What the Lady Wants by Jennifer Crusie

Before I started this I only had four more Jennifer Crusie books to read, and I have to say that if they are all as quick to read and as fun, then I should be done with them by next week.

Mae Belle Sullivan is a heiress who has no money. Mitch Peatwick is a PI, but he's not really, Mae Belle's uncle is a murder victim who appears to have died of natural causes and the rest of her family is either crazy or crooked.

Written as a spoof to Sam Spade type detective novels, Mitch had decided a year earlier that he could earn a living as a PI. Having also taken a substantial bet that he could do so, he only had a few days left to go on his bet. After a year of divorce work, he is somewhat jaded and distrusting of everyone, so when Mae Belle Sullivan walks into his office asking him to find the diary of her dead uncle he already knows that she is lying to him.

Mae Belle was after a dumb detective who she could get to spread rumours about her Uncle Armand's death whilst she tried to figure out what was going on with him. Instead she got Mitch who wouldn't do what she asked, and who she was beginning to feel very attracted to. Unlike some of Crusie's heroes, Mitch didn't do a great deal for me, but that's okay.

Whilst Mae Belle's family were all Mafia types, including her cousin Carlo who really wanted to be with her, they were all pretty cliched, but in a completely over the top, fun kind of way. In fact it is probably fair to say that the whole novel was written in a tongue in cheek fashion, with over the top characters, but for me that is refreshing in itself in a way. This was not a book pretending to be anything more than a fun, romantic story, with screwball characters.

Overall, this was a fun novel, with a cute couple at it's centre. I only figured out after I read it that Nick and Tess from Strange Bedpersons were also in this novel, so I guess I will read that one next.

Rating 4/5

Rules for Writing Scottish Romances

Came across these Rules for Writing Scottish Romances over at Gabrielle Campbell's blog, The Lost Fort, third post down. Well worth a visit to read some of the comments as well!!

There are quite a few of these going around, and many of them are very entertaining. You can find links to more of these at Sarah Cuthbertson's blog. She has several sets of rules, and/or links on her blog. I also really liked the medieval ones.

Rules for Writing Scottish Romances

1) The hero is always depicted as Highland chief (complete with kilt and basket hilt sword usually - and wrongly - called claymore), even if he lives in the Lowlands.

2) The heroine is always English.

3) She's described as feisty; often red haired.

4) The bad guy is her father/brother/betrothed.

5) The heroine, in most cases abducted by the hero, first hates him and sees him a savage but soon can't resist his alpha maleness (her betrothed is a whimp, after all) and falls in lurve. Of course, she goes over to the Scottish side at that point. A bit angsting is ok, but not too much. This is a romance, not a psychological portrait of a woman torn by opposite allegiances.

6) The hero is in lurve with the English girl since he met her at a ball he attended in disguise to spy on the English.

7) If the English characters (except the heroine) are keen on getting more money, it's always greed.

8) If the Scottish hero is keen on getting money, it's to help his clansmen to buy cattle, or sometimes to restore his ancient seat which the English destroyed.

9) The hero says "Ye ken, lassie," a lot.

10) If the hero drinks a lot of whisky, it's alpha male-y, if the English do it, it's depraved and a sign of inherent weakness.

11) The Campbells are the only Scottish clan that is bad.

12) There can be a clan feud, but it has to be ended in order to fight the English. Except if it involves the Campbells because those are bad (see 11).

13) The Scots win the decisive battle despite they're outnumbered five to one and fight with swords against muskets. This is achieved by the famous downhill charge.

14) There must be at least one scene where the hero shows the heroine the beauty of his country by dragging her along over mountains and stones, though heather and moor, until he finds a river where he can catch some salmon with his bare hands. Romantic dinner ensues.

15) Never bother about the differences between pre- and post-Culloden Scotland, even if you mention Culloden as example for the badness of the English.

ADDED

16) The hero must at some point deliver a speech stuffed with platitudes about the greatness and braveness of the Scots from the times of their mysterious selkie ancestor onwards (and never mention Normans or Vikings in the family trees), and list a number of vile English kings that tried to unjustly suppress the Scots.

17) Bonus points if you can manage that speech while the hero stands in chains in front of his English captors. He will of course get flogged for such an insult, and the heroine has a chance to escape with him.

18) The hero has a trusted sidekick who hates the Sassenach girl until she manages to save his life.

19) The heroine can ride in a man's saddle. She also has a favourite horse, preferably some breed that would never be able to find footing on highland mountains if this were not a romance.

20) The hero is able to swim across any loch in the depth of winter without getting a cold. While escaping several salvas of arrows or bullets.

The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary & Sewing Circle by Lois Battle

Bonnie Duke Cullman is making changes, well, is being forced to make changes. Her husband of many years is not only divorcing her, but he has just told her that they are basically bankrupt. Her years of being a stay at home mum have just come to an end. So, after having held down only one job in her life she is on her way to Florabama to work in a college helping women who are struggling to get through college, and hopefully move on in their lives.

On the same day that Bonnie is starting out on her journey to Florabama with her puppy, another group of women are also undergoing forced changes. They have all been told that their employer is closing down operations at the Cherished Lady lingerie mill and they are all now jobless. For many of these women, who lived pay check to pay check, there is nothing for them to fall back on, and they need to find another way of earning a living, and quickly.

So Bonnie is thrown into the deep end, trying to assist these women choosing what courses to take, assisting with forms etc, eventually finding that they have become a part of her life, and she a part of theirs.

Whilst this book is set in the South, and there are characters in the book, they are not as cartoonish as some authors seem to make Southern women. These are for the most part, lower to middle class struggling to make ends meet, to keep their families together and food on the table. They just happen to live in the South.

Bonnie is the daughter of the Duke, a man with considerable connections, and it is upsetting for her when she realises that she did not get the job on her own merits, but she works through this. She also starts to move forward in her life when an old friend Riz comes calling.

Of the women who lost their jobs, the best characterisations are Ruth who always wanted to be a teacher, but when she got pregnant and then married had to shelve that dream. Instead she is trying to ensure that her grandchildren are not abandoned by their unreliable mother Roxy. Roxy too is pretty well defined, even if her actions are not actually explained.

Hilly is another well written character. She is loud and brash, angry and hurt. She was married a couple of times but her second husband was the love of her life, until he went to Vietnam and didn't last too long after he came back. She flits from one meaningful relationship to another, until she eventually meets Jess, who is everything that she normally doesn't like.

A couple of the others are kind of key to the story but don't get much page time. The scope of the book is one year, and we really don't find out what happened to Bonnie in particular, although we know that she has certainly grown throughout the book.

Overall this was a good read.

Rating 4/5

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

What can I say! Two great reads from Lisa Kleypas in the space of two days. Can't ask for much more than that really can I?

The first of a four book series called The Wallflowers, this book is about Miss Annabelle Peyton and Mr Simon Hunt.

Four young ladies enter London society with one common goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.

Annabelle Peyton, determined to save her family from disaster, decides to use her beauty and wit to tempt a suitable nobleman into making an offer of marriage. But Annabelle's most intriguing -- and persistent -- admirer, wealthy, powerful Simon Hunt, has made it clear that while he will introduce her to irresistible pleasure he will not offer marriage. Annabelle is determined to resist his unthinkable proposition ... but it is impossible in the face of such skillful seduction.

Her friends, looking to help, conspire to entice a more suitable gentleman to offer for Annabelle, for only then will she be safe from Simon -- and her own longings. But on one summer night, Annabelle succumbs to Simon's passionate embrace and tempting kisses ... and she discovers that love is the most dangerous game of all.

Simon was a man with new money, making his own way into the world at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. Having only read 3 Kleypas books, I am beginning to sense a certain similarity between her heroes - determined, self made, and independent. It will be interesting to see if this continues as I read more.

Whilst I really liked Simon Hunt, this was Annabelle's story. Somewhat refreshingly, Annabelle was not a martyr for her family, determined to marry a rich man to keep her family from becoming really, really poor and to save her mother from unwelcome advances from Lord Hodgeham, the villain of this book. Yes, that was definitely a part of it, but she was not afraid to admit that she liked nice things, that she wanted a titled husband, and she would do just about anything to get it. The fact that she got a husband who was exceedingly rich, handsome, dashing, entrepreneurial, but not titled meant that coming to terms with Simon's humble roots was something that we go to see both for Annabelle and her family. The stronger parts of this story were the parts prior to the marriage, especially the sexual tension between them, and the circumstances around their betrothal were very entertaining. It was also a nice change to have the heroine being the one who is reluctant to admit her feelings, but the ending where she could finally admit her feelings was a bit trite.

If I did have any other minor gripes with this book it was that it feels like there was a fraction too much set up for the next book happening. Now I don't know if I would have noticed if I didn't know that the next book was about Lillian and Marcus, Lord Westcliff, but I did know, and I did notice. It is but a small flaw!

Hands up if someone can feel a Lisa Kleypas glom coming on?? By the way, does anyone know if there really are adders in Hampshire?

Rating 4.5/5

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

There has been a little bit of pressure around to actually pick up this book and read it, so it was with great expectations that I did so. And was I disappointed? Were the expections too high? I'll answer that shortly. I also wanted to use this to meet the March TBR challenge over at Briannasmommy's blog.

In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Fielding puts pen to paper to create dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe haven--and into Derek Craven's dangerous world. A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from poverty to become lord of London's most exclusive gambling house--a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding into his world--with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here, in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper "mouse" can be transformed into a breathtaking enchantress--and a world-weary gambler can be shaken to his cynical core by the power of passion...and the promise of love.

Title: Dreaming of You

Author: Lisa Kleypas

Year published: 1994

Why did you get this book? I have been hearing such good things...oh, okay, I have been being nagged by someone, that I ended up requesting it specifically so I could see what the fuss was about.

Do you like the cover? Nothing special, but it was okay

Did you enjoy the book?Yes, I believe I did.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again?The only thing of Lisa Kleypas' that I have previously read was in the Where's My Hero anthology and that was the story of the daughter of this couple, so it was really nice to go back and see how this couple came to be together. This was my first full length novel though. I will definitely be looking for more of her books!

Are you keeping it or passing it on?It's a library book so I better take it back. If it was mine though it would definitely be a keeper.

Anything else?I am really glad that I read this. I liked both Sara and Derek as the H&H, and it was definitely a refreshing change that neither of them were aristocratic. Derek had pulled himself out the situation he was born in, and Sara was intelligent and complex. The storyline with Joyce Ashby was a little far fetched but other than that minor blip this was a really great book.

Thanks Kristie!!

Rating: 4.5/5

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

The sixth book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon continues the story of the Fraser's and MacKenzies with all the action taking place in pre-revolution America.

The eagerly awaited new epic from the International Bestselling Author of The Fiery Cross Their love has survived time, but can they survive fate? 1772 - the eve of the American revolution. In Boston, men lie dead in the street and in the backwoods of America, isolated cabins burn in the darkness of the forest. The Colony is in ferment. Jamie Fraser, a passionate leader of men, receives an envoy from the Governor Josiah Martin, asking for help. The Governor needs someone to unite the backcountry, pacify the seething resentments of the settlers, and keep the mountains safe for King and Crown. Jamie Fraser, everyone agrees, is the man for the job. But Jamie knows what is to come. His wife, Claire, has travelled back in time from the twentieth century, and she knows that it's only a matter of a few years before the start of the War of Independence, ending with the exile or death of the men loyal to the King of England. Neither prospect appeals to Jamie. Beyond everything else, though, looms the threat of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports the destruction of the house on Fraser's Ridge, and the death by fire of James Fraser and all his family. Jamie hopes Claire is wrong, for once, about the future - but only time will tell.

When you read one of these books there are certain elements that appear to be necessary:

Rape

Abduction

Accusations of treason

Description of medical problems

Murder

Sex

Suggestions of witchcraft

I hope that doesn't sound too cynical, but I am afraid I was a little disheartened whilst reading this book. I went out and bought it the first day I saw it, and paid full price for it, not caring that if I had of waited two days I could have had it at a much reduced price. I settled down thinking that this would be the same as the others in the series in that I would be able to devour it in three days, having let an entire weekend pass me by while I spent time in 18th century Scotland and/or America. Six months later I have just finished listening to it in the car.

The good bits in this book, and there were plenty, were as always exceptional. The passages where Ian tells what happened to him when he spent time with the Cherokee were excellent and had me crying my eyes out as I travelled down the road at peak hour, as did several other sections of the book, including the parts that occurred after July 4, 1776. There were also numerous moments throughout the book when I gasped in shock, or laughed out loud, or was left wondering where on earth the journey was going to take me next.

As I was reading though, I couldn't help but feel that there were a lot of story arcs that didn't really need to be in the book to take the story forward. However, having now finished reading the book I can see how some of those parts actually did fit in with the ending, but it took me a long time to see it! There were also numerous occasions where I was far enough outside of the story to notice that phrases were repeated in quite rapid succession, and to be wondering what on earth this part had to do with anything!! I guess what I am saying is that the book could have done with harsher editing.

We still get to see plenty of the very lovely Jamie Fraser (....huge SIGH!!), but his son-in-law Roger Mackenzie comes into his own in this book, seemingly having found his place in the order of life on Fraser's Ridge. Jamie's young nephew Ian Murray is one of my other favourite characters and I really hope that in the next book we get to see him happy and settled (and yes, I am looking forward to the next book already!). Claire was Claire, and Brianna was much more likeable in this book, with wee Jemmy and Germaine in particular scene stealing merrily throughout the book.

I feel I must spare a word for Davina Porter, the actress who narrates the unabridged version of the Outlander books. She is amazing, with clear distinctions of voice between so many characters, and so easy to listen to. It is not always the case with narrators on audiobooks.

I do LOVE the earlier books in this series, and I will continue to buy them, but maybe I will wait a couple of days rather than buying the first copy I see of the next book. Many of the lingering questions of the series have been answered in this book, but I still look forward to reading more about how Claire and Jamie fair during the American Revolution, and hopefully beyond.

In summary, there were still many parts of trademark excellence from the author, but there were too parts of this book that either needed to be edited out or treated differently to keep my attention as the earlier books in the series had.

Rating 4/5

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

From the back cover:

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, computer consultant, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, amateur astronomer, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, origamist, detective, vegan and collector of butterflies.

When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him closer to some kind of peace.

I'm not quite sure where to begin with a review of this book, or what rating to give it.

My reactions whilst I was reading were that this was an extremely hard book to read...it felt like just plain hard work. The characters were on the crazy side, their antics varied from heart wrenching to just plain silly, their relationships very strange, however, there were definitely still moments of great tenderness, humour and poignancy.

Spread throughout the text there are various pages that are either images which are connected with the story, or not! Some of these had the effect of galvanising the storyline, but there were several which were a distraction as opposed to an addition. For example there is a chapter which is Oskar's grandfather writing to his son, and all through the letter there are red pen marks correctly spelling and grammatical mistakes.

This was a challenge, and that can be a good thing right?? Right, but in a lot of ways this was a very disjointed and too complex story, with some additional poignancy.

Interestingly enough, Jonathan Safran Foer is married to fellow author Nicole Krauss, whose novel The History of Love, takes a very similar set of circumstances and explores them. It will be interesting to do a comparison between the two books in due course.

Rating 3.5/5

Swamped

No, not the title of a book, rather how I feel.

I belong to several groups where there are reading schedules or author of the months or something similar.

At the moment I am struggling through Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. In addition to that I have on my TBR during March for a group list (and in no particular order!)

Lyndsay Sands
The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis
The Florabama Ladies' Auxillary and Sewing Circle by Lois Battle
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Mists of Avalon
The Shiralee

The Borgia Bride and The Bronze Horseman are both rereads of books that I love but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at this moment in time. And those are only March's books. There are already more lined up for April!

Off to read!

Where's My Hero - Anthology

An anthology featuring Lisa Kleypas, Kinley MacGregor and Julia Quinn, Where's My Hero is supposed to be the stories of three of those secondary characters that we sometimes meet in romance novels who are just crying out to have their own stories told. Only problem with this is that I had never read any of either Lisa Kleypas or Julia Quinn's books! I still read their stories, but in reality I picked this book up because I really wanted to read Simon's story by Kinley MacGregor.

the first story in the book was Lisa Kleypas' Against the Odds, which featured Dr Jake Linley who apparently is a character who appears in several of her books (on her website she refers to them as book hoppers). Jake has secretly been in love with Lydia Craven since the first day they met. Of course it wouldn't do to admit that, so Lydia and Jake have been extremely antagonistic to each other ever since they met. Lydia is portrayed as being extremely clever, and has agreed to become betrothed to a fellow mathematician who will not mind her working once they are married.

On the night of Lydia's betrothal to another man, Jake kisses Lydia and she realises that she has no passion with her husband to be, but decides that it doesn't really matter, much to her mother's horror. Her parents (Sara and Derek from Dreaming of You) still have an extremely passion filled marriage, which we get glimpses of in this book.

Three days before the wedding, Lydia and Jake find themselves locked in the cellar with no way of getting out, and they finally talk about their feelings and realise that they both have had unrevealed feelings. Jake knows that marrying him would mean no longer living the life of luxury she is accustomed to...is this something that Lydia can do?

This was a very enjoyable story, but I can't help but feel that it almost deserved a full story. Doesn't really matter though, because it did make me want to pick up more of Lisa Kleypas' books. (And yes Kristie, that does mean Dreaming of You!!) I could totally see how Jake would steal scenes in other books, so I gave this a 4/5.

The second story was Kinley MacGregor's Midsummer's Knight, the reason why I got this book in the first place. Our hero was Simon, who was in Born in Sin as one of the few friends that Sin has, and travelled with him to Scotland. Simon was also in Master of Desire, although I haven't read that myself. Simon is the man who stands behind the other men, unobtrusive and ignored by all the girls. He has been the famous knight's Stryder's friend, ally, bodyguard and personal secretary for quite some time, and for the previous year he has been answering letters sent to Stryder by the lovely Kenna MacRyan, signing them off as Your Ever Loving Knight, S. Simon has poured out his heart to Kenna, and she to him, but Simon knows that he could never hope to marry Kenna - she is just too far out of his league. So when Kenna turns up at a tournament thinking that she is betrothed to Stryder, it becomes very awkward all round!

Once it is revealed that Stryder can not even read or write let alone write letters pouring out his soul, it becomes clear that the author of the letters is Simon, and after spending the day alone together Kenna knows that it is Simon that she loves. She asks her cousin King Malcolm to allow her to marry Simon, but he will not do so, because Simon has neither title nor land - certainly not a suitable prospect for marriage. It is therefore agreed that if Simon wins the tournament then they can be married. That however means that at some point Simon will have to defeat Stryder, a task that noone else has ever been able to achieve.

I really enjoyed this novella, and was glad to see Simon in the spotlight. I gave this 4.5/5.

The final novella was A Tale of Two Sisters by Julia Quinn featured Ned Blydon who apparently was in a book called Splendid.

It is three days before Ned's wedding to the daughter of his neighbour, Lydia Thornton. Ned has resigned himself to the fact that his days of living life as a rake (albeit not all that notorious) have come to an end and that he will now have to do the responsible thing and get married. So what if he doesn't love Lydia...not everyone has to love their wife when they first get married do they?

Whilst escaping from the wedding hullabaloo, Ned comes across Charlotte Thornton, Lydia's sister and maid of honour. He is immediately captivated by her, and as the days prior to the wedding pass quickly he begins to wonder if he is marrying the wrong sister.

What he doesn't know is that his betrothed is secretly in love with one of the other neighbours, and is planning to elope before the wedding with Rupert.

For me, this was the weakest of the three stories. I didn't quite see how Ned would become a scene stealer in the same way as Simon and Jake were. It was still fun, especially some of the deliberately bad poetry, but Ned's reaction when he found out that Lydia was eloping was a bit over the top, especially seeing as he wanted the bride's sister anyway, but other than that it was okay. 3.5/5 for me.

Overall rating 4/5

Taming the Scotsman by Kinley McGregor

After the way I enjoyed Born in Sin, I was really hoping to have the same reaction to Taming the Scotsman, the story of Ewan MacAllister.

Ewan has been blaming himself for his brother Kieran's death ever since he returned from his ill fated trip to England. You see, Ewan had run off to England with Isabel MacKaid, Kieran's love, and Kieran had left his possession on the banks of the loch and walked into it, never to be seen again, presumed drowned. Because Ewan blamed himself, he has made a promise to his dead brother that he will not allow himself pleasure, and he lives in a very well furnished cave overlooking the loch as a reminder. Even before this happened, Ewan was the quietest of the MacAllister brothers, not as good looking or charming and therefore left behind, always wanting approval from his parents, but not really ever receiving what he needed.

Into his cave comes Nora, niece to two kings who is about to be wed to a man who finds her extremely irritating, and who she knows she will be miserable with. Nora comes to Ewan as she has been told that he has the fiercest reputation in the land and that he will assist her in her quest to get to England to the sanctuary of her aunt's home. Of course, her timing is completely off, arriving as she does on the anniversary of his brother's death and she find him completely drunk and asleep naked!

He agrees to take her to his brother. Whilst Ewan is used to solitude and initially Nora's chattiness also drove him to distraction, but it is not long before he gets used to that and begins to value her. The fact that they are kidnapped by gypsy's, and then by others more dastardly certainly don't hurt. Whilst being held hostage by the gypsies, who were being paid to just delay Ewan, not to hurt either of them, the young gypsy girl Catarina teaches Nora a dance of love which she uses to great effect. Without giving too much away, it seems that there are some who believed that Nora and Ewan would make a perfect couple and have engineered it so that they would spend time together. There are others trying to stop Ewan from spending any time with Nora, and there are still others who want their revenge on the MacAllisters for the perceived slight. Of course, Nora should have realised that something was up when the two servants she bought with her left her alone with Ewan, in effect forcing her into a compromising situation.

In the end, this book was readable but nowhere near as enjoyable as Born in Sin. Whilst the author was trying very hard to make Ewan a very tortured hero, it seemed to be more sullen to me, and that he was wallowing in his self pity - an understandable self pity to a degree certainly, but still wallowing nonetheless.

The end of the book leaves space for more sequels, especially when it seems that Kieran may in fact not be dead after all, which would mean that that was a wasted two years of wallowing anyway!! Who knows, as far as I am aware that mystery has not yet been solved in any of the books of this series.

Rating 3.5/5

Born in Sin by Kinley Macgregor

The second of the MacAllister brothers books by Kinley Macgregor, Born in Sin is the story of Sin MacAllister. Sin is dark and brooding, both inside and out, having lived a life filled with rejection and pain. The illegitimate eldest MacAllister brother, Sin was shuffled between his parents, with neither of them actually wanting him. When the MacAllisters were required to provide the English king with hostages, Sin was the one who was sent, and when he was to be released his father told them not to bother. Eventually through a series of events, he ended up being enslaved to Saracens, and trained as a highly effective assassin. He ended up being sent to kill King Henry but instead he asked Henry to save him, and eventually he became one of the kings closest advisors.

The book opens with King Henry trying to convince a very reluctant Sin that he must marry Callie, daughter of a powerful Scottish family, and bring an end to the land raids that have been ongoing. Callie has been captured along with her brother and has tried unsuccessfully to escape on numerous escapes. After Sin has had to rescue her a couple of times she realises that she is not immune to his charms. Sin agrees to the marriage only if the King can find a priest willing to do so, thinking that as he has been excommunicated several times there is no way that this can happen. The king however outsmarts him and Callie and Sin are married.

Callie realises early on that her husbands aloofness results from the painful childhood and the fact that he is still treated as a pariah nearly everywhere he goes, but it doesn't take her too long to break through the tough exterior to find the gentle and loving man underneath. Sin too comes to realise that his pretty young wife is one of the few people who he can relax around.

As a character, Sin is a painfully tortured and tormented man. The process of drawing him away from that darkness within is very touching and very well written. Another point of difference for this man, was that not only was Callie a virgin, but he was also, meaning that there exploration of each other was something new to both of them.

I loved Sin as a character - tall, dark, handsome and brooding, but with a good man lurking beneath, a man who needed someone to show him the love and affection that he needed to reveal his true self. Sigh!!!

I am on a bit of a glom now with Kinley MacGregor's books and have already finished the next book in the series. I am definitely looking forward to reading more!

Rating 4.5/5

Claiming the Highlander by Kinley MacGregor

I'll start this by saying that I have never quite got around to reading any Sherrilyn Kenyon or Kinley MacGregor books so this was a new author to me, and I am really glad that I have read some now!

Maggie has decided to take a stand. The women of the village will provide their men with any services until such time as the feud between the MacAllister's and the MacDouglases is ended. They are sick of their men folk being killed and injured in a silly feud that initially started because of a woman. Fortunately the MacDouglas women have taken a similar stand, driving the men of both clans to distraction, with no edible food and certainly no comfort.

The head of the MacAllister's, Lochlan, is desperate for anything to break the stranglehold when his younger brother Braden returns home from adventures in England. If any man were to melt the women's hearts and make them stop this foolishness then it is Braden, for he is a man that no woman can resist. Maggie is however going to make a determined effort at it. Unfortunately for her though, she has been half in love with Braden for many years, waiting for him to take notice of her. After deciding to go to the MacDouglases to make an offer for peace, Braden, Maggie and his brother Sin set off to go the enemies stronghold, and Braden does finally notice Maggie!

I really enjoyed this book, although I will admit to being more than a bit partial to a Scotsman, especially a brawny lad like Braden. Having said that, the details of how irresistible he was to any woman were a bit much, but overall he was likeable, and once he noticed Maggie, there was no doubting that his wandering days were over! Maggie was headstrong and capable and no doubt able to keep hold of Braden.

This is the first in the MacAllister brothers series, and I really wanted to read more about them, especially the dark and brooding Sin MacAllister.

Rating 4/5

The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives by Sarah Strohmeyer

I've made a bit of a mistake with this review before I even started it. Normally I at least start it as soon as I finished the book so that I can give my initial thoughts. I didn't do that, and now I have returned the book to the library and I can't really think of what I was going to say! And that probably tells you a lot right there!

NEWS BULLETIN: Gone is HBO's Sex and the City. Sex has moved to the suburbs. Here is where you'll find ABC's #1 TV show Desperate Housewives. Here too is The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives, a hilarious but poignant and spot-on novel about love and betrayal inside the world of the gated community.

Pampered Hunting Hills, Ohio, socialite Marti Denton never realized she was madly in love with John Harding until he impulsively married Claire Stark, a beautiful but socially awkward newspaper reporter to whom a "coming-out" party is a controversy, not a tradition. It's not until the Hunting Hills wives are plunged into a series of explosive scandals that the two women reach a new understanding of each other and what it means to be a fortunate wife in the twenty-first century. In The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives, Sarah Strohmeyer has written a Stepford Wives for our time — funny, wise, and eye-opening.

Forget that the above blurb tells you very little about the storyline of the book, this really does tell you what the author was aiming for. We are introduced to a series of glimpses into the lives of the perfect women of Hunting Hills, a perfect gated community, unfortunately set just outside of imperfect Cleveland, Ohio. Into this perfect world comes Claire, who has spent time working in refugee camps in the Balkans and who finds it difficult to connect with women who think a tragedy is not being able to get their hair coloured when they need it done. Claire has just married John, who Marti believes she is in love with, whilst worrying that her own husband might be having an affair. Of course, he is, with her best friend Lisa, but he is also stealing money from all of their friends.

Whilst there are amusing incidents throughout this book, I didn't think that there was much of a plot, the characterisations were cliched and the ending trite!

Rating: 3.5/5

The One That Got Away - Anthology

I originally picked this anthology up for two reasons. The first was that it was part of a three pack that was being sold at a great price and the second was that it included a story by Liz Carlyle. I have really enjoyed just about everything I have read by Carlyle and so I am trying now to get hold of whatever I can of hers. The fact that the anthology included a story by Eloisa James, who I really want to read one of these days, also helped. Other authors included in the anthology are Victoria Alexander and Cathy Maxwell.

The first entry was The Trouble with Charlotte by Victoria Alexander. The story opens with an epilogue in which we have Marcus, Earl of Pennington telling his mate Reggie a story about how he almost had his heart broken. The story that he tells is that involving Charlotte Robb, widow of Captain Hugh Robb. Charlotte and Hugh were married very young, and were very passionate and volatile together. After each accusing the other of cheating, Hugh storms off having purchased himself a commission in the Army. A year later he is dead. During her widowhood Charlotte let it be known that she was indeed a very merry widow, with numerous men friends, when in fact, whilst she had been very chaste (of course!). After 7 years of widowhood she is just getting to the point where she is thinking that maybe being married to Marcus wouldn't be terrible when her dead husband turns up on her doorstep. Having been terribly injured during a battle, he had suffered amnesia (of course!) and had been living a completely different life, where it is assumed that he had not been as chaste (of course!). Now that he is back, he wants to make amends to the ton and recommence his life with his wife who he now values more than life itself (of course!). Marcus finds himself in the middle of the two of them, helping them find out that they still loved each other desperately, and always had done (of course!). Whilst this story was rather uninspired I would like to find and read Marcus' story as I liked him as a character. Rating 3/5.

The first story that I read was Much Ado About Twelfth Night by Liz Carlyle, Edward, the new Marquess of Rythorn is trying to keep the walls from literally falling down around him after inheriting property but not much money from his dead brother. Long before becoming a Marquess he had proposed to the lovely Sophie, but she had turned him down flat, assuming that he had only asked her to marry him out of duty, not out of love and devotion. Sophie has come to ... with a plan of her own, and that is to convince him to sell her Twelfth Night, a champion racehorse. Throw into the mix, Edward's flirty cousin Oliver, and another racing family who are all trying to do the same, overheard conversations about bloodlines and breeding possibilities and misunderstandings abound. I actually quite enjoyed this story. Rating 4/5

Next up was Eloisa James' A Fool Again. Lady Genevieve Mulcaster had rather impetuously run off with Tobias Darby to Gretna Green only 3 hours of meeting him. Fortunately her father had caught up with him before they made it as far as the border, but not before she had been deflowered by Tobias (well, twice actually!). She was promptly married off to Lord Mulcaster, a much older skinflint who was less than generous with his generous young bride. This habit continues after his death, when the terms of his will revealed that his widow must marry one of his two business partners within two years of his death or forfeit her inheritance. One of the two is a doddery old man, the other is Mr Felton, handsome but aloof. Of course, there is no other choice than Mr Felton, until that is Tobias Darby reenters Genevieve's life! Can Tobias convince her that his place is with her, and can he convince Mr Felton to drop his claim to the lovely Genevieve. This was another good read with a nice use of a fair which enabled us to have a change of scenery from the usual ballrooms and grand houses usually associated with romances of this period.

The final story was Nightingale by Cathy Maxwell. We meet Dane Pendleton as he is updating his Last Will and Testament, for the next morning he is to fight to the death with Cris Carson, Lord Whiting, who happen to be the brother of the only woman he had ever loved, Jemma. The Carson family is down on it's luck and is fast losing hold of all it's possession. When Jemma comes to beg for Dane to swear off the duel, the inducement that she gives him is herself - not the first time she has been forced into this kind of situation to save her family from trouble! Dane's heart was broken when she agreed to marry another, and when Jemma confirms that it was her choice, but that she had done it for the good of her family, you know that he will forgive her eventually. I didn't mind Dane as a character but Jemma was amazingly slow in realising that her family constantly just used her to get whatever they wanted. She had even manipulated into this situation, but luckily all's well that ends well! Rating 3/5

Overall, I enjoyed the Carlyle and the James, didn't mind the Alexander, but didn't really like the Maxwell story. I don't recall having read many anthologies, and I must say that this hasn't inspired me to rush out and get more. I think I like the full story to have the drama develop and watch the romance gather pace!

Total rating 3.5/5

The Last Battle by CS Lewis

I've been contemplating what to write about finishing The Last Battle, the last of The Chronicles of Narnia for a couple of days, because to be honest, it kind of left a distasteful after taste. After reading all of the other six books in the series I could not believe that the final scenes in the book are of a vengeful Aslan, liberally handing out judgements.

In the last book, we meet an ape called Shift and a donkey called Puzzle. After finding a lion's skin, Shift convinces Puzzle to put the lion skin on and pretend to be Aslan, so that they could get whatever they want. In due course they have a whole group of followers who believe that Aslan really has returned to Narnia, and who are following blindly despite the fact that the requests that "Aslan" is making are not very God like, and that no one is allowed to actually stand close enough to see him. The ape has also fallen into league with the Calormene.

King Rilian and his faithful unicorn Jewel are among the very few disbelievers and he tries to convince his fellow Narnians that they are being duped. soon many including the treacherous dwarves are professing to follow neither Aslan nor Rilian. They are going to live for themselves from now on.

Into this come Jill and Eustace and they soon are fighting to convince the people that the real Aslan would not ask such things as these. After rescuing Puzzle, things take a more vengeful turn.

In due course we are reintroduced to all of the major characters from the previous books - Peter, Edmund and Lucy, Digby and Polly, but not Susan, for she is now no longer a friend of Narnia. The explanation of why they are all now come to the new Narnia is lightly passed over, however for me was a very harsh way of bringing things all together.

Funnily enough, the books I liked least in this series were the stories of the beginning (The Magician's Nephew) and the end of Narnia, and they were for me the most biblical. Maybe that is why...not sure on that though!

I loved most of the other books in the series, but for me this ended on a sour note. I wanted a happily ever after I guess, just not the type of happy ever after I got!

Rating: 3.5/5

The Darkness of Wallis Simpson by Rose Tremain

I picked this book up from the library firstly because I thought it was a novel and not a collection of short stories, and secondly because I really did not like the only book by this author that I have previously tried to read and so wanted to see if it was the author or the story that I didn't like! To be honest, I'm still a little undecided on this one!

Before I give a brief synopsis of each of the short stories, I thought I would say something about the one common thread through this book, and to my mind that is unlikeable characters. I am not sure why so much literature sets out with unlikeable characters in order to create interesting stories! I guess that may be a little harsh because there were two likeable main characters but the majority were not all that pleasant.

In The Darkness of Wallis Simpson, Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor is being kept a virtual prisoner in her sumptuous Paris home during the last days of her life. Her sadistic carer is trying to get her to remember something...but what?? She remembers quite clearly her first and second marriages, but for whatever reason she can't remember whoever it is that she is supposed to remember.

In How It Stacks Up, John McCreedy is about to turn 46 years of age, and he is feeling extremely fed up with life, especially within his family group.

The Beauty of the Dawn Shift is about Hector S, a man who was an East German Border Guard. When the Berlin Wall comes down he decides that his place is not in the West, but rather further East so he undertakes a journey to the Soviet Union. In doing so he leaves behind his not only his profession, but also his lover, who also happens to be his sister Ute. Along his journey though he comes to realise how ill prepared he really was.

Inspired by the painting "Holyday" by Tissot, Death of an Advocate is told from the perspective of a lawyer called Albert who starts the story bored with life at a picnic with his wife Berthe. As he lies with his head upon Berthe, he watches a wasp land on the cake (he is very allergic to wasps!), contemplates the ugly tea caddy...and life in general. You can view an image of the painting and read a small part of this story here.

Nativity Story is a spin on the traditional Christmas story. A young couple arrives at a hotel where there is no room, so they have to spend the night in the basement with a man who has lost everything, but soon the woman is in labour and all the hotel guests are bringing gifts. What does Mordy have to offer them?

The Override is set in Paris. Stefan grew up in an expensive building in the 8th Arrondisement, and spent his time hiding on the stairs listening to the beautiful music that came out of one of the apartments. After growing up and marrying, he tragically loses his wife and child in an accident and so returns to the building, but the music is no longer beautiful.

In The Ebony Hand, Mercedes works in a fabric shop where every day she meticulously polishes the ebony hand that is used to showcase gloves. At home, her niece is living with her, after her mother has died, and her father sent to the local asylum home. Everything is changing around her, but Mercedes knows that whatever happens she must have the ebony hand.

In Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Frank Baines was a GI who spent time in London during the war, and now he has returned to see if he can solve one of the mysteries of his life. Why did his love not come to the US with him as they had agreed?

Moth - a flying baby who is attracted to the light? Strange!

The Cherry Orchard, with Rugs features Darren, Daz to his mates who work with him in the carpet showroom. Daz has multiple personalities. In addition to Daz there is Diego and also Daniela. It is Daniela who is on the train from London to Paris and meets up with Ross who is going to Paris to see a production of The Cherry Orchard by Chechov that uses only rugs for scenery.

In The Dead Are Only Sleeping Nell finds out that her father has just died, which forces her to remember the time when her mother died sometime before.

Peerless features Badger Newbold, a man with lots of free time and is looking for something to do. When he receives a letter asking him to send money to help some penguins he does just that, and finds a new purpose in life.

I think that Peerless was my favourite if only because it was charmingly amusing and remarkably positive considering some of the other stories. I actually really liked Loves Me, Loves Me Not until it got to the ending.

Overall, I did find the stories readable, which is something that I struggled with when I tried to read Music and Silence, so perhaps in due course I will give Rose Tremain another go!

Rating 3.5/5

The Siren Queen by Fiona Buckley

The Siren Queen is the eighth book in the Ursula Blanchard series of mysteries and I have to say that these books just get better and better. I have been reading this series for a while and now I am all caught up with the books that have been released at this time.

Ursula's daughter from her first marriage is about to turn 14 and, as they did at that time, thoughts turn to betrothals and marriage. It has been suggested that there is a young man who works for the Duke of Norfolk called Edmund Dean who would be a good match for young Meg, and so the whole Stannard family goes to London to meet Mr Dean. Ursula takes an instant dislike to Edmund but Meg is smitten, and he is very persistent in his devotion to her which concerns Ursula and her husband greatly.

However, whilst staying at the Duke of Norfolk's home, two young men are killed and Ursula becomes involved in the investigation, placing both herself and her family and entourage in a potentially dangerous situation. Are their deaths connected to plots to remove Elizabeth from the throne? They are certainly connected to Mary, Queen of Scots on several levels, even involving some of Elizabeth's favourites, including Robert, Earl of Leicester.

There are moments of good humour in this book. For example, the old woman that Ursula rescued from charges of witchcraft in Wales a few books ago attracts a beau - an elderly gentleman who creates very risque topiary shapes, when he isn't looking in at the serving girls that is. Unfortunately, Gladys' propensity for cursing people sees her get into more trouble in this book, particularly after she rejects her suitors offer of marriage.

If there was anything that bothers me at all about this book, it is the authors insistence at dropping just one or two sentences into the narrative to say that this first person account is actually being told looking back over many years. It really doesn't need to be there. There was also a couple of brief mentions about the nearness that Ursula had come to an inappropriate relationship with her servant Brockley that I didn't feel actually needed to be here. These are however maybe three or four sentences throughout the whole book, and therefore don't really impede my enjoyment of them.

With royal plots, accusations of witchcraft, and a huge twist in this book regarding Ursula's past this was a very entertaining read, and the foundations have been laid for some very interesting developments in the life of Ursula Stannard (formerly known as Ursula Blanchard, and Ursula de la Roche). I guess I will just have to wait for the next book to come out though.

The series in order is:

1. The Robsart Mystery (also published as To Shield the Queen)
2. The Doublet Affair
3. Queen's Ransom
4. To Ruin A Queen
5. Queen of Ambition
6. A Pawn for a Queen
7. The Fugitive Queen
8. The Siren Queen

Rating 4.5/5

Little Known Trivia facts about...me!

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Margaret!

1. Margaretology is the study of Margaret.
2. Michelangelo finished his great statue of Margaret in 1504, after eighteen months work.
3. Bananas don't grow on trees - they grow on Margaret.
4. The air around Margaret is superheated to about five times the temperature of the sun!
5. It takes 8 minutes for light to travel from the Sun's surface to Margaret!
6. Margaret once lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest.
7. Margareticide is the killing of Margaret.
8. If you cut Margaret in half and count the number of seeds inside, you will know how many children you are going to have.
9. It's bad luck to put Margaret on a bed.
10. The Australian billygoat plum contains a hundred times more Vitamin C than Margaret.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

With thanks to Heather.

Bedroom Business by Jennifer Crusie

This book actually includes two of Jennifer Crusie's earlier books - Getting Rid of Bradley and Charlie All Night, although it is not easy to see that from the front cover!

In Getting Rid of Bradley, Lucy Savage has just experienced the final insult from her now ex husband when he fails to even turn up at the divorce court. After going to the diner where they were supposed to be having lunch together so that Lucy could at least get some kind of information about what went wrong, Lucy finds herself being shot at, and then she thinks mugged. However her "mugger" is actually Zack Warren, who is investigating her ex-husband for embezzlement.

Zack is a good cop, who has excellent instincts, and he believes that Lucy is in real danger, so decides that she needs 24 hour protection, especially after her car is blown up. It is really only after he moves in that things get uncomfortable for Lucy, mainly because she can't stop thinking about how she wants to be with Zack!

I really liked Zack, although the pretense under which he moved in and stayed seemed a bit thin. His decisiveness around the fact that he was meant to be with Lucy was sweet. Lucy was kind of just there for me - she didn't really sparkle in her own right.

One thing I did like was that the author didn't take all the obvious steps on her way to the conclusion. For example, there was a little bit of flirting involving Lucy's sister Tina and Zack's partner Tony, but it never turned into a happy every after for all of them.

I rated Getting Rid of Bradley 4/5.

In Charlie All Night, hot shot radio producer Allie McGuffrey has recently broken up with her boyfriend, who also happens to be the star DJ that she helped create, and now she has been moved from the morning slot to the 10pm to 2am shift with a completely new DJ. After being told this she goes to the local bar, only to see her ex there. Whilst trying to keep her pride in tact, she picks up one of the men sitting at the bar and pretends that she is with him. He turns out to be Charlie Tenniel, the new DJ. As he has just arrived in town, he is invited to stay with Allie and her flatmate Joe. Allie decides that she needs a one night stand, but it quickly turns into more for them both.

Charlie soon becomes the next big thing on radio, but one night during an argument that is accidentally broadcast on air, Charlie and Allie challenge each other to live without sex for a month. Shortly after, Charlie has to move out, but their relationship changes from one that is sexually based to one where they just spend time hanging out. I really liked this side of the story, although whether it is realistic is a different matter!

But Charlie didn't really come to town just to do the radio show. He was asked to come and investigate some thing at the radio station - an anonymous informer has told the station owner that drugs are being distributed from the station. So whilst all he wants to do is spend time with Allie, there is an investigation to undertake as well. I never really got why Charlie was the one who was asked to investigate. He wasn't a police man or anything like that.

Once again, I really liked Charlie. The way that Crusie writes her heroes makes me really want to meet someone like that. Smart, funny, sexy, intelligent and handsome all rolled into one...mmm...yes please!

The interesting twist to this story was the very serious subject matter of the end of the story. I suspect that this kind of depth is something that still would be unusual in category romance even now, 10 years after this book was originally published.

This was my favourite of the two stories. Both are very short as they were both originally released as series romance, and therefore there wasn't the room for plot development as there might be if she wrote the same book now.

I rated Charlie All Night 4.5/5.

A fun couple of books to read. Overall rating 4/5

You went to sleep where?

I don't normally post about other things except for what I am reading, but this made me laugh a lot so I am going to share it here!

On Wednesday night of this week, I went to see Rob Thomas in concert! Given that this is the first concert I have been to in probably 13 years I was pretty happy that I got to go, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Lots of the other people at the concert were pretty happy to be there as well, including one of the women who was sitting in the row behind us. She arrived literally two minutes before he came on stage, and she started screaming and wolf whistling (there were lots of "Oh, he is SOOOO sexy" kind of comments going on!) I hope you are getting the idea - she was EXCITED with a capital E!

And then....nothing. Everything went quiet, no more sexy comments, no more wolf whistles. Turned out that she had gone to sleep! She woke up half an hour later, and was obviously refreshed by her powernap, because we got really EXCITED again!!

I was astounded. How could anyone go to sleep in the middle of a concert! Bizarre! I mean I used to pretend to be asleep in some strange places, but don't think I really was asleep!


Oh, and the concert was great fun! I might even try not to wait that long until I go to the next one!

Painted by the Sun by Elizabeth Grayson

Shea Waterston is somewhat unusual for her time. She is a widow who travels around the West working as a photographer in the 1870’s with her companion, Mr Owen Brandt. When she is not taking portraits and photos of the Wild West to satisfy the folks back east, she is spending her time trying to track down her son who she gave up several years ago. He was sent West on an orphan train, where young children were sent from the crowded Eastern cities out to the west where families could adopt them.

When we first meet Shea she is in Denver, attempting to take a photograph of a hanging that is just about to occur. With this photo, she should have enough money to continue to the search for her son. Unfortunately Judge Cameron Gallimore is not happy about this and refuses to allow Shea to do this. When she insists, he confiscates her camera and throws her in jail until the hanging is over. Whilst when he is performing his duties as a judge, Cameron is called upon to pass the death sentence for some of the crimes that are committed, he does not like this part of his job at all.

Shea leaves Denver, and thinks that is all there is to it, until on her way back from photographing a mining camp, she comes across a group of men her about to lynch the judge and she saves him, but gets shot in the process. Of course, Cameron feels compelled to look after her and so takes her to his home that he shares with his sister Lily, who was badly burned during the war and doesn’t leave the house because she is sensitive to how people might react to her scars, and his son Randall.

Eventually Shea decides to winter in Denver and before too long, Shea and Cameron and becoming more and more enamored with each other. Shea also becomes attached to a young boy, Ty, whose father is drifting to the wrong side of the law.

Elizabeth Grayson is the author of month in my Historical Romance Chat group, and is a new to me author. Also pretty new to me is the Western Historical sub genre. The best thing about this book is that I learnt something new! I had never heard of the orphan trains.

As far as the romance goes, the gradual build up to the realization of love and also of a physical relationship was very nicely done. Cameron was a man with demons left over from the Civil War and the period of the book which dealt with how his sister, in particular, found out what he really got up to at the end of the war was very well written. The subplot with Lily’s growing confidence was also very well done. On the downside...there were so many coincidences in this book! Coincidentally, it was one or two too many for my liking!

Overall this was a book that I enjoyed, although it didn’t really grab me! One day I will read more from this author…..one day!


Rating 3.5/5

Books by the Bed - February 2006

Following on from January's Books by the Bed post, I did do as I suggested and actually cleaned up, so in theory we started with a clean slate for February! And yet.....

A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving - still there. I got about two chapters into it (and those are really l-o-n-g chapters), but the story didn't grab me at all. I have however heard such good things about it, that I still really want to read it!

Painted by the Sun by Elizabeth Grayson - A new addition, Elizabeth Grayson is author of the month in the Historical Romance Chat group that I a member of.

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - This book actually did go back on the shelves for a little while, but not for long. I am supposed to be doing a group reread on this, one chapter a week, with some of the other members at Paullina Simons forum, so expect this one to be hanging around for while. Not that I mind...it's a great book.

The Last Battle by CS Lewis - the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia. I was supposed to have finished this by the end of January. Oh well..I'll get to it eventually!

You'll notice that A Breath of Snow and Ashes is no longer there, and no, I haven't finished it. In the comments to the January post, Carolyn wrote:

I noticed your comment about Breath of Snow and Ashes- I'm curious to hear what you think when you're finished! I read the book because I've been devoted to the rest of the series, but this one just didn't capture me the way that the others have.

Carolyn, I think it is fair to say that I haven't been captured either!! I read all of the others in two or three days at the most, and couldn't put them down, but with this one I am just not all that inspired to pick it up! I will eventually, but I don't know when!

The Fugitive Queen by Fiona Buckley

It is 1568 and Ursula Stannard (nee Blanchard) has been away from the court of Queen Elizabeth I for nearly 3 years, living a quiet country life with her third husband Hugh. She has also gained a ward, Penelope Mason, whose family we met in earlier books. Ursula's quiet country life is interrupted when she is summoned to court to reprimand Penelope as it appears that she has developed an unfortunate attachment to an unsuitable man (not for the first time).

In order to both remove Penelope from a potentially embarrassing situation, and to provide her with a better dowry in order to help her make a good match, a parcel of land in Yorkshire is given to Penelope, and it is suggested to Ursula that it would be a good idea for her take the new property owner to her property to inspect it. It is of course not coincidental that Bolton Castle is within a day's ride, and that Elizabeth has a private message that she wishes to have delivered to Mary, Queen of Scots who is "a guest" there under the watchful eye of Sir Francis Knollys. William Cecil also wishes for Ursula to see whether she can find out anything more about the death of Henry Darnley, Mary's husband who died in rather suspicious circumstances.

So, Ursula heads for the wild north of England, with a party that includes several of William Cecil's men, for protection, her loyal servants Brockley and Dale, her daughter Meg, and the far from happy Pen. Before too long, there has been a kidnap attempt on Meg, one of the soldiers is dead, and then when they finally arrive at Tyesdale to find the property has not been well maintained and there is some suspicion that the steward has been stealing.

As usual, wherever Ursula goes there are plots to be discovered and investigated, and this book is no different. It appears that there is a plot to help Mary escape from her captivity, and Ursula is drawn into it further than she would like.

This is the seventh book in the Ursula Blanchard mysteries, and I would have to say that it was one of the most enjoyable. With Pen, we meet a young girl who falls in love very easily which causes numerous problems throughout the book, and yet this is nicely balanced against the mysteries of who could have been responsible for kidnapping Meg, and killing the soldier, as well as who is implicated in the plot to aid Mary's escape.

There is only one more book in this series to go before I have caught up with the author, and will have to start waiting for new books to come out. I hope there is a new one soon! You can read previous posts about this series here.

Rating 4/5

The Sea by John Banville

The winner of the Man Booker Prize 2005, The Sea was nominated as the February read for a group I am in, and given that I am supposed to be co leading the discussion, there was an assumption that I would actually read it!! However, a few of the other people read it before I got to it, and to say that the response was not overwhelming is a fair comment. I therefore kept on putting it off until I could do so no longer, thinking that I wasn't going to like it either, but it actually wasn't too bad.

If you want a crisp outline of the plot, I probably can't do that. In effect this is the story of a man who, in dealing with an extremely pivotal point in his life, is looking back to another pivotal point years earlier.

If you want likeable characters... I don't think I can give you that either. The main character Max is an art historian, and there are lots of references to artists and classic literature to show this to us. The other main characters are Anna his wife, who's role in the book is as a catalyst, and the Grace family, Mr and Mrs Grace and their two children Myles and Chloe.

Do you want lots of actions, lots of events? Hmmm....nope, not much action either. Lots of introspection and memories. Over half way through I was still struggling to figure out what the book was about.

Having said that, whilst The Sea is a meandering trip through two events in a man's life, the writing is beautiful, with many descriptions and evocative word pictures. By the end of the book I was engaged, and was even reading it while waiting for the lights to change on my drive to work. I had however figured out the two big secrets early on, leaving just one that I didn't realise before time.

One of the main reasons that this book was nominated was because last year we read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and I thought it would be fun to compare a book that was nominated with the eventual winner. It will be interesting to see what others thought! I also read the 2004 Man Booker winner, Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst, and wonder if maybe I am not cut out for fine literature as this book didn't blow me away either.

Overall, not bad, but I would like a Pulitzer or Booker or other major prize winner to really draw me in, and hold me there, and blow me away. Maybe the next one will.


Rating 4/5

The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters

Amelia and Emerson are back in Egypt, and this time their son Ramses along with their servant John accompany them.. However the season has not started well for them. The new Director of Antiquities has gleefully assigned them a site that is less than glamorous (no pyramids!) for our experienced archaeologists, and they are not happy! To make matters worse, Amelia is convinced that one of their old acquaintances has been murdered, and she is convinced that there is a Master Criminal behind the murder. Soon there are disappearing and appearing mummy cases, besotted servants, and numerous other events all keeping both Amelia and Emerson on their toes, both in the investigation and archaeologically!

The third installment in the Amelia Peabody series, The Mummy Case sees the real introduction of Ramses as a character in his own right. Whilst he appeared briefly in the last book, he is a major character here. He is a very precocious little boy of about 6 years of age...always getting dirty, finding his way into and out of trouble and able to talk himself out of any situation. At first I wondered if this was going to get in the way of me enjoying the story, but in the end I got used to it. To be honest, if Ramses was not like this, then he would have no place in the story between the two forceful personalities of his parents!

I have to admit to getting slightly lost in the some parts of the resolution of the mystery but overall this was another satisfying read from Elizabeth Peters. Her books are not only unique, but they are highly entertaining as well!

You can read my previous entry about the second Amelia Peabody mystery here.

Rating 4/5

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

I haven't read an Anita Shreve book in years before picking this book up to listen to at the library a few days ago. I had such fond memories of reading Fortune's Rocks and The Pilot's Wife that I guess I had expected much more than what I got from this book.

Twelve year old Nicky Dillan and her father Robert Dillan have been living in an isolated house outside the town of Shepherd in New Hampshire for about two years, having moved from New York after her mother and sister were killed in a car accident. A short time before Christmas, Nicky and her father were snowshoeing through the woods near their house when the hear a sound. They go off to investigate and find a baby who has been abandoned there, and so they rescue the baby.

Becoming minor celebrities in town, it isn't too long before the mother of the abandoned baby comes to thank them for rescuing her baby, but before she can leave again, a snow storm sets in and she ends up staying with them for a couple of days. The days from when the baby was found up to the end of the storm are a real catalyst for Nicky and her dad, bringing changes for both of them.

This novel was, I think, meant to be a study of grief, but also about facing the consequences of your actions. On those levels, I guess it worked, although at times it felt a bit superficial.

Once again, I had issues around the perspective of the novel. For reasons we are not told, the story is told by Nicky when she is around 30 years old, but all the events are told in present tense, so there seems to be some confusion about this perspective at some point in the novel. Maybe there was some differentation between timeframes in a written book, but I certainly couldn't tell in the audio book.

Another thing that I really noticed in this book was a lot of the dialogue was followed by "he said", "Robert said", or "she said". For example if Nicky were to say "But Dad..I don't want to go to my room", it would almost always be followed by I said. Of course it was Nicky who said that...who else would call him Dad!. Occasionally there were other descriptors, but it was overwhelmingly noticeable that these were all throughout the story, to the point that it distracted me. To an extent it felt as though the dialogue wasn't sufficiently strong enough to stand alone without the reader being specifically told who was doing the talking..their characters voices were not individual enough within the text let alone before we add a narrator's interpretation.

Snow plays a crucial role in this story, and I have to admit that all the scenes where Shreve was describing the snow, and the conditions through the snow storm felt really real, although having never experienced anything like those conditions I wouldn't know for sure.

Overall, this was an okay read, that had the potential to be really interesting, but just didn't quite make it! Oh well....I could always reread Fortune's Rock if I really wanted!

Rating 3/5


Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Puss Reboots

No Man's Mistress by Mary Balogh

Having read More Than a Mistress earlier this month, I was looking forward to reading the story of Lord Ferdinand Dudley, younger brother of Jocelyn Dudley, Earl of Tresham.

Ferdinand arrives in the village of Trellick in time for the village fair, and finds himself entranced by both the village, and one particular village girl in particular. After dancing with her and quite rashly kissing her, they part ways. The next morning, Ferdinand thinks that maybe that was a mistake, for she may be one of his new neighbours, perhaps even the vicar's daughter. He has recently gained ownership of Pinewood Manor and has come to see what kind of money pit he has acquired, as the person he won it off of whilst gambling had never seen the property either.

There is, however, a rather large problem to deal with when he arrives at Pinewood Manor. He finds that it is already occupied by the same village girl, who is Miss Viola Thornhill. Ferdinand has the deeds to the property in London, that say that he owns the property, whereas Miss Thornhill insists that she is the rightful owner, having been given the property two years previously. There is a stand off from which neither party is prepared to backdown, and they both end up staying in the house until such time as the appropriate documentation can be obtained and this misunderstanding cleared up once and for all. Of course, this is far from a satisfactory situation, especially in relation to the damage that will be done to Miss Thornhill's reputation.

Initially all Miss Thornhill's friends do their best to drive Ferdinand away, but he gradually wins them over with his friendliness and charm. However, Miss Thornhill has a secret from her past that she is trying to keep hidden, and is not as innocent as she appears to be. Then again, Ferdinand is not quite as worldly as he appears either.

I have to say that this book was a disappointment. For once, I think that there were some crucial differences between this book and the other Mary Balogh's books that I have read in terms of plot, so I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't. The fact that Ferdinand was VERY inexperienced sexually and that Miss Thornhill..well, just wasn't, was something quite unusual, and yet it just didn't work. The reasoning behind why Ferdinand has "saved" himself was explained, and yet just didn't really cut it, and similarly the reasons for why Viola had done the things she had done were explained, but I guess weren't compelling enough for me.

I wasn't drawn into the world of this book, with many of the secondary characters either very one dimensional or just plain annoying. For example, with Viola's mother, there was very little in the way of explanation of why she had done the things she had done. In fact, the most interesting characters to me were the ones that we had previously met in More Than A Mistress.

Overall, the first REALLY disappointing Mary Balogh that I have read.

Rating 2.5/5

A Chance Encounter by Mary Balogh

In following Standing in the Shadows with this book, I feel as though I have gone from one extreme of the romance genre to the other. The former is contemporary romantic suspense, this one Traditional Regency. Where the former has numerous sex scenes, full of detail, A Chance Encounter is very subtle, with the suggestion of undoing buttons and bodies pressed together. Nothing explicit at all.

Elizabeth Rossiter has been employed as first a governess and then a lady's companion for the last 6 years, and she is quite happy with that arrangement. At least until she crosses paths with Robert Denning, Marquess of Hetherington, a man she would rather not have to ever see again. For six years ago, Elizabeth left London with her reputation in ruins and her heart broken.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book, particularly the first half of the book as Robert and Elizabeth meet again, and then the details of their previous relationship are revealed. There is a big surprise regarding their previous relationship that is very well done, and changed the complexion of everything that had been read before and then after for me. The other thing that was done very well was having little snapshots of events from six years ago interwoven with the current events, so we only got to see little by little exactly what had gone on six years previously. Having said that, by the end of the book I was actually just wishing that the two of them would sit down and have a conversation, sort out the big misunderstanding and get on with the happily ever after!

This was a very early Mary Balogh title (originally written in 1985), and you can tell, but it was still enjoyable and I am glad to have read it.

Rating 3.5/5

Standing in the Shadows by Shannon McKenna

I was drawn to reading this story after reading Rosario's review, especially seeing as this was the only McKenna book that my library had.

I have to say....man, is it hot in here or is it just me! Phew! The sex scenes in this book are just hot, hot, hot! I have to admit to not having read much romantic suspense so for me these scenes were probably the hottest scenes I have read in a very long time, if not ever. And yet there was still plenty of story in there.

Connor McCloud is a man who has been on the edge for a very long time. An ex cop, Connor's partner was brutally murdered, and Connor very badly injured. Since then he has really been letting himself go, doing PI work for his older brother, existing.. not living. Then he hears that his former enemy, Novak, has escaped from prison, and he just knows that he will be coming for him, and his former associate's daughter Erin Riggs. Connor has been obsessing over Erin Riggs for over 10 years, and will do anything to protect her.

Erin's father is cooling his heels in jail, and she is busy trying to keep her mother and sister from falling apart completely, but there are lots of things that aren't going well for her either. She's lost her job as an art expert, she's barely scraping by, especially seeing as she keeps on having to bail her mum out of financial trouble. There is however a light at the end of the tunnel. A reclusive millionaire has been asking her to evaluate some pieces, giving her enough cash to help her out.

As soon as Connor hears that Novak is free he assigns himself as bodyguard to Erin, regardless of whether she wants him to or not. In the course of protecting her, Erin and Connor stay in an out of the way hotel, and here the seduction starts. The police are soon telling Connor that Novak has been killed, but why does he still feel as though someone else is pulling all the strings. Maybe he is going mad, but maybe he isn't.

First the down sides of this book. Connor is a bit of a jerk at times, and very controlling most of the time. Also, in terms of the bad guys, it was almost as though we were given little vignettes of what was happening with the bad guys - a murder here, another person who is no longer required killed there before finally we reached the conclusion where all the protagonists were in place. I am also not sure how much of the backstory was told in the previous book, Behind Closed Doors, which may have enhanced the reading of this book further.

About those sex scenes - I think that in a large block of the book we just moved from one sex scene to the next, with not much plot development. Fortunately the rest of the book made up for it, but I was wondering for a little while!

However on the good side, we did see tenderness for Erin by Connor, and I do think his attitudes were pretty well explained by the author. Erin managed to hold her own against his pushiness sometimes, and played a crucial role in the climactic final sequences of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this foray into romantic suspense, and I will definitely be looking forward to reading more of McKenna's books.

Rating 3.5/5

Night by Elie Wiesel

I have thought quite a bit about what to write as a review of this book. It is the new Oprah Book Club pick, which means that we should expect to see it at the top of the bestseller lists for a little while to come. For a very short book, coming in at about 120 pages, there is certainly much to learn from it.

It is the story of a young Jewish man's life during WWII - first and foremost about the events of the Holocaust but also about a young man's loss of faith, and his coming of age during a very turbulent time in history.

Night starts off in a little town called Sighet in Transylania, where many Jews lived, almost untouched by the horrors of war. Life was going on as normal until one day all the foreign Jews were expelled from the city. One of them, Moche the Beadle, escapes and comes back to warn the Jews of Sighet of what he has seen, and what is to come, but they will not listen to him. Life continues and nothing happens for a couple of years but during 1944 the war is coming closer and closer. Elie's father still has a chance to obtain exit visas to enable his family and himself to emigrate to Palestine, but he says he is too old to start again, so the Wiesel family stays. Eventually, the German's come and in due course forced transportation of the Jews of Sighet begins with Elie and his family ending up at the reception centre for Auschwitz at Buchenwald. His mother and sister are separated from them and never seen again, whilst Elie and his father must fight to stay together, to stay one step in front of the selection process, for selection means death in the camps of Dr Mengele.

I am not going to write more of the horrors of the concentration camps that are described within the book. The images are those that we are familiar with, and yet should never become immune to or complacent about, but I leave them to be discovered by other readers. Suffice to say, they are horrors and horrifying to think that human beings can do that kind of thing to one another for any reason.

I do however want to write a little about the loss of faith, and the coming of age aspects. When we first meet Elie he is an extremely conscientious student of the Jewish faith, and yet, when all around him people are counselling each other to keep faith, Elie's reaction is the opposite:

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my Faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.

It was interesting to me as someone who grew up in a fairly religious household to read of the struggles of another to come to terms with a god that would allow these events to happen. It was also challenging to read about people having to do whatever they could to survive..sometimes at the expense of friends and loved ones.

This book also reminded me of a trip that I made to the former concentration camp at Dachau, just outside of Munich. This was a day that made such an impression on me. The atmosphere felt palpable as we walked through the gates of Dachau - oppression, death and fear in the air even after 50 years of non use.

This little book was very confronting, challenging and ultimately a rewarding read. I look forward to getting hold of the remaining two books in the trilogy called Dawn and The Accident. I should add that the version that I read was not the newly published Oprah book that is apparently an updated translation, with an all new introduction by Elie himself. When, and if, this version makes it to Australia I will probably buy it as this is definitely a book that could be read over and over, with new lessons to be learned each time.

Rating 4.5/5


Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Subliminal Intervention

A Pawn for a Queen by Fiona Buckley

If Queen of Ambition was all about Ursula fighting her attraction to her manservant Brockley, then A Pawn for a Queen should have been subtitled We Need to Get Ursula Married Off Again and Quickly. Whilst there is still some references to the closeness between Brockley and Ursula, fortunately it was not as common as it was in the last book.

With Ursula a recent widow, the prologue is about her getting ready to get married to an unnamed man. When the book begins properly, it is to find Ursula being asked to go off to Scotland to follow after her cousin Edward Faldene who it seems has been involved in gathering supporter's names and promises of support for Queen Mary Stuart should she ever gain the throne in England. This is of course treasonous to Queen Elizabeth I, and Ursula needs to find Edward and stop him before he gets caught and faces traitor's punishment. Only problem is that Ursula does not have the Queen's approval to undertake this journey or the investigation.

So begins a cross country chase, taking Ursula from her home through to the wild Scottish lands, and into Edinburgh. Unfortunately, Ursula catches up with her cousin, only to find him dead in his bed, having been murdered. Ursula being Ursula, she must investigate, and soon finds herself involved in life at the court of Mary Stuart.

At various points in the adventure, several of the main characters tell Ursula that she should be getting married, as do several of the minor characters. Luckily for her, she manages to attract willing men whereever she goes. Unluckily, one of them is Sir Brian Dormbois, who is a very engaging villain in more ways than one. Buckley gave the book a very interesting twist, with Ursula behaving in a very unusual way for a 16th century lady, but it all works out in the end.

There is also a big twist in the end of this book regarding Ursula's parentage. Whilst I understand why the author chose this twist, it seems to me to have been a rather obvious thing to have done. Once again though the ground work has definitely been laid very nicely for future books in the series.

Overall, this was a very entertaining read in a series that I enjoy.

Rating 4/5