I'm off to the Beach

I'll be back next week!

The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad

For more than twenty years, Sultan Khan has defied the authorities, whether communist or Taliban, to supply books to the people of Kabul. He has been arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned, and has watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. Yet he has persisted in his passion for books, shedding light in one of the world's darkest places. This is the intimate portrait of a man of principle and of his family - two wives, five children, and many relatives sharing a small four-room apartment in this war-ravaged city. As they endure the extraordinary trials and tensions of Afghanistan's upheavals, they also still try to live ordinary lives, with work, relaxation, shopping, cooking, marriages, rivalries, and shared joys. Most of all, this is an intimate portrait of family life under Islam. Even after the Taliban's collapse, the women in Khan's family must submit to arranged marriages, polygamous husbands, and crippling limitations on their ability to travel, learn, and communicate with others. Seierstad lived with Khan's family for months, experiencing first-hand Afghani life as few outsiders have seen it. Stepping back from the page, she allows the Khans to speak for themselves, giving us a genuinely gripping and moving portrait of a family, and of a country of great cultural riches and extreme contradictions.

I have somewhat ambivalent feelings towards this book. Although the title led me to believe I was going to read about a bookseller the truth is that very little if any part of the story is dedicated to that. Sultan Khan is a bookseller but he could have any other job that for the story it would be just the same.

Then I was interested in learning about a different culture and a different country but if things are just as Seierstad presents them with civil and human rights being denied even amongst family members I think this is a reality truly too difficult to contemplate. Women are nothing and are mostly treated as slaves or objects and even the men in the family have to obey blindly to the head of the family or break off with him and leave the house. The head of the family is Sultan Khan for whom I ended having a strong dislike. I can accept and understand different ways and a different culture but it seemed to me Sultan Khan was the only content person, everyone else disliked the situation they were in and how they were expected to live their lifes. I think she could have used a different perspective when telling the story, this way I ended up not knowing why certain traditions are important and I think they are presented in a less than favourable light.

The author mentions she spent 3 months with the family to write this book. I would have been interested in knowing how she dealt with such a different reality from what is certainly used to and how did the family, in particular the women, reacted to her what she certainly has told them about life in Europe. None of that appears in the book as the author totally removed herself of the story...

Grade: C

The Chadwick Ring - Julia Jeffries

It was no secret that Ginevra had a rival for her husband. All of London knew that Richard Glover, the Marquess of Chadwick, kept Amalie de Villeneuve as his mistress-and every rake in town smiled at the idea of a chit of a girl like Ginevra competing with the red-haired love goddess of the demi-monde. But Chadwick also had a rival. Bysshe, his own grown son, was head over heels in love with Ginevra-and passionately determined to free a stepmother young enough to be Bysshe's mate from a husband old enough to be not only his father but hers. When Amalie and Bysshe formed an alliance to smash once and for all the crumbling Chadwick marriage, the feuding couple had to decide if they should stop fighting each other-and start fighting for their lives together.

Another romance with a very young heroine. Although I have nothing against that and in fact have enjoyed some stories with this plot I don't think this one worked all that well. Mainly because it mixed it with a big misunderstanding and for the first half of the book Chadwick was not a very sympathetic character. Not only that but Ginevra had first been promised to his older son, who died, than she marries him and his younger son falls in love with her. It was a bit too much family connections for my taste.

I like the older heroes I read about to be sensible people, who can guide and protect their heroine when need be and love her as well. Chadwick unfortunately doesn't really live to those expectations, getting mad at Ginevra instead of explaining her what's to be expected. Things do get better but in the end I liked Ginevra and all her naiveté more than I did Chadwick.

Grade: 3.5/5

News From Other Blogs!

There's a book giveaway at Historical Tapestry. Leave a comment or do a guest post and enter to win some Georgette Heyer books.


Anne Stuart is being interviewed at Isn't It Romantic?. Since she is one of my favourite authors I couldn't help stopping there to see what are her plans for future books.

The Devil's Bargain - Karen Harbaugh

THE ENDANGERED INNOCENT . . .
Lovely Eveline Seton knew that she could never be a proper match for Lord Richard Clairmond. The devastatingly handsome blueblood would never dream of taking a merchant's daughter as a wife. Why then did he whisper words that made her heart beat faster? Why did he gaze at her with a heat that melted her to the core? Eveline feared her ardent suitor was hiding something.

THE IRRESISTIBLE RAKE . . .
Not for nothing did the Viscount Clairmond keep a list of ladyloves that testified to his supreme skill as a seducer. But it was not as a wife that this reckless gambler wanted Eveline. To be relieved of embarrassing debts and a certain future of pauperism, he had sold his soul-and Eveline's virtue-to Satan. And unless this extraordinarily persuasive young woman proved an equal match for him in the thrust and parry of his campaign of conquest, she most surely would become his all - too - willing victim. Or he hers . .

I've been in the mood lately for stories featuring nobility and the so called Cit's. The merchants and tradesmen who became rich enough to save a title from ruin.

That's why I picked this one to read and it didn't disappoint me in that, it had nice and interesting characters who behaved in a believable way. Especially Eveline who seemed a fairly level headed woman, not the one to go into hysterics but in fact to make the best of her situation and indeed believe in who seems to have betrayed her. I had more trouble believing Clairmond who lost his money in a foolish game, believes his neighbour is harassing his sister just because the devil tells him so and then proceeds to ruin Evangeline when he could just have married her and used her money.

My main problem was the "devilish" side of the plot. I prefer my historicals without paranormal or supernatural elements and have the Devil struck a bargain with the hero that he would ruin the heroine and in exchange win the money he badly needed to restore his estate was a bit too much for me.

I think the story would have been perfect without that, it had all the elements for a nice marriage of convenience story and at least for me it would have worked better.


Grade: 3.5/5

New Additions to the TBR Pile

Quite a few of them this week, right on time for my vacation ;-)

Anita Amirrezvani - The Blood of Flowers
Sarah Bower - The Needle In The Blood
Caroline Brooks - A Sea Change
Lois McMaster Bujold - The Sharing Knife
Nancy Butler - Propero's Daughter
Elizabeth Chadwick - The Falcon's of Montabard
Anne Elizabeth Cree - Lord Rotham's Wager
Philippa Gregory - The Queens Fool
Sandra Heath - My Lady Domino
Frank McCourt - Abgela's Ashes
Pascale Mercier - Night Train to Lisbon
Candice Proctor - Bequest
Jody Shields - The Crimson Portrait
Nalini Singh - Slave to Sensation
Elizabeth Vaughn - Warprize
Katherine Vaz - Mariana
Lauren Willig - The Secret Story of The Pink Carnation

Are You a Georgette Heyer Fan?

Over at Historical Tapestry we are having a Georgette Heyer Season. There will be reviews, general posts, and a giveaway (the details of which will be up later).

If you are a Georgette Heyer fan, and would like to participate or just read along, please head over to Historical Tapestry for more details. We would love to get some guest posts from you!

A Second Match - Emma Lange

The Attractive Opposites . . .
The last thing the stunningly beautiful young widow Gwendolyn Tarrant wanted was a new man in her life. Her brief marriage had shown her how chafing wedlock could be. And her betrayal by a worldly London rake had taught her more than she wanted to know about men and their lies.

The last thing the magnificently handsome Marquess of Warrick desired was another willing woman in his arms. This irresistible aristocrat was bored with his legion of easy conquests, and hungered for a challenge to his jaded senses.

In Gwendolyn Tarrant . . .
The Marquess found this prey perfect.

In Warrick . . .
Gwen found the kind of predator she despised. Thus the contest was on -- between a strong-willed beauty who vowed to be neither wife nor mistress and a practiced seducer who knew everything about a woman except how to take NO for an answer . . .

A plot very similar to A Certain Reputation with the main characters fighting the attraction for most of the book till something happens to make him distrust her and mistreat her. I thought they were better balanced here as the heroine seems stronger and it's the hero that finding out the truth goes back to her to apologise and propose.

I really enjoy Lange's writing style but especially in the books where we have strong, sensible and well defined characters. She does emotions very well from the first half of the book when Warwick is pursuing Gwendolyn till the confrontation scene when he doesn't believe her and finally when he goes to meet her and her family in the end.


Grade: B

Beau Crusoe - Carla Kelly

Shipwrecked!

Stranded alone on a desert island, he had lived to tell the tale. A triumphant return to the ton saw James Trevenen hailed as Beau Crusoe--a gentleman of spirit, verve and action. But only he knew the true cost of his survival! Scandalous!

Susannah Park had been shunned by Society. She lived content with her calm existence--until Beau Crusoe determinedly cut up her peace! The beautiful widow wanted to help him heal the wounds of the past--but what secrets was this glorious man hiding?

This was my second book by Carla Kelly. My first one was The Wedding Journey. I found that the two are similar because they both deal with very different subjects from what we are used to in regencies. The Wedding Journey approached the problems of the army during the Peninsular Wars and this one deals with surviving a trauma (a shipwreck and having to survive on a desert island).

In fact both the hero and the heroine have some problems to overcame. The heroine has run away to marry as so the whole family has been shunned by society and her sister hates her now that she is back home, a widow with a young son.

James Trevenen, or Beau Crusoe, meets Susannah Park when he is invited to stay at her parent's house by her grandfather when he arrives in London to receive an award. Susannah's grandfather wants to match make the two of them which he doesn't hide from Trevenen and that Trevenen tells Susannah. They immediately decide they will not fall in love during the two weeks they will spend together but in truth a bit of an attraction starts showing when the idea is planted.

At the same time Trevenen is busy changing the live of every other of Susannah's relatives. Her parents get closer, her sister falls for one of his acquaintances that she nurses to health. In fact this part of the story was quite light with Trevenen lying to everyone so he can do good deeds.

The story also has a serious side as Trevenen seems to be suffering from something like post-traumatic stress disorder in which he sees ghosts and has nightmares constantly. It will take Susannah's strength who finds out what really happened after the shipwreck and tries to heal him.

The story was really well written and the plot was really interesting and original. My only problem with it was that I felt the was some lack of magic, it wasn't as light and witty as the light moments promised and it wasn't as serious and complex as the serious parts demanded.

Grade: B

These Old Shades - Georgette Heyer

Under the reign of Louis XV, corruption and intrigue have been allowed to blossom in France, and Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon and proud of his soubriquet ‘Satanas’, flourishes as well. Then, from a dark Parisian back alley, he plucks Leon, a red-headed urchin with strangely familiar looks, just in time for his long over-due schemes of revenge on the Comte de St. Vire. Among the splendours of Versailles and the dignified mansions of England, Justin begins to unfold his sinister plans - until, that is, Leon becomes the ravishing beauty Leonie...

It's a compliment o Georgette Heyer that she can write a story with one of my personal pet peeves and make it work - this is a girl in pants story.

The story has a mystery, a romance, friendship, a villain or two and a case of stolen identity.

The Duke of Avon is an arrogant, cynical and jaded man. He constantly refers to himself has the devil thus showing how fond he is of his bad reputation. One day while strolling on the streets of Paris he finds a young "boy" running away from a beating and decides to protect him. "He" becomes Avon's page and totally devoted to his saviour who "he" believes to be a noble and good man no matter what Avon, and everyone else, says to deny it. It is soon apparent that there is a motive for Avon's actions other than the kindness of his heart. Leon, or Leonie, will be his instrument of revenge towards an old enemy.

I love how Heyer shows the relationship between the older, jaded aristocrat and the young naive girl. He is always in control of his actions and emotions, she is very impulsive and emotional. She is always very honest, sometimes too honest in her remarks and about her situation but Heyer makes it work wonderfully. Unlike other stories with girls disguised as boys Avon immediately sees that Leonie is a girl and let's her continue the ruse to keep appearances and till he can discover more about her. Once he does he puts her in his sisters care what Leonie sees as a loss of his favour. It's clear from early on that Leonie loves Avon and that he fights what he feels for her because he feels he is too old and unworthy.

Without giving much away of the plot Leonie will be put in danger by Avon's old enemy, The Comte de Saint Vire, and it will take several adventures to rescue her and uncover the truth of Leonie's past. In the mean time we get to know a few more members of Avon's family and have some insight on his past. I liked that it had action, witty and funny dialogues, a good plot and believable characters. Heyer does a good job with portraying the Georgian atmosphere and mannerisms (the book is set circa 1756) making it a very good read.


Grade: A


Posted also at Historical Tapestry

Romancing Mr Bridgerton - Julia Quinn

"On the sixth of April, in the year 1812 - precisely two days before her sixteenth birthday - Penelope Featherington fell in love. But Colin Bridgerton certainly didn't fall in love with her in 1812 (and not in 1813, 1814, 1815, or - oh blast, not in all the years 1816-1822, either, and certainly not in 1823, when he was out of the country the whole time, anyway." Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for...well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret...and fears she doesn't know him at all. Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought nothing but an emptyheaded charmer, tired of everyone's preoccupation with the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him in the first paragraph. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroard he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same - especially Penelope Featherington! The girl haunting his dreams. But when he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide...is she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?

My favourite Quinn book along with The Viscount Who Loved. And it's my favourite because I really enjoy Penelope Featherington. From book one she has always seemed like a nice girl victim of her mother's lack of fashion sense and of not having a conventional beauty. She seemed more a girl next door type. I rather liked her even before getting to know her better like I did in this book.

Here she shows us that she is also an intelligent, warm and witty young lady. She also shows that to Colin Bridgerton who finally realises what he has been missing. This is also the book where the secret behind Lady Whistledown's identity is revealed. Even the odious Cressida Cowper pretends to be the notorious gossip and I was very happy when she was unmasked. I really disliked her since book 2 when Anthony gave her the cut direct.

Penelope and Colin are perfect for one another, have interests in common and we end the story with the certainty that they will have a happy marriage. It's seldom that I read about such a well matched couple.

Grade: B

I couldn't help noticing a small detail. In chapter 1 there's a mention of a novel by S.R. Fielding. S.R. Fielding is the pen name of Sara, the heroine of Lisa Kleypas' Dreaming of You:

Chapter 1
"Is he?" Penelope asked, managing to feign (in her opinion) rather realistic indifference. Of course, she did set A Brief History of Greece down behind Mathilda, the novel by S. R. Fielding that had been all the rage a year earlier. Everyone had a copy of Mathilda on their bed stand. And it was thick enough to hide A Brief History of Greece.

Not Quite A Lady - Loretta Chase

IRRESISTIBLE FORCE
Darius Carsington is a spectacularly handsome rake with a rare intelligence and no heart, a man who divides his time between bedding loose-moraled women and writing scholarly papers. He finds society's “perfect darlings”....exceedingly boring. But there’s something intriguing, and not quite perfect, about faultless Lady Charlotte Hayward. He senses a crack under her polished surface, and finding it is a temptation he can’t resist.

IMMOVABLE OBJECT
Lady Charlotte is so beautiful, charming, and gracious that no one has noticed what an expert she is at Not Getting Married. Early on, she learned a painful lesson about trust....and temptation. In the years since, she’s devoted her life to all she ought to be--and she’s not about to let a man like Carsington entice her to do everything she shouldn’t.

A SPLENDID COLLISION
But the laws of attraction can easily overpower the rules of manners and morals, and sometimes even the best -behaved girl has to follow her instincts, even if it means risking it all.

It's been a while since I read a Loretta Chase book and I didn't even read the previous one in this series, in fact I think I only read the first one, Miss Wonderful. However that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all.

I really liked Charlotte and Darius, they were nice and interesting people. Not exactly perfect but trying what to do what they think is the right thing. Darius wants to make the estate he is responsible for profitable and Charlotte is very tactfully trying not to get married as she feels her past doesn't allow her to be someone's wife. The problem is, they feel very attracted to each other from the minute they meet.

Charlotte's problem is that she gave birth to an illegitimate child when she was sixteen, she child was taken from her to be raised by a childless couple and it's been a well kept secret but she knows that if she would marry she would have to explain it to her husband on her weeding night.

Oblivious to this her well meaning father keeps trying to find her a husband and decides to host a house party for several suitors, including Darius. At the same time Charlotte's stepmother decides she is going to help Darius with the redecoration of the estate thus making them spend much more time together.

And then, one day, as they are overseeing the redecoration Charlotte sees a boy that she immediately feels could be her long lost son.

I really liked that Darius decides to help the boy even before knowing of his parentage. And then I enjoyed that Charlotte tells him the truth and Darius promises to help her getting her son back. What I found odd was that for what it seemed a long time Charlotte believed the boy to be her son but never looked for him or tried to talk to him. It was almost as she was afraid to find out the truth and although that might be believable in a way I couldn't believe a sensitive woman like her wouldn't rush to be sure and welcome the child.

The situation wasn't that easy to solve as the child had lost his adopted parent and was now being an apprentice with one of the working men. This means there was a contract between them which must be made void or his apprenticeship bought.

At the same time one of Charlotte's suitors, having found out the truth tries to blackmailer with that knowledge. Fortunately she doesn't give in, the child is safe and we have our happy ending with Charlotte deciding to marry Darius and raise her child openly.

I have some doubts that the child could be easily acknowledged but I did enjoy the characters so much that it didn't prevent me from enjoying the story.

Grade: B

Blog Award

My blog colleague over at Historical Tapestry Marg gave me a BFF (Blog Friend Forever) Award and I was very touched.



Now in the spirit of passing along the Award to people I consider my friends I choose 2 other blog colleagues and a blogger friend:
A. and A. and Ro

The Conqueror - Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer is better known for her regency novels. However she did write some medievals including this biography of William, The Conqueror.

Base-born son of Richard, Duke of Normandy, William the Bastard had to fight for his crumbling heritage, then to subjugate in battle his feudal lord, the King of France.

Spurned in love he horse-whipped the lovely Princess Matilda, then made her his bride.

Thwarted by the Saxon Earl Harold of a solemn promise of the throne of England, he sailed with his armies to a moment of destiny at Hastings.
A complex character, William had to fight for his life and his rights from early on. Born the bastard son of the Duke of Normandy it was by pure strength of will that he became one of the most powerful and respected men of his time.

The book is very detailed and follows William's life pretty closely, from battle to battle till her reaches the English crown thus giving us a rich and complex view of the day's politics and interests. To better show her views Heyer uses the character of Raoul, one of William's knights, who is fiercely loyal to him and is even entrusted with negotiating William's wedding to Matilda of Flanders (after a pretty unusual courtship).

William succeeded to his father very early in life. The Duke Robert had made his men swear his son would be his heir before going on pilgrimage and when news of his death arrived William was 8. Not willing to stand by their oath the Barons started fighting amongst themselves and tried to use the child as a pawn for their interests. Many of his guardians and presumably friends were killed trying to protect him.

At fifteen he was knighted and he was ready and determined to fight for his inheritance. Known as William the bastard he became ruthless in his pursuit of what he believed was rightfully his, first the Duchy of Normandy and then the kingdom of England.

We never get the feeling that we do know William very well, he always seems a bit cold emotionally, but she is great at describing the battle scenes and showing the charisma that made him a leader of men.

It doesn't really seem fair to compare this book to Heyer's other works as it's very different in tone and in subject matter. There's very little romance in this story unlike her other books. Although William and Matilda seem to have been happy in their marriage the books doesn't focus much on their relationship. I really enjoyed this story and I must confess that it made me want to go and look for her other medievals.

Grade: B


Posted also at Historical Tapestry

New Additions to the TBR pile

It's mostly regencies and medievals this week...

Mary Balogh - The Last Waltz
Jean R. Ewing - Folly's Reward
Julia Jeffries - The Chadwick Ring
Roberta Gellis - Masques of Gold
Roberta Gellis - Shimmering Splendor
Philippa Gregory - The Queen's Fool
Karen Harbaugh - The Devil's Bargain
Carla Kelly - Mrs McVinnie's London Season
Susan Wiggs - The Lily and The Leopard

The Irish Rake - Emma Lange

Miss Gillian Edwards was barely more than a schoolgirl, and certainly as innocent as one - but she knew how shockingly evil the Marquess of Clare was. He did not even try to hide a history of illicit loves that ran the gamut from London ‘lightskirts' to highborn ladies. Nor did he conceal his scorn for marriage and morality and his devotion to the pleasures of the flesh.

Thus Gillian was forewarned and should have been forearmed when she found herself face-to-face with this man whose dazzling good looks were clearly lascivious lures. All she had to do was remind herself that she was engaged to wed the wealthy, handsome, and aristocratic Lord Lionel Rockingham, the ideal partner for a perfect marriage.

All she had to do was say no to the maddeningly mocking Marquess, who would never stoop to seduce an unwilling woman. But strangely enough, what Gillian did was something else . . .

I did enjoy this story but not as much as A Certain Reputation, the first I've read by this author. I did have more trouble relating to and liking the hero and the heroine and that must be a part of my problem.

The heroine is very young and at first it seems her attraction to the hero is a bit of hero worship more than a real emotion as she doesn't know him all that well. As they start to see more of each other, she has an accident and has to spend some time in his house, I could see how he started feeling attracted to her but really couldn't understand what kept her attracted to him other than him being described as a rake with a charming attitude towards the ladies.

The end is marked by a big misunderstanding that if the heroine hadn't been the young and impulsive girl she was could have been avoided with an honest conversation between them. As it was I enjoyed at least the fact that since she was the one jumping to conclusions it was also her that went looking for him to apologise.

Grade: 4/5

The Novice's Tale - Margaret Frazer

>TO THE PRIORY A LADY CAME FOR MISCHIEF... AND FOR MURDER

It is the year of Our Lord's grace 1431, and the nuns of England's St. Frideswide sweetly chant their Paternosters behind gracious, trellised walls. But their quiet lives are shattered by the unwelcome visit of the hard-drinking, blaspheming dowager Lady Ermentrude, with her retinue of lusty maids and men, baying hounds, and even a pet monkey in tow. The lady demands wine, a feast, and a her niece, the frail and saintly novice Thomasine.

What she gets is her own strange and sudden death.

Sister Frevisse, hosteler of the priory and amateur sleuth, fears murder. The most likely suspect is a pious Thomasine... but Frevisse alone detects a clever web spun to entangle an innocent nun in the most unholy of passions - and the deadliest of deeds.


I've heard so much about this series that I couldn't resist reading this one when it arrived. I really like medieval stories and it's been a while since I read a medieval mystery. This one is part of the Sister Frevisse series. Sister Frevisse is a sleuthing nun from St. Frideswide convent.

As the story begins they receive the visit of Lady Ermentrude, a demanding woman who likes to feast and drink and whose great niece Thomasine is preparing to take her vows. Soon after arriving Lady Ermentrude leaves on a visit to Thomasine's sister Isobel and her husband and returns the next day wanting to get Thomasine out of the priory. She presents a very loud and erratic behaviour seemingly at first that she is drunk but soon it becomes apparent that she is terribly sick and she soon dies.

Almost immediately the word is out that poison was what really killed her and it seems Thomasine is the one with the biggest motive as she didn't want to leave the priory. Unwilling to believe Thomasine is guilty Sister Frevisse has to think fast before Lady Ermentrude's son manages to take the novice to be tried.

I particularly liked how the plot was written. There are several clues along the way and I suspected who the killer might be in the second half of the story but the why eluded me till the end. Although the story is entirely set in the priory the day's political events are mentioned as Frevisse receives the visit of her uncle Thomas Chaucer (Geoffrey Chaucer's son) who is a very well connected character. I also enjoyed Frevisse's vision of the world, a bit more worldly then some of her sister's and what we are usually used to and Domina Edith, the prioress and Dame Claire who takes care of the medical part.

A nice and cosy story without loose ends and with the detective explaining everything in the end (in a way it reminded me of Agatha Christie's Poirot).

Grade: B


Posted also at Historical Tapestry

The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid - Lisa Cach

Strapped for cash after an unsuccessful search for her dream job in architecture, Emma Mayson takes a less-than glamorous position as a maid for a wealthy entrepreneur. The bright spot? Her new employer, Russell Carrick, is the picture of male perfection—his mere presence sends Emma reeling. But he’s also a total workaholic who has lost his zest for living. Or did he just misplace it? Emma sets aside her feather duster and her inhibitions to find out. Soon a transitory house-cleaning gig becomes a cushy role of well-paid mistress, as Emma rekindles her employer’s passion with a fantasy world of boundless pleasure. But then the unthinkable happens: She falls for Russell. Having already fulfilled his primal desires, can she make him see her as more than a plaything?

This was a fun and light read. The plot is based on a huge misunderstanding and how things evolve from there. Unwilling to have Emma clean his house Russell offers her a house to stay and money if she'll cook for him. She believes he wants to have sex with him (which she had mentioned earlier has her dream job) and accepts.

Although one has to suspend one's disbelief I thought this could be the beginning of a comedy of errors with some funny moments. However a big part of it is about the sex they have which although important for the action led to skim those scenes. I wanted more witty dialogue. Not bad - it was still light and funny - just not particularly remarkable.

Grade: B-

And Only To Deceive - Tasha Alexander

When I read the back cover of this book I was immediately interested. There's something very appealing and romantic about getting to know someone by his letters and personal papers. Unfortunately for Lady Ashton her husband is already dead when she starts to get to know him that way.

For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly. His journals reveal him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new image of her dead husband and she immerses herself in all things ancient and begins to study Greek.

Emily's intellectual pursuits and her desire to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband's favourite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artefacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve the crime, her search leads to more surprises about Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated

I found this one a very enjoyable story. I liked to know how Emily starts to admire her husband and is curious enough about his personal hobbies to start making inquiries, read the Iliad and studying ancient Greek. I particularly enjoyed the part about the British Museum and the gentlemen interest with classic sculpture that seemed to lead to multiple copies of the objects in exhibition. One strong point was how Alexander starts all chapters with an entry of Phillip's diary. It made it all the more poignant.

However this interest and the fact that she finds many original pieces in her country house lead her to believe Phillip may have been involved in illegal activities of exchanging the original pieces in the museum for copies. She decides to investigate further and develops a personal interest in the art.

At the same time Emily, a young and now very rich widow, learns to enjoy the freedom she now has and her behaviour sometimes shocks her mother whose biggest ambition seems to be for her daughter to get married again. Emily has one suitor almost from the beginning - Andrew Palmer - and also develops a friendship with the man who was her husband's best friend - Colin Hargreaves. They will both influence her in different ways. She also has strong female friendships with whom she will attempt some rebellious gestures, like drinking port with gentleman after dinner.

I liked the Victorian world portrayed here and the mix between mystery, historical fiction and romance.

Grade: B


Posted also at Historical Tapestry

The Harlot's Daughter - Blythe Gifford

Betrothed to a man she must betray.
She is the illegitimate daughter of a dead king, trying to regain a place at court.
He is the powerful lord determined to stop her.
And around every corner lurks treason that could threaten them both.

A medieval and another new to me author, I heard good things about it and decided to give it a try. The author mentions how the idea for this story came from King Edward III and Alice Perrer's daughters of which little is known.

Joan, better known as Lady Solay, comes to court in search of a position or a rich husband. She is the illegitimate daughter of the last king and after he died her mother took her and her sister away from court and lost everything she possessed except the house they have been living in.

There she meets Lord Lamont, a man of law and close to the parliament that is trying to limit the king's power. Solay attracts the attention of the king with her hobby of reading the stars and he ends up devising a marriage between her and Justin Lamont. She would marry a rich man and in turn she would spy on him for the king.

There are several important issues at stake in the story. Whether the king's divine power should or not be above the law of men. What to do when the law and your personal interests are different things. Solay is wary of everyone around her, she knows she is not much liked and is in secret called the harlot's daughter. Although she doesn't want to spy on anyone she knows she has to follow the king's wishes in order to gain her reward and save her mother and sister from poverty. Lamont is ruled only by the law, he is very attracted to Solay but his mission is the more important thing and he distrusts her. Eventually they'll have to trust each other, confide in each and learn about what's truly important.

I did enjoy the story, it seemed more real and plausible than most medievals. It dealt with real characters with understandable motivations and with divided interests or loyalties. I thought that was a refreshing change from the usual plots and I'm already looking for more books by this author.

Grade: B

Slammerkin - Emma Donoghue

I was first attracted to this book by the blurb I read at Amazon and the fact that it was based on real events.

Born to rough cloth in working-class London in 1748, Mary Saunders hungers for linen and lace. Her lust for a shiny red ribbon leads her to a life of prostitution at a young age, where she encounters a freedom unknown to virtuous young women. But a dangerous misstep sends her fleeing to Monmouth and the refuge of the middle-class household of Mrs. Jones, to become the seamstress her mother always expected her to be and to live the ordinary life of an ordinary girl. Although Mary becomes a close confidante of Mrs. Jones, her desire for a better life leads her back to prostitution. She remains true only to the three rules she learned on the streets of London: Never give up your liberty; Clothes make the woman; Clothes are the greatest lie ever told. In the end, it is clothes, their splendor and their deception, that lead Mary to disaster.

Now after I finished it I can see that little is know about the real Mary Saunders and that Donoghue created a powerful story from the barest of facts. She has knack for describing Victorian London at it's worst and I even found the first half of the book difficult to read as Mary does not have an easy time of it. Mostly ignored by her mother after her father died and she remarried Mary goes to school and yearns for a better life. That wish will make her admire the well dressed whore she sees on her way to school and makes her want to have a beautiful red ribbon. After a fight with her mother she goes out upset to by the ribbon and finds herself raped by the ribbon seller. Unable to tell her mother she tries to hide and forget her misery till an anonymous letter announces her pregnancy and she is thrown out by her mother.

Without a place to go she is abused by soldiers and finally saved by the whore she admired and led to a life of prostitution. Seemingly unconscious of the price she is paying and of how her actions may affect her future life Mary finds she can earn easy money and finally aspire to a better life. She learns But life on the streets of London is not easy and she decides to reform. After some time at a charity hospital she feels imprisoned and decides to go back to the village where her parents came from. There she finds a life with some normalcy as she becomes the servant of the Jones family and after a while even finds her true vocation as a seamstress. She plans to save money and better herself when a conversation with her master shows her that a servant will always be a servant, her love story with a boy also employed in the same home also makes her realise that she can never lead the normal life of having children and creating a family. Desperate to have some money and return to London Mary once again becomes a prostitute while still living and working for the Jones. Her desperation grows and when Mrs Jones takes a drastic action a tragedy occurs.

I must say that I really liked Mary, she was not always polite or nice but she was honest about what she wanted and about how to get it. She could have stolen the money or things to sell but instead she worked the only way she knew to make a quick profit, being a whore. The better things she aspired to were represented by the clothes she carried with her, because clothes make the woman.

In the end I was left feeling life had been rather unfair for poor Mary. She never had much and in the end even what little she had was taken from her. I was left wondering if in that period of so many society rules and with a strong system of classes if one could possible raise from what they were born into and find a better place. It was a fascinating read albeit not an easy one. Donoghue takes us to the dark side of society and there's no happy ending in sight. A compelling story!

Grade: B


Posted also at Historical Tapestry

New Additions to the TBR pile

Quite a few more again including a HP book. I'm going to try the Harry Potter books in english after having read a couple in portuguese.
Karen Harper - The Poyson Garden
Georgette Heyer - Black Sheep
Georgette Heyer - Venetia
Georgette Heyer - Frederica
Georgette Heyer - Friday's Child
Theresa Nichols - Sunburst Citadel
J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone
Asne Seierstad - The Bookseller of Kabul
Sue Townsend - The Queen and I

What Jane Austen Gentleman Is For You?

What Jane Austen gentleman is for you?

Mr. Ferrars. Sense and Sensibility's Edward Ferrars is soft spoken, but he is firm in his decisions and will always make good on his promises, even if he's changed his mind. His good nature might lead him into the wrong situations sometimes, but he's not as naive as you might think.
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Oops on the Austen heroine's quiz I took a while back I was supposedly Marianne. This means I stole my sister's beau! Shocking!

A Certain Reputation - Emma Lange

And another new to me author to end this week of traditional regency reading. I'm happy to say it was a good read and I hope to read a few more of her books in the future.

She was no better than she should be, according to the Duke of Buckingham's uncle. She had somehow tricked the Duke's ne'er-do-well cousin into marriage under havey-cavey circumstances and now refused to hand over her son to his grandfather's custody after her husband's death. Still, she certainly would be no match for the powers of persuasion of one of the most handsome lords of the realm.

Anne de Montforte is not at all what Trevelyan de Montforte expects her to be. Her valiant defence of her deceased husband and determined refusal to give up her son touches something in his heart, even as he embarks on a well-planned seduction to prove her an unfit guardian. And now the duke finds himself caught in his own trap as he unexpectedly falls in love with the lady instead.

When Trev meets Anne she is receiving money from a cousin so assumes she is the courtesan his uncle believes him to be. He fails to convince her to let her son be educated by his grandfather but she accepts an invitation to visit his estate with her children as he tells her that's part of the world they should be living in. I quite liked that despite Trev believing the worst when he gets to know Anne better and spend time with her is sufficient open minded to see that she can't be as bad as he thought. Not only that but she is also a wonderful mother to Nell and Alex. Lange is very good at showing how their relationship develops, how they get to know each other better and they start to have feelings for each other. Anne is strong heroine who holds her own against Trev when he tries to be offensive and overbearing. The secrets of Anne's past are revealed slowly when Anne starts to feel she can trust Trev.

However she left one detail left unsaid that when Trev finds out leads him to a towering rage and to say some very harsh things to Anne. in this part is my only complaint of the story. For such a strong heroine I think Anne have had the chance to answer back and confront him regarding some of things he said. Instead when they are reunited again is because Alex has gone missing and there's never a chance for Trev to actually grovel and ask forgiveness as they end up joining forces to find him and the revelation of the truth comes about in a rather low key scene. I think it needed a stronger ending.

Grade: B

A Double Deception - Joan Wolf

I've read some books by Joan Wolf and on the whole I enjoyed the regencies more than the european historicals so when the opportunity arised to read one more I didn't hesitate.

After one terrible marriage, Laura Dalwood had sworn never to be duped again. But how could she refuse the proposal of handsome Mark Cheney? What could she do when, as his bride, she discovered how much she could love a man . . . and how much she could fear him?

A Double Deception seemed to have the ideal plot for me. A marriage of convenience story where both the hero and the heroine had troubled pasts with unhappy marriages. I actually did like the idea and how Wolf developed it. It starts with their first marriages and then jumps forward in time. Mark is a widower with a son and departs for the sea leaving the boy in the care of his nurse. Laura is a widow but without children and through her godmother she goes to live and raise Mark's son. When Mark returns they spend a few days in the same house without a chaperone and therefore marriage is the best solution to stop the gossips. Not only do they have to get to know each other as Laura has to face the rumours that Mark murdered his first wife and when a series of accidents start to happen those rumours start again.

It becomes obvious that there's a secret regarding Mark's first marriage and his wife's death. A also that someone is trying to hurt Laura to put the blame on Mark. This could have been interesting if the villain had been a bit stronger and if there had been a confrontation between them. Instead we are told what really happened and who was behind the accidents but there's no sense of closure. Another weak point is that we are told from the back blurb that Laura feared her first husband but it seems he ignored more than mistreated her. I would have liked more background on her because she was such a sensible and nice girl.

Grade B-