This was not a romantic book. I'm not sure whether it was proffered as such when I first came across the overview. The writing is excellent, but I gave it only 3 stars because it is ridiculously depressing. I cried a good deal through the second half. The ending is bittersweet, and there is a moral to the story. As soon as I finish blowing my nose and drying my eyes, I'll try to figure out what it is.
A Catch of Consequence is about a Bostonian tavern owner, Makepeace Burke, who saves an English lord from drowning after being chucked in the river by some Patriots. She nurses him back to health only to become the target of civil unrest. The English lord, Phillip Dapifer, had come to America to get a quiet divorce from his adulterous wife, Catty. Phillip doesn't feel right leaving Makepeace in Boston after her tavern is burned, and he takes her to England. They get married on the ship, and land in serious drama in London. Even though she has received a very generous divorce settlement, Catty sues Phillip for divorce on the grounds of bigamy, alleging that he was still married to her when he married Makepeace. Makepeace gets pregnant, and in a ridiculously unwise move, tries to make peace with Catty. In an intemperate move, Makepeace reveals that she is pregnant, and oh, do the games begin. I won't give any more of the story away, mostly because it is just too depressing. I can say this for certain though - Update your wills, including guardianship of any children you may have, every YEAR, and keep them in a safe deposit box where no conniving ex can get to them. Seriously. The ruination faced in this book by the characters could have been completely avoided, but such is the nature of stories with morals behind them. There are things to learn here, and not all of them are pleasant.
This book is appropriate for those 16+ because of thematic elements. Other than some occasional language that would make this a rated R film, it is relatively clean.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
The Proposal by Mary Balogh - 4 stars
This novel is a breath of fresh air in the historical romance genre. It is deeply philosophical and addresses such topics as death, guilt, regret, class distinctions/boundaries, spirituality and the reasons for living. Can two people from different classes and very different backgrounds succeed in a relationship? The two main characters in this book show that it is possible if you truly love each other.
Gwendoline, Lady Muir, is a widow of 7 years, and while visiting a recently-widowed acquaintance, sprains her ankle on the property of a Duke. The Duke just happens to be housing the members of The Survivors' Club, a group of people in recovery from their war experiences, and one of the members, Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, comes to Lady Muir's aid. Hugo's title was bestowed on him for services he rendered to the crown during the Napoleonic War - he is known as the Hero of Badajoz- and he is not comfortable with his elevation in status. He is from a very wealthy middle-class family and has little respect for the aristocracy. So it is a difficult twist of fate for him as he falls in love with Lady Muir. He has to adapt himself to her world in order to give his sister the chance to live life to the fullest and experience the upper class lifestyle of the ton. But fitting in to the ton is not enough for their relationship to last, and Gwen ultimately must attempt to fit into his world as well. Ultimately they make it work.
I enjoyed the interactions of the characters a great deal. They were realistic and have substance. My only issue with the writing was that sometimes the language used was too modern for the 1800's, and occasionally phrases like "head over ears" were used instead of "head over heals". Mary Balogh is Welsh and lives in Canada, so that may explain some of the figures of speech, but the book was published by Random House in the US. So you would think that the editors there would have caught the inconsistencies.
This book would be rated R for sexuality, but the love scenes are not gratuitous. The book is solidly based on the development of the characters as people and not the development of their sexual relationship, as is so common in the romance genre. The characters spend time together and their relationship develops through dialogue covering deep and heartfelt topics.
Gwendoline, Lady Muir, is a widow of 7 years, and while visiting a recently-widowed acquaintance, sprains her ankle on the property of a Duke. The Duke just happens to be housing the members of The Survivors' Club, a group of people in recovery from their war experiences, and one of the members, Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, comes to Lady Muir's aid. Hugo's title was bestowed on him for services he rendered to the crown during the Napoleonic War - he is known as the Hero of Badajoz- and he is not comfortable with his elevation in status. He is from a very wealthy middle-class family and has little respect for the aristocracy. So it is a difficult twist of fate for him as he falls in love with Lady Muir. He has to adapt himself to her world in order to give his sister the chance to live life to the fullest and experience the upper class lifestyle of the ton. But fitting in to the ton is not enough for their relationship to last, and Gwen ultimately must attempt to fit into his world as well. Ultimately they make it work.
I enjoyed the interactions of the characters a great deal. They were realistic and have substance. My only issue with the writing was that sometimes the language used was too modern for the 1800's, and occasionally phrases like "head over ears" were used instead of "head over heals". Mary Balogh is Welsh and lives in Canada, so that may explain some of the figures of speech, but the book was published by Random House in the US. So you would think that the editors there would have caught the inconsistencies.
This book would be rated R for sexuality, but the love scenes are not gratuitous. The book is solidly based on the development of the characters as people and not the development of their sexual relationship, as is so common in the romance genre. The characters spend time together and their relationship develops through dialogue covering deep and heartfelt topics.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
The Wife Trap by Tracy Anne Warren - 3 stars
Generally speaking, this book is your standard romantic drama. Lady Jeanette Rose Brandtford, daughter of an earl and twin to the now Duchess of Raeburn, Violet, has been sent off to visit her eccentric cousins in Ireland after causing quite a scandal in London by doing the old twin switch-a-roo at her wedding to the Duke of Raeburn. Apparently Jeanette was in love with another guy, Toddy, and so thought they would marry. I think all this back story may be in another of Tracy Anne Warren's books, but I haven't checked. It seems the perfect topic for a book. Anyhoo, Jeanette has a chance meeting with a guy named Darragh O'Brien, and then finds out he is the architect for the renovations on her cousins' estate. She does not know that he is also the Earl of Mulholland, and so when sparks fly between them, she is convinced there is no future for them. They have quite the little battle going on about what time the renovation work begins in the morning. Jeanette is used to London hours and so wakes late, but manual labor on the house must begin with the sun. Her antics are childish, but still funny.
The rest of the story is what you would expect - them ending up married. However, along the way, there is some very real heartache, and pride keeps these two persons from a happy marriage. There are times I really thought that they wouldn't make it, despite the fact that this is a romance and so must have a happy ending. Their story definitely promotes humility and full honesty in a relationship.
Rated R for sexuality. Most of the book is fairly tame - lots of kissing - but then about 3/4 of the way through the book, things get more intense between them. I give the book 3 stars because the plot moved a little slow throughout most of the book, and then wrapped up like lightening. The book also did not have an epilogue, so we did not have an opportunity to see the felicitous couple after they settled into life. Perhaps that is because there is another book, The Wedding Trap, after it that tells the story of Eliza Hammond, Violet's close friend and companion. Regardless, I would have liked to see either a slower, more developed conclusion to this story, or an epilogue.
The rest of the story is what you would expect - them ending up married. However, along the way, there is some very real heartache, and pride keeps these two persons from a happy marriage. There are times I really thought that they wouldn't make it, despite the fact that this is a romance and so must have a happy ending. Their story definitely promotes humility and full honesty in a relationship.
Rated R for sexuality. Most of the book is fairly tame - lots of kissing - but then about 3/4 of the way through the book, things get more intense between them. I give the book 3 stars because the plot moved a little slow throughout most of the book, and then wrapped up like lightening. The book also did not have an epilogue, so we did not have an opportunity to see the felicitous couple after they settled into life. Perhaps that is because there is another book, The Wedding Trap, after it that tells the story of Eliza Hammond, Violet's close friend and companion. Regardless, I would have liked to see either a slower, more developed conclusion to this story, or an epilogue.
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz - 4 stars
OK, so here is a review of a non-romantic drama. This book is actually better described as a dark comedy. The writing is witty and the characters do funny things, but if you take a step back, you realize how dysfunctional the Spellman family is. I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because the ending felt a bit abrupt, and it definitely was not the happy ending I desired after the rest of the sadness in the book. If this were a movie, it would be rated R for language, thematic elements and some sensuality.
The Spellman Files is about Isabel Spellman and her family, all private investigators except for her brother, David, who is a corporate attorney. The story is told in a manner similar to the Lost TV series - you get a bit of present day drama and then a lot of back story/ family history. Ultimately, the big mystery is what happened to the 14 year old Rae Spellman. She is missing, and in order to find her, Izzy recounts the family's history to the detective investigating her little sister's disappearance. I won't spoil the book for you, but let's just say that the writing is real. This is no fluff piece that you read when you want to feel good, but as I said earlier, the book is also funny. The characters' dialogue is witty and sharp, and some of the things they do are outrageous. I enjoyed this book immensely, but would have preferred a happier ending.
The Spellman Files is about Isabel Spellman and her family, all private investigators except for her brother, David, who is a corporate attorney. The story is told in a manner similar to the Lost TV series - you get a bit of present day drama and then a lot of back story/ family history. Ultimately, the big mystery is what happened to the 14 year old Rae Spellman. She is missing, and in order to find her, Izzy recounts the family's history to the detective investigating her little sister's disappearance. I won't spoil the book for you, but let's just say that the writing is real. This is no fluff piece that you read when you want to feel good, but as I said earlier, the book is also funny. The characters' dialogue is witty and sharp, and some of the things they do are outrageous. I enjoyed this book immensely, but would have preferred a happier ending.
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