For some reason I forgot to enter this in my database, back when I read it in April. Strange! Hopefully I'll get the details right after this long delay. My only excuse is that I was in the middle of packing...
Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
(2009, Contemporary) 4/21/09
Grade: 4.5
Payton Kendall has worked hard, and now she’s on the verge of making partner at her law firm. The only obstacle? A sexual harrassment case and her personal nemesis - fellow lawyer J.D. Jameson, who’s had everything handed to him on a silver platter. But is she seeing truth when it comes to JD, or is she judging him just like he’s judged her?
A very clever and interesting book. I usually hate the “I hate you so we must secretly love each other” books, but this one makes it work - maybe because of the law firm backdrop. It made sense for these two to constantly be at odds. The hero and heroine are both very smart and dedicated and love their jobs, which is always refreshing to read about. The law firm background was very well done and believable. I found the “big misunderstanding” in the middle a little hard to believe, and that made the last third a bit slow, but the book came back at the end. (I was relieved that it didn’t end with one or the other having to give up their career dreams.) This wasn’t a perfect book, but I have to give it a little boost because it was unique, and I love a good contemporary (they’re so hard to find these days!)
Good romance contemporaries are so hard to find, especially if you're not looking for a sex-fest or a romantic suspense. I wonder why? Some of the highest sellers in romance started out in contemporary - Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, etc. And when I go to the bookstore, those are the books I see people buying, even if they're buying reprints. So why are there so few new single title contemporaries being published? Even Nora Roberts can't write fast enough to satisfy the entire contemporary market.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Monday, August 03, 2009
Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory
Although medieval England isn't my favorite setting, I enjoy reading medievals from time to time, to have some variety if nothing else. But for a long time they've been almost extinct, especially in single titles. (Harlequin Historical kept publishing them.) It's nice to see a new author who is writing medievals, with more on the way.
Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory
(2009, Medieval) 8/4/09
Grade: 4
After 5 years of marriage to a brutal husband, Catherine risks everything to spy for the crown (and to help her old friend, Prince Harry). But after her husband is killed, she is forced to marry William FitzAlan, who isn’t sure if she can be trusted. Can Catherine overcome her painful past and learn to trust her new husband, and can William learn to trust her as well?
Although the plotline was fairly typical, this was an enjoyable medieval. The book was well written, and the characters were interesting. I enjoyed the unusual background of the English-Welsh wars of the early 1400’s, and the soon-to-be King Henry V. I got a little frustrated by the hero’s mistrust of the heroine (which went on a little too long), and the book got a little slow in the last third. (How many times can one heroine be kidnapped?) I would have preferred a little more emotional depth and a little less action. But overall, I enjoyed it, and I’m glad to see medievals back on romance shelves.
I'm sure I learned all about this time period in history class, but my memory is pretty vague. My only knowledge of Henry V is Shakespeare and St. Crispin's Day - but I couldn't tell you exactly what they were fighting about. (So much for having a minor in history!)
Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory
(2009, Medieval) 8/4/09
Grade: 4
After 5 years of marriage to a brutal husband, Catherine risks everything to spy for the crown (and to help her old friend, Prince Harry). But after her husband is killed, she is forced to marry William FitzAlan, who isn’t sure if she can be trusted. Can Catherine overcome her painful past and learn to trust her new husband, and can William learn to trust her as well?
Although the plotline was fairly typical, this was an enjoyable medieval. The book was well written, and the characters were interesting. I enjoyed the unusual background of the English-Welsh wars of the early 1400’s, and the soon-to-be King Henry V. I got a little frustrated by the hero’s mistrust of the heroine (which went on a little too long), and the book got a little slow in the last third. (How many times can one heroine be kidnapped?) I would have preferred a little more emotional depth and a little less action. But overall, I enjoyed it, and I’m glad to see medievals back on romance shelves.
I'm sure I learned all about this time period in history class, but my memory is pretty vague. My only knowledge of Henry V is Shakespeare and St. Crispin's Day - but I couldn't tell you exactly what they were fighting about. (So much for having a minor in history!)
The Courtesan's Wager by Claudia Dain
I don't normally write about books that I don't finish, but in this case, I made an exception. I made it over 100 pages into this one before giving up, and it was a book that I was really looking forward to (and thought that I would enjoy). So I wanted to write something about it.
The Courtesan's Wager by Claudia Dain
(2009, Regency Historical) 8/3/09
Grade: DNF
The basic plotline - Amelia wants to marry a Duke, but they haven't noticed her. So she goes to see the infamous Lady Sophia Dalby, a onetime courtesan, who has a reputation for arranging advantageous matches.
Unfortunately, I had problems with this book. Firstly, it was very hard to follow without having read the previous books. I'm usually pretty good at coming into series in the middle, because I hate having to read two or three mediocre books in order to get to the good one in the series, but in this case, there were so many characters that it was hard to follow without knowing the background.
Secondly, the writing style. It wasn't bad, and in many cases it was very witty. But it lacked emotional involvement. I never felt close to the main characters, and I felt that the author was keeping me at a distance, watching from afar instead of getting into the characters' heads and hearts. This is a style that some people like, but I prefer a more direct and emotional style. Even after 100 pages, I didn't really care about the characters, and I think the writing style had a lot to do with that.
I didn't get a lot of the hero-heroine relationship (by page 100, they'd barely spoken to each other), but it seemed like it was going to be one of those "I hate you so I must love you" stories. Since I just glanced through the second half of the book (and skipped ahead and read the end), I could be wrong about that, but it's one of my least favorite romance tropes.
It's not that unusual for me, not to finish a book. I probably only finish half of the books that I start - I have too many books in my TBR pile to spend my time reading books I don't enjoy. But I was surprised by my reaction to this book. It was highly praised at Dear Author, and I guess I was expecting something quite different. (I actually assumed that the heroine would be the courtesan, based on what I'd heard of the book online, and I was quite surprised that she was not - I was expecting the Amelia storyline to become a secondary romance. She's a major character, but she's not the romantic lead.) And of course, the fact that it was a trade paperback made not finishing even more disappointing.
I guess it comes down to my tastes. I'm actually a pretty traditional romance reader, and when I pick up a romance, I want something specific - an emotional experience focused on the relationship between the hero and heroine. And that's not really what this book was about, even though it was nominally a romance.
The Courtesan's Wager by Claudia Dain
(2009, Regency Historical) 8/3/09
Grade: DNF
The basic plotline - Amelia wants to marry a Duke, but they haven't noticed her. So she goes to see the infamous Lady Sophia Dalby, a onetime courtesan, who has a reputation for arranging advantageous matches.
Unfortunately, I had problems with this book. Firstly, it was very hard to follow without having read the previous books. I'm usually pretty good at coming into series in the middle, because I hate having to read two or three mediocre books in order to get to the good one in the series, but in this case, there were so many characters that it was hard to follow without knowing the background.
Secondly, the writing style. It wasn't bad, and in many cases it was very witty. But it lacked emotional involvement. I never felt close to the main characters, and I felt that the author was keeping me at a distance, watching from afar instead of getting into the characters' heads and hearts. This is a style that some people like, but I prefer a more direct and emotional style. Even after 100 pages, I didn't really care about the characters, and I think the writing style had a lot to do with that.
I didn't get a lot of the hero-heroine relationship (by page 100, they'd barely spoken to each other), but it seemed like it was going to be one of those "I hate you so I must love you" stories. Since I just glanced through the second half of the book (and skipped ahead and read the end), I could be wrong about that, but it's one of my least favorite romance tropes.
It's not that unusual for me, not to finish a book. I probably only finish half of the books that I start - I have too many books in my TBR pile to spend my time reading books I don't enjoy. But I was surprised by my reaction to this book. It was highly praised at Dear Author, and I guess I was expecting something quite different. (I actually assumed that the heroine would be the courtesan, based on what I'd heard of the book online, and I was quite surprised that she was not - I was expecting the Amelia storyline to become a secondary romance. She's a major character, but she's not the romantic lead.) And of course, the fact that it was a trade paperback made not finishing even more disappointing.
I guess it comes down to my tastes. I'm actually a pretty traditional romance reader, and when I pick up a romance, I want something specific - an emotional experience focused on the relationship between the hero and heroine. And that's not really what this book was about, even though it was nominally a romance.
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