was a roller-coaster ride. I thought the hero was very immature, and at times downright mean. I also thought there should have been a bigger groveling scene, and the heroine forgave him too soon. There were moments of tenderness, and I would find myself enjoying how our couple were getting along. Then Mr. Bonehead hero would do something nasty, and I would be on the roller coaster again. I loved the heroine; she was a determined woman who knew what she wanted, I just wasn’t always sure why she would want the hero.
There was way toooo much whankey-roo-hoo. It was irritating, I am a strong believer that sex in books should be there to add to the story, not just to titillate, or let us know how many positions are available.
So, what am I saying? Well, I am saying I liked this book well enough to read the next one in the series. However, there needed to be more character development, less whankee-roo and an editor who asks…do you really want to do this? Overall, I think the author shows promise. Maybe with just a little more polish, she will become an auto-buy. We will see, because I did purchase all the books in the series – so, I will keep you informed. Here’s hoping.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality:Hot/Warm
