Latest Historical Review - Regency!





Two Peas in a Pod
 

Reviewed by Katie

This is a charming Regency for Valentine’s week.  The brothers Coldwell are both struggling to reacquaint themselves not only with family, but just who they are and what direction to take with their lives, post war.  Though neither is excited by their elder sister’s machinations for matrimony, the inevitable happens and they are besotted and yes, confused by hopes, doubts and possibilities.  But after a declaration of one of the misses that she could never consider the elder, the brothers hatch a plan that makes their sister’s look tame.  The farce that follows is amusing yet handled with care. 

Normally stories of twins exchanging identities makes me cringe but Mr. Wilkin pulls it off with the feel of a Shakespearean comedy laced with enough reality to prevent it from becoming too ridiculous.  He deftly uses the truth of scars unseen and facts of life at the time to balance the humor and what could have been cruelty on the part of the brothers.  The ladies, not to be outdone, plot a counter attack that even Wellington could never have imagined.  Beatrice and Benedict would have danced at the weddings in perfect charity.

I love stories that contain more than one romance.  That family and friends - the kind we all want to be and have - do not live their life in an isolated story line used to translate well to the written tale.  It is a fact of modern fiction that we expect One Great Hero and One Awesome Heroine per story with nods to the secondary characters that might have their own book, later, if sales are good.  I’m not sure if that’s due to reader preference or the fear of writers and publishers.  Either way, I am always delighted to find an author willing to flesh out a well crafted story of more than one couple, especially when they make me laugh!

For several generations, we’ve been romanced in fiction by wonderful authors explaining their view of how women believe men think and feel.  Mr. Wilkin provides a generous glimpse of a man’s perspective in a formulaic genre that is quite consistent with the literature of the era while mindful of his modern audience.  I can only hope more men are as bold and more women alert to the subtle differences in perspective that remind us all just how romantic the differences can be.  This is definitely a *keeper* for my bookshelf.

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Latest Review - Western Historical



Review by Katie

A face paced Western Romance where you can almost hear the Howard Hawkes musical themes weaving through the story.  Shane and Ashley are rough edged as the Dakota Territory was in the late 1860s where the regrets of war and lessons from the past must be subordinate to survival. 

Raised from birth until his majority with the Cheyenne, Shane struggles to find his identity without betraying those he loved, or himself.  Likewise, Ashley, raised by her father and ranch hands after fleeing war torn South Carolina, struggles to run not only her ranch but find a way to keep all her promises to her later father.  Rough they may be, but Shane and Ashley are destined to face their past before they can dare have a future.  It is in confronting who they’ve been that they find out who they really are, and more importantly, what they can be, together.

There were a few historical points given the hand wave but nothing more than a John Wayne set with no horse dung in the streets.  The villain was way more evil than I felt anyone’s reactions acknowledged but again, with the pace of the story, it was entirely plausible they seemed to move on to the next crisis and deal with all the omigosh, did he really… later.  The secondary characters were as interesting as our hero and heroine and for me, that’s as important as the happy ever after.

I enjoyed this book on a sunny Sunday afternoon and recommend it for anyone that misses the Western Matinees.  I’ll definitely will be watching for other books by Ms. Sharp.

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Catherine Sharp's Website

Latest Review - Multi-Layered historical/contemporary novel.

 

 

 

 

“Will Hurricane Katrina destroy what the Civil War spared?”

 

 

Reviewed by Francine.

 

Hurricane Katrina is winding herself up off the Louisiana coast (2005), and unsuspecting Amaryllis Camilla (Cammie) O’Brien, rocks up to the River Oaks Plantation House with grand ideas for the old place. Back to her roots, the big city life behind her, not a lot has changed as far as she can tell. It’s about to, though, and when forced to wade through water that is ankle deep, and lights in the house are blinking, it’s not the best of homecomings.

 

 

Wind and water soon begin to wreak havoc and while Cammie is exploring her late grandmother’s house, water is creeping ever higher and closer to the house. Finally told to gather personal belongings by Noah Gautreaux, (trusted plantation manager), Cammie isn’t about to argue. After all, he’s an old flame, and he’s already ignited a spark that could all too easily blaze out of control: if only the Louisiana sun was shining. He though, is more concerned with getting her and two dogs safely to dry land, and what transpires is terrifying, heart-rending and requires heroic deeds by both. But, in a scary moment alone with just the dogs for company, Cammie seeks comfort from a diary found in the house: anything to take her mind off what is happening all around her.

 

In the aftermath of Katrina, life resumes, but how long will it take to rebuild what is lost or refurbish properties that miraculously survived? With River Oaks still standing, Cammie vows to restore it to its former glory, and with Noah’s help, she does just that. But, if not for a diary penned in the 1800s and all that it reveals, she might never have known about its hidden secrets and of those who survived the American Civil War.

Maggie and Danny (her ancestors) become as real to Cammie as though they are ghosts guiding her, allowing her to step back in time to see for herself their home and that of Maggie’s gardens: the gardens Maggie created. Semblance of those gardens still exist, though other aspects of the past have long since vanished. But the myth that all southern plantation owners mistreated their slaves is blown apart by the heroic gesture of Danny’s secret and deadly venture. And, whilst Cammie reads of Maggie and Danny building a life together beginning with 1805, she and Noah begin building theirs in the 21^st century.

 

River Oaks Plantation in Cammie’s time zone is heart-rending for many reasons. But, as soon as a reader takes a step through the portal by way of Maggie’s diary, there are equally happy, thrilling and tragic tear-jerking moments to contend with. Ms Robinson has taken great care with her research. I highly recommend this to lovers of American history, and to those who may have preconceived ideas that all slave owners in the Deep South were despicably brutish.

 

 

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Latest Historical Regency

 

Reviewed by Katie

This was the most delightfully unique Regency I’ve read in years.  It was like being tucked in the corner of a drawing room and observing the lives of friends.  The emerging tenderness between Katherine and Brian provides affirmation of both an intense intimate life but also, as both characters acknowledge, an emotional and mental accord that twines between them like ivy on a cottage.  The book is entirely free of the recent trend in romances to hurl the hero and heroine into adversarial straightjackets so the resolution is a strain to declare a happy ending.  However, this is no two dimensional facsimile of the hay-day of Regency publishing either. 

Katherine is a formidable woman, made so by life, her own will and her late father’s fortune.  She is not crusading or rebelling; she desires to be something more than expectations might grant and is determined to do so in a way society will accept.   Shunned by a family unknown to her and then the society of India where her father had not only made his fortune but also a difference, Katherine understands the narrow paths allowed to her and though there are moments she frets, she does not falter.  She plans, prepares and progresses without becoming an anti-heroine, more than once I found myself thinking:  Yes, that’s how it was done.

Brian is equally formidable with enough genuine humility to prevent him from being a Beta Hero.  In a wonderful turn of the tables, we observe the man economizing and stretching every penny to keep soles on his shoes.  The details of a man’s existence are just the right amount of fact and reflection without bogging you down.  Even better, Brian does not turn to the gambling hells, wild speculation or indifference while raking his way through the muslin company.  He genuinely cares for others and their good opinion of him does matter.  It was refreshing to find a group of male friends not based on school or some gruesome trial of life but because they enjoyed each other’s company.  He is a man to be admired and Katherine not only sees this, she acknowledges it in the most forthright manner.

Both are resolved to survive without violating their honor or the rules of society they are glad to dwell in even as the work to change it for the better, not just for themselves but others as well.  Her blunt proposal nearly knocks those re-soled shoes off his feet and from then on, you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for the explosion that never actually comes, except in the matter of life common to all mankind.  Well, all right, that and a few ironic twists of fate that can only be found in fiction.  You are not the least sorry to skip the fireworks of misunderstandings and foolishness so common in this genre.  These characters are too well-educated from their years of deprivation.  It is a glorious treat to have characters that have actually learned and willingly applied those lessons from the life they’ve lived. It is even better that when they make stupid mistakes, they don’t give up; they keep trying until matters are once more as they should be.

I could easily see this as a weekly installment such as Gaskell’s work.  But instead of the over blow cliff hanger required by the press of the time, our author leaves us with the subtle anticipation ending each chapter so you do in fact pause and savor before turning the digital page. It is not written in a faux historical style but the flavor of each word is crisply intended to provoke the tone of the era.  I was not shocked to discover at the end of this wonderful read that D. W. Wilkins is a mister, only surprised.   I did laugh at myself for making notes about the masculine detail that was charming and the lack of endless feminine wardrobe descriptions that was a precious gift.  The romance was as delicately handled as the historical details and I confess to a sigh or two as I read.  This is definitely a *keeper* for my bookshelf. 

If you are looking for a Classic Regency with characters that you genuinely empathize with while enjoying their foibles and falderal, this is a book I earnestly recommend.

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Mr. Wilkin's Website

Latest Chick-Lit Review - Done with Men.



When Fate begins to turn the final screw on Kay’s world, and the latest man in her life has failed to match her expectations for true love, a holiday seems like a great idea. Her best friend and flatmate Baani has a persuasive stance and sets a plan in motion to save Kay from herself. Besides, with Baani along for company, Kay vows to stay on the straight and narrow. What has she got to lose in mixing a work assignment with pleasure? Famous last words, one might say, when her ex happens to be holidaying in Goa with his latest girlfriend.

 

Trying to drown ex lovers at the bottom of a glass whilst smoking weed is far from the best pain-killer, any more than a tattoo parlour will truly serve to declare Kay is “done with men”. Sadly, drunkenness has its pitfall, and accidents can occur all too easily. While Kay ponders whether she’s awakened in Heaven - due to a godlike creature tending to her needs - Baani’s presence reassures her she’s safe in hospital. If that is so, has Fate chosen Dr. Vivian D'Mello as the ultimate torture, and can Kay live up to her tattoo? Done with Men is funny, vibrant and true to the chick-lit genre.

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Latest Contemporary Review - Stay.



Reviewed by Katie

Written in the first person, this modern romance is like reading a blog with the comments turned off.  At the end of the novel I feel as conflicted and overwhelmed as Alexa and, surprisingly, as glad to be serially unattached as Julian.  It’s rare to read a romance and not sigh just a bit for what you don’t have at the end of the story.  Stay is the only exception to that experience in my ferocious reading history.

The first seventeen chapters interested and amused me; made me roll my eyes and piqued my curiosity, oh and the sex was not only hot it was well written.  This is extremely difficult to do in the first person.  By chapter nineteen, I was struggling to hang on to empathy for *any* of the characters.  By chapter twenty-three, I was frustrated; by twenty-seven I jumped to the end of the book to get to the Big Sekrit.  There are forty chapters and I couldn’t take it anymore!

It is chapter thirty-seven before you get to that by the way and it’s viciously shoveled out there in a heated moment.  Like Alexa, you want to run because you realize, you’ve been manipulated as thoroughly as she has been.  The characters barely get to react, never mind cope, before the book is over.  Rather than being pieces of a puzzle put together so the bigger picture allows perspective to bring closure, your left with ragged, torn images and sorrow and anger and a bucket of doubt that even a baby step forward is genuinely being made. Just like that annoying real life you might be trying to escape for the space of a good book.

I went back to chapter twenty-seven and read to the end, hoping it wouldn’t feel the same.  Frankly, I closed the book despising Alexa’s so-called friends, wanting to slap her parents and siblings, ready to file charges against the best buddy and a formal complaint with the American Psychological what-evah against the shrink!  I also wanted to ask our hero if Alexa was a 5 instead of an 8 on that 10 point scale of perfection, and was mediocre in banter and bed, would he bother?  Most of all I wanted to sit down with a cup of tea and Alexa and promise her it would be perfectly OK to tell her friends and the hottie new boyfriend to bug off and allow time for herself to actually deal and heal before rejoining the so-called “real world, the one where I socialize and date and enjoy my life.” 

But then, there wouldn’t be a romance would there?

And yet … I read every word, some of them repeatedly.  I rooted for Alexa to keep trying and to have at least as much enthusiasm for her own life as she did her fashionable clothes and shoe collection.  I wanted Julian to win her trust, despite the fact he’s described in terms so similar to her best buddy I had to go back in several places and re-read to be sure whether it was Julian or Luke Alexa was talking about.  They were even the same height! 

See, I was paying attention and in my humble opinion, that’s the mark of a good writer.  I read this book in spite of the lush locale, plot and twenty-something stereotypical angst because the author kept me interested.  She fed my frustration, eye rolling and impatience like I was a monkey and she cornered the market on peanuts.  The intimate scenes and emotional electricity were used in the story exactly as they are in life, to keep the characters connected even when everything else is going to hell in a hand basket. Ms. Wynne makes you want to believe with chemistry that good the rest of it just has to work out.  It will be epic, any minute now, we’re sure of that.

But be warned, this book leaves you hanging, clinging to hope but just not sure.  Personally, I don’t like being toyed with in that way.  I want my story complete, not ending with a cliff hanger and promises of the rest of the story in Book 2.  I think many folks will like Stay precisely because of that.

Hilary Wynne's Website 

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Latest Contemporary Review - Silver Rain

Purchased Novel Reviewed by Francine.

Silver Rain is another entertaining read from Jan Ruth’s stable of Welsh based novels. Essentially this is Al’s story, and that of the women in his life.

Al, poor love, has entered the male menopause where his mirrored reflection tells a story all its own, and several questions need answers: How in hell did life pass by so damn quick? And, why don’t relationships come with a red caveat tag? = "think before you leap astride a two-legged filly" Even so, divorce is not the death nell: is it?

 

Albeit affairs can cause bitterness and result in a cold bed, the old saying, “plenty of fish in the sea” doesn’t exactly lure mermaids forth from the depths of Al’s latent desires. And yet, hope eternal is not to be dismissed. For there’s a third question: do angels exist? They must, because when Kate is cast before him, he’s smitten. What of the caveat, though? Kate has her own personal demons, and dare Al hope he can be her ultimate solace? There are plenty of giggle moments and sad reflections in Silver Rain, in which fiction can seem almost too real.

 

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Latest Contemporary Novel -- Broken

Reviewed by Katie.

Having just lost his twin brother during a special ops mission, Mitch heads to his brother’s source of solace, Jessie.  Observing this special woman from a distance, he sees another side of the woman his brother revered.  The sorrow and anxiety he sees haunting Jessie as she so obviously waits for his brother’s return brings a plan of noble intentions - and predictable results - whereby Jessie will have an opportunity for closure and Mitch will maybe experience some of that mystical healing power Jessie possesses.

A story of assumed identity made me afraid of this book before the end of the first chapter.  When Jessie mistakes Mitch for her lover I laughed out loud.  I expected a denouncement; instead she was enchanted by the differences.  When Mitch later justifies wallowing in her delight with, “honesty didn’t seem nearly as important as taking her back to bed…” I really wanted to excuse myself from the remainder of the book.  However, lips twitching, I kept reading and wasn’t disappointed.  Jessie wasn’t an idiot and Mitch wasn’t an emotional vagrant.  They were both broken, just as the title proclaims, by commitment to a man that was larger than life.

Ms. Reeves gives us a pleasant trail of suspended reality perfect for the end of a long day.  The presence of the brother in the form of journal entries instead of a magic wand gives it a fairy tale feel.  Taking a traditional route of assumed identity and ‘oh what a tangled web we weave…” with a few pot holes of conflict along the way make this tale safely predictable.  If you’re looking for a well paced read to wash away the chill of winter or the bark of the boss, Broken should do nicely.

Kimberley Reeves website

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Latest Contemporary Novel - Wind Chime Cafe.



 

 

 

Reviewed by Francine

 

Wind Chimes and serviettes are the stuff of dreams for Annie Malone, and while a long-held dream of having her own swish restaurant is almost within her grasp, nothing is quite as it seems. Can she turn a new home into  a heavenly retreat? Surely, bad things that happen in life can be made better?

With tragedy and trauma in Taylor’s past, Annie is sorely in need of security and peace of mind for her eight-year-old daughter. Convinced the backwater life of a Chesapeake Bay island will afford anonymity, and assist in healing Taylor’s tortured mind, they forsake the city and embrace the life of small town America. After all, there’s a saying “money breeds money” and if the owner of a posh hotel chain sees gold in building a holiday resort on Heron Island, Annie is equally happy to benefit from incoming tourists.

 

Annie and Taylor are far from alone in seeking sanctuary on Heron Island. Will Dozier, a Navy SEAL, has just returned to his roots after an arduous and deadly deployment to Afghanistan. Although he’s suffering horrific flashbacks and nightmares, Will refuses to believe he’s a victim of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). And when living alone with a dog for company, stepping out for meals becomes a pleasant habit. More so, when the proprietor of your favourite eating place stirs something within that simply won’t go away. Has fate brought Annie and Will together? It looks that way, but sometimes, just sometimes hell is waiting round the next corner. Both Annie and Will are forced to face demons from their respective pasts, but can they share the future?

 

Award winning author, Sophie Moss, has brought small town America to life in conveying sense of time and place within a close community. After all, where everyone knows or is related to the next person, secrets never stay secret for very long. Through the medium of intermittent and unobtrusive flashbacks, the reader is given insight to past events that have marred and scarred the main characters’ lives.  

 

Wind Chimes Café is a thoroughly enjoyable and a rather poignant story of love found along life's path. There is a bonus factor to this book with a golden opportunity for reader participation at Sophie’s web site. Read the book to find out what is entailed, though I’ll give you a clue: Restaurant!

 

Sophie's web site

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Latest Historical Review

 

 

 

Reviewed by Charlotte.

 

Scandalous Whisper is synonymous with everything ardent fans of Jane Austen expect from a traditional Regency romance. The narrative is stylish. The dialogue is eloquent. There are characters whose foibles are endearing and at times irritating. The heroine’s mother is not unalike Elizabeth Bennet’s mother in Pride and Prejudice...Mrs Napier is a mother typical of Jane Austen’s world. Silly and vain...The butterfly incident is magical the prose poetic at the time of the first kiss...Scandalous Whisper is most definitely a five star Regency romance. It’s remarkable how the author squeezed so much detail into this emotionally driven novella.

 

 

 Full Review:

Scandalous Whisper is synonymous with everything ardent fans of Jane Austen expect from a traditional Regency romance. The narrative is stylish. The dialogue is eloquent. There are characters whose foibles are endearing and at times irritating. The heroine’s mother is not unalike Elizabeth Bennet’s mother in Pride and Prejudice. Similarly ambitious for her daughter’s advancement in society Mrs Napier is a mother typical of Jane Austen’s world. Silly and vain, Mrs Napier cannot see the folly of fawning to the Earl of Kilder. His manners in public are without fault. In private he’s a bully. Christina’s twin brother James is little better. While James and Simon Kilder are plotting to compromise Christina and force her into marriage, poor Christina lives in fear of both and thanks her good fortune for the return of her elder brother from war. A hero at the Battle of Waterloo, Julian resumes his role as her champion. Sadly a rift soon develops between mother and son causing dreadful disharmony. The tipping point for Christina is the homecoming of Lord Devonish. He’s a true officer and gentleman and wins her heart with kindness. The butterfly incident is magical the prose poetic at the time of the first kiss between them. Lord Devonish has a sister and she becomes Christina’s secret ally. Egged on by the reckless Alathea, Christina risks her reputation in pursuit of happiness. In the meanwhile her hopes and dreams are dashed. Lord Devonish and Julian are recalled to their regiment. Bereft Christina can’t understand why Lord Devonish has deserted her. I don’t wish to spoil the story for other readers and will only say the end to this love story brought me to tears. Scandalous Whisper is most definitely a five star Regency romance. It’s remarkable how the author squeezed so much detail into this emotionally driven novella.

 

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