Arabella Met a Black Sheep!

by Anna Campbell

As you can probably tell from the illustration, I've been digging into the Heyer back catalogue again. But before I get into the nitty-gritty of the review, I've got an announcement to make.

After five years doing Second Helping reviews here on the Romance Dish and working with the lovely PJ and Andrea, I'm hanging up my ballet slippers. At least in the medium term.

These days I find I'm not reading nearly as much romance as I used to and when I do, it's catching up with tried-and-true authors who I've already reviewed several times here. So in the interests of freshness, I'm taking a break.

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to leave a comment or, even better, a recommendation. I've picked up some of my favorite authors through books mentioned on this blog and for that you'll always have my gratitude. I'd also like to thank PJ and Andrea for giving me such a wonderful forum for my opinions and a chance to talk about books I love with like-minded people. Always a buzz!

So this is my last actual review. Next month, I'm going to do a greatest hits piece about the books I've reviewed that you really, really have to read. And then my last spot in December will be a bit of a look back and a look forward for me personally.

It seems really appropriate to end my Second Helping column with a couple of lovely Georgette Heyers. As regulars know, I've been gradually re-reading GH's work and sharing my thoughts here. Another thing I'm eternally grateful to the Dishes for is that they got me involved on this project. I'd forgotten just how enchanting these books are! It's also given me a chance to revisit old favorites and find new ones. Both of the books today fall into the second category. I don't remember them as particularly outstanding, but I loved both revisiting them as a lady of a certain, ahem, age!

BLACK SHEEP (1966) is an absolute hoot with some of the best dialogue I've ever read. I think the neighbors were worried that I'd lost my mind, I laughed so loudly at this one. I'm absolutely shocked that it didn't make my top 10 last time I read the Heyers but it certainly would now.

The plot has a lot of GH's familiar tropes. The older, self-assured woman who falls in love despite herself. The harum-scarum niece and her amours. Annoying relatives. A complicated and improbable plot. And wit - LOTS of wit.

Abigail Wendover has settled into a comfortable if dull life in Bath with her hypochondriac/invalid sister Selina but life changes irrevocably when her niece Fanny falls into the hands of a fortune hunter. Even more disruptive to her calm routine, the fortune hunter's uncle arrives and turns out to be an attractive man who sets her heart beating much too fast, especially if she really is the dedicated spinster she claims.

Miles Calverleigh is the Black Sheep of the title. As a youth, his family exiled him to India when he kept getting into scrapes and now he's returned as a rich man with no respect for the occasional sillinesses of society. So we've got the good girl and the bad boy and fireworks ensue! Great fun.

My second Heyer today is ARABELLA (1949) which starts fairly slowly but picks up pace until it's galloping along like a Derby winner so my advice would be bear with the opening with its pack of characters and Regency cant. It's worth it in the end. ARABELLA is a wonderful romp and I promise you'll be laughing out loud when all the threads start tangling together to make a bright and hilarious tapestry (can tapestries be hilarious?).

Lovely Arabella Tallant embarks on her first season with only her spectacular looks to recommend her - until she takes umbrage at the arrogance of super-rich ton darling Robert Beaumaris and claims to be an heiress. False gossip about Arabella's huge fortune make her the target of every marriage-minded man in society. Mr. Beaumaris finds himself caught up in all the hijinks and, despite himself, enchanted by the headstrong and good-hearted vicar's daughter. Add in Arabella's reckless brother visiting London under a false identity and a cast of memorable and eccentric characters, and you have a recipe for a riproaring farce with a very nice romantic ending.

Both of these books are on the lighter end of the spectrum and are sure to brighten even the gloomiest day. Highly recommended.

So seeing these both fall firmly into the romantic comedy genre, do you have a favorite romantic comedy? Historal or contemporary? What's the last book that had you giggling out loud?   

The Search Is Over!

by Anna Campbell

I've been on a major Nora Roberts kick lately. I even blogged about it over with the lovely Romance Bandits. You can see my post here: http://romancebandits.com/im-in-the-mood-for-love-and-nora/

I've enjoyed all the books I've read by the great Nora, but I must say my favorites so far on this glom have been her single title stand-alones. I absolutely loved THE WITNESS and NORTHERN LIGHTS and really enjoyed WHISKEY BEACH. Her stand-alones tend to be longer than her series single titles and often have a strong mystery/suspense plot. They also include a rich cast of secondary characters.

Another to add to this wonderful list of Nora Roberts favorites is THE SEARCH which I picked up thanks to some recommendations for further reads on that Romance Bandits post. I devoured this one pretty much in one sitting - a bit like the way the dogs, who are such wonderful characters in their own right in the story, wolf down their dinner!

THE SEARCH  was published in 2010 and is set on a fictional island in Puget Sound off Seattle. By the way, one of the things I absolutely love about NR's books is the way she writes about places. The setting is always such a vivid part of the story and rainy, isolated Orcas Island is no different.

The heroine Fiona Bristow has come to this wild and beautiful place to set up business as a dog trainer and to escape the horrors inflicted upon her by the Red Scarf Killer. It's taken her years, but Fiona has finally found some peace after all the pain and tragedy, in working with the dogs and playing an important role in a search and rescue team.There's even the possibility of romance with laconic furniture designer Simon Doyle who needs help with his delightful puppy Jaws (cute, huh?).

But the Red Scarf Killer hasn't forgotten that Fiona is the only woman to escape him and while he languishes in prison, he hatches a brilliant but cruel plan to use an apprentice to finish off this woman whose mere existence challenges his evil ego. Even as Fiona falls under the spell of the first man to touch her heart since the Red Scarf Killer murdered her policeman fiance, danger looms closer and closer and threatens to steal not only her happiness but her very life.

Talk about high stakes!

While the suspense plot of this one is really edge of your seat, it's the characters that make the book special. Fiona has been to hell and back and as a result, she's strong, she doesn't put up with any time wasters, and she goes after what she wants. This is a heroine who is perfectly capable of rescuing herself (even as a young woman when the RS Killer kidnaps her). She has a strong moral compass and a guarded but deeply loving heart that until she meets Simon, she mainly devotes to her canine charges.

Simon is a wonderful creation - such a bloke! He doesn't talk when he doesn't feel like it, he's focused on his work, he definitely doesn't want to fall in love. But he meets Fiona and he's a goner. Always lovely to see the strong, silent type struggling with feelings that he doesn't welcome for one minute but which he can't escape. And Simon's a man who when he commits, REALLY commits. Watching the relationship between these two strong, independent souls as it grows and blossoms is a really emotional experience. For me, the love story was the heart of THE SEARCH.

So if you're looking for a great read that's likely to keep you turning the pages into the wee small hours - not to mention the chance to meet some great people and some seriously appealing pooches - I'd recommend THE SEARCH.

Are you a romantic suspense reader? Do you have any recommendations?

A Rock Star of a Romance!

by Anna Campbell

Hey, guess what? It's my birthday! Come and have some cyber cake.

And speaking of yummy things, feast your eyes on that spectacular cover! I wonder if the title LICK is an invitation to do just that!

For the sake of the dear Romance Dishers, I ventured slightly out of my comfort zone this month to review the first new adult romance I've ever read. And I started with a doozy!

Kylie Scott is an Aussie who has taken the world of romance by storm with her Stage Dive series, based around a four-piece west coast rock band called, you guessed it, Stage Dive. These books are selling like hotcakes (hmm, perhaps it's because of the birthday - I seem to be stuck on cake imagery today. Clearly I want to eat my cake and have it too!).  They've hit both the New York Times and USA Today list so Kylie is a major local success story here, as you can imagine.

LICK, book 1 in the series, tells the story of ordinary girl Evelyn Thomas and the sexy, talented guitarist from Stage Dive, David Ferris. It opens in a spectacular fashion with poor Evelyn waking up in a hotel bathroom in Las Vegas with the hangover to end all hangovers, a huge diamond on her finger, and a gorgeous man who is now apparently her husband. Pity she can't remember anything about her 21st birthday celebrations past a line of tequila shots!

The rest of the story details their romance as Evelyn deals with David's rockstar lifestyle and also faces up to a few home truths about herself. One of the lovely things about this romance is that there's an obvious bond between David and Ev right from the start. While the story is told in first person, we see enough of David to understand how falling in love with Ev changes him for the better.

And did I mention there's lots of hot love scenes? All with a really endearing sweet edge. Ev isn't one of the cool chicks and that's one of the things David loves about her, so her reaction to the sensual side of their relationship is believable and very appealing. And David? Well, let's just say he can make sweet music with more than just his guitar!

There's also some charming touches of humor. One of the running jokes I particularly like is that Ev is a diehard country music fan. She's definitely not a Stage Dive groupie!

As you can gather, Ev is very much her own person, although understandable at 21, she's still got a lot to learn. I loved how she stood up for herself, despite being daunted by this dangerous, glamorous, public world that she's been thrust into, thanks to her impulsive marriage. She also has a strong moral compass which both David and I admire. The scenario of rock god falling in love with Miss Ordinary could have been a bit unbelievable, but while this is definitely a wonderful fantasy, you can see why these two compliment each other. He's reached a point where he wants something real amongst all the glittering artifice of his fame. And Ev is definitely real!

If you're a new adult fan, you've probably already read this. If you're not, it's definitely worth picking up to check out the hot new genre on the block, not to mention a chance to get to know two lovely characters (and a bunch of interesting people in the supporting cast). I'm looking forward to going back to the wild and wonderful world of Stage Dive!

So are you a new adult fan? Any recommendations for where I go next? What do you think makes this new genre so very hot right now?

Tangle of Quality!

by Anna Campbell

As regular visitors to Second Helping know, I'm gradually making my way through the works of Georgette Heyer.

I read them all when I was a teenager - they were the staple of libraries when I was growing up, even for any unfortunate girl who didn't have a mother who adored them (my mother DID adore them) and lent them to her. I then re-read them all when a friend of mine was compiling a complete collection and lent them to me as she bought them.

Over my lovely quiet Christmas break, I managed another two on the list and loved both of them. And discovered that I hardly remembered these at all which was nice - the surprises written into the story were actually surprises!

I was chatting about LADY OF QUALITY with another Heyer fan as I was reading it and she made the comment that she thought the heroine was unsympathetic. I can't say I found Annis Wychwood unappealing. But then I don't mind managing females with sharp tongues! Annis is beautiful and rich and headstrong. At the age of 29, she's also convinced that she'll never marry - why should she submit her will to a man's whim? But fate has other plans when she becomes involved with Oliver Carleton, the "rudest man in London." I'm sure you can imagine how funny the encounters between these two straight talkers are. I laughed out loud so often when one or the other would get the final word in!

I also like stories about clever people who think they've got their lives sorted out until they fall in love and realize that they're as hopeless as the rest of us. And there's always a lovely pay-off in such stories when the couple come together, wiser, warmer, and willing to surrender to the demands of their hearts instead of their heads. LADY OF QUALITY is definitely a read of quality!

The second Heyer I read while the temperature outside hit boiling point (we had a heatwave this summer!) was BATH TANGLE.

It took me a little while to warm up to this one (despite the weather). At the start, there just seemed to be so many characters! And Lady Serena Carlow, another sharp-tongued, managing female, wasn't quite as appealing as Annis Wychwood, although they clearly came from the same branch of the Heyer heroine tree. Like Annis, she's rich, beautiful and independent, but she's also much more tempestuous and impulsive.

But of course, the whole point of a tangle is that things should be complicated enough to get into a real mess. And that's certainly true about this story. Once it gets going and the various characters start making absolutely wrong decisions, get set for great fun. And there are some marvelous secondary characters, including the vulgar but goodhearted Mrs. Floore and her vulgar but not goodhearted daughter Lady Laleham. Not to mention the usual selection of madcap young uns to push the plot along. And the ending is sigh-worthy satisfying - especially as there are moments during the story where you're not sure that things are going to work out as your romantic reader's heart would wish.

By chance, I picked up two stories that have an awful lot in common. Both are set largely in Bath. Both feature stroppy, opinionated heroines. The guys are difficult and smart, and up to the challenge of dealing with these wild women. There are runaway heiresses in both stories who stir much mayhem. Both are notable for sparkling dialogue that will have you giggling.

Have you read either of these? Do you like a feisty heroine? Is there a point at which the heroine becomes TOO feisty?

Review - - Beneath the Patchwork Moon

Beneath the Patchwork Moon

By Alison Kent

Publisher: Montlake

Release Date: March 4, 2014

Luna Meadows discovered her vocation as a weaver in the weeks following an accident that required a long recovery accompanied by some question concerning the degree of mobility that Luna would retain. In her weaving, eighteen-year-old Luna found a way to express her fears about the future and her anguish over the death of Sierra Caffey, her best friend. Ten years after the accident that claimed Sierra’s life and left Oscar Gaitlin, Sierra’s boyfriend, in a persistent vegetative state, Luna’s hand-woven, story-telling scarves have become a favorite accessory of celebrities and earn their creator a lucrative living. Still, in some ways, Luna is still frozen in the aftermath of the twin accidents a decade after they occurred. She lives in her parents’ home, and she is haunted by the secret she holds. But she has decided that it is time she makes some changes in her life.

She buys a loft that gives her living space and space for her loom and makes plans to move out on her own at last. She also sets up a non-profit and purchases Sierra’s home with plans for turning it into a community arts center in memory of Sierra and Oscar. Sierra’s death devastated her parents, and two years after the accident, they moved to Mexico with their four younger children, leaving behind their house filled with the accumulated stuff of a family’s life. On the anniversary of her friend’s death, Luna enters the house to begin the task of clearing it for the necessary renovations. She is prepared for the memories that will assail her, but she does not expect the appearance of Angelo Caffey, Sierra’s older brother and Luna’s first love.

Angelo hasn’t been back to Hope Springs, Texas, since he left eight years ago. He never planned to return to the place where he lost not only his oldest sister but also the family who disowned him. Like Luna, an accident that happened ten years ago still has a heavy claim on him, as do his memories of Luna, the girl he left in Hope Springs. Angelo knows that Luna possesses more information about the circumstances of Sierra’s death than she has revealed, and he wants answers. He strikes a deal with Luna: he will work with her for five days cleaning out his family home, five days during which he will probe and push for the full truth about a day that changed both their lives. Her self-protective instinct tells Luna that she should refuse Angelo’s, but her heart prompts a yes.

As Luna and Angelo tackle the job of cleaning the house, they are confronted at every turn with the past that both unites and divides them. The feelings they shared as young lovers were powerful, but they were too young then to protect what they had from the forces that separated them. However reluctant Luna and Angelo may be to admit it, the physical attraction and the emotional connection between them remain strong even after eight years with no contact. But the secrets and half-truths have to be revealed before the wounds of the past can heal and the hope for a future together can be realized.

Although Kaylie Flynn and Tennessee Keller, the heroine and hero of The Second Chance Café, the first book in Kent’s Hope Springs series, appear in this second book, Beneath a Patchwork Moon can easily be read as a standalone. The focus is clearly on the tangled relationship of Luna and Angelo, two complex, creative characters unable either to let go of the past or to make peace with it. Setting is less important in this second book than it was in the first, although there are enough details such as the class distinctions and the community efforts to offset the funding cuts to arts programs in public schools, to make the reader aware that Hope Springs is a small town.

There is a pervasive melancholy in this novel that not even an HEA completely overcomes. The tragedy and its shattering effects cannot be undone even as some survivors find that happiness is still possible for those marked by loss. This is romance, strong and satisfying romance, but it is romance with a realistic edge. There are no magic wands or happy pills in this story that resurrect the dead or make whole everything that was broken.  Some readers may find this a problem; other readers will find that it adds to the story’s emotional power. I belong in the latter group.

The Hope Springs series is typical in one respect. The town is peopled with fascinating characters who leave the reader longing for their stories. The Sweetness of Honey, the third book in the series, is the story of Indiana Keller, Tennessee’s sister, introduced in The Second Chance Café, and Oliver Gaitlin, introduced in Beneath the Patchwork Moon. It will be released October 14, 2014. That leaves at least the mysterious Will Bowman and the missing Dakota, the third Keller sibling. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will be making several more visits to Hope Springs.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Review - - The Dark Affair

The Dark Affair: A Novel of Mad Passions
by Máire Claremont
Publisher:Signet
Release Date: March 4, 2014

I know two things: Máire Claremont is the great-great-great-great-great grandchild of Emily Bronte, who I realize was never married, but in romantic literature, easy to circumvent, and Máire Claremont is romantic. Talk about an author who believes in love conquering all, including but not limited to opium addiction. She must be. Her writing is so beautiful and lyrical, only a Bronte could have written it, right? I am convinced.

The setting of The Dark Affair, much like its predecessors, is wonderfully Victorian goth, dark and gloomy, with grim settings in asylums and harsh treatments and constant near threat of being locked away forever if you act out of line. You know how some romantic novels make you think you could go back in time and live in that setting with no worry? Not in a Máire Claremont setting. It’s cold. It’s stark. Many times it’s loveless. It’s desperate and it’s always, always on the edge of falling into something worse. But you don’t mind because the dialogue is so beautiful and authentic, you feel you’re watching a BBC drama that makes Downton Abbey look anachronistic and fluffy.

How can you not root for these characters? The Irish Catholic heroine who is so poor she only wishes she had two half-pennies to rub together and the mad viscount addicted to opium and grieving for his dead wife and daughter. The heroine is known for her ability to help addicts—a stretch historically, perhaps, but brilliant anyway—and the viscount’s father contacts her to help his son, who has been locked into an asylum. You know, BY the father. You couldn’t pair a more unlikely duo.

The heroine, Margaret Cassidy, has a bit of a savior complex. She’s got the family that falls apart; and she at such a young age is left to pick up the pieces and hold everything together. That’s what she does, all day long, holds it together. The viscount’s father—who you may have guessed can be a bit heartless—wants Margaret to marry his son, as protection if/when the father dies to help keep his son out of the asylum. She does not immediately embrace this clause, but a few ghosts from her past—namely a dear brother who is trying to join up with the Fenians—encourage her to accept this proposal in order to save her family.

The hero, Viscount Powers, definitely has the tragic, romantic hero down pat. He doesn’t really care if he lives or dies, and he’s really leaning toward the latter, though he’s not so mad as to throw himself in front of a carriage of horses or anything. He spends most of his time trying to numb the pain of his loss with laudanum, which ends up making him do some crazy things, and ended up getting him tossed into the asylum. He’s so addicted that the only way to control him is to tie him to the bed and then shoot him with morphine, which happens to be another form of opium. Don’t you love the Victorian age? Combating fire with fire? With doctors like these, who needs a flu epidemic, am I right?

Once Viscount Powers is taken back home, Margaret goes through the unenviable process of detoxing him, all the while getting helpful asides from his father that says, “I want him to act normal. If he starts acting crazy, I’ll know I should never have asked a woman to help and I’ll get rid of you and hire male doctors instead.” He’s a keeper. Normally Margaret would suggest gradual detoxification, but heroes are heroes, and they always go cold turkey or else. You feel you’re getting detoxed right along side him; and you’re tempted to tell your own doctors to never prescribe any codeine, just in case. It’s just not worth it.

Through some trial and error, and a Black Moment where you wonder if the hero will succumb again to his past addictions, love finally does conquer all; and Máire does do her best to tie up a grim gothic book by showing us how Powers and Margaret keep their Happy For Now ending going by a sort of Addict’s Anonymous type of counseling and day-by-day approach. You know the hero doesn’t slip, but she is clear that the struggle is still there, as any true addiction would be.

Kudos to Ms. Claremont for tackling such gritty, tough subjects like addiction, mental health, and health care in the Victorian age. Those topics would be a hard-sell most of the time anyway, but she does make the characters, while flawed, very likable and worthy of our sympathy. I also do have an interest and curiosity about asylums and all the other grim topics that go with such a place, so I found the topic quite diverting from the typical historical romance which is more romp than reality.

However, right in the middle of me reading this book, Phillip Seymour Hoffman died, which is no fault whatsoever of Ms. Claremont, but is living proof that the reality is much more than a romantic story where love always triumphs. You never really cure addiction; you just live with it, much like you would with any mental illness. So while I admired Máire’s epilogue that alludes to the fact that Powers continued to go to his “meetings”, continued to struggle, but also continued to overcome with the help of loved ones who supported him, at the same time, it felt a bit rushed and a little too neat. Still, how can you not root for that kind of story?

If you liked the story of Walk the Line, about Johnny and June Carter Cash, I would say this falls into similar territory, at least the hero struggles constantly with addiction, his relationship with his father, and trying to be the man he knows he should be, could be. It is one of my favorite movies and I’ve watched it many times. I read The Dark Affair with the same sort of intensity, wondering how it would all work out, but it surely would. However, in Walk the Line, we all know that movie cut off at a point where Johnny Cash conquered his addiction for a time but later struggled with reconquering it over and over again, with the love and help of one woman.

Four stars. Although this book has setting, voice, intensity, and character to an art form, and you will likely be as immersed as I was in the gothic world, I am deducting a point because curing his addiction and him managing to avoid a relapse seemed a bit too “easy” and took me out of the story as I questioned if that could be remotely possible. Sure, an English lord willingly marrying an Irish Catholic? No big deal. But detoxing and side-stepping a relapse with the kind of surety of one avoiding only one pothole in a road? Now we’re stretching credibility for me.

I am tempted to read the previous books now—the voice is quite engaging—and I think Máire Claremont certainly fills a void for those of us missing the grittier, darker, more passionate kinds of stories. I will definitely look for her next book.

~Hellie

Hellie Sinclair (a.k.a. Fran) was one of the founding members of the Romance Writer's Revenge, where she frequently got to satisfy her love of good books and her need to expound by writing reviews. Hellie loves to craft on projects she rarely finishes, watch British dramas as a sort of Olympic marathon event, and do most anything that fits the description "indolent and pleasurable." Fortunately reading falls into that category. You can find her at her blog, where she writes the occasional review...and shares updates on her never-ending projects.

Review - - The Trouble with Honor

The Trouble with Honor

By Julia London

Publisher: Harlequin HQN

Release Date: February 25, 2014

Honor Cabot and her three sisters benefited socially and financially from their widowed mother’s marriage to the wealthy and indulgent Earl of Beckington. But the earl is near death, her mother is showing alarming signs of mental illness, and the earl’s heir will soon marry Monica Hargrove, Honor’s former friend and present enemy. Augustine may be fond of his step-sisters, but Honor knows that once he is the earl and Monica is his countess, there will be no room in the Beckington London house or at Longmeadow, the family’s country estate for a madwoman and her four daughters. As the eldest, Honor feels compelled to take care of her family. But she needs time, time to find a husband that she can love and who will also be wealthy enough to provide for her mother and sisters. In order to gain time, she must stop Augustine’s wedding, and a recent acquaintance is just the person she needs to help her.

George Easton is the illegitimate son of a maid and a royal duke. Although the duke never acknowledged George, George’s mother, by means unknown to George, secured a stipend from his father that provided an upper-class education for her son, but George remains on the fringes of polite society, ignored by the sticklers and tolerated within limits by the more liberal. His own efforts and skill in speculation won him a fortune, but he has a habit of losing fortunes more easily than he gains them. He also has a reputation for his way with women and his skill with games of chance. George bears some scars from his bastard status, but he harbors no illusions about his social status.  

In the ordinary course of events, Honor and George would never have met, but Honor enjoys flouting society’s rules. One winter evening, in the company of a few other daring debutantes and young gentlemen, Honor visits the latest fashionable gaming hell and wins a hundred pounds from George, to everyone’s amazement but her own. Honor remembers George’s looks, his fortune, and his reputation for charming the ladies when she hits upon the idea of Monica’s being seduced away from Augustine. George has no intention of agreeing to take part in the scheme, but he finds it impossible to resist Honor’s unique combination of beauty and daring. He also understands her desire to take care of her mother. Neither Honor nor George is prepared for the spark of attraction between them to become a conflagration that threatens life as they know it and promises something of which they have barely dreamed.

I’ve been reading Julia London’s books, historicals and contemporaries, with pleasure for the past decade, and I was pleased when I learned that she was introducing a new historical series with The Trouble with Honor. When I read a London historical romance, I expect a combination of the traditional and the unconventional. Often the unconventional is a primary character who is less than likeable but whose clear motivation and intriguing complexities win me over even when I begin by disliking him/her.  The Trouble with Honor has the unconventional character, but this time the character never fully overcame my initial reservations.

I did like George. The dissolute hero with an unfair share of charm and his own sense of honor is a familiar type to romance readers, but London gives George the dimensions to make him a strikingly individual character. He won my heart, as I want the hero to do.  Readers who like their romances with abundant sizzle will be delighted with the passion between George and Honor. But Honor inspired mixed reactions in me. On the one hand, her plight effectively demonstrates the limited options open to women, and I fully sympathize with her frustration over those limitations. But at times she came across as just silly and shallow. Frankly, in the battle with Monica, my sympathies were often with Monica. Because London allows her reader access to Monica’s point of view, it is difficult to ever see her as the manipulative bitch she is in Honor’s estimation.

I also never understood why the earl’s death leaves Honor and her family in such straits. He is a man of great wealth. I’m no expert on nineteenth-century British history, but I thought the widow was provided for according to law and that the provision usually included a dower house. It also seemed logical to me that so loving and indulgent a parent as the earl would have provided for his stepdaughters.  Also, one of the key scenes that some readers may find romantic just made me cringe. (I’m being vague to avoid spoilers.)

Final analysis: The Trouble with Honor is an interesting book, one that I found difficult to put down once I began it. I love George, and the relationship among the four sisters was realistic and endearing. The concerns about their mother’s disintegration added particular poignancy in an era when mental illness was feared and treatment was inhumane. However, the trouble I had with Honor and her situation was not resolved by the HEA, and this book will not be one of my favorite Julia London titles. Nevertheless, I am captivated enough to return for The Fall of Grace, Book 2 in the series set for release on July 29, 2014.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Harlequin Roundup

by Anna Campbell

I haven't done a Harlequin roundup for ages and given we've just had Valentine's Day, it seemed like a nice opportunity to review a couple of category romances that I've recently really enjoyed. 

The first one is a real charmer from an author I hadn't read before. Nikki Logan happens to be the current president of Romance Writers of Australia and I've met her many times. I even did a crit on the start of a romantic suspense that she'd written before she was published. But I'd never read one of her Harlequins until I picked up HOW TO GET OVER YOUR EX (January 2013), one of the new Harlequin Kiss line. 

Poor Georgia Stone! She proposes to long-time boyfriend Daniel over the air as part of a radio station's Valentine's Day promotion. And he knocks her back. Ouch! Station manager Zander Rush decides to rescue this stunt gone wrong by instituting something called "The Year of Georgia" where he escorts Georgia to a whole range of new experiences including a makeover and a trip to Turkey. Georgia gradually comes to realize that, despite Daniel's rejection, there actually wasn't anything wrong with her in the first place and she doesn't need to become a new person. Through sharing all these experiences and getting to know Georgia, Zander realizes that he has taken a few wrong turns in his life. I love a romance where the hero and heroine grow into more fulfilled, better people at the end, and that's the case here. I smiled the whole way through this lovely book!

My next selection is also by an Aussie author, the fabulous Sarah Mayberry. THE OTHER SIDE OF US (SuperRomance, January 2013) revisits a familiar theme from Sarah's work about how sometimes life's unexpected turns can at first seem a catastrophe but in the end, become opportunities for growth and fulfillment.

Mackenzie Williams is the sort of woman who makes most workaholics look like complete slackers. She's achieved major success as the producer of a television drama when she has a horrific car crash on the way to a location shoot. When we meet her, Mackenzie is holed up in her beach house on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne after a 12 month convalescence. She's angry and bitter and worried that she might lose her place in the dog eat dog world of television production. She's also pushing her body beyond where she should in her attempt to return to the woman she was before her accident.

Oliver Barrett, ex rock muso and current music producer, has just discovered that his wife of six years has been cheating on him the whole time with her ex. Devastated, angry, confused, he retreats to a beach house he inherited with the idea of taking a few weeks to sort through his late aunt's possessions and preparing the house for sale. Guess who's next door? Yup, prickly, difficult, intriguing Mackenzie. These two have a rocky road to romance, with quite a few hairpin bends relating to their baggage. But in typical Sarah Mayberry style, they're wonderful, complex, interesting characters who leap breathing and arguing and loving from the pages. Highly recommended!

My last book for this roundup is prodigious talent Sarah Morgan's sexy and intense LOST TO THE DESERT WARRIOR (Harlequin Presents, September 2013). I love Sarah's books - don't miss her first single title SLEIGH BELLS IN THE SNOW that came out last October. I love how Sarah takes the classic Presents style - the alpha hero, the glamor, the drama, the high stakes emotions - and makes it completely her own. It's no accident that she's won the RITA award two years in a row for best short category romance!

Princess Layla's only hope of escaping an odious arranged marriage is to flee into the desert in search of the true heir to Tazkhan's throne, Sheikh Raz Al Zahki, and propose herself as his bride. The problem is that Raz has lost a beloved wife to Layla's evil family's machinations and he's sworn never to wed again. Not to mention he's convinced that Layla is just a chip off the old rotten block of her father and cousin.

I love marriage of convenience stories and this one's a doozy! Raz is wonderful: brooding and grieving, but passionate, wise and kind. Sigh. Layla is a fantastic character. She's spent her life learning things from books so she's got all this arcane knowledge rattling around in her head, knowledge that proves of very little use when it comes to managing the man she rapidly falls head over heels in love with. This one's very much a fairytale, romantic and fun and steamy.

So have you read any good Harlequins lately?

Mighty Lights!

by Anna Campbell

Happy New Year! 

As you may know, 2013 was my year of attacking the TBR pile.

I don't know if this rings a bell with any of you, but I just can't resist buying new books. And the new, bright shiny book that has just arrived in the mail tends to get the attention, which means often very good books drop lower in the pile until sometimes they're so far down, they're subterranean.

I keep my TBR pile in my dressing room which had started to look like it belonged to Imelda Marcos - if Imelda Marcos had a book fetish instead of a shoe one! So for the last 12 months, I've been tugging out books that I've had for ages and giving them a go.

As a result, I've discovered some real gems!

A book that had been there for so long that I'd completely forgotten I had it is NORTHERN LIGHTS by Nora Roberts.

Wow, what a great read! And I was lucky enough to have time to wallow in the story and read it in one gulp. Paradise!

Following the shooting death of his partner, Nate Burke leaves his job as a detective in Baltimore to become chief of police in tiny Lunacy, Alaska, in the middle of winter. Which many people consider an act of...lunacy.

Nate is wounded and grieving and guilt-stricken and perfectly aware that this is his last chance to set his life on the right path. At first, he's sure he's made the wrong decision. For a start, Lunacy in January is COLD!!! Beyond imagining cold. And not everyone in the small settlement welcomes the arrival of an incomer as the representative of the long arm of the law.

But Nate sticks it out and gradually finds himself a place and a new purpose. On the way, he falls in love with independent, eccentric bush pilot Meg Galloway who isn't at all sure that she wants a forever relationship, although she's perfectly happy to enjoy Nate as a lover.

So everything is heading in the right direction for Nate at last when some college students stumble upon a corpse in an ice cave up in the mountains. The dead man is Meg's father, a free spirit who everyone assumed walked out on his family sixteen years ago. Not only that, but it's likely that the murderer was a resident of Lunacy, and perhaps still is.

Nate has to draw on all the skills he learned as a homicide detective to solve this crime (and deal with the subsequent mayhem) in a place where he'd fondly imagined he'd only be dealing with minor issues like small-time theft and inappropriate high-spirits.

This is more of a police procedural than I'm used to from the great Nora although the romance between Meg and Nate is wonderful - and in such a long book (my Piatkus edition is 562 pages long), there's enough room for a secondary romance or two as well! All the characters are so real, from Nate and Meg down through the interesting misfits who have made Lunacy their home over the years. The reader falls in love with the townsfolk right along with Nate.

Having said that, I think the setting was the best part of this book. You can feel the cold and isolation and dramatic beauty of this isolated corner of the world. I think it's no accident of writerly intent that Nate arrives in the depths of winter and moves forward into spring - the setting definitely mirrors the new life burgeoning in Nate's cynical, damaged soul.

I've always wanted to visit Alaska - I'm a girl who loves cold! Reading this marvelous, suspenseful, evocative novel made me look seriously at booking a ticket!

So have you read NORTHERN LIGHTS? Do you have a favorite book by Nora Roberts? Have you been to Alaska?

This Spinster Is Special!

 by Anna Campbell

Hey, it's Christmas Eve! Not only that, it's my last review for the year. Thank you so much to all of you who have swung by to share your thoughts and recommendations. My TBR pile thanks you. My VISA card, not so much! ;-) Seriously, thanks to the Dishies and all their regulars. I always love popping by here each month to discuss a great book or two.

So Happy Holidays! Happy Christmas! Happy New Year!

I'd like to finish the year's reviews of some really great books with two more that may have passed under your radar.

Emily Larkin is a talented writer from New Zealand who has written romantic fantasy as Emily Gee and historical romance as Emily May. Her first book THE THIEF WITH NO SHADOW was nominated for two RITAs in 2008. I first read one of her books when I agreed to quote for THE UNMASKING OF A LADY, a fantastic historical romance with elements of OLIVER TWIST and Cinderella. I wasn't at all surprised when it was a finalist in the Australian Romantic Book of the Year awards in 2011. Since then, I've read pretty much everything Emily has written.

Emily is now writing for Entangled and it's well worth hunting out both these stories I'm reviewing today. The e-novella THE COUNTESS'S GROOM, a prequel to THE SPINSTER'S SECRET, came out in September this year. In TSS, an erotically charged diary plays an important part in the plot. TCG details how that erotic diary came to be written.

19-year-old Rose Quayle, Countess of Malmstoke, has been forced into a cruel marriage with a violent man. She's like a wounded and frightened animal when she meets Will Fenmore, a groom on her husband's estate Creed Hall. Will is a lovely character - seriously, lovely! He's a man of few words, kind, perceptive, gentle, and head over heels in love with Rose. But of course in 1762 England, a groom in love with a lady has no hope of happiness.

Well, unless the groom and the lady are brave and resourceful and willing to take some terrible risks.

Rose gradually falls under Will's spell to a point where she becomes his lover (the love scenes in this story are beautifully tender). She details her sensual awakening in a diary that she hides in a secret cupboard in her bedroom.

I really enjoyed this story about a woman emerging from a nightmare to seize her chance at happiness. And as you've probably gathered, the hero is a darling!

While it's not necessary to read Rose and Will's story before you start THE SPINSTER'S SECRET, it makes a nice appetizer for the main course.

Matilda (Mattie) Chapple is the kind of heroine I love in a Regency romance.The impoverished, intelligent, frustrated woman of no spectacular beauty who struggles to find a place for herself and her talents in a world hostile to female independence. Jane Austen was just such a woman - there are some lovely PRIDE AND PREJUDICE parallels in this story to give Austen fans a nice smile.

Mattie lives at grim Creed Hall, the setting for THE COUNTESS'S GROOM, as an unvalued poor relation with her miserly uncle, Sir Arthur Strickland; her self-centered aunt; and her aunt's impoverished companion. Mattie is a woman of courage and initiative with a dream for breaking free from her dull, restrictive existence. To finance her plan to open a boarding house, she's writing a series of 'confessions', penned by the supposed courtesan Cherie. The confessions have taken London by storm and everyone is agog to discover the author's identity.

So that's the spinster's secret - she writes dirty books!

As a virgin, Mattie has no personal experience of the encounters in her stories, but she has the erotic bestseller FANNY HILL and the mysterious diary she's discovered in a hidden cabinet in her bedroom to help her. If her moralistic and judgmental uncle discovers what she's up to, she'll be out on her ear. Also - and I liked this element of Mattie's character - she's conscious that while her uncle has never been generous, he has kept her from starving all these years. She doesn't want to hurt him with a scandal. So our spinster has many reasons to hide her activities.

Enter our hero, Edward Kane, who has returned physically and mentally scarred from his horrific experiences at Waterloo, at battle at which Mattie's beloved cousin Toby Strickland was killed. Toby was Edward's best friend, so he's calling on the family to deliver his condolences personally. Edward is eaten up with guilt because Toby died saving his life, so when Sir Arthur discovers that the notorious Cherie lives locally, Edward promises to expose the pornographer.

Of course the last person he suspects of being Cherie is plain, downtrodden Miss Chapple.

Edward is trapped with the awful food and nightly sermons at Creed Hall until he can fulfill his promise to his host. And as time goes on, plain Miss Chapple becomes increasingly intriguing and not plain at all.

But what happens when Edward discovers very personal details of his affair with Mattie appearing in Cherie's confessions? The feathers start flying!

There is so much that I love about this story. I love the secondary characters. Even grumpy old Sir Arthur is three-dimensional. I particularly love Mattie and Edward. Neither of them has had an easy path through life. When they meet, both are so wary, that it takes them a long time to realize they've found their soulmate. I love the setting with its atmospheric gothic touches. I love the wry humor and deep emotion. I love how Emily uses such rich and evocative Regency detail to create this story about finding love where you least expect it. I REALLY love the first love scene which is sweet and awkward and passionate.

So if you're looking for something lovely to read this Holiday Season, why not pick up THE SPINSTER'S SECRET? I bet you love it just as much as I do! 

The love scene in THE SPINSTER'S SECRET really is beautifully done. Let's be naughty this Christmas Eve. What's the best love scene you've read recently? Maybe we can forward the details to Mattie for her saucy books!

PJ here.  Thanks, Anna! These stories sound so yummy!  We're giving away kindle copies of both books to one person who leaves a comment.  Deadline for comments is December 26, 2013.  Merry Christmas and good luck!  

Jane Scores Very Highly Indeed!

by Anna Campbell

Are you a fan of sports romances? When I started writing romance, I targeted Harlequin and the wisdom back then (the 1980s and 1990s) was that sports romances don't sell.

Hmm, not sure if that's the case anymore. I've noticed that it's a growing genre!

It's weird that I'm so fond of these stories. I'm not a huge sports fan, but I love a good romance set in the world of elite athletes and the women who tame them. Football definitely isn't my thing, for example, but I'd crawl on hands and knees over broken glass to get the latest Susan Elizabeth Phillips Chicago Stars book.

I'm particularly looking forward to my Bandita Buddy Anna Sugden's debut with Harlequin SuperRomance, A PERFECT DISTRACTION set around Anna's beloved hockey players. I'm writing this review a bit ahead of time so I still have a couple of months to wait for Anna's first book! 

So while I'm waiting, I picked up Rachel Gibson's SEE JANE SCORE, book 2 of her Seattle Chinooks series (book 1 is SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE which has now joined my TBR pile after I had such fun with Jane).

This was a really fun read and it had a few nice surprises along the way. Jane Alcott (brings to mind pictures of LITTLE WOMEN and JANE EYRE!) is an outwardly staid 30-year-old journalist who moonlights as Honey Pie, an erotic diarist for a men's magazine. When the book opens, life in Seattle really isn't taking her anywhere. Romance is disappointing. Her career is pottering along without hitting the heights. Until she gets the opportunity to travel with the Chinooks as a sports reporter. Jane, who is a pretty gutsy girl, jumps at the chance.

Unfortunately, the team doesn't want her along. They go out of their way to isolate her, stymie her reporting efforts, and make her feel uncomfortable - there are a couple of very funny scenes when Jane forces her way into the locker room after a game. Jane's particular bugbear is highly paid French Canadian goalie Luc Martineau. As far as Jane's concerned, Luc's good looks are only skin deep. Which is a pity when she develops a Mount Rainier size crush on him, despite her poor opinion of his behavior and his principles.

Luc is a man on a mission. He's on the comeback trail after injury and a pain medication addiction. He knows that as he's now in his thirties, his place with the Chinooks is his last chance to make it big in hockey. Not only that, he's struggling to make a home for a much younger sister who treats him as a hostile stranger. With all this going on, the last thing he wants or needs is a smart-mouthed, prickly, repressed (he has no idea she writes erotica!) woman who rubs him up the wrong way but who he can't get out of his head.

Yep, you got it. This is an attraction of opposites romance. I always enjoy those. I love it when people who outwardly have nothing in common end up making huge beneficial changes in the other person's life. I love watching the hero and heroine fall in love, usually gradually and always against their will with the last person they ever thought they'd want. I love the way this particular trope lends itself to clever, snarky dialogue. SEE JANE SCORE definitely 'scores' in the dialogue department. You'll find yourself laughing out loud as Jane and Luc battle desperately to put the other person in their place - which as far as each of them is concerned is on the next continent. 

I mentioned a few surprises along the way. I won't spoil the story by listing them, but one of the many things I really liked is that, unlike the pattern of many sports stories, Luc is pretty together, it's Jane who needs to undergo the biggest life lessons. Often in these books, the males are the wild cards, but in this case, Luc's already undergone his baptism of fire with all he went through before joining the Chinooks. He's refreshingly sensible for a romance hero!

As you can probably gather, Jane scored a hit for me. I suspect she would for you too!

So are you a fan of sports stories? Any favorites? Any theories as to why they're flavor of the month now, whereas ten or so years ago, they were a hard sell?

Lady Is Excellent!

by Anna Campbell

It's really interesting to revisit the book that got you hooked on a beloved author, isn't it?

Pretty much every romance reader I know adores Susan Elizabeth Phillips and I'm no different. She does the perfect contemporary romance and combines laughter and tears into the perfect romantic cocktail. She has perfect emotional pitch! And she writes the most wonderful sexual tension. All up, she's great!  


Now let me take you on a journey back to the dim, distant past. Well, the second half of the 90s, anyway!

I hadn't long moved to Sydney from Queensland and I was just discovering the internet, including all those wonderful romance sites recommending writers that I'd never heard of (as well as SEP, think of Linda Howard and Jennifer Crusie). Sydney offered some wonderful distractions, including a now defunct romance bookshop called Rendezvous where the marvelous Malvina Yock put me onto a whole stack of writers new to me, many of whom have since become permanent fixtures on my bookshelf.

Cue me picking up my first Susan Elizabeth Phillips, LADY BE GOOD. I laughed. I cried. I read the love scenes twice! This book has lived in my memory as a real classic. I read it a couple of times and then lent it to a friend who never returned it. Bad friend!

The result was that I hadn't read this book in years when I decided to revisit this story and see if the magic was still there.

Oh, yeah, baby! 

The first few chapters of this book are among the funniest pages I've ever read. We meet Lady Emma Wells-Finch, our luscious if bossy British headmistress, who arrives in Texas determined to create a scandal to save both her school and herself from a vile duke (yes, it is a contemporary!). We meet outwardly lazy but inwardly sharp as a tack golfer-in-disgrace Kenny Traveler who has been blackmailed into escorting Lady Emma during her visit. He's not getting back on the pro golf tour unless he behaves. She doesn't want to behave. Houston, we have a problem. We have even more of a problem when Emma immediately assumes that Kenny is a gigolo (a misunderstanding of the word 'escort') and the solution to her inconvenient good girl reputation. Hilarious cross purposes ensue and end with Emma gaining the whip hand over Kenny - so she thinks.

I hope you're getting the picture of how much fun this story is. But beneath all the hijinks, there's a deep well of emotion and these characters will touch your heart as well as your funnybone. You fall in love with Emma and Kenny just as they're falling in love with each other - MUCH against their better judgment, I might point out!

As an added bonus, there's also one of the best nerd-princess romances I've ever read. Dexter the computer guy will have you swooning as he pursues spoiled but troubled Torie Traveler.

So are you an SEP fan? Do you have a favorite? What was your first? Do you like nerd romances? 

Super New Talent!

by Anna Campbell


I love it when I find a fantastic new author (I think we all know that feeling of  discovery!). I had this experience recently when I picked up RESERVATIONS FOR TWO, the debut SuperRomance from Jennifer Lohmann.

Even better, I had met Jennifer back in 2010 at the Orlando Romance Writers of America conference where she received the Librarian of the Year award. Jennifer and I bonded over many glasses of zinfandel and our mutual love of classic romance fiction. At the time I had no idea that this companion in the zinfandel murder conspiracy wanted to write romance as well as recommend it to her library patrons.

You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that Jennifer was taking part, along with a couple of my dear Romance Bandits sisters, Jeanne Adams and Nancy Northcott, in a Lady Jane's salon in Raleigh in March. So I rushed to order her debut romance, RESERVATIONS FOR TWO.

RESERVATIONS FOR TWO introduces the first of the Polish-American Milek sisters, Tilly, who has overcome personal tragedy to start up her own restaurant in her home town Chicago. So much hinges on the restaurant being a success, not least Tilly's need to justify her late grandmother's faith in her, so it's a devastating blow when an all-powerful food critic who operates under a pseudonym delivers a horrible review soon after the launch. Still reeling, Tilly encounters charming Dan Meier and experiences an immediate attraction unlike anything she's ever felt before.

Yep, you're right - Dan is our EVOL food critic. But don't worry, this book is so much more than an extended rap on the big misunderstanding romance trope. Both of these characters have enormous emotional issues standing in the way of their happiness and it's such a buzz watching them conquer their demons one by one until they're ready to stand together and seize their joint future. Yay!

Having finished RESERVATIONS FOR TWO, I immediately ordered THE FIRST MOVE which features Tilly's older sister, the very self-contained Renia Milek. Renia has risen above tragedy and its aftereffects to become a respected photographer in Chicago, but her emotional life remains a complete wasteland. That's the way she likes it - having been hurt so badly in the past, she is reluctant to trust again.

Miles Brislenn had a huge high school crush on Renia but she didn't know he was alive. When these two meet again while Renia is photographing a wedding, sparks immediately fly. Miles sets out patiently and lovingly to mend the broken heart of the girl he's never forgotten. Renia, as you can imagine, isn't exactly a willing participant in this process,but Miles proves irresistible.

In this book, I really liked Renia but I LOVED Miles. He's just such a lovely guy and he knows pretty much from the get-go what he wants. There's something so breathtakingly appealing about a hero willing to go to any length to cherish the woman he loves. Sigh.

Both of these books are great reading and if you're looking for a new voice in contemporary romance, run to your nearest bookseller and grab them. There were a whole stack of things I loved about these stories - the characters act like adults and they're so real, you feel like they could be sitting next to you; the emotional depth; the complexities of the family relationships portrayed (again, very real); the fresh, modern voice. I also loved the cultural detail of Chicago with its various ethnic neighborhoods and rich urban life. It's a city I've always wanted to visit - why doesn't RWA go there for a conference? I'd be the first person to book!

So my verdict on Jennifer Lohmann? Definitely a discovery!

As I said above, I love to find great new authors. Have you recently read any authors new to you who have become your new autobuy? What attracted you to these stories?

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?

Review - - LADY ANNE'S LOVER

Lady Anne's Lover
By Maggie Robinson
Publisher:  Kensington Brava
Release Date:  July 30, 2013

Lady Imaculata Anne Egremont is no stranger to scandal.  For years, her exploits have been headline fodder for the London List and on the wagging tongues of the ton.  But when an encounter with Evangeline Ramsey, the owner of the London List, leads Imaculata to confide the devastating reason behind her behavior, Evangeline helps her disappear from London and the danger that lurks there by providing a disguise, a new name and a housekeeping position deep in rural Wales.

Arriving in Wales with the fervent hope that her new employer, a retired soldier, is too old and feeble to notice that she has neither housekeeping nor cooking experience, the newly-named Anne Mont, a plain, respectable widow, is surprised to discover that Major Gareth Ripton-Jones is neither old nor feeble.  He is, however, so drunk that he probably won't even notice she's there...or so she hopes.

Things aren't going well for our hero.  He returns home from a successful military career to discover his father has mismanaged the family estate to the brink of bankruptcy.  Then he's seriously injured by a fall off a tenant's roof and the woman he loves dumps him for greener pastures when the fall results in the loss of his arm.  If that's not enough, when his former lover is found brutally murdered, all eyes turn to Gareth, the spurned fiance, as the most likely suspect.  Perhaps he can be excused for seeking oblivion in the bottom of a bottle.  But not for long...

When Anne learns of Gareth's financial situation she proposes a solution to both their problems.  If they marry, she gains access to the fortune left to her by her mother.  Gareth can save the family lands and Anne can travel far, far away to a place where she can live an independent life and her powerful father will never find her. Gareth, who by now has sobered up enough to realize his new housekeeper is young and beautiful, has other ideas...ones that involve a marriage in more than name only.  But someone is determined to keep that from happening.  Could Anne be destined for the same fate as Gareth's former love?  And even if she escapes that fate, will Gareth be strong enough to turn his life around and make himself into a man worthy of her love?  Then there's her father, a man with evil in his soul and his daughter in his sights...

Considering the subject matter, this book could easily have turned into a heavy, angst-ridden story - the kind I struggle to finish - but Robinson's skill kept that from happening.  By infusing humor, sharp dialogue, snappy banter and a heroine with a rapier tongue and a surprising amount of adaptability and determination, Lady Anne's Lover was transformed into an enjoyable story that kept me entertained from beginning to end while still retaining the emotional strength that the journey demands.  The villain of the piece is rather easily identified but that didn't detract from my pleasure in the story.

Another aspect of the story that I enjoyed was the realistic pacing of the novel.  No easy fixes here.  Both Anne and Gareth require time, introspection and growth before opening their hearts to one another and I'm happy Robinson gives them that time.  Watching Anne confront her tormentor at the end of the book - with Gareth by her side but with the strength to stand on her own - brings the story, and the London List trilogy, to a most satisfying conclusion.

You don't have to have read the previous two books in this trilogy before reading Lady Anne's Lover though you'll probably want to after reading this book.  The first two books are Lord Gray's List (read my review here) and Captain Durant's Countess (read my review here).

If you enjoy books filled with heat, heart and humor then give Maggie Robinson's London List trilogy a try.

~PJ

The hero of Lady Anne's Lover faces the very difficult challenge of conquering alcoholism while the heroine has been subjected to abuse by a parent.  Have you read any other historical romances that feature characters facing these challenges?  Any books that you would recommend?  If you haven't read any books of this type, tell me about what you've read lately or are reading now.  

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment will receive a signed copy of Lady Anne's Lover.
(U.S. and Canadian addresses only)