Blue Moon by Jill Marie Landis

After my last experience with Jill Marie Landis, I wasn't sure if I wanted to try another one, but I decided to give this one a go...

Blue Moon by Jill Marie Landis
(1999, Western)  6/18/12
Grade: 4

Olivia Bond is running through the swamps of Illinois, escaping from a terrible past, when she is rescued by Noah LeCroix.  Noah has made a life for himself away from civilization, where he won’t be rejected for his Indian heritage and his scarred face.  But with Olivia, he finds a reason to love again - if he can free her from the nightmares of her past.

Well written and a pleasure to read!  I finished this book in just one day.  The setting was vivid and unusual, and the characters were well written.  I appreciated the role reversal (the hero is the virgin and the heroine is experienced) and that Olivia’s past wasn’t seen as something she needs to be “forgiven” for, but as part of her life that made her what she was.  There were a few issues here and there - there was a stretch in the middle that was a little boring, and the lisping cute kids were a bit grating - but overall, this was a very enjoyable read.  It’s been a while since I read an American romance that was this good.

It's always surprising to me that American historicals are so out of fashion these days, when there are so many interesting settings that haven't been explored.  (Who knew there were swamps in Illinois?) 

Tangled Hearts by JoAnn Ross

I've always had a weakness for "return from the dead" stories - even if they usually end up disappointing me!

Tangled Hearts by JoAnn Ross HT 333
(1991, Contemporary Series)
Grade: 3.5

Five years after her journalist husband was killed by terrorists, Alanna has found a new life with architect Jonas Harte - and a new career as a writer and magazine editor.  But when it turns out that Mitch isn’t dead after all, she’s torn between the excitement and passion that she had with Mitch, and the new happiness she’d found with Jonas.

This book was a mixture of highs and lows.  I love a good “return from the dead” story, and this one took an unexpected twist when the “bad boy” isn’t automatically the hero.  But it seemed like the “will she or won’t she” part of the story went on for far too long.  It took more than 200 pages for Mitch to learn the truth.  But just when I was about to give up on it, the author finally returned to the honest and emotional story from the first part of the book, and the ending was sweet and touching.  At least the book ended on a good note, and left me feeling better about it.  Still not great, but worth reading.

This is the last contemporary in my TBR pile (the paper version - I still have lots on my Kindle).  I still have a lot of historicals, but at least it seems like I'm making progress!

Exile's End by Rachel Lee

I've been hearing great things about Rachel Lee as an emotional writer for years, but her books have languished in my TBR pile.  Maybe I would have enjoyed her more back in the 90's when this book was written.

Exile's End by Rachel Lee SIM 449
(Contemporary Series, 1992)  6/16/12
Grade: 3

CIA agent Ransom Laird needs a place to heal after spending four years in a prison camp, and he’s found a safe place with widow Mandy Grant.  Mandy is afraid to open her heart again after losing her husband and family, but there’s something about Ransom that makes her want to love again.  But there’s someone out there who wants to hurt Ransom... and anyone else who might be in the way.

This book started off well.  The characters were well developed and there was a nice emotional buildup between the hero and heroine.  But once I got about halfway through, I started getting bored.  The hero and heroine jumped from attracted to in love without a real explanation, and the same problems just kept repeating over and over.  I was almost relieved when the book switched to action mode in the last third.  The resolution was exciting, but there was a slightly unpleasant undercurrent to the identity of the villain and her motivations - something that I’ve seen in other books by Lee as well.  (A rather harsh view of women who aren’t perfect mothers.)  I can see why readers like Lee’s books, but I ended up disappointed.  After looking through the other books by Rachel Lee in my TBR, I decided to skip them and move on to something else.

Just a couple of books left in the contemporary section of my paper TBR pile!

Glass Beach by Jill Marie Landis

Jill Marie Landis has been an up-and-down author for me.  This is an old one from 1998 - I have a couple of other books by her in my TBR pile so I hope they work better for me.

Glass Beach by Jill Marie Landis
(1998, American Victorian)  6/8/2012
Grade: 2.5

Elizabeth Bennett is thrilled that she is finally free when her abusive husband dies, leaving her free to raise her daughter on their Hawaiian estate.  But when the will is read, she receives a shock - although her husband left the estate to their daughter, he named his illegitimate son, Spence Laamea, as the trustee.  They must live together on the estate until her daughter comes of age...


This started off very well.  I loved the Hawaiian setting and the characters were interesting.  I was intrigued by a story about an abused woman learning to find her own strength, and the author at least tried to sidestep the I-hate-you-but-I-lust-for-you setup.  But the book started to falter in the second half.  There was a secondary romance that took up way too much space in the book, and the heavy dose of dialect in that storyline pulled me out of the book every time it popped up.  The setting wasn’t used as well as it could have been.  And finally, the hero and heroine seemed to be hitting the same notes over and over again, and I just got bored.  I found myself skimming hoping it would get better.  A long separation between the hero and heroine in the last quarter of the book was the breaking point for me - I just skimmed to the end to find out what happened.  I was surprised that a book that started out so well ended up being so dull. 

When I started getting bored with this book, I wondered if I was in the wrong mood and considered setting it aside to try again later.  But no!!  I've got to be more strict about these older books in my TBR - they get one chance to impress me and then off to the donation pile.  Putting books back on the shelf is how I ended up with 2000 books at one point!

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

I keep buying Courtney Milan books even though I haven't read one yet!  Her short stories have always fallen short for me, but they were interesting enough to keep me buying.  This one wasn't perfect but it definitely made me interested to read more...

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
(2012, Victorian)  6/5/12
Grade: 4

Serena Barton has arrived at the home of the Duke of Cleremont, determined to make him pay for ruining her and making her lose her position as a governess.  But instead of the Duke, Serena ends up with Hugo Marshall, the Duke’s man of business.  Initially Hugo just wants to get rid of her, but he begins to admire her determination... and to want to get to know her better.

I’ve read several of Courtney Milan’s short stories, but so far they’ve all been promising but disappointing.  They both had an interesting premise but fell down on execution.  This one worked much better for me.  The characters were interesting, and the author managed to build attraction and sexual tension that felt believable even in a short period of time.  (This was her weakness in previous books.)  It was refreshing to read about characters that weren’t titled, weren’t part of the ton and had a completely different idea of what a “happy ending” might be.  The only failing was that the book started to feel somewhat unbelievable near the end.  I wanted more, but the novella length meant that the characterization had to be cut short.  From what I’ve read, Courtney Milan wrote this as a novella because she didn’t think there was enough story to fill an entire book.  She may be right, but I’m greedy - I wanted more.  So very good, but not a keeper.

The Doctor's Wife by Cheryl St. John

Cheryl St. John has always been an under appreciated author, in my opinion.  Her books may not be flashy but they're well written and a joy to read.  And yet, she's still toiling away writing Harlequin Historicals.  She started writing inspirationals recently, and while I think her style fits very well in the inspirational category, it's disappointing to me.  I didn't find her first inspirational all that impressive.  I hope she still keeps writing Harlequin Historicals too.

The Doctor's Wife by Cheryl St. John
(1999, Western)  6/5/2012
Grade: 4.5

Ellie Parish is trying to make a new life for herself after a terrible childhood.  When she breaks her arm and meets Dr. Caleb Chaney, a widower with a young son, she is warmed by his kindness and consideration.  But when he asks her to marry him and be a mother to his son, she isn’t sure if she can continue living a lie.  Would Caleb ever accept her if he knew the truth?

A warm and charming story from Cheryl St. John, set in 19th century Kansas.  St. John is an expert at writing stories that deal with very difficult subjects but manage to still be sweet and heart warming.  There wasn’t that much conflict between the hero and heroine (although the heroine’s past was far more than a “big misunderstanding”) but it was enjoyable to read about the heroine finding love and acceptance with a new home and family.  I’d probably get bored if I read one of these books every week, but her books are always a wonderful change of pace that leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

The one funny thing about this book was the quote on the cover - "The sexual tension simmers relentlessly...".  Who picks these quotes?  As much as I love Cheryl St. John's writing, someone who picked up this book looking for sexual tension would be very confused. 

Mostly a Lady by Lisa Manuel

I read Mostly Married by Lisa Manuel back in 2008, and thought it was thoughtfully written, with a great premise.  It took me a few years to track down Mostly a Lady but I was hoping it would live up to the promise of the first book.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me.

Mostly Married by Lisa Manuel
(2005, Regency Historical)
Grade: 3

Widow Eliza Kent has been thrown out into the streets after her husband’s death, and just as she’s facing death herself, a carriage accident gives her an opportunity to take the identity of another woman - Elizabeth Mendoza.  She is rescued by the handsome and gallant Dylan Fergusson, the Scottish brother in law of a duke, but she had no idea she was taking the identity of a woman on the run...

This started off really well.  The setup was intriguing and the characters interesting and unusual.  Elizabeth’s attempt to fit into society (or at least, into Dylan’s family) kept me turning the pages.  But then the book lost its way.  The section at Wakefield seemed to go on forever, and once the action moved to London, the situation became confusing and frustrating.  It jumped around from one character to another and the pacing went from tedious to too much information crammed into a few pages.  It’s unfortunate that the author came up with such a unique premise but just couldn’t see it through.  I ended up skimming the last quarter of the book.  

On the positive side, my paper book collection is now down to 129 books!  

A Night Like This by Julia Quinn

When I first started reading Julia Quinn, I didn't love her style all that much.  (Too fluffy for a diehard angst bunny.)  But now I enjoy her books as a nice change from my usual reads.  I wouldn't want a steady diet but I look forward to her new books when they appear.

A Night Like This by Julia Quinn 
(2012, Regency Historical)  5/29/2012
Grade: 4

Anne Wynter is working as a governess for the younger Smythe-Smith cousins, but she’s hiding a secret.  She is working under a false name and running from an old enemy.  Daniel Smythe-Smith spent three years abroad, fleeing from the father of a friend he wounded in a duel.  Now he’s back with his family, but is it really over?  Anne and Daniel are instantly attracted, but can they find a future together with so much between them?

Julia Quinn always writes books that are reliably enjoyable, although they aren’t always terribly memorable.  I can barely remember her last book, although I enjoyed it at the time.  I’d put this book a bit above that one, since the conflict kept it going - there was a real reason for the hero and heroine not to be together, and there was real emotion involved.  I read the whole thing in a few hours, which is unusual for me these days.  The secondary characters were fun as well, even if I probably won’t remember them by next week.  Overall, a fun and enjoyable read even if it wasn’t all that earthshattering.  

 I have the new Carla Kelly due on my Kindle tomorrow, so that should be something completely different!

The Proposal by Mary Balogh

I'm always happy to see a new book by Mary Balogh, even if her books don't transport me the way her earlier ones did. She's almost always a reliable read (the Slightly series notwithstanding) and I can even bring myself to pay hardback prices.

The Proposal by Mary Balogh 
(2012, Regency Historical) 5/20/12 
Grade: 4

When Gwendline, Lady Muir, meets Hugo, Lrod Trentham, on a rocky beach, it’s awkward for both of them. Gwen has no intention of remarrying after her unhappy marriage, and Hugo is wary of the upper classes. He won his title after distinguishing himself in battle, but is haunted by his wartime experiences. But because of their great attraction to each other, they agree to try and courtship - and to try to live in each others’ worlds.  

An interesting, if not particularly passionate, book by Mary Balogh. The book does a great job in highlighting the class differences between Gwen and Hugo, which makes the book stand out from other Regency historicals. The book is written in Balogh’s usual style, but it’s rather heavy in introspection and internal monologues, even for her. The romance seemed more focused on the head than the heart. Even the love scenes felt a bit forced. Overall, it was an enjoyable book, but it didn’t sweep me away.

Although this one isn't a keeper, it's a promising beginning to a new series.

Marrying Mike Again by Alicia Scott

Still working my way through my remaining paper TBR books...

Marrying Mike... Again by Alicia Scott (SIM 980)
(2000, Contemporary Series) 4/3/12
Grade: 3

Four years after their divorce, Mike and Sandy have to work together again when she is named the new civilian chief of police. The city is in crisis when a 13 year old boy threatens cops, and Mike and Sandy find that their old conflicts don’t seem as important when they’re faced with the problems of life and death...

This book started off well, with nice chemistry between the hero and heroine and an interesting back story about the police department and the conflict between civilian and police perspectives on gang violence. However, I just lost interest in the book as I continued reading. I set it down for 3 days and had to force myself to finish it. It just seemed to rehash the same issues over and over again, and even though the book was fairly short, I got bored. It wasn’t a bad book, but it just needed something more to keep my attention.

I seem to have less tolerance for boring books these days... I start a lot of books but put them down and never pick them back up again.

The Wedding Ring Promise by Susan Mallery

I'm trying to clear out some of my old series books - this one was surprisingly appealing.

The Wedding Ring Promise by Susan Mallery (SSE 1190)
(1998, Contemporary Series) 3/31/2012
Grade: 3.5

Ten years after Dylan Black gave her a ring and promised her an adventure “someday”, Molly desperately needs a distraction. After losing her job and her fiancee, and waiting for news from her doctor, she looks up the former bad boy. Dylan has become a success, but he’s always had a soft spot for Molly, and they decide to spend a week together... as friends. But friendship may lead to something more.

I can see from this early book why Susan Mallory became a success. She manages to take a fairly standard story and make it more interesting than you might expect. The love scenes in particular have a down-to-earth realism that you rarely see in categories. The characters were appealing, if somewhat familiar. I found myself skipping ahead a few times, but overall, this was an enjoyable, if predictable, read.

Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb

I keep reading these even though they've become a bit repetitive. At least this one was from the library.

Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb
(2012, Futuristic Suspense) 3/1/2012
Grade: 3.5

Eve becomes an inadvertent celebrity when the Icove case is turned into a movie, and a murder takes place at a party with all the stars in attendance. Eve and Peabody find themselves in the middle of a Hollywood scandal.

Fun but rather light and a bit dull. This book had some fun moments with Eve and Peabody, but the story just wasn’t as interesting as some of the other books in the series. It was enjoyable for the characters but I found myself a little bored.

A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant

The first historical I've read in a while...

A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant
(2011, Regency Historical) 1/16/2012
Grade: 4.5

After the sudden death of her husband, Martha Russell has one chance to save the estate from his cruel brother (and herself from a life as a dependent) - to conceive a child. She makes an arrangement with a neighbor for him to have sex with her every day for the next month, but she is determined it will have nothing to do with desire - or love. But as she gets to know Theo Mirkwood, her task becomes more difficult...

This book started out wonderfully. If I hadn’t read the reviews, I might have expected this to be yet another one of those books about a widow wanting “experience”, but the approach was quite different here. There’s a real depth to the characters, as the heroine learns to respect the hero and the hero finds a purpose in his life beyond pleasure. The first two thirds of the book were just superb. Unfortunately, the book fell down a bit in the last third. The focus shifted to the plot, and making sure all of the different threads were wrapped up. There were fewer interactions between the hero and heroine. The final section was almost confusing, it was so stuffed with plot points. It left the book with a slightly less-than-perfect impression, although it was still very enjoyable and worth reading.

Winning the Wallflower by Eloisa James

A short story that was a bit disappointing...

Winning the Wallflower by Eloisa James
(2011, Regency Historical) 1/1/2012
Grade: 3

When Lucy unexpectedly inherits a fortune, her mother is thrilled because it means Lucy can break off her engagement to the son of a solicitor, who is wealthy but not suitable. But Lucy isn’t so sure. Cyrus Ravensthorpe is attractive, but Lucy wonders if there’s something more behind his silent exterior. It takes a broken engagement for each of them to learn who the other really is on the inside.

This started off very well, with interesting characters and an almost Julia Quinn-ish writing style. The characters were well drawn and unique, despite the short story length. However, the story was just too short - even shorter than expected since half of the length of the Kindle book was taken up by excerpts from other books. The story was just getting started when abruptly it was over. It left me somewhat unsatisfied.

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb

I haven't been updating this blog regularly - I haven't been reading a lot but I have read a few books.

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb
(2011, Futuristic Suspense) 12/30/2011
Grade: 3.5

Eve has to relive one of her earliest cases as a detective... and her traumatic past... when she has to track down a pedophile and serial killer who has escaped from prison. But she never expected to be drawn back to Dallas, and to discover an even closer connection to the killer.

This was a good entry in the Robb series, with some interesting twists and turns. Eve and Roarke’s reaction to Texas “niceness” was fun, and the twist involving Eve’s mother was shocking and painful. But the stories are becoming repetitive, even if they are still extremely readable.

Stranded With Her Ex by Jill Sorenson

This was the last book I read on vacation, and it turned out to be the best.

Stranded With Her Ex by Jill Sorenson (HRS 1654)
(2011, Contemporary Series)
Grade: 4

Two years after her divorce, Daniela Flores is trying to resume her career as a marine biologist. She plans to spend a few weeks on the isolated Fallon Islands, studying sea lions. She didn't expect to find her ex-husband Sean on the research team, studying sharks at the same location. Their marriage ended after a tragic accident, but they will have to work together on the island - especially after mysterious events put all of them in danger.

Although I'm not a huge romantic suspense fan, I enjoy it when it's done well, and it was done very well here, especially in the last half of the book. The author did a great job in depicting the isolated research station and the escalating danger as the book went on. She also combined the emotional story of Daniela and Sean's marriage with the suspense in a very nice way - often, books like this falter on one side or the other. The biggest problem was just that the book was too short - setting up the situation took almost half of the book, and there just weren't enough pages to really do the story justice. This could easily have been a full length novel. However, it was very well done and I found it an enjoyable read.

I'm not sure I would recommend reading this book at the beach - the story fit very well with the beach setting but it made me wary of sharks!

Unlocked by Courtney Milan

I have enjoyed reading Courtney Milan's internet postings, and I heard a lot of great things about this story, which evidently was her foray into self publishing. However, as with her previous short story, I found it somewhat lacking.

Unlocked by Courtney Milan
(2011, Regency Novella)
Grade: 3.5

Ten years after he tormented and teased Lady Elaine Warren, Evan Carleton, the Earl of Weston has returned to England to try and make things right. But Elaine is not so ready to forgive. She’s learned to live with the jokes and insults, but the experience has made her wary of anyone who seems too good to be true.

It’s hard to grade this novella, because it seemws like a book that was squeezed into a novella length. The premise was fascinating, but there was a lot of character, plot and relationship development to be crammed into a relatively small space. To the author’s credit, she was able to bring the characters to life in a small number of pages, but where she faltered was in their relationship. There just wasn’t enough space to explain why the hero and heroine were suddenly “in love” – and the last thing this short piece needed was a very lengthy love scene near the end. All in all, a noble experiment that didn’t quite work.

Short stories are difficult - I want to like them since they work so well with my limited time availability (and attention span) but it's very hard to find satisfying ones. I also tried It Happened One Season during my vacation and had many of the same issues with it.

The Naked King by Sally MacKenzie

I didn’t intend to read two books in a row with essentially the same plotline, but that’s a disadvantage of the Kindle – it’s much harder to read the “back cover” and pick what book you want to read next. This one was a slight improvement but still not great.

The Naked King by Sally MacKenzie
(2011, Regency Historical)
Grade: 3.5

When Lady Anne Marston is out walking her dog, she finds herself tangled up with Stephen Parker-Roth – and somehow they end up engaged. She is only in London to help her sister with her first season – at 27, Anne considers herself on the shelf, especially after a bad experience in the past – but Stephen is determined to find the real woman underneath the guarded exterior.

This had the makings of an excellent Regency – a rakish hero (with a great sense of humor), a wallflower heroine, a forced betrothal. However, as this is a Regency historical and not a Regency, the author included a lot more sexual content. Some of it was worthwhile – the heroine’s past was handled very well and added some depth to this fairly light story, and the love scenes were spicy, if a bit out of place at times. But I really didn’t need a minute-by-minute update on the status of the character’s… body parts. The author spent far too much time on the hero and heroine lusting after each other. After a while, it got tedious and repetitive and detracted from the story.

I read an email recently that called this phenomenon "Instant Lust Syndrome". Maybe it's to be expected in a book called The Naked King. However, it's infecting far too many books lately - I'm reading a Jade Lee book at the moment that has the same problem. It's hard to object without sounding prudish, but it takes away from the other elements of the book and gets very tedious after a while.

The Rake and the Wallflower by Allison Lane

Unfortunately, I didn't get as much reading done on my vacation as I wanted - I read a lot the first couple of days and then my rental house caught on fire, which took away some of my motivation! But I did get a few books in before I lost my hot tub access. :(

The Rake and the Wallflower by Allison Lane
(2001, Regency)
Grade: 3

Mary Seabrook is in town for her first Season, but she feels awkward and shy next to her vivacious sister Laura. But when she meets fellow bird watcher Lord Grayson, she feels that she has met a kindred spirit. Unfortunately, between Grayson’s mysterious accidents and Laura’s vindictive schemes, there is little time for Mary and Grayson to find romance.

I was hoping for an enjoyable Regency, but unfortunately, this one went off track, with more focus on the external plot than on the hero and heroine. The story started off well, even if the characters were somewhat familiar – the shy heroine, the hero with a mysterious past. But unfortunately, the author spent far too much time on outside influences, particularly Mary’s scheming sister, and not enough time on the relationship. The things that made the characters different and interesting – Mary’s caricatures, Grayson’s collection of wounded birds – were dropped so we could read one scene after another of Laura acting badly. I kept hoping the book would improve, because Allison Lane is a talented author, but in the end I was disappointed.

Allison Lane has a dark view of Regency society, which she sometimes uses to great effect, but here it just gave the book an oppressive feeling that didn’t help the story.

Married by June by Ellen Hartman

This has been a very slow summer for reading, but I brought a stack of books with me on my vacation and I plan to work my way through some of my TBR pile - even if my "virtual" TBR pile is getting to be almost as large as my paper one!

Married by June by Ellen Hartman (HSR 1711)
(2011, Contemporary Series)
Grade: 3.5

Jorie Burke and Cooper Murphy got engaged after only knowing each other a few months, so that her dying mother could plan her daughter's perfect wedding. But now both Jorie and Cooper are wondering if they did the right thing. They're about to call it off when a crisis in Cooper's political family puts them back together... at least temporarily.

I wanted to like this book more. It had a lot of great elements - a likeable hero and heroine, an interesting backstory for the heroine, an unusual backdrop of politics. But somehow it just felt a little... blah. On one hand, I felt like I was being dropped in the middle of a series since there were a lot of references to things that happened before the book started. (Actually, I don't think it is part of a series, which makes it more confusing.) On the other hand, I found myself checking to see how many pages were left, wondering when the "real" story would start. It just seemed to meander along when it needed more umph. It wasn't a bad book, just not one that made me want to keep turning the pages.

I really liked Ellen Hartman's first book so I'm hopeful that her other books are more interesting! I felt like there was a much more interesting story hiding in this book somewhere.