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.

Somewhere I'll Find You by Lisa Kleypas

Somewhere I'll Find You
Lisa Kleypas
384 pages
Rating-1.5 stars

Read For:
Winter 08 Challenge-FINISHED!
RYOB Challenge
Chick Porn Reading Challenge

Synopsis:
All London is at Julia Wentworth's feet. The beautiful, enchanting actress is the toast of the theater world--and anything she desires is hers for the asking. But the incomparable leading lady guards a devastating secret: a mystery husband whom she does not know, dares not mention. . .and cannot love.For years Damon Savage has been searching for the stranger his unscrupulous parents wed him to without his consent. Wanting no more than to be legally rid of the foolish chit, Damon is shocked to discover his "bride" is the exquisite stage performer whom he intended to make his mistress! But though his wife by law, Julia will never truly be Damon's--until he conquers her fears, his formidable rivals. . .and the stellar lady's proud, independent heart.

my Review:
Lisa Kleypas is normally one of my favorite authors. Somewhere I'll find you was, in my opinion, her poorest book to date. The characters have lot's of sexual chemistry, but nothing deeper.

The storyline was just too over the top. Between the "I cannot love you even though were married", to the heroine's "I can't love you because I'll lose my independence" it was downright boring and hard to get through. The characters were wooden and unlikable. There was nothing that endeared me to either of these characters, and a kidnapping scene towards the end had me almost quitting in disgust. The cherry on top was the heroines realization that she loves the hero only after this as well as a fight with her boss/fiance'.

The second book in the series, Because You're Mine, is much better and fortunately I read these two out of order as I would have never read book two had I read this book first.
1.5 stars.

Thunder and Roses by Mary Jo Putney

Thunder And Roses
Mary Jo Putney
380 pages
Rating 3.75 stars.

Read for:
Winter 08 Challenge
1st in a Series Challenge
RYOB Challenge
Serial Readers Challenge
A to Z Challenge
Chick Porn Reading Challenge

Synopsis: PASSION'S BARGAIN . . .
They called him the Demon Earl. They said he could do anything. Son of a rogue and a gypsy, Nicholas Davies was a notorious rake until a shattering betrayal left him alone and embittered in the Welsh countryside.

Desperation drives quiet schoolteacher Clare Morgan to ask the Demon Earl to help save her village. Unwilling to involve himself in the problems of others, Nicholas sets an impossible price on his aid - only if Clare agrees to live with him for three months, letting the world think the worst, will he intervene.

Furiously, Clare accepts his outrageous challenge, and finds herself drawn into a glittering Regency world of danger and desire. As allies, she and Nicholas fight to save her community. As adversaries, they explore the hazardous terrain of power and sensuality. And as lovers, they surrender to passion that threatens the very foundations of their lives.

My Amazon Review:

overall great story with some flaws.....,

January 29, 2009

Thunder and Roses is the story of an unrepentant rake, Nicholas, a half Gypsy Earl who was involved in a scandal with his former wife's death, and Clare, a Methodist preacher's daughter who pleads with the Earl to help the villagers working conditions at the mine. The Earl,in true Rake fashion, hoping to make Clare go away, proposes a scandalous three month liaison between them in return for his help. He gets a shock when Clare agrees.

Thus begins a emotional, highly charged tale of false appearances, misjudgments and how two highly flawed people can find love.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though it was not without it's flaws. Clare was likable, but does something during their first intimate encounter that almost made me quit the book. Let's just say that I found her "pious schoolmarm one minute, then blatant tease the next" really ugly. As others mentioned in their reviews, the hero and heroine battled each other with sex, or the withholding of it, and that was distasteful and offputting. Putney has more talent in writing love stories than love scenes, and too much emphasis was put on the sexual aspect of the relationship.

Otherwise, I'd recommend this book to Historical Romance fans looking for a deeper, more involved storyline.
3.75 stars.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn

Read For:
Winter 08/09 Challenge
#2 Read a book read in the Fall Challenge

I think this was the wrong Julia Quinn book to start on. I've only read one other books of her's-On The Way To The Wedding, and enjoyed that one. I've heard nothing but good things about her past books but this book was just flat out boring. One dimensional characters and no "umph". I'll try one of her earlier books. This one is skipworthy. No stars.

yet another failed book

Books like this make me want to quit the Historical Romance genre and switch to straight Historical Fiction. I'd miss the romance though....but the biggest peeve about this book? It's part one of a trilogy. Do I go ahead and try to read those or just ditch all three?

My Amazon Review:

inaccuracy laden........,

January 9, 2009

I don't get these authors who try to write Historical Romance but completely ignore every sensibility and convention of the era that the book is set in.

For example, this is set in Regency England, but the hero, a gentleman, touched and kissed the heroine within the first five minutes of meeting her! Several times, and the hero talked to the heroine as if she was a loose woman, when she was obviously a gentlewoman.

Here's a crazy idea-if you want your characters to act this way-set your book in modern times!

To be fair-I have read another book by this author that I enjoyed-A Phantom Affair, but Daughter's Destiny is the second book by her that was not good, so I would definitely categorize her as a "hit or miss" author.

not recommend-no stars!

Another failed book

I tried reading The Devil Who Tamed Her by Johanna Lindsey for some challenges, but couldn't finish it.
My Amazon Review:

disappointing.....,

January 6, 2009

I've read and enjoyed many of Miss Lindsey's books but not this one. The two prevalent storylines, the "goddess beautiful" but hateful heroine and a "kidnapping" storyline are two of my least favorites are they are just distasteful.

I hoped that Miss Lindsey could however redeem these storylines in such a way as to make the storylines palatable. No such luck here. I just could not get over how vindictive, judgmental and stuck on herself that Ophelia was. Being treated badly by your parent growing up is no excuse for being a witch. Ophelia comes off as quite a schemer and very disfunctional.

As to the kidnapping, at the point when Ophelia asks Rafe's Aunt (who he wrangled as chaperone) "I don't want to be here, don't I have any rights", and the Aunt basically said "No dear, you're too young to have any rights" I just quit in disgust.

not recommended-1 star.

Challenge #3

Readers Of Romance Winter 08 Challenge

#3- Read a book that has a “D” word in it for December.
Scandal's Daughter
Christine Wells
Rating 3.0 stars
295 pages


My Amazon Review:

no scandal but lot of cliches.........., December 26, 2008

Synopsis:
She could overcome her infamous past-but not a present-day passion.

As a promise to her dying grandfather, self-proclaimed rake Sebastian Laidley has three months to marry off his childhood friend Gemma-or marry her himself. But this daughter of a notorious seductress has inherited her mother's charms, and when she turns them on Sebastian, he'll long to be the only man who wins her heart.

My Review:
Scandal's daughter unfortunately falls flat on it's promises. It has no scandal, no passion and very little originality. Knowing that this is a debut book, I tried to give the author the benefit of the doubt, hence three stars, but Scandal's Daughter is in actuality a two star book, and that's being generous.

The storyline is chock a block of every cliche, "I'm too much a Rake/tainted female to be married", "the misunderstandings" plot, "family scandal but family members are not what they appear to be", etc. I could go on but I don't want to bore you.

The heroine, Gemma, whose supposed to be this self sufficient dynamo, walks around the entire book with blinders on, not conprehending anyone elses motivations, not even realizing her grandfather, who she lives with, is dying, though the hero, realizes this as soon as he see the old man, after many years away. Gemma is about one step away for the dreaded "too stupid too live" title.

The one love scene was also "been there done that", the heroine, who berates herself constantly for feeling desire, thinking she must be "tainted" like her mother, then does a 180 turn and decides to become a wanton, right down to using protection her "scandalous" mother gives her.

The hero was not much better-Sebastian was a one dimensional cutout of many unreformed Rakes of past authors, nothing new here. It doesn't bode well for a less than 300 page book when you it takes almost five days to slog through, but I fell asleep several times trying to read this. This was one of those Historical Romances that the H/H literally fight their feelings until the last 10 pages-and it was not worth the wait.

Challenge #10

Winter Challenge #10

Read a book that has a Viking or Pirate in it!

Book: The Blue Viking
Author: Sandra Hill
391 pages
2.5 stars

My Amazon Review:

cute but a bit silly......, December 5, 2008

this was my first Sandra Hill book. I had heard that her books were comedic so I had high hopes for this book. I was mildly disappointed.

Overall, it was a cute story. It kept me mostly entertained, although I had to pretty much force myself through the last 100 pages as the storyline got VERY silly to downright stupid. Two things would have made be give this book a higher rating. First, the issue with Maire's son should have been concluded a lot sooner in the story, and the heroine's failure to do so really brought her character down in favor to me. Finally, too much comedy, not the right balance with the serious and dramatic, and the comedy was more sophmoric than clever.

If you've never read one of this author's books, be forewarned-there is a lot of sex, and very explicit. While not a problem for me, it may be an issue for some.

Overall, an OK romance that while I wouldn't recommend, I'll certainly try another of this author's books to see if she improves.
2.5 stars.

Readers Of Romance Winter Challenge-Join The Challenge here