Romance

The Keeper’s House

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By Jane Fraser

I went ahead and purchased this hard-to-find early Rosamunde Pilcher title when it came my way at a good price. It was part of Harlequin’s Golden Library collection. It was her second to the last book she wrote under “Jane Fraser”, the name she used to publish her Mills and Boon romances. It would be 4 years before she published The Sleeping Tiger, the first book I read by one of my favorite authors and still a favorite of her “little” books. When I first started reading, I had high hopes that this would turn out to be one of the best of the Jane Frasers I have read. I liked our “not pretty” heroine pretty well, and I liked the hero too, thanks to his being introduced with a good bit of his backstory, before the heart of the novel started. The book turned out to be a pretty good one, but a bit below my favorites. I did feel that it was very close in quality to many of her Pilcher titles. In a few cases, better, as far as the character of the heroine. Some of her young ladies can be very weak, lazy, and not too bright.

The book opens with 20-year-old Amabel on the last day of a ski vacation in Europe. She meets Jeremy, a Major, and a former underling of her retired military father there by chance, whom we know from his description is not destined to be her love interest though he is a perfectly nice guy. He has a bristly blonde mustache and a receding chin. As usual, Pilcher’s leisurely pace is full of background and detail which established an atmosphere that drew me right in. As with her more acclaimed novels, the smallest detail conveys atmosphere, nuance of character and paints a whole picture. She makes everything interesting no matter how seemingly inconsequential.

Unfortunately, upon Amabel’s return home to England she is met with the devastating news of her 49 year-old single father’s death. She, her two young siblings, Emma and Adrian, and their Nanny are forced to move from their large farm to a much smaller cottage on the property, the Keeper’s House. Their former estate has been rented for two years to Bill Hopper, a very rich Canadian rancher. We met 26-year-old Bill in New York City in the process of his being dumped by his beautiful model fiance. Because of this abrupt change in his plans he has decided to turn a quick purchase of a prize bull into an extended stay in Scotland. He hears about Kilgenny being available and rents it for two years, planning to spend his time raising cattle for his father’s huge cattle concern.

Although Amabel takes a dislike to Bill thanks to her resentment of his occupation of her beloved home and his amusement of catching her in an embarrassing situation (under the piano with flour on her face) at their first meeting, she pretty much behaves herself. She is not rude or petulant, and though they have a few unpleasant run-ins after their initial meeting, she even apologizes for her fractious behavior. Bill is a very likable guy, making friends with whomever he meets, besides being very large, tall, and very good looking. He takes fatherless young Emma and Adrian under his wing and they make themselves right at home at Kilgenny, spending most of their time there “helping” him with the farm. It isn’t long before Bill and Amabel also make friends and are well on their way to falling in love with each other. Things eventually come to a head when Jeremy makes a re-appearance and Bill goes rushing off to London after an unexpected phone call from his ex-fiancé.

I liked this one quite well. The plot did kind of flag in the middle once Bill and Amabel became friends and started to fall for each other. Everything was proceeding a little too predictably with seemingly no trouble on the horizon to shake things up a bit. When things did start to perk up, Amabel behaved like a really stupid idiot, actually putting her and her family’s whole future happiness on the line by a knee jerk reaction. Luckily she ran into a brick wall (rather amusingly). Also, a highly anticipated confrontation on another front happened off stage which is one of my pet peeves. One aspect which was distracting and bothersome was Bill’s constant smoking. It seemed like he was buying a carton of “Players” at every opportunity. I know, it was usual for the times, but I don’t have to like it. It’s one of those old-fashioned aspects of vintage novels that is not a bit charming. As far as the happy ending, thank goodness for Nanny, who pokes her nose in and saves the day. Those crazy kids.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Dolly All the Time

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by Annabel Monaghan

“Well, hello, Dolly,” says Grant, at the head of a table for eight. If I had a nickel.

And what do you do, Dolly?” asks a woman whose name I’ve already forgotten. “I teach kindergarten in Boston.” “Ah,” she says, resting her hand on the golf ball–sized emerald around her neck. “You two are like Charles and Diana!” It’s a grim comparison to say the least. “Well, sort of. Except he cheated and she’s dead,” I say, and look up at Stewart, who winces a bit. I could have just said nothing. Nothing was the thing to say. I feel a little blush creep up my neck.

There were times when I was reading this that I just loved it. I liked the brand of humor and I was actually a little excited about the similarities with at least one of my favorite and most dependable authors. I really liked Dolly and continued to like her throughout the book. I loved the set up of a romance between two socially and financially unequal partners. It is called the “punching up” trope and is one of my favorites. So many humorous and dramatic possibilities as well as opportunities to develop or reveal character. Some of my favorite authors incorporate this dynamic: Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, and old timey gothics as well as some great rom-com movies including Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, Sabrina, and Crazy Rich Asians,-book and movie. and lets not forget dramas like Downton Abbey, North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell) and Titanic.

Overall, this one did it well. Dolly is a single mother whose father owns the local fish store in the New England tourist town of Whitfield, Rhode Island. She works as a Kindergarten teacher in Boston, but as the novel begins she has been called home to help her father and her mentally disabled brother when the roof of their beloved family home has to be repaired due to a fire. They do not have the money. Yet. While delivering fish to the local “nobility” she comes across the handsome scion of the family stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. Stewart Whitfield of Whitfield is having a very bad day. His beautiful socialite fiancé has just publicly dumped him and has made him look like a victim in the eyes of his family and society. The timing is particularly bad as he is up for a hotly contested promotion in his family’s real estate firm. When a picture is snapped of Dolly changing his tire for him and goes viral, it is a hit to his image that he can’t afford. Can Dolly can play along and pretend to be his public girlfriend so as to avoid having him look like a helpless rich-guy dumpee? With two side hustles, helping at the family fish store and taking care of her family, Dolly doesn’t have time for such foolishness. But when he offers to pay her, she tells him she will do it for $60,000, enough to fix the roof plus a little extra. Also a clothing allowance for the hoity-toity functions that she will be required to attend.

As the romance progresses, we are treated to a bit of a makeover courtesy of Stewart’s nice sister, a supportive if a little giddy ride-or-die friend, interactions with Stewart’s powerful family where we meet both good people and bad, Dolly’s lonely son, Gus, whom Stewart takes under his wing, and Stewart’s conflicts and challenges with the direction the family business is taking. And that is just a random sampling that just scratches the surface. Lots happens in this book. Being with Dolly helps him enormously and starts to change his priorities from giving everything to his career to carving out time for a personal life and relationships. His mental health has suffered because of the enormous pressure he has put on himself.

And it is somewhat the same with Dolly. Ever since her mother deserted them when she was only 11, Dolly took on the caretaker role in her family, which has led to an estrangement with her younger sister Paula. Reading between the lines of Dolly’s narration, we see that despite her strengths she takes on too much for the sake of her loved ones. This has not been good for her or them.

I really could not have asked for a more likable heroine than Dolly. In addition to her voice and her wry observations, I loved the way she was unapologetic about her rather pedestrian background. She was not defensive or even proud of it either. When snooty people at the various social situations would ask her, she was just very matter-of-fact and up front about things in her life that some might, shall we say, not be able to relate to. And sometimes, she finds some kindred spirits when she didn’t expect to.

*Spoilers*

The romance proceeds smoothly. So smoothly that it started to get a little boring. Of course there is no doubt about Dolly’s feelings. She repetitively spells out her physical and emotional attraction to him for the reader. Not a fan of this tendency in romantic comedies. Stewart’s devotion to Dolly is not in question either, by his words and actions. Which makes it such a shock when does a 180 with a very hurtful and confusing ghosting, betraying everything she and the reader had come to believe about him. Similar to the MMC in the author’s Nora Goes Off Script he behaves abominably. But it didn’t bother me as much because it didn’t stem from an idiotic and inexcusable misunderstanding, but from internal psychological issues he had been struggling with. The drama ends up being a good thing for him. As for Dolly, the whole experience ended up giving her insight into how her own behavior had not been helpful to her or to her family. The repair of her relationship with her sister Paula was very satisfying, though I was hoping for an appearance of and confrontation with her much talked about mother. That didn’t happen, but I was mostly satisfied with the way her abandonment was dealt with. Of course, Dolly and Stephen are reconciled in the end, but not without her giving him a piece of her mind first. It was a turning point and I liked that she was ready and willing to move on before he came back hat in hand, though it was a whole year after the initial parting of ways. But maybe it had to be. I believed in their happy ending. After three of Monaghan’s books, this is my favorite so far. I had some reservations, but not nearly to the extent as I had about the other two.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love

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by isthisselfcare

Granger caught Draco watching her as the house-elf vanished. “What?” she asked. “I await your Manifesto,” said Draco. Granger sniffed. “I’ve come to terms with the fact that there are some parts of wizarding society I shall never understand.” “But you accept them?” “No,” said Granger. “I tolerate them.” “Hm.” “Don’t worry, I shan’t begin a house-elf revolution within your halls.”

I didn’t realize that the last book I read (Once, Again, Always by Amanda Gayle) had started its life as Draco/Hermione fanfiction when I got it from Netgalley. If I had, I probably would not have put my name down for it. I had never heard the term “Dramione” which is fiction that imagines a love story between the two enemies of the original series. I’ve never “shipped” the pair, though I’ve been aware that some yearn for that love story. Mostly this is because Ron is my favorite character and I love him. The first book threw me into a bit of a Harry Potter fan fiction rabbit hole and I emerged with this book. The reviews were wonderful across the board, and I was intrigued. 15 % into it, I was completely charmed and thoroughly hooked. I was thrilled that it measured up to the hype. As I got deeper into it, I was lost in admiration of the writing and the way J.K. Rowling’s world was expanded on, altered a bit, and picked up 15 years later. I was emersed in that world, and in awe of author’s take on Rowling’s creation. It recalled how I felt while reading the original series. It made me happy like that.

15 years on from the 2nd Wizarding War, Hermione Granger has straddled the Muggle and the Wizarding World. She is a respected surgeon, professor, and scientist at Cambridge University and in the Magical World she is a renowned “Healer.” She is as famous as Harry Potter and even has her own Chocolate Frog Card. I think that gives you an idea of her status. Draco Malfoy hasn’t changed a bit except that he is more mature and has rejected his former racist attitudes toward non-purebloods and deeply regrets his involvement with the Death Eaters.

…vivid memory returned, of Bellatrix’s handiwork, stark against Granger’s skin. Of Granger, limp and wrought-out, lying like a dead thing on the drawing room floor. Of the blood oozing out of the fresh-carved letters. Draco had never used the word Mudblood again, after that. Draco hid his own inner arm shame from the world, but he would’ve thought that Granger, of all people, would’ve been able to heal hers away. Clearly, she still bore the mark of Bellatrix’s knife.

He is considered, along with “Pothead” and “Weasel” One of the foremost Aurors in the country. For this reason, much to his irritation, he is assigned to protect Hermione Granger who is working on a secret medical project so important, the current minister of magic (Shacklebolt) fears that her life may be in danger. What Hermione is working on is an ongoing mystery in the novel and the reveal is worth the wait.

The book is told from Draco’s point of view. His feelings for Hermione progress from bored irritation to utter devotion, as Draco must stay handy and on the look out for any potential dangers she may face as she works on her project. It is very “two steps forward one step back” as their relationship develops. Despite their personality conflict however, their mutual respect, almost from the beginning, is never in doubt. Though it is very well hidden. The snark is top-tier.

The book is part romantasy, part rom-com and part swashbuckling adventure and quest. With a little horror and thriller thrown in. It is the whole package as far as plot, and is also rich in wit and dialogue. The author takes great care to bring in people and elements from the original series, but not too much. This is the love story that never was between the bossy insufferable swot and the shallow, morally questionable, and bad-tempered womanizer (as they see each other.) Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, for example, are still great friends with Hermione, but they are definitely peripheral to the action. They have moved on and academia-loving Hermione frankly doesn’t have that much in common with them (as we already knew anyway.)

When’s the last time Pot and Wheeze even read a book?” “Is that a rhetorical question?” asked Granger. “No. Answer me.” “Damn it.” Granger lapsed into silence….

The two share a grudging if respectful professional rapport with Draco.

The author sticks close to canon while imagining the future but sometimes she diverges from it pretty significantly. But it was good. Both of the Weasley twins are still alive, as are Nymphadora Tonks and Lupin. In fact, Tonks is the Head of the Auror Office and Draco’s boss. Poignantly, Hermione was never able to reunite with her parents.

However, Granger continued. “I Obliviated both of them during the war. Sent them to Australia to keep them safe. By the time I’d found them again, it was too late to reverse the spell without risking damage to their minds. They’re living quite happily in Adelaide and have no idea that they ever had a daughter.”

As a mother, that killed me. Some of the departures are a little strange. Ron is now in a serious relationship with Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom is with Pansy Parkinson and part of Draco’s social circle. (I’d liked to know how that happened!) Also, in this book, Wizards and Witches are limited as to how much magic they can use at once, and often have to wait to recover their full strength if engaged in lengthy and challenging confrontations or undertakings.

Wizardkind is still (kind of endearingly) clueless about much of the Muggle world, although Owls have now been pretty much replaced with “Jotters”, a kind of text message machine. (Distributed by Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes) and even embraced by Draco’s traditional and old fashioned mother. Draco wants to learn the computer.

The internet was a thing that Draco was not quite certain he understood, but Granger could write things like ‘cat’ or ‘house’ or ‘oncology’ in a box, and information about the things came up, and pictures, too. It seemed extraordinarily useful. An instant encyclopaedia. Granger said that the entire contents of libraries were on it…Granger…explained the cloud and Hackers. The cloud was interesting, conceptually. The Hackers’ lack of axes or other violent weaponry disappointed him. Granger confirmed that there was usually no bloodshed involved. Anticlimactic, overall.

The book is over 700 pages so this review barely scratches the surface. It seemed so authentic. I was in a state of constant awe while I was reading it. It was a great love story. When Draco and Hermione finally come together it got a little too spicy for me, but the author (who injects her own voice periodically) thoughtfully and courteously gives the reader an Adult Content Warning. “Please scroll down to the tilde (~) if you prefer to skip to softer things.”
And bonus! It has pictures! This book is available for free (per one of J.K. Rowling’s requirements for fan fiction based on her books) on a website called Archive of Our Own and can be downloaded to e-readers. If you love Harry Potter and can’t get enough, I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once, Again, Always

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By Amanda Gayle

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The amnesia trope in books and movies has always intrigued me and resulted in some favorite, (or at least greatly enjoyed) reads and watches. I recently finished re-reading Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella and liked it very much (again.) What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty is a favorite and definitely on my re-read soon list. The old movies Love Letters with Jennifer Jones and Random Harvest with Greer Garson are both favorite movies. This book was very romance forward and very much slow burn. Usually like the latter, but not the former. So take my review in that context.

Briefly, Molly awakes in the hospital with the past 6 years of her life a blank. She finds herself married to a man she last knew as a mean bully, but is now a good guy and a devoted husband. She has the same friends as she did, and some new ones as well. She reluctantly goes back to their apartment with him and starts to try to get acclimated to her “new” life and her marriage, hoping that her memory will return.
A good portion of the book was flashbacks to “Before” detailing Molly’s toxic teenage relationship with Aster before they got together. Every flashback to “before” piles on how nasty the now nice Aster used to be. There was no slow reveal of his character beneath the surface, explanation, or development. He was just stuck as a nasty piece of work from the first flashback to the last. This is how she remembers him. It was not a good choice because it was so limiting. We are given the facts, in the present day, of the beginnings of how the Molly-Aster romance started, but we do not see it first hand on the page at all. This would have made some good reading, but there was no payoff to all of the anticipation. I would have loved to see the stories of how the friends of Aster and Molly reacted to the change in their feelings for each other, and became friends themselves. It was just a strange choice for a romance and a book about relationships. A lot of opportunity for comedy and drama unrealized. Speaking of relationships, where is the story of that fateful and disastrous Christmas Dinner with Aster’s parents? Aster’s mother seems to be wanting to reach out, but is apparently under the thumb of her husband. Where’s that story? At the end, we are again fed hope and anticipation for another possible plot development I would have liked to read about, but again it comes to nothing.

This is a review of an advanced reading copy for Netgalley so I don’t want to get into too many details because of spoilers. But so many questions. The only Aster Molly has ever known is as a spoiled super-wealthy snob. They now live in an average apartment where the smell of the dumpsters permeate their living space. But Molly never thinks to ask, “Where did all your money go, Aster?” “Why do we live like this?” I was certainly curious! But not Molly. She never asks what he does for a living. Or what she does for a living. WTF? One of the first things Aster does is to “curate” the photos, conversations, and contacts in her phone, hiding large swaths of information about her life from her. He locks the door of their extra room and won’t let her in. He is trying to “protect” her, he claims. He acts like he is hiding something nefarious and unspeakable. But this is not a Domestic Thriller or Horror story. So no, it’s not a murder, cheating, or any other unforgivable act by either one of them. It is very guessable from the very beginning but I thought it couldn’t be that because Aster was being just so weird and controlling. And Molly acts like the infant he is treating her like by not putting her foot down. Attempts to justify were made, like the author knew something was off, but it just wasn’t enough.

The romantic parts were well done and the writing overall was good. I liked the friends, what we know of their lives and personalities, and their contributions. The way Molly’s favorite book, The Count of Monte Cristo, was incorporated into the end was a nice touch. It kept my interest and the parts were all there. Unfortunately aspects that would have been most engaging and interesting to me were strangely not written about. When I found out this book started its life as Fan Fiction shipping Draco and Hermione, it made me thing back about it. As such it was kind of brilliant. But as a novel standing on its own, not quite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/ Harper Voyager for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Emerald

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by Elizabeth Luard

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I don’t think I’ve ever tried harder to like a book more than this one. But at the 72% mark when the long anticipated meeting of the sibling/lovers finally happened, I just gave up. Oh it is quite the yarn, I’ll give it that. I finished it, so that says something. Published in 1995, It is very reminiscent of the old jet-setting Judith Krantz/Jackie Collins/Jilly Cooper potboilers of 1980s and 90s. Except the sex is sweet and idealized and mostly closed door. I heard about it from a glowing review on YouTube. The concept intrigued me to no end. The possibilities! I went to extraordinary lengths to get this book, finally getting a trade paperback from an inter-library loan. Prior to this, I actually emailed the author to alert her to a prominent reviewer’s praise for the book and my displeasure that the book was not readily available in the U.S. It was a major wrench for me to have to forgo my Kindle and read an unwieldy paperback. I really missed the search and highlighting function. There were a lot of minor characters in this book to keep straight and I love the Kindle for the ability to quickly get me back up to speed after a short break in reading. Not to mention the ability to read in the dark without a lamp. Poor me. But I digress.

**spoilers**

Here is the plot. Hang on tight. Born in secret and out of wedlock to Wallis Simpson and HRH the Duke of Windsor, Emerald is farmed out to one of his loyal former lovers, now happily married with a young son, to be temporarily taken care of. After the now married Duke and Duchess are banished to the Bahamas and after the heroic war time deaths of her foster parents, the powers that be, a.k.a. Anthony Anstruther, a main character and royal fixer extraordinaire, decides it is time for them to take responsibility for their daughter, whom they want nothing to do with. Luckily, the ship she and her adoring foster brother Callum are on wrecks off the coast of Callum’s grandfather, The Laird’s, remote Scottish island so 3-year-old Emerald doesn’t have to deal with the hateful couple. They are raised together (sort of) until they are wrenched apart 5 years later by Emerald being bundled off to Mexico to live with Anstruther’s mother to be raised like a lady and keep her under the radar. Meanwhile, her letters to her 12-year-old foster brother, whose heart has been “broken clean in two” by their parting, are intercepted for her own good. She grows up prowling the jungles of Mexico with her bosom buddy “Nacho”, who, like all males of all ages, are smitten with her. At 15-years-old, Emerald’s beauty, despite being so thin and gangly, promises success in the marriage arena, despite her predilection for cock fights and knifing alligators to death. It turns out that her figure is perfect for runway modeling which is discovered by her next door neighbor who happens to be a former toast of the Paris fashion scene. She has the connections necessary to pave Emerald’s way in New York and Paris and save her from a marriage of convenience while still a teenager. Emerald runs away from Lady Molly’s benign but stiflingly conventional care. Good thing she kept that alligator hide which she uses to bribe her way out of Mexico. At 16 years old, Emerald soon becomes the toast of the New York, London, and Paris fashion scene and even runs in the same New York and Paris circles as the Windsors. Uh Oh. The resemblance is soon noticed and Wallis and David, uncomfortable with that, try to get Anthony Anstruther to get rid of her but Anthony finally puts his foot down. Anthony is an interesting character. He is written as a good guy, but really does some terrible things to protect the Royal House of Windsor.

Callum, now around 23 (?) and an aspiring photographer, finally tracks now 19-year-old Emerald down and the transition from protective adoring foster brother to besotted lover is head-swiveling if inevitable. Especially since the same night they meet Emerald is raped by another childhood admirer from the remote Scottish Island. Jack is now an aspiring gossip columnist and her nemesis going forward. So when she falls pregnant there is a brief doubt as to whom the father is. (It’s Callum, of course.) She is forced to find a husband since an abortion is out of the question. Callum has disappeared to be a war photojournalist because he thinks Emerald is dead due to his house exploding. Through some behind the scenes manipulations from our friend Anthony, she meets charming, handsome, noble, and impoverished Tom Sherwood. Luckily he is gay and the marriage is never consummated. Unluckily, he is an inveterate gambler and only married her for her dowry, wrested from the wealthy Duke and Duchess. Emerald’s letters to Callum about their son are intercepted by guess who. You’d think she would have learned the first time. The world just continues to conspire against the star-crossed lovers. So far. 

My disaffection for this book was not caused by the writing or the plot, but the characters. We follow the heroine’s life from toddlerhood to young womanhood. I have never before accused a female character of being a “Mary Sue” because before this book, this kind of character never bothered me. But OMG. This girl. This Emerald. She was so over the top, it was grating and laughable. Every male in the book is absolutely captivated by her practically at first sight. Callum the love interest, from when she was 6 weeks old. A villainous character when he was 10 and she was 5. Nacho, her Mexican “best friend” and protector to whom she gifts her virginity, the same. Equally at home with both the peasants in Mexico and the glitterati of Europe, she leads a charmed life. She wears haute couture on the runway but prefers bulky sweaters and jeans in private. She saves her profligate husband’s estate from ruin on the strength of her homemade soap, candles and potpourri from her old Scottish Nan’s recipes. Before she is 26 she has turned her little business into a flourishing boutique cosmetic and gardening enterprise and building success upon success. Which she sacrifices to save her irresponsible and mostly absent husband from his criminal gambling creditors. But don’t worry, she builds it up from from scratch again after finally re-uniting with strong, handsome and devoted Callum. Those are the broad brush strokes, but we are met with something meant to be appealing, admirable, or sympathetic about Emerald on virtually every page. It was exhausting. I can’t really call it a love story at all, because Emerald and Callum spend very little time together on the page. He really only serves to give our heroine a happy ending. We spend only enough time with him to show how worthy he is. Poor Nacho is left in Mexico never to be heard of again. I really thought he would show up again in Europe, somehow coming in handy for Emerald, possibly as a powerful international drug dealer. Some things came full circle, but there were also quite a few loose ends. The main thing was that although the book was very readable and kept my interest for the most part, I just could not empathize or become invested in the main characters. Except Bertha, Tom’s mother. She was great. I hate to give such a monumental effort less than 3 stars, but there you go. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

The Paris Match

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by Kate Clayborn

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Layla, a doctor who has been divorced for a couple of years, accepts an invitation to the Paris wedding of her young ex-sister-in-law who was like a little sister to her. Paris is important to her whole ex-family, in fact, it is where Jamie and she spent a happy honeymoon. She is reluctant to attend but feels she must because she was close to the whole family once and especially to the sunshiney bride-to-be, Emily, to whom she had promised to remain close, but hasn’t. To make it worse, Jamie is bringing his new serious girlfriend, and though their divorce was “amicable”, and she is “fine,” Layla is concerned this will make her the object of speculation, worry, and “compassion.” Layla does not like to be spotlighted in any way, especially in these circumstances. On the plane over, while tending to an emergency medical situation, she meets a dark, intimidating, and strangely attractive man who looks at her with disapproval and dislike (for some reason.)Despite this, Layla is “electrically” drawn to him. To Layla’s dismay, it turns out he is the best friend of the groom and the Best Man. This is not a grumpy/sunshine romance. Layla is not particularly sunshiney, though she is selfless, good-humored, and kind. Griffin is not just grumpy. He is dark and brooding, surly and rude. Physically he is badly scarred and he obviously bears mental scars as well as physical. He is described throughout the book as a Fae Prince, a smokestack, and a column of smoke. Overused metaphors were sometimes a problem. Soon, trouble looms. After spending a night out on the town with Layla and her maid of honor, Emily starts to have doubts even to the point of possibly calling off the wedding. Michael the Groom is heartbroken and confused. Griffin is on the warpath because nothing must come between his friend and his happiness and he blames Layla. Layla is confused because she knows Emily loves Michael and that she didn’t do or say anything to make Emily change her mind. Can this wedding be saved?

While I liked the concept, the plot, and the care the author took with the development of her characters, her writing style was kind of a drag for me. It seemed very self-conscious like she was tying herself up in knots to express herself a certain way: a way in which clarity, straightforwardness, and effortlessness was something to be avoided. When she fashioned a metaphor or tried to convey a feeling or a thought, I often had to pause to re-read to fully grasp what she was trying to say. And usually what she was trying to convey was not as complex as the way she chose to say it.
Please bear with me while I try to put into words why this good writer’s writing just did not work for me this time. Here’s one example, though it’s throughout the whole book all the time. Layla’s ex-husband has finally arrived in Paris with his fiancée and Layla is explaining to Griffin that she feels like everyone is watching her for signs of jealousy or heartbreak (which she honestly doesn’t feel-it’s complicated) “the Is Layla Looking at Jamie show” as she calls it. Somehow she thinks that her being this distraction is going to prevent them fixing Emily’s doubts about the marriage. Seems like a distraction might be a good thing, but whatever. And why should Layla even care about what these people who are not in her life think? Griffin’s solution is for Layla to “Look at me” instead. We learn Layla response, “Look at you how?” not until the next chapter and while Griffin is recalling this conversation of the night before. During this recollection, we have Griffin’s long contemplation about how he feels like he is Quasimodo in Notre Dame’s Bell Tower. (although he never says that in so many words-just talks all around it very metaphorically and elaborately.)

He pretended it [Notre Dame] was still in ruins. That no one would ever come back to fix it. If that were true, he knew, he wouldn’t be able to stand this close to it; he knew it would be surrounded by barricades and warning signs and probably French policemen. But that little hurdle was no match for his apparently still-skilled pretending brain.
…His eyes drifted to the other bell tower, the one he hadn’t been looking at, and he pictured his wiry, hardy mother, brown-gray braid down her back, scrubbing its walls clean. Shouting out of one of her stone arches a few times a day, asking whether the monster across the way was up yet.

The reader looking for a conclusion to this conversation and Layla’s “Okay” will have to wait 12 pages, Griffin having a long phone conversation with his mother, a lot of internal sturming and dranging, and a trip to Versailles the next day. The upshot is they will not only work together behind the scenes to help and support Michael and Emily, but pretend to be “friends” so Layla does not appear to the others to be lonely. When I read contemporary romance I do not want the kind of book where the plot and character come second to the author trying to impress with her thought provoking prose. I want my thoughts to be about the plot and characters, the drama, suspense, mystery, and humor. This book has all of that, but it’s buried under too many words and too much eloquence. Lots of which didn’t even make sense. In describing Griffin, Layla is thinking how complicated he was: A complicated man. Bold but cautious, demanding but flexible, stubborn but still curious. So of course, I had to stop and try to figure out how “curious” was somehow the opposite of “stubborn.” And for that matter, shouldn’t “stubborn” be paired with “flexible” instead of “demanding?” My reading was brought to a standstill constantly and it became tedious.

I liked the slow burn layered romance and the building of the tension. When they finally do come together it was shattering and very erotic. Griffin has nothing but contempt for Jamie for losing Layla. We feel that their one time love that Layla shrugs off pales in comparison with Griffin’s love for her:

He would say it close enough for her to hear it loud and clear. “There shouldn’t be anything amicable about losing you,” he said. There should be a war, he thought. An army of stone gargoyles, ordered to be alive. All to come get you. All to show you that you should never shrug like that again.

That’s good writing.

And I was also kept turning the pages by the questions and mysteries that arise. What were the circumstances of Jamie and Layla’s divorce? They both seem so nice. Why has Layla ghosted his family? Is Jamie over Layla? Why are Michael and Griffin so close? How did Griffin get burned? How bad is the pain? Can he ever get better? I really came to care about him. Why does Emily have doubts about Michael? What is the secret? What could Michael not tell Emily? Will they end up getting married? would that be a good thing? How can Griffin and Layla be happy when there is so much to overcome? Why do Michael’s parents, especially his father, hate Griffin?

Towards the last part of the book, story elements picked up and it got easier to read. I don’t think it’s because I became accepting of her style, but because the author herself got more concerned with the story and character and forgot about “writing” to within an inch of her life. That was my impression anyway. I also liked some of the choices she made with the characters. I thought that Griffin was going to do the martyr trope thing and leave Layla for her own good. They part temporarily, but it was good.
The writing style was just so frustrating when I really loved almost everything else. 3 stars.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Lift Me Up

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By Milly Johnson

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I did enjoy this long short story/novella. It is a pretty typical Milly Johnson novel only instead of 3 women sharing the spotlight, we have just one. I had just finished a reread of one of her older novels and went right into this one. So yes, although some of her characters do get on my last nerve, I am still a fan. In fact some of my disenchantment with some of Milly’s “ways” stem from the fact that I have re-read many of her books multiple times because I am such a fan. As with most of her books, it’s light on the romance, but a romance is included to provide our heroine a hopeful happy future.

Tamantha has been denigrated all of her life by her awful family and we see an example of this as she goes to the family dinner every Sunday. She is about to get married, and no surprise, she has picked a guy that is cut out of the same cloth. He has managed to influence her to change almost everything about herself to make her fit into his personal mold of how he wants a wife to be. Why she has put up with this treatment by her family and her fiancé is not very well established so I ceased having a lot of sympathy for her long before the novella/short story was finished. His sister is a bully and has taken over Tam’s wedding to the point that she is not allowed to even invite her best friend to her own reception. This initial weakness and oppression of her protagonists is a pattern with Milly that I am increasingly losing patience with. She makes her victimized characters so blind and self-deluded that it is positively painful. They all finally see the light and successfully rebel against the tide of abuse, but often it is too late to retain my good will and concern for their well being. And there is even less justification for this heroine to put up with the disrespect and contempt in her personal life. She is a successful business woman and who was once a vibrant unconventional woman despite her black sheep status in her family.

On the professional side, Tam is on her way to a big meeting with the board of directors where she assumes she is going to be fired. She gets stuck on the elevator with the wunderkind that the board brought in to head the company instead of promoting her. She is bitter about that and makes a lot of false assumptions, but it turns out that Jack, who is the love interest, thinks the world of her and what she has accomplished for the company. Though he is still the boss, she gets full credit for her work and a big promotion. This part was good. However, despite more red flags than a Chinese parade, Tam persists in going through with her wedding until she is standing with her fiancé in front of the altar and he says something mean to her (!). She was like a lemming jumping off a cliff, or a turkey drowning itself in the rain. It is strongly implied that she would still have married the dirtbag despite everything (including her growing love for Jack), if he had just kept his mouth shut. I would have been much better with the story had Tam come to her senses on her own steam with her very own brain. Despite Jack showing her everyday how she should be treated, and the concern expressed by others, her fiancé and family have to cross the line of agreed standards of decency before she’s had enough. The story happily comes full circle, ending, as it began, in an elevator, but I would have wished for more closure with her oppressors. There could have been more balance there even though, yes, I know I know this wasn’t a full length novel. No free passes on that front from me, because Milly is usually brilliant with comeuppances.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Convenient Marriage

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By Georgette Heyer

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When I started my reread on Audible of this old favorite, (one of the few Georgette Heyers I have an actual visual memory of myself opening it for the first time) I was reminded that it is not a favorite of many Heyer devotees whose opinions I not only respect, but usually agree with. With this in mind, I decided I would try to understand that opinion, which seems to mostly stem from a dislike and disapproval of Horatia (Horry) Winwood, our heroine. Besides that, many object to the age gap between Horry and Lord Rule (17 v. 35), her husband, and the fact that he has a few assignations with his mistress, after they are married, before he cuts ties with her.

The story opens with the happy news that the impoverished Winwood family is about to be rescued from, if not ruin, then very much financial discomfort. The very very wealthy Marcus Drelincourt, the Earl of Rule, has offered for the beauty of the family, Elizabeth. Unfortunately, “Lizzy” is in love with Edward, a lowly-by-comparison lieutenant in the Army and younger son she has known all her life. Its in the late 1770s and he is just back from fighting the war in America. Horatia, the youngest of the three Winwood girls, is not about to see her beloved sister marry against her wishes even to save the family. But saved the family must be. In a classic and favorite Heyer scene, She goes to Rule and offers herself up as a substitute. Rule was about to offer for Elizabeth due to her beauty, docility, and suitability. He is 35, his sister has been on his case, and she’s right, it’s time for an heir. That’s all. But when he is ambushed by the unconventional Horry, he sees something special in her. She certainly does not act like a typical demure schoolroom miss. She is straightforward, audacious, and obviously good-hearted. He is amused and rather captivated, especially when in the interest of fair play, she starts to point out her own flaws compared with the divine “Lizzie.” Maybe it would be good not to be bored all of the time. Yes, she is very young and society will be, if not scandalized, at least taken aback. But Rule goes his own way, and he accepts her proposal. His sister is frustrated by his whim, but when she meets Horry, she approves. She loves her brother and realizes that this girl has the potential to touch his formerly untouchable heart.

Miss Horatia, the youngest of the three, had nothing to declare her lineage except her nose. Her hair was dark, her eyes a profound grey, and her brows, nearly black and rather thick were quite straight, and gave her a serious, almost frowning expression. No amount of careful training would induce an arch in them.

After the newlyweds return to London, Horry unexpectedly becomes the rage. She goes about thoroughly enjoying her new found status as a darling of The Ton, rather than the underappreciated and troublesome “other” Winwood. She is no longer the outsider in unfashionable clothes, not very promising looks, and an unconventional manner. She revels in the freedom afforded by not having to worry about money and spends accordingly. And she unfortunately appears to have inherited the Winwood “Fatal Tendency” for a predilection for gambling like her brother Pelham. I think part of this behavior, that many readers don’t like, including me TBH, is a desire to just fit in. And she is carried away by her own unlikely success. Not surprisingly, Rule knows how to handle Horry, and Horry likes and respects Rule. If fact, she is well on her way to falling in love with him, and he with her. But danger looms. There are three people, including Lord Rule’s ex-mistress, who do not have the best interests of him or his young wife at heart. There are plots.

I understand those who prefer Georgette Heyer’s more mature and levelheaded heroines. But after listening to the book with an open mind, I confess I’m still at a loss as to why some feel so much hostility towards our stuttering heroine. Some found reading her stuttering annoying. I just didn’t. It was an interesting quirk to add to the characterization of a girl who is spirited and forthright, albeit with rebellious tendencies. I also did not mind the age-gap, and not only because it was common for the times in which they lived. This time around I was reminded of the very successful marriage of Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline which makes me vicariously happy. Also the age difference is not treated lightly or brushed aside, but is fully acknowledged as a concern from the beginning and throughout the novel. Rule’s own self-doubts over the difference and Horry’s and his sister’s reassurances somehow put aside any concerns I might have had. But it is a reason for their rocky progression towards mutual understanding. AKA, the plot. That said, Horry needs a strong, wise, and mature hand. Someone she can respect and admire. I can’t imagine such a girl marrying a callow 22 year old. Most would be under her thumb from the jump. As for the mistress situation, the two went into the marriage thinking in terms of non-interference and going their own way. A marriage of convenience only. Even though they obviously started falling in love on their honeymoon (which occurs “off stage”), they either didn’t realize it or were afraid to acknowledge it. Rule would have gone back to his normal life out of habit and, reading between the lines, perhaps in denial (or alarm?) over his emerging feelings for Horry. It starts the progression of their relationship from the beginning. Whatever the reason, he cut ties with his mistress very soon. As completely opposite as the two women were, I suspect that once he had one or two encounters with “The Massey” he saw her in a new light and it only cemented his commitment to and feelings for Horry. As far as Horry herself, her detractors call her immature, too frivolous, silly, and even imbecilic. To that, to quote Horry, I say “Stuff!”. Yes, she is immature and frivolous at the beginning. But she does learn and grow. She is genuinely shocked when Rule kindly and calmly confronts her with her bills. When she is manipulated into a compromising position that might cause a scandal, she comes to Rule (sensibly and maturely) with the truth. She cuts ties with Lord Lethbridge (one of the villains) very effectively, despite his cleverness, with subtlety and no attention-getting dramatics. She is so effective that he is forced into desperation. Which she also deals with handily with a poker across the back of the head. Keep in mind she is 17 years old and he is a cunning and ruthless manipulator. Yes, she has a tendency to jump from the frying pan into the fire, but it’s out of fear that she will lose Rule’s trust and good opinion along with the mistaken idea that he still might prefer his mistress. She is unsure of herself and kind of desperate. Of course she is. And from her perspective, she wasn’t wrong to be. And really there are very few heroines (including in Heyer) who never put a foot wrong and always take the wise and sensible path. The defense rests. Ha Ha.

And I loved Rule. Behind his languor and insouciance he was a man of action who was always on top of the situation. He was very acute. Very Scarlett Pimpernel. He never doubts Horry for an instant. I loved his loyalty, the slow build of their romance, and the very sweet and satisfying final scene. I loved the descriptions of the rich Georgian lifestyle for all of its sins. Add in 2 duels, a missing jewel, a highwayman, and the funny antics of Pelham and his cohorts in their mission to rescue Horry, and, for me, this Heyer had it all.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

My Dear Aunt Flora

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By Elizabeth Cadell

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I hope I have this right, but I listened to this on Audible so there is no way I can realistically check my facts. Our narrator, Jonquil, “Jonny” and Phyl grew up together in the same home headed by Aunt Flora along with Phyl’s brothers, George and Hugh. Flora was Jonny’s mother’s best friend and was taken in by her when her parents died. Jonny ended up marrying Hugh, and Phyl married Hugh’s best friend, Tom. Phyl and Jonny both were widowed at the same time due to an automobile wreck, and Jonny was left with two young children. Phyl and Jonny live together and the book begins when they decide to escape their dreary cramped apartment and move to “Rushing” a large but old and dilapidated cottage (it doesn’t even have an indoor toilet!) in the middle of nowhere.

This is what is known as a “slice-of-life” novel, which is a type of novel I read a lot of. It focuses on the largely unremarkable happenings and relationships of everyday life. Gentle humor, unusual characters, and the joy of living are key. At least in the novels of this type that I read. Needless to say, there is usually a satisfactory if understated romance which provides closure and a happy prospect for the characters we have come to feel invested in. Atmosphere and ambiance are key. The ones I read are usually set in the English or Scottish countryside and set at least 50 years ago. True to form, nothing much happens in this one until the previously mentioned George comes to stay at Rushing Farm. It’s not specifically stated what’s wrong with him, but he has been ordered by his doctor to “rest.” So I’m guessing nervous breakdown. George is a famous actor and something of a babe magnet. He is also spoiled, entitled, and a prima donna. The family loves George, but they don’t like him very much. They are confident that as soon as he gets a load of Rushing’s primitive conditions, he will quickly leave for less spartan accommodations far far away.

At first I was somewhat entertained by George and his angry incredulity over what he was asked to put up with at Rushing Farm. The women pretty much just take him in stride. They don’t know how to “just say no” but they are not complete doormats either. They know that George will not be able to stand being in the middle of nowhere for long and are not majorly inconvenienced by George’s whims and megrims. The stage is set on the first day when George confiscates Jonny’s son Paul’s bedroom for his own. To meet his standards, he then hijacks various pieces of furniture and decor from Phyl, Jonny, and Flora’s rooms. When they object, he bosses them and manipulates them into agreeing. But the more George complains, the happier the family is because the sooner he will leave. That is, until Angela ,the aunt of a summer guest of Jonnie’s daughter, comes to visit. She is gorgeous, sweet, down-to-earth and couldn’t be less interested in George, despite his glamor and fame. George, on the other hand, falls head over heels for the first time in his life.

All of the main characters were likable but boring. There are two romances involved, one was a foregone conclusion with no “will they or won’t they” tension to be had. George and Angela’s story had a little more suspense, but Angela deserved better even if the reader comes to understand and be reconciled to George a little more by the end. Jonnie, who I guess is our main character because everything is seen through her eyes, is the most boring of all. Her primary personality traits are competence, quietude, and inarticulateness. Phyl is charmingly lazy and Aunt Flora is wise, no-nonsense, and caring. A romance for Jonnie is threatened but is nipped in the bud by her disinterest. The book just kind of ends with the wedding of one of the characters which is a hair’s breath from ending in disaster. Or what would pass for disaster in this gentle world. There were some unanswered questions which are not my favorite. Why was Flora’s cousin so anxious to talk to her, what secret will he impart that threatens the family’s equanimity? We never know. If there ever was one. There were some amusing bits where I kind of chuckled. The most exciting and funniest part was near the end where Jonnie finally loses her temper. It was all very low-stakes. The quirky characters were not quirky enough. After I read this, I found out this was Cadell’s first book and I readily believed it. It explained a lot. Still it was lovely and charming enough to earn 3 stars from me.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once in a Blue Moon

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By Kristan Higgins

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This was just terrific. So often when an author continues the stories of quirky or unconventional characters, they undergo a transformation in the second book. I guess to make them easier to write about or more fit the mold of a romantic hero or heroine. Not so in this one. Dr. Satan is just as arrogant and obnoxious as ever, and I was turning pages to see if Kristan could manage to make him fall in love and be lovable without compromising the integrity of his personality. She succeeds brilliantly.

After reading Look on the Bright side, I had no real desire to read a book about Dr. Satan aka Dr. Lorenzo Santini. Apparently I was in the vast minority. I was, however, very amenable to revisiting the Smith family and having the boring sensible sister as the heroine. Pairing the two together was perfect. In a family of 3 beautiful and accomplished sisters and a charming handsome brother, Winnie (Windsor) was ‘the other one”: Not beautiful and not brilliant. No one can even remember her name. In a typical KH running joke, Her brother teases her about this affectionately: “Winnebago,” “Winona” “Winster-the-Spinster” “Winipedia,” “Window”, “Winfrey,” “Windmill” “Winnipeg”. … yes, I think that’s all of them. But everyone loves her and depends on her, because she is the most competent person in Christendom. She has made being a “behind the scenes” person work for her.

When her party planning business collapses through no fault of her own, Winnie is hired as the personal assistant of the world renowned surgeon and former fake fiancé of her older sister Lark. He needs someone who can keep his life in order so he can focus on being brilliant. He is intimidating, demanding, cold and is the definition of “arrogant.”

Was he really supposed to go to Whole Foods to buy kale when he could be, oh, saving a life? Teaching future doctors? Writing a paper that would change the way a procedure would be done, therefore raising patient survival rates?… He…didn’t want to have to call the florist himself to order flowers for his mother’s birthday. It was enough that he even remembered his mother’s birthday. Most years, he even called.

Winnie is not intimidated. She knows her worth, and it is not long before Dr. Satan does too. She becomes his right arm and virtually indispensable. She is so good at her job, that Lorenzo realizes that eventually she will organize herself out of his life, no longer having to constantly be at his side to keep his life on an even keel. And that bothers him. He doesn’t know why it bothers him, but it does.

It is a very slow burn romance, and perfectly paced. Dr. Satan (“I’ve been working for you for a month now, can I just call you Satan?”) may start to show some vulnerabilities, sensitivity, and a sense of humor, but then he will do or say something to prove once again he will never quite get off “the spectrum” completely. Things do blow up a few times, (how could they not?) but Kristan never does the predictable thing, to my great relief. Winnie always saves the day with her aversion to drama and unshakeable good sense. I loved her, never more so when she forgets she is the steady predictable one. And yes, she does do that, but only on occasion, and usually under the influence of alcohol.

As always, Kristan’s ability to make you laugh, then touch your heart, make her one of my top 5 favorite authors. One of the few who has never disappointed me the least little bit. This book is described as a novella, but it doesn’t read like one. Her later books are more “women’s fiction” than romance and are great. But this one is unabashedly a romance. And one of her most romantic ones. It is a little shorter because she took a metaphorical red pencil to most of the “women’s fiction” stuff, but somehow left a lot of depth on the page.

Rating: 5 out of 5.