A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

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Summary: A nurse is determined to deliver the message of a man who died in her care.

Bess Crawford is my new favorite character. She's an army nurse for the British in WWI (long before we ever knew there would be a WWII) and she is a tough cookie, having been injured when a nursing boat is damaged and sunk after an encounter with a bomb. While she's recovering, she travels to the family of a man she nursed, one she had begun to care for deeply.

She is coldly received by the family and yet when she delivers the message, she becomes even more concerned. Was Arthur, her wounded soldier, covering up a crime? And is his family covering up a greater one? At every turn, Bess is reminded that she has a duty to the dead, but does Bess also have a duty to the living? This was a surprising mystery and one that perfectly captured the mood and time of the setting as well.

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

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Summary: A steampunk novel about a young Victorian girl with extraordinary powers.

Finley Jayne is working as a housemaid in a house in London when she is attacked by the son of the master of the house.  Instead of submitting, a voice inside Finley encourages her to fight back. This excites the young lord, but Finley soon realizes she is fighting for more than her virtue; she is fighting for her life. But that voice inside her takes over, helps Finley win the fight and ends with the lord crumpled and bleeding against a wall. Finley escapes into the night and runs straight into Lord Griffin King. Literally, she runs into his velocycle.

Since this is a steampunk novel, Griffin uses his wrist telegraph to communicate that he's bringing Finley home to his mansion. Finley joins Griff's motley crew of associates, Sam, who's part automaton; Emily, an Irish lass who's a mechanical genius, American cowboy Jasper Finn and Griffin himself, who can command the power of the Aether.

If this sounds a bit like that terrible Sean Connery movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you are not alone. In the  acknowledgments, the author thanks her editor for letting her write The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets X-men teens. This is absolutely accurate, but did not make for an original book, even though this book is often recommended as a classic YA steampunk fiction. It has a teen heroine torn between two men, one who admires her dark side, and one who makes her aspire to be more, even as she is conscious of the difference in their status. Lots of fighting, lots of new technology, but it just felt stale to me. I wish I could have recommended it more. 

Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris

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Summary: Just after their marriage, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy solve a mystery. 

You know by now how much I adore Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. And I'm constantly reading books inspired by or involving the characters. This book, which takes place just after Darcy and Elizabeth get married, is really closest in tone (style, syntax) to P&P.

While there is quite a bit more informality between Darcy and Elizabeth, it gave me a small thrill to see them happily married. Soon after their marriage, Miss Caroline Bingley - yes, the same Caroline Bingley who practically destroyed Jane's chance at happiness in P&P - marries an American. That night, she is seen wandering the street, about to be attacked by footpads. Darcy rescues her, and Elizabbeth and Darcy take the new Mrs. Parrish home. After an incident during riding and a botched suicide attempt, Bingley and Jane and Mr. and Mrs. Hurst (Charles and Caroline's married sister) decide to host Mr. and Mrs. Parrish and a Professor of Religious Artifacts and Mr. Parrish's friend at Netherfield, in an attempt to heal Caroline. Darcy and Elizabeth are loyal, so they accompany everyone to Netherfield and stay with them. The book dragged in the middle, but jumps right into the problems.

Bingley and Caroline are involved in a potentially fatal carriage accident, there's a damaging housefire at Netherfield and a stabbing. Who is the intended victim here? Is it Bingley and his fortune? Caroline Parrish? Darcy? Together, and separately, Elizabeth and Darcy solve the mystery and save the day.

While the writing was not as good as Austen's, I look forward to many more novels featuring Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.

A Spy in the House (The Agency 1) by Y.S. Lee

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Summary: A clandestine women's detective agency operates in Victorian London.

Mary Quinn is saved from the gallows at age twelve and is reared in a girls finishing school. When she grows bored with her safe life, she is invited by the headmistress there to train and becomes a spy for The Agency. Dun dun dun. What I hoped for would be details of the training, and quirky teachers, but instead her training was glossed over and we jump to Mary's first job.

She is expected to find details about English cargo ships that have been sunk, and whether or not the owner, Mr. Therold is committing fraud. There's also a main agent who's working on this case, but Mary serves in the Therold house as companion to Mr. Therold's spoiled heiress daughter Angelica. The case didn't seem that urgent or important and I also couldn't figure out what the urgency was, although Mary is under a two week time limit.

Despite a few plot holes and red herrings (I NEVER suspected the true villain), I enjoyed this story. It is chick lit? Hardly. Historical fiction? Yes, a bit. A romance? Barely. Although as a mystery, it felt very reminiscent of its time. Have you read any of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries? They are quite good and this book seemed to be similar in pacing and tone.

I am eager to discover who else works in The Agency. Having women who work in Victorian households in that sort of in-between status (governesses, companions, etc) and are also secret spies has been done before, multiple times in romance novels, but having an Agency place them? Well, that's a delightful twist. I wanted more of the Agency. Who founded it? Why? What's that story? How could other women in the agency identify each other? Is there anybody inside the royal household? I will be reading more of this series, but won't feel a need to rush through them.

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

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Summary: A woman juggles lovers and houses and her reputation. 

I hate stories written as letters (epistolary form) almost as much as I love Jane Austen. Lady Susan is her first novel and I am dying for other Austen lovers to read this so I can discuss it with people.

Is Lady Susan misunderstood? The victim of a vicious rumor mill and a simple misunderstanding based on the jealous actions of a jilted socialite? Or is she a scheming, manipulative gold-digger, breaking hearts just because she can? Yes, all of the above. And does she have a female lover or just a close friend who helps her?

Lady Susan visits her dead husband's relatives at Churchill, likely escaping after a scandal at Langford involving Mr Mainwaring. Depending on whose letter you're reading, Lady Susan had a flirtation, friendship or torrid affair with Mr. Mainwaring, which makes Mrs. Mainwaring unhappy, and flirted with Mr James Martin, who was previously courting Mr. Mainwaring's sister. I tend to believe that Lady Susan is up to no good, but she still remains a sympathetic character to me.  Jane Austen can write unpleasant characters quite well, in that no one in her books is all good or all bad. Emma is the perfect example of this, but so is Mr. Collins, from P&P.

Mr. Vernon is the younger brother of her recently deceased husband (four months!) and has never met his wife Catherine. Lady Susan also objected to the marriage of the younger Mr. Vernon to Catherine, but does her best to smooth things over once she is staying with them. They are eventually joined by Catherine's brother Reginald de Courcy, heir to the de Courcy fortune. Despite rumors and warnings about her, Reginald and Lady Susan start spending time together. When Lady Susan's daughter Frederica runs away from school in London, she joins Lady Susan and the Vernons at Churchill. Then things really get complicated.

I appreciate the writing - Jane Austen really is one of the best authors ever -  even as I didn't like Lady Susan as a person. Read it so you and I can discuss!

Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell

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Summary: The characters and basic plot of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are transported to antebellum Texas. 

I have read so many bad adaptations, sequels and "inspired by" books of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice that I didn't expect much of Pemberley Ranch, but it was surprisingly good.

The book was enhanced by my knowledge and love of Jane Austen's novels, but people looking for a post-Civil War fiction novel would appreciate the story, even without the background.

Instead of Lizzie Bennet, we have Beth Bennet. The Bennets sell their farm in Ohio and move to Texas after the Civil War and the death of the oldest Bennet child, Samuel. (Samuel was never a character in P&P.) Will Darcy was an officer in the Confederate Army and is now a rancher in Texas. Instead of Mr. Wickham, we have George Whitehead. Now a carpetbagger, Whitehead violated basic rules of war and oversaw Union war camps, where Confederate prisoners died of dysentery and starvation. I never got the sense from the original P&P that Wickham was truly evil, perhaps just malicious and selfish, but Whitehead is despicable. He's at the center of a convoluted plot to drive free blacks off their own land and profit from a new railroad line coming into town.

The main characters - Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mrs Bennet- are all there, with slightly different motivations.  Collins is the bank manager, and the bank will get the Bennet farm in foreclosure. He's also called Billy Collins, which is the name of a modern famous poet. Lady Catherine is Kate Burroughs and Mrs. Bennet is concerned about the lack of good quality men in Rosings, Texas. In addition to calling Fitzwilliam Darcy Will Darcy, there is also a character named Fitzwilliam. Wha, what? I know. The love story between Darcy and Beth/Lizzie develops along the same line, and that's what made this story work.

Several things bothered me though - The author used characters from other Austen books as characters in Pemberley Ranch: Elton, Mr. Knightly, etc. Instead of Darcy writing a letter to explain his hatred for Whitehead, he gets drunk and rants to Beth and Anne. The slurring and writing in this scene seemed forced. In fact, a lot of the Southern talk/writing seemed cliched and fake. Keeping to the emotions of the original P&P during similar scenes always worked best. You will be surprised about what happens to Lily/Kitty. It's worse than you think.

A line on the back cover reads: "Frankly, Mr. Darcy, I don't give a damn." Any reference or homage to Gone with the Wind is strictly accidental.

Despite the fact that P&P didn't end with a shoot-out, this was a pleasant read, if slow at times. I kept putting this down and picking it up when I thought about it, but it wasn't a book I had to stay up late finishing.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

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Summary: Two teenaged sisters find romance in turn-of-the-century New York high society. 

Luxe has been called the Gossip Girl of the 1890s and that's the most apt description ever. Two sisters, the beautiful and calm Elizabeth and the wild and rumpled younger Diana, have re-entered New York high society after the death of the father almost a year ago.

Isabelle, Elizabeth's frenemy, is hosting a grand ball to show off her new house. Isabelle is so busy playing hostess that she doesn't have time to tell Elizabeth about her exciting new lover, Henry Schoonmaker. Henry seems drawn to Isabelle's contrasts - the society darling, who likes to be naughty. Smoking in public? Gasp!

That night, after the ball, Elizabeth and Diana's mother summons them to the parlor and tells them that there is absolutely no money left from their father's bad investments and that Elizabeth must marry for money, and quickly, or they will be ostracized forever. Diana thinks their poverty is wonderful and dramatic, but has no idea of the realities. Elizabeth is crushed, because she has just resumed her romance with the handsome coachman who works for them. If Elizabeth must marry for money, what will become of her relationship with Will?

On the other side of town, Henry Schoonmaker is commanded by his father to marry a girl of impeccable breeding and class, and soon, just in time for his father's run for office. The very next day, Henry proposes to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth accepts but with a sick feeling in her stomach. As Henry leaves the house, knowing that his life will be a series of dull and exceedingly proper events, he meets a charming flirt with laughing eyes and kisses her. It's only the next day that Henry realizes he has kissed his fiancé's sister. Isabelle's shock and jealousy create a minor scandal as well.

The story unfolds much as you would expect, with a small mystery left unexplained to pave the way for a sequel or two. All along, I kept hoping that somebody would tell the truth and that Diana and Henry could and would get married. It would seem to solve so many problems. This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved in high school. There is implied sex, but it's not explicit and tricky social situations as well. Enjoyable and light historical reading. I'm unsure about whether or not I'll read the next book in the series but don't regret reading this one at all.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

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Summary: A white woman in 1960s Mississippi secretly documents the lives of the black maids in her town.

I avoided this book because I thought nothing really fresh or new could be added to the civil rights struggle. It seems as if I've read all the good books and the only stories left would offer nothing very interesting. Boy, was I wrong! And I'm so glad I read this book.

Skeeter, a white college graduate, returns to her home town of Jackson, Mississippi, and all of her journalistic ambitions are funneled into writing for the Junior League's Newsletter. On an impulse, she sends her articles to a New York publisher, who encourages her to write about something that is fresh and new, and hasn't been covered before. The publisher advises her:

"Get going. Before this civil rights thing blows over." 

Skeeter decides to interview and write about the black maids in Jackson, and their relationships with their white employers. To Skeeter it is worth the risk, and it just may be her ticket out of Jackson and off to New York City if she succeeds.

Meanwhile, Skeeter's mother is busy helping Skeeter find a rich husband from a good Southern family. Skeeter has a tender, tentative relationship with a man who seems to appreciate her for who she is, or maybe he just enjoys her thumbing her nose at the small-town traditions.

Skeeter gets lots of heat from her friends in the Junior League, especially the queen bee, Hilly.

“’I am about to be a politician’s wife, unless you have anything to do with it. How is William ever going to get elected in Washington, D.C. one day if we have integrational friends in our closet?’ ”

The racism is prevalent but Skeeter is in awe of the maids' bravery in telling the truth about their lives and the love they have for their careless employers. What's surprising is how much the white employees seem to rely on their servants, despite the way they treat them. Skeeter's mother says:

“They say it’s like true love, good help. You only get one in a lifetime.”

During a family tragedy in the house where fat and sassy Minny works, the husband says:

“You’ll always have a job here with us, Minny. For the rest of your life if you want.”

“Thank you sir,” I say and I mean it. Those are the best words I could hear today.

I reach for the door but Miss Celia says, real soft, “Stay in here awhile. Will you, Minny?”

So I lean my hand on the sideboard because the baby’s getting heavy on me. And I wonder how it is that I have so much when she doesn’t have any. He’s crying. She’s crying. We are three fools in the dining room crying.”

A tender touching story. The only reason why I gave it four stars instead of five is because I thought a few scenes were cliched and predictable, but others were deliciously dark and appealing.

O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell

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Summary: A retelling of the romance between Romeo and Juliet, focusing on their shared love of the poetry of Dante. 


O, Juliet makes the love story of Romeo and Juliet far more believable and touching than any other version. Yes, I include Shakespeare in that. Shakespeare had Romeo and Juliet marrying at 14, which although that did occur in Elizabethan England, was far rarer in Renaissance Italy. 

The actual writing was a little difficult for me, as I was not captivated by the poetry of Dante the way the author and Romeo and Juliet  were. I found this book a little slow, but well-researched and definitely full of life, joy, romance. While Juliet falls in love with Romeo the minute he quotes Dante to her in public, I fell in love with Romeo here:

"But the sight of my beloved alone with my mother at our table, and in such a state of easy grace, took my breath away.
...
He was listening. A man listening earnestly to a woman speaking. It shook me to the core."

Okay, I love Romeo too.

The plot unfolds in amazing ways and I would recommend this retelling to anyone who enjoys the story.

Never Less Than A Lady (Lost Lords Series) by Mary Jo Putney

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Summary: A widowed midwife, exiled from her family, marries the only man who can bring her back into society with ease.

In one day, Julia is kidnapped in order to be brought somewhere else to be killed (why don’t they just kill her there?), is rescued by a man she met a year ago casually, and becomes engaged to that man.

I miss Mary Jo Putney and hoped that this book would renew my enthusiasm for her. This was a disappointing story, more appropriate for a novella or a romantic short story anthology.

Major Alexander Randall needs to marry, as he is the heir to the Earl of Daventry. It just so happens that his dead cousin is the dead husband of Julia. His dead cousin was a brutal sadist and so Alexander stayed away for years. In fact, he never even knew his cousin’s wife. So when it turns out that his cousin married a woman and abused her, nobody thinks to make the connection from this plain midwife and the terrorized widow. It’s also possible that Julia pushed her abusive husband and may have caused his death. (We’ve seen that plot line once or twice before so I expected better from MJP.)

And Julia’s father-in-law is insane. Really. He never forgives his daughter-in-law, and sends out goons to kidnap her from her isolated cottage, where she was living after she faked her own death. Alexander just happens to be at the manor house when a maid ran for help and he vows to save her.  Complicated enough for you?

Alexander rescues Julia, and they spend an intimate (but not sexual) night together hiding from the kidnappers. By morning, Alexander has met his cousin's widow, found out that he abused her, that she was charged with murder and that she faked her own death after her father rejected her. They are also engaged. Alexander is also happy because if he marries Julia, he can restore Julia to her previous position, has a wife that is completely appropriate socially and seems to be just what he needs.

The abuse Julia suffered does interfere with their sex life, but only for a little bit. They are well-matched, despite being relative strangers and formerly strange relatives.

They confront the Earl of Daventry who finally stops having his daughter in law killed after his own child, a daughter by his third wife, is born.

Confused yet? That’s only because MJP tried to take a simple plot and the marriage of convenience plotline into a full novel. I miss her earlier work. This is only for devoted fans of MJP.

Love Finds You in Lahaina, Hawaii by Bodie Thoene

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Summary: The story of Princess Kaiulani and her life in England is uncovered by a researcher in Hawaii.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.

Forth from her land to mine she goes,
The island maid, the island rose,
Light of heart and bright of face:
The daughter of a double race.

Her islands here, in Southern sun,
Shall mourn their Kaiulani gone,
And I, in her dear banyan shade,
Look vainly for my little maid.

But our Scots islands far away
Shall glitter with unwonted day,
And cast for once their tempests by
To smile in Kaiulani's eye.

- Robert Louis Stevenson written to Princess Kaiulani to mark her journey to Britain.

Love finds you in Lahaina, Hawaii is a dual story. Set in 1973, Sandi Smith is a researcher sent to Hawaii to record and uncover local oral history. Sandi is also worried about news of her husband John, a POW still missing in Vietnam. She is welcomed to Lahaina, Maui, and the scenes set with the locals could only have been written by someone who knows and loves Hawaii’s unique hospitality rules. The immediate intimacy, the lack of privacy, cheerful friendliness and oh, the smell of flowers carried by the warm wind made me instantly homesick for Hawaii. Sandi is sent to speak with Auntie Hannah, who was the companion of Princess Kaiulani.

Here’s where it gets interesting for me. Princess Kaiulani was the next royal in line for the Hawaiian monarchy when it was overthrown by American business interests in 1893. Yes, you heard me. The American government allowed the house arrest of a Hawaiian queen, Kaiulani’s aunt, Queen Liliuokalani. All children in Hawaii learn about Princess Kaiulani, but this was a deeper look into her life while she was abroad.

Kaiulani’s father, Scotsman Archibald Scott Cleghorn married Princess Likelike, the sister of King David Kalâkaua and Princess Lili'uokalani. Princess Ka'iulani (pronounced kah-ee-oo-lah-knee) was sent away to Britain partly to groom her for the monarchy, and likely to protect her from the violence starting to erupt against native Hawaiians.

Kaiulani first meets aspiring journalist Andrew Adams aboard the ship taking them to England, where he mistakes her for her companion Hannah Duncan. Unknowingly, Andrew refers to Kaiulani as the “barbarian princess” and to pass the voyage and for petty revenge, she and Hannah trade roles for the journey. Andrew is humiliated and angry when he discovers their deception. Kaiulani doesn’t expect to see him again but their paths cross many times in England.

Kaiulani grows into a regal, often haughty princess, turning down the multiple offers of marriage because she knows that she cannot marry for love, but must most likely make a marriage of state to secure Hawaii’s interests. Kaiulani is a curiosity to the British who are fascinated by her dark skin and mysterious beauty and yet refer to her as a savage. (I imagine she experienced a little of what Pocahontas might have encountered.) But Kaiulani is NOT a barbarian, in fact she’s deeply religious, having been raised as a Christian from birth. Many Hawaiians, who struggled when missionaries led the ban on the hula and native dress, nevertheless embraced Christianity and were happily Christian living under a Hawaiian monarch.

Kaiulani and Andrew meet again at a religious revival in England. Funnily enough, Hannah again posed as Kaiulani, so Kaiulani could attend the revival. Andrew and Kaiulani renew their friendship and are separated once again, and know they cannot marry. Andrew covers the chaos of Hawaii following the death of King David Kalakaua and the forced abdication of Queen Liliuokalani. Kaiulani embarks on a PR campaign to win the hearts of the American people, but was ridiculed and mocked by the American press. You know by now that Hawaii was annexed to the United States and is the 50th state, so Kaiulani’s efforts were in vain.

Ka'iulani had returned to Honolulu later, at age 23, a deposed princess. It was said she died of a broken heart, though typhoid was blamed as the cause.

This book really is Kailuani’s story, but the character of Sandi Smith allows the story to unfold in a way that makes sense given the style of the book. Sandi did not seem to me to be a fully-fleshed out character, but how can anyone hold a candle to the vibrant personality of a real Hawaiian princess?

My primary concern about the romance between Kaiulani and Andrew is a nit-picky one, as Kaiulani was only 13 when she left Hawaii for England.

I won’t ruin the love story for you, but it is a tender one. I will also share that both Kaiulani and Sandi Smith find love, or love finds them in Lahaina.

There is an entire series of books that start with "Love Finds You in ---, ---." I can't wait to read whatever book is also set in Minnesota.

Days of Gold: A Edilean Novel by Jude Deveraux

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Summary: Handsome Scotsman Angus McTern helps young heiress Edilean Talbot escape the clutches of her greedy uncle and unfaithful fiancé and they both settle in colonial America.

Days of Gold follows Angus McTern, the titular laird of Clan McTern. Unfortunately, his keep is owned by the greedy Neville Lawler, a sporadic visitor to Keep McTern. This time, Lawler has brought his niece, the lovely Edilean Talbot, to Scotland. At midnight, when Edilean turns 18, she will be forced to marry a man of Lawler’s choosing and her fortune will return to Lawler, while the groom will get Edilean.

Despite their instant antagonism, Angus’ fierce protective nature extends to beautiful Edilean, and he is determined to help her, even hatching a plot with a few of his clansmen to prevent the forced wedding. Jude Deveraux is at her best writing about feisty women and stubborn men. Angus is a Scot, so naturally he’s stubborn. But he also likes to tease Edilean and once she relaxes, she enjoys Angus’ humor as well. Above all, Angus cannot bear to be embarrassed, and his pride later becomes a crucial plot device.

While Angus is working on his own rescue of Edilean, Edilean has secretly written to the man she loves, James Harcourt, and Harcourt has come up with a plan to rescue Edilean and her gold, marry her, and then both will start a new happy married life in America.

Somehow, Angus ends up delivering the wagon featuring a drugged Edilean and four chests of gold to the harbor and into the custody of Harcourt. But something tells Angus to stick around and he catches Harcourt bragging that he married an ugly daughter of a duke, but stole the pretty one’s fortune. Edilean is NOT the daughter of a duke, so Angus knows something is up.

So Angus and Edilean drug James and instead masquerade as husband and wife on their journey to America. They are sleeping in the same cabin and everyone treats them as married. Isn’t a long journey by ship in close quarters another classic romance novel device? Great when it’s done well.

Edilean starts to teach Angus to read, and flirts with him along the way. An honorable man, Angus rejects Edilean’s touches for her protection and they maintain a strained silence until they arrive in America.

This is where things go downhill. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity but it turns into a mish-mashed erratic plot.

They are met at the docks by Harriet, James Harcourt’s sister, who knew all along about James’ wicked plot to marry one woman and steal the other’s gold. She takes Edilean under her wing, serves as housekeeper to Edilean, and helps Edilean start a business.

When Angus leaves Edilean after one glorious night of love and sex, it really is for her own good. He is about to be arrested for kidnapping Edilean and couldn’t bear to see Edilean live with the misery of loving a convict. This is even though they don’t resolve the issue of Edilean’s contempt for uneducated men like Angus.

The first half of the book is good, and then we are rushed into a random climax of murder, ambush and coupling, tying up every single loose and/or unmarried character in the book. Not only are there silly and implausible scenes throughout the book (Edilean wakes up from a laudanum-induced sleep, talks and cries and then goes back to sleep; there’s a vicious girl-on-girl fight that leads to sex; and Angus is ambushed after a convoluted wild-goose chase and is rescued by his Scottish clan, who just show up in the middle of Frontier America), but worse, and more importantly, the characters changed personalities and don’t act like themselves. I wonder if this is two separate books combined to be one but not read for continuity.

This is the second book in the Edilean series. First was Lavender Morning. Then Days of Gold. Jude Deveraux was one of the first romance novelists I read so it may be that I just remember how much my thirteen-year-old self enjoyed her books when I pick them up. Whether she now has a young, fearful editor or she’s just getting lazy in her old age, this is her attempt to regain her legion of fans. I have a feeling this will be her best one of the three. Scarlet Nights will be published this fall.

Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn

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Summary: Annabel - fertile, lush Annabel - must marry for money, instead of love, yet finds herself falling for the carefree nephew of her aging intended fiancé, who hopes that Annabel will provide him with a heir.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.

Ten Things I Love About This Book:

One: It's delightful to read a romance novel and laugh out loud. This book brought back pleasure reading. (Oh, not in that way!)

Two: I've been reading so many depressing books lately and both main characters are such loving, affectionate people despite their trials, that maybe I fell a little in love with them too.

Three: Sebastian Grey is a cheerful, happy hero, despite his insomnia brought on by the war. We know right away that he needs the right woman in his bed, to give him the peaceful sleep he deserves.

Four: Sebastian's insomnia leads to Sebastian becoming a popular novelist, as he writes when he can't sleep. Most people adore the novels of "Mrs. Sarah Gorely", and having a male hero in my romance novel also be the author of romance novels is his time is an enjoyable twist.

Five: Sebastian is a charming rogue, who simply adores women, but not in a leering over-sexualized way that many "reformed rakes" (another common plot) do.

"He looked about ready to chuckle but did not. It was a common expression for him, she realized. He saw humor everywhere. It was a rare gift that, and possibly why everyone liked to be near him."

Six: Annabel's stress about making a match with the repulsive Earl of Newbury while navigating London's social scene is realistic, painful yet humorous.

"There were a thousand ways to make an idiot of oneself, with new opportunities arising every day. It was exhausting trying to avoid them all."

Seven: Annabel knows that she was chosen for her wide hips, her large breasts and the potential to carry many healthy male heirs for the Earl of Newbury. But she doesn't know is that the Earl of Newbury is desperate to have an heir so that his current heir, his nephew Sebastian Grey, will not inherit.

Eight: So when Annabel meets Sebastian, she has no idea how much trouble she is causing, just by both men taking an interest in her.

Nine: This really was a unique plot in terms of how the story unfolded and the problems that the hero and heroine face. Julia Quinn, along with Mary Balogh, is one of my favorite Regency Romance authors.  Quinn writes intricate plots that are complicated by the society in which they live, and they are always delicious and enjoyable, with sometimes surprising, but definitely plausible, endings that could only make sense in that story. 

Ten: I would give and recommend this book to anybody who's hesistant to try a romance novel. It has humor, some angst, love, romance and only a few explicit sex scenes. You like both the hero and the heroine and they will make you laugh. Now, that's a good book.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

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Summary: An adult woman uncovers her German heritage, finding that her mother was the mistress of a Nazi officer. 

What would I do to save my children's lives? Anything. I would do anything. So when Anna is forced down on a sagging bed and muffles her cries so she won't disturb her daughter playing in the other room, I had nothing but sympathy and support for Anna. And when Horst, the Obersturmführer, brings milk and meat each week for Anna's daughter, Anna welcomes him only as a way to keep her daughter Trudie alive, despite the dread and shame she feels.

This was a tragic and deeply-moving book, showcasing the horrors of the Holocaust, the secret shame of rape victims, and how the trauma of the past still affects us today. It's a well-written debut novel with sympathetic, whole characters and enhanced even further my understanding of that period of history.

The book opens as Trudy, a middle-aged professor of German studies at the University of Minnesota, is attending the funeral of her father. Jack was not her biological father, but the man who married her mother, Anna, and brought them from Germany to Minnesota, after the war.

A different section opens with beautiful, teenage Anna, back in Weimar, Germany, and how her life is slowly changing with the new anti-Jewish fervor. The book spends just enough time on each character so that even while you're engrossed with lovely Anna and her terror and deprivation, you're still worried about Trudy and her loneliness and anger.  The author cleverly refers to adult Trudy as Trudy and young Trudy as Trudie, reflecting both the German spelling and the American spelling.

Even though Anna does not fight back, the brutal scenes with whiskey, razor blades and scarves are nothing but rape, as you know that Anna has no choice. Her shame, her defiance to keep her child living, and the emotional strength required to not scar her daughter even further are laden with power and intensity.

"She has often told herself that she is not so badly off, really. Men of power have had mistresses since time out of mind, and it doesn't matter that none of the gaunt women who visit the bakery will look directly at Anna. At least she and Trudie are safe in a warm place with access to food, and she is earning her keep in ways both legal and illicit while at this very moment others are dead, dying, starving, having their eyeballs lanced and toenails pulled by the Gestapo, laboring with heavy machinery that crushes their fingers to nubs, standing naked in the rain, their children wrenched shrieking from their arms, being shorn, shot, tumbling into pits. It is really very enviable, Anna's prosaic little arrangements with the Obersturmführer."

There are many more fascinating important plot points that deepen the layers in this book. I won't give them away, but while this is a very good book, it's hard to read all at once. On her 23rd birthday, Anna asks the the Obersturmführer to spare 23 Jews, one for each year of her life. The reaction to her request is chilling. 

Every time I read a book about the Holocaust, I'm continually astonished that Mel G. and Mahmoud A. can still deny that the Holocaust occurred. Consider also Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. 

Eve: A Novel of the First Woman by Elissa Elliott

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Summary: Adam and Eve's life in and after the Garden of Eden told as a family novel. 


An ambitious novel, laudable in the attempt, if not the execution. "Eve" tells the story of Adam and Eve, and their marriage and family. I most identified with Eve during her marital struggles with Adam. Yes, it's true, even the first woman had trouble getting the first man to understand what she really wanted. The honest, conflicted reflection after Adam barters away Eve's garden belongs in a Dr. Phil session. I found this novel poorly written, with often too much detail, erratic and confusing timelines, and underdeveloped characters. I wanted to like it, but there are too many fascinating novels about Biblical times for me to recommend this.


Read Mary, Called Magdalene or The Red Tent or even Lamb before this.