This book has everything: politics, romance, misunderstandings, secrets, sexy-times, social progress... In a word, a delight. The characters 4.5 stars
This book has everything: politics, romance, misunderstandings, secrets, sexy-times, social progress... In a word, a delight. The characters are fleshed out, engaging, and utterly sympathetic. A king riddled with crippling anxiety, a woman determined to be a queen in order to help others... The chemistry is excellent and believable, and the mixture between modern tech like texting and Power Point slides meshes in an interesting way with a kingdom steeped in tradition. I highly recommend fans of romance who like a hearty helping of intriguing plot to read "How To Catch A Queen!"...more
This is a bit of a Cinderella story with a heroine I can respect for being a working woman who is caught between the lower working classes and the gliThis is a bit of a Cinderella story with a heroine I can respect for being a working woman who is caught between the lower working classes and the glitter of high society. Gillian Young is a seamstresses trying to keep her little household together after the mysterious death of her father. As she investigates his death, things grow darker and more threatening. There are a few points in the book where the sheer amount of bad things happening to Gillian felt a little unrealistic, but not enough to ruin enjoyment of the book....more
A quick and enjoyable read about two people with secrets, one in matters of the heart and one in the matter of birth. Fans of Jane Eyre may enjoy thisA quick and enjoyable read about two people with secrets, one in matters of the heart and one in the matter of birth. Fans of Jane Eyre may enjoy this little historical fiction romp through Regency England to a happy ending....more
CAUTION: This book does contain depictions of sexual and physical violence towards women.
I enjoy stories set among the Arabic tribes (like "Lawrence oCAUTION: This book does contain depictions of sexual and physical violence towards women.
I enjoy stories set among the Arabic tribes (like "Lawrence of Arabia"), so I thought I would give this book a try. It is a little different from other historical romance that I've run across. Abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional) feature prominently in the past of the heroine and even affect one of the male side characters, both in fairly realistic ways. Of course, both people can't be Arabic; the hero is actually an orphaned duke who was raised by the Khamisin tribe and then returns to England. (I definitely liked his tribal name of "Khepri" better than his English one "Kenneth.") The heroine Badra is pretty strong, especially considering all she's been through, and was a very sympathetic character. Khepri is loyal, albeit a little slow to catch on that Badra is reluctant to marry or have sex with him because of her past, even if she doesn't come right out and tell him straight up that she was beaten and raped while enslaved to a previous master. The biggest problem I have with the book is that she... "overcomes" these psychological scars a little too quickly to be believable. Technically she's spent several years among the Khamisin recovering, but that much abuse doesn't magically vanish after a bout of really good sex. Still, the book is essentially improbable, unrealistic romantic fluff akin to "The Sheikh" and is enjoyable if you don't question it too closely....more
At first this book was going to get a 2.5-star rating from me, purely because of the ending, but seeing that it's the first part of a duology, it has At first this book was going to get a 2.5-star rating from me, purely because of the ending, but seeing that it's the first part of a duology, it has now squeaked by with a 3, pending the sequel.
So far, the YA novels I've read that feature goblins have been pretty good. I like the "Beauty and the Beast"/"Captive Bride" kind of stories and I loved the movie "Labyrinth," and this seemed like a good marriage (no pun intended) between the two. (Note, this book isn't a retelling of "Labyrinth," but you can see where at least some of the inspiration came from.) And for the most part, the book delivers. The "musically inclined maiden" character is one I've seen before, but Liesel does a credible job as the heroine. She makes a few bad choices that are pretty understandable for her age and time, and she doesn't come off as an unintelligent damsel in distress. Sometimes she's a little flat, but not to the point where I want to toss the book across the room. Honestly, I think the book is less about her and more about the gorgeous and mysterious Goblin King. Again, a type of character I've seen before, but with enough of his own style and twist that he stands on his own rather than just an archetype. The prose is a little overwritten but it flows well, although after a while the descriptions of the sexual tension between Liesel and the Goblin King gets a little old, but again, being a YA novel, that didn't throw me out of the story. It's a staple of the genre, particularly in the fantasy realm. My biggest complaint with the book (besides the ending) is that despite spending a lot of time in the Underground, Liesel doesn't seem to learn a whole lot about the goblins and their lives. There's some world-building, but we don't get a real sense of goblin culture, which I think would have pushed the book to a higher rating. Maybe we'll see more of that in the sequel, but really should have been explored more here. Still, it's a solid YA fantasy novel and I definitely want to read the sequel because I want a satisfying, happy ending to this story....more
A romance that had promise and technically had nothing wrong with it, but ended up too far in Trope Territory to reach 3 stars. The heroine, 2.5 stars
A romance that had promise and technically had nothing wrong with it, but ended up too far in Trope Territory to reach 3 stars. The heroine, a bookish brunette named Bronwyn (try saying that three times fast) started off with promise. She is irritated with the utter uselessness of the heroine in a romance book SHE is reading at the beginning, and yet within pages she's succumbing to the advances of the too-handsome-to-be-believed Gypsy prince Alexsey. When not around Alexsey, I liked Bronwyn, but grew quickly tired of virgin raptures and Alexsey's overbearing attitude. I had hope for her when she overhears Alexsey tell one of his friends that he plans to seduce and then essentially abandon her. I hoped that she would give him the cold shoulder and he'd have to earn her back. But instead, she decides to seduce him instead and then abandon HIM. With only romance novels as her guide. Right. Great plan, honey. What could possibly go wrong? (To be honest, I was more interested in the periferal romance between her sister Sorcha and Lord Strathmore.)
If you want a quick candy read with heaving bosoms, this will do just fine. Just don't expect much substance....more
A very enjoyable historical romance set in a time period I usually don't read about: the Civil War. I picked this book up because I wanted to read a rA very enjoyable historical romance set in a time period I usually don't read about: the Civil War. I picked this book up because I wanted to read a romance with a POC as one of the main leads and Elle Burns did not disappoint. Sometimes she was a little too sharp-tongued, but that certainly didn't deter Malcolm McCall, the Scottish Union detective who comes on the scene. With a pleasant mix of intrigue, adventure, and steaminess, I can recommend this to any fans of historical romance....more
I really liked the premise of this book: a young woman with a mysterious past who pretends to be mute meeting an irascible, weary soldier who2.5 stars
I really liked the premise of this book: a young woman with a mysterious past who pretends to be mute meeting an irascible, weary soldier who is tempered by her kind manner. The book was executed competently, no major flaws there. But it didn't really spark for me. Even though Katy constantly thinks about how much danger she'll be in if she's discovered, she does very little to actually conceal herself from notice. Apparently she's too proud for that (as well as being perfect in every other way.) And although Damon is supposed to be a lover in the mold of Mr. Rochester, he comes off as more of a disagreeable bully whose primary reason for wanting Katy around is because she's pretty and he wants to bed her. Not exactly a bedrock for a relationship.
"Lady Silence" is a nice little diversion, but like candy, did not truly satisfy me....more
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