Lovers of beta heroes, I give you Derek Whittaker. He is (to quote Mrs. Malaprop) “the very pineapple of perfection” and all that a hero should be, whether he be alpha, beta, or gamma. The story is engaging, the rest of the characters are too, and I simply adored this book. Derek Whittaker is a…
2004 has been a wonderful reading year for me – until now. I will always remember It Takes a Hero by Elizabeth Boyle as the book that killed my winning streak. Regency society is in an uproar due to a popular series of novels starring an intrepid heroine, Miss Darby. It seems that Miss Darby…
Derek Whitaker meets and kisses a beautiful woman in a theater, only to have her give him the public cut at a ball. The woman is Cynthia Fitzwilliam, known in the ton as "the Frost Fair" because of her beautiful looks and very detached personality. She has grown up very much under her mother’s thumb,…
Castaway Hearts is a Super Regency romance. While it’s not as long or complex as a Regency-era historical romance, it’s not like a traditional Regency either. The characters are larger than life, there’s more sensuality than can be found in a trad, and the action/adventure plot is more prominent. Nancy Butler’s traditional Regencies romances are…
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Regency series featuring a group of male friends. On one hand, it can be really fun to read about a group of friends who bonded when they were young, particularly if the author is good at guy speak. And if you really like the characters, it…
His Bonnie Bride, originally released in 1988 under the title Amber Flame, is a good read in many respects. The plot and characters are strong and likable for the most part – particularly the heroine – and it is a very absorbing tale. The fast pace of the story ensures that boredom never sets in…
Catherine Coulter is what I call a “best of times, worst of times” kind of author. You never know what you are going to get when reading one of her books; it is like a tale of two authors. One book can be absolutely wonderful and the next wretched. Readers tend to either love her…
Sometimes it’s hard to predict whether any single element in a story is going to be a deal-breaker or a deal-maker; you just have to read the book to find out. The intense, almost violent, nature of the sexual relationship between the hero and heroine almost ruined this one for me, but Kinsale managed to…
I enjoyed reading Shady Lady by Elizabeth Thornton; it has likable characters and is written in a style that keeps the pages turning nicely. But once I closed it and thought back on the plot, all I could see were the book’s shortcomings. In the prologue, a woman named Chloe is about to be attacked…
I like Cathy Maxwell’s books. I liked 2002’s The Wedding Wager, in spite of its all-too-obvious flaws. With all the appeal and fewer flaws, I like The Seduction of an English Lady even more. Lady Rosalyn Wellborne lost her parents when she was a young girl; afterwards, she was shuttled around from one uncaring relative…
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