Jack of Clubs

Author: Barbara Metzger
Published: March 7, 2006 (Signet)
Category: Regency Romance
Series: House of Cards Trilogy #2
Rating: 9/10

Captain Jonathan Endicott has returned from the war and doesn't quite know what to do with himself. He doesn't want to follow any of his older brother Ace's suggestions, or his wife Nell's for that matter. They suggest the usual things, like becoming a man about town, or an assistant to Ace's estate, etc. Jack has know interest in those things.

So he opens up a gambling parlor called the Red and the Black. He intends to use it to bring attention to the Endicotts' continued quest to find their long-lost sister Charlotte. He figures that he'll interview blond women responding to the posters around the city. He's also looking for some female companionship, but to avoid sleeping with a woman who could be his sister, he decides to hire only redheads and raven-haired ladies to work in the parlor, and he can flirt with any of those he chooses.

While Jack is preparing for his opening, he doesn't realize more responsibility is headed his way. Miss Allie Silver is escorting his new ward Harriet to his doorstep due to the wishy-washy will of one of his former fellow soldiers. Harriet was supposed to go to her grandparents due to a series of unfortunate events. Her mother was murdered by her uncle, and her father died in the war. She was supposed to go to her grandparents, but her grandfather just passed away and her grandmother was placed in a looney bin.

Of course, Allie is appalled at the idea of Harriet living in close proximity to such debauchery, but they have no choice. Jack also isn't too happy about this development, as he'll surely lose his license if a child is discovered in the public rooms of his house. However, the naughty, conniving little imp soon worms her way into his heart, and little does he know, but Harriet has a plan for Allie to marry Jack, so she can have a real family that can't ship her off on a whim.

Unfortunately, Jack's ladybird doesn't take kindly to the intrusion of teacher and pupil. She concocts a story that Allie is a former lover of Jack's trying to pass off Harriet as their bastard. The ladybird is so vicious that she leaks the story to one of the biggest papers in London, thereby ruining Allie's chances of finding another respectable teaching position. There are positions aplenty in the homes of less-than-honorable gentlemen, but Allie's smarter than that. So it seems as though there's no choice but to stay with Harriet in the house of loose morals.

Allie actually saves the Red and the Black from arson, rousing the house and helping to put out the fire in good time, and it's after this near-tragedy that Jack kisses her for the first time and they realize how much they're attracted to each other, despite the doubts and warnings in each person's mind. Jack even tries to send Allie and Harriet away to stay at Carde House so Allie can save what's left of her reputation.

Harriet is not to be thwarted by a change of location. She goes "missing," visiting Allie's estranged grandfather. Apparently, Allie's mother had the nerve to marry for love rather than fortune and prestige, and the grandfather has wanted nothing to do with Allie, having the paper declare her dead in reaction to the gossip provided by Jack's ladybird. In reaction to the falsehood he had printed, Allie stood up to her grandfather with a smart speech about being a true gentleman. Anyways, Harriet went to Lord Montford to convince him to give Allie the dowry that was intended for her mother, as Jack needs to marry someone with a fortune. The child is so cunning that you can't help but smile at her schemes.

And so there's a humorous and happy ending, with Jack proposing to an unwitting Allie, who thinks he's actually asking her to become his mistress. At this point, she figures she'll take what she can get, and agrees, thinking she's the new ladybird. The shortlived confusion is especially hilarious when Allie blurts out her surprise in front of Lord Montford, who's decided to welcome Allie back into the family.

An excellent reformed rake read :)

The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

Author: Katie MacAlister
Published: April 3, 2007 (Signet)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 7/10

This entry into MacAlister's "Dark Ones" books is a stand-alone novel and you don't need to read previous titles to understand what's going on in LOTRHV.

Portia Harding is touring the English countryside with her best friend Sarah, a best-selling author, researching paranormal phenomena. The only problem is: Portia is a die-hard skeptic, believing on things that can be proven with science. Think of Agent Scully on the X-Files, before she got abducted by aliens and all that stuff. However, Portia soon finds herself in possession of weather-controlling powers after some time in a faerie ring. Right after that, Theo North, a nephilim (son of an angel), is chasing after her and then supposedly protecting her. Of course, she doesn't believe him.

As a new virtue, Portia has to undergo a series of tests to see if she should be allowed into the Court of Divine Blood, which humans have a based their idea of heaven upon, and it is the opposite to MacAlister's Abaddon (Hell). I was really interested in the development of the idea of the Court, as we've read about Abaddon in many of MacAlister's paranormal romances, but no real mention of a heaven-type of place. Hopefully it will appear again in a later book, and we'll get to see it in a less-turmoil-filled light.

Portia is supposed to be a physicist, but I think there's a problem with trying to make your main character have a career that is so far removed from the author's experience. You have to make the character sound convincing in such a technical field, so you can't be too simple in your references to physics, but at the same time, when referring to really complex and obscure physics facts, the reader can't relate.

Anyways, she spent the first third of the book denying that anything magical or unexplainable by science could occur, even though a raincloud following you around is a pretty good sign of something odd. Once she admitted that there are some things beyond logical explanation, the book really took off.

Poor Theo gets turned into a Dark One as punishment for the unorthodox way Portia handled one of her trials, and so they've to to get his soul back through the 7 steps of joining. So amid Portia being accused of murdering a virtue (the one who bestowed the weather-control powers on her), they've got to get Theo's soul back and solve the mystery of the missing virtue.

The story was good, but Portia annoyed me for that first third of the book too much. Once she stopped being so stubborn, I was able to fully enjoy myself.

To Rescue a Rogue

Author: Jo Beverley
Published: September 5, 2006 (Signet)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 8/10

My first Jo Beverley, and it was pretty good!

Adamara St. Bride is on the verge of scandal, walking down a London street wearing nothing but a shift and stockings, covered with a blanket, and she needs help fast. She's quite aware that she's on the verge of being ruined should she be discovered, and takes refuge outside the front door of an old friend, Lord Darius Debenham. He finds her in front of his door and brings her inside and gets her cleaned up and clothed with one of his sister's old gowns, and is rather incensed at the idea of a man (old enough to be Mara's father) taking advantage of Mara and imprisoning her away from home sans clothing (so she can't escape), but that didn't stop the daring Mara.

She's cursed with what the St. Bride family calls "devil hair," inherited from the ancestor, Ademar St. Bride. It's very dark hair with red highlights, and only she and Simon, her older brother, have it. In short, it dooms Mara to a life of passion, recklessness, and obstinance. Mara's object of obstinance is now Dare. She realizes, after he rescues her, that she's loved him for the longest time, as he was always around when they were children. He has become a strong and kind man, but went through a tragic experience in the war. He was trampled by the cavalry when his horse was shot out from under him, and an evil Belgian widow nursed him back to health, but kept him captive by addicting him to opium. He's now trying to break away from the addiction, but the previous times he's tried, he's failed and almost died. This time, it's all or nothing, and Mara is going to make sure he succeeds... so they can live happily ever after.

There's not much more to the story beyond Mara and Dare trying to get through his addiction. There's a bit of intrigue when a spurned lover (Mara's old dude), tries starting a nasty rumor about Dare, saying that he was hiding from the fighting and that's why he was trampled by cavalry. They solve the problem quickly, with the help of the Rogues, a group of twelve men formed while youngsters at school. Jo Bev has a series of titles for these Rogues, and apparently, this is the final story to be told. I was confused sometimes, overwhelmed by the sheer number of new characters being thrown at me, as there are 10 living Rogues and most of them are married, so you meet their wives as well. Everyone feels it's honorable to be one of the Rogues, and even though some of their friends want to be in the group, you can only be a Rogue if you were in the original group, or if you marry into the exclusive club. So, that closes the doors to their male friends, even though they joke about it.

It was a great love story, but I didn't feel like it was very wildly passionate. It was a deep, steady love, and that's good too. Mara declares her love for him very early on, which I appreciate, and Dare admits his love and desire to marry her soon as well, which I appreciate even more. I get annoyed when the hero and heroine decide to love each other and live happily ever after in the last 5 pages in the book, making it feel like the end was far too abrupt. This is why I'm so fond of epilogues.

I will definitely read more Jo Bev in the future.

Violet

Author: Lauren Royal
Published: September 3, 2002 (Signet)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Flower Trilogy #1
Rating: 10/10

It seems Lauren Royal's trilogies always get off to strong starts! I absolutely fell in love with the hero and heroine of Violet. Ford Chase, Viscount Lakefield, the youngest brother in the Chase family of the Jewel trilogy finally has his story told, and we're introduced to the Ashcroft sisters who live near his estate. Violet, the eldest and least beautiful (in her opinion), is the latest subject to one of her matchmaking mama's schemes, although she doesn't know it.

While on his way to Lakefield, Ford stops by Greystone, Colin and Amy's estate (from Amethyst), only to find that he won't be admitted because there's an outbreak of measles in the house. As their daughter Jewel hasn't caught it yet, Colin is begging Ford to take Jewel and her nursemaid to Lakefield. Ford, being an absentminded professor type of man (albeit a hot geek), isn't too crazy about having to take care of Jewel, but he figures the nursemaid will do all the work. Unfortunately, they realize the nursemaid's come down with the measles during the trip to Lakefield and drop her off in her home village to recover. Ford suddenly finds himself responsible for his little niece when he'd really like to be working on a new version of the pocket watch (one that has a minute hand).

Thanks to a rather coincidental visit by Lady Trentingham (Violet's mother), it's arranged that her son Rowan would make an excellent playmate for Jewel, a rambunctious and strong-willed little girl. And of course, she sent Violet along for the playdates. Violet is a shrinking violet, not one for being the center of attention, and Ford is attracted to this serious young woman who talks freely of her philosophical studies and shares actual conversation with him. He doesn't realize it yet, but he's falling for her, and it'll take him a while to realize this because he's so dense when it comes to women, even though he's acting like her beau. Soon after they first meet, Ford makes a pair of spectacles for her, as she is extremely nearsighted. This simple gesture changes Violet's world and she begins having feelings for the handsome viscount despite her determination to marry someone who doesn't want her for her inheritance... and Ford, with his dilapidated estate, is clearly in need of funds.

Their relationship is one of supporting each other's growth. Ford takes Violet to a ball honoring the Royal Society, introducing her to greats such as Isaac Newton and John Locke. Violet in turn, helps patent his newly improved pocket watch, which he has no inclination or ambition to sell. All he cared about was seeing if he could do it, and when it was done, it was time to move on to another project, like the deciphering of an ancient alchemical text that supposedly holds the secret to turning lead into gold.

Ford finally realizes that he'd like to marry Violet and have a family with her, but she rejects his marriage proposal, still believing that Ford wouldn't want to marry a plain girl like her unless it was for her fortune. To be fair, Ford doesn't really present a good picture to a girl with that idea in her head. He'd rather spend time working on his inventions and experiments than care for his property and the tenants. So Ford decides to fix up his house and lands, and make the ultimate sacrifice to show Violet that he means business when it comes to marrying her NOT for her money. He decides to sell the alchemy text, and when she finds out about it, she realizes that Ford really does love her and they're married shortly after that, as Violet's parents think she might be with child. She could've been, considering the times her mother schemed to get the unwitting lovebirds together alone.

We also see what could be a future novel, perhaps a trilogy about Colin and Amy's three children, for Jewel and Rowan. Jewel, as the precocious, confident little girl she is, has declared she will marry Rowan and that she loves him. Rowan doesn't exactly object, but he didn't like the kiss that Jewel pecked on his cheek. They didn't get off to the greatest of starts, with Rowan refusing to play, so Jewel gets revenge by playing a prank on him (she takes after her father, the official Chase prankster) and glued him to a chair rather cleverly.

This book made me giggle more than once, and it was really hard to hold it in on the subway. I have the rest of the Flower trilogy, which tells the stories of Violet's two younger sisters, but I'm going to ration them, rather than inhaling them all in a couple days. I have proofreading to finish anyways.

Emerald

Author: Lauren Royal
Published: October 10, 2000 (Signet)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 7/10

In Emerald, we follow the romance of Jason Chase, Marquess of Cainewood, and eldest of the Chase family. He's always been the responsible one, acting as father to his three siblings since their parents died when he was sixteen.

The story begins with Jason pursuing two criminals, the Gothard brothers, who've severely injured a little girl in one of his villages. He feels responsible for little Mary and wants to bring the brothers to face justice. In his first encounter with the brothers, he fights a duel with Geoffrey Gothard (the brains of the operation), and when he's about to overcome Gothard, the scoundrel pulls an innocent bystander from the crowd to use as a human shield. Jason is unable to stop his charge in time and accidentally kills the man, giving Gothard time to shoot him in the shoulder. Stubbornly, Jason leaves his sickbed after two weeks, unable to escape the nightmares of little Mary and the innocent man, and continues his search. While following a lead, he discovers a woman dressed as a man confronting the brothers inside an inn. He thinks it's Emerald McCallum, the female Scottish bountyhunter responding to the reward he's offering for the Gothards' capture.

However, it's really Caithren Leslie of Scotland. Her father passed away recently and she stands to inherit all of Leslie, if she marries within a year. If she does not comply with the will, the estate will go to her irresponsible brother Adam instead. Cait knows that Adam is not suited to care for the land and the people, but she has no desire to marry and have her independence taken away from her. The solicitor suggests that Cait find Adam, who's currently visiting with friends and about to attend a wedding in London, and have him waive any rights to the estate in exchange for a living allowance. After tricking her hired traveling companion to leave her when they've reached England, she overhears the Gothards' plot. Geoffrey is planning on killing their brother, Lord Scarborough, and then Walter would inherit. She later confronts the men at the inn, and Jason rushes in to apprehend the Gothards.

Cait gets a little injured in the scuffle, landing on Jason's sword, and the Gothards get away while Jason worries about yet another person he's responsible for. While tending her wounds, he realizes this must be Emerald McCallum, what with her confronting dangerous men alone and the emerald pendant she wears. He also does not believe Cait's claims that she is not Emerald and she's just trying to find her brother.

And so we spend most of the book with Cait and Jason traveling to London, each ragging on the other for being English/Scottish. Jason eventually realizes that Cait is actually telling the truth about her identity, but it takes him long enough to get around to it. I was starting to think he was a bit thick.

Blah blah blah, they get the bad guys in the end and Jason meets the real Emerald McCallum and gives her twice the reward amount he posted because he didn't want her leaving her two children again for this dangerous profession.

What I didn't like about this book? Cait's Scottish accent is painstakingly visible in all her dialogue and it got really annoying. I'm used to crones using "ye," but Cait always said "you" that way and all the "I dinna ken" for "I didn't know" was grating to me and kept me from enjoying the story. The other thing I didn't like? Jason's obstinance in believing that Cait was Emerald. He refused to listen to everything she said about why she was traveling to London, and a couple hundred pages later, he looked like a fool. I didn't think that was in his character make-up to be so narrow minded.

But I love the way Royal has her books set up. I got to see my favorite characters, Colin and Amy, again, enjoying their happy ending granted in Amethyst. It's so easy for me to read a bunch of Royal's books at the same time because I've already met and fallen in love with the characters in previous books. It's like reading a really long book instead of a trilogy, and incidentally, Ford Chase's story is told in Violet, the first book in Royal's second trilogy. Everything links together brilliantly.

Amethyst

Author: Lauren Royal
Published: February 1, 2000 (Signet)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Jewel Trilogy #1
Quote of choice: "Men can be so stupid sometimes. Are you sure you want to marry this one?"
Rating: 10/10

I literally could not put this book down! I grabbed it off my bookshelf at home before leaving for work on Friday morning and finished it in the wee hours that same day (probably counted as Saturday morning though). This book had everything I like in a romance novel!

In this impressive debut novel, we meet the Chase family of the Restoration period. The eldest is Jason, Marquess of Cainewood (we meet his descendants in Royal's "Sweet Temptations" trilogy), then Colin, Earl of Greystone, and then the twins, Kendra and Ford. I've already read Kendra's story in Amber and it was good, but certain parts of the plot annoyed me too much to fully enjoy the story. Each of the Chases has his/her story told in a novel, but Ford was left to the end and wound up in the "Flower" trilogy instead.

Colin's title was bestowed as a reward for faithful services to King Charles and along with the title came Greystone, an estate in serious disrepair. To restore the property, Colin is engaged to Lady Priscilla Hobbs, or as Kendra quips, "Lady Priscilla Snobs." Clearly, the rest of the Chase siblings are not fond of Colin's choice, but he had sound logic in choosing an heiress with a title and all the right connections. Everything an earl should want for a wife, right? Perhaps not.

Amethyst Goldsmith (Amy to her friends) is the daughter of a prominent jeweler in London. She has a natural talent for her craft and her parents have (against the times), trained her and encouraged her skills, and their nurturing shows in her beautiful pieces and the frequent commissions she gets from their customers. Amy has also been betrothed to the shop's apprentice, Robert, although she has no feelings for him, especially since he's made it clear that no wife of his will work. His attitude is understandable for the time period, but he's also jealous of Amy because she's better at jewelry making than he is. Amy tries to bring this up with her father and express her distaste at the idea of marrying Robert, but her father, lost in his grief over his recently deceased wife, says that Amy must marry and carry on their family's trade, saying that Robert only says those things about Amy being forbidden to work because he's feeling impotent (heh!) as an apprentice.

Colin and Kendra visit the Goldsmiths' jewelry shop to buy her a birthday locket, and they choose one of Amy's design, as well as commission Colin's signet ring with Amy, making Robert jealous yet again. After the signet ring is delivered, Amy and Colin don't see each other for a few months, when the great fire of 1666 devastates London. The fire is visible from Greystone, and the Chase brothers race to London to provide what help they can. Colin rescues a dozen children and comes across Amy, dragging a heavy trunk, and rescues her from certain death when she tries to go back into her house to save her father. In a sort of suspension of ordinary social rules, Colin takes Amy with him to Cainewood, along with the children.

The two are attracted to each other, but each is aware that they have obligations. Colin needs an heiress with a title and Amy promised her father she'd keep their jewelry business alive. However, those doubts aren't strong enough to keep the two from stealing kisses, and to Colin's chagrin, their first night on the road back to Cainewood provides them with one inn room with two beds for a dozen children and two adults.

The book is long, and we follow Colin and Amy as they fall in love despite their rules and objections. Colin even gives Amy up in London when his family arrives, telling them to put her on a ship to France so she can join her aunt. I was a bit upset that Colin didn't want to marry her at that point because he found out about her inheritance, a huge stash of jewels and gold in the trunk she was dragging along during the fire. However, he understands that the gold is in her family for the business, and he wouldn't ask her to give it up to save Greystone. He's already spent part of Priscilla's dowry on repairs. I kept thinking that it would be awfully simple to propose to Amy and use some of the gold to pay back the money spent, but Colin's sense of honor is highly developed (to the point of being stubborn).

Soon after that, Amy's ex-fiancé shows up and attempts to convince her to marry him. She refused and Kendra had to punch the jerk so they could escape, but Robert kidnaps Amy in the middle of the night, intending to marry her in a church outside the city walls. In two particular churches, an impromptu marriage ceremony can take place without a license or consent from the bride, for the right price. Robert really wants Amy for her inheritance, and to control her as he was never able to do when he was an apprentice.

Of course, Colin rescues her and marries her that same day. Amy enjoys being welcomed to the boisterous Chase family. Hell, after reading this book, I wanted to be a member of the Chase family. The siblings have this amazing banter and camaraderie, and are fiercely protective of one another, even if someone hasn't married into the family yet. From the get-go, Colin's siblings voiced their opinion that he should marry Amy instead of Lady Snobs. Amy, the exact opposite of Lady Snobs, loves Greystone and uses some of her inheritance to restore the estate, bringing it to profitable status and ridding Colin of his debt to Lord Hobbs. Snobs refused to marry Colin until Greystone was fit for her luxurious style of living, and also hated his practical jokes. Amy heartily accepted Colin's jokes and laughed along, even pulling pranks on the so-called prank master. They were a lovely couple to read about and I look forward to their cameo appearances in later novels.

One of the best features of this book is the length of the timeline. The story doesn't just end at their marriage; we get to witness the birth of their first child and see a glimpse into their future six years from then. I loved this book, with its strong sense of family, from start to finish and it's a keeper, which means something to a girl with a small apartment and one bookcase.

The Boleyn Inheritance

Author: Philippa Gregory
Published: December 2006 (Simon & Schuster)
Category: Historical Fiction
Rating: 8/10

I'll admit that I had no interest in reading Philippa Gregory up until a couple weeks ago. I figured that she was just another one of those authors that people suddenly go crazy for and say that she's the best thing since sliced bread. Can a book about the wives of a fat tyrant be that interesting? Will I be disappointed like when I doggedly read the first three books of the Shopaholic series? But then a free copy of The Boleyn Inheritance fell into my lap, thanks to my boss, and I figured I'd give it a shot. After all, it's not like I wasted money on it, and I was pleasantly surprised very soon after I started reading it.

The story is narrated by three women: Jane Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, and Katherine Howard. Jane, widow of George Boleyn, is the sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn, and it was her testimony that sent the two to their deaths. She believes she made the incriminating statement to save George, but she was being manipulated by her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk (the most evil person in the story, in my opinion), who took advantage of Jane's jealousy of Anne. Anne of Cleves is King Henry's fourth wife, married for political reasons and quickly rejected by him when she shows her distaste for his appearance (he was practically as wide as he was tall, and smelled of rotting flesh from his old jousting wound). She reminded him of how old he actually was, when everyone else was pulling an "Emperor's New Clothes" on him, pretending that he's always the winner in everything and the most handsome man in court. Katherine is Henry's fifth wife, a silly girl of fifteen, and uses her beauty of whorish wiles to make Henry feel young again. She doesn't care for him, just the gifts he gives her.

The Boleyn Inheritance is rich with historical detail, and I found myself admiring Anne of Cleves for her courage. She knew Henry could execute her if he wanted to get rid of her, but she also didn't want to return to Cleves, as her brother was abusive (not sure if that's historically accurate). Because of the potential of insulting the Protestant nations, Henry could not execute her and instead annulled the marriage, claiming that her previous betrothal to a Duke of Lorraine's son was never canceled (it had been). She was given a generous settlement and made a Princess of England, and Henry called her his sister. Even after she survived the brief marriage to Henry, she remained cautious and prepared for the day Henry went back on his word and had her dragged to the Tower of London. Anne also used this time to grow into her own person, without having to worry about her brother or a crazy tyrant at her every step. People notice that Anne is actually a graceful and eloquent woman, far more suited to be queen than her successor.

I pitied Jane Boleyn, as it appears she's never been completely right in the head. She lived and breathed her service to the king and her uncle. She always believed she was doing her duty, whether it was right or wrong, and she was so easily manipulated by her uncle. It only stresses how much women were regarded as pawns in a gigantic power play.

As for Katherine Howard, I didn't pity her at all. She was a silly girl with no idea of what propriety was, and flirted with the king because he might give her sables or jewelry. She also didn't seem to consider the fact that she was in danger of execution like her aunt, Anne Boleyn, who died because of her supposed adultery. Katherine started having an affair (understandably though - Henry was old enough to be her grandfather and he stunk something awful) with Thomas Culpepper and they were both executed because of it.

The historical details and strong characters made for such a compelling story. The women's fear of being executed at the king's whim was almost palpable and I couldn't stop reading, even though I knew what was really going to happen to them. Well, it's been a while since I've had to study Henry VIII, so I did have to get a little Wikipedia refresher course.

Ace of Hearts

Author: Barbara Metzger
Published: September 6, 2005 (Signet)
Category: Regency Romance
Series: House of Cards Trilogy #1
Rating: 8/10

Alexander "Ace" Endicott, Earl of Carde, is in a predicament. It is unavoidable that an earl must marry and sire the requisite heir, but when he makes this known, he quickly finds himself with a three-of-a-kind; three women have decided that they're engaged to Ace. The only solution that comes to Alex is to run to his country house, only to find that he's followed quickly by one of his supposed fiancées. He's on the road again before his valet has finished unpacking, and this time, he's going deep into the countryside to search for his long-lost half-sister.

Alex's stepmother died in a tragic carriage accident and her toddler was not amongst the wreckage. Alex's father declined soon after that and swore Alex to a deathbed promise that he would not stop searching for little Charlotte. In his stepmother's hometown, he tries to interview her remaining family: her crazy aunt who claims she can talk to ghosts, and her two cousins, Nell and her stingy brother (whose name I can't recall). The brother has run off as soon as he hears Alex is in town, Alex calls on his stepgreataunt and cousin. At the end of his visit, he is attacked by a goose and Nell, and injured by his horse trying to protect Nell and the silly goose. He's also amazed at this time that Nell has grown into a beautiful woman (he hasn't seen her in over a decade, when she was a little girl).

So Nell nurses Alex and they reconnect and deal with the problems falling on their heads. For one, she's invited one of her old schoolmates, who also happens to be one of Alex's fiancées, as she didn't know the engagement was all in the deluded young lady's head. They're also trying to figure out why the estate is so poorly cared for. The tenants' homes are in disrepair and some tenants have left entirely, so where have all the profits gone? Apparently, Nell's brother is an absolute scumbag, and deserves to jump off the roof, which he attempts.

The mystery of the missing money is linked to the mystery of the missing sister, but there is no clear resolution to it at the end of Ace of Hearts. I'm sure the resolution is to come in the later books of the trilogy.

The romance was a bit slow to take off and I thought injecting the suitors for Nell was boring. One suitor? Fine. But a bunch? All the men suddenly find Nell interesting (despite living in a haunted house with a crazy old lady who claims she can converse with ghosts) because Alex seems to be interested in her. If she's good enough for an earl, she's good enough for them!

Alex eventually proposes marriage to Nell, but she wants him to be sure of his decision, saying that if he can go to London and purchase a special license and come back with his mind still made up, then she will marry him. I'm glad he didn't even make it all the way to London, as he realized that he wanted her to go with him and he couldn't be without her any longer, and turned the carriage around. It's a good thing he did, because Nell's brother was about to leap off the roof, and Alex had to save the scoundrel, doing so rather heroically and sealing the deal as Nell's hero thereafter.

Some people might complain that Alex was a horrible hero because he seems so cowardly, running away from his problems all the time. That's what I thought too at first, when I wasn't being amused by the idea of this man running away from three women in wedding dresses. Alex even admits that he's the scholarly one of the family. His younger brother Jack, who's fighting on the peninsula, is the brave one. Alex was actually terrified on the roof and preferred that Nell's brother just jump and be done with the act. However, he went on the roof despite his nerves and saved the man for Nell.

Everything ties together quite neatly, and Alex even manages to foist some of his fiancées off onto some of Nell's pseudo-suitors, which appeals to my very efficient nature.

Girl's Guide to Witchcraft

Author: Mindy Klasky
Published: October 2006 (Red Dress Ink)
Category: Chick Lit
Rating: 7/10

This is my first Red Dress Ink book, and I thought it was absolutely delightful. I wouldn't even call this a paranormal because it wasn't the main point of the book. It was more about the main character overcoming her problems. The magic just happened to be there and the story wasn't about her overcoming the control or training of her powers.

Jane Madison is a reference librarian at the Peabody Free Library, a library specializing in 18th century documents, so it's not the kind of library people come in for light reading. And since it's not one of those kinds of libraries, money's really short, and the board has just decided to cut Jane's pay by 25%. Since she can't afford to pay her rent with new salary, her boss Evelyn has offered her the cottage on the Peabody grounds, at no charge. Sweet deal, right? But Jane has to start wearing colonial costumes courtesy of Williamsburg, VA to attract more walk-ins.

On Jane's first night in her new home, she stumbles across a secret key that unlocks the basement door. Inside, she discovers a library of what looks to be magic books and a large statue of a black cat. She chooses a passage to read aloud and awakens the familiar housed within the statue. However, it doesn't take the form of a cat— instead, he takes the form of a very handsome (and very flamboyantly gay) man named Neko.

With her first use of magic comes the entrance of David Montrose, a warder (someone who enforce's the coven's rules), and Jane has used magic without registering with the coven first. After a couple times of catching Jane using magic while under the influence, he agrees to train her, but kisses her after one of the lessons. He quickly says that they have to stay away from that so their working relationship isn't ruined, so the romantic possibility sort of fades away, except for a slight tension hovering in the air.

The true object of Jane's affection is Jason Templeton, an assistant professor at a fictional university, a frequent patron of the Peabody. Jane calls him her imaginary boyfriend because she's always imagining their happy ending. After she discovers her magical ability and accidentally casts a love spell while drunk, Jason begins to see Jane and even attends her family reunion. But as in many a chick lit novel, he turns out not to be the man Jane dreamed him to be.

However, she doesn't turn to David Montrose, who is there for her when Jason disappoints her. The happy ending is one of those, "I'm going to be strong and dedicate myself to learning magic seriously." However, she said she'd take it seriously earlier and she didn't really do that because she was too busy making calf's eyes at Jason the scumbag.

There's a sequel scheduled for this fall, Sorcery and the Single Girl and I'm hoping there'll be more magic, but I have a feeling it'll be more of a chick lit book again.

Wait Until Midnight

Author: Amanda Quick
Published: February 1, 2005 (Berkley)
Category: Historical Romance/Mystery
Rating: 7/10

Adam Hardesty has discovered the murder scene of the woman who's blackmailing him. She's one of the mediums who've popped up on the scene as psychical studies have sparked Society's interest. Of course, all of the mediums are charlatans, employing cheap tricks to fool their customers. Unfortunately, the diary containing the details of Adam's past is missing and he must have it back or else the future of his younger sister will be ruined. He and his siblings aren't actually the long-lost relatives and heirs of Wilson Grendon, wealthy businessman. In fact, Adam isn't really related to his siblings. He used to live off the streets of London, selling secrets that belonged to the patrons of whores. He rescued his three siblings from their terrible fates on the streets, teaching them how to read and giving them a safe place to live. The eldest sister has married the Earl of Southwood in a love match (and he knows her true heritage); the brother is a scholar; the youngest sister is about to make her debut, and she is the one who would be harmed most by the blackmail information.

One clue found at the murder scene is a list of the last seance sitters, and one name has been underlined: Mrs. Caroline Fordyce, widowed author of serialized sensational novels. He pays her a morning visit, questioning her about the seance and suggests that Caroline and her aunts could've committed the murder, but takes it back . While Adam is speaking with her, Caroline decides to make Adam the model for the villain in her latest story.

They team up for the murder investigation because Caroline is determined to solve the crime herself, so Adam won't have cause to accuse her again. While Adam has secrets, so does Caroline, because she's not really a widow. She was invovled in a scandal in her previous hometown and changed her name and made up a dead husband. Her widowed status allows her to move more freely in Society, and her successful writing career supports her and her two aunts. Caroline is afraid that Adam will reveal her secret and the life she worked to build will be taken away from her.

In the course of the investigation, the two opposite personalities realize they get along and work together quite well. They attend a seance conducted by Irene Toller, the main competition of the the murdered medium. During the seance, Irene claims to have come in contact with the deceased Mr. Fordyce, and Adam trys consoling Caroline in the carriage, saying that the fraud (they know her tricks) shouldn't have preyed on her feelings like that. Caroline takes a risk and decides to trust Adam, telling him the truth about her marital status, or lackthereof. Adam begins to trust her and takes her to his old home where he raised his adopted siblings, telling her the secret of his family, the one he's being blackmailed for. They also get it on, which is no surprise because they're alone in a safe location, and they're attracted to each other. It's a good thing they were together, because it provides Adam with an alibi when Irene turns up dead and evidence planted at the crime scene pointing at him.

The murder mystery was rather good for a regency romance, and also surprisingly layered. Adam's dislike of being made the villain of a widely-read sensation novel makes for amusing reading, and you know that Caroline will make the villain the unexpected hero. There's the usual turning-down-the-marriage-proposal hooha, where Caroline thinks Adam is only offering to marry her to save her reputation. She wants to be loved, and Society believes she is a widow anyway, so there's nothing to worry about her reputation. Adam doesn't know that Caroline won't marry him because he hasn't admitted his love to her verbally. I sometimes wich that the heroine will just state the problem to her man and see how he'd react to that honesty.

Anyways, it was a good book to while away the time before Amanda Quick's new book, The River Knows is published.

Angelica

Author: Sharon Shinn
Published: March 2003 (Ace)
Category: SciFi/Fantasy
Rating: 7/10

Gabriel Aaron (Gaaron for short) is the Archangel-to-be in just a year and he has gone to an oracle to learn the name of his intended bride. An Edori woman named Susannah has been chosen, and he must find her while dealing with a strange new threat to Samaria. Men have been appearing across the land, but disappearing as soon as they're spotted. People have also started finding Edori and Jansai campsites scorched through some unknown means.

Susannah has left her birth clan and is following the clan of her lover, Dathan. However, he's a total hound dog, flirting with other girls frequently and he cheats on her. Gaaron arrives in her camp just as she and Dathan have a big old argument about the state of their relationship, and he talks to her kindly, and dropping the bomb on how she's supposed to be his Angelica. The next day, she realizes Dathan will never be faithful to her and allows Gaaron to sweep her up in his arms and goes back to the Eyrie with him.

Susannah has a hard time adjusting to the livestyle at the Eyrie and she's concerned with the fact that she and Gaaron aren't in love. She winds up falling in love with Gaaron after she sees what a kind and fair man he really is. However, they can't seem to talk to each other about their feelings, because he's fallen in love with her too. She refuses to marry him because he hasn't said he loves her, but of course, doesn't say that this is the problem. Gaaron has admitted that he's not good with handling women, and it never occurs to him to say that he loves Susannah. However, it's partially her fault too because she didn't tell him her true feelings either.

Because of this "I'm not going to say it first," we didn't really see the two as a happy couple until the last two pages of this book. I was a little disappointed by this. Don't expect a satisfying story about these two characters. Instead, look to the story of Gaaron's bitchy younger sister Marian. She winds up running away to an Edori clan and becomes instrumental in solving the mystery of disappearing strange men.

Susannah is a part of saving Samaria, but I really thought it was going to be something more exciting. She's got two kisses (a kiss is a small crystal implanted when a Samarian is a baby, and it helps Jovah keep track of them) implanted, and that is very rare. The second kiss by her ear has given her strange dreams filled with Jovah's voice for her entire life. She has been chosen to help Jovah get rid of the invaders. This isn't because she's got some special power or skill. Nope, it's really because she's gullible! After she helps Jovah get rid of the invaders, she's convinced that it was all a dream and I was disappointed in her for accepting it so easily.

Don't look to this book for romance. For a scifi/fantasy it's pretty good. It's far from the deepest one I've read, but it's entertaining and good for those who are just dipping their feet into the genre for the first time.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

Author: Kate Jacobs
Published: January 18, 2007 (Putnam)
Category: Fiction
Quote of Choice: We don't all love our jobs every day. And doing something you have a passion for doesn't make the work part of it any easier... it just makes you less likely to quit.
Rating: 8/10

Georgia Walker is a single mom to a twelve-year-old daughter, aptly named Dakota, and supports their tiny family by running the Walker and Daughter knitting shop. While knitting pieces on commission, Georgia opened the knitting store and it has become a well-frequented shop on New York's Upper West Side.

The Friday Night Knitting Club is the remarkable story of Georgia and the other women connected to her through her store. Slowly, a group of repeat customers made a habit of sticking around after hours on Fridays, partaking in Dakota's baked goods (she aspires to have her own show on Food Network) and give each other knitting advice and working out their life problems with each knot they work into their projects.

This is one of those books that is so multifaceted in terms of characters that it's hard to describe because so many stories are being told at the same time. If you asked me about any of the characters, I'd be able to tell you about her storyline, but it's hard for me to write about each of them. I got sucked into the book over two days, and it was one of those books. You know, the kind you read on the subway and don't realize that you're about to arrive at the end of your commute. You hurry to stuff the book back into your bag, but almost reluctantly do so, even though you know you have to get off at this subway stop or else you'll be late for work.

The women, of different levels of knitting skills, are also in different stages of life, and realizing that life doesn't always work out the way you expect. Georgia's boyfriend got her pregnant twelve years ago, and is suddenly back in her life, trying to become the awesome father to her daughter, and she's resentful. Is she resentful because of what happend in the past or the way James is practically buying his daughter's affection?

There's also Peri, the brilliant almost-law school student who chooses to leave her perfect GPA and LSAT scores behind to design pocketbooks. Then there's Lucie, who decides to have a baby by herself at the age of forty because she wants one, man in her life or no man in her life. There's also Anita, widowed after a loving marriage to a wonderful man. She was Georgia's first client and sponsored her knitting store with a loan. Anita now finds that she might want to start dating again at the age of 72 while her sons are trying to get her to move in with them, thus taking away her independence. How about KC, who loses her job in publishing and decides to go to law school in her middle age (doing a reverse of what I did). And last, there's Darwin, working on her dissertation for a Ph.D. in feminism; she's studying the knitting club, trying to understand why these women cling to an old fashioned skill that does nothing for their advancement in the modern world. She's trying so hard not to be the stereotypical "good Asian girl" that it's actually hurting her because her husband is so good and kind to her, despite the bumps in their young marriage.

Chances are, with so many different characters, you're bound to relate to at least one of them in some way. I enjoy knitting and baking, which are mentioned quite frequently, as they are always present in the club meetings, so I felt so cozy while reading this book. I actually curled up in bed on Friday night to finish reading it. The only reason this book didn't get a higher rating is because of the last 80 pages of the book. I'm not a fan of killing off a character just for the sake of drama and a life lesson, because it's not like there wasn't death present earlier in the book (Anita's husband passing away).

Still, even with that unnecessary death, I would highly recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy knitting!

Fairest

Author: Gail Carson Levine
Published: September 2006 (HarperCollins)
Category: YA Fantasy
Rating: 6/10

This is my first book by Gail Carson Levine, although I have watched the movie version of Ella Enchanted. Fairest is a twist on the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Aza was abandoned as a baby in an Ayorthaian inn. The kindly innkeepers took her in as one of their own. However, her roots weren't a secret, as Aza's appearance was extraordinary... in a bad way. Aza wishes she were slender and delicately beautiful. Instead, she draws the stares of inn patrons since peole think her real mother must've been a hippo. She's clumsy, wide, and tall.

However, her most beautiful attribute is her voice, and that's important in the kingdom of Ayortha, which has traditions deeply rooted in singing. Besides having a lovely singing voice, Aza is a good mimic, composer, and has the ability to throw her voice, a skill she calls "illusing." Unfortunately, illusing gets her into a lot of trouble.

Aza accompanies the Duchess of Olixo to the wedding of King Oscaro to Ivi of Kyrria when the duchess's usual companion takes ill. While there, she meets the king's nephew, Prince Ijori, who is kind to her despite the way she looks. Queen Ivi also discovers Aza's talent for illusing and decides to make Aza her lady-in-waiting so she can illuse for the queen. The queen doesn't care much for the Ayorthaian tradition of singing all the time and doesn't think her voice is very good, so she has Aza do it for her instead and lip syncs when it's her turn to sing at gatherings. Aza always worries if she's doing something wrong, but she finds that she has no choice as Ivi threatens to revoke her family's innkeeping license if she doesn't illuse. Even worse, Aza's developing friendship with Prince Ijori is shadowed by her duplicity as Ijori talks about how he can't stand people who aren't truthful.

An accident befalls the king, placing him in a coma, and Ivi becomes the ruler in his stead. She quickly steps on lots of toes, disbanding the advisory council and ignoring the country's need in a drought. The subjects begin resenting Ivi and Aza as well, since they see her as a schemer who somehow snuck her way into the queen's confidence. However, Ivi isn't taking advice from Aza. She has a magical mirror given to her by the fairy Lucinda.

When Aza and Ivi's illusing act is revealed, Aza is blamed for everything, including Ivi's poor decisions as a leader. People believe she is part ogre (due to her large and ungainly appearance), and has inherited their talent for persuasion. Sadly, Prince Ijori turns his back on Aza, as all fairytale princes tend to do (look at Prince Char of Ella Enchanted or Prince Henry from Ever After) when the girl they supposedly care for is accused of something they didn't really do. Before being placed in the dungeon, Aza drinks some of Ivi's beauty potion (provided by the mirror) and it turns her into the beautiful girl she's always wanted to be. Ivi has Aza removed from the dungeon by having a guardsman pretend to help her, although he has orders to kill her (like in Snow White). The guardsman can't bring himself to kill Aza, so he brings her to the gnomes, who will give her a place to live.

The gnomes have never been bothered by Aza's appearance when they stayed at her family's inn, and Aza finds that she's very comfortable living in their caves, which is rare for a human. It turns out that gnomes can learn to illuse, something Aza has never been able to teach to another person, and they figure out that Aza is part gnome, which accounts for her odd appearance (namely the wideness) and the way she's comfortable in their homes.

Ivi winds up poisoning Aza with an apple and Aza winds up inside the magic mirror with the odious creature that lives within. The mirror actually carries a curse, which would trap the person using the mirror's beauty potions inside the mirror upon her death. The creature Skulni is trying to get Ivi to kill herself so he can be released from his prison. Aza manages to break the mirror and the curse, returning her spirit to her body, also finding that Ijori is in the cave with all the gnomes. He's come to his senses and his entirely apologetic about his earlier jerkiness. If her weren't a prince, I wouldn't have forgiven him!

The king awakens from his coma and finds out about all the problems that have resulted from Ivi's rule. He truly loves her, but knows that she can not be allowed the chance to rule again, so he exiles her to a distant palace and abdicates his throne for Ijori so he can join his wife in exile. Of course, Aza and Ijori marry, as he loves her for being her and she doesn't need any beauty potion to make him love her.

Fairest was entertaining enough, but the main theme of the story (true beauty beneath the surface) got a bit mixed up in all the political jumble and teenage angst. Sometimes Ivi and Aza were friends and sometimes they weren't, making things weird and half-assed, like Levine was just trying to find a reason to throw Ijori and Aza together. Aza broke out of her character when she got all bitchy with the tailor, who purposely messed up her order because of the disrespectful decisions Ivi was making for their country. I know that Aza did it because she didn't want the tailor throne into prison, but she was too pleased with herself in the end. She wasn't pleased that she prevented the unjust prison sentence; she was pleased because she was going to have pretty gowns.

I really couldn't enjoy this book as much as I could because I couldn't like the main character. I disliked Aza with all her "My life sucks because I'm not pretty" and "Woe is me." Nothing she did redeemed her in my eyes. Even while being "ugly" (I doubt she was really as ugly as she made herself out to be), she was very self centered and figured that she really wasn't remarkable or beautiful beneath her outward appearance.

Amber

Author: Lauren Royal
Published: July 2001 (Signet)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Jewel Trilogy #3
Rating: 6/10

This is from Lauren Royal's first trilogy, and set in England's Restoration period. It was refreshing to read a historical romance set in England, although I do love my regencies!

Kendra Chase is the last sibling in her family to be married. Her older brothers have been parading suitors to their home ad nauseum and her eldest brother has declared she must choose a husband by the end of the summer or he would do it for her. While traveling home from London, Kendra and her family's public coach (their own coach suffered a broken wheel) is halted by a highwayman. He cuts a rather romantic figure, and robs only the Puritan on board and lets everyone else goes, but curiously, he says the Chase brothers are his friends.

Soon after that heist, Kendra goes out riding without an escort and finds herself heading towards the spot where the robbery took place. She comes across the highwayman's props (hats and pipes), figuring out how he made it appear like he had 20 men with guns as backup on a nearby hill. And then the highwayman shows up, this time without the black outfit, mask, and periwig. The handsome man is actually Patrick "Trick" Caldwell, and he asks for Kendra's assistance in stowing his props before it rains. Of course, with rain comes the romance required cottage where the two must take refuge lest they be soaked and catch the ague. While the two are talking, Kendra drops her glass of wine and they try to soak the stain in water before it sets. The front door bursts open and Kendra's brothers, Jason and Ford, come in, asking Trick to help them locate their sister, who went out riding earlier unaccompanied.

When they discover the two together in a bedroom, with Kendra's skirt raised by her knees, disregarding the bowl of water, they insist on Trick marrying Kendra by special license, as she has been compromised. They didn't want to hear anything of her protests of innocence, and Trick figured that he had to get married sooner or later to produce the requisite heir, so why not get married to this interesting, beautiful woman?

So they're married and Kendra can't really believe she's married to the romantic highwayman, even though she's miffed that he's actually the Duke of Amberley. She never wanted to marry a duke because she didn't want to be addressed as "Your grace." Trick also has not revealed the true reasons for his side job, as he has a thriving shipping business, built off of his father's smuggling fleet. He also avoids telling his wife about how wealthy they really are, making her think he must continue robbing the horrid Puritans to support his estate, especially the orphanage full of children that Kendra really care about.

There was one really big problem with the story. Kendra is highly alarmed by the results of their wedding night. She didn't know that it hurts the first time, as her mother passed away years ago and her sisters-in-law didn't think to explain the mechanics to her. So she freaks out and says that they don't "fit together" and refuses to engage in further sexual adventures. Trick turns out to be an extremely patient man, saying that they won't do any of those things anymore, but he puts his foot down that they will continue to sleep in the same bed together.

In the end, it comes to trust. Kendra has to overcome her fear of trusting Trick in regards to his highwayman career and his claims that it hurt because it was the first time and they'll fit together. Trick is robbing Puritans to investigate a counterfeiting scheme, and King Charles swore him to secrecy regarding the true reason behind the robberies. He made Trick choose between his loyalty to his king and his love of his wife. Trick chooses to avoid treason and keeps his secret from Kendra.

As always, he regrets not revealing everything to Kendra when he's arrested and sentenced to hang. King Charles helps Trick though, faking the mysterious highwayman's death so there will be no connection between that dead man and the living Duke of Amberley.

There's also a side story that doesn't really have anything to do with the counterfeiting investigation, where Kendra and Trick journey to Scotland for his mother's funeral. They solve a mystery there too, which almost resulted in death for Trick and Kendra when she didn't trust him yet again.

The story would've been better without the Scotland side story. I appreciate that Royal was trying to fill in some of Trick's background, but it felt out of place to me, like it should've been in its own book. And there was far too much of the "You have to trust me" business going on. I know relationships are all about trust, but when it's the only thing being batted around in terms of story development and the cause for all the strife, it gets tiring.

Whisper Always

Author: Rebecca Hagan Lee
Published: October 1999 (Jove)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 6/10

This isn't my least favorite Rebecca Hagan Lee, but it was probably the most exasperating one I've read. I really enjoyed her Free Fellows League series and most of her Marquess of Templeton series, so I figured I'd give her even older titles a try.

Cristina Fairfax is the jewel of the Season, drawing lots of attention at her coming-out, and a lot of that attention is probably due to the hideous gown her mother made her wear. Apparently, her evil mother made a bet that the Crown Prince of Hapsburg-Lorraine would notice Cristina even if she were dressed in sack cloth. Cristina did catch the eye of Blake Ashford, Earl of Lawrence, though. He found her in a retiring room trying to cut off the satin roses covering the back of her dress and offered to help her remove them to spare her injuring herself. When I read about that charming meeting, I thought that this was going to be a bang-up, awesome romance.

But then Cristina's mother auctions her daughter's hand in marriage (or something close to that) at the equivalent to a swingers' auction, and the Crown Price Rudolf is the winner. Blake manages to rescue Cristina from her ordeal and substitutes a red-headed prostitute in her place. He winds up having Cristina as a guest in his home while she recovers from the beatings she received in her mother's home and the chill she caught while trying to escape from her buyer. I realized that Cristina was sort of suffering from an evil mother like Cinderella.

While under Blake's care, the sparks fly between them and whoops! Cristina's preggers! Now, Blake had a tragic first marriage to an evil woman named Meredith, who committed adultery on their wedding night. Blake decided not to annul the marriage because his wife threatened to lie to the judge, saying that Blake had his way with her before marriage, and they'd have to endure a divorce. Because Blake and his father were heavily involved in politics, the public scandal wouldn't do. Conveniently, Meredith died in a riding accident, without giving birth to another man's child and Blake swore off marriage.

Then one of my more hated romance plot devices sprang up. Blake has the special license and wedding ring in his pocket when he sees that his aunt sent out a betrothal announcement about him and Cristina. He's furious that she jumped the gun like that and said some things about having to view his penance across the breakfast table for the next few decades. Of course, Cristina heard him say that and refused to marry him, and decided to withold the news of her pregnancy from him. Of course, Blake also doesn't mention that he'd already wanted to marry her before all of this hullaballoo started.

Cristina runs off to Vienna under the protection of Prince Rudolf, hinting that she'd become his mistress after giving birth. Months later, Blake finds out about the baby and realizes that he loves Cristina, and chases after her to Vienna. They are reunited. Joy! Happiness! And they're married! More joy! More happiness!

But then in a Jane Eyre moment, when their marriage is being publicly announced, Blake's supposedly-dead wife appears. Meredith really is evil and tries killing the happy couple, which only resulted in Cristina having a stillbirth. In order to take care of the messy business with his wife, Blake sends Cristina off to her father in New York City. He takes their dead son to his family estate in England for a proper burial because he didn't want their child to rest on foreign land and bring him to be with his family. It would've been nice for Blake to tell Cristina that, because it left their relationship hanging.

A year later, she's about to consider marrying an American (who turns out to be a complete asshole) when Blake shows up to claim her yet again. I was getting tired of them at this point. Do you want to be together or not? They're reunited and Blake gets to be all manly when Cristina's trying to reject the American suitor, who calls Cristina a whore as he knows about what happened in Vienna. Too bad Blake pretty much confirms the American's words when he takes Cristina to his hotel room upstairs right after he makes the guy apologize. They're reunited at last. Joy! Happiness! They stay in bed for two days. Joy! Happiness! Preggers again. Uh oh.

Unfortunately, Blake has left YET AGAIN without doing the proper thing, since he has to get an official divorce from Meredity and promises to be back in two months. He doesn't know he's about to become a father again, and gets ambushed by some thugs Meredith hired. The divorce hearing gets delayed while he recovers, but everything goes through all right. When he goes to bring Meredith the news, he gives her the settlement money, letting her believe the packet contains the divorce papers, which he knows she'll burn (because she's crazy). However, he doesn't realize she's crazy enough to throw herself into the fire to retrieve the burning money. I was really happy about that because then he wouldn't have to keep giving Meredith 30,000 pounds per year for her settlement. Plus, I didn't want her doing another Bertha Rochester to Blake and Cristina again.

Cristina travels to London against Blake's wishes because he hasn't returned in two months for her. She gets upset when Blake doesn't show up in response to her message that she's in town, and then finds out about Meredith dying. Yet again, the woman has foiled them because Blake can't marry her for another year because of the period of mourning. But I guess the year of mourning doesn't really apply if you don't care about what society thinks, because Blake FINALLY marries Cristina.

This romance was way too over-the-top for me. They're together unofficially, then together officially, then not together, then together unofficially, then officially, then not together, and then together unofficially and finally officially! They're in England, then Vienna, then in America! Decide if you're together and stop moving around so much! Too frustrating! I want to be relaxed and cozy when I read my historical romances!

The Tiger's Apprentice

Author: Laurence Yep
Published: April 2003 (Harper Collins)
Category: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5/10

Tom Lee is an orphan living with his grandmother in San Francisco. He's the odd kid out, as his grandmother is supposedly a witch and kids pick on Tom and make fun of her. Tom, as a precocious preteen, takes each insult to heart and gets into lots of fights.

Tom's grandmother, Mrs. Lee is actually a witch, one of the Guardians who take care of a phoenix egg. If the phoenix hatches, the person controlling it could use the phoenix to control the world. When Tom gets home one day, one of his grandmother's former Guardian students is visiting. It's Mr. Hu, and he's actually a tiger. In a Men in Black moment, Mr. Hu explains that lots of creatures like him are living amongst humans, particularly in San Francisco!

While having tea, the house is attacked and Mrs. Lee sacrifices herself to give Tom and Mr. Hu time to escape with the phoenix egg. Tom becomes a petulant kid (like Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix) and says he doesn't want to become a Guardian and would rather live in an orphanage than stay with a MAGICAL TALKING TIGER WHO CAN KICK ASS.

Mr. Hu calls upon some friends to help protect the phoenix egg, one being Monkey from Chinese mythology and Yep's Dragons of the Lost Sea series. They also recruit a dragon from Goblin Square, a magical place hidden in San Fran, very much like Diagon Alley. It was a bit of a ripoff of Diagon Alley, what with the bricks disappearing to provide an entry to the square.

Then the phoenix egg is lost because of Tom's stupidity and they have to retrieve it. There's a lot of arguing and I felt that the story suffered because there was no good balance between narrative and dialogue. It was either all one or the other, without enough blending of the two. The book was really short too, but I can't judge the book based on that, as it is a YA title. It was kind of eh to me. Tom annoyed me too much and not enough happened to make me want to continue reading the story.

The Duel

Author: Barbara Metzger
Published: February 2005 (Signet)
Category: Regency Romance
Quote of Choice: Ah, the poor lass, wed to a nobleman of ancient lineage, with four houses, more money than the prince—although everyone has more money than the prince, these days—and looks good enough to turn the eye of a blind woman. My, how she will suffer.
Rating: 9/10

Ian, Earl of Marden, made the mistake of sleeping with the wrong married woman. He finds himself involved in a duel with the offended husband, Lord Paige. Because Ian was in the wrong for being indiscreet, he planned on shooting into the air rather than at the body. However, Lord Paige was a coward and shot at Ian when his back was still turned. Ian still fired into the air, but injured an innocent bystander for all his niceness.

He brings the boy, Troy Renslow, back to his townhouse for medical care. He manages to tell Ian that his sister Attie (Athena) and someone named Roma can't be left by themselves. Ian, being completely guilty about what happened rushes to bring the boy's sister and nursemaid to his home. However, it turns out that Roma is an ill-behaved mutt with a penchant for chewing off boot tassles, such as the ones on Ian's boots. Because Attie is so petite, Ian thinks she's still in the schoolroom. Once he finds out she's actually nineteen, he realizes the potential scandal at hand.

Ian tries to fix the hole he keeps digging deeper for himself by asking his mother and sister to stay with Attie in his bachelor pad. Circumstances prevent them from making the journey right away, so Ian gets his best friend Carswell to dress up as a large woman. It's hilarious in that exuberant Mrs. Doubtfire kind of way.

While all this is happening, Attie is being pursued by an unwanted suitor, a Mr. Wiggs, who is actually Troy's tutor. He's a reverend without a parish and wants to marry Attie for her dowry and her connections as the sister of a viscount. He's an odious little man, preaching on Attie's careless behavior regarding her reputation, and he's willing to overlook her transgressions and continue courting her if she leaves Troy's bedside right away. Attie shoots Wiggy down rather smartly, as there never was an official suit or relationship to her anyways. He wasn't so clean himself either, because he takes up with the notorious Lady Paige after his dismissal, and all of London knows that she's a big tart.

When the rest of Ian's family arrives, he is pushed by his mother and sister to marry Attie for the honorable reason and for the way everyone has noticed Ian and Attie's attraction to one another. Ian has to spend time convincing Attie that he wants to marry her for more than just the honorable reason because she doesn't want to marry someone who doesn't really want her. He eventually comes through, but when Attie finds out the truth that Ian shot Troy (by accident), she denies him the marriage bed. Everyone comes together to get to the bottom of the duel-gone-awry, discovering that Ian's shot embedded itself into the tree, so the shot that hit Troy was from another pistol.

This was regency romance at its finest. I loved it and will be reading more Barbara Metzger in the future. Thankfully she's got a large backlist.

Tongue in Chic

Author: Christina Dodd
Published: February 6, 2007 (Signet)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: 8/10

This book is an excellent example of being able blend lots of elements together well, without losing any of them.

Natalie Szarvas is trying to steal a painting from her grandmother's former residence. Well, it's not really stealing if your grandmother intended for yout o have it, right? Natalie's mother is suffering from cancer and in order to pay for the treatments, she's got to find this valuable painting in her grandfather's house.... only it's no longer her grandfather's house.

In the midst of her search for the painting in the dark mansion, the lights come on and Devlin Fitzwilliam, the new owner, surprises Natalie enough for her to strike her head against a the tooth of a stone lion and knock herself out. When she comes to, Devlin, a terribly handsome man, is administering to her head injury and offering her a Honesdale vase for her to vomit in. Being an artist and knowledgeable in art history, she refuses to vase. He's already figured that she's a thief, and a rather inept one at that, but he asks her what she's doing in his house. She comes up with the excuse of amnesia and says her name is Meadow (her real middle name). He one-ups her by claiming that she's his estranged wife. Hilarity ensues.

At the same time, Devlin is focusing on turning the old mansion into a luxury boutique hotel. It's in a very traditional southern town and some of the natives are against this change. He's had to deal with sabotage on his property, and he discovers that Meadow is not the only one looking for a painting. Someone is also trying to murder Meadow, setting up accidents for her. Is it about the painting or the hotel opening?

While pretending to be husband and wife, Devlin falls in love with Meadow. He loves the way she gets along with everybody, charming his employees and the old guard (the other mansion owning geezers in town) that is so opposed to him. She's attracted to him as well, but is afraid that he might turn into someone like her grandfather, the previous owner of the house. Speaking of the grandfather, there's a reunion of long-lost family for Meadow and for Devlin. Roberto Bartolini, from Dodd's Trouble in High Heels is actually half brother to Devlin.

Tongue in Chic was really good, very entertaining to the end. It was steamier than High Heels and normally that's not something I use to qualify a book. It's just that the steamy parts of High Heels were eh, and I think the book would've been better without them. Since I find I enjoy Dodd's contemporary fiction, I've decided to give her historicals (my preferred style of romance) a try and have picked up The Prince Kidnaps a Bride.

Lost in Temptation

Author: Lauren Royal
Published: July 2005 (Signet)
Category: Regency Romance
Series: Sweet Temptations Trilogy #1
Rating: 9/10

Hurrah, a new author! And she writes in trilogies! The Sweet Temptations Trilogy tells the stories of the three Chase sisters, in their early 20s, and ready for marriage. Due to a series of deaths in their family, they've been in continuous mourning for a few years and have not been participating in the Season. Lost in Temptation tells the story of Alexandra, eldest of the three girls. Since their parents and oldest sibling (the heir) have passed away, their older brother Griffin is now the Marquess of Cainewood, and bears the unofficial title of "matchmaking mama."

This was a really refreshing historical romance in the way the siblings banter with each other. Because they are so familiar with each other and raised themselves, there's a very modern feel to the way they tease each other. If they were in 2007, I could see all the smacking and "nyah!" stuff going on.

Griffin was not prepared to become the marquess, and as a measure of respect to his older brother Charles, he's trying to save the newly planted vineyards on the estate (it was Charles's pet project before he passed away). He calls on his longtime friend, Tristan Nesbitt, now Marquess of Hawkridge. Alexandra has had a crush on Tris since she was a child, and he's finally reentered her life. The "falling in love with your brother's best friend" plot device is one of my favorites, because it lends to hilarious overprotective older brother incidents.

So Alexandra and Tris are attracted to each other, but it can't work out that easily, can it? Alexandra's younger sisters are constantly coming up with ways to leave the two together unattended, and kisses are stolen, but Tris says he won't marry Alexandra, or anyone. Apparently, there's a scandal following Tris. He only became Marquess of Hawkridge due to the death of his uncle. The circumstances around his death are a little suspicious. Because of his tarnished reputation, Tris is shunned by Society despite not being convicted. Oh, and Tris sleepwalks, so he's afraid that he may have killed his uncle in his sleep. And the sleepwalking? It gets Alexandra compromised, so they have to marry after all.

The men engage in some fisticuffs because someone couldn't keep his hands off someone's sister, and after that night-before-the-wedding fight, Griffin encounters Alexandra baking some traditional Chase family sweets in the middle of the night. At her request, he has to uncomfortably, and hilariously, tell her what to expect on her wedding night. That is partially why her marrying Griffin's best friend is so entertaining. It gets even more hilarious during the actual wedding night when Alexandra is puzzled over how everything isn't happening the way Griffin described and Tris keeps telling her to "stop mentioning Griffin!"

Everything ties up neatly because Alexandra solves the mystery of Tris's uncle's death. It was a bit drawn out and overdramatic at times, and I could see it coming from a mile away (this is why the book isn't a 10), but I will definitely be reading more Lauren Royal. It was truly lovely. I've already got a copy of the second book in the trilogy, Tempting Juliana.

The Raven Prince

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Published: November 2006 (Warner Forever)
Category: Historical Romance
Quote of Choice: You don't have to prove how manly you are by catching the ague.
Rating: 5/10

The category says that this is a historical romance, but some parts of The Raven Prince bordered on erotica. The back copy hints at it, saying that the widow Anna Wren will take her employer, Edward de Raaf, the Earl of Swartingham, as her lover, and he won't know it's her. Apparently, she finds out that he's going to London to visit a brothel and follows him there. She becomes a temporary whore behind a mask (apparently, bored wives of the ton like to have a bit of fun and wear masks so their reputations are wrecked) and receives pleasure she has never known, slaking her womanly desires.

There's not much to the story; it's truly historical fluff. Hoyt injects a little blackmail for some conflict beyond the "I can't believe you thought I was a real whore" plot line. After all of Edward's lust for Anna, he turns into a jerk when he finds out it was truly Anna behind the mask. He's already enjoyed her non-physical company, so he gets over his incorrect assumption and proposes marriage to Anna. But then Anna gets taken in by the blackmail and there's a little wild goose chase and a sloppy duel.

The dialogue is entertaining at times, what with their relationship as secretary and employer. Edward's last two male secretaries ran off and Anna doesn't find Edward frightening at all. She sees Edward for himself, beyond the brusque manners and smallpox scars. While the relationship is interesting (until Anna decides to pretend to be Edward's whore), it can't make up for the lack of a strong plot.

The Paid Companion

Author: Amanda Quick
Published: May 2004 (Putnam)
Category: Historical Romance/Suspense
Rating: 10/10

This has to be my favorite Amanda Quick title. It was sitting in my TBR pile forever. I was so foolish to put off for so long, and I was really sad when it was over.

Elenora Lodge has been kicked out of her home. Her stepfather has squandered her inheritance on an investment scam and he died of an apoplexy when he discovered he'd been swindled. She sets off for London with the master plan of going into trade, opening her own book circulation shop. All she has to do is become a lady's companion to build up some capital. Easier said than done.

Arthur Lancaster, Earl of St. Merryn is well known for his keen investments and his cold nature. His betrothed ran away with another man, and he didn't chase after them. Instead, he lounged in his club and played cards for most of the night (and won, to boot). He made a comment in passing that night, saying that the next time he sought a bride, he would go to an agency providing ladies' companions, because all the qualities in a good wife would be found in a lady's companion, and he'd have the ability to interview her without all the dancing about required in a traditional courtship. After a year, this comment has faded away, but Arthur is now in need of a wife.

In order to investigate the mysterious death of his uncle, Arthur has to be in London during the Season, but doesn't want to deal with the matchmaking mamas and their grasping daughters, eager to snap up an earl. He figures he's got to get someone to act as his fiancée and therefore deflect the attention of the marriage mart. Of course, none of the mousy companions he interviews are good enough. Then Elenora comes barreling through the door, complaining about her days interviews with drunkards and lecherous men. She's the one.

Despite being the practical and levelheaded man he's known to be, Arthur can't resist the attraction to smart and refreshing Elenora. Even though she's pretending to be his betrothed, she cares for his household (able to conveniently reside there because a widowed cousin of Arthur's is in residence as well, and in on the charade), even defending lower servants from a scheming butler. This butler attempts to blackmail Elenora with his knowledge that she's a hired companion, not a real fiancée. She stands up to him and trusts that Arthur will take her side, which of course, he does. Because he's smart and wonderful. He is a logical man and Elenora is a logical woman. No ridiculous blackmail episodes in this book!

Arthur slowly realizes that he truly picked well at the agency when Elenora shares her opinions on his investigation into his uncle's death. When they're alone, either driving through Hyde Park, or conversing in the library in the evening, they have lovely conversations and the banter is amusing. Some ravishing goes on, but the sweet part is, Arthur tries proposing to Elenora for real later, and she tells him he doesn't have to marry a penniless fake when he has his pick of the Season's finest misses. He tells her he knew she was the one the day he saw her in the agency and he wouldn't have ravished her unless he intended to marry her. And the ton already thinks he's weird, so he should do something unconventional in selecting his wife anyways. Awwww.

The background to the romance is the murder investigation. Quick ties in people from Arthur's past, including the woman who jilted him. She and her husband become pawns in the murderer's game. Of course, Elenora gets kidnapped and Arthur rescues her. Oh, and the murderer is trying to build a laser in an underground laboratory. Minor details. Something to do with alchemy.

To me, this was the perfect romance novel. Good story, good dialogue, not vapid, and highly entertaining.