Blogging Tip Meme

I was tagged by Marg to do this meme so here I am doing it! I must confess that at first nothing interesting came to mind to add to the 10 pieces of advice I already had but after much thought something came out...

Blogging Tips



It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)



Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.



After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!



Just think- if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn. ****

http://www.neonscent.com



2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. **

http://www.bushmackel.com



3. Don’t let money change ya! *

http://www.therandomforest.info



4. Always reply to your comments. *****

http://chattiekat.com



5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. **

http://chipsquips.com




6. Don’t give up - persistance is fertile. *

http://www.velcro-city.co.uk



7. Give link credit where credit is due. ***

http://www.sfsignal.com



8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post.*

http://scifichick.com



9. Be Brave, some of the best posts are when you step out of your comfort zone.

http://twisted-kingdom.blogspot.com



10. Follow the links in posts and comments. You never know what blog gems you will find! *
Reading Adventures


11.Be yourself when blogging, it's the best way to find people who share your interests. - Aneca's World



Now I pass this meme to:

Leya from Wandeca Reads

Joanna from Carpe Omnia...Ad Libitum

Rosario from Rosario's Reading Blog

Alex from Le Canape

Katharina from Books Chez Moi

Teresa from A Dedaleira

Sorry can't nominate 10 because I think most people has already done it...

Desperate Duchesses - Eloisa James

I have enjoyed several of Eloisa James's books in the past and I picked this one up with great expectations. However I found it a very disappointing read.

Welcome to a world of reckless sensuality and glittering sophistication . . . of dangerously handsome gentlemen and young ladies longing to gain a title . . . of games played for high stakes, including—on occasion—a lady's virtue.

A marquess's sheltered only daughter, Lady Roberta St. Giles falls in love with a man she glimpses across a crowded ballroom: a duke, a game player of consummate skill, a notorious rakehell who shows no interest in marriage—until he lays eyes on Roberta.

Yet the Earl of Gryffyn knows too well that the price required to gain a coronet is often too high. Damon Reeve, the earl, is determined to protect the exquisite Roberta from chasing after the wrong destiny.

Can Damon entice her into a high-stakes game of his own, even if his heart is likely to be lost in the venture?

Although we know from the back blurb who the hero/heroine are the truth is that at least half the book is devoted to other characters – Beaumont and his wife Jemma. Not that I would have minded if they were to be the hero/heroine of this book, I found them much more interesting than Gryffin and Roberta and I’m a sucker for stories of couples already married or that at least have a past. Why did Beaumont let himself be caught by his wife with his mistress? And there seems to be some chemistry between them why didn’t they are tried to solve things? Villiers was also an interesting character; big parts of the book are about him and the chess game he is playing with Jemma. In the end he tells her he has few friends, was he trying for something more with her? What really happened between him and the Lady he fathered a child on without marrying her? And between him and Harriet, one of Jemma’s friends and presumably a future heroine? And what about Charlotte Tatlock, is she going to be a future heroine too?

I felt James tried to introduce too many cliffhangers for the next books, she succeeded in arousing my interest but at the same time this book became totally uninteresting to me. I could understand that Roberta might feel attracted to a man seemingly the opposite of her father but to the point of continuing to pursue it after feeling a much more real interest for someone else? And Gryffin just seems to fall in love with her as soon as she appears in the picture just because she doesn’t swoon over him. I didn't feel I had enough time with them to think something different.

Well I just know I’m going to buy the next books because I really want to know what’s going to happen to all those secondary characters but this one was just a C.

New Additions to the TBR pile

Only three this week and two of them a gift:

Kresley Cole - No Rest For the Wicked
Kresley Cole - A Hunger Like No Other
Diane Perkins - The Marriage Bargain


The Cole's were a gift. I'm wondering if I should read them before I trade them. Some people just adore them, others are less than entusiastic...

But I really should stop getting more books. My trade box is overflowing and my shelves are filled with my keepers and TBR books. The problem is that it's like an addiction, I always want that new book that came out from an author I love or with an interesting subject... It's difficult to exercise some self control but it's something I really have to work on!

The Cater Street Hangman - Anne Perry

After enjoying The Face of a Stranger so much I was anxious to try Anne Perry’s other Victorian series about Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. I was no disappointed.

While the Ellison girls were out paying calls and drinking tea like proper Victorian ladies, a maid in their household was strangled to death. The quiet and young Inspector Pitt investigates the scene and finds no one above suspicion. As his intense questioning causes many a composed facade to crumble, Pitt finds himself curiously drawn to pretty Charlotte Ellison. Yet, a romance between a society girl and so unsuitable a suitor was impossible in the midst of a murder....

Once again one of the wonderful things in Perry’s books is characterization and how she brings to life the Victorian world. The Ellison’s are a well off family, even if not noble and it’s members behave as true people of their time. I really liked Charlotte. She seemed so real, a woman of her time but constantly struggling with the injustices of the double standard of behaviour between man and woman and the moral standards of the time.

I also liked Inspector Pitt although we seem to know him a lot less. He keeps coming to the Ellison’s for more answers on the murder and at time possibly to see Charlotte. His appearance and questions force them to questions some of their acts and behaviour and makes Charlotte more and more aware of him. They come from 2 different worlds and I thought it was also interesting how we had some glimpses of those differences. It made me look forward to the next books to see how they deal with it.

The mystery was also interesting and unusual. There are several clues during the story but I never made sense of them till the murderer is discovered.

In a way I didn’t enjoy it as much as Face of a Stranger, possibly because there’s less introspection and I particularly liked that aspect of the book. But it was a wonderful Victorian mystery and I highly recommend it.

Oh, and this is the wrong cover, I couldn't find the one I have online.

Grade: B+

The Seventh Son – Reay Tannahill

I was first introduced to the story of Richard III and the different opinions about him after reading Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne In Splendour. When I picked up this book I had no idea it was about Richard III, I decided to read it just because I had heard so many good things about Reay Tannahill and had never came across one of her books.

Reay Tannahill's enthralling new novel is a family saga in the grand tradition......

At the heart of it all is the dangerous, complex human being known to history as Richard III, a king whose reign is forever darkened by the murder of the young Princes in the Tower, but who also found a touching love with the woman he married, and possessed immense physical courage. Here, brought vividly to life in this most moving novel, is a man who inspired loyalty and hatred in almost equal measure, until at last the implacable enmity of one woman brought about his downfall.

I found this book to have a more rational, less emotional approach to the story than the Penman book even if we will never know the actual truth.

Tannahill chose to portray the adult Richard as an austere man, with a strong moral sense, he believes in doing the right thing even when that’s difficult and dangerous. He marries Anne Neville for political and economical gain, even if they are showed here as loving each other deeply.

His life is first dominated by his loyalty and respect for his brother Edward IV and then dominated by his need to do what he believes is right, by duty. He is sometimes ruthless in the pursuit of that objective and I found that in context with the period he lived in even if he did seem very intolerant at times. However there isn’t much character development and we hardly ever know what the characters are thinking. The episode of the death of the princes in the tower is approached only briefly which I found a bit odd since it’s what is usually mentioned with connection with Richard’s life and deeds.

Although I actually liked Tannahill’s approach to the story I think I would have liked a bit more characterization, a few more insights into the characters. She does that a lot better with Francis Lovell, Anne and Constantia than with Richard. Since this is an historical fiction novel I think I would have liked a bit more fiction.

Grade: B

You can find my review completed with Marg's comments at Historical Tapestry

Rereading My Keepers

I've been promising myself that I'll reread all my keepers one day, the fact is that I've been collecting books for a long time now and I feel my tastes have changed somehow.
There's no better opportunity than now that I've decided to organise them in a LibraryThing account. I won't have time to reread everything immediately so I added the ones that I remember well enough and the ones that offer more doubts will be reread and graded before being added. I've already added 65 books and now I'll just progressively add the rest.

Here's some of the books already there:

The Vampire Who Loved me – Teresa Medeiros

I’ve been curious about this book ever since I finished After Midnight. There’s something awfully romantic in a Vampire desperately trying to recuperate his soul and become a human again.

Julian Kane is back in town.

Once, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane-who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires.

Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster.

Julian knows he must drive Portia away-but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch. For years he has fought the temptation to embrace his dark gifts, never realizing that Portia's love may give him the most dangerous gift of all . . . a reason to live.

I did like Julian a lot more than I liked Portia.
After hearing Julian is back in London and not believing he is behind the recent murders of young women by vampires, Portia goes looking for the love of her youth to warn him that Adrian, his brother, is looking for him. She find a rake and a gambler who doesn’t care about what may happen to him but agrees to protect her reputation and leave before they are found together. He never tells her whether he is the one committing those awful murders or not.

With Adrian Portia concocts a scheme to find the vampire responsible for those murders and serves as bait. She fins a she vampire (vampiress(?)) who is also Julian’s lover and the holder of his immortal soul. Now what I had problems with was that Portia kept changing her mind whether she loved him or not, if it was because he could be a murderer or because he had a lover, or because he hadn’t killed the vampire to recover his soul… she just sounded a bit childish to me. Julian seemed a lot more interesting and complex as a character who has been trying to stay away from the woman he loves because he feels he doesn’t deserve and doesn’t have the courage to kill the vampire who holds his soul because she has saved his life. They spend much of the book without being honest with each other and that also helped create some misunderstandings regarding Julian’s intentions. Together they will have to face not only their family but also a group of vampires before Julian can get his soul back.

This book is constantly referring to situations of After Midnight and it might not be an easy read if you haven’t read the first book.

Grade: B

A Falcon’s Heart – Jayel Wylie

Another book that has been gathering dust in the TBR pile for quite a while. I can’t even remember who recommend it to me but it doesn’t take much for me to put a medieval on my wish list. It was an interesting read, I liked the writing style but the story was really nothing new and I actually didn’t like the paranormal elements.

William of Brinlaw's demands that Henry II restore his birthright fall on deaf ears -- until the mysterious death of Brinlaw's current lord. Eager to maintain his hard-won peace, the new king deeds the estate to William, provided he marries his enemy's daughter. Bearing a false proclamation that their union was her father's last wish, William journeys home, where he is unexpectedly bewitched by his bride. Lady Alista stuns him with her trust and burns him with the fire of her kiss. And though he knows she will soon despise him, he weds and beds her before she can learn the truth.
Grief-stricken, Alista opens her heart to Will only to see their future threatened by treachery and the unnatural call of a heritage she can neither understand nor deny. Haunted by visions, she is drawn to the ruins of Falconskeep, where the women of her bloodline find their destiny. It is there Will must go to save her -- if he can find the faith to battle a force that defies a warrior's sword yet may yield to the power of love.

Alista and Will marry by king Henry’s command after her father is found dead and the king needs someone to secure the castle for him. Without Alista knowing Will and her father had been involved in a dispute about who was the rightful owner of the castle. She ends up marrying him and trusting him before one of her father’s servants and the king’s cousin come back to tell her that Will might have been responsible for her father’s murder.

I was a bit annoyed that she was so quick in changing sides. First she is distrustful of Will but she decides to marry him and love him, then she hears these men and she decides he is guilty… Another problem for me was that there were a lot of unexplained situations. We never discover what killed her father, why was she being raised like a boy, what was the thing lurking in the well… the paranormal elements seemed out of place and unbelievable and we are only fed tidbits of the legend supposedly justifying them. And how can we have a Franciscan monk 100 years before the order was created?

Despite that I did like the writing style. If she had written a medieval with any paranormal elements I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more even with the other flaws I mentioned.

One thing I would love to see authors writing about is medieval settings other than England. I like them but 99% of the romance novels written take place in England… It would be great to have some variety.

Grade: C+

Love According to Lily – Julianne Mac Lean

I did enjoy reading this book although not as much as To Marry a Duke. This is it’s sequel, the story of James’s sister Lily and his friend Whitby. Actually there are 2 sequels to TMTD because it’s the first book in 2 different series even if it doesn’t appear as the first book in the Lover series.

Being raised in a strict, humorless household did nothing to dampen Lady Lily Langdon's romantic nature -- nor cool her lifelong affection for Edward Wallis, Earl of Whitby, her elder brother's oldest, dearest friend. But Edward cannot see the lovely woman she's become for the wild schoolgirl she once was. So with lessons in flirtation from her American sister-in-law, Duchess Sophia, Lily means to open Edward's eyes and win his heart.

But just when her seduction begins to take hold, tragedy strikes. Edward has lived a rakish life, believing he would never grow old -- and a terrible twist of fate threatens to prove him right. Yet adversity only strengthens Lily's resolve to find the ecstasy she knows is waiting in Edward's arms -- and to prove to the handsome, haunted earl that it is never too late to fall desperately in love.

Lily has been in love with Whitby for most of her life but she is fully resigned to marry someone else. He has always treated her as a little sister and she has been on the shelf for quite sometime now so she decides to use her brother’s hunting party to get closer to the suitor her mother as chosen for her.

However her intentions change when he seems to show some interest in her, even if the non commitment kind, and eventually falls ill to what is at first assumed to be Hodgkins disease. Faced with the possibility of death and knowing that if Whitby dies without an heir his home and fortune will be left to his estranged cousin who can’t be relied upon to take care of Whitby’s sister Lily thinks of a plan to provide an heir and at the same time to be with him in the last months of his life – marriage. She manages to convince him and after the marriage they spend some time together thinking to make the best of what time they have. However the results of the exams came back showing Whitby isn’t dying.

Lily and Whitby’s reaction to knowing he wasn’t dying were negative and that’s when their relationship faces some problems. Lily’s afraid Whitby is feeling imprisoned in a marriage he doesn’t want now that he knows he isn’t dying. I could understand those feeling especially because they weren’t talking with each other but I felt she should have confronted him with it. And Whitby actually feels imprisoned for a while which really annoyed. He was at first attracted to Lily but he didn’t wan’t to assume it, then he lets himself be convinced to marry her and even behaves as he has fallen in love with her, and suddenly when he knows he isn’t dying anymore he just closes himself up and let’s her believe he is regretting their marriage. Even if it was so she married him to give him an heir and maintain his sister with a home, he should be at least thankful.

Then Lily becames ill also and Whitby is forced to confront his feelings for her. I felt he came across as a very weak hero who first lets himself be convinced to marry Lily and then suffers too many doubts about his situation. Lily is too romantic and that colours the way she sees life but she is also a lot younger than he is and so I didn’t feel as annoyed by her actions. Despite that I still found it a nice read even if very inferior to To Marry The Duke. Now I have great expectations for Whitby’s (adopted) sister and his cousin story which is Portrait of a Lover.

Grade: B-

Blogger troubles

I made some changes to my last entry about 5 hours ago and I still don't see them posted. The same has happened sometimes with new messages. I post them and it takes a few hours for the blog to be updated.

Is it just me or have you, fellow bloggers, experienced the same problems now and then?

New Additions to the TBR pile

Margaret Westhaven – Four in Hand
Anne Perry – 6 books that I am too lazy to list but they are books 2 to 7 from the Pitt series
Maggie Sefton - Knit One, Kill Two
Reay Tannahill - The Seventh Son (I have already read this one and will post a review soon)

Rockin' Girl Blogger

I just discovered Marg nominated me a Rockin' Girl Blogger. Thanks Marg! It's great to know people actually read our blog and like it!

So now I would like to nominate 3 people whose blogs I read on a regular basis: Ana from Cozy World, Oriana/Alex from Booksandco and Teresa from A Dedaleira

Index of Reads - A to K

And here it is the index post to help organise the book reviews and to make it easier to find an author's review. I'll be adding it to the side bar and now I only have to remember to update it everytime I post a review.


Abe, Shana - The Smoke Thief
Adair, Cherry - Kiss and Tell
Adair, Cherry - Hide and Seek
Anderson, Catherine - Simply Love
Adrian, Lara - Kiss of Midnight
Aidan, Pamela - An Assembly Such As This
Alexander, Robert - The Kitchen Boy
Alexander, Vanessa - The Love Knot
Alexander, Vitoria - What Happens at Christmas
Andrews, Donna - Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos
Araujo, Catarina Pereira - Alem Tejo
Aston, Elizabeth - Mr Darcy's Dream
Atkinson, Michael - Hemingway Cutthoat
Austen, Jane - Emma
Austen, Jane - Persuasion

Barbour, Anne - A Man of Affairs
Barclay, Suzanne - Lions's Lady
Baricco, Alessandro - Silk
Barron, Stephanie - Jane and The Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
Beverley, Jo - An Arranged Marriage
Beverley, Jo - Hazard
Beverley, Jo - The Rogue's Return
Beverley, Jo - To Rescue a Rogue
Beverley, Jo - Lady Beware
Beverley, Jo - Lovers and Ladies
Beverley, Jo - A Ladies Secret
Bird, Sara - The Boyfriend School
Blair, Annette - Christmas Baby
Blake, Sarah - The Postmistress
Bogdan, D.L. - Secrets of the Tudor Court
Bourne, Joanna - The Spymaster's Lady
Box, C.J. - Below Zero
Bower, Sarah - The Needle In The Blood
Brady, Kate - One Scream Away
Bridges, Kate - The Surgeon
Brinton, Sybil J. - Old Friends and New Fancies
Brockway, Connie - As You Desire
Brontë, Anne - Agnes Grey
Bronte, Charlotte - Jane Eyre
Brooks, Caroline - A Sea Change
Brooks, Caroline - Regency Rose
Brown, Dan - Deception Point
Brown, Diana - St Martin's Summer
Brown, Diana - The Emerald Necklace
Brown, Diana - The Sandalwood Fan
Brown, Diana - Come Be My Love
Brown, Kate Lord - The Perfume Garden
Brown, Sandra - Ricochet
Buck, Gayle - Demon Rake
Buckley, Fiona - To Shield The Queen
Bujold, Lois McMaster - The Sharing Knife, The Beguilement
Bujold, Lois McMaster - The Sharing Knife, Legacy
Burrowes, Grace - Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight
Butler, Nancy - Prospero's Daughter
Byrd, Sandra - The Secret Keeper

Cach, Lisa - The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid
Campisi, Mary - Paradise Found
Campisi, Mary - Innocent Betrayal
Carlyle, Liz - A Woman Scorned
Carlyle, Liz - Never Lie to a Lady
Carlyle, Liz - Never Deceive a Duke
Carlyle, Liz - Never Romance a Rake
Carlyle, Liz - Tempted All Night
Carroll, Susan - The Bride Finder
Carroll Susan - Winterbourne
Castle, Jayne - Zinnia
Chase, Loretta - Not Quite A Lady
Chase, Loretta - Your Scandalous Ways
Chesney, Marion - Snobbery With Violence
Chesney, Marion - Hasty Death
Chesney, Marion - Sick of Shadows
Chevalier, Tracy - Girl With a Pearl Earring
Chevalier, Tracy - The Lady and The Unicorn
Chevalier, Tracy - Remarkable Creatures
Clark, Norma Lee - The Marriage Mart
Clement, Blaize - Curiosity Killed The Cat Sitter - Dixie Hemingway 1
Clement, Blaize - Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund - Dixie Hemingway 2
Coben, Harlan - Just One Look
Cody, Denée - The Conquered Heart
Collins, Kate - Mum's The Word
Collins, Kate - Acts of Violets
Collins, Wilkie - The Woman in White
Connolly, Lynne Yorkshire
Connolly, Lynne - Devonshire
Connolly, Lynne - Last Chance, My Love
Connolly, Lynne - A Chance to Dream
Connolly, Lynne - Met By Chance
Coulter, Catherine - Lord of Raven's Peak
Cree, Ann Elizabeth - Lord Rotham's Wager
Crusie, Jennifer - Welcome to Temptation
Crusie, Jennifer - Strange Bedpersons
Cunliffe, Corinna - Play of Hearts
Curtis, Sharon and Tom - The Testimony

Dacus, Kaye - Ransome's Honor
Darcy, Clare - Victoire
Davidson, Diane Mott - Catering to Nobody
Davidson, Diane Mott - Dying For Chocolate
Davidson, Diane Mott - The Cereal Murders
Davidson, Diane Mott - The Last Suppers
Davis, Lindsey - The Silver Pigs
Dean, Anna - Bellfield Hall
Dean, Dinah - The Cockermouth Mail
Deaver, Jeffery - The Bone Collector
Deaver, Jeffery - The Coffin Dancer
Deaver, Jeffery - The Empty Chair
Delors, Catherine - Mistress of The Revolution
Delors, Catherine - For The King
Devon, Georgina - The Rogue's Seduction
Diamant, Anita - The Red Tent
Dickens, Charles - A Christmas Carol
Dodd, Christina - Almost Like Being in Love
Dodd, Christina - Close To You
Doherty, Paul - The Cup of Ghosts
Doherty, Paul - The Poison Maiden
Donati, Sara - Into The Wilderness
Donnelly, Jennifer - The Tea Rose
Donnelly, Jennifer - The Winter Rose
Donnelly, Shannon - Under The Kissing Bough
Donoghue, Emma - Slammerkin
Donovan, Susan - Take A Chance On Me
Drake, Nick - Tutankhamun
Dunant, Sarah - The Birth of Venus
Du Maurier, Daphne - Hungry Hill
Dunn, Carola - Mistletoe and Murder
Dunn, Suzannah - The Sixth Wife

Elbling, Peter - The Food Taster
Ellyson, Lynne - The Green Bronze Mirror
English, Elizabeth - The Linnet
Etzioni-Halevy, Eva - The Triumph of Deborah
Evanovich, Janet - Three To Get Deadly
Evanovich, Janet - Four to Score
Ewing, Jean R. - Folly's Reward

Fairchild, Elisabeth - Marriage à La Mode
Fairchild, Elisabeth - Miss Dornton's Hero
Farr, Diane - Fair Game
Farr, Diane - Once Upon a Christmas
Farrell, Marjorie - Red, Red Rose
Fforde, Jasper - The Eyre Affair
Fitzgerald, Ellen - An Unwelcome Alliance
Fitzgerald, Ellen - Lessons In Love
Fitzgeral, Ellen - Lord Caliban
Fluke, Joanne - Blueberry Muffin Murder
Fluke, Joanne - Lemon Meringue Pie Murder
Fluke, Joanne - Fudge Cupcake Murder
Fluke, Joanne - Sugar Cookie Murder
Fluke, Joanne - Peach Cobbler's Murder
Fluke, Joanne - Cherry Cheesecake Murder
Fluke, Joanne - Carrot Cake Murder
Fluke, Joanne - Key Lime Pie Murder
Follett, Ken - The Pillars of The Earth
Frazer, Margaret - The Novice's Tale
Frazer, Margaret - The Servant's Tale

Gabaldon, Diana - Voyager
Galenorn, Yasmine - Ghost of A Chance
Galland, Nicole - The Fool's Tale
Garvey, Amy - Murder In The Hamptons
Gaskell, Elizabeth - Cranford
Gaskell, Elizabeth - North and South
Gaskell, Elizabeth - Mary Barton
Gaston, Diane - A Reputable Rake
Gaston, Diane - The Vanishing Viscountess
Gibson, Rachel - Daisy's Back In Town
Gibson, Rachel - I'm In No Mood For Love
Gibson, Rachel - Tangled Up In You
Gibson, Rachel - Sex, Lies and Online Dating
Gifford, Blythe - The Harlot's Daughter
Gifford, Blythe - The Knave and The Maiden
Girard, Paula Tanner - A Father For Christmas
Givens, Robin - On a Highland Shore
Glass, Leslie - The Silent Bride April Woo 7
Gracie, Anne - The Perfect Waltz
Graeme-Evans, Posie - The Innocent
Grange, Amanda - Captain's Wentworth's Diary
Grange, Amanda - Mr Darcy's Diary
Graves, Jane - Tall Tales and Wedding Veils
Gray, Vanessa - The Lost Legacy
Grayson, Elizabeth - Moon In The Water
Gregory, Philippa - The Other Boleyn Girl
Gregson, Julia - East of the Sun

Hale, Shannon - Austenland
Hamilton, Lyn - The Xibalba Murders
Hannah, Kristin - Distant Shores
Hannon, Patrice - Dear Jane Austen
Harbaugh, Karen - Devil's Bargain
Harper, Karen - The First Princess of Wales
Harper, Karen - The Stone Forest
Harper, Karen - The Poyson Garden
Harrington, Alexis - The Irish Bride
Harrison, Cora - My Lady Judge
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - The Founding
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - The Dark Rose
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - The Princeling
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - The Oak Apple
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - The Black Pearl
Healey, Judith Koll - The Canterbury Papers
Heath, Lorraine - Texas Glory
Heath, Lorraine - Texas Splendor
Heath, Lorraine - Never Love a Cowboy
Heath, Lorraine - Passions of a Wicked Earl #1
Heath, Lorraine - Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman #2
Heath, Lorraine - Waking Up With The Duke #3
Heath, Sandra - My Lady Domino
Heath, Sandra - Second Thoughts
Heath, Sandra - Lavender Blue
Heath, Sandra - Makeshift Marriage
Heath, Sandra - Matter of Duty
Heath, Sandra - The Second Lady Southvale
Heath, Sandra - A Christmas Courtship
Heath, Sandra - Mistletoe Mischief
Heath, Sandra - Mannerby's Lady
Heath, Sandra - Mally
Hendrickson, Emily - Hidden Inheritance
Hern, Candice - Her Scandalous Affair
Hern, Candice - In The Thrill of The Night
Hern, Candice - Just One of Those Flings
Hern, Candice - Lady Be Bad
Hern, Candice - An Affair of Honor
Hern, Candice - Miss Lacey's Last Fling
Hierro, Maria Pilar Queralt del Hierro - Inês de Castro
Higginbotham, Susan - Hugh and Bess
Hoag, Tami - Dark Paradise
Hoag, Tami - Cry Wolf
Hocker, Karla - A Christmas Charade
Hoh, Diane - Titanic The Long Night
Hooper, Kay - Stealing Shadows - Bishop/CSI Unit 1
Hooper, Kay - Hiding in the Shadows - Bishop/CSI Unit 2
Hooper, Kay - Out Of The Shadows - Bishop / CSI Unit 3
Hooper, Kay - Touching Evil - Bishop / CSI Unit 4
Hooper, Kay - Whisper of Evil - Bishop / CSI Unit 5
Hooper, Kay - Sense of Evil - Bishop / CSU 6
Hooper, Kay - Hunting Fear
Hooper, Kay - Chill of Fear
Hooper, Kay - Sleeping With Fear
Howard, Linda - All The Queen's Men
Howard, Linda - Cry No More
Howard, Linda - To Die For
Hoyt, Elizabeth - The Raven Prince
Huntington, Kate - Mistletoe Mayhem
Huntington, Kate - A Rogue For Christmas

Ivie, Jackie - Lady of The Knight
Ingram, Grace - Red Adam's Lady

Jackson, Lisa - Temptress
Jakeman, Jane - Let There Be Blood - Lord Ambrose 1
Jakeman, Jane - The Egyptian Coffin - Lord Ambrose 2
James, Samantha - A Perfect Groom
James, Syrie - The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
Jeffries, Julia - The Chadwick Ring
Jerrott, Michelle - All Night Long
Jordan, Nicole - Moonwitch
Joyce, Brenda - A Dangerous Love
Joyce, Brenda - The Perfect Bride
Joyce, Brenda - An Impossible Attraction

Kearsley, Susanna - The Shadowy Horses
Kendall, Paul Murray - The Yorkist Age
Kerstan, Lynn - Lord Dragoner's Wife
Kerstan, Lynn - Celia's Grand Passion
Kerstan, Lynn - Lucy in Disguise
Kerstan, Lynn - The Golden Leopard
Keys, Elizabeth - The Darling
Kidd, Sue Monk - Secret Life of The Bees
Kihlstrom, April - The Soldier's Bride
Kimberly, Alice - The Ghost and MrsMcClure
King, Susan - The Stone Maiden
Kingsley, Katherine - A Natural Attachment
Kinsella, Sophie - The Undomestic Goddess
Kluger, Richard - The Sheriff of Nottingham
Knight, Choly - Sew Kaway
Koen, Karleen - Dark Angels
Kostova, Elizabeth - The Historian
Kurland, Lynn - This Is All I Ask

Index of Reads - L to Z

Lange, Emma - A Certain Reputation
Lange, Emma - A Second Match
Lange, Emma - The False Fiancée
Lange, Emma - The Irish Rake
Lathan, Sharon - Mr and Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy
Laurie, Victoria - Abby Cooper - Psychic Eye
Laurie, Victoria, Better Read Than Dead
Laurie, Victoria - A Vision of Murder
Laurie, Victoria - Crime Seen
Laurie, Victoria - What's A Ghoul to Do?
Lawrence, Ann - Do You Believe?
Lawrence, Margaret - Hearts and Bones
Layton, Edith - A Bride For His Convenience
Layton, Edith - False Angel
Layton, Edith - The Game of Love
Layton, Edith - Love In Disguise
Layton, Edith - Surrender to Love
Layton, Edith - The Cad
Layton, Edith - A Love For All Seasons
Layton, Edith - The Abandoned Bride
Lee, Linda Francis - Suddenly Sexy
Lehmann, Yvone - Hearts That Survive, a novel of the Titanic
Leiknes, Elizabeth - The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns
Lerner, Rose - In For a Penny
Linden, Caroline - What a Woman Needs
Linden, Caroline - What a Gentleman Wants
Llywellyn, Morgan - Strongbow, the story of Richard and Aoife
London, Julia - The Dangerous Gentleman
London, Julia - The Secret Lover
London, Julia - Highlander In Disguise Lockart series 2
London, Laura - Moonlight Mist
Lortz, Rosanne E. - I Serve, a novel of the Black Prince
Lowell, Elizabeth - The Color of Death

Mack, Dorothy - An Unconventional Courtship
MacLean, Julianne - To Marry The Duke
MacLean, Julianne - Love According to Lily
MacLean, Julianne - Surrender to A Scoundrel
MacLean, Julianna - An Affair Most Wicked
Malcolm, Anthea - An Improper Proposal
Mansfield, Elizabeth - A Christmas Kiss / Winter Wonderland
Mansfield, Elizabeth - A Grand Deception
March, Hannah - The Complaint of the Dove
Matthews, Laura - A Prudent Match
Matthews, Laura - The Nomad Harp
Matthews, Laura - Lord Clayborne's Fancy
McCall, Mary Reed - The Crimson Lady
McCourt, Frank - Angela's Ashes
McKenna, Shannon - Behind Closed Doors
McKenna, Shannon - Standing In The Shadows
McKenna, Shannon - Return To Me
McKinney, Meagan - Moonlight Becomes Her
McRae, Melinda - The Defiant Miss Foster & A Highly Respectable Widow
Medeiros, Teresa - The Vampire Who Loved Me
Merrill, Christine - The Inconvenient Duchess
Metzger, Barbara - Father Christmas
Miller, Kristin - One Night to Remember
Miller, Lucasta - The Brönte Myth
Mills, Anita - Lady of Fire
Mills, Anita - Devil's Match
Mills, Anita - Fire and Steel
Mills, Anita - Hearts of Fire
Mills, Anita - The Fire and The Fury
Mills, Anita - Winter Roses
Mills, Anita - Secret Nights
Mills, Anita - The Duke's Double
Mirren, Helen - In The Frame, My Life in Words and Pictures
Morgan, Alexis - Dark Protector
Morgan, Alexis - Dark Defender
Morgan, Kathleen - Child of The Mist
Morgan, Jude - An Accomplished Woman
Morsi, Pamela - Simple Jess
Mullany, Janet - Dedication

Nattress, Laurel Anne - Jane Austen Made Me Do It
Neggers, Carla - The Harbor
Nelson, Judith - The Merry Chase
Newark, Elizabeth - Jane Eyre's Daughter
Newark, Elizabeth - The Darcy's Give a Ball
Newman, Sharan - Death Comes As Epiphany
Norton, Cristina - O Segredo da Bastarda
Novak, Brenda - Dead Silence
Novak, Brenda - Dead Giveaway
Novak, Brenda - Dead Right

Orczy, Baroness Emmuska - The Scarlet Pimpernel

Parks, Julia - A Gift For a Rogue
Paul, Paula - Symptons of Death
Penman, Sharon Kay - The Sunne In Splendour
Penman, Sharon Kay - The Queen's Man
Penny, Louise - Still Life
Perkins, Diane - The Marriage Bargain
Peters, Elizabeth - The Mummy Case
Peters, Elizabeth - Borrower of The Night
Phillips, Susan Elizabeth - Natural Born Charmer
Picoult, Jodi - Perfect Match
Picoult, Jodi - Plain Truth
Plaidy, Jean - Uneasy Lies The Head
Plaidy, Jean - The Reluctant Queen
Potter, Alexandra - Me & Mr Darcy
Proctor, Candice - Midnight Confessions
Pullman, Philip - The Ruby In The Smoke
Putney, Mary Jo - The Bartered Bride

Quick, Amanda - The Perfect Poison
Quinn, Julia - The Duke and I
Quinn, Julia - The Viscount Who Loved Me
Quinn, Julia - An Offer From a Gentleman
Quinn, Julia - Romancing Mr Bridgerton
Quinn, Julia - Just Like Heaven

Ranney, Karen - After The Kiss
Reichs, Kathy - Deja Dead
Reichs, Kathy - Death Du Jour
Reichs, Kathy - Deadly Decisions
Reichs, Kathy - Grave Secrets
Reynolds, Abigail - A Pemberley Medley
Richenda, Anna - The Saint and The Fasting Girl
Riley, Judith Merkle - A Vision of Light
Robards, Karen - Tiger's Eye
Robards, Karen - The Last Victim
Roberts, Nora - Born in Fire
Roberts, Nora - Midnight Bayou
Roberts, Nora - Naked In Death
Roberts, Nora - Born In Death
Roberts, Nora - Key of Light
Roberts, Nora - Key of Knowledge
Roberts, Nora - Key of Valour
Robilant, Andrea di - The Venetian Affair
Robinson, Suzanne - Lady Gallant
Robinson, Suzanne - Lady Defiant
Robinson, Suzanne - Lady Valiant
Robson, Lucia St Clair - Ride The Wind
Rose, Julie K. - Oleanna
Rosenthal, Pam - The Slightest Provocation
Ross, Julia - The Wicked Lover
Rowling, J.K. - Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone
Rowling, J.K. - Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

Salgari, Emilio - Il Leone de Damasco
Salgari, Emilio - Capitan Tempesta
Sandom, C. J. - Dissolution
Santos, Jose Rodrigues dos - Codex 632
Savery, Jeanne - A Christmas Treasure
Sayers, Dorothy L. - Whose Body?
Schilling, Vivian - Quietus
Schwab, Sandra - The Lily Brand
Scottoline, Lisa - Killer Smile
SeBastian, Margaret - The Honorable Miss Clarendon
Sefton, Maggie - Knit One, Kill Two
Seierstad, Asne - The Bookseller of Kabul
Seton, Anya - Green Darkness
Seton, Anya - My Theodosia
Shaffer, Mary Anne & Annie Barrows - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Piel Society
Shay, Kathryn - Because It's Christmas
Shayne, Maggie - The Gingerbread Man
Shields, Jody - The Crimson Portrait
Shinn, Sharon - Summers At Castle Auburn
Simonson, Sheila - Lady Elizabeth's Comet
Sinclair, Linnea - Games of Command
Smith, Alexandre McCall - The Nº 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Smith, April - Good Morning Killer
Smith, Joan - Imprudent Lady
Snyder, Maria V. - Poison Study
Solomon, Annie - Dead Ringer
Spencer, LaVyrle - Sweet Memories
Spencer , Mary - The Coming Home Place
Stewart, Martha - Handmade Holiday Crafts
Styles, Michelle - The Christmas Wedding Wager
Summerscale, Kate - The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
Sutcliffe, Katherine - Obsession
Sutcliffe, Katherine - Bad Moon Rising

Tannahill, Reay - The Seventh Son
Thomas, Jodi - The Texans Wager
Thomas, Jodi - When a Texan Gambles
Thomas Sherry - Private Arrangements
Thomas, Sherry - Beguiling The Beauty
Thomas, Sherry - Ravishing The Heiress
Thomas, Sherry - Tempting The Bride
Thompson, Flora - Lark Rise to Candleford
Thornton. Rosy - More Than Love Letters
Thornton, Rosy - The Tapestry of Love
Trigiani, Adriana - Queen of The Big Time
Trigiani, Adriana - Lucia, Lucia

Unsworth, Barry - The Stone Virgin

Vaughan, Elizabeth - Warprize
Vaughan, Elizabeth - Warsworn
Vaughan, Elizabeth - Warlord
Veryan, Patricia - Love Alters Not
Viehl, Lynn - Private Demon
Viehl, Lynn - Dark Need
Viehl, Lynn - Night Lost
Viehl, Lynn - Evermore
Vreeland, Susan - The Passion of Artemisia

Walsh, Sheila - Highly Respectable Marriage
Walsh, Sheila - The Arrogant Lord Alistair
Ware, Ciji - Island of The Swans
Ward, JR - Dark Lover
Ward, JR - Lover Eternal
Ward, JR - Lover Awakened
Weir, Alison - The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Weir, Theresa - Cool Shade
Weisberger, Lauren - The Devil Wears Prada
Weldon, Fay - Letters to Alice
Westerson, Jeri - Veil of Lies
Westhaven, Margaret - Four In Hand
White, Judith K. - The Seventh Etching
Wiggs, Susan - The Lily and The Leopard
Wiggs, Susan -  Lord of The Night
Wilkinson, Lisa Marie - Fire at Midnight
Willis, Connie - Miracle and Other Christmas Stories
Wilson, C.L. - Lord of The Fading Lands
Wilson, C.L. - Lady of Light and Shadows
Wilson, C.L. - King of Sword and Sky
Wilson, C. L. - Queen of Song and Souls
Wilson, Gayle & Stuart, Anne - Night and Day
Wind, Ruth - In The Midnight Rain
Winspear, Jacqueline - Maisie Dobbs
Winspear, Jacqueline - Birds of a Feather
Winspear, Jacqueline - Pardonable Lies
Woodward, Rhonda - The Wagered Heart
Wolf, Joan - A Difficult Truce
Wolf, Joan - A Double Deception
Wolf, Joan - A Kind of Honor
Wolf, Joan - A London Season
Wolf, Joan - His Lordship's Mistress
Wolf, Joan - No Dark Place
Wolf, Joan - The Poisoned Serpent
Wolf, Joan - The Arrangement
Wolf, Joan - The Deception
Wolf, Joan - The Guardian
Woolfolk Cross, Donna - Pope Joan
Worth, Sandra - Lady of The Roses
Wylie, Jayel - A Falcon's Heart

Yonge, Charlotte Mary - The Little Duke

Zimler, Richard - Hunting Midnight

Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye - Victoria Laurie

My love of cozy mysteries has no end. Most of the books I read are actually very good (or I’ve been very lucky) and I just finished another good one today. One of the books in this series was set to be discussed at one of my groups and my friend Leya was so nice she sent me a copy of this one I couldn’t find anywhere.


In the Royal Oak suburb of Detroit, thirtysomething Abby Cooper lives a life that’s kind of like vanilla ice cream—good enough, but a little bland. Her work as a P.I—psychic intuitive—can be rewarding, but she feels like somehow she’s missing out on the hot fudge topping…
Now she’s getting what she wished for—as one of her clients turns up dead and the clues start pointing in Abby’s direction. She just knows too many details about the murder for her own good. To make matters worse, the hot blind date she just met turns out to be the lead investigator on the case. And gorgeous Detective Dutch Rivers is convinced she’s a fraud.
No matter how great her psychic abilities are, Abby isn’t completely sure she can solve this case. Unfortunately for her, though, the killer’s pretty convinced…

A Psychic intuitive is someone that receives information about the people she meets or just comes across. After years of trying to ignore her gift Abby Cooper decides to start a practice by giving psychic advance. She is quite successful being booked with several months in advance. I liked the down to earth approach to psychic abilities, how Abby’s reads always involved quite a bit of humour and how she didn’t read the same person more than twice a year so they wouldn’t decide their whole life’s based on her reads.

She’s having some trouble finding her Prince Charming so she decides to join an internet dating service where she meets Dutch. She feels the date went really well so when he doesn’t call her back she thinks she must have scared him by showing off her abilities and telling him that the case of a missing 4 year old that has been talked on the news is actually a murder case and the mother is to blame.

Although generally a nice person she can be cold and a bit rough on occasion especially if people ask for more reads than the 2 a year, 1 every 6 months, she thinks is right. This happens with one of her clients who is found murdered and Abby feels a bit responsible because maybe she could have given her some answers that could have prevented the murder.

In the mean time Dutch reveals himself to be a cop and although a bit suspicious at first ends up believing in Abby psychic talents and actually asks her for information on her client’s murder. Abby is a bit too bold when it comes to investigating, always believing she will be warned of there’s any danger, which unfortunately is not always so…

The book is more about Abby’s powers and her relationship with Dutch than it is about giving clues to solve the murder mystery. The killer is a surprise because there’s a lot of information only given in the end. However Laurie’s humour and characterization of Abby’s talents and way of life really convinced me I have to look for the others in this series.

Grade: B+

To Marry The Duke – Julianne MacLean

Another book that has been on my TBR pile for quite a while. I heard good things about Julianne MacLean but when I received the books there were others I wanted to read and that’s how they were almost forgotten for a while.

My dear sister Clara,

London society is so much more complicated than I could ever have known! Every night is a different ball or assembly, and a different swirl of glittering jewels and rustling gowns. Though I fear I am making social blunders left and right I am having some measure of success in my (or rather, Mother's) objective. Mother is beside herself with glee at the attentions I have been receiving from a few gentlemen she finds supremely suitable as husband material.

But my dearest sister, it is so hard for me to even look at any gentleman but a certain duke, who, if I may confess, makes my heart beat so that I fear it can be seen across a ballroom. He is James Langdon, the Duke of Wentworth, and though I may sound dramatic, he makes me feel as no man ever has before.

But I must push these feelings away. I sometimes hear whispers about his dark past, and he is quietly called the Dangerous Duke. Oh Clara! I am secretly overjoyed that he may love me, and at the same time terrified of his attentions. I have waited so long for my true love, and now I must resist him to protect my heart.

If only I knew how to proceed…Your devoted sister,
Sophia

I was really surprised with how much I liked it. It was a simple story about an American heiress come to London to find a husband and the Duke that she ends up marrying. Sophia is a sensible and level headed young woman that despite her fortune still expects to marry for love. James is seldom seen in society and doesn’t plan to marry to escape the tragic destiny of his father and grandfather whose violent tempers made their families miserable. He does however change his mind when after being introduced to Sophia at a ball he finds himself attracted to her and discovers how much she is worth.

Sophia doesn’t realize that love is not what is making him chase her but the fact that he believes she will make a good duchess and her dowry will help him with the much needed repairs in his estate. At least that’s what he tells himself.

So these 2 people end up marrying with very different expectations of what their marriage is going to be. After the honeymoon James decides to stay away from Sophia to make sure he is not being controlled by his passions but instead that he controls them. Sophia is also dealing with her very difficult mother-in-law who challenges every decision she makes and does not understand James’s change towards her. When she confronts him she realizes that her marriage is not exactly what she was believing it to be. I did like how MacLean pictured that scene without unnecessary drama or excessive coldness.

Although with her illusions shattered Sophia decides to make the best of her situation and behave like the duchess everyone expects her to be. As she shows a more contained and formal behaviour James starts coming around and showing a warmer side of his character. I thought it was perfectly believable how he felt scared of his own feelings after a blissful honeymoon and how when the pressure lightened up he felt like he could trust Sophia and actually love her without being in danger of being like his father.

The story also includes old family secrets and blackmail which Sophia and James will have to face together and solve before they are allowed to live happily ever after.

I really enjoyed MacLean’s writing style and how nicely she wrote this story. I find I also really enjoyed this period when American heiresses arrived in London to obtain titles and in exchange replenish the British nobility’s empty coffers so it’s a good thing that this is the first book of the American Heiresses trilogy.

Grade: B+