Reading Fanatic Reviews
Romantic FantasyHer Midnight Sin by Sofie Darling
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Her Midnight Sin*
The Devalued Dowager Viscountess and the Captain
The book opens as Captain Jake is supervising the unloading of his ship in London. He is to meet with his good friend, Viscount St. Albans. The nobleman intends to give the captain one of his properties. Unfortunately, that property is currently under the care of the Dowager Viscountess St. Albans. During her marriage and since the death of her husband, the Grange has been her project. She’s brought it back into the black, and it is her life. She asked the current viscount to give her a month to gather the funds to purchase the Grange outright. While she is visiting, Jake shows up and has a malarial relapse. The viscount convinces her to take him back to the Grange to convalesce in the country.
Will the viscountess be successful in gaining the land she’s worked so hard for? Or will it become Jake’s? What will she have to do to get the kind of money needed to purchase such a large estate?
I was very nearly put off this book at the very beginning as I found the part about Jake at the docks to be uninteresting. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, as it has turned out to be a much better read than I first thought. Callie, the viscountess, can be very humorous— intentionally and not—and it’s amusing to watch her try to make her way in a world that seems set against her. The story is also sometimes poignant, like when Jake believe that Callie is prejudiced against him because she can sense that he doesn’t belong in their world—not that she sees herself in competition with him to get the place that she believes he deserves.
This book takes place in the post-Regency, pre-Victorian era, and I found it to be a surprisingly good read with lots of twists and turns to the plot, some of which you won’t see coming but will enjoy.
Bleak December by Rachael Rawlings
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Bleak December*
Letter Raises More Questions Than It Answers
After a trip to the graveyard and settling in with Ramsey, Lenore receives a letter from her father that raises many questions about their family. Lenore wants answers, so she and Ramsey hunt for the person who should know.
What are the mysteries hiding in Lenore’s family closet? Will she and Ramsey be put in danger as they search for the truth?
This book is written in the first-person past. A great danger with this point of view is for there to be long, uninterrupted passages of straight narration of the protagonist’s inner thoughts as well as descriptions of what they see. Unfortunately, this book had an excess of narrative passages, making the book tedious to read at times.
Other than that, it was an enjoyable story.
A Love For the Pages by Joy Penny
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
A Love for the Pages*
Modern Woman Seeks Byronic Hero
June is coming back to her hometown after her first year of college. Her step-dad isn’t happy with the A’s and B’s she earned last semester; he wants her to follow in his footsteps in business, but she’s more into books and writing. Instead of having a relaxing summer off—as she’d hoped, but the step-dad nixed—June volunteers at the library. She meets an interesting group of characters there. June is a young woman who is enamored with Regency and Gothic novels, specifically Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights. She especially loves the heroes in these books. She happens to meet a young man who reminds her of the heroes of those novels all rolled into one modern-day person.
Will June’s stepfather stop giving her a hard time? Will she enjoy her time at the library? What will happen between her and Everett?
As someone who likes to read, especially similar books to June, this is a deliciously fun novel. The way she loves her paperbacks as well as her Kindle is just like me! I love how she is so immersed in her fictional world that she sees her real life through a fictional lens. Sometimes she is self-aware about this, but other times she is not. The plot arc of the book follows some of her favorites in literature, and that’s a real treat, too.
If you’re a person who enjoys reading Gothic and Regency literature, you might enjoy this author’s spin that brings elements of these into a contemporary new-adult story.
Cupids and Crooks by Laina Turner
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Cupids & Crooks*
Vacation a Little More Than They Bargained For
Presley’s not having much success looking for a new job; it seems she is overqualified for most of the ones she is interested in. Cooper surprises her with a vacation to a fancy resort in Cabo San Lucas. Presley’s thrilled to get away and hopes for nothing more on her agenda than fun. But that wouldn’t be Presley’s vacation now, would it? Soon, a Mexican soap opera star is found murdered, and a journalist suggests this is not the only star to meet such an end. How can Presley not get involved?
So who is murdering celebrities in Mexico? Will Presley help sort it out? What will Cooper think about this addition to their vacation?
I continue to enjoy seeing Cooper’s and Presley’s relationship evolve. They are fun and funny to read about. I enjoy their banter. As has happened in the last few books of the series, the author has done away with the mini prologue scenes where she gives a little taste of something happening around the murder itself. I miss these short scenes. They tantalized, making you wonder how they would fit into the bigger story.
That said, I enjoyed this latest of Presley’s and Cooper’s adventures.
The Eastbourne Earls by Elaine Hart
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The Eastbourne Earls*
A Slightly Improved Collection of Regency Tales
This collection contains four books written by one author. I had read the first book before getting the collection. I thought the first book was problematic, but I always like to give authors a couple of chances to impress me. I know that writing is a skill that develops, and I wouldn’t want to miss an excellent author because of a not-so-good first or second book.
The four books included in this set are An Everlasting Love, A Healing Love, An Unexpected Love, and An Unconventional Love.
I can say that I see a little improvement in the second book, A Healing Love; the language is not as stiff and unnatural as it was in the first book, And Everlasting Love. Still, however, the book had a bit of a data dump at the beginning to set up the story, and other long narrative passages existed throughout the book probably which made it a little tedious at times. The rest of the books were similar in structure and issues. An Unexpected Love was very short and didn’t have much development.
Unfortunately, this volume–like the first book that I read by this author–is plagued with errors of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. Commas are particularly problematic. One word had a letter left off it. Other words and phrases weren’t quite right. For instance, the author used a phrase *civil whiskers*; I believe she might have meant civil whispers. I even looked up the phrase to make sure I wasn’t missing some arcane Regency terminology, but I did not see reference to the phrase. At times, the language was still too stilted, yet at other times, it was too modern, like using the words *stressed* or *bother* to describe emotions or emotional states.
I am a nurse, so I do have to quibble with some of the things that were assumed or stated in A Healing Love. Nursing during the time of Regency was not the profession that is today. So nurse Lydia would not have seen herself in that light nor would she have acted in certain, professional ways. Even back in World War I (100 years after the Regency era), nurses were seen as little more than women who helped ill patients with bodily functions, assist with tasks like feeding or writing letters, and other low-level duties. Even today, a nurse doesn’t diagnose a patient’s condition; that’s what doctors do. So it seems strange when Lord Walcott asks her to do so, and with some hedging, she does it.
Three Last First Dates by Kate O’Keefe
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Three Last First Dates*
A Last First Date for a Commitment Phobe?
Marissa is quite willing to admit that she is a commitment-phobe. Despite this, some time ago she made a pact with some girlfriends that their next date would be their last first date. In the previous two books of this series, two of her friends found their true loves. Marissa decides to ratchet the idea up a notch, and she plans three first dates for one day, figuring that her odds will be better if she can choose one last date from three of them! The book really picks up when she goes on these dates. She even starts to get a little self-awareness about the way she self-sabotages herself and relationships.
Will one of these men be her last first date? Or will an old boyfriend turn out to be her best choice? Will she make other insights into herself and her past?
Marissa was at times a comical character involved in funny situations (loved the dog slobber kiss!). The three very different dates and her reactions to them were a hoot to read. The author details them thoroughly. Oh, my gosh! Loved the first date with the mortician and his pride-and-joy project! She could be a bit shallow, like comparing all of the men she might be interested in to movie stars. I enjoyed reading her thoughts, actions, and reactions to all that happens to her as she tries to sort herself out and truly figure out what she wants. In her interactions with her chosen man, it is clear that she wrestles with her commitment phobia. I like it when even in a romance a character becomes more self-aware and grows and changes in a positive way. The end was simply awesome, as Marissa overcomes two, not one, fears.
I’ve enjoyed the three books in this series so far, though I think book two about Paige is still my favorite. I love that the author writes sexy and romantic stories that aren’t tawdry or laced with gratuitous sex and profanity. She writes fantastic, classy love stories with heroes and heroines that you can relate to easily and root for. Marissa’s story was fun yet insightful about the strange ways that we protect ourselves in ways that aren’t always in our best interest. That this was done with humor is a testament to the author’s skill.
Wild Prey by Yossi Uzrad
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Wild Prey*
Cold Case Re-examined, with Historical Context
A park ranger in northern Israel finds a woman left for dead on the side of the road in a national park. She lives, but the police don’t figure out her attacker, and the case is dropped. When the park ranger’s finances are audited, he and the auditor discuss the case and wish to delve into it to see what they can figure out. They get involved in far more than they bargained for.
I’m not that familiar with the history of Israel. This is woven into the story–an integral part of it–and is almost as much of a character as the park ranger! I also learned some about the cultures of the Arab and Bedouin peoples. It was fascinating to have a fictional look at cultures I knew little about; nothing makes history come alive like living it through the eyes of fictional characters. The author writes well, with phrases that are evocative of time and place. The story pulled me right in. The characterization is deep. This definitely is a thriller–even if at times it is a little slow going–and I could understand why the park ranger couldn’t let this mysterious happening go.
If you are interested in a thriller that is a little different, you might enjoy this book.
Anyone But the Earl by Irene Davis
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Anyone But the Earl*
New York Heiress and Rowing
Octavia Sewell, known as Tavi, is a New York heiress whose parents are eager to marry her off to an English earl. Something strikes Tavi as off about him, and she does not want to marry him. In fact, she is not interested in marrying at all and starts to consider having an assignation with one of her brother’s friends so that she could have a child to love and make herself unmarriageable. She even goes to one of the young men’s place of business to make the proposition but chickens out before she does so.
Will Tavi marry the earl? Will she gather her courage and approach Clif again?
This book is an odd combination of a variety of things. I’m not quite sure what to make of it. First, you will learn a lot about rowing! Tavi is headstrong, spoiled, and seems to think only about herself. The earl is despicable, so the reader can understand why she wouldn’t want him. However, it is harder to figure out why she doesn’t want to marry at all, especially when she has a friend who has a good marriage and a sweet baby. Clif, her brother’s friend that she initially targets, plays it pretty close to the vest emotionally. He reminds me of Mr. Darcy; still waters run deep. Outwardly, he doesn’t show much, but as we see in the parts that he narrates, he is a man of deep thought and emotion. He is attracted to Tavi and can’t get her out of his mind. For quite a while in the book, there’s not much romance going on at all for any of the parties, and then it heats up rather quickly in a way that was surprising to me despite Tavi’s original plans for Clif. I ended up feeling sorry for Clif because of the way Tavi treats him; he’s a good man who deserves better than her! The book briefly touches on the Victorian language of flowers. This is a fascinating subject, and I would have loved to see it used more fully throughout the entire book.
In all, I found this to be a kind of scattered book that didn’t really manage to pull it all together to make a satisfying romance.
Tempt the Beauty by Alexandra Banks
No preview or universal link available as currently this is only available in paperback.
Click on the cover above to be taken to the page at Amazon.com.
Tempt the Beauty*
Sudden Attraction and Family Machinations
Rosey just wants to have fun on her 24th birthday when she and her dog JT literally run into Wade, an ER Trauma surgeon. While JT gets friendly with Wade’s leg, Wade gets a little friendly with Rosie. He agrees to come to her birthday bash at a club. Before that, at a dinner with his parents, he is informed that they’ve set up a business merger with the expectation that he will marry the daughter of the other family, and she will run both companies. Wade is not too pleased about this, and neither is his Aunt Mel, who had always hoped her son would take over the family business since Wade wasn’t interested.
Will Wade’s family force him to marry this daughter to save the business? What about his new feelings for Rosey? What is Aunt Mel willing to do to get what she wants?
This book had a surprising amount going on for such a short novella. Too much, actually. Things are going on with both Rosey’s parents and Wade’s parents and their respective businesses as well as the romance. To fully appreciate all this, more time was needed with each of the elements. Wade and Rosey fell pretty quick for each other, which I understand is needed with such a complex plot that has been shoehorned into a novella, but it didn’t feel organic or natural. And, goodness, some of what Wade said to Rosey when they first met would make give nearly any woman the creeps! By the way, this is definitely a steamy read.
Dealing with the Viscount by Clair Brett
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Dealing with the Viscount*
Weak Premise and Characterization
Some years ago, Ella and Devon made a business agreement. They agreed to marry. Her dowry would pay off her father’s gambling debts to Devon and get out from under her father, and Devon would marry before the age of 25 as was required before he could come into his fortune. They planted that she would leave for Scotland soon after their marriage, and she would fake her death. Instead, when she went away, it appears that she died for real. Some years later now, Devon is surprised to find her actually alive running a small bakery in a remote part of Scotland with a small child who resembles him.
How did all this come about? Is the child his? Do the two have any feelings for each other? What will become of this family unit?
While I expect a certain unreality in my romance fiction and am willing to suspend disbelief to a point, this book struck me wrong on several levels. The entire premise for their fake marriage—a trope often seen in historical romance fiction—just didn’t seem right. Since this book takes place wholly after the heroine’s supposed death, we don’t see the original stage of the marriage itself; we know of it from characters talking and thinking about it. In this setup, why would Ella need to fake her death in the first place? If they had enough feeling for each other to consummate their marriage, why wouldn’t they stay together? Or he could have chosen to set her up in another house somewhere in the country while he lived whatever life he wanted to live that didn’t include a female. Why would a woman go along with selling herself to pay off her family’s debts and choose to live a life cut off from all she knew as they would think she was dead? That’s just all kinds of wrong. Also, what woman of her station would know much about baking and especially enough for it to be a passion of hers?
Some of the “growth” of the characters seemed unrealistic as well. It is clear that Devon didn’t want a wife and a family before, but when he sees Ella again and their child, he suddenly wants to be a family man.
There are also more than the average amount of errors with grammar, punctuation, and usage that is typical of self-published books these days. Comma errors were rife, including ones lacking between independent clauses in compound sentences. The word discourse was mistaken for discord.
In all, the setup and characterization strained my credulity further than I find acceptable.
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