Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase

Although the cover is pretty, it has nothing to do with fashions of the 1830's.  More like the 1950's!

Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase
(2012, 1830's England)  12/4/12
Grade: 3.5

Dressmaker Sophy Noirot is trying to save her shop - and help her friend Clara escape from a bad engagement.  The Earl of Longmore, Clara’s brother, does his best to help, but it seems like he’s more of a distraction - especially when Sophy starts to see him as more than an obstacle in her way.

Unlike the previous book in the series, this book started off well.  I enjoyed the banter between Sophy and Longmore and the road romance worked well.  Longmore wasn’t the sharpest tool in the drawer, but I found his bafflement around Sophy fun to read.  However, the book lost some of its charm in the second half.  I’m not sure what happened - maybe the sexual tension dissipated once Sophy and Longmore went to bed together - but I was forcing myself to turn the pages.  The final impression - another good but not great book from Loretta Chase.  Too bad.  

I still have quite a few Loretta Chase backlist books to read - maybe I'd better save those for another time, when I'm in a more receptive mood?

Silk Is For Seduction by Loretta Chase

Although Loretta Chase has never been one of my favorite authors, her books have always been reliably enjoyable - this one fell just a little short of the mark.

Silk Is For Seduction by Loretta Chase
(2011, post-Regency)  11/29/12
Grade: 3.5

Marcelline Noirot is one of the best dressmakers in London, and she is determined to attract the business of Clara, the future wife of the Duke of Clevendon.  But on a trip to Paris, she meets the Duke and finds him intriguing... even though she knows their positions are worlds apart.  Clevendon believes he loves Clara, but only Marcelline brings excitement and passion to his life.

I wanted to like this more than I did.  The book was well written, and the characters were interesting (particularly the heroine - I found the dressmaking background more interesting than the romance) but there was just something that left me cold.  The story just felt like something I’d read a hundred times, particularly in the first half.  The conflict between the hero and heroine felt insubstantial (the class difference between a dressmaker and a duke should feel monumental, but it just didn’t in this case), and the hero didn’t seem particularly unique or intriguing.  The book improved in the second half, but still, this just didn’t live up to Loretta Chase’s other books.  It left me feeling a little blah.  

This is a book that could have really used some illustrations - I'm familiar with Regency and Victoria fashions but I wasn't sure what dresses looked like in the 1830's.  The descriptions in the book were intriguing but I couldn't quite visualize them - unfortunately the dress on the cover looks more like a prom dress than a real historical outfit.

One Night in London by Caroline Linden

I read this weeks ago but for some reason forgot to post... probably because this book was so forgettable.

One Night in London by Caroline Linden
(2011, Regency Historical)  11/11/12
Grade: 2.5

Lady Francesca Gordon needs an attorney to help her gain custody of her niece, but the best attorney in London is stolen from her by Edward de Lacey, the son of the Duke of Durham.  Edward has problems of his own - the dukedom is threatened by a secret marriage - but he’s willing to help Lady Gordon.  But he wasn’t expecting to find her fiery personality so fascinating...

This book started off well.  The setup was interesting and unique, and the characters seemed well written.  But when I got about halfway through the book, I just got bored.  The book seemed like just another retread of the same story.  I found myself skimming to the end.  It’s hard to explain exactly why this book didn’t work for me - I just reached a point where I didn’t want to read it any more.  Too bad.  

I gave the next book in the series a try but it didn't interest me any more than this one.  Too bad, I was looking forward to discovering a new author.

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn

Every now and then I'll take a chance on a Kindle special - this book was on sale for $1.99 a few weeks ago and I decided to buy it even though I don't usually read mysteries.  It was definitely worth reading, but I'm not sure I'll read the sequels - for one thing, they're really expensive!  The Kindle books are $11.99 and up.  Seems pricey for mysteries that have been out for a couple of years.

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn
(2009, Mystery)  11/6/12
Grade: 3.5

Chet is on the case, helping his private investigator partner Bernie solve the case of a missing teenager.  Unfortunately, since Chet is a dog, he has some trouble communicating with his owner, but Bernie is a pretty good investigator - although he needs Chet to solve the case!

This was a fun mystery that was narrated by Chet, the canine partner of a private investigator.  Chet is a great narrator - it’s a lot of fun to see Chet following clues (and getting sidetracked by stray Cheetos and pet birds).  The problem was that the mystery went very slowly - Chet had the case solved by halfway through the book and then we had to wait... and wait... and wait... for Bernie to catch up.  As much as I liked Chet as a narrator, he had some limitations when it came to solving the crime.  Overall, this was a fun read but it had a few problems as well.

There seems to be a trend of books narrated by animals - I've read a couple of other ones this year.  Although I like the idea, they all seemed to have some flaws.

Suddeny You by Sarah Mayberry

I've enjoyed several books by Sarah Mayberry, although I sometimes think she's constrained by the Harlequin requirements for certain series lines.  I'm happy to see her writing something a bit different.

Suddenly You by Sarah Mayberry
(2012, Contemporary Series)  11/4/12
Grade: 4

When Pippa was dating his best mate, Harry had always liked Pippa, but he’d never thought of her as more than a friend.  But when he stops to help her when her car breaks down, he suddenly sees Pippa in a new light.  Harry usually doesn’t take things to seriously, but Pippa needs someone in her life that’s reliable - she’s a single mother raising her daughter alone.  But maybe Harry is ready to change his life...

I always like reading Sarah Mayberry’s books because they feel so refreshingly modern.  Unlike a lot of series books, this one seems to take place in the real world, where cars break down and babies cry.  The Australian setting is also a fun change.  I think Mayberry does her best writing when she’s not constrained by the “hot hot hot” requirements of Harlequin Blaze - the love scenes here are certainly steamy but they are more about Harry and Pippa and less about generic hotness.  My only issue with this book is that I generally don’t care for books about babies - I appreciated that Alice was a real baby but it’s just not my favorite thing to read about.  But overall, this was a very good read - I’m always so happy to find a good series book, and Mayberry is one of the best authors at the moment.

I really love this cover!  It stands out from the typical series cover - I think Harlequin was smart to de-emphasize the Super Romance logo on the covers.  This is the line that's most likely to appeal to non-series readers, so it makes sense to make the covers more like single titles.

Not Wicked Enough by Carolyn Jewel

This is the second book I've read by Carolyn Jewel, and both books shared the same flaw - a book that is great for the first two thirds, and then something unbelievable and inconsistent happens at the last minute, leaving me wondering, "what happened?"  I keep buying her books because they always start with such promise, but I hope that at some point she can write a book that's great all the way through.

Not Wicked Enough by Carolyn Jewel
(2012, Regency Historical)  11/3/2012
Grade: 3.5

When Lily Wellstone goes to Bitterward to visit her friend Eugenia, she expects to comfort her grieving friend.  She didn’t expect to be charmed by her friend's brother, the Duke of Mountjoy.  She may enjoy his kisses, but he is practically engaged to a neighbor, and she has vowed never to love again, after the death of her beloved years before.  But they could have an affair - after all, there’s no risk they might fall in love...

This book worked well for the first half.  The characters were interesting, and the sexual tension was excellently written, at least at the beginning.  Mountjoy and Lily were both unusual characters, and I enjoyed getting to know them.  But the book started to fall apart in the second half.  The love scenes started to get a little boring, and there wasn’t much else going on - until the hero and heroine started acting completely out of character.  Out of nowhere, the heroine is considering marriage to a man she barely knows, and the hero is proposing to make the heroine his mistress.  It felt completely out of place and inconsistent with the characters - it felt like the author needed to throw in an obstacle to keep the book going, and this was the best she could come up with.  (Which is disappointing, because there was interesting potential in the hero and heroine's background that could have provided a more realistic conflict.)  The book improved in the last couple of chapters, but not enough to save the book for me.  I ended up frustrated that this book (and this author) didn’t live up to its potential. 

I have the sequel to this book in my TBR - I'm planning to try it and hoping it turns out better than this one.

One Final Step by Stephanie Doyle

I'm always looking for good series books - but maybe I'm just too picky.  It's been a long time since I was able to read a series book without finding problems...

One Final Step by Stephanie Doyle
(2012, Contemporary Series)  10/27/12
Grade: 3.5

Michael Langdon wants to publicize his electric car, and he has hired the best publicist in the business - Madeline Kaye.  Madeline once helped to elect presidents, but after a sex scandal she has spent the last seven years hiding and working behind the scenes.  Michael is immediately attracted to Madeline, but she’s wary of opening herself up again - and he has a secret of his own...

I have mixed feelings about this book.  I’m happy to read a book that deals with an issue that isn’t often addressed in romance, but there was something about these characters that just didn’t appeal to me, particularly in the first half of the book.  Michael seemed a little too perfect, and neither Michael or Madeline really felt like real people.  (There was also a subplot about characters from another book that distracted from the main story.)  But my bigger problem was that the “solution” to Michael’s problem felt very “romance novel-ish”.  It’s not that Michael was “cured by love” (I thought that was explained fairly well) but that he was cured instantly without any continuing issues.  It just felt a little too easy.  However, the book improved in the last third, and I found myself caring about the characters, particularly Madeline and her journey.  The book had a good ending, which is why I gave it a slightly higher grade - I just wish the whole book had lived up to the last 50 pages.  

It's really hard to find a series book that doesn't feature babies or suspense - sometimes I wish I wasn't so picky!

Golden Girl by Joan Wolf

Why isn't this available as an e-book?  A few of Joan Wolf's books have been converted to electronic form, but more of them really deserve to find a new audience.  (I had to buy this one used from PBS.)

Golden Girl by Joan Wolf
(1999, Regency Historical)  10/23/12
Grade: 4

After his father’s death, Anthony, the Duke of Cheviot, finds that his estate is deeply in debt.  He needs to marry an heiress, and quickly.  Sarah, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, has the money to save his family, but will they be able to make a life together?  Anthony and Sarah soon find that their love of art brings them together - but will others around them threaten their happiness?

Although the storyline of this book was simple and predictable, it was well written and easy to read.  I finished the book in just a couple of hours, and for the most part, thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  The characters were well developed, and the secondary characters added to the story.  There was one exception - the villain.  Although his motivation made sense, I found him a little off-putting (it bordered on the stereotypical “gay villain”) and that marred the story a little for me.  Overall, this was an enjoyable read, even if it wasn’t as memorable as some of Wolf’s other books.  

Although I have two more Wolf books in my TBR, I will put those aside for now and try something different!

Lie to Me by Starr Ambrose

I definitely do my part to support the book industry - I'm pretty sure I bought this book TWICE in paper form and once in e-book form.  I will try not to think about how much I spent when I rate it.  (I also bought a hardback that was pretty much a wallbanger - at least this one was enjoyable even if I didn't need to buy it three times!)

Lie to Me by Starr Ambrose
(2008, Contemporary)  10/22/12
Grade: 4

Ellie Coggins is determined to find out why her best friend died mysteriously, so she breaks into the Westfield house to search for clues - only to discover the black sheep of the family, Jack Payton, doing the same thing.  They decide to fake an engagement so they can team up and find out what his brother is up to - but they aren’t supposed to fall in love, are they?

This was a fun and entertaining read - one of the best contemporaries I’ve read in a while.  The dialogue was snappy, the characters were well written and the suspense plotline kept things moving along.  The secondary characters added to the story (especially Rocky, Jack’s cellmate, and Libby, Jack’s daughter - who was much less annoying than kids usually are in romances).  I debated whether to give it a higher grade, but there was a little too much emphasis on sex in the second half.  (If someone is trying to kill you, probably a bad time to make out.)  It was also a bit fluffy - I doubt I’ll remember it in a month.  But still, it was an enjoyable read and that’s pretty rare in contemporaries these days!  I’d recommend it.  

I see that Starr Ambrose has written a sequel titled Thieves Like Us - I checked out her other books on Amazon but the descriptions didn't grab me - maybe I'll try Thieves Like Us.

Delusion in Death by J.D. Robb

Still reading the J.D. Robb In Death series...

Delusion in Death by J.D. Robb
(2012, Futuristic)  10/15/12
Grade: 4

Eve and Roarke struggle to solve a terrorist-style attack, where the victims are drugged to attack each other.  With dozens of victims, it’s difficult to determine who was the real target of the attack, and who was just an innocent victim... with the origins of the crime leading back decades to the Urban Wars.

This is a reliable J.D. Robb mystery, with some interesting details sprinkled in about the history of Robb’s fictional universe with the details about the Urban Wars that have been mentioned before.  The plot was interesting and unique, and there were some nice moments with Peabody and Somerset.  I wasn’t so fascinated that I couldn’t put it down, but it was a good entry in the series. 

I've become a little bored with the series, but I still enjoy one every now and then.

The Gamble by Joan Wolf

I had to break my rule about not buying any more paperback books for this one!  Thankfully it worked well since I brought it to the hospital with me.

The Gamble by Joan Wolf
(1998, Regency Historical)  10/12/12
Grade: 3.5

After her father’s death, Georgie discovers that he was blackmailing several  gentlemen for cheating at gambling.  She doesn’t want to become a blackmailer herself, but she must protect her sister Anna, so she heads to London to blackmail the Earl of Winterdale to help her find a husband.  The new earl ihas his own reasons to help Georgie.  But her father’s other victims will do anything to stop Georgie from revealing their secrets. 

This is another one of Joan Wolf’s first person Regencies, and although it was fun to read, it didn’t have quite the snap and exuberance of the other two.  The storyline of a Regency season was more typical, and the blackmail victims were too interchangeable to make good villains.  It’s also not very clear why Georgie fell in love with Winterdale, and he with her (a common problem with first person books).  Overall, it was well written and enjoyable, but not quite up to the standards of her other Regency historicals.

I haven't run across very many new books that are appealing, so it's a good thing I keep finding older books I haven't read yet.

My Dark Prince by Julia Ross

I've read several books by Julia Ross (aka Jean Ross Ewing) but none of them have been keepers.  Still, she had a unique voice - it doesn't seem like she's still writing, which is too bad.

My Dark Prince by Julia Ross
(2000, Regency Historical)  9/30/12
Grade: 4

When Nicholas, prince of Glarien, arrives in her small village, Penny Lindsey wants him to fulfill his duties to his local tenants - but Nicholas has bigger plans.  His royal fiancé has been kidnapped, and he needs Penny to fill in for her during the wedding celebrations in London.  His marriage is necessary to save his country, but he finds himself drawn to Penny despite his royal duties.

This was an intriguing book with compelling characters, but it didn’t quite live up to its early promise.  I was intrigued by Nicholas, the royal prince who was torn between love and duty, and Penny was a strong counterbalance for him through most of the book.  But I found myself getting impatient with the love scenes and wanting to get back to the royal intrigue and adventure.  The storyline of yearning for forbidden love didn’t quite work - it felt predictable and repetitive.  But the story of Glarien and the intrigues between Nicholas and his cousin Carl (and the other secondary characters) kept me turning the pages.  That’s one reason I found the ending unsatisfying - it was strange to have a story that focused so heavily on royal duty and the intrigues of a fictional kingdom end with something of an Anglo-centric romance cliché.  Julia Ross has a unique voice but I ended up being just a little bit disappointed. 

I love a royal romance, but it's surprising that so few authors follow through on their premise, especially in historicals.  It seems strange to me that you would spend all this time creating a fictional country with fictional royalty, and then end up with your hero and heroine living in England, but it's happened in almost every historical royal romance I've read.  Maybe I'm the only romance reader who also has a weakness for stories about princes and princesses (and doesn't want them to turn into English Earls in the end). 

Whispers of Heaven by Candice Proctor

Another book from my TBR - I enjoyed some of Candice Proctor's other books, but this one left me a bit cold.

Whispers of Heaven by Candice Proctor
(2000, Victorian Australia)  9/22/12
Grade: 3.5

After studying in England, Jesmond Corbett has returned to her family home in Tasmania.  She is supposed to marry her neighbor, Harrison, but she finds herself attracted to convict Lucas Gallagher, who works as her groom.  Lucas was transported to Australia after fighting for Irish independence, and his only hope is escape - but he develops an unexpected passion for Jessie, even though the both know their love is doomed.

This book had a lot of promise.  It’s unusual to read a historical set in Australia, and the author did a great job in evoking the time and place.  But I found myself somewhat bored by the romance.  It seemed passionate on the surface, but I kept putting down the book and having to force myself to continue.  Even the story of Lucas’s tragic past left me unmoved.  I can’t explain why this book didn’t work for me, but it was just a disappointment.

This book received glowing reviews, so I was surprised I found it so hard to read.  Maybe I was just in the wrong mood, or maybe it just didn't hold up 12 years later. 

The Bride Fair by Cheryl Reavis

There were quite a few romances set during and after the Civil War in the 1980's, but those books mostly disappeared in the 90's and 2000's.  It's difficult to write about the time without mentioning ugly realities - and those realities might not mesh with a love story.  I think it's still possible, but it's probably a lot more difficult than setting a book in the Regency (which has its own ugly realities that most romances ignore, but we aren't as familiar with them so they're easier to ignore.)  That was one of the problems with this book - it seems to be set in a fantasy version of post-war North Carolina.

The Bride Fair by Cheryl Reavis
(2002, post-Civil War North Carolina)  9/14/12
Grade: 3.5

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Maria Markham resents having to rent a room to Colonel Max Woodward, of the Occupying forces - but she has little choice.  Maria has a secret that may force her to marry him.  She finds that Max isn’t like the other soldiers - he wants to understand the South and is kind to her father and the two boys she is helping to raise - but can she let go of the past and learn to love him?

This book was much better than Reavis’s previous book, The Prisoner, but it still had some flaws.  The characters were interesting, but the pacing was off - the first half of the book seemed to drag, and then the author throws in a half dozen plot points in the last 50 pages.  But a more serious problem to me was that this didn’t quite feel like the post-Civil War South.  No one mentions slavery in the entire book.  Many Southerners didn’t own slaves, but it seemed strange that no one in town had owned slaves and there was evidently no one black in the entire area.  Even the “vigilantes” who were trying to overthrow the occupying troops didn’t mention it.  It felt like it was prettifying the history of the war.  This is why I gave it a slightly lower grade than I might have otherwise, because the characters were very well written.  

Reavis never wrote any more Civil War historicals, although she seemed to be setting up other characters for sequels.  I guess it wasn't a popular setting - which is too bad.  As a Southerner, part of me wants to see books set in the South, but another part of me wants to see a real portrayal of the time period.

To Have and To Hold by Patricia Gaffney

There are some unrealistic romance conventions that I enjoy (marriages of convenience, tortured heroes) but others are just too far outside reality for me.  The "forced seduction" is one of those - no matter how much the author tries to convince me it's true love, I keep thinking of Stockholm syndrome...

To Have and To Hold by Patricia Gaffney
(1995, Victorian)  9/2/12
Grade: 3

Jaded Sebastian Verlaine is the new lord at Wyckerley, but when he sees Rachel Ward about to be sent to prison for vagrancy, he impulsively hires her as his new housekeeper.  Rachel spent ten years in prison for murdering her husband, and she has no illusions about what Sebastian really wants, but she is willing to take her chances - and finds an unexpected love.

This is another difficult book to judge.  It had moments of beauty and emotion, but I couldn’t get past the initial setup and “forced seduction” of Rachel by Sebastian.  It was difficult to believe in any kind of real love between these two characters when the threat of coercion was always there, and where the relationship was always unequal.  Rachel may have grown to love Sebastian, but she was always aware that she was in his power and could have been sent back to prison at his whim.  As a reader we know that Sebastian is the “hero” and a happy ending is really happy, but as a realist I found the whole thing more troubling than romantic.  

I will at least try to read the third book in this trilogy, in part because the Wyckerley setting is so well depicted, but so far it's been a disappointment.

To Love and to Cherish by Patricia Gaffney

When you read romances that are 15 years old or more, you never know what you're going to get.  Sometimes they are great and completely stand the test of time.  (Some of the best books I've read recently have been from the 90's.)  But some of the books that seemed daring and new back then now just seem a little dull.  I'm wondering if that's the case with these Patricia Gaffney books - which were praised as one of the best series ever written back in the 90's when they came out.

To Love and To Cherish by Patricia Gaffney
(1995, Victorian)  9/1/12
Grade: 3.5

Christy is settling in to his life as the vicar in the village of Wyckerley, the small town where he grew up.  But his world is upended when his childhood friend Geoffrey Verlaine returns and takes over as the new lord, along with his wife Anne.  Christy and Anne are powerfully attracted to each other, but their lives and faiths seem to keep them apart, even after Geoffrey is gone.

I found it difficult to grade this book, because it was extremely well written and did a wonderful job depicting Victorian village life - but I found myself struggling to get through it, especially the first half.  The author said she based it partly on the books of Thomas Hardy, and perhaps it’s difficult for someone in the 21st century to understand the religious differences that keep Christy and Anne apart (she’s an atheist, supposedly, but it never seems that believable.  Her constant depiction of herself as a terrible person never seemed to fit with her actions.)  Christy’s struggles as a minister were more believable and interesting, but the book just seemed to drag for a large portion of the story.  This book was highly recommended so it was a bit of a disappointment.  These have been in my TBR pile for a long time so I plan to read all three, but I hope the next two are more enjoyable.  

Next up - To Have and To Hold.  So far it's at least completely different...

A Week To Be Wicked by Tessa Dare

I thought Tessa Dare's early books had a unique voice - they felt like something different from the usual Regency historicals.  Unfortunately, her Spindle Cove books are missing something - this one was OK but it felt very Avon-ized.  She'll probably sell more books but I'm not running out to buy the next one.

A Week To Be Wicked by Tessa Dare
(2012, Regency Historical)  8/30/12
Grade: 3.5

Everyone thinks of Minerva Highwood as the bluestocking sister who fits into Spindle Cove society but has no chance on the marriage mart.  But she is determined to present her geological work at a scientific conference.  She persuades Colin Sandhurst, Viscount Payne, the local rake, to take her to Scotland.  The journey shows Colin that Minerva can be a lot more fun than she lets on - and Minerva that Colin has more depth than she expected.  

This book had charm but somehow it was lacking something.  I usually love a charming rogue hero, but Colin just didn’t seem believable to me, especially in the first half.  (Maybe his backstory was more developed in the first book in the series, which I only skimmed, but he still felt like rake-by-the-numbers.)  The book got more interesting in the second half, but it just didn’t break out of its fairly stereotypical setup. 

I find myself getting bored by typical Regency historicals, especially when I compare them to the books from the 90's that I'm reading from the 90's - the unique voices just seem to be missing.

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.