Loving Miss Darcy book giveaway contest

My friend and fabulous author, Nancy Kelley, is giving away a copy of her new book, Loving Miss Darcy!  Enter to win here.  Hurry--the giveaway ends in 5 days, 22 hours...which equals approximately January 21, 2013, give or take a few hours.  This new book features Georgiana Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam of Pride & Prejudice fame.

Bedding Lord Ned

Bedding Lord Ned by Sally MacKenzie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars, really, because I really liked the novella that came after the end of the novel.

Ellie Bowman has been pining for her neighbor and childhood friend, Lord Ned Valentine, for years, but he fell in love with and married her best friend instead. Four years after Cicely died in childbirth, Ned has decided it's time he found a new wife. Unfortunately for Ellie, it hasn't occurred to Ned that the perfect second wife is right in front of him, so Ellie resolves to look elsewhere, with the help of Ned's mother, the "Duchess of Love."

Given the genre, it should surprise no one that the Duchess is secretly plotting to bring her son and Ellie together, although outwardly she has invited two other eligible gentlemen to her annual matchmaking house party. Sir Reginald, the Duchess's thieving housecat, aids the plan by stealing the scandalous red drawers (a.k.a. underwear) Ellie brought with her by accident and repeatedly leaving the garment in Ned's bedroom. When Ned figures out they belong to sedate, frumpy Ellie, his mind suddenly starts picturing her in them, shaking the foundations of his image of her.

I actually thought the ice skating mishap was far more effective a device in opening Ned's eyes to the depth of his regard for Ellie. And I agree with other reviewers who have said that the ending was rushed, rendering it far less believable. If MacKenzie had taken a little more time developing the subplots and her character development, the book would have been much more satisfying. I read this one because it was on Random House's list of top romances for 2012, and I don't think it belonged there. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't have included it on that list. Still, different things appeal to different people, and this one struck the right chords with the reviewers who made the list. I am more interested in the story behind Ned's brother Ash's estrangement from his wife!

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, setting is secondary (19th century England), and character is trailing along behind. There is a sex scene, and some mild historical-style swearing.

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The Lady Most Willing...: A Novel in Three Parts

The Lady Most Willing...: A Novel in Three Parts by Julia Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second collaboration of authors Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway was as delightful as the first. They have again nearly seamlessly woven together three novellas into one novel. It's not spelled out whose story is first, second, and third, but my favorite was the first, and Quinn's name is first on the cover, so perhaps she wrote it?

The premise is that a drunken Scottish laird and his equally drunken "men" decide to find brides for his bachelor nephews so as to ensure the continuation of the laird's bloodlines and an unbroken succession to inherit the castle and its responsibilities. Accordingly, they crash a party and snatch four young ladies of sufficient wealth and breeding. Er...well, or three heiresses and the daughter of a local squire...and a duke who happened to be sleeping in the carriage (his) they used to abduct the women. Whoops. Now everyone is trapped in the drafty castle until the storm blows over and the passes can be cleared of snow. The pairings don't go quite as Taran had planned, but all's well that ends well, right?

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways, setting is secondary (1819 Scotland). Mild historic swearing, one sex scene, and some steamy make-out sessions.

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A Lady Never Lies

A Lady Never Lies by Juliana Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I came across this title on a list of best romance novels of 2012 (and have since then seen it on a second list), and it sounded interesting, so I put it on hold and forgot about it. Once it arrived, I discovered it's the first in a trilogy that has a slight paranormal/magical overtone--i.e. there is some sort of mysterious curse on the Italian castle the main characters rent for the year. I am hoping the author lets us in on exactly what this curse is in later books, because she doesn't say much in this one.

I enjoyed reading this story over my Christmas vacation week, but I can't say that I would have put it on any Top Books of 2012 list. It's good; it's not outstanding.

The premise of this series is that in 1890, three British ladies in financial distress (and who've fled one's abusive husband) discover they have rented the same decrepit castle in Italy as three British gentlemen who have pledged to swear off women for the year. The focus of book one is Lady Morely, a young widow, and Mr. Phineas Burke, wealthy inventor who is working on designing an electric motorcar. Despite betting that whoever succumbs to temptation/seduction must leave the castle permanently, electricity is in the air. Literally. Alexandra decides to help Finn with his automobile to see if she can glean any information that might revive her fortune which was unwisely invested for her in a failing motorworks company.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. Some fairly explicit sex scenes. Mild swearing (i.e. such as "...the damned tea...").

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The Hour of Peril: the secret plot to murder Lincoln before the Civil War

The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is no mystery how this book will end: Lincoln survives his journey and is inaugurated as President of the United States. And yet somehow Daniel Stashower has turned historical fact into a nail-biting thriller. I was expecting essentially a biography of Lincoln's time leading up to his presidency, but the whole first third or so of the book is really a biography of Allen Pinkerton, the man who created the profession of private investigators. It's fascinating! I cannot wait to give this book to my history buff father-in-law.

The only thing which keeps me from rating it 5 stars is that there were so many names that sometimes I lost track and would have really appreciated some sort of glossary and/or chronological timeline as an appendix that I could refer to occasionally. Otherwise, though, it was outstanding!

I received an advance copy from the publisher through Bookbrowse.com, but the book is scheduled to be published next month (February 2013), so it's not too long of a wait.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character & setting secondary. No sex or onscreen violence (just the plotting thereof).

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Call Me Irresistible

Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Meg Koranda arrives in the small town of Wynette, Texas, just in time to fulfill her role as Maid of Honor in her best friend's wedding. Lucy is marrying Ted Beaudine, the town darling and the Most Perfect Man on Earth. Everyone loves him. Everyone. Even sunbeams seem to follow him around! Meg is the only person who finds him irritating, and who likewise irritates him. What Meg quickly realizes is that the match isn't as ideal as it should be, and Lucy is intimidated by her fiance's perfection. When she voices her reservations, she starts a chain of events no one sees coming, and suddenly she finds herself the most hated person in town. Unfortunately for Meg, she lacks the money to leave, so for once in her unfocused life she is forced to find reserves of resourcefulness and determination she didn't know she had in order to survive and overcome the obstacles and complications now blocking her path.

I put this book on hold based on an interesting blurb I found on a list of this year's Top 10 Romance Novels. (Put out by the publisher? I don't remember which list it was.) I was expecting it to be a good story, based on its presence on that list, but I was not prepared to be so drawn in by the story and the complexity of the character development. Then I discovered it was book #6 in a series with at least 7 volumes so far--happy day! I've gone on to read #7 (even better than #6!), and I plan to go back and read the earlier novels as well. What a delight to find a new-to-me author who writes with such depth, humor, and compassion for the follies and foibles of her characters.

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways. Some sex scenes and swearing.

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The Great Escape

The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To call The Great Escape a romance is technically accurate but so inadequate. It's really a character-driven novel of three couples struggling with identity and history, trying to figure out what they want and who they want to be.

The book opens as Lucy panics and flees her own wedding to The Ideal Man, Ted Beaudine. His perfection has tipped her over the edge into the rebellion she never experienced as a teenager, and she escapes Texas with Panda, a biker who isn't quite what he seems. Panda tries to shock Lucy into returning to Ted--or at least to her family--and he is surprised and dismayed when his efforts fail. He decided long ago he was unworthy of and too dangerous for family life, and Lucy's presence is an unwelcome reminder of what he cannot have. Unfortunately for him, Lucy can't yet bear the thought of returning to her old life as the prim and proper lobbyist daughter of the former president of the United States, instead seeking solace in her new identity as Viper until she can figure out who and what to become now.

Couple number two features depressed and penniless Bree West, whose cheating husband dumped her for a nineteen-year-old office temp, and gregarious real estate salesman Mike Moody, whom Bree has detested since childhood and blames for destroying her chance at happiness with her first love, David. Bree returned to Charity Island after inheriting the guardianship of David's twelve-year-old son, Toby, who happens to idolize Big Mike, and she's grappling with her new realities of poverty and parenthood.

Couple number three consists of famous TV fitness guru Temple Renshaw and the love of her life, Max, whom she deems unsuitable. Temple is known for her harsh onscreen methods of coercing contestants into losing weight on her reality show "Fat Island," and she is no less critical when it comes to herself and shedding the pounds she gained in her despair over giving up Max. She hires Panda to keep her hidden from the paparazzi and prevent her from getting her hands on contraband like chocolate or muffins. But no matter how thin she gets, it's never enough.

Healing occurs slowly as their lives intersect on a small island in Lake Michigan.

I absolutely love this novel. It's the seventh in a series, following Call Me Irresistible, which I picked up because it was on a Top 10 list. Ms. Phillips is now one of my favorite authors. Her characters are real and flawed. They are people you might actually meet or already know. They struggle with PTSD, abuse, societal and familial pressures, sexual identity, body image, and low self-esteem. They crave a sense of purpose and seek to make a positive difference in the world. I'm glad to have met them.

For readers' advisors: character doorway. There are a few sex scenes and some swearing.

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