Posts filed under 'Romance'
I’ve never read Mary Balogh before, but I was in the mood for a nice, old-fashioned little Regency romance and this book received a glowing review in Library Journal. It’s a short novel, just under 200 pages, and zips right along.
A Matter of Class features wealthy, attractive characters, a touch of scandal, some tree climbing, petticoat rumpling and a delicious plot twist. The requisite handsome bad boy, Reginald Mason, is the son of a wealthy coal baron (not considered a gentleman) and lives across the river from beautiful, spirited, Lady Annabelle Ashton, daughter of the neighborhood Earl. Their fathers have been feuding for thirty years, but circumstances have recently changed.
Lady Annabelle has just been caught running off with her father’s coachman and Reggie has rung up some gambling debts. Her disgrace and his wild ways anger their fathers enough to propose something drastic. They set aside their feud for a few moments in order to find a mutually acceptable plan to re-establish order. Reggie will propose to Annabelle in order to restore her virtue and Annabelle will accept because her father is broke and needs the Mason’s money.
Will these wayward, charming, and good-looking children of sworn enemies make an arranged marriage work? Or do they have something else planned to toy with their parents? You may be surprised!
July 27th, 2010
Molly - Central
I’ve been a big fan of Eileen Dreyer’s mystery/suspense novels for a long time - in fact, I highly recommend With a Vengeance - so when I heard that she was writing a historical romance I was intrigued and ultimately very happy with the new direction.
Barely a Lady is the first in a projected trilogy and was emotional and suspenseful and witty. All good. Which is why I’ve been surprised at the wildly different reactions to the book. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review as did Kirkus and Library Journal with that reviewer saying:
“Vivid descriptions, inventive plotting, beautifully delineated characters, and stunning emotional depth ensure the success of Dreyer’s historical romance debut.”
Great, that lines up with how I felt. But All About Romance rated the novel a ‘C’ and the Dear Author reviewer hated it (and if you read through the comments on this one you’ll find a note from the author with her reaction). The disconnect is why I think this would be a great book to choose if you are part of a romance book group. Books that are universally loved or loathed are hard to discuss for any length of time. Those that fall in the 50/50 range (some loved it, others hated it) are what you need to generate discussion.
So what is it about Dreyer’s new novel that’s striking such dissonant chords? Here’s the story: Olivia Grace was once married to Jack Wyndham, the Earl of Graybush. Their marriage ended in a scandalous divorce after Jack found her in what he thought was a compromising position and threw her out. Five years later Olivia is scraping by as a companion for the three daughters of a socially ambitious woman. They’ve come to Brussels on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo in hopes of snaring husbands for those daughters. As Olivia sits on the sidelines at the ball, her long-time fears are realized when a figure from her past sees her and threatens her hard-won anonymity. Before she can escape, the historic battle happens and Olivia is drawn to help with the wounded. While on the battle field she’s shocked to find her former husband, nearly dead from his injuries and dressed in a French uniform! How did Jack end up in the battle? What’s he doing in the uniform of Britain’s enemy? Important questions that will have no quick answers because when Jack wakes up he has forgotten the recent past and thinks he’s still married to Olivia.
What bothered some reviewers were the elements that have appeared in too many regency historicals over the last ten years: amnesia, aristocratic spies, and what’s known in the romance reading world as the Big Mis (big misunderstanding) to name a few. I totally understand how some readers might shake their heads and sigh at the ‘been there, done that’ feel. But for me the familiar elements were simply there as the backdrop for the deeply felt, emotional relationship that exists between Jack and Olivia. I believed that they loved each other and that Olivia did so much against her will given her stormy past with Jack. So for me a success and one I hope will be repeated when the second book comes out next spring.
July 16th, 2010
Jane J. - Central Library
Last week Kim Ukura wrote an article for 77 Square about summer reading (several MPL staff members - past and present - were quoted, yay us!). They included some reading lists (thrillers, nonfiction and teen reads from MPL staff, yay us squared!) and that got me looking for other summer lists. And how’s this for serendipity? Just as I was looking for those lists, Madison Public tweeted about Oprah’s “Biggest, Best Summer Reading List Ever”. Book number two on that list? The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender which Kylee already reviewed on MADreads (yay us cubed!)
Other summer lists that might interest you:
10 Top Summer Cookbooks from NPR
15 Great Beach Reads from Indie Book Sellers
Entertainment Weekly’s 18 Books We Can’t Wait to Read this Summer
Historical Fiction from NPR
LA Times: 60 Books for 92 Days
Salon’s Nail-Biting Summer Reads
Summer Romances from Salon
If all those lists are overwhelming you, how about starting with the book that’s appearing on most of them. The Passage by Justin Cronin is an “ambitious epic about a virus that nearly destroys the world, and a six-year-old girl who holds the key to bringing it back” according to Amazon which rated it one of the best books of the month for June. I’m already on the waiting list for this one but there are many more that are grabbing my attention. What are you looking forward to this summer?
June 17th, 2010
Jane J. - Central Library
It’s been a while since I’ve read or reviewed any romances. I’ve been on a thriller/mystery kick. So even though I’ve checked out (and purchased) romances by some of my favs (Jane Feather, Kristin Higgins, Carla Kelly) they continue to sit in my TBR pile. Until the other night. I’d picked up Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas last weekend and read it by Monday night. I think it had something to do with that 90 degree/humid weather. I needed something fast, fun and light to engage me and that’s exactly what I got.
Married is the fourth in the Hathaway family series and centers on reluctant family patriarch, Leo Hathaway and Catherine Marks who has been companion and etiquette tutor to Leo’s sisters. Leo and Cat have always been at odds with each other. She thinks he’s exasperating and arrogant. He thinks she’s obstinate and opinionated and far too secretive about her past. It’s that last bit that finally breaks their hard-headed stalemate. Cat has secrets and is apparently trying to hide from something or someone in her past. Leo is determined to find out what those secrets are and protect her from them if necessary. While the two trade barbs they are growing ever closer. A fact that pleases the rest of the family, not least because Leo has to marry in order to hold onto the family home.
I described this as fun and light and it is definitely that. But the witty repartee and great chemistry between Leo and Cat aren’t an easy thing to write - compare any Kate Hepburn/Spencer Tracy movie with the romantic comedies of today and you’ll get what I mean. Kleypas has a way with words and it shows on every page, making this not just light fun but write fun as well.
May 28th, 2010
Jane J. - Central Library
I’ve long held a suspicion that Georgette Heyer is going to ruin romance for me. After reading The Masqueraders, I am convinced. Somehow, any romantic affair that does not involve duels, wild rides on the King’s Highway or large, grey-eyed gentlemen will feel somewhat lacking. Somehow, Heyer adds that extra element of panache to her books that lets it rise well above the standard romantic fare into a realm all her own.
That flair is on full display in The Masqueraders. We meet our hero and heroine Peter and Kate Merriott just as they deliver the wealthy heiress Letitia from the hands of the rogue Mr. Markham, intent on eloping to Gretna Green. Complications, of course, immediately arise. Kate and Peter are really Robin and Prudence, two siblings who have spent most of their lives in disguise and on the run, thanks to their father’s unhappy tendency to side with Jacobite rebels. Mysteriously summoned to London to await the newest twist in their father’s schemes, neither Prudence/Peter or Robin/Kate reckoned on falling in love. As Robin attempts to court Letitia while in petticoats, Prudence’s masquerade comes under the suspicious eye of the large and staid Sir Tony, whose concern for the young ‘man’s’ welfare puts Pru in a dilemma. Is it possible to drop the disguise in the pursuit of love–even if it means risking a trip to the gallows?
Heyer keeps everything moving at a breakneck speed, fitting the precarious state of affairs. She uses period speech, which takes a little getting used to, but allows the characters to engage in wordplay that is as vigorous as the swordplay. With duels, masked balls, high-stakes card games, and devious plotting in the background, The Masqueraders often has the feel of an Errol Flynn technicolor adventure that has collided with an Oscar Wilde comedy of manners–with a healthy dose of swoon-worthy romance. Fans of Jane Austen have always been drawn to Heyer’s excellent Regency-era romances; readers of Lauren Willig’s historical adventures and perhaps Tasha Alexander’s Emily Ashton mysteries might be drawn to the adventuress Pru and the depiction of glittering and gossiping London society.
May 20th, 2010
Katie H.
..whose debut novel will suck you in with an uncomfortable first scene and lead you down a long twisty, noodly path as he tells the story of two misfit children, Alice and Mattia, who end up still connected as dysfunctional adults and whose experiences will stick with you like wet pasta. His name is Paolo Giordano and his book is The Solitude of Prime Numbers. He just got a great writeup in the NYT Book Review which was much more eloquent and engaging than this review will be- eloquent and engaging -alot like Giordano’s writing style. Maybe it’s just the English translation from Italian, or maybe it’s just because everything in Italy is just somehow more beautiful and poetic, but there is true beauty in Giordano’s writing. This plot description will seem thin, but the rich poetry of Giordano’s sentences thicken this novel into a sensual ripe marinara. Hey, he’s Italian, noodles and sauce analogies are totally acceptable.
So, first let’s introduce Alice. The book opens with an early morning ski accident at Mount Chaberton that leaves her emotionally and physically scarred for the rest of her life. Alice, an only child, is not fond of her family (her father is a distant, anti-depressant using lawyer and her mother is unfeeling to say the least) and this accident drives the emotional wedge in their family even deeper. Soledad, the Ecuadorian housekeeper, seems to be the only one interested in Alice’s life and is also the first to notice how Alice discreetly disposes of her dinner every night. Yes, like many other sad young women, Alice deals with emotional childhood trauma by controlling her food intake. Alice’s anorexic tendencies create disturbing scenes and it seems as if Giordano must have felt the ripples of this disease first hand in some way to write about her experience so authentically.
Now, about Matthias, he’s just your average math genius who has an autistic sister who went missing when he left her in a park. He did this so he could attend a birthday party without his embarrassing sister in tow. Matthias first turns to cutting to deal with his emotional pain and then soon discovers relief with the comfort and solitude of numbers. Matthias, a loner except for his friend Denis, meets Alice in school one day when the “mean girl clique” bullies her into inviting both of them to a party as a joke. Alice and Matthias are kindred souls and their brief meeting at this party is the beginning of a beautifully awkward and spiritual relationship that continues on past grammar school and into their adult years.
Alice and Matthias are dysfunctional star crossed lovers, passionate about their math and photography and ultimately about each other. Do Alice and Matthias end up together eating pasta and slurping noodles until their lips meet? The ending to this novel does not wrap things up neatly, but brings a fitting conclusion to the messed up, loving, unhealthy and geniune relationship that Alice and Matthias share. Readers that enjoy a tasty literary plate where nothing happens except for an uncomfortable clinking of silverware at a tension filled dinner table will enjoy this Italian feast. The Solitude of Prime Numbers: a perfect paring with a nice red sauce. Sorry, the pasta references just couldn’t be stopped.
May 7th, 2010
Katharine - Sequoya
Lois McMaster Bujold has always included an element of romance in her science fiction and fantasy novels (many romance readers adore A Civil Campaign: A Comedy of Biology and Manners) but with her Sharing Knife quartet Bujold tipped the balance from fantasy with romantic elements into romantic fantasy. The result is a series of books set in a fantasy realm with danger and action aplenty but with a deeply developed exploration of one relationship and the social structures underpinning it.
Lakewalker Dag Redwing Hickory met farmer Fawn Bluefield in Beguilement. Lakewalker patrollers like Dag have one mission. To hunt down and do away with Malices. A malice is a vicious, energy driven construct which can take control of people and turn them into zombie-like creatures called mudmen. While on the track of one such creature Dag rescues Fawn who has been taken by the malice. And while they are both recovering from their injuries they fall in love. Sounds simple enough. But what Bujold does with the rest of the story is what makes this series so worth it. The problem for Dag and Fawn is that Lakewalkers and farmers don’t mix. Though the two peoples have co-existed fairly peacefully, each has it’s own way of life and seldom do the twain meet. A fact that Dag becomes determined to change, not just for his own well-being but for what he considers to be the well-being of both societies.
Though the romance is ever present, Bujold uses the relationship Fawn and Dag have formed, and the ones they develop with others over the course of the series, to explore societal norms and how they become ingrained within us all. In essence this is an examination similar to what you might find in a science fiction novel that delves into alien contact - though told in much gentler fashion. How do you get two very different peoples to see that they can not only co-exist with each other but thrive through cooperation.
All the key Bujold elements are here: beautiful world-building, nicely paced storytelling and characters who are heroic in both large and small ways. I think romance and fantasy readers will all find something to love here.
January 27th, 2010
Jane J. - Central Library
Maggie Stiefvater’s new young adult werewolf romance Shiver is super fun and set in northern Minnesota, which is practically like home. The changing leaves and the descriptions of autumn turning into endless winter - it feels like we were just there a minute ago. Or I guess a month ago. And if you’ve been to northern Wisconsin, you’ve been to northern Minnesota, because they are basically the same, right?
Fictional Mercy Falls, MN is about an hour away from Duluth (which means it is about an hour away from Superior) so you could pretend that the story is set in Wisconsin if you wanted to. I’m fine keeping it in Minnesota. The big difference between there and here is that the Mercy Falls woods are teeming with wolves during the cold months of the year. I checked the Wisconsin DNR website and we have between 626-664 wolves living here. The Minnesota DNR site estimates 2,921 wolves living there. Yikes. Now imagine that some of those wolves are actually humans who turn into wolves when the weather gets cold. Double yikes.
Throw in a couple of wolf attacks and some seriously angsty romance and you get the gist of Shiver. But this story is not hokey. And it’s not New Moon redux. It’s not like the human/wolves are flying around or riding motorcycles or doing crazy stuff. The humans who shift into wolves aren’t able to use cell phones or do algebra. When they become wolves, they are really wolves. The curious thing is how and why they become wolves.
The main characters, Grace and Sam, are very practical and more realistically devoted to each other than Bella and Edward in Twilight. They’ve known each other since they were eleven or twelve years old and work as a team to figure out the wolf attacks and science behind the shifting. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a romance, but it is not all “you’re so beautiful, I love you, I love you, I love you.” I enjoyed the Twilight series, but the writing and the romance in Shiver is a lot tighter. The combination of authentic wolf behavior and, in my opinion, more pragmatic characters really bumps this book up a notch.
Shiver is book one of three in the “Wolves of Mercy Falls” series and should satisfy Twilight fans looking for a new series as well as fans of Blood and Chocolate, the sexiest young adult werewolf romance ever.
December 29th, 2009
Molly - Central
It’s nearing the end of the year and I had a little vacation time to use (or lose) and naturally I did some reading. Not as much as I thought I would of course, all that nice sunshiny weather got in the way of that plan, but I did get a few books read.
First up was Running from the Devil by Jamie Freveletti. This thriller starts off with a bang - or a crash - and doesn’t let up once. Chemist Emma Caldridge is on a flight to Bogota, Columbia that’s been hijacked and forced to land in the jungle. The too-small runway causes a crash and kills many of the passengers and crew, but enough remain to be taken hostage by a guerilla army. Since she was ejected a ways from the crash, only Emma manages to escape capture. When the possibility of rescue becomes increasingly remote, Emma decides to follow the rest of the passengers and their captors to somewhere where escape may be possible. Emma’s experience as a chemist and the fact that she’s an ultramarathoner (running races over 100 miles) help her to not only survive but triumph. Though some reviewers have commented on Emma’s lucky streak and abilities, I liked that Emma was entirely competent and put her knowledge to good use. Just the right pace for a vacation read.
Next I dived into the latest J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) book, Kindred in Death. As with all the books in the series this is a futuristic mystery with romance in the mix. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is supposed to be enjoying a few days off from her job in homicide. That plan is quashed when a fellow officer’s daughter is murdered. He wants Dallas on the case and she’s determined to do all in her power to find the killer. In many of the books in this series the ratio of mystery to romance is probably 70/30, here it’s about 90/10. So if you read these for the relationship development or the appearance of the members of Eve’s “family” you may not be as pleased with this one as I was. I liked the intense police procedural arc of this one given the brutality of the crime. Eve is the future version of Brenda Lee Johnson of The Closer (though the character of Eve Dallas came first) and she is just as single-minded when it comes to murder. As it should be.
The book I finished just before returning to work was The Hidden Man by David Ellis. Jason Kollarich is an attorney who is trying to come back from a personal tragedy. He’d been an up-and-comer at a big law firm but gave it up after the death of his wife and daughter. Now he is nominally still in business as a single practitioner, but many days he barely makes it to the office. On one of the rare days Jason does make an appearance at the office he gains a new client. A mysterious man by the name of Smith hires Jason to represent Sammy Cutler. Jason has known Sammy all his life, though he hasn’t seen him in years. Now Sammy is accused of killing a man who was the main suspect in the disappearance of Sammy’s three-year-old sister 26 years ago. Jason accepts the assignment but chafes at the strictures placed on him by Mr. Smith. As he delves deeper he realizes that nothing is at it seems - today or 26 years ago. Great legal procedural.
All in all some great choices whether you’re on vacation or not.
November 12th, 2009
Jane J. - Central Library
Sometimes a book is a good read (or listen) just because it is fun and entertaining and has likable characters. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella, author of the the very popular Shopaholic series, is exactly that. It doesn’t really matter that the story is a bit silly and unrealistic; it is easy to suspend belief and get caught up regardless.
Lara Lington has problems. She is working in a head hunting firm that has some serious financial concerns, her business partner has mysteriously disappeared, and she has yet to get over her previous relationship (after being dumped by someone she thought she was in love with).
After attending the funeral of her great aunt Sadie, who lived to be 105, Lara finds herself trailed by Sadie’s ghost. Sadie will not rest until her necklace is found and buried with her. She is quite assertive and among other things insists that Lara dress in 20’s clothing and when Sadie is attracted to a man, insists that Lara ask him out. No big surprise that he becomes the romantic interest requisite in chick-lit.
Eventually the necklace is found and Sadie disappears from Lara’s now changed life. Along the way, Kinsella is able to contrast women’s lives and expectations in 21st century with the 1920’s, and to create an enjoyable cross generational relationship for Sadie and Lara.
November 10th, 2009
Mary K. - Central
Alexia Tarabotti is a hopeless case. Half-Italian, outspoken and–at the advanced age of 25–too old for marriage, she’s hardly presentable in fashionable Victorian society. Of course, it doesn’t help Alexia’s tactfulness that she’s entirely soulless, a preternatural being in a London filled with werewolves, vampires and ghosts living side-by-side with normal human beings. Thanks to her assiduous reading of Greek ethics, no human is the wiser to her soulless state, but Alexia’s status brings her to the attention of BUR (Bureau of Unnatural Registry), since all preternaturals have the ability to turn supernaturals into humans by touch.
Of course, supernatural beings or not, decorum must be maintained. Alexia is annoyed when a vampire accosts her at a ball and even more put out when she accidently kills it with her brass parasol. A BUR investigation reveals the vamp was a new creation, even as reports of registered supernaturals mysteriously vanishing begin to trickle into headquarters. With the begruding aid of Alpha werewolf Lord Maccon and the flamboyant vampire Lord Akeldama, Alexia uses her special talents to find out who is behind the new creatures and why. But she has to do it while fending off shadowy figures prepared to manhandle her person into dark carriages–and increasingly from Lord Maccon’s attempts to manhandle her, although she’s growing to tolerate his attentions.
There really isn’t any good way to categorize Gail Carriger’s new novel Soulless. It’s a sort of paranormal romance steampunk-fantasy alternative history screwball comedy that conjures up images of Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossed with a foul-temptered Mary Poppins. Alexia’s conscious efforts at tactfulness coupled with her willingness to wield the brass parasol keeps the action tripping along blithely. And while Soulless definitely follows many of the tropes of romance novels (there’s no shortage of rustling taffeta and untied cravats), Carriger writes it all very tongue in cheek. Like a good treacle tart (Alexia’s favorite dessert), Carriager’s new series is one of those delights that has one wishing for seconds. The next installment, Changeless, is due out next March.
November 3rd, 2009
Katie H.
Holly’s Inbox by Holly Denham looks initially imposing. A chick lit novel at over 600 pages? A reader could be forgiven for thinking they just don’t have the time. Fear not, fans of Bridget Jones, this tome is an epistolary novel written in - mostly short - emails to and from Holly beginning when she starts a new job and ending when she finds the “one”.
Holly Denham (yep, same name as the author) has just taken a job as a receptionist in a busy London banking firm. She shares the desk with Trish who is initially cool towards Holly but eventually warms up. Because of the busyness of their job, Holly and Trish are not allowed to speak with each other and must communicate via email. Intertwined with her chats with Trish are emails to Holly’s best friend Jason, who manages a posh hotel, Aisha, a free and easy friend, and Hollly’s family (meddling mom, a married sister, a brother who is trying to open a fetish club and her snarky grandmother who is chafing at the restrictions at her senior living facility ).
Though this is a fast read, I was initially slow to warm to the novel. The set-up is clever and the author did a great job at showing who her characters are within the space of a few emails, but I think what took some time for me was Holly herself. She’s a bit of a doormat initially and it took a while for the reasons why to manifest. Once I began to get an inkling about the very real reasons for why Holly is the way she is, I was in and turning pages like a crazy person. But getting there took a little time. And with all of the build-up I was a little skeptical about the fast resolve at the end. On this point I’ll give the author a bit of a pass since a sequel is in the works. I’m guessing the ‘everything’s hunky-dory’conclusion will reverse itself to some extent and Holly will have to progress a little more to get her happy ending.
You can definitely count me in when the time comes.
October 22nd, 2009
Jane J. - Central Library
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