Bookish Banter

Few things shock Liam Cavanaugh. The much scandalized Earl of Wolford is no stranger to the rumor mill. Whether it be by way of the scandal sheets or word of mouth. But when he finds himself injured, unable to see, and in a strange bed. Liam becomes all to aware that this latest scandal is far more truth than anything that even he is prepared for.

Adeline Pimm has always longed for adventure. A desire long denied her. Due to an injury at her birth; which left one leg shorter than the other. But now, a full grown woman of 22. Adeline is determined to make a London showing. Proving that though her stem may be a little bent, she is far from anyone's shrinking violet.

This second offering in Vivienne Lorett's Season's Original series, offers quite the step up from its predecessor. Making quite the grand showing in character development, character interaction, pacing, setting, and plot. This Earl Is On Fire is no less than Historical Romance perfection.

While Adeline's disability (and I use that term loosely) does come into play within the course of this read. It is thankfully not allowed center stage. That honor being rightfully reserved for the wonderfully "sickbed romance" that takes place when Adeline is left to nurse a very battered Liam back to health. A time so full of interpersonal connection between the two, that one is sorry to see it end.

But end it does, and then its off to the dances! Well, there is also an opera thrown in for good measure. A time filled with all the snobbery and tongue wagging that the ton can muster.
But surprisingly, most of that is still reserved for Liam. Who is gallantly doing his best to shield Adeline from its worst.

There is as always the bet and wagers about Liam's chances at becoming the next Original. There is also a secondary plotline centring around the pilfering of Liam's extensive antiquity collection. But for the most part, the attention remains with Liam, Adeline, and their fight for love. In spite of themselves.

 The story told in A Rogue by Any Other Name is one that manages to both exasperate and delight.  Exasperation is supplied in spades by leading lady Penelope's insistence that a past suitor's decision to marry another, gives her family card blanche to lay the her sister's woes in the marriage mart at her feet.

The thought that the price for her hand had to be sweetened with the addition of leading man Michael's lost land holdings, and that all of the childish and asinine actions of the entitled males of the set then become the worry stones of the woman who are constantly forced to lay the world at their feet.  

Can I scream now?

O.K.  Off the soapbox I go!

Michael is divine as a character.  The way that he came, saw, and kidnapped!!!!

Priceless!

He is just the right combination of rogue, gentleman, and tortured soul, that readers of Regency Romance love.

The fact that he is a self made man...so much the better!

The fact that Penelope is an older heroine, and still stuck in the virginal ingenue role is very off putting.

I mean you would expect a girl to know a little more about herself and be a little more comfortable in her own skin by 28?

This poor girl.  That is what she is in most respects despite her years, spent more time covering up and blushing than a nun in church.

The letters that started between the two in childhood, gave a great understanding of the depth of feeling that the two shared, and provided a glimpse into the great love that could have been from the start...had fate and deception not intervened.

The love scenes are first rate, and they seem to build and intensify as the relationship between Michael and Penelope deepens.

Topping all of this off is the dramatic and very emotional ending to this whole saga, which is enough to have the reader riding the edge of her/his seat and reaching for the Kleenex.

Though much has been made of lives, wives, deaths, and courts held by the various Tudor Queens; the life and times of young Queen Jane (Seymour) has gone largely unsung.
Until now...
My Lady Viper gives readers that much yearned for glimpse inside the Seymour reign.
Told in the voice of Lady Anne Seymour, the story we find here is far from that of staid civility, and forthright purity, as reported by history.
While that might have been true for the tragic Queen Jane, it was far from the case with those of her court.

Lady Anne, manages in a time where women were to be but bedded and wedded; to be spy, diplomat, courtesan, and historian. 
She is a woman who "walks softly and carries a large and very calculating mind." As is true with every great man or woman, there are chinks in her amour. (Her rape at the hands of a high ranking nobleman at court, a less than civil relationship with social climbing parents, and an illicit affair with Sir Anthony Brown.) Lady Anne proves herself to be worth her weight in gold as an asset to her husband, and a true survivor in the game of thrones.

The story told here is done so in an intimate tone that calls the reader in, and begs to be read. It is as though one becomes Lady Anne for a time, and is granted the joys, pain, failure, and triumph that is her experience.
While this is a story of the Tudor Court, the king and his wife take a welcome second to the scheming title jockeys and all manner of ill doings which surround them for much of the tale.

Thankfully, authoress Knight does not fill her work with contless names and titles. She instead focuses on only the characters essential to her plot. All transitions and plot changes are smooth and easy to follow, even if the reader is called away from the story for a time. The settings while descriptively vibrant, do not in any way overpower character interaction or dialogue.
In short...this book is made up of all the things that a good story make.

My Lady Viper is a sweeping tale of one woman's journey through the gauntlet that was the Tudor Court.

My 4 star review of "The Program"  by Suzanne Young cross posted from WTF Are You Reading?

While this story on it's own is not one that is unique; it is a fair start for a series. Breaking what should be a complete book into 4 parts, exposes weaknesses in story composition which could have been excused as story rhythm if presented as a full novel. Connie seems quite spoiled and dependent on Cliff to be the source of her happiness.  The author is treading on dangerous ground by using Connie's loneliness as the sole reason for her affair.  Cliff clearly loves her, has not strayed, and is in the process of launching a company. By making her sole reason for cheating her need for attention, the character establishes herself as the story's villain from the start. The attraction that Connie has to her trainer, Mellors, is the saving grace for this read. The passion between them is enough to make readers' mouths water.
The sex scenes found here, while nothing to sneeze at, are no more steamy than those found in mainstream romance novels.
If this is truly to be a retelling of the iconic "Lady Chatterley's Lover; it has a lot of growing to do.

This is my Youtube review of the Erotic Romance If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones.

This is the first book in the Inside Out Trilogy

Published by Gallery Books

Discover Best Books of 2012 on BookLikes bookshelf and read about some notable reads of 2012 that were widely talked about. 

In 2012 Oprah’s Book Club got CPR and that’s how Oprah Book Club 2.0 was born. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, much more than just a story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike, was a first book pick for Book Club 2.0. by Oprah, a woman with immense influence on world’s trends, including reading ones.

Most recent choice for Club is Ayana Mathis’s The Twelve Tribes of Hattie with recommendation of Oprah’s quote: Not since Toni Morrison have I read a writer whose words have moved me this way.

The Casual Vacancy was anticipated by both those who loved and hardly enjoyed Harry Potter. All people wanted to see how J.K. Rowling will find herself in adult fiction. The book is out and reviews mainly positive, both in UK and USA:

• Rowling knows how to write a twisty, involving plot....She is clearly a skilled writer (The Huffington Post );
• Rowling has written a grand novel...a very brave book. (The Bookseller (UK) ).

Erotic shock with Fifty Shades Trilogy still lasts. “Mummy porn” got popular not only among mums but women of all age and even some man (approximately 30% according to Bowker research). What’s interesting Fifty Shades books have a grand impact on social life too, surveys revealed that they were bought not only for reading pleasure but also as a reference, study and self-help.

Salman Rushdie and Joseph Anton is the same person - the story of how one became the other can be read in Rushdie’s this year biography titled Joseph Anton, a nickname that he has chosen when he was ‘sentenced to death’ because of The Satanic Verses. The book, as the author, have many faces. From development and collapse of personal relationships, through political and cultural background, to portrait of artist and writer.

This year was full of amazing literary awards winners and nominees. Both finalists of National Book Award: This Is How You Lose Her by Pulitzer prize winner Junot Diaz and The Yellow Birds, debut novel by Kevin Powers, didn’t win the prize but already won in literary world where they are named as magnificent and brilliant. Althought Pulitzer judges haven’t awarded any book, the choice of appreciated reads in great. Let’s just mention National Award winner The Round House by Louise Erdrich, Man Booker prize winner Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel , Hugo Award winner Among Others by John H. Walton, or Gone by Mo Hayder, Edgar Winner (read about more awarded reads here).

YA readers have been offereed a relly great literary feast with John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (the story of Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters, two Indianapolis teenagers who meet at a Cancer Kid Support Group) which was named damn near genius by The Times Magazine and Rick Riordan's latest adventures of his most famous character, Percy Jackson, and his friends in The Mark of Athena. 

Nonfiction in 2012 was also widely talked about: No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by former member of US special forces brought storm in military and political grounds and People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry is a compelling account of the story of a young British woman who was killed and dismembered in Japan in 2000 and ten-year long trial. The Guardian praised the book for being rich in intelligence and insight.

Read about other great books here: Awarded Books for Everyone and discover more Best Books of 2012 on BookLikes Bookshelf.