Reading Fanatic Reviews
Historical RomanceThe Memories of Duke by Elaine Hart
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The Memories of Duke*
Stilted Language and Uninspired Plot
This very short novella can be read in under an hour. The heroine discovers the duke after he’s had a riding accident and has subsequently lost his memory. She’s able to get him inside and tends to him. His family and friends are searching for him, and they finally find him three days later with the heroine. The duke cannot remember or recognize these people still, so he asks that the heroine come back with him so that he can have one person whom he knows.
This book has some very awkward praising and dialogue that seems neither wholly Regency nor wholly contemporary. It is overly formal; the thoughts themselves don’t seem like natural ones people would have. The book also has issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Commas are problematic on several counts. A few wrong words were used. I do have one historical quibble. I don’t believe that back in Regency times there was anything so formal as a nursing school. Even a hundred years ago, it was more common for nurses to be trained right in a hospital, not in a school, and this would only have lasted for a few weeks.
Between Home and Heartbreak by Jacqui Nelson
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Between Home and Heartbreak*
Fast-Paced Western Romance with Lots of Intrigue
I was not wild about the first book of the series, though I had enjoyed other books by this author. So I wanted to give the second book in the series a chance. I am glad that I did. I found this book so much more riveting than the first. The book is full of intrigue, lies, secrets, and blackmail. From the start, it is hard to know who or what to believe, but all is gradually revealed as the book goes on. The hero is hard-working, smart, and swoon-worthy (even if he isn’t the best rider or horse breaker). The heroine has quite a detailed backstory that is fully revealed over time. The initial question, whether the heroine is the girl that the hero knew back in childhood, only scratches at the surface of the deeper questions raised in this book as it moves along, which it does at a fast pace.
The author has a good command of Old West history and the western Romance subgenre. She has a way of describing items and settings that makes you feel like you can see precisely what is going on without being overly descriptive such that it overwhelms the narrative. I like how she slips in Western idioms and colloquialisms that make the text come alive.
The Duke of Distraction by Darcy Burke
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The Duke of Distraction*
Unique Hero and Heroine in Real Friends-to-Lovers Romance
This is a true friends-to-lovers Regency romance. The hero and heroine are actually simply good lifelong friends who have no romantic interest in each other at the start of the book. They are both atypical Regency characters; at the beginning, he is genuinely an unreformed and unrepentant rogue, and she is a lady who wants to open a millinery shop to feature her creations and truly has no desire to wed. (I love how he was so supportive about this, even helping her look for a shop.) They are both shocked and appalled when her parents state that they should marry each other. The heroine is mortified that her parents would do such a thing. Instead, Felix decides to help Sarah find a husband by creating events, like a private horse race and house party, where he can invite eligible gentlemen. What will Felix do as he does find himself growing more and more attracted to Sarah? Will Sarah stand firm in her desire for spinsterhood?
Some Regencies and other books I’ve read lately have lacked a certain “je ne sais quois.” However, right away with this book, I felt drawn in by an author who knows how to propel a story forward with solid characterization and plot twists I didn’t fully see coming. I was intrigued to see how this particular set of definitely “just friends” was going to proceed to love. I felt like I could trust the author just to take me where she needed to go in terms of both character and plot, and I was not disappointed. Both of the main characters were fun at the start with their independence and unusual ways. When tragedy struck, and as the romance bloomed, both characters showed depth, generosity, and patience (though in different ways). Felix is definitely a swoon-worthy hero despite his roguishness which belies a tender heart and a genuinely good soul. It took tragedy to draw him out and patience to see that through. An emotional read at times—but those are my favorite kind!
Returning to Mr. Darcy by Sheena Austin
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Returning to Mr. Darcy*
Odd Mix of Regency and Modern JAFF
This story takes place in both the modern-day present and Regency past. I was surprised how much of it took place in the present. Modern-day Elizabeth Bennet is in a relationship with a man who doesn’t appreciate her and puts her second or third to everything else in his life. One of her boyfriend’s clients is a William Darcy, who for some reason doesn’t like the way his business associate treats his girlfriend. Modern-day Elizabeth is a big fan of Pride and Prejudice, as one might imagine. Suddenly, she finds herself back in Regency England with Mr. Darcy calling her his wife. How will it all turn out for Elizabeth and her Mr. Darcys?
As one who is accustomed to reading regular Jane Austen fan fiction that takes place solely in Regency times, I will admit it was a little jarring to read the sections about Elizabeth in modern times. I’m used to a certain gentleness in Jane Austen fan fiction, but these contemporary scenes reflected our more harsh reality. Frankly, I didn’t enjoy the modern sections. Elizabeth did seem to be a bit of a doormat in them. Her modern-day boyfriend is a cad and doesn’t treat her well. I think the cover should have reflected both the modern and Regency aspects of this story, not just the Regency ones.
We’ll Find a Way be Tia Lee
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We'll Find a Way*
Not Quite What I Imagined
Serena is working two jobs to help her family. Her father is a drunk, and her mother watches over the other children. At her job as a cook’s assistant at a pub specializing in French food, she meets a Yale student who has an interest in mechanical engineering. They are from different social strata, but they have attraction and agree to court. What will his family think of this?
I will admit to being surprised at the storyline somewhat. The blurb didn’t tell the extent how much worse off Serena’s family was compared to Everett’s. The book cover suggests a romance of equals; by the way, Serena would never have such a dress. It also suggests a lightness and frivolity that this book doesn’t have. The author didn’t seem to have a grasp of what to call certain historical items, like various conveyances.
Unfortunately, this book was riddled with many errors in grammar, punctuation, and usage. Sometimes very long sentences that required commas had none or not enough; commas were missing all over the place. Words that sounded closed were mistakenly used, like ridged for rigid. I felt like the narrative was too focused on what precisely everybody was saying and doing rather than occasional commentary that added to the general feel and description of emotions and surroundings. We are often told rather than shown.
The Countess and the Baron by Isabella Thorne
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The Countess and the Baron*
Dark Topics Explored in Historical Romance
This is a very dark historical story. While it does have a romance at its core, this feels greatly overshadowed by the darkness of the heroine’s past and present. In fact, about 25% of the book is spent detailing this, and we don’t even meet the hero until about the quarter mark. Even after they meet, I don’t feel like much time was spent in the development of their relationship. The story seems tightly focused on the heroine and her struggles. I felt like I wanted to know the hero better. He was definitely a good and decent man, but like the villains in this story, he felt two dimensional. I like my books to resemble life in that no person is wholly good or wholly evil, and unfortunately, this book has failed in this characterization aspect. The villains in this story are truly evil, not just bad people, especially the heroine’s abusive husband whom we get to know quite a bit about.
The author did handle the difficult topics that this book addresses with delicacy. We don’t see abuse happening, but we do see its effects as well as snippets of memory. I really do think authors that deal with topics like incest, rape, and domestic violence should have trigger warnings at the bottom of their book blurbs. A reader should not have to infer from the blurb that such things are an integral part of a book. Saying that a character’s husband is worse than her father, a monster, doesn’t give enough detail for those who need for their own personal comfort and safety to stay away from such topics.
There were a few odd problems with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Commas in particular seem problematic, with extra ones thrown in and others missing. There was one time when the heroine’s maiden name was misspelled as Barrington instead of Baggington.
Personally, I don’t like historical romances to be so dark, so I can’t say that I enjoyed this book.
Prince Darcy by Allison Smith
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Prince Darcy*
Disappointing P&P Variation
I am a massive Jane Austen fan fiction Reader, so I’m always looking for new and interesting takes on my favorite story, Pride and Prejudice, and my favorite couple, Elizabeth and Darcy. I’m intrigued by ones where Darcy is a prince, so this book naturally piqued my interest. Unfortunately, I found the book to be extremely disappointing. The plot, as you might imagine from the description, varies widely from canon, but I don’t usually mind this; I like stories that place ODC in new circumstances and see how they fare. This is definitely meant to be a blend of Pride and Prejudice and Cinderella placed in a fantasy setting. So while Meryton and Pemberley exist in this world, Derbyshire has princes and princesses. There are other principalities within England as well as unaffiliated areas. For me, I found it difficult to reconcile this fantasy version of England with what I’m so familiar with in canon and real life.
Both the story and the characterization fall so far from canon that I think the author would have actually done better just to make a completely new story not associated with Pride and Prejudice. The Elizabeth Bennet in this story just doesn’t act like the Elizabeth Bennet that we know and love. I was immediately turned off from the book when it is stated early on that Elizabeth wants to slap her stepmother; that is so not Elizabeth Bennet! Her relationship with the servants is far too casual to feel believable. Other things the author has her say and do are so different that she is a wholly different character than Jane Austen’s creation, and not a completely likable one. I thought Darcy was a bit more stiff and unapproachable than even in canon. Jane was a weaker character, and even in her limited role, not like her character in canon. Part of the beauty of Jane’s character in the original is her unfailing kindness and ability to see the best in others; here, she is even sometimes cynical. These are just not the characters we know and love.
Some things that occurred in the story felt too modern, not of either the fantasy realm or the world of the typical Pride and Prejudice variation. There are also issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Since I was already not liking this story, this did grate on my nerves somewhat. If you enjoy Jane Austen fan fiction, I would suggest you look elsewhere for your next book.
Lords for Love box set by Charlotte Fitzwilliam and Eliza Heaton
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Lords For Love*
Uneven Set of Books
This box set contains three books written by two different authors. Eliza Keaton writes the first two, and Charlotte Fitzwilliam writes the last one. Side note: That has to be a pseudonym for a fan of Jane Austen and perhaps Jane Austen fanfiction. Charlotte, of course, is a key character in Pride and Prejudice, and Fitzwilliam is, of course, the first name of Mr. Darcy and the last name of his cousin.
Both authors are new to me. The first book, The Duke’s Baby, I found to be a little unusual, but in a good way, because the hero and heroine are childhood friends, but their relationship does not come to fruition as soon as they become adults. Rather, he married another woman and had a child with her. So the romance part of the book springs from the time when the Duke is dealing with his grief, the heroine’s mother is suffering from ill health, and the heroine is trying to do her best to help them. I quite enjoyed this first book.
I was not as enamored of the second book by the same author. I felt like she spent too much time with the stories and imagination flights of the heroine, so much so that we didn’t really get to know the hero until the end. The romance was not center stage like it should be in a love story.
I enjoyed the story of the third and final book in this set except for one crucial thing. This is a story where parents try to force their children into marriage, but neither is interested outwardly. So they had to fight a growing attraction, which was fun to watch as it is clear that they are well suited to each other. Unfortunately, I was very distracted by the strange formatting in the book. In parts of it, the first few words of a new paragraph were capitalized, making it seem like the characters were always shouting the first bits of dialogue at each other. In an early section, too, the paragraph breaks weren’t done correctly, making many of them run together, which made for awkward reading. This did clear up some in the middle of the book, but then it returned. I did receive an ARC of this book, so this may have been corrected by the time it actually is published. As this is the last book in the collection, I couldn’t see if this had been fixed before publication.
So on the whole, I found this to be an uneven set of books. By the way, these are clean Regencies, if that matters to you.
Robyn: A Christmas Bride by Jacqui Nelson
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Robin: A Christmas Bride*
Will It Be the Party of Her Dreams?
Robyn and Max have feelings for each other, but neither has revealed them. Robyn gets it into her head that Max would prefer her to be more ladylike; growing up with three brothers, she is more of a tomboy. So she enlists the aid of the brides of Noelle to help her become more ladylike in a just a few days before a special party at which she hopes to receive a marriage proposal. Robyn and Max had been living in Denver, but Robin went to Noelle for the special tutelage. Max does follow her, even though he’s sworn that he wouldn’t go back to Noelle.
The absolute highlights of this book are the crazy Llewellyn brothers with their silly, fun banter and Grandpa Gus. Another fun theme running throughout this book was of men knitting! I thought Max had a good character arc about him coming to grips with his feelings about the town of Noelle. While I did enjoy the snappy dialogue and the other concepts I just mentioned, I felt that Robyn’s motivations for change were weak, and the plot felt contrived with the idea of a 4-day time limit on Robyn’s transformation and the proposal. I also felt to that the conflict between the couple was a non-conflict; if either just could have said their true feelings—and the reasons for not doing so didn’t seem to be substantial enough—things could have been solved rather quickly.
That said, if you suspend your disbelief about the weak motivation and the contrived plot, you might find yourself just enjoying the banter and the quirky characters we’ve come to know and love in this series. Once I realized this was just a light piece of Christmas fluff, like a good Hallmark movie, I was content just to let the story unfold and enjoy the ride.
Coming from California by Catherine Bilson
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Coming from California*
More Romance and Mystery in Old West Nevada
Daisy is a half Chinese, half Caucasian young woman from San Francisco who is taking a job as a school teacher in Nevada. Because of her biracial status, she had had a hard time finding a job in the city. She didn’t disclose her racial status or her young age when she applied for the job, so she was fearful that they might send her packing back to California. While she runs across some with prejudice, she is soon approved to be the teacher by the town council. Just moments after she arrives in town, she looks out the window from her boarding house, and a handsome cowboy shouts up a compliment. Daisy is a little insulted to be spoken to in such a way, but she soon comes to realize how decent and honorable Luke really is.
The book is mostly about this lovely and very sweet romance between Daisy and Luke. To add interest, there is another man who is interested in her as well who is not as much of an upstanding character as Luke. There’s also a mystery around who murdered an assayer in Reno. Luke also has his own story arc about what he may do as a profession and legacies given or left for him.
I read the first book in the series and enjoyed it, in part because I grew up in California and we often went to Nevada for vacations. I’ve been to Reno, Tahoe, and Virginia City, so it is fun to read a story that harkens back to the old days in those towns. I like how the author introduced a small recurring about prejudice. From what I understand, it was certainly a real issue for people who were Chinese or of Chinese descent back in the old west. While it wasn’t a huge overarching theme, it did come up more than once, especially in the beginning and surprisingly at the end. To have this theme woven in in such a way is a gentle reminder for us to look at our own prejudice, the way we treat people whom we perceive as foreign, and the laws that those in power may adopt to codify misunderstanding and hatred. Now, just because I’ve gotten all heavy right here, don’t think that the author played this with a heavy hand because she doesn’t. It is actually well integrated and feels very contextual for the characters, the plot, and the times.
If you are a fan of Mark Twain, you will appreciate the author’s tip of the hat to him in the person of the town’s newspaperman. I won’t spoil it for you, but it did make me chuckle to see how the author added this little Easter egg.
The book did have a few strange little issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage, including one rather bizarrely punctuated and broken-up paragraph of dialogue that jarred me a little bit.
However, I enjoyed what is truly a sweet, gentle, slow-burn romance. The first parts of the book might feel too slow to you if you’re used to fast-paced writing, but I enjoyed the characters so much that I didn’t mind the slow pace or the slow burn. Since I have read the first book, I appreciated seeing some of the characters that I knew from the first book again. That’s one of the beauties of a well-done series. I loved Miz May from the last book, and I learned a lot more about her here. They are definitely some new characters as well, and I enjoyed that there were actually two romances in this book that came to fruition. I have become quite enchanted with the good people of this town, so I am looking forward to the next installment of the series.
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