Book Review-Again the Magic

 Lisa Kleypas

Again the Magic

A Historical Romance Novel

This book was fantastic, especially the emotional twist at the end that I refuse to give away.  The story is about two childhood sweethearts whose lives have dramatically changed since being torn apart from each other.  It has wonderful raw emotions and does a great job of portraying the fears and insecurities of the two main characters.  The side story romance for the heroine's sister was also a lot of fun and I couldn't help wishing that there had been more.  Another plus about this book is that Lord Westcliff, one of my favorite Kleypas heroes, is included as the heroine's brother.

I love how real the people in this book felt and that Kleypas was able to create great characters without glossing over their flaws.  Neither main character is perfect but it is clear that both are battling with the notion of love.

5/5

Book Review-Candle in the Window

Christina Dodd
Candle in the Window
A Historical Romance Novel

I love searching out famous author's first novels.  As I read them I wonder why this was the one that got them an agent, an editor, and finally published.  Sometimes there is a unique twist or they have a different way of writing.  I sought out this book because I wanted to know how Christina Dodd burst onto the writing scene.  Candle in the Window appears to have been her first novel and was put out almost twenty years ago.  I set a different standard for books this old.  Romance writing has really changed since then so I give it a pass on many of the things that usually irk me like voice changes and long internal monologues.

From what I can see from this book, it was an interesting hook that got her noticed.  The heroine is blind and for a little while in the book so is the hero.  Dodd pulls this aspect off rather well.  The plot line is propelled and twisted by this handicap, it isn't just a character quirk.  I was also pleased to see that she kept to it very well.  I didn't notice any time when a person could suddenly 'see' something even though they were blind.

Considering the age of this book, it was fun read.  My main complaint would be that it seemed to go on for too long.  There were places where I wanted it to end and tie up the story instead of throwing in another dramatic test for the new couple.  It could have been two tightly written books instead of one longwinded one.  Overall it was an interesting read.

3/5

Book Review-Ravishing in Red

Madeline Hunter

Ravishing in Red
A Historical Romance Novel

This book was a surprise for me. I'd never read Madeline Hunter before and the back blurb just didn't seem to draw me in. I expected to find another spy novel with bumbling characters and a weak mystery woven inside. What I ended up loving about the book was that the heroine was not only stubborn and strong, she was also smart. She knows that men undervalue women and she is able to use that to her advantage.

Hunter's use of secondary characters is very enticing. The other women in the Rarest Blooms group were quite entertaining and she did a great job of teasing towards her other books in the series. I liked how she was drawn to the crippled brother and how that then impacted her relationship with her husband. It created some wonderful plot twists that propelled the story instead of feeling like filler. I am excited to continue the series as it unravels each woman's mysterious past. Also, I love her cover!

5/5

Book Review-The Devil to Pay

Liz Carlyle

The Devil To Pay
Historical Romance Novel

In some ways, I didn't want to like this book. Tattoos back then were very painful and I just have a very hard time imagining someone getting a black angel tattoo on their breast of all places. Even worse was how she loved showing it off to people that she had duped like some sort of slutty version of sticking her tongue out at the men. Also the 'hero' was a bit bumbly, the idea of them being in love didn't really mesh well. Then there were other, little things, that I just sort of shook my head at.

But the truth is that I read this book without ever putting it down for more than a few minutes. It was like that TV show that you swear to hate and then find yourself laughing at nearly every scene and grudgingly admit to being hooked and wanting more. The sex scenes were very steamy, to say the least. I'll admit now that I loved reading them. Also I loved that the title was actually used at an important point in the book, it wasn't just something that had been tacked on at the end.

Usually I pick romance stories for the love and romance aspect not for sex scenes and adventure. I want to feel that the two people really deserve their happily ever after and that they are perfect for each other. I can't say that I really found that in this book, but I still enjoyed it none the less.

This is one of those that I must simply call a guilty pleasure and I'll admit that I am excited to read more of what Liz Carlyle has to offer.

4/5

Book Review-The Greatest Lover In All England

Christina Dodd
The Greatest Lover in All England
A historical romance novel

This was my first taste of Christina Dodd's writing. Somehow I've just never picked up any of her books before. The title, although a bit presumptuous, had me intrigued. I thought about all of the pressures that such a nick name would come with and I wish that the novel had gone in that direction. Instead, without ever explaining why he deserved the title, it was the hero's nickname of sorts. Even the back of the book sounded great; an actress pretending to be a boy so that she could play men's parts in the theater. When she gets caught by the hero she must play the difficult part of his wife, in an arranged marriage.

I've heard it before: don't judge a book by it's cover. I really should have taken that advice. There was no arranged marriage, it was like the blurb writer had read two pages and assumed the rest. There wasn't even a marriage, until the very end of the book and well after they had fallen in love.

For me the characters lacked depth and understanding. I couldn't relate with either one of them. The worst for me was how he had groped her a couple of times and so his hand kept forming itself into the shape of her breast and...ahem. I get what Dodd was trying to show, obsession, I just felt that it was creepy. The side stories were too long, but somewhat amusing.

As far as a fun quick read, this book wasn't that bad. There was fighting, romance, mystery, and a few other themes thrown in. I've heard so many good things about Christina Dodd. Hopefully the next one of her's that I try will live up to the hype.

3/5

Book Review-One Night in Scotland

Karen Hawkins

One Night In Scotland
A Historical Romance Novel

It seems popular right now to write a take on Beauty and the Beast, this was her version of the classic story. You can find out more about the novel here.

Normally I don't enjoy the intrigue and suspense kind of romance novels, they are really hard to pull off well without the answer being obvious or the spy games becoming silly. What helped this book was that it felt a bit more like a mystery novel with curious bits of too much information and not enough detail to piece it all together. I also loved that she did enough research into Egyptian history that the few facts she did include were correct. My two complaints is that I expected more information to come out about the fire and the Earl's wife, also Mary's maid was simply annoying. As it is a new series, not much of the primary mystery really gets solved. It appears that I will have to stay tuned for what comes next. Overall it was a quick and enjoyable read.

4/5