For me, there are keepers, then there are keepers. Those in the first category have some element(s) which resonated with me upon first reading, and while I don’t necessarily re-read them from cover to cover, I have favorite scenes I like to revisit once in awhile. But the books I cling to most zealously are…
A Countess Below Stairs was the first Eva Ibbotson romance I ever read, and I’ve been an avid fan ever since. Why? Because her stories are so vivid. In A Countess Below Stairs, Anna Grazinsky, a White Russian in exile goes to work as a housemaid in a beautiful mansion called Meersham. The owner is…
While To Marry the Duke was a reasonably enjoyable read and author Julianne MacLean took a slightly different than usual situation and turned it even more on its head, overall the book was not compelling and some of its characters and situations were far too familiar. It was fun, but also forgettable. Sophia Wilson is…
The Pretender, first in a series following the members of The Liar’s Club spy organization, features very fresh writing and a delightfully joyous heroine. It’s a blast to read, even though there are also some clumsy plot devices and an historical inaccuracy or two. You may have to suspend your disbelief a bit more intensely…
I’ve heard so very, very many good things about Lorraine Heath that it was with high expectations, indeed, that I approached my first book by the author. To my surprise, my reactions were complicated and far more mixed than I anticipated. Frankly, while I appreciated the author’s steady hand and willingness to tackle dark and…
Much as I loved Almost a Gentleman, I was almost afraid to sit down and write the review. Pam Rosenthal’s romance debut is a masterful mix of bold and subtle writing elements. Knowing that, I knew anything I write will hardly do the book justice. But since this is a review site and I’ve offered…
Heart of the Tiger is a book that started strongly, muddled through its middle, and finished with a flourish. I can almost recommend it. Unfortunately, I can’t ignore the fact that somewhere in that muddled middle I set it aside for about a week and had no real inclination to pick it up again. Miranda…
The time is ripe for a reminder about how subjective the reading experience can be. It is probable that many Balogh fans will greatly enjoy Slightly Wicked. As for me, despite being a long-time fan of Balogh, I found the generally well-loved A Summer to Remember surprisingly mediocre and clichéd, and I liked Slightly Wicked…
Recently I read a mystery by Sarah Smith called The Vanished Child. Though written in 1992 the novel reads as though it were written at the turn of the 20th century – the period in which it is set. Her use of language works to draw the reader into that time and place so well,…
I’ve always liked Cinderella stories. A young, lower-class woman improves herself and wins the prince of her dreams in the process… what a wonderful fantasy. Cinderella stories, however, can be less than believable if the woman transforms herself too rapidly, and that’s part of the trouble with A A Scandalous Lady. Add to that characters…
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