To Catch a Bride by Anne Gracie

I have been in a reading slump so haven't posted in a while.  It took Anne Gracie's book To Catch a Bride to pull me out of the slump!  I like Ann Gracie and I think she develops really good characters and plots.  I don't normally like books that take me to distant lands but Rafe's journey to Egypt to find the lost granddaughter of Lady Cleeve really grabbed me.  It showed the seamy side of life for those who are disadvantaged in this Egyptian city.  I cheered every time Ayisha outwitted those looking for her including Rafe.
Rafe's search for Alicia Cleeves takes him to the back streets of Cairo where he finds the girl he thinks he is looking for but as she puts it, "Here there is only Ayisha."
Ayisha is a wonderful heroine who has learned how to survive in some of the worst conditions.  Her concern for her companions in Cairo is admirable. Ayisha's tender care of Rafe when he is ill on board ship shows the power of her love for him. Rafe is resourceful and when he finally gets Ayisha to agree to return to England he does it by making sure that her so-called Cairo family will be secure by finding them a protector.
Their arrival in England takes many twists and turns before ending beautifully and satisfactorily.
This story is well paced and the plot moves along well.  Both Rafe and Ayisha are great characters and while there are some secondary characters the story focuses on them.  This is a book I would reread and it has been added to my permanent collection.  I give this one an A-.

Mastered By Love by Stephanie Laurens

The loyal fans and readers of Stephanie Laurens have been awaiting the final book in the Bastion Club Series. It is finally here! Mastered By Love is the book in which we learn the true identity of Dalziel, the commander of the agents who worked for him during the war with Napolean. All along Laurens has hinted at Dalziel’s connection to the Ton and there were people like Therese Osbaldestone who recognized him but never gave his secret away. So we find his real identity as Royce Varisey.
He leaves Whitehall to take up his newly acquired position as the tenth Duke of Wolverstone. He has never found the last traitor that he believes is embedded deep in the government. He returns to his home and finds Minerva Chesterton serving as his chatelaine. Minerva grew up at Wolverstone as the ward of Royce’s parents.
Sometime when we wait for a book it never seems to live up to our expectations but this one does. I read it in a day and a half and didn’t want it to end. I liked all of the Bastion Club characters, both the men and their wives. The unveiling of Dalziel was a fitting end to the series. All of the men from the Bastion Club and their wives appeared in this book and it was fun to see them as supporting characters.
The romance between Royce and Minerva develops slowly. The Varisey’s have never been ones to open their hearts and embrace love but as Royce has watched his friends have the kind of marriages that include love and a special sharing, he realizes that he wants the same thing for himself. Can he convince himself and Minerva that this is possible?
The setting in the old keep is perfect for ferreting out that final spy and what a surprise to find out who it was. Wolverstone is set right on the border between England and Scotland and that is one of my favorite settings. Royce’s father left quite a few illegitimate children along the way. His half brother Hamish lives just over the border into Scotland and they have a very close relationship and Hamish and his wife Molly were great supporting characters.

This book is highly recommended and I gave it 5 stars!

I always hate to see the end of a series like this as the characters have become like friends but I shall look forward to Lauren’s next book which come out on October 27, 2009. It is The Untamed Bride and is the first in the Black Cobra Quartet.

Don't Tempt Me! by Loretta Chase

Loretta Chase’s new book Don’t Tempt Me got rave reviews receiving an A- and a DIK designation from All About Romance and 4 ½ stars and a top pick from Romantic Times. It was also recommend in Library Journal. So with all of those recommendations I went and bought it. I would have anyway as Chase is an autobuy for me but all of these recommendations made a trip to Borders imperative.
When I first started reading the book I thought what in the world are all these reviewers raving about. But not long in to the book I realized what a great story this book contains. It has great characters, a good sense of place, a very different scenario and a little bit of mystery.
Zoe Octavia Lexham was the 8th child of Lord and Lady Lexham. From the beginning she was a rule breaker and was often called “The Bolter.” Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont was always able to find her. Until one day 12 years before this story takes place she disappears while on a family trip to Greece. Now she has turned up on her father’s doorstep and none will accept her as it turns out that she has been the second wife of a favorite son in a harem so according to Ton standards she is in disgrace. Lucien takes matters into his own hands and makes sure that she is once again accepted into society.
Lucien and Zoe’s developing relationship is at times funny and very poignant. Chase uses humor to good advantage in this book and I ended up loving both hero and heroine and cheering them on. Zoe’s family, other than her father, were not nice people, always thinking of themselves and never giving Zoe the support and acceptance she needed.
I have liked all of Chase’s books and even though at the beginning I was disappointed I ended up really liking Don’t Tempt Me. I highly recommend it. I gave it 4 ½ stars!

What Happens In London by Julia Quinn

I just finished reading What Happens in London and I loved it! As usual Quinn manages to create great characters and using her sense of humor comes up with another fabulous book. In addition to using her sense of humor she manages to create some real tension and intrigue in this book. It kept me on edge right up to the end! I have to say that some of the scenes between Harry and Olivia were very funny.
I remember Olivia Bevelstoke from Quinn's earlier book The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever. Olivia and Miranda were best of friends and Miranda married Olivia's older brother. Olivia comes into her own in this book and she is certainly different from the usual tonish debutante. She is bright and has a great sense of humor and is comfortable with who she is.
At first I thought Harry Valentine was a little weird! But I really liked how he accepted Olivia for who she is and didn't expect her to change, even though they got off to a rough start. Harry was different and very bright. His childhood left alot to be desired but because of his grandmother's influence and his friendship with his cousin Sebastian he was able to overcome that and become a whole person. He ended up being my favorite character.
I loved their method of communication and I thought the proposal scene was very funny and tender and quite romantic.
The secondary characters such as Sebastian Grey and Prince Alexi were well developed and they played an important part in moving the plot along. I can't wait to read Sebastian's story which will come out next year. I am wondering if Harry's brother Edmund will eventually get his own book.
This book got a DIK (Desert Island Keeper) rating from All About Romance and 4 stars from Romantic Times

More on Romance and Libraries

I found it very interesting to come across a recent interview with Jennifer Lohmann. She is a librarian in North Carolina and was interviewed by SB Sarah of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books website. This site reviews books from the romance genre and also writes articles relating to the genre.

Anyway, I was interested to see that Jennifer used the same expression that I did in revealing her love of the romance genre. In this interview she talks about coming out of the closet as I did about 7 years ago. I hope people will go to the site and read what she has to say about libraries and romance. I would love to see her come to Maine and make a presentation to a group of librarians. Here is the site address for the interview.
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/librarians-and-romance-an-interview-with-jennifer-lohmann/

Also the Smart Bitches have written a book "Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels." A description of the book from the site of the Smart Bitches follows.
"A guide to the most popular and maligned fiction genre, this hilariously sarcastic but always affectionate study of romance novels is perfect for hardcore fans and dabblers alike.
Smart and irreverent, the women who founded the popular blog “Smart Bitches, Trashy Books” both mock and pay homage to this highly successful genre. Sure, the authors visit the wild love scenes where the hero/heroine Must Have Sex NOW, but they also speak with famous romance authors and explore how the billion-dollar genre has influenced gender and sexual roles in our society.
From insider advice on writing romance novels to discovering your inner Viking warrior, Beyond Heaving Bosoms shows that while some romance novels can be silly, maybe even tawdry, they’re also intelligent, savvy, feminist, and fabulous — just like the Smart Bitches."
While this book has received mixed reviews from readers and reviewers alike it should probably be on a professional shelf in every library. We need to do everything we can to change the perception of this genre and its readers!

The Romance Reader and Bookstores and Libraries

I have been thinking a great deal about my favorite genre, Romance. I especially like historical romances set in England and Scotland. I like almost all time periods but I have a distinct fondness for the Medieval era. I have a number of friends who also read romances and they yearn for a library that will buy these books or for a small bookstore that will carry them. Yes Borders and Barnes and Noble and of course Amazon.com carry them but sometimes you have to travel a distance to get to one of those stores or wait forever for an order to come from Amazon. You can also find them at Wal-Mart, or in grocery stores but I have looked over what they carry and they do not carry very many authors and often not the best authors.
Over 50% of all mass market paperback sales are in the romance genre. This popular genre is often overlooked by small independent bookstores and libraries. One reason is because this genre is thought to be trashy and not well written. I can vouch for the quality of the writing and the complexity of the stories.
When I was director of a medium sized public library I wrote a newsletter article about my romance reading. I started the article with “Yes, I am coming out of the closet! I am a secret romance reader.” This article talked about the quality of the writing, the character development, the plots, and the settings. I found this article gave people the freedom to ask about these books and to ask me to order books by certain authors. I had been watching circulation and noticed that our small collection of romance novels circulated frequently. So, I started adding to the collection in that genre and buying romance in large print and those books were all going out. Our circulation really increased and the books were in high demand via interlibrary loan. The addition of these books to the collection is very economical as opposed to paying $24.95 for a book that might circulate 10 times as to paying $6.99 for a book that might circulate at least that many times and maybe double that.
Now don’t get me wrong! I believe in a balanced library collection that supports the interests and needs of all readers and I certainly spent thousands of dollars on a variety of fiction and non-fiction titles. However, we make a mistake in not thinking of those who like this genre and support them by buying books that they like.
On the website Librarything.com there are over 1,000 members in the group Romance – From Historical to Contemporary. This is a very active group with good discussion about a large variety of books and authors. I have found the discussions to be informative and they cover all aspects of the plots, the writing style of different authors, characters and settings.
As Diane Pershing, President of the Romance Writers of America says: “the recession-proof romance is a no-brainer. Romance novels offer rich, complex stories about good people overcoming obstacles to achieve intimacy and an eventual joining of their lives," she said. "Along the way, they have great sex," she said. "What's not to like?" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052804081_2.html
“The fact that there is such an abundance of these mass market paperback romances should tell us something. In fact, each year, over fifty percent of all paperback sales in the United States are romance novels. People are buying and reading them in large numbers.” http://theauctionrebel.com/731/the-auction-rebel-guide-to-romance-mass-market-paperbacks/
Well I hope I have made my point. That is there is an underserved population of readers out there who need libraries and small bookstores to begin to put aside prejudices about the books and the readers and begin to serve this population.

Wed Him Before You Bed Him by Sabrina Jefferies

If you haven’t read this book, you may not want to read the review as it does contain a few spoilers.
Mrs. Harris, headmistress of The School For Heiresses, tells her pupils to “wed him before you bed him. “ Does she follow her own advice? The answer is found in Wed Him Before You Bed Him which is the last book in Sabrina Jeffries’ School for Heiresses series and it does not disappoint. It certainly deserves the 4 ½ stars awarded by Romantic Times.
As I have read this series and wondered who Cousin Michael really is, I was not totally surprised to find out that it is Lord Kirkwood. I was so glad that it was not Charles Godwin! What we didn’t know was the history between Charlotte and David. Once I found out so early in the book the real identity of Cousin Michael I had this feeling that I wanted to be able to tell Charlotte and of course could not. There were so many times that I wanted to shake either Charlotte or David and say tell the truth now or don’t you see what is really going on. I really felt a connection to these two characters.
I loved both Charlotte and Michael and enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and change. While there were important secondary characters the story really focused on Charlotte and David. Would Charlotte be able to accept David's offer of help and would David understand Charlotte's need to exert some control over her life? How would Sarah react when she finally found out the identity of Cousin Michael?

While we already knew, from the last book, that Sarah, Lord Kirkwood’s wife and a former student of Charlotte’s had killed herself, I was really surprised to have her death come back to haunt them.
I thought the mystery surrounding Sarah’s death was well done with a surprising conclusion. It was that event that really brought Charlotte and David closer and showed what a strong individual Charlotte really was. She was able to overcome a very strong fear in order to save someone she loved.
This was a wonderful end to a great series. I am looking forward to Jeffries next offering. What will it be and when?