Blast From The Past

What was I reading on this date in previous years?
(By the way, I sometimes include spoilers in my reviews)

Last year - A Merry Little Christmas by Martha Shroeder
(2002, Victorian) Grade: 4.5

Priscilla has spent her whole life as a pampered and air-headed debutante. Under pressure from her mother to marry the “right” man, she doesn’t know what to do, when she meets American Nick Cannon - who doesn’t act like any man she’s ever known, and who makes her want to show another side of herself. Will he see who she really is inside?

An interesting book with compelling characters - Priscilla’s growth from pampered airhead to a thoughtful and resourceful woman is perhaps unrealistically fast, but it’s compelling. Unfortunately, this book contains a lot of references to earlier books in the series, which makes it somewhat hard to follow. (Note, rereading it after reading books one and two doesn’t really help - the secondary characters don’t seem anything like they were in their own books.) I liked the characters and even though the situations were somewhat cliched (and at one point, too dependent on a misunderstanding), it was well worth reading.

Two Years Ago - Falling For You by Julie Ortolon
(2002, Contemporary) Grade: 4

When unconventional free spirit Rory discovers that the old family mansion on an island in Galveston is up for sale, she is determined that her family will get it back and turn it into a successful bed-and-breakfast. But she needs help with the business plan - and she turns to old school friend Oliver Chancellor, a stuffy bank manager who has his whole life planned.

This book was somewhat hard to read - for some reason, I kept putting it down, it took a long time for it to hold my attention. The characters were interesting, though, and as I continued reading I began to enjoy it more. Seeing the stuffy Oliver slowly unwind was fun, and it was nice to read about a “nice guy” hero. Rory managed to be a free spirit who wasn’t an idiot or TSTL. Overall, this book lacked something - it just wasn’t all that memorable - but the characters made it worth reading.

Three Years Ago - With Hope by Dorothy Garlock
(1998, 20th Century) Grade: 2.5

Henry Ann is struggling to make a life for herself and her two half-siblings when her father dies, leaving her alone on an Oklahoma farm in the middle of the Depression. She tries to hold things together, but she can’t help her attraction to her neighbor, a man with a young son who is married to an increasingly insane wife.

At first, I liked it, Garlock is very good at depicting a time and place. But after I got about a third of the way in, I started getting bored. It was just one terrible thing and another terrible thing and another terrible thing, on and on and on. The relationship between the hero and heroine was so low key that it seemed like an afterthought, and the problems of the hero just seemed to go on and on. There was one intriguing storyline that involved two secondary characters that was actually quite unique. I like angst, I like torment, but this book was just TOO depressing for me! This wasn’t emotion, it was unrelieved bleakness.

Ten Years Ago - A Precious Jewel by Mary Balogh
(1993, Regency) Grade: 5

Prissy has been forced to work as a high-class prostitute, so she’s glad to become the mistress of Gerald. But both are surprised when they find each other perfectly suited - for love.

A very different Regency. It portrays very vividly the other side of the Regency world - of mistresses and prostitutes. And for once, the hero is only a minor aristocrat, so marriage to his mistress wouldn’t be ridiculous. The characters in this one are wonderfully well drawn, and not perfect. Such a wonderful surprise that everything isn’t magically made better at the end. This one stayed in my mind.

What a nice memory from 10 years ago - I can only wish I had A Precious Jewel to read as new today.