Never Less Than a Lady by Mary Jo Putney

Another hero with a bum leg! Two in a row.
http://www.maryjoputney.com/

At first I thought the reason it was taking me so long to read this book was that my husband was chattering away in my ear every time I picked up the book. Much like Pavlov's dog, instead of foof+ding=slobber it was pick up book=talk. So, I was pondering how do I tell him to zip it without hurting his feelings.

But then he went camping and I still had a hard time connecting with this book.

I liked the beginning of Never Less Than a Lady. It also helps if you've read the first book in the series because that's where Alex Randall and Julia Bancroft meet.

This had all of the earmarks of a classic Putney story: the very understanding, but tortured hero and the very tortured, scarred, abused heroine. But, everything was almost too 21st century for me. The hero was too understanding; the heroine wanted to help out all the abused women in the world in a most modern way; the evil stalker killer made an appearance in the beginning and then again at the end, but there was no tension in between. There was a silly "misunderstanding" that occupied about two pages and wasn't necessary to the plot, nor did it enhance the story, so I'm not sure why it was there.

So, I must apologize to my husband for blaming him for the length of time it took to read this book, because normally I am pretty good at tuning certain sounds out. No, the problem this time was with the book - sorry to say it was just a so-so read.

I have always been a Mary Jo Putney fan, but, I've noticed that when some authors switch romance genres and then come back (in this case from historical to contemporary to fantasy to historical again) it takes a few books for that author to find her voice. At least that's what I'm hoping, because Ms. Putney did write one of my all-time favorite books and I'm hopeful that someday she'll write another. (By the way, that book was The Rake!! )

And, nice cover art!! Loved the dress color.

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

A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch

http://www.suzanneenoch.com/
Let me gush!!! I am a big fan of Suzanne Enoch, and I think over the years her writing has matured from light-weight froth to a little bit of dark narrative. I loved A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior the moment I was introduced to the dark, brooding, irascible hero, Batholomew, aka Tolly... and why shouldn't he be a gloomy Gus? After all, he has shrapnel in his leg, and he was left for dead in a well with his massacred patrol. Talk about some major issues - anyone would be a grumpy-face. Tolly isn't the most fun to be around at family gatherings.

And, it is at one of these family gatherings that Tess, who has always considered herself to be the soul of propriety, loses all of that control and gives Tolly a thorough tongue-lashing. Once these two get together it was a joy to see them helping each other and picking at each other until their fears all dissolve into that HEA. I couldn't put this book down, and there was an especially interesting subplot involving Tolly's accountability that had me wondering how Ms. Enoch would resolve it. I'm not going to tell you how she does, but it was done very realistically.

The secondary characters were solid, and I found Lachaby to be very amusing (gentleman's gentleman.) The only quibble was with the name of the series, The Adventurers Club. I have no reasonable reason for not liking that name; it just irritates me. And then there is the character Sommerset, who owns the house the "lost boys" of the adventurers club are hiding in. I find his character to be pretty obnoxious, and it will be very interesting to see how Ms. Enoch changes him from odious to hero and keeps it believable.

And, if she'd only be a little bit more forthcoming about her upcoming books on her website, everything would be perfect!

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

Memories Schmemories Part VI, The Kiss by Sophia Nash, 2008

http://www.sophianash.com/books/main.htm
Yes, The Kiss is only two years old, but as part of my Memories Schmemories project I'm also rereading books that I gave an A rating upon my first read. Hence, the reread. (And, I'm waiting for my new shipment of books to come in.)

So, has my reading taste changed in two years? I have to say, not very much. This is a romance that involves childhood friends, three of them: Quinn, Georgiana and Anthony. It is also a wonderful unrequited love story and, yipes, a virgin widow story. However, Georgiana doesn't know she's still a virgin. She thinks her wedding night with Anthony was consummated. And since Anthony dies while in the act, he can't really say that the act wasn't completed.

There are a lot of things going on in this story. There are numerous secondary characters and for the most part it is told wonderfully. There were some misunderstandings that I could have done without, especially when Quinn thinks that Anthony was Georgiana's great love. Another thing that bothered me was I wish Quinn would have been more honest about his feelings... and then I thought that over. Really, if all of the misunderstandings are ironed out on page 50, then what's left for me to read? So, maybe when I'm whining about misunderstandings I should consider that.

Anyway, this was a solid read and in my opinion the best in the Widow series (this is the second one in the series if you are keeping count.) However, I'm giving it a minus for some bumps in the road (the many misunderstandings.)

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

The Secret Duke by Jo Beverley

Wigs and warts and glasses...
http://www.jobev.com/

I'm always thrilled when I get to visit the Georgian world of Jo Beverley's Mallerons, especially when Rothgar shows up. However, even Rothgar's presence couldn't save The Secret Duke from being tedious.

First of all, and this is just me, there were like fifty kazillion of my pet peeves in this book... Perhaps I exaggerate, but there were several. There was a pirate (or a fake pirate), there was a silly revenge plot, mistaken identities (lots of them), and disguises out the wazoo. But since I have so many pet peeves, I can usually get past some if the book is good. In this case, both the hero (who I should have liked) and the heroine were boring. And, you would think with all of the hiding, disguising, and evil sleazy people in this book it would be somewhat exciting, but, sad to say it wasn't. I forced myself to slog through this book; I couldn't face another DNF. But, this book took way too l-o-n-g. I just wanted it to be over.

I have a great respect for Ms. Beverley. I just wish this series could have ended on a high note. I suspect that we probably haven't seen the last of the Malleron family.

I hope not, anyway.

Time/Place: Georgian England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm

Patience by Lisa Valdez

Mathew's amazing Mr. Toad!
http://www.lisavaldez.com/news.html

After I read Lady Jane, I confess I started reading Patience by Lisa Valdez and I discovered something about myself. Books about female submission and male domination (or S&M or M&M or PM or whatever it is) are not my cup of tea. Oh sure, I've read Erotica Romance before, and I even have some auto-buy authors in that genre. I also remember liking Lisa Valdez's first novel, Passion, five years ago. However, I couldn't get past Mathew Morgan's domination of Patience Dare.

I also had a problem with Mathew's giant Mr. Toad. His Mr. Toad swelled, pulsed, throbbed, twitched all over the place. He ached, he was formidable and at times Mr. Toad was even corpulent. Mathew's thick Mr. Toad could even stop and start in the middle of his eruptions! But, I pressed on, past all of the dripping and weeping and salivating... until that moment when Mr. Toad was jammed down Patience's throat spewing out his "hot glutenous seed." It was at this point that I got the giggles. I just couldn't take it anymore... and by the way, what happened to Ms. Patience's gag reflex? I know when I'm in the dentist chair having poly-ether gunk squirted in, I gag.

I wish Lisa Valdez all the best in her career as a writer and I'm sure that some people will like this book and it will probably be nominated for some awards. But for me it was $7.00 down the tube and a DNF.

Time/Place: Victorian England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Purple Scorching

Memories Schmemories Part V, Lady Jane by Norma Lee Clark, 1982

Eons ago when I first starting reading romance there were two publishers that I always bought - Signet and Fawcett Regencies. Somewhere along the line, I started to lose interest in the traditional Regency and focus mainly on the bigger historical books. Well, let me tell you after rereading Lady Jane by Norma Lee Clark, I am reminded why I read these little Regencies so much. Packed into 214 pages is some very amazing writing and some eye-opening surprises (along with a teensy-weensie font.)

Normally, when one thinks of the old traditional Regencies, one thinks of a world filled with aristocrats, balls, the ton etc.; however, not all of the books written in the 70's and 80's were like that. And, this one is different. This one is a little darker. Jane Coombes is a 14 year old servant employed in the household of the Montmorency family. Yes, I said 14! (I had to adjust my ickometer for that one.) Along the way, Jane is almost seduced by Jasper Montmorency, loses her job, tries to find a job, is tricked by the Montmorency butler, Leach, and is brutally raped by him. And, this is no romance pretend rape, no hero lurking in the doorway to stop it. She is eventually rescued by Lady Stanier and whisked away to Kent, where she becomes a part of the Payton household. This book spans 7 years of Jane's life, and along the way we fall in love with her.

Most of the story is told through Jane's eyes, with an occasional POV from two men, Sebastian and Jasper. There are two parts to this book, I call them Sebastian's story and Jasper's story. I loved the character of Sebastian more than Jasper and, not to give too much away, Sebastian's part is a hanky-read. And unlike other romance books, Jane loves both men equally, without any of that "I never knew what I was missing till you."

So, if you can get past the young ages in this book, you're in for a treat. Just be warned this is not the same ol' same ol' Regency of the 90's... this is what traditional Regencies were all about in the beginning.

Norma Lee Clark, aka Megan O'Connor, wrote 15 romance novels. She died at the age of 75 in 2002.

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Surprisingly fairly warm

Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

Another debut author (or at least an adult debut; Sarah MacLean has written a Young Adult novel).
http://blog.macleanspace.com/index.html

I've been seeing a pattern this year. I'm loving my debut authors and not loving my auto-buys so much. And once again the artist for the cover misses the mark. Oh sure, the heroine has a big chest; however, like most normal people she also has the hips to match. When I looked at the cover I was concerned that she might just fall over. And, what's wrong with her oddly positioned hand?

Anyway, this story had a number of elements about it that could have gone wrong, but Ms. MacLean didn't allow it to go that far. The heroine could have been one of those silly girls that was constantly getting in trouble, but she wasn't. You see, she's drawn up a list of things that she's never done... and she's chosen Mr. Rake, Gabriel St. John to help her do them. Yes, this plot has been done before, but don't let that stop you from reading this book. Even though there were times when Callie came awfully close to being silly, I also found myself identifying with her, and that doesn't happen often in romance books. This is a very character-driven book and there are some great secondary characters. There's also a sympathetic mistress. Gabriel has a twin brother and an illegitimate sister and Callie has an interesting bookish brother Benedick (can you say sequels?)

This is a fast paced book, couldn't but it down... and even when it started to go into silly waters, it didn't stay there. I am looking forward to more books from this author!

Time/Place: 1823 England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot