................ Lisa Reads ................

Murderous Procession, by Ariana Franklin

2010-04-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

In 1176, King Henry II sends his daughter Joanna to Palermo to marry his cousin, the king of Sicily. Henry chooses Adelia Aguilar, his Mistress of the Art of Death, to travel with the princess and safeguard her health. But when people in the wedding procession are murdered, Adelia and Rowley must discover the killer's identity . . . and whether he is stalking the princess or Adelia herself.

I have waited a whole year for this one, I love Franklin's writing, the characters are so enjoyable. We revisit some character who have not been seen in a while making this one extra special. So hope there will be more Mistress books. 4.5 out of 5

High ans Bess, By Susan Higginbotham

2010-04-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Blurb:Forced to marry Hugh le Despenser, the son and grandson of disgraced traitors, Bess de Montacute, just 13 years old, is appalled at his less-than-desirable past. Meanwhile, Hugh must give up the woman he really loves in order to marry the reluctant Bess. Far apart in age and haunted by the past, can Hugh and Bess somehow make their marriage work?
Just as walls break down and love begins to grow, the merciless plague endangers all whom the couple holds dear, threatening the life and love they have built.

A little on the light side but overall a sweet love story. 3 out of 5

Company of Liars, By Karen Maitland

2010-04-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Desperate to outrun the Black Death ravaging England during the sodden summer of 1348, nine disparate souls band together in this harrowing historical, which infuses a Canterbury Tales scenario with the spectral chill of an M. Night Shyamalan ghost story. Maitland (The White Room) gives each of the travelers a potentially devastating secret. How did narrator Camelot, a glib-tongued peddler of false relics and hope, really come by that hideously scarred face? What is magician Zophiel hiding inside his wagon? And just who is Narigorm, the spooky albino girl whose readings of the runes are always eerily on target? As the nine strangers slog cross-country through the pestilential landscape, their number shrinking one by one, they come to realize that what they don't know about each other might just kill them.
This was an excellent book, moving right along part mystery part history lesson. With one of the best endings I have read in a while. I hope the characters are revisited. 4.5 out of 5

Alice I have Been by, Melanie Benjamin

2010-03-10T07:09:00.001-08:00

Blurb: Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.
That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.
For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.
A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.
I just could not get into this book, I thought the author was trying to make Lewis Carroll out to be a pervert, maybe he was but I don't want to read out one. 2 out of 5

A Beautiful Blue Death, By Charles Finch

2010-03-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery.
Prudence Smith, one of Jane’s former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The grand house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and though Prue had dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by the motive for the girl’s death.
When another body turns up during the London season’s most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealousy that killed Prudence Smith? Or was it something else entirely? And can Lenox find the answer before the killer strikes again—this time, disturbingly close to home?
Finch is a new author to me, I decided to start this series at the beginning. So far there are three Lenox mysteries. I read somewhere how they were comparing the main character Lenox to Sherlock Holmes. I didn't see any resemblance between the two other than they are both white males that like to solve crimes. While I did like parts of the story and plan to read book two. I had a difficult time finishing the book. Found it slow and some of the dialogue boring some words like "Sir" used far to much in conversations. 2.5 out of 5

Drood, By Dan Simmons

2010-03-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

Blurb: On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens--at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world--hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever.
Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research . . . or something more terrifying?
Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), DROOD explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, DROOD is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.
This is the first Simmons book I have read, I was intrigued with the books premise, I felt the book was way too long almost 800 pages. Found the skipping from the past to future, and present all a bit too much. But there were some excellent parts. Simmons draws the seedy part of London well that along with the Dickens/Wilkie interaction are the best parts. But I didn't feel he really ever captured the spirit of Drood. 3 out of 5

Deanna Raybourn, The Dead Travel Fast

2010-02-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all.
With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh—and a disappointed suitor—far behind. She is bound for Rumania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence.
She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians, replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle's master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.

Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora's imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute—Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway.
Before her sojourn is ended—or her novel completed—Theodora will have encountered things as strange and terrible as they are seductive. For obsession can prove fatal…and she is in danger of falling prey to more than desire.

I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to. The setting was dark along with the characters. 3 out of 5

Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler, The Monsters Mary Shelley & The Curse Of Frankenstein

2010-02-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

Blurb:The remarkable true story of Frankenstein's origins and the curse on its creators.
On a dark and stormy night in 1816, on the shore of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, Lord Byron, famed English poet, challenged his friends to a contest--to write a ghost story. The assembled group included the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley; his lover (and future wife) Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; Mary's stepsister Claire Claremont; and Byron's physician, John William Polidori. The famous result of that night was Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a work that appeared in print two years later and has retained its hold on the popular imagination for almost two centuries. Less well-known was Polidori's work, the first vampire novel. It too would inspire a legend (and most directly Bram Stoker's Dracula), as well as many nightmares. And the evening begat a curse, too: Within a few years of Frankenstein's publication, nearly all of those involved met untimely deaths.

THE MONSTERS tells the riveting story of the real-life characters surrounding the creation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It reveals not just the origins of two of the most famous monsters in popular culture, but the monstrous nature of the young people who gathered on the shore of Lake Geneva. Gripping and spooky, THE MONSTERS is unforgettable.

One of the most well written and engaging biographies I have read. I new very little about these 5 people before, now I have better understanding of who they were and just how great. To me Byron benefited most from the Shelley's while Percy gained more from friendship with Byron. Mary Shelley may have never written Frankenstein if not for Byron that summer. 5 out of 5

Katherine McMahon, The Alchemist's Daughter

2010-02-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

Blurb:Dark secrets haunt the manor house at Selden in Buckinghamshire, where Emilie Selden, motherless, fiercely intelligent and more beautiful than she realises, has been raised in near isolation by her father.

John Selden, student of Isaac Newton, is conducting a bold and secret experiment. He aims to turn Emilie into a brilliant natural philosopher and alchemist. Secluded in his ancient manor house, with only their two servants for company, he fills her with knowledge and records every step she takes.

In the spring of 1725, when Emilie is eighteen, father and daughter begin their most daring alchemical adventure of all - an attempt to breathe life into dead matter. But their work is interrupted by the arrival of two strangers, one a researcher into the life of plants, the other a dazzling young merchant. During the course of a sultry August, whilst her father is away, Emilie is caught up in the passion of first love and, listening for the first time to her heart rather than her head, she makes her choice…with consequences that are far-reaching and tumultuous.
While the story really isn't anything new. A story of a women who makes a choice to love over her fathers wishes. And comes to realize just how much her father meant to her. Overall I liked the premise and kept wondering how it would all end if her husband would turn out to be a user, if she would find peace with her choices. 4 out of 5

Alice Munro, Too Much Happiness

2010-01-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

10 Short Stories that left me wondering.... I found all the stories to be about sad parts of life. Of course life isn't just wine and roses but I generally like my books to be balanced, some happiness, some trials and tribulations. Munro does a wonderful job of making her case that events in our early years shape our lives. We all change and must except people for who they are at the time. 3 out of 5 stars.

Where Serpents Sleep, By C.S. Harris

2010-01-12T05:24:00.000-08:00

Blurb: London, 1812. The brutal slaughter of eight young prostitutes in a house of refuge near Convent Garden leaves only one survivor—and one witness: Hero Jarvis, reform-minded daughter of the Prince Regent's cousin, Lord Jarvis. When the Machiavellian power broker squashes any official inquiry that might reveal his daughter's unorthodox presence, Hero launches an investigation of her own and turns to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help. Still struggling to come to terms with the loss of his lover, Kat Boleyn, and the resultant estrangement from his father, Sebastian is at first reluctant to agree. But the callous violence of the murders—combined with the opportunity to provoke his archenemy, Jarvis—prompts him to act.
This is my favorite book and cover of the series. The book moves smoothly with characters true to their time period. Hero is a strong independent young women who is enjoyable to read about. I hope there will be more of these to read. 4.5 out of 5

Philippa Gregory, The White Queen

2009-12-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

Description: Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors.

The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

While I think Gregory is an excellent story teller, I found this book to be a little over romantic. But overall a very good book about a women who is not written about all that much. I hope to see more books about her. 4 out of 5

C.S. Harris, When Gods Die

2009-12-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

June, 1811. On a summer's evening at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the beautiful young wife of an aging Marquis is found dead in the arms of the Prince Regent himself. From her back protrudes a jeweled dagger that once belonged to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Around her neck lies an ancient blue stone and silver necklace said to have been worn by the Druid priestesses of Wales. Legend credited the necklace with mysterious powers—until it was lost at sea with its last owner, the mother of Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin.
Second book in a series about a Nobel man with a heart. The story digs deeper into the mystery surrounding the hero's mother whom Devlin thought drowned off the coast of Brighton. It's now looking as if she lives, that she sailed away from her family. Leaving behind an 11 year old boy to a father that may not be his. The most interesting thing about Harris's writing to me is her layers of mystery that she is slowly building up to. She has created like able characters who are true to their time period. I did skip a few pages though but overall a good story. I keep reading because I care for her characters and want to know how the mysteries within will end. 4 out of 5

Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold

2009-12-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

Blurb: At the end of her life, Catherine, the cast-off wife of Charles Dickens, gave the letters she had received from her husband to their daughter Kate, asking her to donate them to the British Museum, "so the world may know that he loved me once." The incredible vulnerability and heartache evident beneath the surface of this remark inspired Gaynor Arnold to write Girl in a Blue Dress. Arnold brings the spirit of Catherine Dickens to life in the form of Dorothea "Dodo" Gibson – a woman who is doomed to live in the shadow of her husband, Alfred, the most celebrated author in the Victorian world.
This book made me very thankful of what time period I live in. To have a husband set a wife asside as Dickens did is just so unimaginable to me. Gaynor does an excellent job of bringing the overly self involved Dickens to life. I read a great deal about Dickens before reading this book so I could see how Gaynor would weave fact with fiction. I only wish she would have had Dickens and the fictional Gibson's childhoods more the same. It would have made Dickens to be more understood of some of the things he did in life, how obsessed he was with work and providing for his family, and in some ways it would have made him even more selfish for casting off his unwanted wife. Overall and excellent first author book with a story that moves right along with well written characters. Gaynor lets us view through Victorian era window to visit with a family with a full range of emotions. 5 out of 5

Charlaine Harris, From Dead To Worse

2009-12-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

Blurb: After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina, and the manmade horror of the explosion at the vampire summit, Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, yearning for things to get back to normal. But her boyfriend Quinn is among the missing. And things are changing, whether the weres and vamps in her corner of Louisiana like it or not. In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death…and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood ceases flowing, her world will be forever altered.Book 8 in the series. We just love the HBO series True Blood, so I wanted to listed to one of the CD books. Overall the story is very good but some of the characters are a little different from the show, this is the only fault I have. Book has excellent flow and well developed characters. 4.5 out of 5

C.S. Harris, What Angels Fear

2009-11-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

Blurb: The year is 1811. As old King George III sinks deeper into madness and the threat of social unrest and revolution haunts the privileged classes, a beautiful young woman is found raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient parish church not far from Westminster Abbey. An ornate dueling pistol discovered tangled in the blood-soaked folds of Rachel York's cloak and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experiences in the Napoleonic Wars. When a vicious attack during his arrest leaves a constable near death, Sebastian must run for his life.
Set at the beginning of the Regency with well written characters. 4 1/2 our of 5

C.S. Harris, What Remains Of Heaven

2009-11-18T10:27:00.000-08:00

Blurb:London 1812. When the controversial reform-minded Bishop of London is found bludgeoned to death in an ancient crypt beside the corpse of an unidentified man murdered decades before, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, reluctantly agrees to help with the investigation.

To Sebastian's consternation, the last person to see the Bishop alive was Miss Hero Jarvis, a woman whose already strained relationship with St. Cyr has been complicated by a brief, unexpectedly passionate encounter. As his search for the killer leads him from the back allies of Smithfield to the power corridors of Whitehall, Sebastian must confront the well-guarded secrets of his own family's past—and a devastating truth that could ultimately force him to question who—and what—he really is.
I just love this cover. One of the biggest rules is never to buy a book based on it's cover, but that is exactly what I did. This is book five another rule broke starting a series at the end instead of the beginning, but I couldn't find book one. The characters are well written, true to their time period, Harris has a way of making you not really sure who the killer or evil doer is until the end. Harris's books are fst paced, flow well with just the right mix of action and dialog. Enough so I have tracked down the other 4 books and now am reading them in order. 4.8 out of 5

The King's Nun: A Novel of King Charlemagne, by Catherine Monroe

2009-11-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

In the eighth century, a woman with a mind of her own rarely found more than scorn and abuse. Such is life for Amelia of Ardennes, until she becomes a novice in the MŸnster-Bilzen Abbey. In the cloistered world of the church she just might reach her potential as an intellectual and spiritual being. But when Charlemagne, the most powerful man in Europe, visits the abbey, Amelia is chosen to escort the charismatic king and her life is forever changed. Enamored of her spirit and intelligence-as well as her beauty-the king brings her to the palace to act as his trusted advisor. As time passes, the bond between them grows stronger, as does Amelia's determination to become an abbess. And when Charlemagne is pulled away by war, Amelia finds herself torn between her unrequited affection for the king and her devotion to her calling.
I found this book not as rich in history as most period books are, I liked the characters and finished but she's not reached auto buy status. I also found the book a little short, I am sure there isn't much written about this Sainted Women but that should not stop and author, should it? 3 out of 5

Seduction Is Forever, by Jenna Petersen

2009-10-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Blurb: Master spy Emily Redgrave hasn’t been the same since a night six months ago when she was cut down by a would-be assassin’s bullet. Though she is physically recovered, she’s still haunted by memories of the trauma and regrets for what almost happened. She’s desperate to re-enter the field and regain her confidence. When she’s assigned to follow and protect Grant Ashbury, the Earl of Westfield, she reluctantly accepts, knowing this ‘babysitting’ duty could very well lead to more advanced cases.
Generally I shy away from spy type novels, but this one had just the right mix. With a good plot and well developed characters. 4.5 out of 5

Built of Books, By Thomas Wright

2009-10-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

A very well researched and interesting book about how the books Wilde read through out his life shaped everything about him. But most importantly they shaped how and what he wrote. A very sad and interesting book. 4.5 out of 5

Wicked All Day, by Liz Carlyle

2009-10-06T08:57:00.001-07:00

Blurb:Miss Zoë Armstrong is beautiful, charming, rich,and utterly unmarriageable. So, while she may be the ton's most sparkling diamond, her choice of husbands looks more like a list of London's most unsavory fortune hunters. Since a true-love marriage seems impossible, Zoë has accepted -- no, embraced -- her role as society's most incomparable flirt and mischief maker...until in one reckless, vulnerable moment, her future is shattered.
Stuart Rowland, the brooding Marquess of Mercer, has been part of Zoë's extended family since she was a child. As dark and cynical as Zoë is lively, Mercer has always known they would be the worst possible match...until his scapegrace brother Robert does the unthinkable, and winds up betrothed to Zoë. Now, secluded on Mercer's vast estate to escape a looming scandal and the ton's prying eyes, Zoë and Mercer may find that a dark obsession has become a tempestuous passion that can no longer be denied.

All right so this is by far not one of my favorite reads by Carlyle. I thought she spent too much time having her characters doing the same things in other words the book was slow, and you knew where the characters where going at all times. No surprises, nothing new, wonderful characters in typical situations. 3 out of 5

Wishful Drinking by, Carrie Fisher

2009-10-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Blurb: Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It's an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty -- Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher -- home wrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandised on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.
I just love Carrie Fisher's writing, she's funny and a bit scary at the same time. I admire her spirit. I've read all four of her books and this is the best so far. 5 out of 5

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

2009-09-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

A Synopsis of Pope Joan
As its title reveals, the novel is based on the life of one of the most fascinating, extraordinary women in Western history--Pope Joan, a controversial figure of historical record who, disguised as a man, rose to rule Christianity in the 9th century as the first and only woman to sit on the throne of St. Peter.

Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against the medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn to read and write. When her older brother is killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak and identity, goes to the monastery of Fulda, and is initiated into the brotherhood in his place. As Brother John Anglicus, Joan distinguishes herself as a great Christian scholar. Eventually she is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of love, passion, and politics. Triumphing over appalling odds, she finally attains the highest throne in Christendom.

Clearly a women before her time, I found her frustrating and interesting. 4 out of 5

Meredith Duran, Written on Your Skin

2009-09-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Blurb:Beauty, charm, wealthy admirers: Mina Masters enjoys every luxury but freedom. To save herself from an unwanted marriage, she turns her wiles on a darkly handsome stranger. But Mina’s wouldbe hero is playing his own deceptive game. A British spy, Phin Granville has no interest in emotional entanglements…until the night Mina saves his life by gambling her own.

Loved her 2nd book much more, I found this one had to much going on that took away from the romance. 3 out of 5

Dawn Halliday, Highland Obsession

2009-09-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

Blurb:They were the unlikeliest of friends debauching their way through London: The Earl of Camdonn, a nobleman of vast wealth and power, and Scottish laird Alan MacDonald, a respected Jacobite with ambitions of his own.
But their friendship is destroyed when Alan marries the beautiful Sorcha Stewart-only to witness Cam kidnap her from their bedroom. Then Alan learns the truth: his bride was not an innocent. She took a lover before him-his friend-who taught her the ways of pleasure.
Now, Alan will do anything to get his wife back. Cam fights to redeem his honor, even as he refuses to give up his desire. Torn between love and duty, Sorcha must watch as the two men she desires go to war over her. And when the battle lines are drawn, all three lovers are lured into a triangle of forbidden passions.
I found the story ridiculous very disappointing the book fell way short in plot. 1 out of 5

Meredith Duran, Bound By Your Touch

2009-09-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Blurb:Silver-tongued Viscount Sanburne is London's favorite scapegrace. Alas, Lydia Boyce has no interest in being charmed. When his latest escapade exposes a plot to ruin her family, she vows to handle it herself, as she always has done. Certainly she requires no help from a too-handsome dilettante whose main achievement is being scandalous. But Sanburne's golden charisma masks a sharper mind and darker history than she realizes. He shocks Lydia by breaking past her prim facade to the woman beneath...and the hidden fire no man has ever recognized. But as she follows him into a world of intrigue, she will learn that the greatest danger lies within -- in the shadowy, secret motives of his heart.
My first book by this newer author, this is one of the most fast paced book I have ever read. One of the best heroes/heroines. An auto buy author from now on. 5 out of 5

Lydia Joyce, Whispers of the Night

2009-08-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Blurb:When four London Seasons fail to find her a suitable match, Alcyone Carter does the unthinkable and treks across Europe to marry a foreign nobleman she's never met. But on her wedding night, she discovers that her handsome, enigmatic husband is not the man he claims to be — and when a more sinister secret emerges, she escapes from his estate into the darkness rather than live a lie with a man she feels she can never know.

Ignited by his desire and his pride, Dumitru Constantinescu, Count Severinor, risks everything to follow Alcy from the depths of the Romanian forests into the decadent heart of Istanbul. It is there that they will become unwilling pawns in a game that forces them to confront the sensual passion they've discovered — and the dire threat that could cost them their lives.
This one drug on, had so much potential but became slow about half way through. 2 out of 5

Laura Lee Guhrke, With Seduction In Mind

2009-08-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Blurb:A thoroughly modern woman…
Daisy Merrick has to earn her living, but she keeps getting the sack. When her rash tongue costs her yet another job, the feisty, outspoken girl-bachelor is undaunted, and she comes up with a plan that could give her a future beyond her wildest dreams. There’s only one problem. Her success depends on a man, the most infuriating, impossible, immovable man she’s ever met.

A most notorious man…
Sebastian Grant, Earl of Avermore, is England’s most famous author, but when writer’s block steals his creativity, Sebastian becomes more well-known for his notorious reputation than his work. When Daisy arrives on his doorstep, hired by his publisher to help him write his next book, Sebastian has no intention of cooperating. The provoking, fire-haired beauty stirs his senses beyond belief, and when collaboration forces them together at his country home, Sebastian knows he has only one way out. Seduction.
Not my favorite in this series, but a good read. 3 1/2 out of 5

Lydia Joyce, Shadows of the Night

2009-08-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

Blurb: Fern and Colin Radcliffe had a conventional courtship and expected a conventional marriage. But Fern's wedding night leaves her shaken — and reborn. Driven by a desire to control her own destiny, she strikes out at her new husband in a passionate assertion of independence. In doing so, she awakens a secret craving in the recently bound couple — an exquisite erotic delight that ignites their love and creates an insatiable hunger for more.

To encourage this new, forbidden love, they spend their honeymoon alone at Colin's isolated estate — the perfect setting to explore a world of pain, pleasure, and power. But their exploration is interrupted by a devastating secret from Colin's past — a secret that threatens their future together...and their very lives.
Dark but a well written romance. 4 out of 5

Michelle Marcos, Wickedly Ever After

2009-08-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Blurb: After discovering her fiancé in the arms of a courtesan, Lady Athena McAlister comes to a frightful realization: Most men prefer the company of their mistresses to their wives. How can she, and other brides-to-be, become both wife and mistress to a man? In her quest for knowledge, she begs her grandfather to let her start a finishing school for marriageable ladies. There she and her friends discreetly invite London’s most notorious rakes to educate them on the art of seducing a man.

Marshall Hawkesworth’s sister has become far too knowledgeable about the ways of sex, and he suspects that her new finishing school is to blame. Marshall poses as a lecturer on several topics, including sensual kissing, and he soon finds Lady Athena to be a most apt pupil. But before he has her school shut down for good, he’s determined to give her a few private lessons she won’t soon forget.
Just ok 2 1/2 out of 5

Jennifer Ashley, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie

2009-08-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

Blurb, It was whispered all over London Society that he was a murderer, that he'd spent his youth in an asylum and was not to be trusted--especially with a lady. Any women caught in his presence was immediately ruined. Yet Beth found herself inexorably drawn to the Scottish lord.
I abbreviated the blurb. I bought this book based on customer review via Amazon. The book could not keep my attention, I did not finish. I found the mystery boring the heroines passion for a man she did not know a little too quick. Maybe if the last book I have read was not one of the best books I've read all year I could have gave this one more attention... Boring 2 out of 5

Tall Tales and Wedding Veils, Jane Graves

2009-08-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

Blurb, Marry in haste...
Accountant Heather Montgomery is a planner. So never in her wildest dreams did she think she'd run into sexy charmer Tony McCaffrey in Vegas, play lady luck, and celebrate his jackpot with a champagne-soaked night. And she certainly never expected to wake up the next morning married! How could this good girl pick a man whose fridge is empty and whose apartment is a disaster zone, yet still drives her so crazy with lust she can't see straight?

Lust at leisure!
Quickly hitched and happily ditched, Tony can't wait to gt back to his playboy ways. But when Heather's family is thrilled that their no-nonsense daughter is finally in love, he proposes a plan: stay married for a month to repay his good luck charm, even though she sterilizes his toothbrush and forbids anything between the sheets. But Heather is more than he bargained for--a sharp-witted, passionate woman who just might turn his near miss into wedded bliss!
This ones a keeper, Love Graves writing style the funniest best written characters I've read this year in Contemptorary style. 5 out of 5

Grave Goods, By Ariana Franklin

2009-08-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

Blurb,England, 1176. Beautiful, tranquil Glastonbury Abbey-according to legend the last resting place of King Arthur-has been burned almost to the ground. The arsonist remains at large, but the fire has uncovered two hidden skeletons, a man and a woman. The skeletons' height and age send rumors flying-could they be the bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere?

King Henry II hopes so. Struggling to put down a rebellion in Wales, he wants definitive proof that the bones are Arthur's. If the Celtic rebels are sure that the Once and Future King will not be returning fro the dead to aid them, Henry can stamp out the rebellion for good. He calls on Adelia Aguilar, Mistress of the Art of Death, to examine the bones.
This is the third Mistress book overall a very good read Franklin has a way with writing characters that are funny and fit their time period 4.0 out of 5 however the first book is still my favorite. Her next Mistress book will be out in April

A Duke of Her Own, Elosia James

2009-07-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

Blurb:A duke must choose wisely . . .
Leopold Dautry, the notorious Duke of Villiers, must wed quickly and nobly—and his choices, alas, are few. The Duke of Montague's daughter, Eleanor, is exquisitely beautiful and fiercely intelligent. Villiers betroths himself to her without further ado.
After all, no other woman really qualifies. Lisette, the outspoken daughter of the Duke of Gilner, cares nothing for clothing or decorum. She's engaged to another man, and doesn't give a fig for status or title. Half the ton believes Lisette mad—and Villiers is inclined to agree.
Torn between logic and passion, between intelligence and imagination, Villiers finds himself drawn to the very edge of impropriety. But it is not until he's in a duel to the death, fighting for the reputation of the woman he loves, that Villiers finally realizes that the greatest risk may not be in the dueling field . . .
But in the bedroom. And the heart.
Blurb does not really do the book justice, perfect characters perfect dialogue the best in Duchess series 5 out of 5

Janet Evanovich, Finger Lickin Fifteen

2009-07-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Synopsis:
UNBUCKLE YOUR BELT AND PULL UP A CHAIR. IT'S THE SPICIEST, SAUCIEST, MOST RIB-STICKING PLUM YET.
Recipe for disaster:
Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head —literally.
Throw in some spice:
Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she'll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.
Pump up the heat:
Chipotle's sponsor is offering a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.
Stir the pot:
Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.
Add a secret ingredient:
Stephanie Plum's Grandma Mazur. Enough said.
Bring to a boil:
Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, A.K.A. Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger's problems and not jump his bones?
Steph and the gang are back Evanovich never dissapoints. 4 1/2 out of 5

Mary Balogh, Seducing an Angel

2009-07-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Blurb: The recently widowed Cassandra Belmont, Lady Paget, has arrived in London during the social Season. But she receives neither welcome nor sympathy from society. Quite the opposite. There are questions surrounding the death of her husband, and rumor has it that Cassandra murdered him. Her son-in-law has used threats rather than law to cut her off without a penny. But she had dependents as well as herself to support. Her situation is desperate indeed when she decides there is only one way to save them all from destitution. She goes in search of a wealthy, well-connected protector-and she settles upon the Earl of Merton.
A sweet hero 4 out of 5 wait for paperback.

Loretta Chase, Don't Tempt Me

2009-07-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

Spunky English girl overcomes impossible odds and outsmarts heathen villains.
That's the headline when Zoe Lexham returns to England. After twelve years in the exotic east, she's shockingly adept in the sensual arts. She knows everything a young lady shouldn't and nothing she ought to know. She's a walking scandal, with no hope of a future unless someone can civilize her.
Blurb:
Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont, is no knight in shining armor. He's cynical, easily bored, and dangerous to women. He charms, seduces, and leaves them—with parting gifts of expensive jewelry to dry their tears. But good looks, combined with money and rank, makes him welcome everywhere. The most popular bachelor in the Beau Monde can easily save Zoe's risqué reputation . . . if the wayward beauty doesn't lead him into temptation, and a passion that could ruin them both.
This one's a keeper, a book to pass around, her books just keep getting better and better. Sweet 5 out of 5

Sherry Thomas, Private Arrangements

2009-06-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Blurb: To all of London society, Lord and Lady Tremaine had the ideal arrangement: a marriage based on civility, courteousness, freedom—and living on separate continents.
But once upon a time, things were quite different for the Tremaines…When Gigi Rowland first laid eyes on Camden Saybrook, Lord Tremaine, the attraction was immediate and overwhelming: she simply had to have him. But what began in a spark of passion ended in betrayal the morning after their wedding—and Gigi wants to be free to marry again. Now Camden has returned from America with an outrageous demand—an heir—in exchange for Gigi’s freedom.
Gigi's decision will have consequences she never imagined, as secrets are exposed, desire is rekindled—and one of London’s most admired couples must either fall in love all over again…or let each other go forever.
The book had so much potential, 4 out of 5 disappointing

Animal Instincts, By Gena Showalter

2009-06-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

Blub from booklist: After her husband's betrayal, event planner Naomi Delacroix is getting in touch with her inner tigress and trying to go from doormat to Rambo. Wealthy businessman Royce Powell, the most eligible bachelor in Dallas, has loved Naomi ever since he saw her at a party she put together. Now Royce has hired her as the planner for his mother's extravagant birthday event. His demand that she work only for him during this period guarantees some quality time together. Royce is handsome, attentive, and romantic--in other words, the perfect man. However, Naomi's experiences with a fickle father and a philandering husband make her doubt Royce and his intentions. Secondary characters, including Naomi's twin cousins, the cleverly named Kera and Mel, add many humorous moments. Although the subtext, learn to trust, is a serious one, Showalter writes with a sparkling humor that keeps the story light without losing poignancy
A little disappointed 4 out of 5

Gena Showalter, To Catch a Mate

2009-06-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Blurb:Jillian Greene is always getting caught in the act—it's her job! Working at Catch A Mate, Jillian gets paid by suspicious wives to smile, flirt and prove that no man can be trusted around the opposite sex. Her only ground rule? She never gets physical. Until a heart-stoppingly gorgeous male walks in…

Marcus Brody has just been hired as bait to test female fidelity. But the last thing Jillian needs is a partner…especially an infuriating, irresistible man who's got her fantasizing about tearing off his clothes.
Book is so much more than decribed. 5 out of 5 a hot keeper

Sherry Thomas, Not Quite a Husband

2009-06-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

Blurb: Their marriage lasted only slightly longer than the honeymoon—to no one’s surprise, not even Bryony Asquith's. A man as talented, handsome, and sought after by society as Leo Marsden couldn't possibly want to spend his entire life with a woman who rebelled against propriety by becoming a doctor. Why, then, three years after their annulment and half a world away, does he track her down at her clinic in the remotest corner of India?

Leo has no reason to think Bryony could ever forgive him for the way he treated her, but he won't rest until he’s delivered an urgent message from her sister—and fulfilled his duty by escorting her safely back to England. But as they risk their lives for each other on the journey home, will the biggest danger be the treacherous war around them—or their rekindling passion?
Great characters 4 out of 5

Jenna Petersen,

2009-06-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Blurb: Blackmailed into a marriage five years ago, and forced by their overbearing families to consummate that union so it could never be legally questioned, Victoria and Justin Talbot have been more than happy to live apart ever since, although neither one has quite forgotten the one night they shared.
But now Victoria has been forced to come to London in the disguise of London’s most talented and sought after courtesan. Invading Justin’s world, she is on a desperate search to find a missing friend and stay clear of her very angry, suddenly possessive husband. Only this time, one taste is not going to be enough for Justin. He is determined not only to uncover Victoria’s secrets, but to claim her, body and soul.
4.5 out of 5 a keeper, hot

Additions to my reading pile.

2009-06-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

For want of a crown its towns were plundered and torched, its women raped and slaughtered, its men used as fodder for transitory victories.
This was England from 1135 to 1154. For nineteen years two royal rivals -- one intent on retaining his ill-gained crown, the other demanding it as the rightful heir -- waged a violent, bloody war against each other.
Blurb from Authors website.

The long-awaited sequel to Sharon Kay Penman's acclaimed novel When Christ and His Saints Slept, Time and Chance recounts the tempestuous marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II in a magnificent story of love, power, ambition-and betrayal.
Blurb from authors website.

The mad bad Duke, By Jennifer Ashley

2009-06-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

Blurb: Historical paranormal
Meagan Tavistock can easily see how Alexander earned the nickname Mad, Bad Duke. His deep blue eyes promise sinful pleasure and his rich voice intimates that as soon as they are skin to skin, he’ll fulfill desires she isn’t even aware of. When a love spell misses its intended target, Meagan can no longer resist the temptation...until the magic wears off, leaving the pair in a most compromising position. Their only option is a marriage that thrusts Meagan into a new world of high danger, dark secrets, and a passion so intense she can’t help wondering: Is it the lingering power of the spell or true love at last?
Read it one night very hot 4.5 out of 5

Mistress In the Art of Death, By Ariana Franklin

2009-06-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Synopsis

In medieval Cambridge, four children have been murdered. The Catholic townsfolk blame their Jewish neighbors, so to save them from the rioting mob, the Cambridge Jews are placed under the protection of the king. King Henry II is no friend of the Jews-or anyone, really-but he believes in law and order, and he desperately needs the taxes he receives from Jewish merchants. Hoping scientific investigation will catch the true killer, Henry calls on his cousin, the King of Sicily-whose subjects include the best medical experts in Europe-and asks for his finest "master of the art of death," the earliest form of medical examiner. The Italian doctor chosen for the task is a young prodigy from the University of Salerno, an expert in the science of anatomy and the art of detection. But her name is Adelia; the king has been sent a "mistress of the art of death."

In a backward and superstitious country like England, Adelia faces danger at every turn. As she examines the victims and retraces their last steps, Adelia must conceal her true identity in order to avoid accusations of witchcraft. Along the way, she's assisted by one of the king's tax collectors, Sir Rowley Picot, a man with a personal stake in the investigation. A former Crusader knight, Rowley may be a needed friend...or the fiend for whom they are searching. As Adelia's investigation takes her along Cambridge's shadowy river paths, and behind the closed doors of its churches and nunneries, the hunt intensifies and the killer prepares to strike again...
very good. 4.5 out of 5

Nicola Cornick, Confessions of a Duchess

2009-05-31T18:49:00.001-07:00

When unscrupulous village squire Sir Montague Fortune discovers that he can revive all the ancient taxes in the village of Fortune's Folly he causes uproar amongst the populace, for the medieval Dames' Tax will allow him to take half the dowry of every unmarried woman in the village unless she weds within the year. Soon the village is bustling with fortune hunting bachelors out to persuade the ladies that it would be preferable to marry them than to lose their fortunes...
Love this authors blog.
Great characters interesting story 4 out of 5

A Hint of Wicked by, Jennifer Haymore

2009-05-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Synopsis
What happens when a lady desires not one man, but two?

CAUGHT BETWEEN DUTY AND DESIRE…
Sophie, the Duchess of Calton, has finally moved on. After seven years mourning the loss of her husband, Garrett, at Waterloo, she has married his best friend and heir, Tristan. Sophie gives herself to him body and soul…until the day Garrett returns from the Continent, demanding his title, his lands-and his wife.

TORN BETWEEN TWO HUSBANDS…
Now Sophie must choose between her first love and her new love, knowing that no matter what, her choice will destroy one of the men she adores. Will it be Garrett, her childhood sweetheart, whose loss nearly destroyed her once already? Or will it be Tristan, beloved friend turned lover, who supported her through the last, dark years and introduced her to a passion she had never known? As her two husbands battle for her heart, Sophie finds herself immersed in a dangerous game-where the stakes are not only love…but life and death.
Hot 4.5 out of 5

2009-05-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Synopsis

Wedding bells celebrating the arranged marriage between the lovely Duchess of Beaumont and her staid, imperturbable duke had scarcely fallen silent when a shocking discovery sent Jemma running from the ducal mansion. For the next nine years she cavorted abroad, creating one delicious scandal after another (if one is to believe the rumors).

Elijah, Duke of Beaumont, did believe those rumors.
But the handsome duke needs an heir, so he summons his seductive wife home. Jemma laughs at Elijah’s cool eyes and icy heart—but to her secret shock, she doesn’t share his feelings. In fact, she wants the impossible: her husband’s heart at her feet.
But what manner of seduction will make a man fall desperately in love…with his own wife?
Warm 4 out of 5

The Garden

2009-05-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

With the weather being so warm we already have cherry tomatoes and peppers.

The herbs are growing faster than can be used.

I will have to dry and store them for later use.

Tempted All night, by Liz Carlyle

2009-05-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

Synopsis

Even the most careful lady can be swayed by a scoundrel . . .

Lady Phaedra Northampton is a proper English miss—but burdened by a dark secret. She's buried her shame in running her wealthy brother, Lord Nash’s, households while hiding behind a sharp wit and dull wardrobe . . . until a reckless village maid's disappearance pulls her into London's seedy underworld.

A former mercenary and jaded spy-for-hire, Tristan Talbot, Lord Avoncliffe, now does little, and manages to do it scandalously. Though Tristan’s an out and out rogue, when his dying father begs him to delve into the secrets behind a notorious brothel—a perfect task for his talents!—Tristan can’t refuse. Is the brothel a front for a notorious Russian spy ring? Tristan is on the hunt—until his path collides with the oh-so-tempting Lady Phae.
Soon what should be a simple assignment becomes deliciously complicated . . . when deception and desire lead to an explosive passion—and deadly foes!

Loved it, very hot 5 out of 5

Curry Chicken

2009-05-20T09:28:00.001-07:00

Last night while surfing the net I found a Curry Chicken video. So today for lunch I had a go. Changing it up a bit for our personal taste. I omitted the fresh chile and curry paste because I could not find any at the grocery store, using fresh curry instead.

Overall it was very easy just a few ingredients. Serve over rice, if I were to make it again I would add more tomato paste and heavy cream and adding more salt.

1 med onion chopped small

olive oil to coat the pan for cooking chicken and onions

2 chicken fillets

2 tsp tomato paste

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/4 tsp slat

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 coriander

1 tsp curry powder yellow

3 Tbs heavy cream

Serve over steamed rice.