Whew! I've been away for awhile so I want to catch up with everyone, I'm sorry in advance for what will probably be a long post.
Lisette
starlady: What do have by Woodiwiss?
I can't remember the exact name, something about
Ashes in the Wind maybe? I remember it takes place during the civil war, but I just haven't been able to get myself excited since I bought it. Her newest one,
A Reluctant Suitor goes paperback tomorrow, that one I am more excited about.
starlady:I read Elizabeth Boyle's One Night of Passion (the first in the Danvers series) and I wanted to kick myself for not reading her sooner.
I totally agree - about the kicking myself part. I just (three or four books ago) read her
No Marriage of Convince and totally loved it. Plus, I'm so glad you said something about ONOP being first in the series, I have book #2
Stealing the Bride but didn't know it was part of a series.
I'm always finding and reading books out of order before I even know they're part of a series. I actually read Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books exactly backwards.
I think Bloyle's latest,
It Takes A Hero comes out tomorrow, March 30th, as well.
wild_child_uk: Oh I love that when in a series, there are a few characters that you fall in love with but they aren't the main characters in that book... but it hints that there is sexual tension between them... then you get to read about them in the next book.. and so forth.
I love that too! I just finished two books in Jo Beverly's Maloren series,
Secrets of the Night and Devilish, and the whole way though SOTN there is great tension between the main characters from Devilish. Plus, I really like that her characters pop up again and again in other books of hers.
4 EVER ROSWELL: i used to never read them. but when i picked up my first romance (Cathy Maxwell) i was hooked line and sinker!
Oh, I like her too. Though I have had a little trouble bonding to some of her heroines. Which book was your first? Have you read her newest,
The Seduction of an English Lady?
For other authors similar to Maxwell, I would say try
Julia Quinn, Karen Hawkens, Sabrina Jeffries, and Suzanne Enoch. All lean toward the fluffy and funny but usually have some serious veins as well. I'd say on the passion-o-meter they're around mid-line. Not dull and undiscriptive, but not so hot that they scare away newer readers still getting used to the genre. I know they made me feel better when I first started reading romance, having wrongly assumed that all the books were just porn with minimal plot.
Starlight: this month i found an amazing author Lisa Kleypas her historical novels are the best
I really like her too, I've read nearly her entire back list. My favs are
Prince of Dreams, though I thought it a terrible title for how dark the book about an exiled Russian Prince is, and
Dreaming of You about a young woman writer who gets involved with the owner of a gambling hall though a chance encounter. Can you tell I'm a sucker for scared heroes?
starlady: She [Kleypas] writes historical that have to do with everyday people. Which is nice for a change. Most historicals are stories about the aristocracy <SP?>
True. Though I have to admit, I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to my historicals, I want the dashing Duke and the Mightily Mysterious Marquess. I equate it to being financially stable, though I know being titled was absolutely no guarantee of wealth. But for me, it's all about the fantasy and when my KNISA comes to sweep me off my feet he can also afford to fashionably attire said feet.
I totally agree that Kleypas fans will probably like Jo Beverly too. They have similarly complicated plots and nice steamy love scenes, generally more than one to a book too.
I would also recommend Liz Carlyle, though she a little less steam and a little more angst.
starlady~ you mentioned having Madeline Hunter in your TBR and looking for a rec.
I recently finished the first book in her new series (there are 4 so far), entitled
The Seducer. I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars. Well written with great love scenes, but I had a very hard time connecting with the characters or even caring about them. In fact, the most emotional parts were the loves scenes, one nearly brought me to tears. It was almost a shock to read them though, when the rest of the book seemed so cold and... removed is the only word I can think of to describe it, if you understanding my meaning.
In an effort to make the hero mysterious we get so little information about him for the first 2/3 of the book that it's hard to invest in him at all. The same can be said for the plot revolving around the h/h having something to do with the mysterious death of the heroine's parents, the French Revolution, some men the hero is trying to seek revenge on, and his paralyzed sister; we get little bits of information here and there that do eventually add up in a mostly gratifying way, but I was so distracted trying find some bond with the characters, both to me and each other, that it was hard to keep track of what was going on, let alone try to piece it together as I read.
The most interesting characters were two supporting characters, one who has his own book (either The Saint or The Sinner, I can't remember) and a woman sponsoring the heroine who has publicly separated from her husband and is now suffering the consequences. I only hope that her husband is killed off soon so she too will get her own book.
Since I bought all 4 books (I couldn't figure out which one came first when in the store, why can't they publish lists on the inside covers of series books?! :mad:) I will read the next one, but if it fails to connect with me again I'll probably take the other two back and exchange them for something else.
Ok all caught up now.
Currently I'm reading
The Husband Hunt by
Jillian Hunter. I'm finding it a bit dry. Anybody read anything by her before?
Oh, and I had a discussion-ish question.
For those who read historicals, specifically those set in or with English characters, how do you pronounce words that have a different pronunciation now than they did then? As you read do you say/think/read the historically accurate or the current? Or has my history degree made me a little too invested in historical aspects and you all think I'm nuts?
For example: The valet; usually pronounced val-ay, but was pronounced val-et with a hard 't'.
In this case I usually read the historical with the hard 't', but I absolutely can not overcome mar-key for mar-kwiss in the case of marquess.
Nighty, night.
~ L.
