This story was recommended to me - I don't think I would have paid full trade price for one story, but I found it at the library. I took a quick look at the other two stories but they didn't seem very appealing.
A House East of Regent Street by Pam Rosenthal
Short Story in the Anthology: Strangers In The Night
(2004, Regency Historical) 9/25/05
Grade: 3.5
Returning war veteran Jack Merion plans to buy a former brothel and rent it out - but another party is interested as well. Miss Myles, the sophisticated mistress of a French prince, is willing to spend 5 afternoons with Jack in return for the lease - but will their erotic adventures unexpectedly affect them both?
It’s good erotica - the characters are well defined and the sex scenes are inventive and sensual (without resorting to the usual erotica cliches). But in the end, it just wasn’t that memorable - the story was just too short, less than 100 pages. (I usually find erotica too long, but not in this case.) Between the setup and the resolution, there just wasn’t enough meat in the middle - and the coincidences of the resolution didn’t help either. It needed more.
I tried one of Rosenthal's previous books and it had similar problems - the scenes at the beginning were sexual and exciting, but the book just fizzled out. She could really be good if she could make the rest of her books work as well as her love scenes.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Two Throw-Aways
I had some time to kill in NYC today, so I brought along two "throw away" books - series books so old and battered that even the library book sale wouldn't want them. After I finished, I tossed them out, so I wouldn't have to carry them around all day. Unfortunately, I could barely finish either one.
Sail Away by Kathleen Korbel (SD 1254)
(1998, Series) 9/24/05
Grade: 2.5
Lilly Kokoa is sailing near her home in Hawaii when she finds movie star Cameron Ross (actually his look-alike cousin) floating in a life raft, bleeding and disoriented. She tries to help him but soon they're both captured by kidnappers. They flee for their lives - but who is this man really? He can't quite remember.
Although this isn't one of Korbel's best books, I had hopes for it at the beginning. It's light-hearted and charming, a fun "love on the run" story. But then Korbel starts mixing in the bumbling kidnappers (who are supposed to be funny but aren't), Lilly's angst over her Hawaiian heritage, Ethan's impending blindness, etc. etc. It was just too much for a 180 page book, and it ended up a confusing mish-mash. By the the end, I was skimming in frustration.
The Dragon and the Dove by Glenna McReynolds (LS 693)
(1994, Series) 9/24/05
Grade: 2
Jessica Langston, a divorced single mother has just finished her MBA and has gone to work for the mysterious Cooper Daniels. When she discovers his real business is collecting bounty on pirates, she's not sure what to think. He is afraid she's too innocent for his world - but soon finds she's tougher than he thought. Together, they'll strike back at the mysterious pirate who killed his brother.
Another book with potential that's lost in confusion. I really liked the premise - I always enjoy a good revenge plot, especially with a heroine who's tougher and smarter than she looks. But this is another series book that tries to cram 400 pages of plot into 200 pages of book. By the halfway point, I was confused and had no idea what was going on. It just didn't make sense, and the romance seemed like an afterthought. I gave up halfway through.
I keep a stash of these old series books to take with me on trips, and sometimes they're good, sometimes not. Two clunkers today, unfortunately.
Sail Away by Kathleen Korbel (SD 1254)
(1998, Series) 9/24/05
Grade: 2.5
Lilly Kokoa is sailing near her home in Hawaii when she finds movie star Cameron Ross (actually his look-alike cousin) floating in a life raft, bleeding and disoriented. She tries to help him but soon they're both captured by kidnappers. They flee for their lives - but who is this man really? He can't quite remember.
Although this isn't one of Korbel's best books, I had hopes for it at the beginning. It's light-hearted and charming, a fun "love on the run" story. But then Korbel starts mixing in the bumbling kidnappers (who are supposed to be funny but aren't), Lilly's angst over her Hawaiian heritage, Ethan's impending blindness, etc. etc. It was just too much for a 180 page book, and it ended up a confusing mish-mash. By the the end, I was skimming in frustration.
The Dragon and the Dove by Glenna McReynolds (LS 693)
(1994, Series) 9/24/05
Grade: 2
Jessica Langston, a divorced single mother has just finished her MBA and has gone to work for the mysterious Cooper Daniels. When she discovers his real business is collecting bounty on pirates, she's not sure what to think. He is afraid she's too innocent for his world - but soon finds she's tougher than he thought. Together, they'll strike back at the mysterious pirate who killed his brother.
Another book with potential that's lost in confusion. I really liked the premise - I always enjoy a good revenge plot, especially with a heroine who's tougher and smarter than she looks. But this is another series book that tries to cram 400 pages of plot into 200 pages of book. By the halfway point, I was confused and had no idea what was going on. It just didn't make sense, and the romance seemed like an afterthought. I gave up halfway through.
I keep a stash of these old series books to take with me on trips, and sometimes they're good, sometimes not. Two clunkers today, unfortunately.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Gritty Western Fiction
I haven't been reading much lately - too busy with other things, I guess.
These Is My Words by Nancy Turner
(1998, Western) 9/18/05
Grade: 4.5
The (fictional) diary of Sarah Prine, from age 17 to 37, 1881 to 1901. Sarah lives in the Arizona Territory and lives through Indian attacks, marries and has children, loses loved ones and survives life on the frontier.
Very well written and interesting - sort of a grittier version of the Little House books. The first person narrative really works here - Sarah is such a compelling and interesting character that I couldn’t stop reading. And it was fascinating to see her grow and develop over twenty years - something that rarely happens in romance - although I’m shallow enough to wish there had been a “romance novel” ending.
Definitely well worth reading.
These Is My Words by Nancy Turner
(1998, Western) 9/18/05
Grade: 4.5
The (fictional) diary of Sarah Prine, from age 17 to 37, 1881 to 1901. Sarah lives in the Arizona Territory and lives through Indian attacks, marries and has children, loses loved ones and survives life on the frontier.
Very well written and interesting - sort of a grittier version of the Little House books. The first person narrative really works here - Sarah is such a compelling and interesting character that I couldn’t stop reading. And it was fascinating to see her grow and develop over twenty years - something that rarely happens in romance - although I’m shallow enough to wish there had been a “romance novel” ending.
Definitely well worth reading.
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