Patti LuPone: A Memoir by Patti LuPone

I do love my Broadway divas. The library finally came through for me (after three tries!) and I was able to get a copy of this through Marina, the Maryland interlibrary loan system. (My copy came from Hagerstown - thanks!)

Patti LuPone: A Memoir by Patti LuPone
(2010, Biography)
Grade: 3.5

Patti LuPone is well known as a Broadway diva, and while this memoir definitely humanizes her, it doesn't exactly dispel the diva image. But at least LuPone has a sense of humor about it! Unfortunately, most of the book is a bit dull. It falls into the "I went here and did this, then went there and did that" style of memoir. There's not a lot of insight beyond what she did and who she met (she even makes David Mamet seem boring, which is quite a feat), and that makes the early chapters kind of hard to get through.

The book definitely perks up with the more interesting events in her career - most notably Evita and Sunset Boulevard. The battles over the casting of Sunset Boulevard are some of the most juicy stories in recent Broadway history, and even the workmanlike description here can't take away the drama. These two chapters were the highlight of the book. Still, I think I'd rather watch her on stage than read her prose. It's unfortunate that none of her musical performances have made it to DVD.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Beauty and the Beast stories are a guilty pleasure of mine, so I decided to pick up this YA book at the library.

Beastly by Alex Flinn
(2007, Young Adult)
Grade: 3.5

When Kyle Kingsbury, the wealthy and self-centered son of a news anchor, plays a cruel trick on a strange new student at his high school, he finds himself transformed into a Beast. He has two years to find someone to love him or he will remain a beast forever. First Kyle must transform himself into a better person, and then perhaps he can offer friendship and love to one of his former classmates, Lindy.

There were a lot of clever touches in this book. Moving the setting to modern day New York was interesting, and there were many neat tricks to make the story fit into today's world. There was even a very funny chat room for those undergoing "unexpected transformations". However, the underlying story felt a little shallow. Kyle may have become a beast, but he still had endless wealth and any problems are fixed with a wave of Daddy's credit card. His problems felt a little too "teen age" - I can't go to the prom, my cool friends don't care about me, my Dad doesn't spend time with me, etc. It just seemed to lack depth. If I was a teenager, I might have enjoyed this more, but as an adult reader, I just didn't find it all that compelling. Good but not great.

I read a lot of YA books back when I was a teenager, but I have a hard time reading about teenage heroes and heroines now. Their problems just don't feel particularly compelling to me. But I'm glad there are so many great YA books out there to encourage young readers - the YA books I read back in the 80's definitely shaped my reading tastes today. (I loved angst then and I love it now!)

A Rogue in Texas by Lorraine Heath

I had to finish one more book before taking a huge bag of books to donate to our office book sale. I filled up an entire Container Store bag - one of the BIG ones! That's a lot of books.

A Rogue in Texas by Lorraine Heath
(1999, Western)
Grade: 4

In 1865, Grayson Rhodes, the illegitimate son of a British Duke, leaves England for Texas. However, he imagined something more lucrative than picking cotton on a backwater farm. But once he gets to know widowed Abbie Westland and her three children, he begins to look at life, and love, in a new way. He might even be willing to start a new life in Texas.

For the first three quarters of the book, this felt like a pale photocopy of Lorraine Heath. It had all of the typical elements of a Lorraine Heath story, but the passion just wasn’t there. (Not surprisingly, this was the first book she wrote for Avon.) The characters were interesting, the setting of post-Civil War Texas was unusual, but it all felt like it had been done before. The most unique part of the story was Grayson’s background as an illegitimate son and how he reveled in being valued for himself in Texas, where it didn’t matter how he was born or who his father was. However, even that aspect of the story started to feel a little forced as the book went on. But the book picked up new life in the last 100 pages, when Abbie’s husband reappears. Even though I’ve read plenty of stories where the supposedly dead husband returns, the way the author intertwined it with Grayson’s past worked very well, and brought some life back into the story. Overall, the book wasn’t one of Heath’s best, but it finished strong, and that counts for a lot.

Where have all the stepbacks gone? I couldn't find a picture of the stepback on this book (and it's too late to pull out the scanner) but it's gorgeous! Even if there were't any yellow roses on the Texas prairie. I haven't seen a great stepback in a long time - they're all way too obvious these days, if you can find one at all.

The Seduction of an English Lady by Cathy Maxwell

Back to the TBR for a backlist book. I need to clear off a few more shelves!

The Seduction of an English Lady by Cathy Maxwell
(2004, Regency Historical)
Grade: 3.5

When Colonel Colin Mandland appears at her door, Lady Rosalyn Wellborne gets an unpleasant shock - her cousin has sold her home! She has no choice but to move in with an aunt - unless she accepts Colin’s marriage proposal. He has his own motives for marriage, but perhaps they both will discover there is more to this marriage than convenience.

When I first started reading this book, I found it enjoyable and charming. The characters were interesting and likeable, the plot was familiar but well done, the writing was good. The discussion of class differences between the hero and heroine was interesting. Unfortunately, the book lost its appeal the more I read. The plot started to feel stale and repetitive. The characters did the same things over and over. And then a political sideplot was thrown in at the last minute. It might have been interesting if it had been carried throughout the book, but it was such an abrupt change of tone that it felt out of place. It left the book feeling unfinished Overall, this book wasn’t terrible, just unfocused and forgettable. Too bad since Cathy Maxwell can do much better.

I wonder where I got this book - it's stamped Hamilton Ontario. I must have picked it up at the Celebrate Romance book trade. I miss those book trades! Buying online is more efficient but it's kind of dull by comparison.

Shining in the Sun by Alex Beecroft

This isn't my usual type of book, but I was intrigued when I read the reviews. It also seemed an appropriate choice because of everything that's been going on in the news recently. (It also didn't hurt that it was a contemporary - the search for the great contemporary read continues.)

Shining in the Sun by Alex Beecroft
(2010, Contemporary)
Grade: 3.5

Alec spends most of the year pleasing everyone around him - his mother, his fiancée - but for one month, he escapes all his obligations. On the way to his vacation, he meets Darren, and the two hit it off immediately. But Darren isn’t quite what he seems - is he more interested in Alec’s money, or is he just escaping his troubled family and difficult past?

I had a hard time with this book at first. The prose was extremely melodramatic, even by romance purple prose standards. This was in contrast to a few blunt sex scenes, which seemed out of place so early in the story. However, the prose settled down after the first third of the book or so and the focus turned to the relationship, which I found more interesting. It was refreshing to read a contemporary set in Britain, and I appreciated that the author dealt directly with class differences between the heroes. It also dealt with the characters being gay (and Alec’s acceptance of himself) without feeling like a lecture. However, the book felt a bit short. There was a lot of melodrama crammed into a book that was only about 200 pages longj, and unfortunately, the character development got a little lost. I found the book unique and well written, but it was just finding its way when it ended. Overall, a valiant effort but it fell a bit short.

This was the first book I've read on my Kindle! It took some adjustments to find the right position to hold the Kindle without giving my hand cramps, but overall, I liked the experience. Perfect for this book since it doesn't seem to be available in print.

To Marry a British Lord by Judith O'Brien

An interesting book that lost its way in the second half.

To Marry a British Lord by Judith O'Brien
(1997, Victorian)
Grade: 3.5

Ten years after fleeing war-torn Virginia, Constance Lloyd is a governess who finds herself unexpectedly engaged to the second son of the Duke of Hastings. But when Constance meets Phillip’s best friend, Joseph Smith, she wonders if she’s making a mistake. As she travels in the highest society circles, she keeps returning to Jospeh and the possibility of love.

After reading the first third of this book, I was enchanted by it. The story was compelling, the characters were well drawn, the writing was witty. The biggest fault was the lack of romance, since the hero and heroine are apart for much of the book. But the story felt more like a satire on Victorian life than a real romance. Still, it was fun and interesting, with some pointed commentary on Victorian society. But the book began to go off the rails in the second half. Joseph was never explored as a character, just appearing and disappearing as the plot required. The author started throwing in one historical figure after another (John Brown! Disraeli!) and the plot got wackier and wackier. I never did quite figure out what was going on (the Prince of Wales’ valet was trying to poison everyone and blame John Brown?) The author got so tangled up that she forgot about the characters. The book did improve in the last few chapters, but overall, this was a bit of a disappointment. Too bad, because it started with such promise.

One thing that I found a little distracting in this book: the Prince of Wales is referred to as Your Majesty. I've seen that mistake in several books, and unless things have changed, that isn't right. Only the King or Queen is Your Majesty. The Prince would be Your Royal Highness. The odd thing about this book is that he is also referred to correctly as HRH. I guess I shouldn't let that bother me but it was distracting. Naming the hero "Joseph Smith" was also an odd choice.

A Family for Gillian by Catherine Blair

I finally reached my goal! I didn't finish all of the books in my TBR pile (I have 399 more...) but I finished all the books that didn't fit in my bookcase. Every little bit helps!

A Family for Gillian by Catherine Blair
(2001, Regency)
Grade: 3.5

Viscount Prescott Avery needs a mother for his children, and Gillian Harwell needs to escape her scheming family. It seems like the perfect arrangement. But the children aren't exactly welcoming, and Avery isn't sure he wants a new wife...

This was a cute and charming book. Very reminiscent of Sound of Music. I wouldn't want a steady diet of cute and sweet, but in small doses, it can be nice to read something different. It was a predictable book, and not all that romantic, but it was a nice diversion on a Sunday afternoon.

I'm not a big fan of cute children in romances, but every now and then I'll make an exception.

Scandal by Carolyn Jewel

I've been looking forward to this book for some time - I put it aside because I felt that I couldn't give it a fair reading after I'd heard so much about it. I wanted to wait until I could read it for itself, not for what everyone else was saying about it.

Scandal by Carolyn Jewel
(2009, Regency Historical)
Grade: 4.5

Three years after they first met, the Earl of Banallt is still hopelessly attracted to Sophie Evans. They are both widowed now, but Sophie is wary of trusting her husband’s former drinking companion, a man linked to numerous women and many scandals. Can Banallt show Sophie that he has changed and that he’s worthy of her trust and love?

This was definitely an interesting book. It was very well written and the characters were well drawn and interesting to read about. However, it left me just a little bit cold. The book kept me turning the pages, and I was definitely caught up in the story. The characters were more sophisticated and deep than many romance characters. But it lacked the emotional sweep of my favorite romances - it felt much more intellectual than heartfelt. (There were a few significant gaps in the story as well, particularly involving Banallt’s past.) This is probably one of the best written books I’ve read this year, but it wasn’t quite a keeper. I feel like I ought to have liked it a little bit more than I actually did.

Even though this book wasn't a perfect read for me, I will definitely look up more books by Carolyn Jewel - for some reason I thought I read one of her early books, but I can't remember now. I have one of her older books in my TBR and a newer one on my TBB list.

The Temptation of Savannah O'Neill by Molly O'Keefe

I needed a break from historicals before delving into the last few books in my TBR pile.

The Temptation of Savannah O'Neill by Molly O'Keefe
(2010, Contemporary Series)
Grade: 3.5

The O’Neill family has been the scandal of small town Bonne Terre for three generations. Savannah O’Neill may be a staid librarian, but she’s still one of the scandalous O’Neills. But when Matt appears at her door and offers his skills as a handyman, she might be willing to risk a little scandal. But Matt is hiding secrets of his own...

There were a lot of good things about this book. The setting was great - I could almost feel the heat of a Louisiana summer. And I liked the characters... eventually. It just took a very long time to get to that point. The author kept portioning out information in tiny dribs and drabs, and I started to get frustrated. It’s one thing to keep a few secrets, but keeping most of the hero and heroine’s background a secret for almost half the book is just annoying. However, the interesting plot and good writing kept me going. In the end, I did enjoy the book, I just wish it hadn’t taken so long to get there.

Down to only 5 books in the basket of "read soon" books.

Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

Another book that was redeemed by a good ending.

Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
(2009, Victorian)
Grade: 4

Three years after their frustrating marriage ended with an anulment, Leo Marsden has arrived in India determined to bring Byrony back to England. They never seemed to fit together - Leo was society’s darling, Byrony defied everyone to become a doctor - but the secrets of their marriage, and its failure, went much deeper...

This book started out with great frustration. The author seemed to be trying to make her characters hard to understand, and sometimes the misunderstandings between them made me want to throw the book with frustration. It seemed like the author was deliberately withholding important information for literary reasons, which isn’t something I particularly enjoy. But I kept going, because the writing was good and the characters were interesting, and eventually my patience was rewarded. The book improved dramatically in the second half. The characters started talking to each other, and the backdrop of India was interesting (although I always compare books set in India to M.M. Kaye’s books, which are hard to measure up to). By the end, I did feel emotionally involved with these characters, despite the gaps in the characters’ backgrounds. I was left feeling a bit conflicted - did the good parts of the book overcome the bad parts? Just barely.

Sherry Thomas is an author who has been growing on me. I couldn't finish her first book, I found Delicious promising but disappointing, and this one was good but not great. I'm hoping I enjoy her next book more. Maybe I'm a simple-minded reader, but I get frustrated by too many "twists" like having the author withhold important information from the reader and guess what the characters are trying to say. Those may work in some fiction, but I think it hurts a romance, where the reader expects to make an emotional connection with the characters. It's hard to make an emotional connection to a character when the author is trying to keep the character's motives and background a secret from the reader.