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Review Date: 8/8/2011
Olivia Grace, once the young bride of the Earl of Gracechurch is a victim of betrayal. Divorced and thrown out by her husband, the Earl of Gracechurch, she manages to survive on her own as a ladies companion. On the battleground of Waterloo, she finds her exhusband wounded, unconscious, and in a French uniform! When he wakes up, he has forgotten the past 5 years and how horribly he treated her.He thinks they are still married. (He does, however, recall a French mistress he had and how wonderful SHE was.) I spent most of the book wondering how Olivia could have loved such a shallow arrogant fool, but since she forgave him so easily even when he hurt her AGAIN, she doesn't seem a character to be admired either. The cast of characters for this trilogy all appear in this first book and there are some who have more promise. Aside from the unsatisfying H/H relationship, there are questions I had about Olivia's years on her own (she had her baby in a cow shed and worked as a barmaid...REALLY?) that bothered me enough to take me out of the story over and over. Not one I would recommend.
Review Date: 5/15/2010
Helpful Score: 5
When Lord Westfield finally shows up after making his bethrothed, Penny Goldwaithe, wait for 13 years, it isn't to wed her, but to try to end the bethrothal made by his father and hers. To his surprise, she is no more eager to wed him, handsome and titled though he is, than he is get "leg-shackled". Circumstances force their long delayed marriage anyway, and then the fun begins. Lighthearted and whimsical in parts, passionate and romantic in others, with a touch of villainry from a stepbrother, the plot plays out smoothly. Both hero and heroine are easy to like. Each chapter begins with a quote from a book called "Arranged Marriages", adding another touch of humor.
Review Date: 2/18/2010
Helpful Score: 3
Quirky artistic type with emotional baggage ends up sharing an apartment with handsome hunk who is totally clueless about many things around the house, but not about women...well, not too much anyway. His efforts to cook, clean and do laundry are hilarious. This is a fun chick lit book that follows two others, but you don't need to read those to enjoy this one. Light reading for when you just want to kick back and relax for a couple of hours.
Review Date: 3/3/2022
Helpful Score: 1
This is an excellent reference book for beginning quilters. It covers basic techniques, styles of quilts, an introduction to blocks as a foundation of quilt design and includes a comprehensive list of quilting terms in the back. Some color photos are used to show completed quilts as examples but the illustrations are really color diagrams. The book is sturdy and well made although it would be classified as an oversized paperback.
Review Date: 5/16/2010
Emotionally scarred by a childhood without love or respect, Lady Joanna Preston of Orwich has chosen to become a nun rather than be a pawn of another man like her father. Before she can complete her vows, she is abducted from the priory by Sir Rylan Kempe, Lord Blaecston. His plans to use her in a political scheme against King John quickly go awry when he meets this woman who is as stubborn as she is beautiful. Two strong characters fight their conflicting purposes while succumbing to their uncontrollable passion. Becnel is a skilled writer who knows how to make the setting come alive and the story never slows down until the final climax.
Review Date: 5/25/2010
This sweet story of an intelligent, but bespectacled, plain lady hopelessly in love with a handsome young man she has known for years takes some twists and turns that help avoid the usual plot lines. Yes, she does improve her appearance somewhat with some help from her friend, the sister of the hero, but this is not the catalyst that opens his eyes to her desirability. After her well-meaning father arranges a marriage for her with the hero, she discovers that he is being coerced into the match and refuses to wed. Does he realize what a treasure she is now that she is not being forced upon him? Does he recognize her beauty behind the glasses that make her look like an owl? Well,...not exactly--which is the charm of this book. Some parts are predictable, but the author manages to make it just different enough to make a very enjoyable read.
Review Date: 4/27/2010
For genealogy researchers, a genealogy database program that is simple enough for the average computer user, yet sophisticated enough for the many kinds of information a researcher may use is a must. Rootsmagic is an excellent program that is extremely user friendly. However, this book will give pointers and instructions to make the best use of your Rootsmagic program, going beyond the usual Help tips already included in the program itself.
Review Date: 1/24/2011
A child of one clan, left an orphan when her parents are murdered, is taken under the protection of the powerful laird of the Campbells and raised in a convent isolated from all outside contact. Her benefactor has betrothed her to an English lord when she comes of age, but before that marriage can happen, she is kidnapped by another clan's leader who has already wed her by proxy. Despite all her efforts to escape, she is forced to travel to the Island of Skye where she must confront the destruction of all she believed to be true about herself and her family. Complicating this conflict is the charge of "witch" she bears because of her unusually colored eye and her mysterious healing skills. The heroine's innocence is balanced by her bravery; the hero is surprisingly gentle and determined to win her trust and then her love. This book will satisfy any lover of Scottish romances.
Review Date: 3/24/2010
Helpful Score: 1
If medieval romance with a strong hero and even stronger heroine, try this one set in the time of the Crusades of King Richard and Saladin. Thea, a beautiful young Frank, has been a slave in an embroidery house all her life. Desperate to avoid the soul destroying future she sees for herself and her younger sister, she escapes and joins a caravan going to Damascus, planning to set up her own silk business with a precious basket of silkworms she has taken and then send for her sister. Set upon by Arab raiders, all in the caravan are killed except Thea. After walking in the desert for days, she is rescued by an unlikely hero, Lord Ware, a Scot with a secret that marks him for death and any who are with him. He doesn't want to help her; she is determined to follow her plans. The author skillfully makes you see that each one's actions are understandable if not always reasonable. The plot has many twists and turns with an unexpected ending that was just right. There is a sequel called The Treasure about Thea's sister Selene and an unusual young assassin named Kadar.
Review Date: 9/5/2011
Matt Beltran, an orphan since birth, has lived his life determined to stand alone and although he has the capacity to care about others and inspire loyalty from the men under him, he has never had a relationship beyond the physical with any woman. Then a one night stand makes him into an unknowing father...until the mother of his baby girl abandons her in his red Corvette and leaves town. Faced with a parenthood he neither sought or expected, he quickly sees that Corey Madsen, a young widow who fosters babies for the state, is the answer to his dilemma and marries her. If you like marriage of convenience plots with a few surprises, you will like this sweet story with a gentle romance that tugs at your heart strings.
Review Date: 9/29/2011
Will Baron is a young man trying to find a balance between his two heritages, Navajo and white. Raised on the reservation by a mixed cultural family, he has embraced his Navajo roots, but still struggles with finding his own identity. Leaving the reservation, he joins the Army and ends up stationed at a base in North Carolina, his white father's home, where he meets a young single mother who captures his heart. This is a part of the Navajo series and it brings in characters from previous books so I think it is helpful and improves the story if the other books are read first. Having read the others, I was prepared to like this one as well. I was disappointed that Will's character seemed less well-developed than the heroine's, and I never really understood why, in this book, he seems to give up his connection to the Navajo culture.
Review Date: 9/28/2009
Sara of Fenstowed is a heroine who believes herself ugly (not just from the scarred face she refuses to hide),yet is determined to be who she is without compromising. When she saves the life of one of King Edward's favorite knights, she is rewarded with marriage to a most unwilling groom. If you like strong heroines who are still vulnerable, you will like Sara of Fenstowe.
Review Date: 4/6/2011
Helpful Score: 2
Celia Delacourt, a poor vicar's daughter and now an orphan after the deaths of her entire family, receives a surprising offer from the matriarch of the same family that disowned her grandfather--a home with the Delacourts. Wondering at the motivation behind this offer from a stranger but with no other option available to her, Celia moves to Delacourt Hall where she finds herself an unwilling part of the Duchess of Arnsford's plan to force her marriage to the heir to the dukedom, Lord Lynden. Wise to his mother's plots, Lord Lynden schemes to discourage Celia in this by pretending to be mad--with comical results. This is a light read with some serious overtones in the character of the Duchess. A secondary romance is handled quite realistically. Ms. Farr develops each of the main characters skillfully, letting their actions tell more about them than their words. True to a traditional Regency read, nothing more than kisses are exchanged. All in all, a sweet story.
Review Date: 8/8/2011
Andersen brings her Sisterhood trilogy to a satisfying close with the story of Ava, a fat girl cruelly betrayed by her first lover, Cade Gallari, in high school. Thirteen years later she has become a gorgeous voluptuous woman with a unique career, but inside she still struggles with an inner vision based on her weight. Ava is strong and vulnerable by turns and the focus is on her more than Cade, who has compelling reasons for his actions long ago. Their romance is tightly spun, Cade wanting to be forgiven and Ava attracted in spite of herself. Poppy and Jane from the previous books appear in this book which has a slight mystery that ties up loose ends from the series with HEAs all around.
Review Date: 11/11/2009
Helpful Score: 3
This is a story about the slowly developing love between two seemingly mismatched people meeting and learning about each other and themselves under difficult circumstances. She is a widow who failed to give her older husband an heir; he is a surgeon in the Royal Navy who rose above his "common" roots to educate himself. The setting is the Napoleonic war and is a sequel to Kelly's previous book, "Marrying the Captain". In fact, a couple from that book figure in this book as well so we get to see their ongoing story. Carla Kelly always focuses on character development rather than contrived plots. Her romance is subtle but satisfying. You will like the heroine and sigh over the hero who is truly a good man and perfect for her.
Review Date: 11/8/2011
A light but satisfying story of a nobleman whose upbringing made him a paragon of order and rules falling in love, very unwillingly, with a beautiful girl whose honesty and sweetness are coupled with a tendency to become embroiled in mishaps...often, and whose family is loving but uninhibited. Such a meeting of opposites is further complicated by the distance between his class and hers. Although there are serious events in the story, the emphasis is on the humorous and the overall effect is very sweet.
Review Date: 7/8/2010
This is another in this writer's series of time travel romances in which Navy SEALS meet up with Viking men and women. She offers a story that is implausible at best, but there is some humor in the conflict between Joy, a no nonsense woman SEAL (WEAL) and Brandr, a stereotype Viking who insists on calling her his thrall or slave as much because he wants to aggravate her as he believes all women have basically the same purpose:care of their superior male masters. The language is earthy, the sex scenes are plentiful and the plot pretty predictable and rather thin. Read it if you like all time travel stories, but don't expect to want to stay up all night reading it.
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