The Good, The Bad and The Unread’s Sybill has put forth these as her to die for must reads –

• Jo Goodman (her latest Marry Me is grand)
• Lisa Kleypas (Devil in Winter is my all time fave of hers)
• Pamela Clare (Ride the Fire is amazing)
• Susan Kay Law
• Cheryl St.John
• Madeline Hunter

Dear Author’s Jane -

I have several historical romances that I love including Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase and a more modern writer, Meredith Duran’s Bound by Your Touch.

I keep thinking of that scene from Clueless where they play ‘suck and blow’ with a playing card….except it involves more flexibility and is naughtier

There comes a time in a woman’s life when she must do the unthinkable – and find employment. For the widowed Anna Wren, that means taking a job as female secretary for the Earl of Swartingham. Secretaries are always male – never female – as Anna well knows but the real downfall of her career is the realization that she is falling in love with Edward de Raaf – the Earl. But when she realizes that he is going to visit a brothel in London to take care of his ‘manly’ desires, Anna sees red – and decides to take advantage of the opportunity to also take care of her ‘womanly’ desires – with the Earl as her unknowing lover.

But the Earl has another reason for going to London. He is formalising his betrothal and trying (with little success) to forget about a secretary that has no right being female. Unhandsome, he knows that no woman wants him. Except for the mysterious lady with whom he spent two unforgettable nights at Aphrodite’s Grotto, the most scandalous brothel in London. But when Anna’s plan is revealed, a bit of blackmail is thrown into the mix, a proposal is rejected and even the Earl himself will be unprepared for the intrigues that ensnare them.

The Heroine:

Anna is a widow scraping by in a household populated by those left behind – mothers in laws, orphans, and many more.  Her husband didn’t have support in place and as such she’s as poor as a church mouse and just as hungry.  When the opportunity to work as the Lord’s secretary comes about, being a woman of mettle, she takes it.  It takes all her gumption to deal with the beast that is the moody, sullen and utter bastard that is …

The Hero:

While Edward’s bouts of displeasure are often mirror a four year old on a rampage – noisy, destructive and getting him nowhere – it all comes from a place of wretched pain.  Unlike most romantic heroes, his features are unattractive and his face and upper body are pock-mark ridden.  His family was ravaged by an outbreak of the smallpox and everyone but Edward passed away.  He bears a significant amount of survivor’s guilt and rage at the world in general.  It did not help that his first wife reviled him for his looks and thankfully died post haste in childbirth.  The dude’s got issues.

The Steam:

Generated from Anna’s inability to let him tread over her like a doormat, Edward is forced to think about himself from an outward perspective for the first time.  Anna’s not all that attractive, rather plain actually but she intrigues him.  Their emotional connection, of which neither is really willing to concede, shows itself in the sizzle that emits when they are in the vicinity of one another.  Both try to push it back but when Edward goes to London to “work out” his need (and propose to bland young miss), Anna is incensed.  With much subterfuge she seduces Edward anonymously and thus kick starts a series of very steamy scenes.  Get-your-fans-ready-hot.  Their chemistry is combustible and Hoyt crafts their physical and emotional connection is a way that are inseparable and yet move the story, and character growth along.  Quite an accomplishment.

The Sass:

Not much.  Edward can be a boar, and a bore.  Anna can be priggish and stubborn.  The sass is overwhelmed by the steam so there’s no problem whatsoever.  Instead of sass we have many scenes showing how these two complement one another in every day life.  How they bring out the best in one another, how they are so well suited (not just between the sheets).  There is genuine friendship here, it isn’t just a romance built purely on sexual attraction.  Brava Elizabeth Holt.

Sensual.  Heart wrenching.  Beautifully realised.  Compelling.  Read it now.

Five toe curls

Hugh Dunne, the Earl of Briarly, needs a wife—so his sister hands him a list of the very best young ladies on the market. And then, because he refuses to tear himself away from the stables where he trains Arabian racehorses, she invites all those ladies to a house party, along with some other bachelors, of course. So who will Hugh choose? The Botticelli-esque, enchanting Gwendolyn? The outspoken, delightful Katherine? If he doesn’t work fast, he’ll lose those ladies to his closest friends, and then where will he look for a wife? Perhaps, just perhaps, toward a lady who’s not on a market at all, and would require a great deal of persuading…

The Tag Line:

Again there isn’t one.  Too many authors to squeeze onto the back of that fair maiden’s dress.  A tag line might have involved adding a train to that lemon sorbet, ribbon bedecked, shawl covered ensemble.  Let’s face it, even a Lady can’t work that much look!

The Heroine(s):

There are quite a number in this story told in three parts – Lady Carolyn (already married / matchmaker extraordinaire), Miss Katherine Peyton (plain spoken, elf woman), Miss Gwendolyn Passmore (stunningly gorgeous and stunningly shy) and Lady Georgina Sorrell widow and convenient bestie of matchmaker).

The Hero(es):

Again there are a number – Hugh Dunne (the horse obsessed, tactless Earl of Briarly and the matchmaker’s brother), Captain Neill Oakes (he of the too many l’s with a mysterious war hero past) and Alec (pushover Lord of Charters).

The Evil…

If I had Octavia as a sister, I would have sold her into slavery.  While Lord Charter’s sibling isn’t evil incarnate, she is freakishly annoying.  It speaks to the effectiveness of the Gwen character and the way in which Julia Quinn crafted a breathtaking woman who would rather hide under the table than receive compliments from a hoard of beaux.  While Octavia’s jealousy is justifiable, she needed to be sketched out more to make her less of a harridan.

What worked?

To be honest, they all did.  However,  the most emotionally satisfying storyline was that of the least recognisable contributor (this is becoming a habit for me).  Connie Brockway’s story of two characters who dug each other in a mighty way and never really conveyed it was convincingly told.  You could really feel Kate and Neill’s (again, unnecessary ‘l’) investment in one another, years of shared experiences and genuine understanding of one another.  While the inner dialogue did assist in that, Brockway’s dialogue could have done that alone.  She was shockingly successful in such a  small page count.  What worked for this reader was the dynamism of the pairing, it was really about charging forth without thinking the scenarios through.  They both felt for one another from the beginning but their need to be with one another was hampered by their recklessness.  Loved it.

What didn’t work?

In some respects the remaining pair felt like a consolation prize.  They weren’t but it was like handing off the last two prizes on the shelf.  The three stories, novellas if you will, were nicely contained but their truncated length made the connections between characters pretty speedy.  So speedy that there were gaping holes of time frame incredulity, especially in terms of how quickly one shy miss went to a certain base (if you know what I mean).

It’s a format that worked.  Whomever had the duty of threading it together with the introduction and concluding scenes did a fabulous job in making three disparate styles quite seamless.  ‘The Lady Most Likely...’ gives me further reason to search more novella compilations out immediately.

Three toe curls

He’s always been a player.
Dashing Lord Harry Traemore is perfectly content to live out his days in the pursuit of pleasure. But when he’s named by the Prince Regent as one of society’s “Impossible Bachelors,” Harry is drafted into a ribald romantic wager. The rules of engagement are scandalously simple: The bachelor whose mistress wins the title of “Most Delectable Companion” gets to remain unmarried. Harry is utterly unconcerned about his status…until his latest lightskirt abandons him.

Who will win this game of love?
Enter Lady Molly Fairbanks. Harry’s childhood friend—actually, “foe” is more like it—is the most unlikely companion of all. She’s attractive but hot-headed, and in no mood for games. Besides, what could the self-indulgent Harry possibly know about what makes a woman delectable? It’s time for Molly to teach him a lesson once and for all…but will it lead to “happily ever after?”

The Tag Line:

Boy, I wish there were one.  But this is the case of a book title being it’s own very shady tag line.  Almost like ‘when titles attack!’  It’s so horrendous that it’s almost retro-good.  A fine line, a fine line indeed.

The Heroine:

Molly would be a perfect Disney heroine.  Seriously, she teaches the whores (more on that later) the importance of self-respect and friendship and befriends each of the Impossible Bachelors.  She also appears to have magical make up skills as face powder, blush and some kohl kept her identity a secret for the entire party.  It’s almost as lame as Clark Kent’s glasses but at least Molly had the power of a cleavage misdirect.

Molly’s a dolt.  She attempts to elope with a guy she’s not overly fond of so she can escape her home.  When he deserts her, she agrees to play Harry’s tart in a competition so she will eventually have a ride home (to the place she was escaping in the first place).  Like I said, she’s a dolt.

The Hero:

Harry is a bit of a cad.  Years ago he kissed his brother’s fiancee (Molly’s sister) because he has daddy issues and the resulting mess had him sent off to Waterloo.  Of course war taught him to be a man and all that jazz but his dislike for Molly has held true.  It’s difficult to suspend the need to conk Harry on the head and tell him to get over it.  He’s the spare yada yada yada, move on boy!

The Evil….Ugly Bachelor

Of course the one unattractive bachelor had to be the evil one.  He also happens to be grabby in both the violent and unwanted sexual advance way.  Sir Richard is one twirling moustache away from being a cardboard cutout with a mechanised function.  Not only is he grabby but he’s plotting the downfall of Harry for some “mysterious” reason that gets wrapped up in a convenient way that deserves a red ribbon of finality.

The Steam:

Once you can get past Harry forcing Molly to look and act (kissing closet game, not as lame as it sounds …but kinda) like a mistress, there is definite sparkage there.  The scenes that edge them towards and into more intimate interplay also work on an emotional front.  This wouldn’t be successful if the characters weren’t as likeable as they are.  For all their faults, and boy are they self-aware, they are two genuinely well-rounded characters that you are rooting for.  Too bad the scenario that forces them together is so preposterous (and yet very amusing).

The Sass:

It comes from a place of hurt and anger so it shoots from the hip.  The interplay is sharp and funny, preposterous and knowing.  These two have years of history and know that regardless of how things work out in their dastardly scheme, they will continue to be in each other’s sphere.  Familial bonds tether them to each other and yet their feelings for each other are anything but.  It’s like two squabbling nine-year olds tearing each other to shreds, just age them up and add sexual tension.  It works.

I could have done without each of the other mistresses being ridiculous cliches.  It was so heavy handed, to the point of farce, that they could have had Disney-influence dwarf names (Duncey, Ragey, Meeky and Wounded-y)  to further solidify Molly as a blue bird calling dolt.

Despite all that, When Harry Met Molly is a fun read with a clipping pace and lovely characterisation.  I am hanging out for the next title in the Impossible Bachelor series “Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right”, though I could do without the way off base, extremely inaccurate depiction of Prince of Wales (aka Prinny). Definitely a title to get your claws into!

Four toe curls.

Once upon a time, four superstar storytellers—New York Times bestselling authors Stephanie Laurens and Mary Balogh, along with Jacquie D’Alessandro and Candice Hern—came up with a delicious idea. What if they each wrote a story about a proper young lady stranded at a remote inn away from society’s constraints? What would happen? And how long would it take for her to give in to desire?

In these four amazing tales, four heroines will come face-to-face with the men who got away . . . only to discover that, instead of anger, there is still a passionate connection that cannot be denied. And while each of their lives is quite different, and their pasts utterly unique, they will all make a common discovery—that one night can change everything . . . forever.

The Tag Line:

Unfortunately there wasn’t one as they had to provide room for the names of all four authors (two in BIG font, two in less than font – hierarchical much?)

As there are four stories I am breaking them down into them, instead of my normal Heroine / Hero / Steam. It’s a fascinating idea – that four historical romance writers each tackle the same core story point and see how they turn out. There has long been the story of there not being an original ideas any more but Balogh theorised it was all in the execution. She’s proven that delivery is everything.

Each author was asked to write a novella sharing the same plot: “A man and a woman, who have neither seen nor heard from each other in ten years, meet again when they find themselves staying at the same inn for a twenty-four hour period”.  The results were remarkably different.

The Fall of the Rogue Gerrard (Stephanie Laurens)

Childhood friends.  One kiss as teen / young adult.  A lot of carousing and spinsterising (you know what I mean) for ten years and then Ro and Lydia meet again.  Lydia’s on a mission to save her bluestocking sister from ruin by retrieving a letter.  Ro ably assists her.   It’s all rather by the book but as fun as their jaunt in the den  Not a huge amount of story but the characters make an impression

Spellbound (Mary Balogh)

Robert Kemp was once a lowly secretary in love with his boss’ daughter, Nora.  They ran away to Scotland, married and then were summarily separated.  Ten years have changed their circumstances dramatically and a day at the Wimbury fair together answers some questions and sweetly wraps the twosome up in loveliness.  Quite enjoyable if not a little underdone.

Only You (Jacquie D’Alessandro)

Ethan Baxter was the lowly stable boy, Cassandra the lord’s daughter.  Best friends since childhood, he loved her but knew it could never be.  Ten years later, her husband now deceased and Ethan world-weary, they reconnect.  My favourite of the bunch, a real sense of friendship and connection between the two leads as well as glorious longing.  I was cheering them on the entire read.

From This Moment On (Candice Hern)

A little untraditional in that the two leads were lovers as teenagers meeting on and off over twenty-five years.  She thought he was dead, he thought she was a harlot (courtesan, get it right Sam!) and their hurt feelings spurned them both onto elevated status.  As sweethearts they had nothing, were seen to be nothing.  Now in their middle age years they are successful.  Much has passed and as they reconnect they learn that not everything has changed.  Hern added some lovely tomfoolery to force the timeframe but it felt heavy in exposition as they went over every one of their meetings in regards to their feelings and intentions.

A fun read with a fun take on the idea that romance’s are predictable.

Without further ado, Kat’s thoughts on what a gal must read post haste:

Off the top of my head, for more literary historical romance authors I’d say Joanna Bourne (esp book 2), Meredith Duran (a recent discovery for me), Laura Kinsale (my fave; Flowers from the Storm is most people’s favourite, but I love Shadowheart, which is a loosely related sequel to For My Lady’s Heart), Jo Goodman (my second fave).

Aussie authors – Stephanie Laurens (I confess, I don’t actually read her work), Anna Campbell (purpley but I enjoy her work except Captive of Sin)

Humourous - Eloisa James (Pleasures trilogy, esp books 2 and 3; everything else is more dramatic, although still witty), Julia Quinn (Bridgerton series, books 1-4), The Switch by Lindsay Sands, Mr Impossible by Loretta Chase, Soulless by Gail Carriger (steampunk romance, but subsequent books are not as romancey)

Classic dessert island keepers (according to many other readers): Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas, Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (the Derek vs Sebastian debate rages on in Romancelandia, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (I think I liked this one until the last few chapters).

Thanks Kat….now off to spend more money at the bookstore this week.  I will be homeless the way I am going

When Cole Reklaw offers a prime parcel of ranchland to the first of his five children to marry and produce a grandchild, his daughter Molly vows to win. She heads for Reklaw Gorge — where her pa had once “bushwhacked” his future bride off a stagecoach — only to watch that very vehicle come crashing into the gorge, bringing with it Molly’s own “hero” from across time, Lucky Lamont.

All Lucky ever wanted was to get even with his girlfriend for betraying him. Instead he finds himself in the clutches of a hellcat who declares she will marry him, or else. Then Molly Reklaw goads Lucky into a reckless kiss that soon results in a shotgun wedding! With the bride set on gaining the prize and the groom burning for revenge, can love find a way for both of them to win?

I will admit that I couldn’t finish this book. I tried. Goodness knows I tried but it was beyond me. Bushwhacked Groom found its way to me due to 1) a hilarious title name and 2) a preposterous time travel / historical premise. Except right from the prologue I wanted to get as far away from the Hero as humanly possible. You see, Lucky is a simpleton. A simpleton who thinks he’s rational, intelligent and quality goods. He’s none of these things. He’s an idjit.

Lucky finds himself transported through time via a harlot’s carraige and a plot convenient, vengeance driven sibling. He arrives quite tidily in 1910 where he’s snagged by Molly to be her affianced. If Lucky is annoying then Molly is Carrot Top. The author seems so taken with the preposterously devised dialogue and dialect that she fails to realise how cockamamie everything is.

Molly’s insistence on marrying Lucky, a guy that fell out of the future, is played for comedic effect…except it is never funny.  In fact it is downright annoying.

Perhaps the book moves beyond the absurd premise.  Perhaps it creates a real, lasting connection between its two leads.  Perhaps I’ve missed out on a great read but the failure to move beyond cardboard caricatures with a laugh track didn’t a good book make (for me.)

Stubbed toe.

The third Novel of Sensual Destiny tells the intoxicating story of an innocent lady’s companion, who drinks a magical potion-and is swept into a dangerous relationship of decadent desire.

The characters in this novel are so morally barren that at times it is rather difficult to stay involved. Everyone outside of the hero and heroine are unbelievably selfish and grasping individuals that I would sooner run over than say hello to. There is an exceedingly large array of characters on offer, all pretty nefarious, with exception to our loved up twosome. It should be enough but it really isn’t.

The pacing and consistency of the characters is as tight as the evil whore twins corset laces. One moment our heroine is snippy and righteous, the next moment she is one on one with the lord’s investigative digits. Let me say this again in another way – a formerly upright virgin with firm morals and a sharp tongue finds herself on her back in a library with a “sword” within (what feels like) two seconds. Throw in a magic potion (or two), a hero that is a verbal bully and some heinous, heinous relatives and you lost me.

Holt is known as the ‘Queen of Erotic Romance’ but I didn’t feel the eroticism, the heat or the heart that I experienced in Total Surrender. Instead it felt a lot like cruelty, rushed sexy times and two people who would probably hate one another four months after their wedding. The connection wasn’t there, unfortunately neither was the foreplay.

What I got instead were two thoroughly horrible twin wards with sexual proclivity towards s&m. Their back story should be sad and perhaps explain some of their motivations but instead it makes them headcases that you want to make carriage roadkill immediately. I am not sure if the scenes involving the twins and a third individual were supposed to be hot but it takes incest a step towards narcissism that is quite unsettling. Holt rides the line of propriety but the twins were so evil they were two mo’s short of an evil moustache twirl.

Everyone is so lacking in redemption that it leaves the reader feeling a little bereft. Happy ending or not, the reader has spent an entire novel reading about some genuinely horrible (and thinly constructed) people. I would much have preferred that Holt had spent that page time on developing the connection between the two leads. The whole ‘Me Tarzan, You Jane’ take on the lord was icky and a tenuous link that the one female that attracts his interest is the one that says ‘no’. The one that promptly stops saying no five minuets within his presence. It was thoroughly disheartening to see a character renege all previous traits before the boorish dictator with a large sword.

Lastly, a character with two identities becomes very invested in our heroine with very little cause. Every time he opens his mouth and goes on a tirade (with words or fists) it is rather disconcerting as the bond wasn’t reinforced. He likes her. Sure. But not enough to go out of his way threatening and what not on her behalf. It is all rather peculiar.

In a nutshell it feels as though Holt rushed this narrative jumping between s&M flights of fancy, unnecessary (and ill used) hot springs entrapment and two characters that never fall in sync (even in the bedroom). Disappointing.

Two toe curls

Wendy the Super Librarian

***

From a librarian standpoint, I thought first I would give you a brief list of historical romance authors I consider “core” collection. These are the authors where I order their latest book, no matter what, no questions asked. They’re “name” authors to historical romance readers, and I know their latest title is going to generate demand among my library users. Here is a starting off point:

Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Mary Balogh, Connie Brockway, Elizabeth Hoyt, Laura Lee Gurhke, Jo Beverley, Stephanie Laurens, Loretta Chase, Laura Kinsale, Amanda Quick, Adele Ashworth, Lisa Kleypas.

I also think libraries should provide somewhat of a “history” when it comes to fiction. So I always like to keep Old School authors around. Folks like Georgette Heyer, Johanna Lindsey, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Jude Deveraux etc.

Now, my own personal historical romance reading recommendation list? Here’s a small sampling. Some of these are out of print, and possibly hard to find. But there’s others here that should be fairly easy to lay your hands on:

• Laura Lee Guhrke – Two older titles are MUST reads. Breathless and To Dream Again.
• Adele Ashworth – My Darling Caroline (recently reprinted)
• Susan Wiggs – Chicago Fire trilogy, The Hostage, The Mistress, The Firebrand (all recently reprinted)
• Cheryl St. John – Prairie Wife is my favorite, but she’s written several goodies for Harlequin Historical
• Maureen McKade – A Reason to Live, A Reason to Believe and A Reason to Sin (the first book “Live” is particularly fantastic!)
• Pamela Morsi – Simple Jess, Courting Miss Hattie, Wild Oats
• Cheryl Reavis – The Bride Fair
• Lorraine Heath – her Texas trilogy (Texas Destiny, Texas Glory, Texas Splendor)
• Kate Lyon – Hope’s Captive (try to ignore the gawd-awful cover!)
• Maggie Osborne – in particular, The Promise of Jenny Jones, I Do I Do I Do, The Seduction of Samantha Kincade and Prairie Moon.

A sincere thank you to Wendy for taking the time to put this lovely list together.  And now to the bookstore!