Review: Never Trust a Scoundrel

Never Trust a Scoundrel by Gayle Callen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Our heroine arrives in London to discover that her mother--her mother!--has gambled away her hand in marriage to someone who doesn't want it. He is, however, in the market for a new mistress. This is why he's a scoundrel, and why the heroine should not trust him. However, they develop a wager of their own instead (even though she is very anti-gambling, because of the fact that her mother's gambling problem has impoverished and imperiled her): she'll let the scoundrel TRY to seduce her and if she can hold out for two weeks, she gets back an asset that will recover enough of her family's fortune for survival. Now, with that kind of mad loot on the line, I could probably hold out for far longer than two weeks, myself. Interestingly enough, the cover scene is actually in the book, so I'll let the Dear Reader guess how well the whole thing works out for the heroine. An average read for this kind of thing. Characters from The Viscount in Her Bedroom make an appearance in this book as well.



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Review: How to Woo a Reluctant Lady

How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Hint to the hero: it's easier if you don't kiss her then call her a tramp when she's 19. Also, shocker, the hero has no title (but he is a spy, of course).



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Review: Scandal of the Year

Scandal of the Year by Laura Lee Guhrke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Aidan Carr, the Duke (10 points!) of Trathen is a solid, upright, honorable citizen. Which is why it seems out of character for him to be named correspondent in a scandalous divorce case. Yet he cannot get the memories of his tryst with the notorious Julia, Lady Yardley, out of his mind. Except for the parts he can't remember at all. All of which combine to totally drive him crazy, even as he tries to move on with his life.

Julia, Lady Yardley, is relieved to finally be free of her brutal husband, even though she had to seduce and betray a friend to finally get her husband to divorce her. Yet her financial problems remain, and the only person who can help her appears to be the Duke of Trathen...

This book is a fascinating look into the relationship between two people who seem to be opposite: Aidan dearly wants to be married and have a family, while Julia has very good reason to be wary of entering any institution where someone can control her again. Aidan seeks respectability, while Julia has always been freewheeling. Yet Aidan has his reckless side (he loses control when he drinks, which is why he doesn't usually drink), and Julia is nowhere near as promiscuous as she presents herself.

I really enjoyed this book. Like the first in the series, I thought the ending was a little rushed and a little pat, but overall it is a solid, enjoyable romance, and one that really makes a modern reader appreciate the humane-ness of modern divorce law!


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Review: When Beauty Tamed the Beast

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Part of James's series of Regency-set rewrites of fairy tales. I know you will be surprised to hear that this is the one of Beauty and the Beast. However, this Beauty (Linnet Thrynne) is not just beautiful, but she's also smart, and witty, and knows a thing or two about the power struggle between the sexes. And this comes in remarkably handy when a remarkable string of coincidences ruins her reputation, leaving her only with an arranged marriage to a Beastly, lame, and rumored-impotent doctor, who also happens to be the estranged heir to a duke (5 points!). And the result is just marvelous. The banter between the hero and the heroine makes the book before anything truly happens. And the conflict between the two--he's afraid to marry because he fears his disability and pain will either turn him to addiction or emotional abuse--is realistic and not easily solved. There are some heartwrenching scenes, but some great humor in this book as well (there are characters named Kibbles and Bitts! ). I know some people think James is hard to get into, but this book starts out funny, then gets sexy, then gets sad, and by then you're truly hooked. Highly recommended.



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Review: Mistress by Midnight

Mistress by Midnight by Maggie Robinson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


An earl (3 points!) attempts to get his former lover to marry him after his wife dies. Unfortunately too many years and tears have gone by for her to pick up with him again easily. And he gets this really, really stupid idea that blackmailing her to become his mistress will help his suit. The first half of the book shows the stupidity of this idea; the second half of the book improves, when he takes her (along with some younger guests) on a summer getaway to his Yorkshire property in a much better (and more direct) attempt to deal with the unresolved issues between them. The first half of this book probably only merits two stars but by the ending Robinson redeems it.



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Review: At Home: A Short History of Private Life

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Purportedly a history of domestic life from the Victorian age on, this seems mostly an excuse for Bryson to ramble on about things that are interesting and possibly maybe tangentially related to his ostensible topic, houses. Like, did you know that there are only about 20 molecules of francium in the planet at one time? Or that modern garbage disposals make the perfect food for rats? Why does the chapter on the cellar have nothing to do with cellars and end up talking about the Eiffel Tower? Of course the history of the dining room leads inexorably to the Sepoy Mutiny. Of course! But it's all fascinating and Bryson has a way of making what you would think the dullest history come to life. I think this book is especially interesting for those who read and write historical fiction, as it does illuminate many semi-random aspects of what life was like in the past 200-300 years. And it certainly explains why so many 18th and 19th century clergyman also produced such astounding, breakthrough scholarship.



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Review: Chasing the Sun

Chasing the Sun by Kaki Warner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Concludes the trilogy. Singer Daisy Etheridge is on the run (do you sense a theme here?); even though things are looking up for her professionally, she's shot a man who was trying to kidnap her toddler daughter and sell her to a brothel. So she seeks out her daughter's father's family for safety and money--not knowing that Jack Wilkins himself is back from Australia. And he doesn't recognize her, at least not until he looks at her breasts. But the Wilkins family is facing other perils--a horse flu, a played-out mine, and loans in the hands of their enemies. Can this couple, nay this whole extended family, find a happy resolution?

I really liked these books. I especially liked the way that Warner followed up with couples from the preceding books--not the delirious, full-of-sparkly-happy-perfection-and-1000-kids that some romance series portray, but couples growing and dealing with new problems together. I also liked the way that Warner dealt with the medical realities of the post-Civil-War era in New Mexico, including especially reproductive health. And the heroines all save themselves! Plus!



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