Shadow Valley by Gwen Hunter

LAST BOOK READ IN 2009!

Read For:

RYOB Challenge

Winter 09 Challenge

A to Z Challenge

2nds Challenge

Countdown Challenge

Synopsis:

Mackenzie Macon thinks she's doing the right thing by taking her teenaged daughter, Bella, into the Appalachians on a photography shoot. Fleeing a crumbling marriage, Mac needs some time to bond with her daughter and escape the betrayal that still leaves her numb. But when a drifter abducts Bella and carries her on horseback deep into the woods, Mac must pull from her greatest reserves to fight for her daughters safe return.

When her soon-to-be ex-husband arrives, old wounds flare, and Mac turns to Caleb Howell, a local ranger, who helps keep her focused on the most important task: finding Bella. Then astonishing evidence comes to light that reveals the abduction was not as random as they first believed. But as hours turn into days, Mac must struggle to keep her hope--and her terrified daughter--alive.

My Review:

Another good suspense novel by Mrs Hunter. This story is a survival story mainly, somewhat a mother/daughter story, and a small bit of romance. Good mystery though the book could have been shortened about 50 pages and still have been enjoyable.

4 stars.

Rendezvous by Serena Richards

Rendezvous by Serena Richards (AKA Susan Carroll)

Historical Romance 1991

Read For:

A to Z Reading Challenge

Winter Reading Challenge

RYOB Challenge

2nds Challenge

Synopsis:

Their love was the greatest peril of all...

Belle Varens... Beneath her silk gowns and frilly corsets beat the steely heart of a spy.

Sinclair Carrington... A master of deception, he possessed dark secrets of his own.

In the stormy days of the French Revolution, Belle risked her life to rescue aristocrats from the keen blade of Madame Guillotine. Danger was the only way she could escape the heartbreaking memories of her past... until Sinclair Carrington unlocked a reckless yearning in her heart that she had so long denied. Consumed by intrigued -- and desire -- they knew it was the wrong time and the wrong place to fall in love... but their passion had never felt so right...

My Review:

This Historical Romance set mainly in France towards the end of Bonaparte's reign, was a great "spy Romance". This is an early book of the now famous Susan Carroll, written under one of her many pseudonyms. I loved that the heroine and hero and "older and wiser"-a refreshing change from all the "19 and virginal" historicals that seem to dominate the field. Some may not like the side story aspect of Isabelle's former husband who surprisingly comes back into her life, but it is handled well, and nothing "romantic" happens between the two so adultery is not an issue.

I do wish that a-the story had been a little more on Isabelle's and Sinclair's relationship and less on their spy mission and that the story was a bit more in the love scene department as they had very good chemistry. That being said-the love scenes are such that they are tame enough to not offend readers who don't like to read that.

Overall a good Regency Historical-4 stars.

Kiss of Darkness by Sharon Brondos

Currently Reading.

Kiss of Darkness

Sharon Brondos

Silhouette Shadows #32

1994

Read For:

A to Z Challenge

Harlequin Silhouette Reading Challenge

Fall Reading Challenge

Synopsis:

The dark dilemma

Adrian Smith's latest orders tore at a conscience that shouldn't exist, pricked a heart that was his curse. But he'd made his deal with Death centuries ago, and now he had to do Its bidding. He would kill the scientist who was on the brink of prolonging human life; then he would return to his own private hell...

Adrian had expected his prey to be an old man whose time was near, but instead, he found himself preparing to harm a beautiful young woman, bursting with life. Yet Adrian could no sooner murder Sue Cooper than he could hope to fight Death and Its agents of evil when they came to do the job themselves...

My Review:

Kiss of Darkness was fairly good if a bit overly dramatic Vampire Romance. The author did have an unusual approach to your typical Vampire story but there was a bit too much weakness in the heroine, and machismo in the hero to rate it at 3 stars or more. It was too high strung and "Gothic" to take at all seriously. The love scenes were bland and "purple prose"-which those who dislike any discription in love scenes might like,though I did not. The scenes kind of reminded me of an old 50's love story where the love scene shows some silly, flowery symbolic stuff during the "act" then returns to the couple in bed smoking-LOL.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

2.5 stars.

The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer

Read For:

ROR Fall Challenge

A to Z Challenge

RYOB Challenge

2nds Challenge

Synopsis:

For a large portion of Georgette Heyer's great public, The Quiet Gentleman will be one (if not the) favourite of her Regency novels. It is more intimately a family affair than any of her previous books. There is plenty of drama in it: in fact there is a series of those nearly fatal accidents that look very like attempted murder. Trip a horse, and you may kill its rider. An old bridge may well collapse, but why was no warning of its state announced?

Gervase Frant, Seventh Earl of St. Erth, who returns rather belatedly from Waterloo to his family seat of Stanyon, in Lincolnshire, arrives to find himself welcomed only by his cousin Theo, a gentleman as quite as himself; and encounters from his stepmother and his young half-brother hostility, and an open regret that he survived the wars.

However, he sails past all the dangers that await him with the smiling imperturbability to be expected of a Heyer hero.

There are of course all the charming airs and graces of the period, and plenty of romance, in the course of which the Cincerella theme delightfully triumphs. Finally, it will generally be agreed that Miss Heyer could not have given her readers a fuller measure of good things

My Review:

Another excellent Heyer Regency. I enjoyed the fact that Gervase is a bit of a self acknowledged "dandy" and that Drusilla was a "plain Jane" though quick witted and sensible heroine. The book is more mystery than anything else. Like The Corinthian, I could have stood more romance but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Heyer's Regencies seem more a love affair of the period than anything else. Her knowledge of Regency era is outstanding and daunting all at the same time-especially her use of thieve's cant as well as the cant used by the "up and comers" as well.

4 stars!

Ever His Bride by Linda Needham

Read For:

Royal Romance Challenge

A to Z Reading Challenge

Synopsis:

THE DARKEST HEART His looming form blocks the firelight. His voice is like midnight fog, shivering along her skin. Yet Felicity Mayfield must marry hard, cold Hunter Claybourne, or go to debtor's prison. Boldly, she proposes a bargain to the wealthy financier: she'll become his wife in name only for one brief year-if he allows her the freedom to continue living an independent life. Surely her newspaper scribblings are a matter of indifference to him. THE BRIGHTEST LOVE He never suspected a wife would be such a nuisance. It was supposed to be a simple business arrangement. Instead, she has invaded his cavernous home-rearranging the furniture, winning over his servants, blinding him with sunlight. Her constant Presence is unsettling, her vanilla scent everywhere, her skin a soft temptation. Suddenly it seems only right that she would wear his ring...and share his bed. After all, she is his wife. Yet even as Felicity opens a chink in Hunter's heart, her expose of the scandalous workhouses threatens to uncover his darkest secret, forcing him to choose between his hard-won empire and the miracle of love.

My Review:

I loved this book and finished it in a day. The storyline in set in Victorian England at the start of Industrialization. The hero, Hunter, is a financial wizard, but a bit of a "gorgeous" Scrooge. His entire life revolves around making money and keeping it. He has a vast fortune, but lives like a hermit to save a buck. The story starts when he has the heroine, Felicity, put in a sponging house. Her Uncle fraudulently sold 30 thousand dollars worth of Felicity's railroad shares to Hunter but he wasn't allowed to by law until she turns 25, and she's only 20 now. The Uncle, ran away to America, leaving Felicity holding the bag. So Hunter tells her: marry me for a year, when I can get the shares by law, or I'll send you to debtors prison. After a year, they will divorce.

Hunter is very much a "tortured hero" which I'm a sucker for anyway, but very "alpha" as well, which I normally dislike. Fortunately he starts behaving halfway through the book. Felicity is a wonderful heroine-very strong willed, intelligent and forthright.

The sexual tension is wonderful as are the love scenes which are very "spicy". Great secondary characters, high drama and a solid backstory makes this a five star book for me.

Recommended!

Untouched Mistress by Margaret McPhee

Read For:

ROR Fall Reading Challenge

RYOB Challenge

A To Z Challenge

Read Your Name Challenge

Synopsis:

Guy Tregellas, Viscount Varington, has a rakish reputation, and when he discovers a beautiful woman washed up on a beach he is more than intrigued. He doesn't believe her claims that she is a respectable widow and is determined to seduce the truth out of her! Helena McGregor must escape Scotland to anonymity in London. For the past five years she has lived a shameful life, not of her choosing. But she needs the help of her disturbingly handsome rescuer as danger catches up with them…

My Review:

A wonderful fast, Regency Romance. In this semi sequal to the author's The Wicked Earl, in Untouched Mistress, we have Lucien's brother Guy's story. The story begins when Guy finds a unconscious woman washed up on the beach. The woman, Helena, is terrified of something and is adament about running away and hiding in London. Guy offers to bring her and there the adventure begins.

Guy and Helena are both "tortured heros" in their own way, but refreshingly, in this case, it's Helena who has truly faced some unspeakable cruelty in her life. She fears and distrusts men, and Guy find's that even though he desires Helena, he must move slowly and in doing so, falls in love with her.

The villain in this book is really a baddie.His evilness makes for a thrilling,drama filled book. The story is more about love than passion, though there are a few love scenes. A great story about overcoming abuse too.

4 stars.

Lady Savage by Donna Simpson

Read For:

Summer Reading Challenge

RYOB Challenge

2nds Challenge

A to Z Reading Challenge

Read Your Name Challenge

Synopsis:

For Savina Roxeter, the voyage from Jamaica to England is the beginning of her future: a return to London to marry her intended, the estimable Lord Gaston-Reade, and the very proper business of household and heirs under the watchful eye of the ton's elite. But when a wild storm blows the ship off course, Savina, her father, her fiance, and his secretary, Anthony Heywood, among others, are stranded on a Caribbean island as primitive and unpeopled as it is beautiful. Suddenly, it is survival that matters rather than Almack's vouchers or the fashionable cut of a coat. And it is Anthony who astounds Savina with his skill, his resourcefulness, and an elemental strength that makes her breathless with desire. In London, a match between a lady and a man who works for his living would be unthinkable. But in this verdant paradise, they are equals in every way...

My Review:

Another solid story from Regency Author Donna Simpson. Unlike most Regencies set in the opulence and glittering ballrooms of Regency England, in Lady Savage the story is set in Jamica but mostly on a primitive Island that a dozen genteel English find themselves on after their ship is commandered by the Americans. The heroine, Savina, is a forward thinking woman who unfortunately finds herself pressured into a betrothal with a very old fashioned, arrogant Earl. While on their deserted Island, Savina realizes the error in choosing the Earl as well as her newfound feelings of affection and respect for the Earl's secretary, Anthony.

The story is fast paced and the groups trials to survive on the island are very much "Survivor-Regency era". Lady Savage is a good choice for those who are sick of Alpha males as Anthony is very much a calm, reasonable and clever "beta male".

The love scenes are there, but tame.

All in all, a quick, good book. 4 stars.

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

Read For:

Ryob Challenge

What's In A Name Challenge

A to Z Challenge

Synopsis:

Michael McGill is a burned-out private detective who suddenly becomes enlisted by an army of presidential goons to retrieve the Constitution of the United States, but not the one we all know about. This would be the real Constitution (the one with invisible amendments) created by some of the Founding Fathers as a fallback for their great experiment. Along the way, McGill gains a polyamorous sidekick named Trix, gets scared to death by what men do with warm salty water, and descends into a world where crime, sex, and madness all seem to be the same thing.

Full of mind-bending style and packed with a wild cast of characters, Crooked Little Vein infuses Robert B. Parker with Kurt Vonnegut and the madness of the graphic-novel world. A surprisingly surreal treat, it will appeal to hardcore comic fans, mystery aficionados, and all readers looking for a riotous summer reading adventure

My review:

How to review this book-hmm. a wild, sick twisted ride-part hard edge mystery, part social satire and scathing parody of our political system. In turns laugh out loud funny and sickening. Not for the feint of heart. Funny but doesn't stick with you. If you like hardboiled or cyberpunk stuff you might like this.

3 stars

No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Read For:

RYOB Challenge

A to Z Challenge

Synopsis:
This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives." Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement.

My review: I've had this book for awhile in my mountainous TBR pile, but sadly unread. But after catching several episodes of the fantastic HBO series based on this popular series, I finally decided to give it a try. This book is a real winner! Written in a short series of chapter length "cases", in this first book we meet the effervescent Precious Ramotswe, a thirty something single lady-a voluptous "traditionally built" Botswanan whose love of mysteries is realized upon inheiritence of her fathers cattle. Mma Ramotswe sells the cattle and opens up the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.

The book draws the reader into Precious's life, her dreams, her past heataches and her future aspirations. The mysteries are mainly fun, very clever and witty. All in all, the stories make the reader want to revisit Precious and her friends again and again.

5 stars-recommended!

BTW-I also heartily recommend the series, now on DVD. Lovely Jill Scott, already an extremely talented R and B singer, IS Precious Ramotswe!

The London Belle by Shirley Kennedy

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
A to Z Challenge
Summer Challenge

Synopsis: Lady Jane Sperling is the eldest daughter of the Earl of Hedley, and in her third season. Her finicky nature and scholarly pursuits have prevented her from complying with her family's wishes to wed her off to some wealthy old man. But now her father's gambling debts have put the entire Sperling fortune in jeopardy...To help the Sperlings, Lord Dashmont offers Jane employment - as a companion and tutor for his son, who still grieves over the death of his mother. Wary of the notorious rake's true motives, she reluctantly agrees. And as Jane helps a frightened little boy emerge from his shell, her actions also melt the heart of her employer. But can she trust Dashmont - a disreputable rogue and gambler - enough to fall in love with him?

My review: This book is a perfect example of how good writing can overcome even the biggest dislikes. When I started the book, I quickly learned that the heroine was a vain, spoiled brat who thrived on being the "belle of the ball". Likewise, the hero seemed a bit of a cad-more concerned with his personal pleasures of gambling and cyprians than his son. Normally, I'd quit the book right there as these are personal "peeves" of mine. But the whole story does a 360 degree turn early on-turning both characters worlds upside down. In doing so-we see both characters grow and mature. It had moments of "Lizzie and Darcy" that I really enjoyed-both had preconceived notions of each other but both cannot fight their attaction, and in so doing, find out how wrong they were about the other. This Regency is very romantic and a bit "sexier" compared to most Regencies, but still MUCH tamer than other Romances-still a "PG" rating on the love scenes.

All in all, a very good Regency-Recommended-4 stars.

What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
1st In A Series Challenge
A to Z Challenge


Synopsis:

It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man-Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars

My Review:
This Regency era Historical Mystery really pulls you into the lives of St. Cyr, the main character, Tom, a street urchin who helps St Cyr in trying to solve who killed the victim, and Kat Boleyn, St. Cyr's former love, an actress who St. Cyr was willing to throw his title away for in order to marry six years before.

The lead is very much an "hero", but with moments of anti hero when needed. This book did well at setting up the relationships for future books, while still holding your interest. A good mystery too!
4 stars.

Prospero's Daughters by Nancy Butler

Read For:
Summer Challenge
RYOB Challenge
2nds Challenge
What's In A Name Challenge
Themed Reading Challenge
A to Z Reading Challenge


All in all, a very good Regency. Likeable hero and heroine-both are "scarred" in their own way. The hero, mostly emotionally and the heroine physically. Unusual storyline that the heroine cannot walk and has been forced in seclusion by uncaring relatives. The heroine meets the hero quite by accident. I liked this one. Recommended-4 stars

From Dead To Worse by Charlaine Harris

From Dead To Worse
Charlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse Mystery #8
Rating 4 stars

Read For:
A To Z Challenge
What An Animal Challenge
42 Challenge

Synposis:

After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade explosion at the vampire summit, everyone--human and otherwise--is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing.

It's clear that things are changing--whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie--Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community--is caught up in the changes.

In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death, and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood finished flowing, her world will be forever altered.

My Review:
In some ways better than the last book but the story seemed more like a series of short storylines than a main theme. While that didn't upset this reader, as a "slice of life" in the Sookie world is always enjoyable, this book would be VERY confusing for anyone not aqquainted with the series.
I like that it appears that Quinn, the weretiger may be exiting Soookie's life as he's just become an increasingly annoying character, and I'm equally glad to see Sookie's relationship with Eric seeming to go to the front burner as well. All in all, not the best Sookie story but even a mediocre Sookie story is way better than most other Vampire books out there.
4 stars.

One Night To Be Sinful by Samantha Garver

One Night To Be Sinful by Samantha Garver
Historical Romance
Rating 4 stars


Read For:
RYOB Challenge
New Author Challenge
Themed Reading Challenge
A to Z Reading Challenge
Romance Club Reading Challenge
Romance Reading Challenge


Synopsis:

A fine and true friend, Calvin Garrett never anticipated what he would undertake in the name of loyalty to Lord Wolcott. Posing as a butler, he appears at the door of Wolcott’s fiercely independent sister, Abigail, charged with uncovering the strange and sinister happenings at her country home. Certainly, he hoped playing servant to an unconventional woman would be a short-lived task. But when he meets his stunning new mistress, the scheme he had in mind takes a turn for the tempting... Abigail has never encountered a butler so...magnetic. However, he comes highly recommended and she is desperate for help. The troubles and danger plaguing her estate are enough to make a sane woman cling to strong shoulders, but her awareness of her new employee has much more to do with a longing from deep within her heart. Clearly, she has bigger problems than a dizzying attraction to a male. Soon, though, sleepless nights filled with danger and desire form a volatile mix that promises to turn Abigail from a confirmed spinster into a woman ready for love…

My Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this Historical Romance. I like that the "wounded" character in the story was the heroine and not the hero. Abigail is a strong, smart heroine who has come back from tragedy to make a life for herself. The hero, Calvin, is a Marquis, born "on the wrong side of the sheets", raised in a workhouse, not knowing about his father until he inherits the estate on his father's death. Both leads are wounded souls-Abby physically and Calvin emotionally. The relationship was sweet and very romantic and the love scenes are in turn Romantic yet very hot:). A villainous side story completes this good book. The ending was a bit rushed, hence 4 stars, but I'd still recommend this book.

The Vampire Viscount & The Devil's Bargain by Karen Harbaugh

Two Books In One
The Vampire Viscount And
The Devil's Bargain
Karen Harbaugh
Regency Romance
Rating 4 Stars

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
New Author Challenge
Spring Challenge
A to Z Challenge
2nds Challenge (The Devil's Bargain)

The Vampire Viscount
Synopsis: Unholy Wedlock . . .
Leonore Farleigh shuddered when she learned she was to marry the Viscount St. Vire. What sort of monster would take advantage of her father's debts to buy her as his bride?

But one meeting with her future husband turned her dismay to desire. Lord Nicholas St. Vire was blindingly handsome and supremely seductive. It was only after they were man and wife that questions began to poison her perfect marriage. Why did he fear to go out in the light of day? What fueled the hellfire torment in his eyes? How was he linked to the ravishing Lady Mercia Lazlo, about whom such dark rumors flew? Could the most irresistible lord in London be the most horrifying of creatures of the night?

Leonore had to find out as her marriage moved to its ultimate moment of truth -- when the viscount's all-consuming kiss would crown her eternal happiness -- or seal her undying doom . . .

My Review:

A very good paranormal Regency Romance. Nicholas is looking for a way to undo his Vampirism and Leonore is "won" as a debt pay off to him by her abusive father. What starts as a marriage of convienence quickly becomes a loving and very hot (for a Regency) story. I like that unlike most modern Vampire Romances-Nicholas hates his life and is desperate to stop being a Vampire. 4 stars.

The Devil's Bargain:

Synopsis: THE ENDANGERED INNOCENT . . .
Lovely Eveline Seton knew that she could never be a proper match for Lord Richard Clairmond. The devastatingly handsome blueblood would never dream of taking a merchant's daughter as a wife. Why then did he whisper words that made her heart beat faster? Why did he gaze at her with a heat that melted her to the core? Eveline feared her ardent suitor was hiding something.

THE IRRESISTIBLE RAKE . . .
Not for nothing did the Viscount Clairmond keep a list of ladyloves that testified to his supreme skill as a seducer. But it was not as a wife that this reckless gambler wanted Eveline. To be relieved of embarrassing debts and a certain future of pauperism, he had sold his soul-and Eveline's virtue-to Satan. And unless this extraordinarily persuasive young woman proved an equal match for him in the thrust and parry of his campaign of conquest, she most surely would become his all - too - willing victim. Or he hers . . .

My Review:

Also a well written, unusual Regency with a paranormal theme. Richard, back home from the war, is forced into a "deal with the Devil". To say his sister from ruin he must utterly ruin another innocent young woman. Eveline is a smart, savvy, "cit"-a merchant's daughter.

What starts as a seducuction and ruin quickly becomes much more for Richard as he realizes he's in love with Eveline. But how can he be with Eveline and not become the devil's minion? Read to find out:)

Also surprisingly HOT for a traditional Regency. Karen Harbaugh is quite talented and I plan to read more of her books. Recommended-4 stars.

The Indifferent Earl by Blair Bancroft

The Indifferent Earl
Blair Bancroft
Regency Romance
215 pages
Rating-3.0 stars

Read For:
A to Z Challenge
RYOB Challenge
Spring Challenge
New Author Challenge
Romance Club Reading Challenge

Synopsis:
Before Abigail Todd can collect her inheritance, she must honor her grandmother's last wish-to complete a series of tasks with the Earl of Langley-and hopefully fall in love in the process.

My Review:
Overall, a cute Regency that ran about average throughout, picking up a bit the last 30 or so pages.

Interesting premise of an American spinster of 28 who runs an Academy for girls in America when she learns of inheriting a cottage in England. To fully inherit, she must complete a series of eight tasks from Clarissa, who Abigail learns is her grandmother whom she never knew about. A famous courtesan who lived her last 40 years as a kept woman of the heroes Grandfather. Abigail coincidentally is the spitting image of her grandmother.

I would have given this book more stars if there would have been more romance. For a book with a major character being a courtesan, there is surprisingly very little sexual chemistry.

Overall though I enjoyed The Indifferent Earl and I'd recommend this book.
3 stars.

Highland Love Song by Constance O'Banyon

Highland Love Song
Constance O'Banyon
Rating 3.5 stars
322 pages

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
A to Z Challenge
New Author Challenge
Chick Porn Challenge
Serial Readers Challenge

Synopsis: Lady Arrian DeWinter, daughter of the English duke of Ravenworth, was determined to escape the highland castle of Warrick Glencarin. For her senses were perilously near surrender to the very man who held her as a pawn in a family feud. And escape she did, though she left behind her heart to a man who dared not believe he’d won it.
Betrothed to Ian MacIvors, lovely Arrian struggled to despise her fiance’s enemy. Yet all she longed for was Warrick and the chance to soften his bitter anger with her loving touch…

My Review: Highland Love Song was my first book by this author and after finishing it I'm happy to say not my last. Written in 1993, HLS is very much an old school "bodice ripper". Meaning the storyline is fairly interwoven with scandals, high drama, kidnapping, family saga and an emotionally charged storyline. Be forewarned, this story is all drama and no "light" moments.

Highland Love Song is actually book two in the DeWinter Saga, though I read it without knowing of the first and still enjoyed the book. Though I'll now go back and read Arrian's parents story in Song Of The Nightingale. Arrian and Warrick were good lead characters-the heroine was not too flighty, and the hero, while brooding and dark, was no brute.

Miss O'Banyon's forte seems in her writing fleshed out secondary characters, and HLS was full of great ones. The best were MacTavish, Arrian's Aunt Mary, and her brother Michael-who is the hero in book three in the series, Desert Song. The love scenes were so so and few and did detract from the storyline-if they were better this would have been at least a four star book. If you enjoy connected family sagas like Lindsey's Mallory's or Laurens Cynster's, then I think you'll enjoy this book.
3.5 stars.

The Rules of Gentility by Janet Mullany

The Rules of Gentility
Janet Mullany
Regency Romance
Rating 3.75 stars
279 pages

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
2nds Challenge
A To Z Challenge
Chick Porn Challenge
Romance Reading Challenge








Synopsis: Regency heiress Philomena Wellesley-Clegg has rather strong opinions about men and clothing. As to the former, so far two lords, a viscount, and a mad poet have fallen far short of her expectations. But she is about to meet Inigo Linsley, an unshaven, wickedly handsome man with a scandalous secret. He's nothing she ever dreamed she'd want—why then can she not stop thinking about how he looks in his breeches?

Having read, and loved, Miss Mullany's first book Dedication (Signet Regency Romance), I eagerly read Rules of Gentility and for the most part was not disappointed.

This fast paced, funny and in moments, touching, Regency Romance is told in the traditional "Comedy of Errors" style. Ms. Mullany throws in every tried and true Regency plot device in biting satire form while bringing the reader back to the hard reality of Regency life by introducing the common, yet not talked about subjects such as adultery, affairs between "quality" and the working class, often resulting in "by blows",homosexuality, and the subjugation and idea of the times that women of all classes were basically non entities at the time.
Philomena and Igino grow and mature as lovers and as humans by the stories end.

A little more Romance needed as well as a silly, and not thought out "villain" at stories end brought the book down at bit but it was still quite good.
Looking forward to more from this author.
3.75 star-recommended.

Golden Fleece by Robert Sawyer

Golden Fleece
Robert J. Sawyer
249 pages
Rating 2 stars.

Read For:
42 Challenge
RYOB Challenge
A to Z Challenge
Diversity Challenge

My Review:
A short review for a short book. Just your average sci fi novel. Vanilla storyline-nothing to endear or repel the reader. I wouldn't recommend it unless your a Sawyer fan who wants to read all his books

The Bloodied Cravat by Rosemary Stevens

The Bloodied Cravat
Rosemary Stevens
291 pages
Rating 3.0 stars
Read For:
RYOB Challenge
Historical Fiction Challenge
A to Z Challenge
What An Animal Challenge

Synopsis:
The arbiter of fashion attends the Duchess of York's birthday party. But when a guest is murdered-with one of the Duchess' hairpins-Beau must clear her name and find the culprit.

My Review:
In this third Beau Brummell mystery, the story begins at Oatlands, The Duchess of York's country home. The Duchess is celebrating her birthday and Beau has bought a special present for her, one that his valet, Robinson, is bringing up in a separate carriage. Unfortunately, Robinson's carriage is set upon by highwaymen. The highwayman steal something precious to the Beau, something that, if brought to light, could ruin his life as well as The Duchess'.

The Bloodied Cravat was enjoyable, though not as good as books one and two in the series. Beau's a bit "off his game" in this story, though rightly so as what is happening to him. Once Mr Lavender and his daughter Lydia enter the story it picks up the pace again. I enjoy Beau's relationship with Lydia, and hope it continues in book 4.
I would still recommend The Bloodied Cravat for fans of Historical Mystery and Regency period enthusiasts.
3 stars.