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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Review: Open Country

Open Country by Kaki Warner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Second in the Blood Rose trilogy. Molly McFarlane is on the run with her dead sister's children, trying to protect them from a conspiracy of desperate ex-Confederates. After a train derailment, she enters into a sham marriage with the unconscious and apparently-dying inventor/mine owner Hank Wilkins, so she can get the railroad death benefits for widows. But when it appears Hank might survive, Molly--a former military nurse--makes sure he recovers--even though it will mean entering into a charade that is bound to disillusion him. Really good--even though the initial premise is far-fetched, Warner makes it work.



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Review: Pieces of Sky

Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First in the Blood Rose trilogy of westerns/romances. Jessica Thornton is on the run. Pregnant and pursued, when a stagecoach accident lands her at the RosaRoja ranch, she and rancher Brady Wilkins slowly fall for each other. But Brady has problems of his own--the sadistic Ramirez brothers are on the loose again, and out for revenge. Riveting, and with a heroine who saves herself, always a plus.



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Review: All Night with a Rogue

All Night with a Rogue by Alexandra Hawkins

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I almost didn't finish this, then realized that if I don't finish it, I can't give it bad review. It was bad. The basic plot setup is that a woman asks her brother to seduce a virginal young woman because she's jealous. The "hero" does it, but only because he wants to anyway. How romantic.

The historical/social stuff was way off. This was supposedly a Regency concerning aristocrats. A man introduces himself to a marriageable young woman. Young woman accepts a gift of jewelry from a man. (he gave her a pearl necklace! No, really! He gives ALL his lovers a pearl necklaces, only he gives it to them by putting them into their vaginas first, because he's a sweetheart like that!). Everyone knows young woman is the mistress of this Marquess of Slutbag, but people still talk to her anyway. A mother pimps out her marriageable daughter to perverts not ONCE but TWICE, also expecting the hero to rescue her--but DOESN'T TELL HIM ANYTHING. WTF? I think maybe Hawkins could have pulled off something like this if she made her heroine of a lower class, or did anything to acknowledge the vileness of the mother, or at least stage something satisfactorily awful to happen to the villainess...but no. This was really not worth the time or the discounted price.



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Review: The Admiral's Penniless Bride

The Admiral's Penniless Bride by Carla Kelly

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Sally Paul, a widowed lady's companion, is out of work and down to her last coin. Her knight in shining armor arrives in the form of Admiral Sir Charles Bright (R.N., ret'd.), who feels the need to marry immediately. He's bought a deceased Earl's orgy palace and needs a woman's touch to make it into a respectable home; also he needs a wife to keep his overbearing sisters away. Over time their marriage of convenience develops into something more...but Sally is keeping a secret that threatens more than their growing happiness.

The books starts off on a light tone --witty banter, the pornographic decor of the admiral's new estate--with underlying sad notes of the losses that Sally and the Admiral have experienced, and this counterpoint continues throughout the book. These characters are no longer young (in their 30s/40s) and their age and life experiences bring a mature note to this romance--like a fine wine, some things are better with age. Sally is a nurturer and the admiral, a kind man, mostly follows her lead. The story is set in 1816, during a postwar depression that modern readers can relate to. Jobs are hard to find. Sally not only hires those she can, but also makes friends who are able to stand by her in her time of need. She also nearly immediately sees that the retired admiral, an active man who, after all, bought a near-brothel so he could have a view of the sea, needs something important to do to occupy himself, and makes sure he has that. And he, in turn, is delighted to provide for his new wife, and eventually attempts to do something really important for her.

This book made me laugh and cry. I re-read my favorite parts immediately after finishing it. The history is accurate, or at very least close enough for me not to tell the difference (and I'm fussy that way). The plot develops organically from the characters and the situations. The only issue I had with it is that I would have liked to see more of Sally's viewpoint near the ending. But overall, I loved this book and you probably will too.



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