The plot of Julia Justiss’ second book is reminiscent of Mary Balogh’s More than a Mistress, with a touch of Lisa Kleypas’ Where Dreams Begin thrown in. This is no way detracts from the story’s appeal. In fact, though the first part of the story happens a little too abruptly, it was more believable in…
The Duke of Ashcott is upset because his father left sixty thousand pounds to his mistress, known to him only as Lucinda. He’s determined to track down the trollop and make her renounce the legacy. He and his friend, Viscount Chandler (Chan to his friends), encounter Elizabeth Merriman, who looks just like Lucinda. Elizabeth is…
When I first heard the title The Ruthless Charmer, I envisioned an amusing regency-set historical about a witty hero determined to use his charisma selfishly. To put it mildly, this is not the case for this book. Far from being a diverting, roguish Cary Grand-like hero, the title character of Julia London’s new book is…
The Passion is aptly titled. The hero and heroine of this book share a great deal of passion for each other, and get to indulge that passion in creative ways on many and various occasions. Unfortunately, the end result is more like an erotic Hallmark card than a believable romance. Lady Aurora Demming first meets…
Like Blythe and Linda (see Pandora’s Box), I enjoyed Rules of Engagement by Christina Dodd. A well-written, amusing, and sensual romance, it makes for fun reading, though its secondary suspense plot is irrelevant and extraneous. Queen Victoria has demanded that the Earl of Kerrich demonstrate that he is a respectable family man. So he hires…
Naughty scenes, bawdy dialogue, and endnotes – yes, it’s the latest Susan Johnson book. I’ve enjoyed a couple of her books before, when the characters have been engaging, and the plot has been fun. Too bad this was not one of those books. Isabella Leslie has just lost her grandfather, and her greedy uncle plots…
I never used to think a bland medieval was possible. The time period is so lush, the possibilities for drama and conflict so numerous. The temptation would be to overdramatize, if anything. Then I read The Enchantress, the second book in the Highland Treasures trilogy, and discovered that the bland medieval is not a mythical…
I don’t know how many female entrepreneurs there were in medieval England, but I bet they were smarter than Linet de Montfort, the wool merchant heroine of My Champion by Glynnis Campbell. The first thing Linet does is publicly humiliate an evil Spanish pirate. Duncan de Ware, a nobleman, sees the incident and instantly vows…
These twelve books were reviewed as one. Eight of the books were reissued in early 2004. The ISBN and Amazon link are for Stranger in Paradise, the final reissue. Amazon links for each of the reissues can be found at the bottom of this review. Our database does not allow us to input more than…
This was not the worst book I have ever read, but it’s in contention for the most exasperating. There’s a lot of promise here, including a terrific backstory and acceptable prose, but it’s consistently undercut by illogic, anachronisms, and head-scratching inconsistencies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a decently-written book shoot itself in the foot…
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