My Top 10!

by Anna Campbell

If any of you read my review of BLACK SHEEP and ARABELLA by Georgette Heyer last month, you'll know that I'm hanging up my ballet slippers here on Christmas Eve and going off to seek new pastures!

Before I go, I want to do a round-up of some favorites that I've reviewed over the last five years - although basically anything I've talked about here, I've loved. That was part of the column's raison d'etre.

So these are the really special books that stuck in my memory. By the way, the order doesn't indicate anything except that there are 10 books on this list! They're all winners in my opinion!

I thought I'd start with some mystery/romance combos. This genre has become my reading of choice over the last few years, partly because of recommendations from readers here. Thank you!

The first is the Amelia Peabody series from the late, great Elizabeth Peters. I've been eking out this wonderful series for the last few years - I've got three to go.

These books are funny and quirky and full of information about Ancient Egypt. They also feature a string of fabulous romances, starting with the opinionated Amelia and her beloved Emerson, "the greatest Egyptologist of this or any age." There's a long and very passionate relationship spread across several books, featuring Amelia's dashing and enigmatic son, Ramses, who makes a wonderful romantic hero.

Next I'd like to mention the charming Daisy Dalrymple  mysteries by Carola Dunn. These are set in the 1920s and they're absolutely delightful. You'll so enjoy the impetuous Daisy's adventures and especially her romance with police Inspector Alec Fletcher.

Whatever you do, try this next recommendation if you haven't already. I discovered Julia Spencer-Fleming's fabulous Claire Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mysteries through this site, so thank you, thank you, thank you. I think they're just extraordinary. Romantic and suspenseful and atmospheric and beautifully written, I can't recommend these books featuring a vicar and the local police chief of a small town in upstate New York highly enough. Start with IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, and I bet you're ordering the rest straightaway! I've recommended these to friends high and low and everybody turns into a convert!

If you're regulars, you'll know that I've been on a bit of a Nora Roberts kick lately. I particularly like her stand-alone romantic suspense books and of those, my favorite is THE WITNESS. This features a geeky and very appealing heroine who witnesses a Russian mafia murder as a teenager and spends the rest of her life trying to stay alive. What happens when she falls in love, much against her better instincts, with the local police chief of the town she's chosen as her latest bolthole? If she stays, she risks discovery. If she leaves, she'll break her heart. Wonderful characters and writing and a nail-biting situation. NORTHERN LIGHTS was another favorite!

One of the things I wanted to do when I started here was talk about category romance. Some of the best stories out there are series books and I was keen to share some of my favorite writers with you. I've read some wonderful category romances in the last five years, but I thought I'd pick out three particularly memorable stories from authors who never fail me.

The first is A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE by Liz Fielding. Liz Fielding is an absolutely exquisite writer whose books always make me laugh and cry and then sigh with joy at the end. A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE is about finding love where you least expect it and gathering the courage to risk everything to gain happiness. Highly recommended.

The next book on my top 10 is Aussie author Sarah Mayberry's HOT ISLAND NIGHTS. Another one to make you laugh and cry - and man, is it sexy! There's a fantastic sequel called HER BEST WORST MISTAKE that I think might be even hotter. Well worth checking out. Sarah has such a wonderful understanding of the human heart, and her characters are so real, you expect them to pop around for a cup of tea after you've finished reading the book!

My final category recommendation is Sarah Morgan's RITA-Award winning DOUKAKIS'S APPRENTICE. This one's such fun. It takes the tried and true Harlequin premise of the heroine falling in love with the guy who makes a hostile takeover of her father's ailing business, and then turns it on its head. Full of surprises and laughs and lovely emotion. All of Sarah's books are good, but this one really lingers in my memory as a classic.

My list wouldn't be complete without a couple of historical romances - you knew they were coming up, didn't you?

The first one is among my all time faves ever - Loretta Chase's MR. IMPOSSIBLE. People regularly pick her wonderful LORD OF SCOUNDRELS (also reviewed on this site) as one of the best romances ever written, but for me, there's just a tad extra goodness in MR. IMPOSSIBLE. It's funny, it's sweet, it's steamy, it's clever, and I lay good money that you'll fall in love with Rupert Carsington, the hero.

The next writer on my list is Liz Carlyle who I think would currently be my favorite historical writer. Picking a book of hers to recommend was really difficult, so I thought I'd go with the first one of hers I read, the one that started the addiction. THE DEVIL TO PAY is another book full of unexpected takes on a tried and true formula, a feisty heroine making a rake account for his myriad sins. One of the many things I love about Liz's books is that they create such a rich world. It's wonderful revisitng characters from earlier stories and seeing how the various strands of the series plots intersect and enrich the current book.And don't you love that cover?

My last choice is one of the all-time great romances, historical or otherwise. Laura Kinsale's immortal FLOWERS FROM THE STORM. This is unlike any other book I've ever read and its intensity is amazing. Absolutely unforgettable! If anyone ever tries to tell you that romance is trivial and brainless, steer them in the direction of this book. Actually, don't - it's too good for the naysayers! It's a story of redemption and risk and forbidden love triumphing against impossible odds. A masterpiece.

So that's my top 10 of the books I've reviewed here on The Romance Dish. All are VERY highly recommended.

So what would your top 10 romance novels be? I'd love to see your lists!

Absolute Vicky Bliss!

by Anna Campbell

On the 9th August, I saw the sad news that Elizabeth Peters had passed away at the age of 85 at her home in Maryland. Her Amelia Peabody books have become a real favorite in the last few years and now I'm addicted to the Vicky Bliss books. This review was originally scheduled for next month, but I've put it up today as a tribute to a marvelous writer who has provided me with many hours of wonderful entertainment.  She will be missed.

As many of you know, I've long (well, the last few years - nobody has ever accused me of being au courant, as they say in the best Regencies!) been a huge fan of Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody books, featuring a headstrong and managing Victorian woman and her curmudgeonly but lovable husband Emerson, as well as assorted eccentric (and in the case of Ramses, their son, extremely sexy!) family and friends. But until very recently, I hadn't ventured further into EP territory.

Enter my lovely critique partner Annie West who lent me the first two Vicky Bliss mysteries.

Vicky Bliss is a unique character. She's gorgeous - I keep thinking of bosomy blonde Anita Ekberg from LA DOLCE VITA. In case you don't know her, that's a picture on the right. You can see what I mean about blonde and bosomy! But Vicky also has a brain like a steel trap.

Naturally, her film star/call girl looks get in the way of the respect people pay her brain, both to her advantage and not. In her career as an art historian, she wants to be taken seriously, but the dumb blonde act really helps when she's out solving mysteries (yes, this is another mystery/romance series - I seem to be addicted to them at the moment).

In these earlier books in the series, the casual sexism that Vicky encounters was probably funnier when the stories were written starting in the 70s, but there's still enough sexism around (more than enough, sadly!) for the jokes to retain their point. The books are written in first person and Vicky's voice is great - smart and snarky.

There's a link between the Peabody and Bliss series - a kind of sly joke about academic practice. Vicky Bliss is credited as the editor of the Amelia Peabody papers from which the earlier stories supposedly come.

The first book is fun - one of the great things about all the Elizabeth Peters books is their wonderful acerbic humor, sometimes tumbling over into uproarious slapstick. BORROWER OF THE NIGHT was released in 1973 and introduces Vicky who at this stage is a penniless history lecturer looking for something to keep her in the lifestyle to which she'd like to become accustomed. When she stumbles across a clue to the whereabouts of a priceless 15th century German shrine, she sets out in search of the discovery that she believes will make her reputation.

Unfortunately, assorted bad guys have also twigged to the shrine's possible whereabouts, so a host of potential villains descend upon Rothenburg in Germany. Not to mention the family who originally owned/stole the shrine want to get in on the act too to restore their sadly decayed fortunes. Mayhem and hijinks ensue (actually I could basically just write this review as "Vicky Bliss books - mayhem and hijinks ensue"!). Be prepared for skullduggery, ghosts, false identities, danger, suspense, laughs, silliness, romantic intrigue. Pretty much the whole kit and kaboodle. A quick and entertaining read that makes a great introduction to the series. And you'll learn a bit about German medieval/renaissance history in a painless fashion.

Then we come to book 2, STREET OF THE FIVE MOONS (1978). This one's a completely different kettle of fish. The world is still fun and mysterious and dangerous. But there's the added zing of sexual tension when Vicky's quest to uncover a gang of brilliant jewelry forgers places her in the path of charming but nefarious thief Sir John Smythe.

Sir John is a breed of hero I adore (think Raffles or the Scarlet Pimpernel, if the SP was purloining the jewelry belonging to the people he rescues from the guillotine). Aristocratic. Witty. Outwardy uncaring and selfish, but concealing the heart of a hero, much as he wishes he doesn't. On a personal note, Sir Richard Harmsworth from my next release A RAKE'S MIDNIGHT KISS is of this ilk! Love a hero in spite of himself!

Vicky is pretty smart-mouthed in her sassy American way and Sir John is bitingly witty in that brittle English upper-class way. You'll find yourself laughing when you read their prickly exchanges, even though it's perfectly clear to the (romance) reader that these two are made for each other. But how can a rising academic hitch her wagon to a conman/drifter/criminal? No matter how gorgeous he is! Sigh.

The third book SILHOUETTE IN SCARLET (1983) places Vicky in the land of her ancestors, Sweden, and on the trail of a priceless Viking treasure. Speaking of which, don't you just love the cover of this one? Valkyrie Vicky in very Viking pose (and that sentence was brought to you by the letter 'V').

As you've probably gathered by now, various bad guys are also on the hunt, including her sneaky and cheeky lover Sir John. There's the usual great mixture of adventure and laughs and romance and again, some nice info about Viking history. A spoonful of sugar makes the history go down in the most delightful way!  

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. Hurry up, Annie, and send them to me! If you like beautifully rendered exotic settings, brilliant humor, a nice bit of romance and a clever and resourceful heroine, not to mention an intriguing mystery, I highly recommend these.

So do you enjoy romantic mysteries? Any favorites? Do you like books where the romantic subplot continues over several stories without being resolved in the actual story? I really love the exotic settings of these. Has any exotic setting in a book ever prompted you to travel somewhere?

Amelia Peabody for President!

by Anna Campbell

In September on Second Helping when I was talking about the marvelous SOULLESS by Gail Carriger, I mentioned how Alexia Tarabotti and Lord Maccon reminded me of Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson from CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK by Elizabeth Peters. You can find the SOULLESS review here: http://www.theromancedish.com/2011/09/soulless-has-soul.html I thought it might be fun to visit the dangerous, dramatic, romantic Egypt of Amelia and Emerson today.

Although CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK is billed as an Amelia Peabody mystery, I'd firmly put this book in the romance camp. There is much mayhem and derring do but the main thrust of the story is the funny, awkward, touching relationship that develops between two clever, prickly, self-willed people who long ago decided romantic love will never be part of their lives.

Here's the opening:

When I first set eyes on Evelyn Barton-Forbes she was walking the streets of Rome--

(I am informed, by the self-appointed Critic who reads over my shoulder as I write, that I have already committed an error. If those seemingly simple Enlgish words do indeed imply that which I am told they imply to the vulgar, I must in justice to Evelyn find other phrasing.)

In justice to myself, however, I must insist that Evelyn was doing precisely what I have said she was doing, but with no ulterior purpose in mind. Indeed, the poor girl had no purpose and no means of carrying it ouf it she had. Our meeting was fortuitous, but fortunate. I had, as I have always had, purpose enough for two.

You immediately know that you're reading a book written in the high Victorian style (Reader, I married him!). You can also tell that you're in for a lot of fun - and that's true as well. One of the great pleasures of this book is the sly humor.

Purpose enough for two describes bluestocking spinster Amelia Peabody to a T. She's a lovable monster who inherits a fortune from her vicar father and sets out to see the world on her own terms. She's self-willed, self-confident, pushy, but kind-hearted, generous and often perceptive When she crosses swords with shaggy, cranky archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson who until now has only been interested in women dead for 3,000 years, unexpected sparks fly. It's a joy watching these two clever people maneuver around each other and then find themselves maneuvered into a lifelong passion.

The story is a bit silly but that's part of the fun too. When Amelia rescues ruined and forsaken runaway heiress Evelyn Barton-Forbes from a curious Italian crowd at the Forum in Rome and decides to employ her as a companion on her voyage to Egypt, little does she know the adventures in store. Passion, cads and bounders, danger, cobras, stalking mummies, native superstitions and more await our intrepid heroine before she gets her happy ending.

As befits a story published in 1975, this book falls into the old-fashioned romance category. There's no explicit sex and the passion is mostly constrained behind stiff upper lips. Which makes it surprisingly powerful when it does escape! But the story is clever and witty and packed with incident and as I said, the romance is great fun. Not only that, but Evelyn finds romance too so you get two love stories for the price of one. What more could a budding Egyptologist want?

I've always had a very soft spot for books set in the late 19th century in Egypt. Two of my all-time favorite romances are AS YOU DESIRE by Connie Brockway and MR. IMPOSSIBLE by Loretta Chase. This one forms an honorable third in that glorious list. Seriously, if you want a couple of hours of sheer enjoyment, pick up CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK.

Do you like playing in exotic climes when you read romances? Do you like intellectual heroes? Who's your favorite feisty heroine? Have you ever been chased by a mummy (the bandaged not the maternal kind)? Did you manage to escape?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!