The Black Sheep - Georgette Heyer

We recently had a Georgette Heyer Season at Historical Tapestry and I really enjoyed reading some of her books. One of those was The Black Sheep.

Abigail Wendover, on the shelf at 28, is kept busy when her niece falls head over heels in love with a handsome fortune hunter and Abbie is forced into a confrontation with his scandalous uncle.

Miles Calverleigh is the black sheep of his family- enormously rich from a long sojourn in India, disconcertingly blunt and brash. But he turns out to be Abbie's most important ally in keeping her niece out of trouble.

But how can he possibly be considered eligible when she has worked so hard to rebuff his own nephew's suit for her niece? And how can she possibly detach from an ailing sister who needs her? This is a heroine who has to be, literally, swept off her feet . . .

I found it a very enjoyable and interesting read. The characters are all very well defined - Abby who is on the shelf but deep down wouldn't mind falling in love, her sister always complaining from this or that health problem to have everyone's attention, her niece who is suffering from a youthful infatuation for a gentleman she is the only one to believe is not after her money and the Miles Calverley, the black sheep of his family, newly returned from India and really not interested in following society's rules.

I think she made the characters come alive and Miles and Abby's dialogues are just funny, interesting and sometimes insightful on human bahaviour. Despite his schocking honesty and outrageous behaviour and style Abby is very attrated to Miles from the beginning. She does fight that attraction because she has to take care of her niece and be a companion to her sister, not to mention the past history between the two families. It goes to the point that Miles has to become a man of action and take matters in his own hands. Delightful reading really!

Grade: B+

New Additions to the TBR pile

A few more this week... I really should stop mooching so many...

Marion Chesney - Snobery With Violence
Tracy Chevalier - Girl With a Pearl Earring
Jennifer Donnelly - The Winter Rose
Edith Layton - The Myserious Heir
Jan Karon - At Home In Mitford
Katherine Kingsley - A Natural Attachment

TOP 50 BOOKS OF ALL TIME

A found another list and I like this one better. At least I have a lot more books read here!

Books read are in blue
Books in the TBR pile are in red.


1. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

2. Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S Lewis

4. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

5. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

6. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

7. Animal Farm - George Orwell

8. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling

10. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

11. The Time Travellers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

12. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

13. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kasey

14. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

15. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

16. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

17. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

18. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night -time - Mark Haddon

19. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

20. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

21. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

22. Sons and Lovers - DH Lawrence

23. Anna Kareninia - Leo Tolstoy only read half of it...

24. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

25. Emma - Jane Austen

26. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

27. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger

28. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

29. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

30. A Passage to India - E.M Forster

31. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

32. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres

33. Atonement - Ian McEwan

34. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

35. In Search of Lost Time - Marcel Proust

36. Middlemarch - George Eliot

37. White Teeth - Zadie Smith

38. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

39. It - Stephen King

40. Little Women - Louisa M. Alcott

41. Vanity Fair - William Thackeray

42. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

43. The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans

44. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

45. Moby Dick - Herman Melville

46. Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

47. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

48. Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

49. Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome

50. The Island - Victoria Hislop


Any recommendations from this one? ;-)

The other A also mentioned this other list and I'll have to look at it more closely...

Folly's Reward - Jean R. Ewing

Miss Prudence Drake, sensible Scottish governess, is appalled to find a handsome stranger washed up on the beach-especially when she must flee to England to escape a child's wicked guardian. The silver-tongued rogue claims to have lost his identity, but he hasn't lost his charm. Is he a careless rake, a French spy, or someone quite different? When this nameless aristocrat helps her escape-pursued by dangerous enemies-Prudence will face a perilous adventure in more ways than one. Can she trust a dark-haired stranger not to claim her innocent heart?

I thought this was an original story although in the beginning it may seem full of clichés: hero with amnesia, little boy on the run from evil guardian. In the end not all is what it seems and I thought the ending was quite surprising. Maybe not good enough to make me want to run and get all the others by the author but certainly a pleasant read. The book is part of a series but only at the end do recurring characters appear and it can be read as a stand alone.

Grade: C+

The Top 100 New Classics

Marg started it and then A. and A. did it too and now it's my turn!


Books read are in blue
Books in the TBR pile are in red

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004

Hmm it seems I have a lot of catching up to do...

Lord Clayborne's Fancy - Laura Matthews

Rebecca was the woman he had waited for: beautiful — with a fresh, open countenance; innocent, but intelligent, agreeable, but independent. And so they were married.

Suddenly he decided that her beauty was only skin-deep, her innocence was illusion, and her independence was really wilful disregard of his feelings. And, bewildered Rebecca must use all her beauty, intelligence and independence to overcome what she could not understand!

Another traditional regency and another emotional story. It seems to me those older books deal with darker issues than the more recent European historicals, not every book does of course but it seems I've been finding tortured and interesting people more in those old books than in the new ones.

This one presents a husband who believes his wife is not a virgin on her wedding night and thus insults her and behaves badly towards wanting her to confess to something that is not true. The wife is naturally very upset with how she is treated after her wedding night but since regency misses go to their weddings totally ignorant it takes her a while to see what the problem is.

He is very insulting towards her and I think she showed more serenity in dealing with him than what the situation granted. Has they proceed to get to know each other better Clayborne keeps wishing she would confess her bad behaviour so he could forgive her and Rebecca keeps wishing he would believe her. It is obvious that despite their ill feelings towards each other they are still attracted to one another. But Clayborne's attitude eventually leads Rebecca to want to go away and I thought Matthews presented this part of the story in a very believable way.

My major problem with how she wraps up the story is that I would have preferred that Clayborne would finally believe Rebecca because he gets to know her a better and believes she wouldn't cheat on him instead of being because there's an alternative explanation... Rebecca does forgive him a bit too easily in the end.

Grade: B

The Lily and The Leopard - Susan Wiggs

THE LILY
France in 1414 was a country at war, overrun within by marauding knights and besieged from without by an ambitious English king.

THE LEOPARD
England in 1414 was ruled by King Henry V, a driven monarch who was determined to regain his French lands, even if it meant war.

THE LILY AND THE LEOPARD
Lianna of France was mistress of a great castle in Normandy. Rand of England was King Henry's most fearless and trusted warrior. They were fated to meet in a sunny forest glade, just as their countries were fated to meet on the battlefield of Agincourt. Their turbulent yet triumphant love story symbolized the clash of two mighty nations. With them, the lily and the leopard could be united, finally, under one banner.

I have greatly enjoyed Susan Wigg's 19th century trilogy and so I couldn't resist trying this medieval by her and see if it was any good. I was pleasantly surprised with the time frame and setting - the eve of the battle of Agincourt - and also the theme of guns and gunpowder.

The hero is sent by king Henry of England to wed a french heiress and hold her castle and lands for the english. Determined to thwart their plans Lianna, the heroine, marries another man. To secure her lands she gives in to the attraction for a lowly knight, as her husband doesn't want to make her pregnant, hoping to have an heir soon. But that lowly knight is in truth her enmglish enemy and she soon finds herself a widow and forced to marry him.

I really liked the hero, Rand, a true gentleman he is not afraid to declare his love for Lianna and before he knows she is his bride is often plagued by guilt for loving a woman while pledged to another. Once he discovers the truth he is ever faithfull to his feelings and does everything in his power to keep Lianna happy.

Lianna was a very different character, she feels betrayed by Rand and can't accept the fact that he is english and pledged to the english king. I was a bit impatient with her then because she had fallen in love with him and now seemed to forget he was still the same man. No that every difference should have miraculously disappeared but they could have at least talked about them. And she stays like that for most of the book. Even after they declare a truce and are able to be happy she keeps thinking she will make him choose between her and his king. I was extremely annoyed when further in the story she makes some decisions under threat without telling him thus leading to disatrous situations.

Other than the heroine the rest was really good and Rand was a perfect hero really, patient, understanding, loving... perfect really!

Grade: B-

The First Princess of Wales - Karen Harper

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book from the author. I've been very curious about the Fair Maid of Kent after reading bits about her in other books and was quite happy to find a book where she is the main character.

The daughter of a disgraced earl, she matched wits with a prince.

It is the fourteenth century, the height of the Medieval Age, and at the court of King Edward III of England, chivalry is loudly praised while treachery runs rampant. When the lovely and high-spirited Joan of Kent is sent to this politically charged court, she is woefully unprepared for the underhanded maneuverings of her peers.

Determined to increase the breadth of his rule, the king will use any means necessary to gain control of France—including manipulating his own son, Edward, Prince of Wales. Joan plots to become involved with the prince to scandalize the royal family, for she has learned they engineered her father's downfall and death. But what begins as a calculated strategy soon—to Joan's surprise—grows into love. When Joan learns that Edward returns her feelings, she is soon fighting her own, for how can she love the man that ruined her family? And, if she does, what will be the cost?

It tells the story of Joan, starting as a young girl preparing to go to court, till her marriage to Edward, the Black Prince at 33 and covering her two previous marriages.

I found this Joan an interesting character even if a bit too lively at times, too self assured for someone so young. As soon as she reaches Kind Edward II's court she becomes a favourite with Princess Isabella and Queen Philippa and she immediately catches the eye of Edward, The Black Prince. Joan's mother tells her on her deathbed that the king is responsible for the death of her father and Joan decides then and there that she will have her revenge.

Despite that her attraction to the Prince grows and soon they are being noticed by others which leads the Queen to arrange a marriage for Joan. First she is betrothed to Thomas Holland. As that doesn’t seems to stop her and the prince the Queen in desperation marries her to another man. That will make for an interesting tangle and the Pope must be consulted to decide to which of them is she really married. We follow Joan's marriage to Thomas Holland and exile in France and her subsequent reunion with Edward that leads to their marriage after her husband dies.

I did like reading the story but I have to confess that I regretted that some lack of historical detail to really make me feel like I was visiting the medieval world. I wanted to know more of Joan besides her attraction to Edward. I never thought Joan's first marriage to be of royal initiative but I'm sure things could have happened as described. The age of the characters also seems a bit off in the beginning but as they grow up it it's not noticeable anymore. It reads very well as a romantic story even if Edward is at times a bit too aggressive in his pursuit of Joan, there's a lot of melodrama going on with these two before they reach their happy ending.

New Additions to the TBR pile

Quite a few books once more...

Robert Alexander - The Kitchen Boy
Robert Alexander - Rasputine's Daughter
Alice Kimberly - The Ghost and Mrs McClure
Flora Thompson - Lark Rise to Candleford
Joan Wolf - His Lordship's Mistress
Joan Wolf - No Dark Place
Joan Wolf - The Poisoned Serpent
Joan Wolf - A Kind of Honor
Joan Wolf - A Difficult Truce
Joan Wolf - A London Season

The Summer Arrived

At last the summer arrived and the weather is fabulous today! Let's hope it doesn't change as we've been having really bad weather for this time of year. I'm feeling like going to the beach for a couple of hours! ;-)

Btw this is a photo of the beach I usually go to, S. Lourenço near Ericeira...doesn't it make you want to jump in the water?

What Your Feet Say About You

What Your Feet Say About You:

You are pretty average in your expressiveness. You can express yourself well, but you don't always want to. You are a somewhat passionate person. A few things get you very fired up, but you're usually pretty laid back. You are an assertive person at times. You'll pull out all the stops to get what you want, if it's worth it. You take a while to fall in love, but once you do, you stay pretty attached to your partner. You are not afraid of anything. You are brave and courageous, even when most people would be terrified. You are very practical and down to earth. You're more concerned with action than thoughts. You are a fairly hard worker, but you are also a little spoiled. You like indulge yourself every now and then. You are easily influenced by other people. You're quite impressionable, so you should only be around people who are a good influence.

What Do Your Feet Say About You?

I was quite astonished by these results, so many things learned just by describing your feet...

More 7 Wonders of the World

After having voted for the Wonders of The World and The 7 Wonders of Portugal we will now vote for the 7 Wonders of Portuguese Origin of the World . The results will be revealed on June 10th 2009.

21 monuments were selected from which the final 7 will emerge, and they are:

África
Etiopia Cidadela de Fasil Ghebi;
Gambia Ilha de James;
Ghana Fortes e Castelos em Volta, Greater Accra;
Marocco Cidade Portuguesa de Mazagão (El Jadida);
Mozambique Ilha de Moçambique;
Senegal Ilha de Goreia;
Tanzânia Ruínas de Kilwa e de Songo Mnara


South America
Argentina e Brazil Missões Jesuítas dos Guarani;
Brazil Centro Histórico de S. Salvador;
Brazil Centro Histórico de S. Luís;
Brazil Centro Histórico de Diamantina;
Brazil Centro Histórico de Goiás;
Brazil Centro Histórico de Olinda;
Brazil Centro Histórico de Ouro Preto;
Brazil Santuário do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos em Congonhas;
Paraguai Missões Jesuítas de Trinidad do Paraná e Jesus de Tavaranque;
Uruguai Bairro Histórico da Colónia de Sacramento;


Asia
Bahrein Sítio Arqueológico de Qal’at al-Bahrain;
China Centro Histórico de Macau;
Índia Igrejas e Conventos de Goa;
Sri Lanka Cidade Velha de Galle e suas Fortificações.


While it may seem the portuguese have been afflicted with a sudden desire of voting new wonders right and left there is no doubt that any of the monuments, ruins, historic centres mentioned above are well worth a visit and are rich memories of the past. I was sorry not to see Porto Seguro's historic centre mentioned because I've been there and quite liked it. After seeing this list I wish I could just pack and leave to visit some of them.

The names are in portuguese but the links will take you to sites in english.

Força Portugal!!!

The Founding - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Seeking power and prestige, grim, ambitious Yorkshireman Edward Morland arranges a marriage between his meek son Robert and spirited Eleanor, young ward of the influential Beaufort family. Eleanor is appalled at being forced to marry a mere ‘sheep farmer’; she is, besides, secretly in love with Richard, Duke of York. Yet in time this apparently ill-matched union becomes both passionate and tender, the foundation of the Morland ‘dynasty’, and sustains them through bloody civil war which so often divides families, sets neighbour against neighbour, and brings tragedy close to home.

I've heard so many times people rave about these books that I finally couldn't resist and bought the first one.

It is a superbly well written story, full of historical detail but I felt the people lacked a bit of charisma. The main character is a strong woman, so strong in fact that she comes across as cold and unfeeling at times. In a way I felt you could tell this is the beginning of a great saga which is reinforced by the fact that the main characters themselves mention they are starting a dynasty.

It begins with Eleanor's marriage to Robert Morland, a man she considers beneath her, and follows them through the birth of their many children, a rise in their fortunes, moving to a new house and entertaining illustrious guests as the Duke of York. Everything Eleanor Morland does is with the goal of strengthening the power and the fortune of the family and there are times in which she doesn't hesitate to sacrifice her children. Her devotion to York leads the family to be involved in the politics of the day and to suffer during the Wars of the Roses and the downfall of Richard III.

I was a bit afraid in the beginning of starting a series that already has 30 titles but after reading this one I'm sure they will provide an interesting outlook on english history and I can't wait to start the next one.

Grade: B

The Arrogant Lord Alistair - Sheila Walsh

Miss Charity Wynyate had little more than nerve on her side when she appeared at the doorstep of Ashbourne House. yet she demanded that the haughty Duke of Ashbourne recognize her little nephew and niece as his responsibility and stood up to his rude rebuff.

The duke, however, had a way to deal with her. He told his son, Lord Alistair Ashbourne, to handle this worrisome wench.

Lord Alistair was the most handsome rake in the realm. He had never met a woman he could not bend to his will - one way or another. But then again, he had never met a woman quite like Charity...

On I. recommendation I picked this one up and really enjoyed myself reading it. Lord Alistair and Charity meet when she takes her young nephew and niece to his father as they are his grandchildren (Charity's sister married Lord Alistair's brother).

The old duke doesn't want anything to do with them but ends up agreeing to raise them if Charity keeps away from them. Lord Alistair is in charge of taking them to where they will live. Alistair was nice hero who lived up to the title as he was downright arrogant. However he seems ready for a change in his life which starts to occur when he gets to know his nephew, Charity comes back to help the children and they start spending more time together. Doesn't curb his arrogant behaviour for a while but eventually he shows another side of him and by the end of the story a different man emerges.

Grade: B

Warlord - Elizabeth Vaughan

Lara of Xy and her Warlord, Keir of the Cat, have been through much together. Lara abandoned her lands and people for love of him.? She adopted his ways and learned of his tribe. Together they have faced plague and insurgency -- and despite these struggles, they have known happiness and joy.

Now they face their most arduous task: Keir must take Lara into the Heart of the Plains, and introduce her as the Warprize to the warrior-priests.? She must be tested--questioned, examined, watched--and must find favor with the warrior-priests and the tribe's elders before they will confirm her as a true Warprize.

But in Lara's heart there are doubts--for what if she is found wanting? Will Keir give up everything he knows to be with his Warprize?

Lara - the Warprize - is the main character of this book. She is separated from Keir learning that the Warprize must be courted by others so she can make an informed decision when choosing her mate. Lara and keir have already established their passionate relationship and although she bows to these new customs Lara remains determined to be with Keir.

To make it more difficult she soon realizes that both she and Keir have enemies who would like to see them fail in convincing the council that he should be the Warlord and she should be his Warprize and that their two cultures should be united. I liked how she approached the new reality she lives in and how she wants to learn more about the Warrior Priests while sharing her own knowledge when needed. She is offered the opportunity to return to Xy and give up Keir and her place as his Warprize but she refuses.

There's a lot of action and violence in the second half of the book as Keir has to defend his position as Warlord and not everyone seems ready for the changes that Lara brings. Although things are wrapped up in a believable way we do have to suffer before reaching closure. And I get the feeling that there is more to tell about them. When I closed the book I really wanted for Vaughan to have written a book about what happens next. Maybe some day she will...

Grade: A-

Warsworn - Elizabeth Vaughan

Lara is the Warprize

A powerful healer, she has sworn an oath of loyalty to Keir the Warlord, and his people. Now the Warlord and his chosen mate face enemies within the tribe and danger lurks on every hand as they journey toward Keir's homeland.

When they reach a village marked with the warnings of the plague, Keir forbids Lara to heal the sick, commanding that she not risk her own life. But both Lara and Kier are strong of will and neither will bend easily, even for love; and when Lara disobeys, she pays the price: both she and Kier are plague-struck... and so is their entire encampment.

In the midst of the dying, Iften, a rival warrior, gathers his followers and challenges Keir for the right to rule their tribe. If Keir, weakened by the sickness, loses -- he dies.

And so does Lara.

To save her love, her life, and her adopted people, Lara must find a cure for the plague -- and fully embrace her sworn role as Warprize to her Warlord.


Book 2 of the Warland Chronicles Warsworn continues exactly where Warprize left off. Lara decides to follow Keir and his army to the plains. On their journey they find a village closed to them, Lara discovers they are suffering from the plague and goes in to help them. She finds most of the villagers dead and on returning to Keir's camp the disease spreads among them.

Lara and Keir spend part of this book separated, that is not necessarily a bad thing but it seemed to me that too much time was spent on the disease and trying to find a cure. Lara ends up sacrificing friends and almost sacrificing herself for the sake of healing others. That didn't add much to Keir and Lara's relationship nor make them better know each other. In fact I liked Keir better than Lara in this book, he seems more honest about his feelings and more tender with her than the other way around.

There are a lot of secondary characters that we get to know better in this book and that don't have a happy ending. All of the above make this is a more emotional read than the first book, there's more death, heartache and war. In a way I felt this book was just something we had to read before getting to the final, better, part. It creates a series of conflicts and challenges that will have to be addressed later.

Grade: B

Here We Go Again...

New Additions to the TBR pile

Almost only traditional regencies this week:

Diana Brown - The Emerald Necklace
Ellen Fitzgerald - Lessons in Love
Ellen Fitzgerald - An Unwelcome Alliance
Sandra Heath - A Matter of Duty
Lynn Kerstan - Lord Dragoner's Wife
Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Natural Born Charmer
Sheila Walsh - The Sergeant Major's Daughter

Warprize - Elizabeth Vaughan

I always hesitate when I am offered fantasy books, it might be a bit of a prejudice because I end up loving many of those recommended to me. This one was no exception.

SHE MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN HER PEOPLE AND HER FREEDOM..Xylara is the Daughter of the Warrior King, Xyron. With her father dead and her incompetent half-brother on the throne, the kingdom is in danger of falling to the warring Firelanders. Before she was old enough for a marriage-of-alliance, Xylara was trained as a healer. She can't usurp her brother or negotiate a peace--but she can heal the brave ones injured in battle. But not only her countrymen are wounded, and Xylara's conscience won't let Firelander warriors die when she can do something to save them. She learns their language and their customs and tries to make them as comfortable as possible, despite their prisoner-of-war status. She never expects that these deeds, done in good faith, would lead to the handsome and mysterious Firelander Warlord demanding her in exchange for a cease-fire. Xylara knows must trade the life she has always known for the well-being of her people, and so she becomes..The Warprize.

The story had a definite medieval feel to it and I think one of the good things was how well Vaughan makes me believe in that world. Right from the beginning I was sucked into it and in the problems Xylara was facing. To save her countrymen her brother tells her she must become a slave to the conqueror, she accepts ready to face an unknown future but in fear of what is to come. I really enjoyed discovering with her the very different society of the Firelanders and how things were not exactly how she had been told. At times I found her a bit too good to be true, healing friends or enemies equally and immediately starting to give orders and organise things as soon as she arrives to her master's encampment.

It soon becomes obvious that Xylara is not the slave she believes to be and that Keir, her master, treats her with much consideration and is ready to give her time before consummating their union. I found Keir to be a wonderful hero. Kind and interesting, determined and a natural leader his goal is to unite the Firelanders and the Xyans (Xylara's people) hoping the cultural differences will benefit both and make them stronger. For that he claimed Lara has his Warprize, the woman with whom he will share his life, after having seen her helping his friends prisoners of the Xyans.

Much of the book is about Xylara and Keir getting to know each other better and Xylara discovering a new culture and a new society but there's also a mystery subplot about who is trying to harm Lara and destroy the hard won peace with will be derterminant to their future.

This is the first book in a trilogy and in fact I think the 3 books read like just one book divided in 3. If you start this one be sure to have the other 2 around because you will definitely want to continue.


Grade: A

Lord Rotham's Wager - Ann Elizabeth Cree

HIS BRIDE BY LOTTERY . . .
Lord Jack Rotham was not a betting man when it came to marriage. But when his great-uncle's will ordered Jack to marry, a bride by wager seemed the logical solution. And so Jack picked the winning wife out of a lottery. However, fate dealt him a cruel hand, for his new bride was the woman who'd left him broken-hearted to marry another man!

HER SECOND-CHANCE HUSBAND . . .
Claire Ellison had suffered a miserable marriage and didn't want to repeat the experience, particularly to a man who wasn't sure whether he hated her -- or loved her! But when a devious element threatened their new marriage, could Claire finally fight for the man she'd always loved...?

And another story about a second chance at love!
When Lord Rotham meets Claire again - at a ball where gentleman chose the lady by choosing her fans (I had never heard of this)- he decides he wont let her escape again. He had once proposed marriage only to be refused by her brother and learn that she was promptly married to another man. Now he decides he will court her again and convince her to marry him.

The premise was good but it seemed to me that there were too many misunderstandings keeping them apart that could have been easily explained if they had only talked to one another. Instead the problems and tension between them seems to go unresolved for too long. Besides I never really understood why her brother refused him in the first place, yes he had a bad reputation but he compromised her and he proposed. Wasn't that the right thing to do? And her friend who kept sabotaging his efforts and interfering was pretty annoying too.


Grade: B-

My Lady Domino - Sandra Heath

I really enjoyed this story by Sandra Heath about a second chance at love (yep I like those!).

Miss Adele Russell knew it was sheer folly to attend the Duke and Duchess of Bellingham's grand masquerade. A year ago, she would have been an honoured guest - before the disgrace and death of her father. Now she was a penniless shop girl, scorned by society and mocked by the memory of her broken engagement to the elegant and handsome Lord David Latimer.

But when by chance she found an invitation to the masquerade, the temptation was too great. What danger could there be in going masked to this dazzling affair? She soon found out. First, in the arms of a stranger as mysterious as he was attractive. And then, face to face with the same David Latimer who had broken her heart once and still had the power to do it again . . .

Adele lost everything, including her fiancé, when her father died in a fire leaving her penniless and in disgrace after some irregularities where discovered in his bank. She now lives with her former governess who manages a shop in Bath where Adele works. She is unable to accept that her father might have been more than the victim of two dangerous man and despite her resentment at how he left her she can't forget her feelings for David Latimer her former fiancé.

When the action starts she receives a visit from her father's former secretary, and one of the men responsible for his ruin, telling her not to interfere when the announcement of the new engagement of Latimer is announced, he is supposedly marrying the daughter of the other man involved in her father's death.

Revolted, Adele decides to have a taste of her former life and attend Lady Bellingham's ball. In disguise she snubs David and makes a conquest of another young gentleman. Although she still loves David she is unable to resist going to meet the young gentleman again and her identity is soon discovered by both the gentleman and Latimer.

In a way this story reminded me of Mary Balogh's earlier books, very emotional with intense scenes where the characters mistaken their feelings and remain at odds when they are clearly in love. Adele finds herself in a dangerous situation as the young gentleman proves himself to be a villain but Latimer rescues her and helps her find the evidence that her father was innocent and the other two men were responsible for stealing the money. They don't seem on the right path to happiness though and they need a little push from Latimer's mother who gets her son to think on what really happened five years ago.

Grade: 4.5/5

Crossing Fingers!

The Tea Rose - Jennifer Donnelly

I was lent this one by A. and I must say I have no idea why it took me so long to start it. I loved it!

East London, 1888 - a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night. Where shining hopes meet the darkest truths.

Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, a bright, defiant young woman dares to dream of a life beyond tumbledown wharves, gaslit alleys, and the grim and crumbling dwellings of the poor.

Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.

But Fiona's plans are shattered when the actions of a dark and brutal man force her to flee London for New York. There, her indomitable spirit – and the ghosts of her past – propel her rise from a modest West Side shop front to the top of Manhattan's tea trade.

Fiona's old ghosts do not rest quietly, however, and to silence them, she must venture back to the London of her childhood, where a deadly confrontation with her past becomes the key to her future.

The Tea Rose is a towering old-fashioned story, imbued with a modern sensibility, of a family's destruction, of murder and revenge, of love lost and won again, and of one determined woman's quest to survive and triumph.

Authentic and moving, The Tea Rose is an unforgettable novel – one certain to take its place beside such enduring epics as A Woman of Substance, The Thornbirds, and
The Shell Seekers.

I think one of my favourite things in the novel was how Connelly makes her story come alive, I can almost see the streets of London and New York, smell the fruit and vegetables at the market and shiver with anticipation while Jack the Ripper strolls the streets of Whitechapel.

Then I really enjoyed her detailed characters. The story's main characters are young Fiona Finnegan and her boyfriend Joe Bristow. We really feel we know Fiona and her family. We feel their joys and their sorrows. Fiona and Joe are saving money to start their own business but unfortunately things don't happen as they would like. Fiona's family is shattered by several tragedies amidst the union workers fight for better pay and unsolved murders of prostitutes in the neighbourhood. And Joe finds that a reckless action can change a life.

Separated by an ocean Fiona will raise from adversity proving herself to be a strong, determined and enterprising woman whose business skills will lead her to build and empire. But she doesn't forget the past and how she vowed to make the culprits of her family's misfortune pay nor the young man she loved so much. In the end they are both survivors!

There's an unexpected twist in the end in preparation for the next book and now I can't wait to get my hands on The Winter Rose.

Grade: A

Dia de Portugal

There really should be a holiday in the middle of every week! I feel so relaxed just lying on the couch with a good book...

The fact that it's Portugal's Day and the day of one of our most famous poets only makes it better.

The Surgeon - Kate Bridges

Inspired by a true incident... Alberta, 1889. Intending to play a harmless prank, a troop of Mountie officers order their stern commander, Chief Surgeon John Calloway, a mail-order bride. Sarah O'Neill travels two thousand miles across the continent only to discover the man she thought she was corresponding with and the new life she was looking forward to is all a hoax.´

Another marriage of convenience story this one starts with a mail order bride gone wrong. Meaning the mail order bride was contacted by the groom's friends and he doesn't know anything about her till she arrives at his doorstep. The town's gossips who prevent her from getting a job and settling down lead them to marry to save her reputation.

It was my first read by Kate Bridges and it was nice. It had an interesting set of characters, a bit of a mystery and a nice love story. I'm afraid I never really did warm up to the hero. She does mention he sees everything black and white in the beginning and then changes but to the change didn't really convince me. I wanted to follow him through the mental process of that change and not just be presented with the outcome.

The setting is really original and so was using the mounted police has characters.

Grade: B-

Lion's Lady - Suzanne Barclay

I had some fond memories of Suzanne Barclay's books I had read a few years ago and when I discovered this one at the bottom of the TBR pile I decided to give it a go.

A BROKEN PROMISE -- A BINDING VOW . . .

Rowena Gunn was ever ruled by these echoes from the past to protect her son and safeguard his future. But the past was now embracing her in the very present form of
Lion Sutherland, the Highland laird who alone could storm her defences and besiege her cloistered heart!

Though hailed as a braw warrior, Lion Sutherland was nearly undone when his bonnie Rowena wed another. But now the fates had reunited them, and he'd be damned if anything --- even the protests of the lady herself! -- would destroy their newfound chance at love!

I'm happy to say I found it a very enjoyable read. Rowena and Lion were first separated by a near tragedy. The difference in their status led Rowena to believe she had been abandoned by her lover. With a child on the way she accepted a marriage of convenience with a childless man.

When they meet a again a few years later the attracting is still there but Rowena is more worried with protecting her son's life and heritage from his evil uncle and has no time or inclination to dwell on the past and the lover she believes abandoned her.

I really liked that Lion kept pursuing her. Even thinking she had forsaken his love to marry another man he knows he still loves her and now that she is a widow he wants another chance. It's not often we have a hero so clear headed as this one, there's no misunderstandings, he knows what he wants and makes it clear. Rowena, however, is keeping the secret of her child's parentage and while what separated them in the past is not clarified she doesn't feel she can trust him. They do talk with each other and what keeps them apart for longer is the political situation they're in.

A really nice and sweet story with interesting and real characters with a good feel of Scotland's political situation and social organization as Lion and Rowena's son are both heirs to important clans.

Grade B

New Additions to the TBR pile

Not that many this week and mostly bookrings. At least with these the space on my shelves is only temporarily occupied:

Elizabeth Gaskell - Cranford and Mrs Harrison's Confessions
Nadine Gordimer - A Sport of Nature
Sue Monk Kidd - The Private Life of The Bees
Lucia St Clair Robson - Ride The Wind

Portugal! Portugal!

Wishing the best of luck to our national team in the Euro 2008!

Devonshire - Lynne Connolly

A wedding... or a funeral? Rose Golighty and Lord Richard Strang anticipate their long-awaited wedding. But dark whispers reach Richard's ears of smugglers threatening the county's peace. Events escalate until Rose's life is threatened. Richard knows he must act to save her and her friends from disaster. Even if his bride has to trade her wedding gown for widow's weeds.

Devonshire is the second book of the Richard and Rose series. We meet them again as they prepare for their wedding. However not all is well as in the village near where Rose lives some people are being attacked and there's rumour of a smugglers gang around. At the same time Rose has to face the competition of one other young lady for Richard's attention.

I did like the fact that we get to know Richard and Rose better. We get to know how deeply they feel for each other, how Richard is prepared to take revenge on people who hurt Rose in the past and how he has a sort of secret life organising a group of clever spies. That will come handy when he and Rose's friend Tom interferes with the smugglers operation which ends with Tom and Rose being kidnapped and held for guarantee of everyone's good behaviour while the smugglers wait for their last cargo.

The true villain of the story was a bit of a surprise and unlike other stories where the heroine always comes out safe Rose does have a hard time and is tortured by the villain. She feels dirty and ill used but she doesn't hesitate to tell the truth to Richard once they are safe. There's also not a clean ending, Richard is capable of violence when needed be and in fact when compared with the first book this one has a lot more of that.

I really enjoyed it and the small village atmosphere we have here, where all the neighbours know and gossip about each other. It was really fun to see Richard setting Miss Terry up for the fall while Rose felt so secure of his feelings.

Grade: B+

April Lady - Georgette Heyer

When Lord Cardross marries the young Lady Helen he also finds himself coping with her father's financial disasters and the pressing gambling debts of her scapegrace brother. Many escapades must be resolved before the much-tried Earl can smooth the course of true love in his own marriage.

April Lady is, like several Heyer novel, a comedy of errors.

Lady Cardross, recently married, is very much in love with her husband but tries to hide as her mother told her on the eve of the wedding that she was merely a convenience to Cardross and his sister mentioned to her he had a mistress thus making her even more sure of his lack of love for her. Lord Cardross is madly in love with his wife but fears she only married him because he is very rich and her family of gamesters was very much in need of funds.

When the story starts Helen (Nell) has incurred in a great deal of debt not only to help her brother but also with the dress makers. Seeing her worried Cardross tells her he will pay all the debts but she forgets to give him one and after promising him she will take better care of her purchases she doesn't have the courage to ask him to pay one more. She tries to find a way to have the money needed asking for her brother's help but she finds herself unable to look her husband in the eye for fear he will discover the debt. At the same time, finding her behaviour odd Cardross starts to believe she just married him so she can pay the family's debts and feels nothing for him.

Heyer always writes fun lines and vivid characters but although I enjoyed the book I think Nell needed to sparkle a bit more, say like Leonie in These Old Shades or Horatia in The Convenient Marriage. Two books where we have a younger heroine paired up with an older man but in which they steal the scenes they appear in. Cardross also seems to lack the condescending and sometimes sarcastic and self deprecating humour those heroes had.

There are quite a few adventures involving Cardross's sister and her beloved that lead to an even bigger misunderstanding between Lord and Lady Cardross but everything gets solved in the end and I almost laughed out loud with the set down Dysart gives Cardross about him not taking care of his wife. Dysart is after all a carefree rogue always involved in new adventures and without a feather to fly with so hardly the type to be giving lectures but in this case Cardross has to accept it with grace.


Grade: B-

What Kind of Romance Heroine Are You?

The Regency Romance Quiz: What kind of Romance Heroine are you?

My dear girl, you are clearly On the Shelf. You are unmarried and in your mid-twenties. You are intelligent and sensible, but quiet, and consider yourself plain. You have had several Seasons, but never received an offer, or perhaps you refused the offers you received. The reason for this is that you have always loved the man you danced with shortly after you came out at 18. He, of course, never returned your affections, or even knew about them, and is probably courting your sister. Nevertheless, he always seems to like you, and treats you much as he treats his sisters. Your love for him is immediately evident to everyone else, especially his sister, aunt or mother, who think you are the best possible wife for him. This attitude may prove either helpful or difficult, depending on how much the author likes you. When an accident befalls, your calm practicality and ability to stitch up wounds impresses him, and all of a sudden he finds himself noticing the way your smile transforms your face, lighting your eyes and making you quietly beautiful. His interest and appreciation will quickly turn to love, but he will have to spend the rest of the novel trying to convince you that his affection is genuine and not a result of pity.
Take this quiz!








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The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen - Syrie James

Many rumors abound about a mysterious gentleman said to be the love of Jane's life—finally, the truth may have been found. . . .

What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs were discovered after hundreds of years? What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair? That's the premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, giving us untold insights into her mind and heart.

Jane Austen has given up her writing when, on a fateful trip to Lyme, she meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by his faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.

It seems there are a lot of books with or about Jane Austen being published lately. And I'm doing my best to read the ones that seem more interesting even if sometimes they turn out to be not so good.

That is not the case with these Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. The author starts with a note explaining how during some works or renovations in a house Jane Austen lived in some papers were found that later turned out to be Jane Austen's diary. I was a bit worried about a diary, thus in the first person, by such a famous character as Austen but in the end I found it very enjoyable.

The memoirs supposedly tell about a period in Jane Austen's life about which we have no letters or any other documents. It describes her life after he father died when she, her mother and her sister Cassandra find themselves in lack of funds and have to resort to share a house with the wife of one of her brothers till her brother Edward offers them a cottage in his property. It also approaches her love life telling of the love she shared with a Mr Ashford and of the reasons she did not manage to attain the happy ending she gave to almost all of her characters.

Predictably we can recognise in some of the people she deals with and in some of the situations she finds herself in scenes that that will later appear in her books. I thought it was well done and appropriate and quite enjoyed them.

Overall I thought it a really nice and interesting story of what could have been. Just one thing that let me a bit down, the basic of the story is too close to what happens in the movie (I haven't read the book yet) Becoming Jane. I was disappointed in that movie in a way that I wasn't with this book. The feel of the period, the atmosphere is much better here. Why didn't they adapt this one instead?

Grade: B

The Fool's Tale - Nicole Galland

Wales, 1198: a time of treachery, passion and uncertainty. King Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon, familiarly known as Noble, struggles to protect his small kingdom from foes both outside and inside his borders. Pressured into a marriage of political convenience, he takes as his bride the young, headstrong Isabel Mortimer, niece of his powerful English nemesis.

Through strength of character, Isabel wins her husband's grudging respect, but finds the Welsh court backward and barbaric -- especially Noble's oldest friend and confidant, the rascally Gwirion, a charismatic prankster who delights in making the foreign-born queen feel unwelcome. Before long, however, Gwirion and Isabel's mutual animosity is abruptly transformed, and the king finds himself as threatened by his loved ones as by the enemies who menace his crown.

The books opens up with the party of the welsh king returning home. They are attacked by their enemy Roger Mortimer and the king is killed while his heir escapes thanks in part to strengh of will of his friend who refuses to revel his wherabouts even under torture. Thus is cemented the friendship between the future king and the friend who would be his fool.

A few years later in an attenpt to gain piece the king weds Isabel Mortimer, a young lady of Roger Mortimer's family thus expecting to gain peace for the borders. From the beginning is clear that the king, Noble, and his fool, Guirion, share an unusual and absorbing friendship in which Isabel will not be able to interfere. When asked to choose between the two Noble always chooses Guirion and the latter delights in telling crude jokes to embarass and humiliate Isabel. At the same time Noble refuses to stop having lovers and engaging in extra marital affair, he finds Isabel not to his taste and she can't accept that for him she is merely a convenience, so she spends a big part of her time making scenes and screaming at him and hating Guirion who helps him set up his trysts.

When the castle is invaded in Noble's absence and Isabel and Guirion have to spend time together they realise that they are in fact attracted to each other and become lovers thus leading a tense situation and ultimately a confrontation of sorts.

I found it very interesting the tidbits we learn of welsh culture and law. They are mainly due to Isabel's desire to know more about the place she lives in and she discovers things are very different from the norman society she is used to.

However I found the story depended too much of the phisical relationships of the main characters and I would have preferred a more psicological approach. Isabel is always mad at Noble for his affairs, her relationship with him is based solely on sex, her relationship with Guyrion is once again phisical, I couldn't decide what attracted them to each other and they seemed incapable of keeping their hands of each other. The most complex one seemed to be between Noble and Guirion, their bond forged the day the fool saved the future king, however Guirion is unable to control his impulses to be with Isabel and Noble is unable to share. In the end there could be no other solution I suppose but I felt it fell short of my expectations.

Grade: C+

I'm back!

We had a good time, relaxing on the beach and sightseeing when the weather wasn't so great and now I'm ready for work again!
Ok, maybe not ready but at least I feel like I recharged the batteries ;-)



This is a Garfield made of sand we saw at FIESA, an international sand sculpture exhibition.