A note about the ratings: Goodreads uses a 5-star rating system, with 5 stars being for the best books, 1 star being for the worst. There are no half-stars given, which unfortunately tends to lump some books together even if you may have liked one slightly better than another with the same rating. I consider 5 star books to be books that I found outstanding and very highly recommend. I consider 4 star books to be above average, still recommended but not a peak example of the form. I give 3 stars to books that I enjoyed reading but that I don't think are exceptional or notable works; they are good books and entertaining at the time but may be not particularly memorable. 2 star books are those which I had a serious problem with or had difficulty finishing due to my lack of enthusiasm for it; I cannot recommend a 2 star book. I have not yet given any book only 1 star, but that rating would be for a book that I hated, one with few or no redeeming features.
BOOKS I READ IN 2019:
Rating: 4 stars
Read: June 11-28, 2019
Review: I apparently neglected to pen a review after reading this novel, but suffice to say that I found it an enjoyable old-fashioned adventure story with a strong romantic theme (often told from the perspective of the Pimpernel's wife Marguerite Blakeney) as well as an old-time mystery with its use of disguises and escapes. My copy is a Pyramid Books edition, an 8th printing from May 1966.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: Dec. 8-17, 2019
Review: This book was originally published by Mills & Boon in the UK in 1959, and reprinted in North America as Harlequin Romance #901 in March 1965. My copy (shown here) is a 1976 facsimile reprint edition.
One of the things that I didn't know about old Harlequin novels until obtaining them for myself was that many were reprints of British novels. I've always been interested in England, so it's fascinating to read material from there, especially older work that reflects how life used to be. For example, on page 20 our hero Simon asks our heroine Jan if she would "like to see the new Kenneth More film at the Odeon." I became aware of Kenneth More a few years ago when watching the original 1967 BBC TV mini-series The Forsyte Saga, in which he starred. And near the end of the novel, we get a chance to listen to the Home Service on "the wireless" (i.e., the radio). So, an old Harlequin romance novel combines two of my very favorite things: old stuff and British stuff!
One drawback to romance novels of the 1950s-60s is that they often focus on the woman's perspective at the expense of the man's. The reader is denied access to the hero's thoughts while the heroine spends the novel wondering whether he really loves her or not. That question is the crux of the novel, as Jan wonders if her playwright husband Simon is still in love with his former girlfriend who has since become a famous Hollywood star. Some of his actions suggest that such is the case, but the reader cannot be sure of his motivation because we don't learn what he is feeling about the matter until the end when he finally voices his thoughts to Jan.
This is a lowkey romance, about a gentle young woman in love with an artistic man who appears content to be with her but reluctant (until the end) to say the words that she longs for -- "I love you" -- that will put her doubts to rest. The characters were vividly realized and interesting, except for Jan herself who by her own admission is not as interesting as the rest of her family. I enjoyed this book and enjoyed spending time in its pages despite its leisurely pace.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: April 2019
Review: This paperback edition titled FAREWELL TO LOVE was published in the US by Pocket Books in Dec. 1973, but was originally published in the UK in 1968 under the title THE SHOW MUST GO ON.
The novel is only around 190 pages but takes place across a large span of time, from 1780 to 1816. So this is both a Georgian and Regency novel. I didn't realize until I was over halfway through the book that the characters in the novel actually existed. This includes the novel"s heroine, the actress Dorothy Jordan, whose Wikipedia page can be found under the name Dorothea Jordan. However I would recommend reading the novel before reading the Wikipedia entry, to prevent spoiling the story.
The fact that this is a novelized biography of a real person helps to explain why so many of the characters in the novel had the same name. There are several men named George and at least two Fannys. As a reader, it was sometimes difficult to remember who was who because of this. Although marketed as a romance novel, one shouldn't expect to find the obligatory happily-ever-after here. It's a real woman's life story that had much happiness along the way but also much tragedy.
There's very little info about this novel or its author online. I"ve not been able to find an image of the cover of FAREWELL TO LOVE on the web. (The cover image shown here is a scan of my own copy.) The story appears to be heavily researched but I don"t know if Rose Meadows pieced together the life story of Dorothy Jordan from various sources or simply dramatized someone else"s biography of the actress. If she did the research herself (as Georgette Heyer was known to do) then the result is most impressive.
This is a fairly obscure book, but definitely worth a read. Evidently Pocket Books published a few other books by Rose Meadows at this time and I look forward to finding them in my book-sale searches. I'm only rating this book 3 stars (out of five) simply because of the difficulty I had keeping track of all the characters. I do recommend the book, however.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: May 8-20, 2019
Review: THE BROKEN MELODY by Ellen Jane MacLeod was an "Easy Eye" (i.e., large print) paperback published by Magnum Books (the successor to Lancer Books). Inside, the publisher is listed as Prestige Books (presumably a Magnum imprint) and copyrighted 1970 to Lenox Hill Press. I know nothing about the author; the book itself appears to be pretty obscure.
At only 192 pages, this should be a quick read (which is why I selected it to read), but it ended up taking me a couple weeks to finish, since its leisurely pace doesn't exactly make it a gripping page-turner. On the other hand, I enjoyed the story while I was reading it, enjoyed the company of the characters (though most have fairly bland personalities) and wouldn't mind reading the book again (though hopefully faster this time) in case I missed anything the first time around.
The main character is Jenny, a young woman who lives in Portland that appears to have a bright career ahead of her as a concert pianist. Her hopes are dashed, however, when she injures her wrist in a car accident. During her recuperation at home alone (both her parents are dead), she discovers her mother's old diaries which inspire her to visit her mother's homeland in Scotland. She makes new friends there (including a potential love interest, a fellow American named Richard) and ends up staying in the large mansion of her grumpy, unhappy grandfather (who would prefer her to take a romantic interest in Michael, the son of his best friend).
At times the novel reads like a travelogue as Jenny visits various picturesque areas of the countryside. There's a scene near the end where Jenny accompanies a friend who drives a bookmobile, distributing books to people living in isolated rural areas. It contributes nothing to the plot, has no reason to be there, and yet I found it to be one of the most touching scenes in the book and the novel would have been the poorer without it.
The prose is written in a straight-forward plain style, not unlike the kind of novel aimed at a teenage audience. There is no sex in this romance novel, and only a couple kisses. Pages from the book could be mistaken for a Nancy Drew novel at times. It's a bit of simple escapism and literary tourism that doesn't wear out its welcome. Overall I enjoyed it for what it was: a brief trip to Scotland to make some new friends.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2019
Review: GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY by Arlene Hale (Little, Brown & Co., 1973) is actually a hardcover book (all the other books on this list are paperbacks) and my copy is a worn, ex-library copy. According to the Fantastic Fiction website, there was a paperback edition published in 1978 (I've not seen the cover anywhere online) and will likely replace this copy with the paperback if I ever find one.
This is a pleasant, easy-to-read, fast-paced novel, only 226 pages long. I'd never read a book by Arlene Hale before, although I have recently acquired several of her books. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed her simple, to-the-point writing style. It reminded me of the style of a mystery novel.
In fact this romance novel is a mystery story as well, where our heroine, a young librarian named Heather is tasked with indexing a dying old rich man's personal library of vintage books. He also wants her to find a missing letter that he believes has been misplaced within the pages of one of the books -- a letter that pertains to one of his nephews who has recently returned from Vietnam.
The novel contains numerous main characters and at least four romances (plus one misguided, unrequited love) happening through the book. The meaning of the book's title becomes clear by the end of the penultimate chapter. Despite the large cast of characters, the reader is able to keep them straight because they all serve various roles. Overall I enjoyed the book and give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Rating: 2 stars
Read: March 16-April 16, 2019
Review: AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE by Lynna Cooper was published by Signet in August 1976. "Lynna Cooper" was actually a pen-name for Gardner Fox. best known for writing DC comics during the Golden and Silver Ages of comic books, and science fiction novels in the pulp era. Fox wrote over a dozen romance novels for Signet in the 1970s and early 1980s under the Lynna Cooper pseudonym. Given this background, I was eager to read this novel. Sadly, however, I found it a hard slog despite the book's brevity.
This is a romantic suspense novel that fails on both counts. The heroine isn't sure if the wealthy man that she married really loves her, or even if she loves him. (She married him, a total stranger, to satisfy his deathbed request, but he soon made a full recovery.) Does he really love her or is he just using her? Questions like that are repeated throughout the book, always from the heroine's perspective; the man's thoughts are not shared with the reader, making him seem more of a remote figure. This contributes to the "suspense" I suppose, but the question drags on too long. The real "suspense" aspect concerns a bearded man who apparently is trying to kill our heroine. He is spotted hanging around outside her cottage, but no clue is given to solve this mystery until literally 10 pages before the novel ends, and the action involving the bearded man is wrapped up way too quickly. (There is one offhand comment made halfway through the book that turns out to be a clue to what is going on, but it would have been more satisfying if additional clues had been given.) Skipping so fast past the only "action" in this story was a missed opportunity.
The book is written professionally, but there are some annoying quirks, particularly the constant references to one of the characters as "the blond woman." The hero's car is constantly referred to by what kind of car it is (an Iso Grifo) as if that matters (it doesn't). The heroine "giggled" a lot when "laughed" would have seemed more appropriate for her serious personality.
There's not much that happens in this novel. It's only 173 pages, but entire chapters could have been eliminated without affecting the story. The book wasn't all bad --- it had some atmospheric outdoorsy scenes that I enjoyed -- but overall it was disappointingly dull.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: Dec. 28-30, 2019
Review: This novel was Harlequin Romance #1994, published in August 1976. Although I'm rating it 3 stars, I found the book to be an enjoyable read, closer to 3-and-a-half stars. The story begins almost in a kind of gothic or romantic suspense manner, where a young woman named Andrea finds herself fascinated by a painting depicting a woman somewhat resembling herself standing in front of an old arched gate. The artist notices her at the gallery observing the mysterious painting and invites her to stay with his family for the purpose of deceiving his uncle that she is his long-lost granddaughter. The deception is well-intentioned, to comfort the dying old man in his final months of life. Another family member, however, former race-car driver Dominic Faro, objects to this scheme, and so Andrea and Dominic find themselves continually at odds despite their attraction to one another. The ending is predictable, but satisfying nonetheless. I found the story to be well-told, fast-paced and engrossing, with enjoyable characters and settings throughout. If I could find a flaw, it would only be that the story seems a little old-fashioned for 1976, the innocent young heroine and her workplace friends seeming more like inhabitants of the 1950s. But that old-fashioned quality perhaps adds to the charm, and makes the story seem more universal and timeless than the addition of dated 1970s references would have caused. It's a solid entertaining read, typical of the consistently professional quality that Harlequin is known for.
Rating: 2 stars
Read: Feb. 12-26, 2019
Review: This was book #9 in the MacFadden Romance series, published in 1978. This was a run of paperback books put out by MacFadden (a division of Kim Publishing Corp.) to compete with Harlequin, but lacking Harlequin's quality and using mostly unknown writers. Apparently the only other book that "Grace Caldwell" ever wrote was another MacFadden Romance (#18, "The Stranger and the Sea"), which makes me wonder if it was simply a pen-name.
The book has its good and bad aspects. The biggest flaw is that it's uneven, which can be demonstrated just by looking at the page lengths of the chapters. The book is 192 pages long and has 11 chapters. Chapters 1-4 comprise pages 1 to 99 whilst the remaining 7 chapters are crammed into pages 101 to 191. Those first four chapters tell an interesting story about a 19 year old woman named Celeste Montaque (misspelled Montique on the back cover) who has lost both her parents and lives alone, her only friend being her father's best friend, Dan Nelson who checks in on her from time to time. Dan has an artificial leg and is in his sixties; he ends up in the hospital and Celeste becomes his caretaker, moving in with him. Eventually Dan proposes that Celeste marry him (with the understanding that there will be no romance or sex between them) simply so she can inherit his estate when he dies, which he expects to be soon.
Celeste agrees to the arrangement and appears to be happy with things. She has lived a sheltered life, and her experience with men is very limited. She had gone on a date with a young medical student named Anthony, but his kissing her without consent caused her to push him away despite her being attracted to him. So we never hear back from Anthony, but their relationship foreshadows what is to come with Gerald. Who is Gerald (the man mentioned on the back cover description)? Well, he is not introduced or mentioned at all until page 128. If we omit blank pages between chapters, page 128 is only 60 pages until the novel's last page. So this is all a bit sudden!
On page 106, Dan expresses some guilt to Celeste that she is spending so much time with an old duffer like him and not with people her own age. So, on page 108, he recommends that she go on a cruise by herself for a while and have some fun. By page 112, she agrees to go on the cruise. She finally gets on the boat on page 119 and says goodbye to Dan on the next page. She then spends the next several pages trying to fit in, but not doing too well at it. She becomes fascinated with the mysterious Gerald (a fellow passenger), although she realizes that he is a rude and arrogant person and exhibits none of the positive personal qualities of her husband Dan. But for some reason she is in love with him. I won't spoil the ending, but it's fairly predictable -- involving the usual comeuppance that an arrogant romantic male lead must undergo to make him a suitable husband for our heroine.
For me, the first half of the book was more interesting because it was less predictable, a more unusual premise than the romantic dancing around each other that takes place in the second half of the book. The entire book is written in a simple, matter-of-fact style, but the second half appears to be more clumsily written, containing a few typos. In one instance, the word "said" was used when evidently "sat" was meant instead, which caused me to wonder if what I was reading was a transcript from dictation, and the transciber had misheard the word "sat" for "said." After that, it was harder to read the novel without "hearing" it as a writer simply talking into a dictating machine, trying to get the novel done as fast as possible. Perhaps the uneven quality is the result of chapters 1-4 having been done earlier and then left unfinished, and then the second half of the novel completed later in a hurry -- or even the result of putting two unrelated short stories together and making one novel out of them. That's purely guesswork on my part, based on how it felt reading it.
The sloppy quality is reinforced by the late introduction of the hero (the writer's fault) and the bland, dollar-store presentation by the publisher, MacFadden. The other MacFadden Romance books that I've seen have subpar cover artwork, no match for the Harlequins of the day. The artwork on the cover of this book isn't too bad, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the story inside, since our heroine is blonde, not red or dark haired like the woman on the cover. One thing that I did like about the novel is that Grace Caldwell at least knows the difference between "blonde" (referring to women) and "blond" (referring to men) -- I'm a stickler for the proper use of the word and it's always jarring when I see it used wrong. So kudos to Grace Caldwell, wherever she may be, for using them correctly.
Despite my complaints about the novel that I've outlined above (and I could go on), I did enjoy spending time with these characters. It's too bad that Celeste was stuck in a romance novel and forced into the conventions of that genre, instead of in another kind of novel (as the first half of the book felt like) where she could have more time to grow up as a person before becoming romantically involved with a potentially unworthy mate. I think what Celeste really needed was not a boyfriend or husband, but just a female friend or two her own age with whom she could confide and be with, before taking a leap into love with a stranger.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: June 7-11, 2019
Review: SAFFRON MOON by Lillian Crawford is book #37 in the MacFadden Romance series, published in 1978. I enjoyed the book very much and thought it was well written, although I am only rating it 3 stars because I thought that the story was fairly simple. It was very nearly a 4-star book for me, however, because of my enjoyment reading it. So let's say this book was 3 and a half stars.
I know nothing about the author and, judging by the lack of info I found online, neither does anyone else. According to the site FictionDB, Lillian Crawford only wrote four novels, all of them for MacFadden Romance. I find that unlikely, given the quality of her writing, and I suspect that she wrote more books under other names.
The story starts out in New York (which suggests to me an American author) but the rest of the novel takes place in Columbia. The author presents such a detailed picture of the country that one assumes that she must have visited there herself. Interestingly, on page 159 the author uses the word "centre" (instead of "center") which makes me wonder if Lillian Crawford was perhaps not an American author.
As with most MacFadden Romance novels, the cover artwork has nothing to do with the story and the typography (the actual text on the page) is sometimes unevenly spaced. The effect of the packaging suggests a slapdash production, which is unfortunate because the writing itself is very good. Hopefully the writer continued writing novels for a publisher that was better able to showcase her work.
The novel does have a twist on the last page that caused me to groan a little, like reading a mystery where a pertinent detail had hitherto been left out. But it still works and does allow for the obligatory HEA.
Rating: 4 stars
Read: Jan. 1-23, 2019
Review: THE DEMON COUNT by Anne Stuart was originally published as book #557 in Dell's long-running CANDLELIGHT ROMANCE series in March 1980. I thought the book was very well written -- so much so that I've now begun reading another book by the same author. (There is a sequel to this novel, titled The Demon Count's Daughter, see below.)
The novel takes place in 1840, as Charlotte Theresa Sabina Morrow leaves England for Italy to be with her guardian (whom she has not met before) after the death of her parents. Her guardian is the mysterious and dangerous Count Luc del Zaglia who lives with his servants in an old decaying mansion in Venice. Charlotte finds herself both attracted to and repulsed by the demonic-seeming Count. She begins to believe that he may be a vampire based on some baffling murders that are happening in town. The central question of the novel is whether Luc is what he appears to be, man or beast?
If I had a criticism to make, I'd suggest that the mythology of the vampire (avoiding daylight, mirrors, garlic, ability to change into a bat) may be too familiar to the characters in the story, before such vampiric characteristics had become pop-culture staples through fictional representations created after 1840. However such references do add to the spooky atmosphere of the book. If you enjoy old-fashioned gothic romances, you should like this one.
Rating: 4 stars
Read: Jan. 29-Feb. 10, 2019
Review: This book was #561 in Dell's Candlelight Romance series, published in April 1980. The novel was a sequel to Stuart's THE DEMON COUNT (Candlelight #557). The sequel has some references to the earlier novel, but takes place two decades later and contains a standalone story featuring mostly new main characters and therefore can be enjoyed on its own merits. But if one has read The Demon Count already, the sequel provides a welcome return to the setting of 19th century Venice and the theme of a strong-willed woman's fascination for an aloof and mysterious man. Like the earlier book, the novel ends back in England with a satisfying resolution.
The first half of The Demon Count's Daughter has a much lighter touch than The Demon Count had, since that book hinted at supernatural possibilities and was more atmospheric in its descriptions. The daughter of the title, Luciana del Zaglia, is sent to Venice to obtain a secret paper that will expel the Austrians from Venice. That aspect of the story doesn't kick into high gear until the second half, which has a more serious, dramatic adventure feel (in keeping with the style of the earlier book), whereas the first half seemed more like a romantic comedy, with Luciana's servant Maggie and the fellow spy Tonetti providing comic relief.
A few chapters in, I felt like this book would be a weaker work than its predecessor, but by the time I was finished, I found that I had enjoyed it just as much. There was a nice combination of humor and danger, and the hero was the most likable in attitude of the three Stuart novels that I've read so far. He was gruff and aloof, but his actions and attitude were understandable. As far as I know, Stuart never returned to these characters, which is too bad because there could be still more stories to tell about The Demon Count's family.
Rating: 5 stars
Read: March 26-April 3. 2019
Review: WATERS OF EDEN by Katherine Kent was a Gallen Historical Romance paperback novel published in August 1981. In the early 1980s, around 74 romance novels were published by Richard Gallen Books and distributed by Pocket Books, but this is the only one I've read so far. The novel is outstanding and kept my attention throughout its 297 pages. It was well-written with many memorable characters, events than run the gamut from amusing to touching to terrifying, and lots of action and adventure in addition to the main romance. I won't summarize the plot here and will just encourage you to read it.
If one were to draw an outline of the plot, there would be two big climaxes: one in the middle of the novel where the volcano erupts and nearly kills everyone on the island, and near the end during a convict uprising where total chaos reigns. Most novels would have had only one climactic moment and I wondered how the writer would be able to top the volcano's eruption in terms of excitement, but she manages to do so. I look forward to seeking out more novels written by Katherine Kent (a pen-name for Joan Dial).
Rating: 5 stars
Read: Oct. 19-Nov. 7, 2019
Review: FLAMES OF PASSION by Sheryl Flournoy was the 4th book in Pocket Books' TAPESTRY line of historical romance novels. (There was a total of 94 TAPESTRY novels published from 1982 to 1986.) This novel was published in November 1982 and runs 304 pages. The bio page at the end of the book says this is the author's third novel. The FictionDB index lists only 4 of her novels, with this being the earliest one (she wrote another Tapestry novel later in the series). However she apparently also wrote two Silhouette Desire novels under the pen-name Sherry Dee (one of which pre-dates Flames of Passion). It's too bad that Ms. Flournoy wrote so few novels, since this one was a terrific read which captivated me from the first few pages.
The book does contain aspects that some readers may find problematic, offensive, and/or annoying. The hero Captain Trent LeBlanc rapes the heroine Amber multiple times; within the first two chapters he has raped her twice. He also kidnaps her and forces her into marriage, locking her in a room until she agrees to marry him. He expects her to be completely submissive to his will and treats her as his possession. At the same time she fights his attempts at control, both in large ways (threatening to jump from his boat) and small (insisting on riding her horse despite his disapproval). The two lovers are like each other, both unwilling to voice the words "I love you." Their bond seems strongest in bed, lusting over each other, a mere physical attraction, and yet they are alike in their stubborness, their willingness to fight to protect each other from enemies. This duality is symbolized early on when Amber begins wearing Trent's clothing (since there is no suitable feminine clothing aboard the ship). When pirates attack them and Trent is knocked out, Amber assumes the role of ship's captain herself, leading his men during the battle!
The matter of bad male behavior in a romance novel seems easier to forgive in a historical novel than a contemporary due to the lack of enlightened attitudes in the past for which there is no excuse in the present. Amber seems to suggest that the society in which she lived would frown upon her consenting at all to Trent's sexual interest in her, making the matter of consent moot since her agency is denied on both sides, and that the only true guide is her own body's response to his actions. On page 62 we read: "...Amber had begun to realize that her feelings for the man whom she professed to hate so intensely were not those of hatred at all. They were in reality the stirrings of love and passion, and they warred with her sense of decency and good breeding. She had fought her emotions, but with each passing day her frustrations had lessened, and she now readily admitted to herself that she had truly fallen in love."
Another problematic aspect is the stereotyped dialogue of the hero's black servants (who are not slaves, despite this taking place in the South during the War of 1812). The maid Mattie seems based on "mammy" characters like in "Gone With the Wind," and the black characters' dialogue is always written in extremely broken English to evoke their dialogue. While this helps the reader to "hear" how they talk, it is a bit cringey to read, making them seem like comic relief unlike the white characters.
Despite these problematic elements, I thoroughly enjoyed this thrilling novel and give it 5 stars. The story had a bit of everything: love, murder, action, espionage, secrets, villains, and a secondary romance among two supporting characters. I look forward to reading more by this author and more Tapestry romances.
Rating: 2 stars
Read: Jan. 21-28, 2019
Review: This was book #30 in the Harlequin American Romance series, published in 1983. The novel was well-written and enjoyable to read, although I disliked the hero, Sin MacDonald, because of the entitled way he treated the heroine, Cathy Whiteheart -- ordering her around and using his physical strength to get his way. This is particularly insensitive given that Sin knows Cathy has recently left an abusive relationship. Cathy rightly objects and resists Sin's control, a couple times calling him a sexist, but at the same time she is drawn to him and usually submits in the end. This may be a "lust story" more than a "love story" because the only thing that seems to keep these two together is their passionate physical attraction to one another.
My discomfort with Sin's forceful attitude kept this book from scoring higher with me, despite Anne Stuart's storytelling skill. One Goodreads reviewer mentioned "Magnum P.I." (because of Sin's mustache). Tom Selleck was a popular sex symbol when this novel was published, so perhaps Stuart modeled Sin on the actor. It's a little easier to take Sin's behavior if one visualizes the affable Selleck doing it -- for example, when Sin threatens to knock Cathy unconscious and carry her to the airport if she doesn't go willingly. However it's hard to defend some of Sin's actions no matter how you look at it. Another reviewer mentioned when Sin slaps Cathy across the face after she had slapped him. (This to a woman that he knows has been abused by a man previously.) Much worse in my opinion is a scene near the end where he takes Cathy to bed by force, saying "I'm not going to rape you," but appears to do just that. Cathy tells him afterwards that she will never forgive him for what he did to her, and it's hard to see why she should.
It's no spoiler to say that most romance novels have happy endings. As I got to the last few chapters, I wondered how that obligatory happy resolution would come about since it seemed like if the two went their separate ways then nothing worthwhile was achieved, but if Cathy submitted to Sin then she would be stuck in another potentially abusive relationship. Anne Stuart provides an ending that I can live with, where Cathy gets her man and Sin finally reveals a genuine love for her.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: April 2019
Review: I found this to be a highly enjoyable and satisfying Regency romance novel with memorable and likable characters. Although the hero, Lord Bain, has the reputation as a rough sort, the reader is assured that he is honorable and thus worthy of the name "hero" (as the male love interest is referred to in the romance genre). The heroine, Gillian Ashley, is headstrong, which may be uncharacteristic of young women in that era, but such strength and determination is preferable to reading about a woman who lacks such a will and lets others take advantage of her. This novel was a quick read, a real page turner despite having a relatively simple storyline. This was Margaret Summerville's first Signet Regency (she had previously written a few Regencies for Dell's Candlelight series) and I very much look forward to reading more of her novels.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: Oct. 6-16, 2019
Review: Back on Oct. 4th, I mentioned that I was going to try and read a romance novel in one day (as I hear that so many people do) and said that I would attempt it with a thin Barbara Cartland novel that I bought recently. Well, it took a few days, but I finished reading it, and I enjoyed it.
This is THE BARGAIN BRIDE by Barbara Cartland, published by Jove Books in Dec. 1989. This was book #76 in a CAMFIELD NOVEL OF LOVE series that Cartland was churning out on a near-monthly basis. This was the first Cartland novel that I've ever read. The thin page count, only 162 pages, plus Cartland's simple writing style (where most paragraphs are only a sentence long) made it an easy and pleasurable read.
It's a Regency romance involving a young innocent woman named Aleda who must sell the family home to pay her brother's debts. The only one willing to buy the rundown place is a wealthy stranger who says he will buy it if she agrees to be his wife. The deal is made but Aleda fears that the man only wanted to marry her because of her title. In the end, the various mysteries surrounding his actions are resolved satisfactorily.
The highlight of the novel for me was near the end when Aleda is kidnapped, and suddenly the novel feels like a thrilling Victorian-era adventure, where our hero ("an expert in disguise"), accompanied by his servant Chang, must invade an opium den to rescue her. If the whole novel was like this, it would have been a wonderfully old-fashioned (albeit politically incorrect) classic yarn. But if so, it would have been less of a love story. For what it is, a thin romance novel, it holds one's interest throughout and makes one enjoy one's stay in its pages, even for so short a time as it takes to read them. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Barbara Cartland.
Rating: 5 stars
Read: June 28-Sept. 5, 2019
Review: Finally finished reading BIRDIE by Taylor Ryan after a couple months. No fault of the book that it's taken me so long really (although it is 291 pages with small text) but I've been reading other things off and on as well.
BIRDIE by Taylor Ryan (copyrighted to Taylor Robbins inside) is Harlequin Historical #312, released in 1996. According to the internet, Taylor Ryan has only written four novels (BIRDIE was her second), all for the Harlequin Historical series, her other three being #262 (Love's Wild Wager), #342 (Beauty and the Beast) and #368 (The Essential Wife), all from 1995-1997. I have the last book, too, and am tempted to start reading it now, based on how good BIRDIE was. It always surprises me that an author can write a great novel and then basically is never heard from again, as appears to be the case here.
BIRDIE takes place in Regency era England following the title character from her childhood living in the slum to a kind of arranged marriage as a teenager to getting kidnapped by Irish rebels to having kids and finally finding happiness with her husband after another attempt on their lives.
While reading it, I thought that the author had made a misstep by jumping ahead two years between pages 165 & 166. It seemed like there could have been at least an extra chapter added to cover the events of those missing years. However after reading through, I think the writer needn't have covered that part since the focus of the novel is the relationship between Birdie and her husband Temple, and they were apart for those two years. An additional chapter would have involved more characters and a loss of focus on the two.
Overall this was a highly satisfying and well-written novel that grips you from the first page. The misunderstandings between Birdie and Temple can get frustrating, but the reader knows that they will get back together in the end so the fun is seeing how that happens.
Rating: 4 stars
Read: Nov. 10-16, 2019
Review: This book is actually one that I got from a local library's "free" box recently (which is primarily stocked with romance novels). "Passion in the First Degree" by Carla Cassidy is Harlequin Intrigue #379, published in July 1996. The front cover, with its sexy couple in bed surrounded by a bright pink border, is almost guaranteed to ensure that no male reader would ever be caught dead with a copy. I'm a curious sort, though, and found the swamp setting in the prologue to be intriguing and kept reading to the end (though not all in one sitting... I'm a slow reader and so it took me around a week).
The plot revolves around two sets of murders that may or may not be related: the killing of random denizens of the swamp by a serial killer who the townspeople have dubbed "the swamp serpent," and the recent murders of a man and woman who were close to Billy, the novel's hero and a resident of the swamp. (Don't worry, it turns out that he's also rich, despite appearances, as with so many romantic heroes.) The murdered man was Billy's best friend and the woman was his estranged lover. Were they having an affair and then killed by a jealous Billy? That's what many people in town suspect, including the cops, who eventually charge Billy with the crime. Billy brings in an old flame, lawyer Shelby Longsford, to defend him.
I won't say more without giving away the plot, but I will say that I was surprised by the reveal(s) at the end. As I got to the last few chapters, I was sure that someone else was going to be revealed as the killer and I was happy to be proven wrong.
The novel is a well-written mystery that is also a romance, a true romantic suspense. It's well-written, a real page turner, with memorable characters. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The only reason that I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I save that highest rating for my particular favorites. I enjoyed this novel a lot, enough to make me want to read more books by its author.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: Nov. 21-Dec. 7, 2019
Review: "One Night in His Arms" by Penny Jordan was Harlequin Presents #2002, published in Jan. 1999. I gave it 3 stars because it was an enjoyable book but I felt it had some minor flaws in both the writing style and characterization. The strongest aspect of the novel is the premise of renovating an old estate, which makes the reader feel like they are getting a behind the scenes view of a tourist attraction.
The writing flashes backwards & forwards in time to fill in the gaps in the reader's knowledge about the characters' history, although I sometimes felt that important facts were only revealed later (such as that Ran and Sylvie had made love prior to her leaving the UK). Sometimes the writing style is a little convoluted, like on page 48 which consists of only 5-and-a-half sentences. The author also occasionally mentions the "maleness" of Ran, which gets a little silly when she refers to him (on page 150) as "a very male man."
Another thing I didn't like is how all of the problems between the two lovers was due to lack of communication, miscommunication and misunderstandings. If the two had simply spoken honestly and not assumed that they were sleeping with other people, then a lot of their problems could have been avoided. Sure, they get it all resolved 10 pages before the novel ends. But realistically, what kind of stable relationship could two such distrustful people have in real life? One can imagine the same miscommunication problems happening again, destroying their relationship.
The cover image seemed a bit off to me at first, but the scene does occur later in the book when Ran discovers a sleepwalking Sylvie and carries her to his bed.
So, to sum up, an OK novel, but for me not a keeper.
Rating: 3 stars
Read: Feb. 27-March 12, 2019
Review: "Forbidden Night with the Duke" by Annie Claydon is HARLEQUIN MEDICAL ROMANCE #933 (January 2018), and the most current romance novel that I've read, after having read a few from the 1970s-80s. Thankfully the hero of this novel is more respectful of the heroine than in those old novels. I liked how the two main characters were frank with each other about their feelings, rather than dragging things out with misunderstandings, etc. My only complaint is that the happy ending seemed a bit forced; presumably the problem that kept the two from being together (he was her boss) still existed at the end, and so that dilemma was never really solved. There was also the issue that the hero had misled her by making her think that another person in the organization, John, made the decisions about her advancement, when actually it was the hero himself. This secret is apparently never revealed to her.
Don't judge a book by the cover or its title. "Forbidden Night with the Duke" is a steamy-sounding title characteristic of today's Harlequins. In the 1960s, it might have had a bland title like "Nurse Megan's Dilemma" or "Doctor from Sri Lanka." In the 1970s-80s, it might have had a more mysterious title like "Eastern Heat" or "Follow Me." But today we get titles like "Forbidden Night with the Duke," which more accurately might be reworded as "Potentially Inappropriate Relationship with One's Boss (Who Also Happens to be a Duke)." There really is only one "forbidden night" in the novel, a steamy sex scene on pages 227-232 (aside from a brief attempt early on which is abruptly curtailed before anything really happens). The story has some twists and turns which kept things moving dramatically, and I really did wonder if the two lovers would get their happy ending after all.
Overall the book is well-written and I enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more by the author. I'd not read a "Larger Print" Harlequin before, but after a few pages I got used to the larger size of the typeface and in fact now even prefer it. (When I went to read another paperback novel after finishing this one, the smaller typeface of a normal book was bit jarring at first.) I did find one tiny mistake in the text: On page 66, Megan says "When I found David down in the kitchen," she actually means Tim. (I also seem to recall seeing Jaye spelled as Jay once early on but can't find it now.) Despite any above-stated flaws, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a current romance novel -- even someone like myself who prefers the older stuff.
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