Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden

The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden

Regency Romance, clean

Read August 2012

4 Stars

My Review:
I am loving Sarah M. Eden right now.  I am getting my hands on everything she has written.

This is a bit of a "Cinderella" story (my favorite by the way).  Catherine lives in a horrible situation.  Crispin, as a gentleman, marries her after he kisses her.  The marriage saves Catherine from her situation.

There is a bad guy, a good guy, a damsel in distress and other fun supporting characters.  Although Catherine is shy, she and Crispin have some really fun banter.  I like their dynamic.  One of my favorite characters (besides the hero and heroine), is Crispin's sister, Lizzie.  Another favorite is Philip Jonquil.  I understand that he now has his own book Friends and Foes.  I'll be looking forward to reading that book as well.

Warnings: None

I would let my 14 year old daughter read this book.

ps, this was a quick read that I finished in a day.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff

Adult Fiction

Read August 2012

4 Stars

My Review:
Clothes, I want to SEE these clothes!  This touching story is filled with descriptions of vintage clothes.  The main character owns a vintage clothing shop and I want to shop there myself.  The clothes sound just lovely.

My favorite part of this book is the characters.  The characters are strong and yet flawed.  Funny and quirky, yet filled with sadness.  There are those you love and those you strongly dislike (shall we stay away from the word hate?).

The plot is fascinating as well.  I was quickly drawn in to the mystery of both Phoebe and Mrs. Bell's past mistakes.  They both have hidden the truth from others as well as partly from themselves.  As the mystery unfolds, I am more and more interested in what is going to happen.

There is romance and heartbreak in this story as well.  There are a couple of sex scenes that I could have done without.  I don't think they were necessary to the story.  I admit I am disappointed that they were there and that is why this story got 4 stars instead of more.

I read another review that said this would make a great movie.  If enough beautiful, vintage clothes could be found, then I agree.  I think it would be visually stunning.  Just leave the sex scenes out.

Warnings: A few sex scenes, not long and not horribly graphic, but there nonetheless.

I would not let my 14 year old daughter read this book.  I think it is more appropriate for an older teenager - adult because of the themes and the two sex scenes.  

Friday, August 17, 2012

The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer

The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer

Historical/Regency Romance (clean)

Read August 2012

3.5 Stars

My Review:
I have so many things to say about this book that I don't know where to start.  I guess I should start with WHY I read this book.
WHY:  I have been reading regency romance and really enjoying them.  I am currently waiting for some books I requested/put on hold at the library and was looking for something to read in the meantime.  The library had 3 or 4 Georgette Heyer books on the shelf and this one stood out to me the most in the description as something I would enjoy.  Of course, the Title didn't make any sense to me, but I just let that go.  

THE COVER:  Ack!  Have you ever seen an uglier cover of a book as the orange and red with the unattractive people posing stiffly on it, in clothes that don't look regency at all?  This was not a promising start.  It has to go down in my history as one of the ugliest things I have ever seen.  Most of the Georgette Heyer books I have read have the art of the regency era on them like the beautiful drawing on the other cover which I have here.  

THE TITLE:  What does this mean?  It is the title given to the main character, Sir Waldo Hawkridge, who is a renowned sportsman.  People call him The Nonesuch.  The dictionary defines it as "model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal".  The book has this dialogue:


"They call him the Nonesuch!" said Courtenay reverently.

Do they, love?  That would be a nickname, I daresay.  Depend upon it, it was given him for some silly reason, like the way your grandfather was used to call your poor Aunt Jane Muffin, all because --"

"Oh!" cried her niece, impatiently interrupting these amiable meanderings, "as though anyone was ever called that for a stupid joke!  It means -- it means perfection!  Doesn't it, Ancilla?"

Miss Trent, selecting a length of silk from her skein, replied, in her cool, well-bred voice:  "A paragon, certainly."

"Fudge!  It means being the greatest Go among all the Goers!"  stated Courtenay.

I am ever so grateful for this bit of dialogue to help me understand who this man, Sir Waldo, is.  I did not check the dictionary before reading the book.

THE STORY:  Fantastic!  If my rating of stars was based on the story and some of the dialogue, this book would have 5 stars.  Alas, I have to take in the whole reading experience.  I loved the story, the witty banter, the hero, the heroine, the spoiled brats, the presumed rakes.  Really, I thought every character in this book was thought out and described beautifully.  There were enough twists and turns in the plot to keep it interesting and moving at a good pace.  The romantic tension was lovely, not too much and kept me wanting for just a bit more.  Really, it is the best STORY that I think I have read of Georgette Heyer's. 

THE CONFUSION and FRUSTRATION:  My biggest complaint about this book, is that there are too many words and phrases that make no sense to me.  It started with the title, that I didn't know what it meant and went from there.  I've read regency books before, and come across words from the era that I don't know what they mean, but I can usually figure out their meaning by the surrounding words and paragraphs.  This book didn't have an occasional word I didn't understand.  It had a lot of words I didn't understand.  And most of them were what I think were slang words of the day.  Please, let me give some examples of these words.

These were all within the first chapter and I could figure most of them out:

Jack-at warts 
young sauce-box 
toad-eater
Gull-catcher
buffleheaded clunch

Those were all within the first chapter and each chapter had words like this in it.  I think it was meant to be funny and part of the feel of the book.  However, for me it was confusing.  Sometimes I couldn't tell if the words were meant to be true insults or sarcastic put downs or only a little slight.  I just couldn't tell.

Then to end this great book, Georgette Heyer ends with dialogue that again, I don't get.  I get all the words, I don't understand the reference.  The character says, "A great gun, Waldo!  Damme, a Trojan!".  What does this mean?  (This is rhetorical, please don't email me with the answer.)  

There were also many secondary characters in the story that were hard for me to keep track of who was who.   I found myself saying, "does it really matter who this person is, I hope not, because I'm just gonna keep reading and see if I can figure it out later."  And why do authors put in secondary characters with names that all start with the same letter?  If you are going to have several secondary characters, don't have many of them start with the letter "C".  Help a reader out and give them very differing names.

I haven't felt this strongly pulled in opposite opinions in my memory.  It is a book I loved and hated.  I couldn't put it down because it was so good and yet I couldn't understand much of the dialogue.  It really doesn't make much sense that I would like it so much, but I guess that says a lot for Georgette Heyer's story telling.

If you have read Georgette Heyer's reading before, then I would recommend this book.  It was clever and the characters were terrific.  If you've never read Heyer's work before, then don't start with this one.  You may be more confused than you wish to be while reading something that is supposed to be fun.

Warnings: None

I would let my 14 year old read this book, but I know she would never get through it.

ps I was enjoying this book so much last night that I stayed up until 1 am to finish it, I couldn't put it down.  That doesn't happen a lot.




Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Young Adult

Read August 2012

4 Stars

My Review:
Take a Bow follows 4 students in their senior year at a performing arts high school.  As with many YA books, these teens are trying to find themselves; Who do they want to be, Where do they want to go to college, DO they even want to go to college?  I appreciate reading about the struggles of deciding what to do with your life.

In following these 4 students, the story is told from their points of view.  Each chapter starts with the student's name.  There are 2 characters that are harder for me to distinguish between without the chapter headings.  The other 2 have more distinct voices.  I like reading in different points of view to see a bigger picture of the story.  I think this book does this just fine.

I was a dancer growing up and enjoyed watching shows like Fame.  I admit I have watched the High School Musical movies with my daughters as well.  This is not a Fame or High School Musical movie put in a book, but it does have the Arts as a backdrop which I really enjoyed.

Warnings: Very slight teen drinking and mention of teen sex, but nothing explicit.

I would let my 14 year old daughter read this book.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden

Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden

Regency Romance (clean)

Read August 2012

4 Stars

My Review:
This is the sequel to Seeking Persephone which I read a couple of weeks ago.  I enjoyed it as much as the first.
This is a cute, clean story set in Regency England.  It is a quick read and thoroughly enjoyable.

Warnings: None

I would let my 14 year old daughter read this.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Edenbrooke: A Proper Romance by Julianne Donaldson

Edenbrooke: A Proper Romance by Julianne Donaldson

Regency Romance

Read August 2012

5 Stars

My Review:
This truly is "A Proper Romance".  I loved this book.  It had the feel of a Jane Austen book, but was easier to read.

Marianne, the heroine of this book, is courageous, clumsy, innocent, loyal...so many things.  I loved her.

Philip, the hero of the book, is dashingly handsome, funny, insightful, and flirtatious.  I loved him.

Put these two wonderful characters together in a beautiful setting, with an attack by a highwayman, heartache and romance and you have A Proper Romance.

Warnings: None

I would let my 14 year old daughter read this book. 

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

YA, Fantasy

Read July 2012

3.5 Stars

My Review:
This is a bad boy meets good girl story.  Bad boy is all kinds of mysterious.  Good girl breaks rules to figure out what bad boy is hiding.  Bad boy and good girl fall in love.

I was interested in the mystery of this story.  Who is this bad boy?  Who are these other players?  How is this going to resolve?  The mystery was held out for a long time.  However, the romance part of this story was not my favorite.  It seemed forced.

Warnings: Minimal violence

I would let my 14 year old daughter read this book.