The Promise of Jenny Jones by Maggie Osborne

I'm glad to see Westerns making at least a small comeback, but even in the new Westerns, you rarely see a heroine like Jenny Jones.  Glad I got the chance to read this one!

The Promise of Jenny Jones by Maggie Osborne
(1997, Western)  8/29/12
Grade: 4.5

Just when Jenny Jones is ready to die in front of a Mexican firing squad, a desperate mother comes to her and offers to change places - if she will take her 6 year old daughter Graciela to California to live with her father.  Jenny grudgingly agrees, but with Graciela’s cousins in murderous pursuit, Jenny joins forces with Graciela’s uncle Ty Sanders - a man she finds uncomfortably attractive.

This unique and fast paced book kept me turning the pages from beginning to end.  The only flaw was the romance, which faltered a bit especially in the first half.  (The book was so suspenseful that I kept wanting to scream, “stop making eyes and each other and RUN!”)  Jenny was a great character, completely different from a typical romance heroine and yet very sympathetic.  I normally don’t like books with children in a primary role, but Jenny’s reluctance to deal with Graciela gave this an unusual spin in comparison to the usual sweet kid stories.  Ty was less well developed but the romance started to work in the last part of the book.  Overall, a very entertaining read.

It's so random, what's available in ebook form and what is not.  Several of Maggie Osborne's other books are available but this one is still paper only - even though it's probably her best known book. 

The Girl with the Cat Tattoo by Theresa Weir

I really should take advantage of my Prime borrowing membership - I tend to just buy books instead of finding out if they're available for free with Prime.  Not that I begrudge Theresa Weir her $3.99!  I'm just happy she's still writing romance occasionally.

The Girl with the Cat Tattoo by Theresa Weir
(2012, Contemporary)  8/28/12
Grade: 3

Two years after her husband David’s violent death, Melody is still struggling - and her cat Max is ready to find her someone new.  Someone who likes cats.  When he brings home Joe, everything seems to be going well, but Joe may not be what he seems. 

This novella had such great promise!  I loved Max and the scenes narrated from his point of view were charming and fun.  But the story drifted away from his perspective in the second half, and I found myself a little bored.  I just wasn’t that interested in Melody and Joe.  It wasn’t a bad book (and I’ll definitely try out the sequel) but it didn’t live up to the promise of the first part of the story.  

It's a good sign when you start looking for information about a sequel before you've finished a book, although this one didn't quite work for me.

The Pretenders by Joan Wolf

I wasn't supposed to be looking for new backlist titles, but after reading two Joan Wolf Regency historicals, I think I'm going to be searching out her other first person historicals.  It's odd that the two best-reviewed books in this series aren't available in ebook form, but happily some of the others are so I don't have to break my "no more paper books" resolution.

The Pretenders by Joan Wolf
(1999, Regency Historical)  8/27/12
Grade: 4.5

Deborah has known Reeve, the Earl of Cambridge, since they were children, although they’ve always just been friends.  But when Reeve’s uncle demands that he gets married before he can gain his inheritance, Reeve suggests a false engagement.  At first this seems like an easy solution, but as they spend more time together, both Deborah and Reeve find themselves wanting the marriage to be real.

The description of this book is highly misleading - the back cover talks about horse racing and gambling, which is only a tiny part of the book.  This is one of Joan Wolf’s first person Regency historicals, and it was just as absorbing as The Arrangement.  The first person narration works well, and Reeve turns out to have a lot more depth than it first appears.  The back story was quite touching.  There’s a bit of a suspense plotline which was exciting but didn’t take over the story.  Overall, an excellent read that kept me up past my bedtime.

Unfortunately, I think her later first person historicals lean more toward suspense. 

Castaway Dreams by Darlene Marshall

This book definitely shows how easy it can be to buy an e-book, especially at a good price - I read a review, clicked over to Amazon and bought it without thinking too much about it.  It turned out to be a good find!

Castaway Dreams by Darlene Marshall
(2012, Regency Historical)  8/27/12
Grade: 4

Navy surgeon Alexander Murray is convinced that Miss Daphne Farnham is completely useless and brainless - the only thing on her mind is ribbons and bonnets and her fluffy dog PomPom!  Daphne is convinced the surgeon is old and humorless.  But when they are stranded on a desert island, they find there is more to the other than expected - but are their positions still too far apart?

This was a fun book with a lot of charm.  There were some pacing problems (the beginning was slow, and the love scenes started to get tedious after a while) but the characters were well written and believable, and I found myself eagerly turning the pages (well, the virtual pages) to find out what would happen next.  It was very enjoyable to see both characters grow and change through the book - something you don’t see all that often in romance.  

There were definitely some plot holes in this book but it was just so charming that I overlooked them.

Miss Truelove Beckons by Donna Simpson

I picked up most of Donna Simpson's books based on her excellent debut, Lord St. Claire's Angel, but her subsequent books haven't worked as well for me.  I still have a few in my TBR pile...

Miss Truelove Beckons by Donna Simpson
(2001, Regency)  8/26/12
Grade: 3.5

Miss Truelove Becket, the daughter of a vicar, is accompanying her cousin Arabella to visit Wycliffe, Viscount Drake.  It’s expected that Arabella and Drake will be married, but Drake has returned from the war a different person - haunted by the horrors of Waterloo.  It is only when he is with True that he can find peace - but how can either of them think of a life together when they come from such different worlds?

I tried to read this book several times before finally finishing it.  It was well written, with compelling characters, but there were a few things about it that bothered me.  Truelove is almost “too good to be true” as a heroine, and there was a definite undercurrent of “love solves all problems” to the story.  It’s a nice thought, but Drake’s problems seemed too extreme to be solved by something as simple as the welcoming arms of a sweet girl.  I love a good “troubled hero” story but I find it hard to believe that something that is depicted as extreme PTSD can be cured by the love of a good woman.  Maybe I’ve just become cynical in my old age.

I think back on some of the "wounded hero" books I've read in the past, and wonder whether I'd find them as compelling now - or would I be too realistic to believe that love conquers all? 

More Than You Wished by Jo Goodman

I've bought a lot of books by Jo Goodman (ever since I met her at the Atlanta CR meeting) but this is the first time I've read one.  Not quite sure what to think - this one was hard to grade.

More Than You Wished by Jo Goodman
(2001, American Historical)  8/26/12
Grade: 4

Set 10 years after the Civil War, Bria is reluctant to hire Northerner Luke Kincaid, but he may be the only way she can regain her family’s plantation from her hated stepfather.  Luke has his ow reasons for being in South Carolina, but the more he gets to know Bria, the more he’s drawn to her... and the more he’s willing to enter in a marriage of convenience that may turn into something real.

The writing was good, the setting was interesting, the characters were well written... but somehow this book lacked something.  The pacing seemed slightly off, and the emotional engagement just wasn’t quite there.  Maybe it was the secrets that were kept from the reader until almost the end of the book,  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but somehow this book didn’t quite engage me the way I hoped it would.

There may have been an advantage to reading this one in e-book form, since I couldn't easily skip ahead - it forced me to read it through which might have helped me keep going.  I did come close to giving up a couple of times.

Have Me by Jo Leigh

Every now and then a series book just hits the spot...

Have Me by Jo Leigh (HB 671)
(Contemporary Series)  8/24/12
Grade: 4

When Rebecca Thorpe is set up with Jake Donnelly, she’s only looking for a one night stand.  Their lives are just too different - she’s a socialite who runs a family foundation, and he’s a former police officer who’s fixing up his father’s house while figuring out the rest of his life.  But after they’ve spent some time together, they find out they have more in common than they might have thought... even enough to work out their differences.

I normally don’t like Blaze books, because they focus too much on the sex and not enough on the relationship.  But this one had a good combination of both.  It was certainly hot, with a lot of sexual tension, but it also dealt with a lot of real issues of class differences and how to deal with them - something you don’t often see in series romances.  There were some flaws, especially the ending which seemed cut off in the middle, but overall this was definitely worth reading.

It can be frustrating when so many go authors write for Blaze and other super-sexy series lines, because so often those books focus on sex above everything else.  But this one at least tried to combine that with more depth - even if I would have preferred one or two fewer love scenes and one or two more emotional scenes.

Marriage of Mercy by Carla Kelly

This is one of those books I wish I'd liked more than I actually did...

Marriage of Mercy by Carla Kelly
(2012, Regency)  8/20/12
Grade: 3.5

After the death of her father, Grace has no choice but to work at the village bakery.  But she finds friends in the village, including the local Lord.  At his death, she is given an unexpected inheritance - take care of his illegitimate son who is an American sailor in prison during the war of 1812.  But when she arrives, she finds the son dying - and takes another man instead.  Will this American sailor open her eyes to a whole new life?

A typical Regency from Carla Kelly.  This one had an interesting premise, with a nice contrast between English and American society.  But it lacked something... it just felt a little dull and predictable.  Even though I enjoy Carla Kelly’s writing, her books just seem to hit the same notes over and over again.

Even though I don't particularly want to read inspirational books, it seems like Carla Kelly is finding those books more "inspiring" than her Regencies, which have started to feel a little flat.

Hot Under The Collar by Jackie Barbarosa

I had been on a roll with my romance reading, when I got distracted by the Olympics - a very enjoyable distraction, but I'd like to get back to reading now that it's over!  I started with this novella since I thought it would be an easy read.

Hot Under the Collar by Jackie Barbarosa
(2012, Regency Historical Novella)  8/17/12
Grade: 3.5

Walter Langston, a third son, tried the army but after an injury ends up in the church, as the vicar of the small village of Grace-over-Sands.  Although he’s not terribly religious, he finds himself genuinely enjoying helping his paritioners.  But when he meets Artimisia Finch, a courtesan in London who has returned home to care for her father, he is immediately attracted.  At first it is just an affair, but soon they’re both dreaming of something more...

This is a charming story that was just a little too short (it’s novella length, about 110 pages).  We get the essence of the story but it could have used some filling out.  Despite the description of the story as erotic, it’s really not - it’s more focused on the lives of these two characters and how they could make a life together when their social positions were so different.  The ending is a little fairytale-ish, especially without more grounding to back it up, but it’s nice to think of these two characters making a life in this small town and finding both love and acceptance.  An interesting and unusual story, even if it had a few flaws.

This definitely wasn't a book I would have picked up without a review (thanks Dear Author) since it's sold as something it's really not - there are so many small press "erotic" romances that I don't even give them a second look, even though this one is quite different it's lost in a sea of books that just look like they're all the same.

The Love Knot by Elisabeth Fairchild

Elisabeth Fairchild was one of my favorite Regency authors - I'm still hoarding a few of her books in my TBR pile.  This was one of her early books.

The Love Knot by Elisabeth Fairchild
(1995, Regency)  8/2/12
Grade: 4

Aurora Ramsey is hoping to marry Lord Walsh, who seems to share her love of agriculture and the country, and can save her from destitution.  But she has no hope of catching her attention with her awkward conversation and unflattering clothes.  Miles Fletcher offers to help her - but does he have an ulterior motive?  The refined art collector may have fallen for Aurora himself, but he’s also hiding a secret about the land her brother lost in a card game...

This is a storyline I love - the refined beta hero who sets out to help the heroine find another man, and ends up falling for her himself.  But this Regency felt surprisingly unemotional for the first half of the book.  I didn’t feel that I got to know the hero or the heroine - it was all surface.  I kept wanting more emotional depth.  This improved in the second half, but it just wasn’t quite as good as Fairchild’s other books, which combine the Regency atmosphere with more emotion.  Good but not great. 

I was going to lament that Elisabeth Fairchild was one of those missing authors who didn't make the transition out of Regencies, but it seems that she's writing again - and her old books are being released in ebook form.  Yay!