Indiscreet by Carolyn Jewel

http://www.carolynjewel.com/index.php

Sorry to say, I couldn't finish this book. I was very disappointed because I really have enjoyed Carolyn Jewel's other books, but I could not get into this book.

I found the premise of the book interesting, a heroine destroyed by a false rumor and a hero 15 years older than her. But, there were just too many things going on, kidnapping, heroine disguised as man, escape, false deaths, etc. And, I knew I was in trouble when I kept putting the book down because I was bored. And then my shipment of new books came in and the Carolyn Jewel book became an albatross around my neck. So, that wasn't a good sign.

I'm not giving up on Ms. Jewel because I know she can write really good books, so maybe the next one will be better. And, if you want to read a good Carolyn Jewel book read The Spare from 2004.

Time/Place: All over the Middle East/Victorian
Rating:
Sensuality:Warm/Hot

Seduce Me by Christmas by Deborah Raleigh

http://www.deborah-raleigh.com/index.html
Warning: I Can't Marry You Because...What Was That Reason Again Heroine?

Yes, the I'm not worthy heroine strikes again in Deborah Raleigh third book in the bastard series, Seduce Me by Christmas. Now, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book and I really liked the hero Raoul.

Raoul is on a journey to the countryside to discover the secret of his childhood and he happens upon Jimmy and Willie by trampling them with his horse, knocking the one unconscious. He takes the injured boy to their guardian Sarah and it is lust at first sight.

He is really very seductive and Sarah does fall for his charm, but of course she cannot marry him. It's not as if he is too good for her, he is the illegitimate offspring of the local gentry (or so you think, mystery, mystery.) So, I never really understood Sarah's reasoning, because Raoul is a hotty!! A really nice, charming, sexy guy. All I can say is Sarah, you are a boob!

If you can get over Sarah's shilly-shallying, this is a pretty descent book and a nice follow-up to the other two.

Place/Time: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot

Make me Yours by Betina Krahn

http://www.betinakrahn.com/
Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover or publisher!!

I almost missed this one due to my not reading very many Harlequin romances. I'm a Harlequin snob. Another reason I almost missed this one is I lost track of Betina Krahn when she switched publishers and she didn't keep her website updated. She has a new website by the way. Anyway, Make Me Yours is a gem, and shouldn't be overlooked. It's fast-paced and filled Krahn's trademark humor.

A refreshing change from the Regency time period, it takes place during the late Victorian era, when the Prince of Wales was cutting a swath through Britain's women. The heroine, Mariah, is wonderful, she's pragmatic and has a wicked sense of humor. The hero, Jack, is one of my favorite types, the befuddled hero. He is in the Prince of Wales set of men friends and he is given the job of finding a husband for Mariah so she can become Bertie's mistress. Of course, he falls for Mariah and when that happens the fun begins.

I really enjoyed Mariah, she appeared to be one jump ahead of Jack all through the story and I loved the way she made him trip over his feet on the rocky road to finding love. Thankfully, Mariah was not a virgin widow nor a widow that didn't like sex because of her cruel husband.

There are some gentle moments, some fun moments, some nice sex and a happy ending.

This was a delightful story, and I highly recommend it.

Place/Time: Great Britain 1880's
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot

A Christmas Ball by Emily Bryan, Jennifer Ashley, Alissa Johnson

http://www.jennifersromances.com/index.html
http://www.emilybryan.com/index.htm
http://alissajohnsonromance.com/
Sorry, I tried to get through it, but really...the stories were awful. The writing was bad and I lost some money in this deal.

No recommendation here.

Tempt me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas

http://www.lisakleypas.com/
I love Lisa Kleypas books, well most of her books. She has had a couple of clunkers. Tempt me at Twilight comes close to being a clunker. In Tempt me at Twilight, we are once again in the midst of those whacky Hathaways. This time it is Poppy, the one that wants to be normal. Although, why she should view her family as anything other than loving and warm is beyond me. But Poppy wasn't the problem I had with this book...it was Harry!

Harry, boo, hiss, throw those rotten tomatoes. Harry is the owner of the hotel that the Hathaway's stay in when they are in London. Harry sees Poppy and he must have her. Or he must have her body. I'm not sure why some other body wouldn't do, it's never explained. Harry is a self-centered, cruel, manipulative, ruthless villain-hero. It's been a long time since I've read a hero who is this mean-spirited, he reminds me of Steve from Sweet Savage Love written in 70's by Rosemary Rogers. Ms Kleypas has made him too much of a villain, and eventually when he does become the lovable teddy-bear (don't they all) I cannot forgive the cruelty, sneakiness displayed in the beginning.

There was also a stupid suspense thing tossed in toward the end of the book, totally unnecessary. It had the feel of "Hey, Lisa, we need to make your book longer, add something."

The secondary characters of Leo and Cat/Marks were really interesting and I'm looking forward to reading their story. They actually stole the show, along with the youngest sister Beatrix. Beatrix spouts things about animals like "monkeys are as greedy as people." I call them Beatrix's little animal sayings that have some deeper meaning that we can all learn from.

This book wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either and Harry was just a creep. So, if you are reading the Hathaway family stories, you should read this, just be prepared for a mean hero.

Time Place: 1852 England
Rating:
Sensuality rating: Hot

A Lady of Persuasion by Tessa Dare

http://tessadare.com/
Just in time for Halloween: The Heroine with no Brain!!

A Lady of Persuasion is the final book in Tessa Dare's debut trilogy, and I have to say I didn't like it as much as the other two. I really liked Toby in the other books and I was looking forward to his happy ending. But gee-willikers Bullwinkle, I really found Isabel to be one of the most irritating characters I've read in a long time.

Isabel really, really got on all of my nerves, she was this strangely naive reforming zealot. She wouldn't eat ices because they were made from sugar on plantations that had slaves, but she didn't seem to have a problem wearing clothes made from cotton imported from plantation that had slaves. She expected Toby to go along her on her journey through England righting wrongs, regardless of his thoughts or even his wants. Now, granted, Toby was a beta hero, but why did he but up with it? I kept asking myself, what does he see in her? Liked Toby, wanted to shoot Isabel.

There is also a secondary romance between Josh and Hetta, but not enough coverage of it in this book for me, so, the author might as well as left it out. Maybe, she should have included it in a novella.

And, I really think that this book isn't necessarily a stand alone book. To understand what's going with the other characters, you really need to have read the first two books.

So, in the end, I think that Tessa Dare is an author to keep an eye on, however her third book is the weakest in the trilogy.

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot

Candice Proctor project

http://www.csharris.net/
Done!!
This was a great project, I got behind in my other readings, but it was good to know that my memory wasn't playing tricks with me. I wish she still wrote romance.

So, in order of preference here goes:
1. Beyond Sunrise A+
2. Whispers of Heaven A
3. A Night in Eden A-
4. September Moon A-
5. The Last Knight B
6. The Bequest C+
7. Midnight Confessions C-

You really have to pick up one of these Candice Proctor books, I promise you, you'll enjoy them.

Beyond Sunrise, rollicking adventure! A cross between Romancing the Stone and African Queen. And at last a book by Ms. Proctor that has some laughs in it. The story of a starched-up spinster by the name of India and a rude hard-living rogue by the name of Ryder.

The background for this book is set in the lush South Pacific islands, as we follow these two through one adventure after another. This is a fast paced book, raced with a lot of humor as these two people butt heads. This book has some really fun bickering as these two characters fall in love. And once again Ms. Proctor proves that she can create complex secondary characters, including the villain.

I'm rating this one my favorite, I loved these two people. They were fun and poignant at the same time.

You really have to pick up one of these Candice Proctor books, I promise you, you'll enjoy them.

Time/Place: 1800's, South Pacific
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm

Warning! I hates the Yankees to piecccesss, ya'all!

Ok, it seems that I like Candice Proctor books when they are not in the United States. Midnight Confessions takes place in 1862 New Orleans. And New Orleans is beautifully, atmospherically written in this book. However, I couldn't like the heroine Emmanuelle, a TSTL heroine.

You see Emmanuelle is a Confederate sympathizer and her husband was killed by a dirty Yankee. So, she isn't fond of Yankees, especially dirty ones.. The hero, Zach Cooper is the resident provost marshal...dirty Yankee. Emmanuelle is a witness to a murder, Emmanuelle sees things, she knows things, she must protect her son, she may be the intended victim. But does she tell any of this to Zach? Nooooo, he's a dirty Yankee.

Anyway, this is more of a murder mystery story than a romance and because I really did not like the heroine, I think this must rank among my least favorite of Candice Proctor's books. This story has one of my pet peeves: non-communication between the hero and the heroine, so this love story does not work.

But the scenery is nice. Thank goodness, this was not her first book.

Time/Place: Civil War/Reconstruction New Orleans
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm

Another good one from Candice Proctor!! Whispers of Heaven is set in Tasmania in the 1840's and once again we get to see the prison system that was part of the English empire. This time it isn't quite as rough as Night in Eden.

The heroine, Jesmond, is returning to a land she loves from 2 years spent schooling in England. She returns to an aristocratic overbearing mother, a brother who has some problems of his own, an English gentry stuffed shirt fiancee. She assumes she will be returning to the life she left behind and just do what is expected of her. Enter Lucas Gallagher, a convict laborer on their estate.

Now, this may sound like a plot from some other books, however, in the hands of Ms. Proctor the story turns into something truly magical. This is really Jessie's story, its a truly amazing story of her struggle to conform to the role that has been created for her. Her struggle is presented realistically; she doesn't reject her way of life as soon as the hero makes his appearance. This is a character driven story, and the tension in the story is mainly from those characters with very little external conflict. While I found Lucas to be a interesting hero, it is Jessie that steals the show. Also, Ms. Proctor has once again created some very intriguing secondary characters, I wish that she had written a sequel or something with them in it; but, noooo, she had to start writing murder mysteries!

This book is what romance novels are all about.

Time/Place: Tasmania 1840's
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm

The Last Knight, another vivid novel by Proctor, this one in Medieval England during the reign of Henry II and his dysfunctional family. That dysfunctional family is the background story for which the romance is built around.

Basically, Attica, a woman of her time not some 21st century woman, is awaiting an arranged marriage to a 14 year-old boy nickname Fulk the Fat. She stumbles across some secret message about Henry II and decides that the only one she can trust is her brother Stephen, who is with Henry II. So, she dresses up as a boy and on her journey stumbles across our surly hero Damion de Jamac, a knight with some problems.

The book is really well researched, and full of the noise, images and smells of the time. The love story is not a love at first sight story, we get to watch them fall. And, while they are doing that, they stay true to the time period. The villains are all very interesting and have their own story, which I would have liked to read more of, but alas, that could not be. The middle of the book bogged down a little, but the ending more than made up for it. The one big problem I had was with the solution of Stephen. I'm not going to write what that was, however, because of what happens to Stephen, I wondered if the couple could really ever have a happy ending. According to Candice Proctor they can, so it must be true.

Time/Place: 1180's France-Brittany
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm/Hot

Note to self: When rereading a heavy-duty beloved writer, throw a Julia Quinn in for laughs.

September Moon! Candice Proctor returns to the Australian outback with this tale of a destitute English spinster (29) taking on the job of governess for 3 children who have systematically chased off all of their other governesses.

Amanda Davenport is a so very proper Englishwoman, when she arrives to take care of Patrick O'Reilly's children from hell and if they aren't bad enough, there is a drought going on. Patrick's English wife has left him for another man when the youngest of his children was a baby, so he has a slight grudge against Englishwomen. Amanda slowly grows to care for the children;and these children were not 21 parading as nine, but very realistically portrayed. There is some really great sexual tension between Patrick and Amanda. There are some very touching moments with the children, and we get to watch Amanda gradually change from hating Australia to loving it. All of the characters in this book are well-drawn and one of the most compelling secondary characters is the Australian outback itself. What a harsh place, and what an interesting portrait Candice Proctor has drawn of it.

Time/Place: Australian Outback 1864
Rating:
Sensuality rating: Warm/Hot

The Bequest is set in Colorado in the late 1800's and once again this not a light fluffy read. This is also not as good as Night in Eden. Maybe it's because it is a western and I'm not a great fan of westerns. This one has the Girl Raised in Convent Inherents Her Mothers Brothel And Falls For The Half Owner plot.

In the hands of Proctor this is a pretty gritty, filthy, smelly story and there is way too much violence in it for my taste. I could use a good comedy right now, but I'm going on with my project.

This was really too realistic for my tastes, and I couldn't really give it a good rating because I didn't like it. Although the writing was superb.

Time/Place: Colorado 1870
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm/Hot

A Night in Eden
Wow!
When I started reading A Night in Eden, I had to keep reminding myself that this was Candice Proctor's debut romance novel. The more I read, the more I wished she was still writing romance instead of mystery. Sigh...

This book has a number of unsettling things in it; it is not a light fluffy read. The heroine, Bryony is a convict who has been sent to the New South Wales penal colony (Australia). The harsh treatment of the women and the heroine in this book is not sugar coated. When Bryony arrives, she has lost everything, her children, her husband, her home. She is a dirty, vermin-ridden sad creature. The hero, Hayden,...let me tell you, his entrance into the book is some of the best descriptive writing I've read. I really could visualize him, with his big ol' hat shading his eyes, smoking his cheroot.

Hayden has come seeking a woman who will be a wet-nurse to his son, so, Bryony becomes his prisoner/servant/slave.

This book by Ms. Proctor is refreshing. It is powerful in it's descriptions, from a horrible justice system to the extraordinarily magnificent landscape that is Australia. And, this was her first book, keep repeating it.

I highly recommend this book, but remember this isn't something that is going to make you laugh...this is a deeply disturbing, moving story.

Now, I did give this story a minus. The reason: I had a minor issue with a tiny little sentence (I am not going to say what sentence, but it is one of my hot buttons) and one of the characters in the book just kind of disappeared. But, these were little.

Read it!
Time/Place: 1800's New South Wales/Australia
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot