An Ice Cold Grave (2007)
Charlaine Harris
Rating: 2/5
I’m conflicted about whether or not I like this book.
I think I need to split the book into its two elements: the character’s personal lives and the mystery they were investigating.
The mystery part sucked. It was boring and there were too many characters and it annoyed me every time it took me away from the personal stuff. It was also obvious who was behind every thing. Just from the conversations Harper had with them.
Why is it that in Charlaine Harris books the villain is always someone they talk to… or know, or meet or whatever. Why is it never just some random person. Whatever.
The character’s personal lives part didn’t so much suck. And I’m glad that they finally, finally, dealt with the things they had been dancing around for two books.
So overall, because of the personal lives stuff, it was worth reading. But probably not if you hadn’t read the other two. It was also fairly short, at only 288 or so pages.
Hired to find a boy gene missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there-only to discover that the boy was only one of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways.
All calling for Harper.
Harper soon finds them-eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterwards, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that's soon to descend. But when she's attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville-knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave.
Finished: Friday 28/9
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Book one-seventy-six: An Ice Cold Grave
Book one-seventy-five: Wicked Deed’s on a Winter’s Night
Wicked Deed’s on a Winter’s Night (2007)
Kresley Cole
Rating: 4/5
I was looking around for a cheaper price for this other book I wanted to read - An Ice Cold Grave - when I stumbled across and ebook store that had this featured.
I didn’t even know it was out yet. I don’t think it is, actually. Or at least not the print version.
It was very good. I really enjoyed it.
I thought Mari was a great heroine. She was smart, independent and she didn’t complain. Shocking!
Also, Bowen is great.
It’s all great.
Hmm, now I feel like reading it again.
This is now officially my favourite paranormal romance series. Apologies to JR Ward, but that’s just the way it has to be I’m afraid.
The next one is out in May, Dark Needs at Night’s Edge. Its about Conrad one of the Wroth brothers. Oh, and it seems there is also a short story in Feburary of next year, in a collection call Not That Innocent about Daniela and Murdoch. Oh good, I’ve been wanted to read about them.
Thank goodness this series is back on a faster schedule. A year was too long to wait.
Her breathless kiss haunts him.
Bowen MacRieve of the Lykae clan was nearly destroyed when he lost the one woman meant for him. The ruthless warrior grew even colder, never taking another to his bed—until a smoldering encounter with his enemy, Mariketa the Awaited, reawakens his darkest desires. When sinister forces unite against her, the Highlander finds himself using all his strength and skill to keep her alive.
His slow, hot touch is irresistible.
Temporarily stripped of her powers, Mari is forced to take refuge with her sworn adversary. It’s rumored that no one can tempt Bowen’s hardened heart, but soon passion burns between them. Though a future together is impossible, she fears he has no intention of letting her go.
No deed is too wicked for her seduction.
If they defeat the evil that surrounds them, can Mari deny Bowen when he demands her body and soul—or will she risk everything for her fierce protector?
Finished: Thursday 27/9
Book one-seventy-four: To Sir Phillip, With Love
To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3/5
One of the funniest yet in this series. I love Eloise. She has to be the least annoying character with fairly annoying tendencies I have ever read about.
After a year of secret correspondence, Eloise Bridgerton traveled halfway across England to meet Sir Phillip Crane, the man she hoped would be her perfect match.
He wasn't.
But she can't help but wonder... could this imperfect man be perfect for her?
Finished: Wednesday 26/9
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Book one-seventy-three: Cross My Heart
Cross My Heart (2007)
Carly Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Starts out strongly, but then doesn’t really go anywhere. And there are a couple of plot lines which might have been interesting, but which aren’t explored.
And to make matters worse, half of the characters are left unresolved. I think there is another book. I hate that. But I will probably end up reading the next one. I am intrigued.
She's gone from riches to rags—and back again!
Ten years ago, Lilly Dumont was the ultimate poor little rich girl, complete with a huge inheritance...and an uncle determined to take it from her. With the help of her first love, she faked her own death and ran away to New York City, leaving behind everything, including her own name. Lilly Dumont was gone, but Lacey Kincaid was going to make it. Only neither one ever forgot Ty Benson.
Now Lacey's back to claim her inheritance. And her sizzling reunion with Ty has made her homecoming something to remember! Only not everybody's thrilled to see Lacey alive and well... And it's up to Ty to make sure his childhood sweetheart doesn't disappear again—for good!
Finished: Monday 24/9
Book one-seventy-two: Romancing Mr Bridgerton
Romancing Mr Bridgerton (2002)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3.5/5
This series just keeps getting better… and each book is actually different from the last, not the same plot played out with slightly different characters.
And I love how there is time in between them. So far I think the series has spanned almost a decade, and I am only up to book four. It is much more realistic than “oh, this all happened in the same year” type series.
That being said, I think the next few are going to occur around the same time, as there seems to be stuff going on with secondary characters here that isn’t really explained.
Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for... well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret... and fears she doesn't know him at all.
Finished: Sunday 23/9
Book one-seventy-one: Touch of Darkness
Touch of Darkness
Christina Dodd
Rating: 1.5/5
Once again, there is something missing here. No idea what. But it just doesn’t feel right or read right or… I don’t know, there is just something wrong with it at its centre. None of the books plot’s feel complete. Its kind of like coming in halfway through a story, then leaving before its done.
It was a vaguely frustrating experience. The whole way through I just couldn’t pin point what it was that was bothering me.
It does have a sort of interesting premise and I am intrigued by some of the secondary characters, but neither of the books so far in the series have felt complete.
A thousand years ago, a brutal warrior struck a terrifying bargain. In return for the ability to change at will into a cold-hearted predator, he promised his soul, and the souls of his descendants, to the devil.
Handsome, powerful Rurik Wilder battles darkness — the darkness without, and the darkness within. For he possesses the power to transform himself into a fierce bird of prey, and that gift has caused death and destruction.
At last he is offered the chance to redeem himself and break the evil pact which has held his family in thrall for centuries. Only one woman stands in his way — flamboyant Tasya Hunnicutt, a writer determined to wreak revenge on the assassins who murdered her family. Assassins, it’s been rumored, who have powers no human should ever possess...
Finished: Sunday 23/9
Book one-seventy: An Offer From a Gentleman
An Offer From a Gentleman (2001)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3/5
This series continues to actually have interesting and different stories. I can hardly believe it.
I liked the fairy tale element in this one.
When Sophie Beckett decided to sneak into a masquerade ball, she never expected to find Prince Charming.
Benedict Bridgerton didn't believe in love at first sight... until he saw the masked mystery woman. But will she accept his offer before the clock strikes midnight?
Saturday 22/9
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Book one-sixty-nine: One Night with a Prince
One Night with a Prince (2005)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2/5
All right, but not as good as the others.
Lovely Christabel, the Marchioness of Haversham, is desperate to regain some letters that could destroy her—so desperate that she pretends to be the mistress of notorious gaming club owner Gavin Byrne, in order to accompany him to a scandalous house party hosted by the man who now has her letters. But when she agreed to let Byrne coach her on how a true mistress behaves, she never suspected how very… persuasive his wicked lessons would be.
Gavin is secretly determined to find the letters before Christabel, to use them for revenge against the noble sire who abandoned him to grow up in London’s worst slums. He’s also delighted at how very successful his “mistress lessons” are: it won’t be long before the luscious young widow is in his bed. But when the fiery Christabel catches Gavin in his own seductive net, he realizes that if the letters are found, he’ll face a difficult choice: to wreak the vengeance he’s planned all his life, or to protect the woman he may have foolishly fallen in love with.
Saturday 22/9 more...
Book one-sixty-eight: Garden Spells
Garden Spells (2007)
Sarah Addison Allen
Rating: 3/5
Flawed, yet compelling and quite magical.
It’s interesting. I can actually see some Suzan Elizabeth Phillips in the plot (the whole ex-boyfriend from high school and his wife and their dramas is straight out of Ain’t She Sweet, but with some magic thrown in for good measure). And some of the dialogue feels quite Jenny Cruise-ish… especially the things left unsaid (and un-thought) in conversation element.
But overall it is good and highly read-able. I look forward to reading something else by Allen. I think this was her first novel.
Such a nice cover, too.
Welcome to Bascom, North Carolina, where everyone has a story to tell about the Waverley women. The old house that’s been in the family for generations, the walled garden that mysteriously blooms year round, the rumors and innuendoes of dangerous loves and tragic passions. Eccentric, reclusive, or renegade, there’s not one that wasn’t somehow touched by magic.
As the town’s successful caterer, Claire has always clung closely to the Waverleys’ roots in their enchanted soil, tending the family garden from which she makes her much sought-after delicacies. She has everything she thinks she needs – until one day she finds a vine of ivy creeping into her garden and knows that everything is about to change.
Then her prodigal sister Sydney arrives with her five-year-old daughter and a dark secret she hopes to keep well hidden. And suddenly Claire’s carefully tended life is about to run gloriously out of control …
Finished: Sunday 16/9
Book one-sixty-seven: To Pleasure a Prince
To Pleasure a Prince (2005)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2.5/5
It was pretty weird reading this actually, because I’ve already read Only a Duke Will Do which is about the outcome of a lot of the things that go one here. So as usual I was kind of reading a series backward. Even though they aren’t in the same series.
Anyway, that confusion aside it was pretty funny.
Beautiful Lady Regina Tremaine has turned down so many suitors that she's called La Belle Dame Sans Merci. The truth: she won't marry because she carries a dark secret. She sees no good reason, however, why her brother shouldn't court the lovely Louisa North—even if Louisa's half-brother, the notorious "Dragon Viscount," objects.
Marcus North, Viscount Draker—bastard son of the Prince of Wales—is rumored to be a monster who holds women captive and has his way with them. He has been exiled from polite society for years. But when Lady Regina makes a plea on her brother's behalf, Marcus strikes a deal. Her brother can court Louisa so long as Marcus can court Regina. But can the beauty and the beast survive a proper courtship when the chemistry between them threatens to cause the scandal of the century?
Finished: Sunday 16/9
Book one-sixty-six: Because You’re Mine
Because You’re Mine (1997)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 2.5/5
Pretty good. It does drag on for quite awhile, but at least its not all about one week of their lives.
Because the Dream...
Young, high-spirited Lady Madeline Matthews is expected to wed an aging, lecherous lord. But she would rather shame herself in the eyes of society than sacrifice her freedom, and resolves to render herself unmarriageable by indulging in a torrid affair with Britain's most acclaimed actor and notorious womanizer, Logan Scott.
Because the Heart...
He is legend in the footlights and in the bedchamber. But when the curtain falls, Logan is an intensely private, guarded man still tormented by past betrayals that cut deep into his pride and his heart. Now a forward little minx who seems completely out of place in the bright, sophisticated world of the London stage is disrupting his orderly existence with her constant presence, her unspoiled beauty and vibrant charm. And what begins with an onstage kiss threatens to blossom into something more rapturous and real. But first Logan and Madeline both must drop the masks they hide behind...and reveal their true selves in the golden glorious light of love.
Because You're Mine
Finished: Saturday 15/9 more...
Book one-sixty-five: She’s No Princess
She’s No Princess (2006)
Laura Lee Guhrke
Rating: 1.75/5
Not that great.
A royal pain...
The illegitimate daughter of a prince and a notorious courtesan, Lucia has been confined to schools and convents for most of her life, but that hasn't stopped her from causing one scandal after another. Exasperated, her royal father decides his hellion of a daughter must be married immediately. And Sir Ian Moore, Britain's most proper diplomat, is the perfect man to choose her a groom.
Diplomacy, not matchmaking, is Ian's forte, and he vows to find a husband for Lucia as soon as possible so that he may return to important duties. Yet despite an abundance of eager, worthwhile candidates, none is a match for Lucia's spirit and fire. The more time Ian spends with the Italian beauty, the more reluctant he becomes to find her a groom. Could it be that Lucia's perfect husband is the man assigned to find her one?
Finished: Friday 14/9 more...
Book one-sixty-four: Annie May’s Black Book
Annie May’s Black Book (2007)
Debby Holt
Rating: 1.75/5
Pretty good premise, good writing, just annoyingly predictble things going on. I just find some of the things that happen frustrating. Especially the fact that she won’t listen to him. Why wouldn’t you?
Okay, so maybe you might decide its best not to talk to them… but stop talking to them all together. Don’t continue to have conversations in which they make annoying inferences to the past, and you ignore them.
It will only annoy me.
I guess the thing I found frustrating about this, was that the only thing keeping them apart was the fact that they didn’t sit down and have an honest, two minute conversation. There were no real obstacles, just a lack of communication.
October 15th, 1974: Miss Baker for telling me how to blow my nose and not believing when I still couldn't do it.
February 6th, 1977: David Llewellyn for saying my landscape painting looked like a pig's trough and then making honking noises every time he saw me.
April 12th, 1987: Peter Elton for ‘borrowing’ my cigarettes and never buying any of his own.
9th February, 1988: Ben Seymour for everything forever!
In her Black Book, Annie May has recorded the name and offence of everyone who has ever done her wrong. The greatest transgressor of them all was Ben Seymour: the man who jilted her at the altar seventeen years before.
Now he's moving into a house round the corner...
Finished: Thursday 13/9
Book one-sixty-three: For the First Time
For the First Time (2003)
Kathryn Smith
Rating: 2.75/5
Quite good.
Except I didn’t like how some of the stuff towards the end played out. I was surprised how easily she (well, they all) forgave Carny for it. I would have had him arrested. Seriously, he should have been.
I think this is the second in a series. I haven’t read the first, but you can’t really tell.
Devlin Ryland returned from Waterloo a celebrated war hero, but he would rather forget the war and all the things he did in the name of duty. Blythe Christian knows all too well the things men are capable of in war – like betraying their betrothed. While neither can deny the attraction between them, both must learn to trust again, Devlin with his secrets and Blythe with her heart. Only then will either of them know the healing power of love.
Finished: Thursday 13/9
Book one-sixty-two: The School for Heiresses
The School for Heiresses (2006)
Sabrina Jeffries, Liz Carlyle, Julia London & Renee Benard
Rating: 4/5
I usually don’t like short stories, but I did like this collection. Especially After Midnight, the Liz Carlyle story (I think the uncle and aunt from this are what her latest trilogy is about?).
From Sabrina Jeffries…
"Ten Reasons to Stay"
When Miss Eliza Crenshawe discovers her new guardian's plans to marry her off without so much as a Season, she flees – on a horse she unwittingly steals (oops!) from Colin Hunt, a newly minted earl who wants nothing more than for her to go home…or stay forever.
From Liz Carlyle…
"After Midnight"
Confusion over room assignments at her uncle's estate yields a passionate encounter between Martinique – the daughter of a French courtesan – and the notorious rake Lord St. Vrain. Soon, there is talk of a proper courtship…though there's nothing proper about either of them!
From Julia London…
"The Merchant's Gift"
A graduate of Mrs. Harris's school, Grace attends a refresher tea and receives a lesson. Sent to London to attract a match among the ton, she finds herself drawn to rugged Barrett Adlaine – an entirely inappropriate mate who will never meet with the father's approval.
From Renee Bernard…
"Mischief's Holiday"
Alyssa's father is counting on her to make a match that will allow her transition into titled society despite Alyssa's constant mishaps and chaotic ways. There's no way she's a match for Mr. Leland Yates, who is ruled by logic and reason – or is there?
Finished: Wednesday 13/9
Book one-sixty-one: Only with Your Love
Only with Your Love (1992)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 2/5
All right, but it did kind of drag on for a bit. And Giffin was quite mean. Very mean most of the time, actually.
The newlywed bride of a Creole aristocrat, Celia Vallerand prays for deliverance from the blood thirsty brigands who abducted her from a New Orleans-bound schooner.
Though she believes her beloved husband slain and despairs for her own life, the shy French beauty fears above all the dashing privateer who pays a king's ransom to claim her ... and boldly risks capture to possess her.
The most notorious pirate of the open seas, he is called "the Griffin" — a rugged and powerful renegade who arouses within Celia desires as dangerous as they are irresistible. But the magnificent adventurer is a man trapped in a perilous deception-and he guards a shocking secret that could deny him the love of the gossamer-haired enchantress who stirs his manly passions and enslaves his heart.
Finished: Tuesday 11/9
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Book one-hundred-and-sixty: In the Prince’s Bed
In the Prince’s Bed (2004)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 3/5
She makes me giggle. Actually, even just the cover and the title of this book made me giggle.
Miss Katherine Merivale is desperate to make a respectable match—if only her childhood sweetheart would propose! Until he does, she can’t touch the fortune she’s inherited. So the last thing she needs is notorious rogue Alec Black putting her proposed marriage at risk with his distracting, smoldering gaze and moonlit kisses.
Alec, the Earl of Iversley—and one of three bastard sons of the Prince of Wales—is secretly searching for an heiress bride to pay his debts. Fiery Katherine seems the answer to his prayers, and her passionate response to his stolen kisses and practiced seduction soon assures him that she is his. But Alec knows Katherine is looking for a love-match, and he wonders …what will happen when she discovers his deception?
Finished: Saturday 7/9 more...
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-nine: Dreaming of You
Dreaming of You (1994)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 3/5
I always see blurbs by Lisa Kleypas on everything, so I t thought it was time I tried reading something of hers.
It was good. Very good. The “bad boy” was actually bad. And he continued to be bad. Throughout the whole story. Shocking stuff.
In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Fielding puts pen to paper to create dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe haven -- and into Derek Craven's dangerous world.
A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from poverty to become lord of London's most exclusive gambling house -- a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding into his world -- with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here, in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper "mouse" can be transformed into a breathtaking enchantress -- and a world-weary gambler can be shaken to his cynical core by the power of passion...and the promise of love.
Finished: Thursday 6/9
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-eight: Wicked Woman on Top
Wicked Woman on Top (2005)
Tina Donahue, Jen Nicholas and Jordan Summers
Rating: 0.75/5
This book cost me $2.95, so I feel no guilt whatsoever about the fact I read the first ten pages of the the first novella Tina Donahue’s Let the Games Begin and couldn’t bring myself to read anymore… I couldn’t even work out what was going on. It seemed like they knew each other, but also like they didn’t… and what was with the constant changes in setting… like they kept having conversations and saying “meet me here at this time,” then in the next scene they one of them would show up early… I just couldn’t work it out.
The second Jen Nicholas’s Not Another Fairytale was okay I guess, but why did it have that prologue? What was its purpose? It wasn’t interesting, it had very little to do with the story, and could have been much more easily communicated with the line “recently, she had been having trouble finding work as a freelance journalist.” Actually I think a line similar to that was in there somewhere.
The final story, Private Investigations by Jordan Summers, was the best of the lot – which is unusual, usually they start with the best and work their way down… or at least start with the most famous, which they may have done, I don’t know. I’ve never heard of any of them before.
Finished: Wednesday 5/9
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-six: Her Only Desire
Her Only Desire (2007)
Gaelen Foley
Rating: 2/5
Great cover, but very disappointing. It has some good bits, but all these boring bits as well.
It didn’t help that I was sick when I read it. I was just feeling too sorry for myself to care about politics and all that jazz.
But at least they both worked out who the other was within two seconds of meeting. Big sigh of relief.
From the exotic splendors of India to the elegant ballrooms of Regency London, celebrated author Gaelen Foley pens the enthralling tale of a luscious beauty who has sworn never to call any man her master, and the powerful marquess whose passion threatens to conquer her...
Ian is mesmerized by Georgie's alluring mystique, but burdened by a dark secret. She is a temptation he cannot afford. But when she becomes entangled in his mission, she must be secreted away to England for her own safety. There Georgie finds herself in the unfamiliar world of aristocratic London, where Ian becomes her guide, her confidant...her seducer.
Finished: Monday 4/9
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-five: The Viscount Who Loved Me
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3/5
Just as good as the first. Although a couple of similarities that I hope she doesn’t carry over into them all.
Kate Sheffield is determined to keep Anthony Bridgerton from seducing her sister. But what if the notorious viscount decides to seduce her instead?
Finished: Sunday 2/9
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-four: The Duke and I
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3/5
I had been avoiding reading this series because it is so freaking long… but I finally caved, and it was worth it. This has much better pacing than some of her earlier efforts. I guess now I’ll have to read the rest of the series. Annoyingly, I can find the beginning and end books at the bookshop in the city, but not the middle ones.
Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, has sworn never to marry. Daphne Bridgerton has sworn to marry only for love. They make a bargain and fake a courtship to keep the ton's matchmakers at bay--but what happens when the charade becomes all too real?
Finished: Saturday 1/9
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-three: Tangled Up in You
Rachel Gibson
Rating: 1.75/5
This read like a shopping list or stage directions or something. Although shopping list is probably most apt due to the number of designer names dropped in. (Can’t they just say sunglasses!! Car!! Its not that hard!).
When Maddie Dupree enters Hennessy’s Bar in Truly, Idaho, she isn’t looking for a husband, a boyfriend, or even just a drink. She’s looking for the truth about her past, and nothing will stand in her way. Especially not a Hennessy boy.
Everyone knows Mick Hennessy is irresistible. So far, he’s managed to keep the ladies in line, but when he claps eyes on gorgeous Maddie, he just can’t help getting involved. But Maddie’s keeping secrets about why she’s in town – and when those secrets are revealed, there’ll be a whole lot of trouble in Truly…
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-two: Beware of a Scot’s Revenge
Beware of a Scot’s Revenge (2007)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2.5/5
Interesting, because it had this whole mystery thing going on about the money, but something about it was just not quite right. Don’t know what.
Lady Venetia Campbell's visit to her childhood home of Scotland takes a dramatic turn when she's kidnapped at pistol-point by her father's sworn enemy.
Sir Lachlan Ross is widely feared in his guise as The Scottish Scourge, but Venetia remembers her former neighbor as a handsome youth whose attentions she craved. Now a wickedly sexy man, Lachlan's appeal is even more intoxicating…and much more dangerous. Though Lachlan tries to treat her as his foe, his scorching kisses tell another story. And despite his plan is to use her as a weapon against her father, Venetia is determined that Lachlan's lust for revenge will be trumped by an even more powerful desire…
Wednesday 29/8
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-one: Only a Duke Will Do
Only a Duke Will Do (2006)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2.5/5
Okay, but would have probably been better if I’d read whichever other book the two main characters appear in. Although, it was kind of interesting trying to work it out as I went along.
I can’t help thinking that it is very smart marketing wise of the author to make this part of this series, rather than the other one. Because now I want to read the other series, and I guess people who had read the other series, would now be forced to read this one… tricky, very tricky.
Marry? Never! It would end Louisa North's work with her ladies reform group—and truth be told, she likes her independence very much, despite her royal father's protests. So when Simon Tremaine, the dashing Duke of Foxmoor whom she'd once loved—and had exiled from England-returns bent on marrying her, she's skeptical. Does he truly care for her, or does he simply want revenge? It's difficult for Louisa to resist Simon's dangerous charms, because the fire between them still burns as hot as ever. But when his ulterior motive for marriage is exposed, along with the deeply buried secrets of his past, Louisa vows to make him pay…and the price will be his heart.
Tuesday 28/8
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Book one-hundred-and-fifty: Not Quite a Lady
Not Quite a Lady (2007)
Loretta Chase
Rating: 2/5
Opps. So it turns out this is book four in a series. Although, there is not too much mention made to the other characters, they do refer to hero’s family like you should know who they are. But apart from that, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.
I liked that the heroine was Not Quite a Lady… It was a good change.
IRRESISTIBLE FORCE
Darius Carsington is a spectacularly handsome rake with a rare intelligence and no heart, a man who divides his time between bedding loose-moraled women and writing scholarly papers. He finds society's “perfect darlings”....exceedingly boring. But there’s something intriguing, and not quite perfect, about faultless Lady Charlotte Hayward. He senses a crack under her polished surface, and finding it is a temptation he can’t resist.
IMMOVABLE OBJECT
Lady Charlotte is so beautiful, charming, and gracious that no one has noticed what an expert she is at Not Getting Married. Early on, she learned a painful lesson about trust....and temptation. In the years since, she’s devoted her life to all she ought to be--and she’s not about to let a man like Carsington entice her to do everything she shouldn’t.
A SPLENDID COLLISION
But the laws of attraction can easily overpower the rules of manners and morals, and sometimes even the best -behaved girl has to follow her instincts, even if it means risking it all.
Finished: Monday 27/8
Book one-hundred-and-forty-nine: The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein
The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein (2005)
Minda Webber
Rating: 0.75/5
Way, way too much head hopping. I felt dizzy after the first chapter. You could never quite tell who’s point of view you were reading. Usually it changed every paragraph – a couple of really confusing ones even had two points of view in the same one…
And making everyone (and every thing) in the book something from literature got annoying after the first chapter as well.
Also, the main character’s name is Clair… every time I read it, I had to pause and mentally add an E on the end before it would make sense to my brain.
The problem, Clair realized, was that she was a Frankenstein. Her uncle's fame - he'd created her cousin Frederick from a bunch of spare parts - was a grave matter. Everyone in the family was a success, while all she'd managed was a humiliating misadventure with pigs. But her spirits were rising. The Journal of Scientific Discovery was promising to publish a paper on the Discovery of the Decade, and she had a doozy. She simply had to prove Baron Huntsley - man of distinction, man of renown, man about ton - was a vampire. With his midnight-black hair, soul-piercing eyes and shiny white teeth, what else cold he be? Oh yes, the baron wanted a bite of her or she was no scientist. And then there were all those other monsters. You'd never expect so many in 1828 London! Pretty soon she'd expose them all, and on everybody's lips would be...THE REMARKABLE MISS FRANKENSTEIN.
Finished: Sunday 26/8
Book one-hundred-and-forty-eight: Scent of Darkness
Scent of Darkness (2007)
Christina Dodd
Rating: 2/5
There’s nothing really wrong with this book, but at the same time there is something that’s not quite right about it too.
It also has a lot of walking around and doing things while thinking, and I much prefer dialogue.
There’s also this whole weird bit in the middle. And then the end? Huh? Out of nowhere, its suddenly there. Not a lot of resolving goes on.
A thousand years ago, Konstantine Varinski roamed the Russian steppes. Driven by his craving for power, he struck a terrible bargain. In return for the ability to change from a magnificent warrior to a predator that could hunt down his enemies and kill them, he promised his soul — and the souls of his descedents — to the devil.
Plain Ann Smith loves her handsome, dynamic boss, Jasha Wilde, but her daring plan to seduce him goes awry when she finds a black wolf warming itself before the fire. Before her horrified eyes, the wolf changes into the man she adores. She flees, he pursues, but they can't escape their destinies.
For Jasha is the descendant of Konstantine Varinski and Ann is the woman fated to break the curse that binds his soul. To find heaven in each other's arms, they have the devil to pay.
Finished: Saturday 25/8
Book one-hundred-and-forty-seven: Delicious
Delicious (2006)
Julie Cohen
Rating: 1.5/5
Wow. Someone really needs to slap the heroine and tell her to get over herself and her childhood.
I couldn’t figure out why anyone would fall for her, let alone someone supposedly so great.
And while I’m on the topic of the Supposedly Great One: when you ask someone out when you first meet them and they say ‘no, thanks,’ it is probably acceptable to ask them out again once you’ve known them a couple of months, if they have shown some sign they have reconsidered their opinion of you. But, asking someone out every time you see them is pathetic and borderline psychotic.
Take no for an answer while you still can, Supposedly Great One! She ain’t such a great catch anyway…
But seriously, the writing in this was pretty good. I just didn’t get the characters. Why is it that everyone has to have an issue?
English teacher Elisabeth Read is dedicated to her students, dedicated to books, and hasn’t had fun outside of a classroom for too long to remember.
Then celebrity chef Angus MacAllister walks into her school carrying a chicken.
Finished: Friday 24/8
Book one-hundred-and-forty-six: Married to the Viscount
Married to the Viscount (2003)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2/5
Darn. Apparently this is the FIFTH book in a series. How did I manage that?
I think it should be clearly marked somewhere. I mean, most times the back copy of a book tells you what happens in the first 200 pages, but it can’t tell you it’s the FIFTH book in a series.
Okay, so the truth is it doesn’t really matter, but I like to read things in order.
Anyway, this was all right… its quite funny. Maybe it would have been even funnier if I’d read the other four…
Also, can I just say: the cover = bizarre.
Abigail Mercer was breathless with anticipation at being reunited with Spencer Law, whom she met in America and later married by proxy. But now the dashing Viscount Ravenswood denies all knowledge of their union! Too many witnesses have made it impossible for the secretive Spencer to reject his "bride" without causing a scandal, but he has sworn never to marry. So he proposes a marriage in name only until they can locate his mysteriously absent younger brother Nat—who is responsible for everything!—and untangle this messy affair.
Abigail is incensed, irate…and irresistibly attracted to this handsome, infuriating man who hides his smoldering passion behind a proper exterior. So the lady will agree to his terms on one condition: Spencer must seal their bargain with a kiss. But when Spencer agrees, he finds that one deep, lingering, unforgettable kiss isn't nearly enough. And keeping his hands off his pretty wife is going to be much harder than he thought…
Finished: Thursday 23/8
Book one-hundred-and-forty-five: Never Seduce a Scoundrel
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2.5/5
I hadn’t read anything written by Sabrina Jeffries before, but I'm really glad I picked this up (or downloaded it, I guess, as it was an eBook). I really love the way she writes. Very funny and very easy to read.
This is the first in a series… aren’t they all? (Well, usually with me, it’s the second or third in a series, only I don’t realise at the time of purchase…)
And of course, I can't wait to read Charlotte and Micheal's book (their letters open each chapter). I think it is coming out in 2008.
Lady Amelia Plume has many admirers; too bad they’re all fortune hunters and fops who can’t provide the exotic adventures she seeks. The ballrooms of Mayfair have become more appealing since the arrival of Major Lucas Winter—an American marine with a dangerous past and a brooding air. Lucas is brash, arrogant…and scandalously tempting. Every thrilling kiss sparks deeper desire, yet Amelia suspects that Lucas has a hidden motive in wooing her and she means to discover it, by any means necessary…
Lucas came to London to find the cad who embezzled money from a naval contractor. The captivating Lady Amelia could be the key to his quest, but what started as simple flirtation has become a delicious dance of seduction. And when a rival jeopardizes Amelia’s reputation, Lucas must choose what he wants most—the chance to avenge his past, or a future filled with fiery passion…
Finished: Wednesday 22/8
Book one-hundred-and-forty-four: And Then He Kissed Her
Laura Lee Guhrke
Rating: 1.75/5
All right. But it was a bit slow – we knew from the title he was going to kiss her (and the dreaded back of the book), so just hurry up and do it already.
It was interesting, though, because the time period was later than most of the regency stuff I’ve been reading lately. Okay, so I’ve mostly only been reading. I’ll get over my current obsession eventually. I’m pretty sure.
Supremely sensible Emmaline Dove wishes to share her etiquette expertise with London’s readers, and as secretary to Viscount Marlowe, Emma knows she’s in the perfect position to make her dreams come true. Marlowe might be a rake with a preference for cancan dancers and an aversion to matrimony, but he is also the city’s leading publisher, and Emma is convinced he’s her best chance to see her work in print…until she discovers the lying scoundrel has been rejecting her manuscripts without ever reading a single page!
As a publisher, Harry finds reading etiquette books akin to slow, painful torture. Besides, he can’t believe his proper secretary has the passion to write anything worth reading. Then she has the nerve to call him a liar, and even resigns without notice, leaving his business in uproar and his honor in question. Harry decides it’s time to teach Miss Dove a few things that aren’t proper. But when he kisses her, he discovers that his former secretary has more passion and fire than he ever imagined, for one luscious taste of her lips only leaves him hungry for more…
Finished: Tuesday 21/8