The War of the Flowers; Tad Williams

I has been a long long time since I've read a book written by Tad Williams. In fact, I've not read anything by him since I was _____ year old, lo those many many years ago. The only other book I've read by him is Tailchaser's Song. I don't remember how I heard of this book except that someone on my feed reader mentioned it in a post I read. I think I've almost eighty blogs on my reader though, so I've no idea which person mentioned it. Sorry! In my opinion, The War of the Flowers is a combination mystery/political thriller that's set in Faerie. Since it has been so long since I've read his work, I'm counting Mr. Williams as a new to me author. Overall I'd say it's a positive impression. :)

Theo Vilmos is a thirty year old man, chronologically speaking. Averse to "growing up", he behaves and has the emotional depth and mentality of an overgrown teenager. In the space of nine months or so Theo loses his girlfriend, their baby (to miscarriage) & his mother (to cancer). After settling his mother's estate he settles into a remote mountain cabin to try and put himself back to rights after an eventful several months.

Unfortunately for him, shortly after he's up there Theo gets attacked by a mysterious "thing" and to save his own life he's spirited through a magical doorway into Faerie. Little Applecore, a tiny sprite, was sent to open the door and bring Theo through. Applecore works for Lord Tansy. It was supposed to be a one time deal, but Theo's life becomes exponentially more complicated. Applecore becomes Theo's guide to all things Faerie. The "thing" following him has crossed as well. And Faerie has serious political problems. But what does all of this have to do with Theo?

Theo appears to be crucial to the power games whispering loudly through the lush homes in the City, but he doesn't know why or how. The "thing" is still following him, though. We follow Theo and Applecore and a few other friends Theo picks up along the way as Theo tries to stay one step ahead of both the "thing" and the political shenanigans. Then there's the question about Theo's great uncle's notebook & who & what the old gentleman had to do with anything in Faerie.

There are a lot of things I like about Mr. Williams' Faerie. For one, the surnames are all flowers (duh!) but most of the personal names are subtypes of flowers within that type. Er..for example, the Apple family all have related names: Seed, Skin, Pie, Pip, Doll, Tart, Tree, Wood, etc. The fairy aristocracy are all named after flowers: Tansy, Daffodil, Hollyhock, etc. you get the idea. The highest caste fairies don't have wings and are generally human size or larger.

Certain aspects of the mystery I figured out & others caught me totally by surprise. I guess that was the best thing, actually. When I realized I'd figured out one of the plot issues by page fifty or so I wondered what else Mr. Williams had up his sleeve. I wasn't disappointed. It is a little slow, things unfold in their own time. The reader really has to pay attention over the entire span of the book to get a glimpse of what might be coming.

Irish Trilogy (Gallagher Family); Nora Roberts

All images found on Fantastic Fiction

Jewels of the Sun

Written by Nora Roberts and published by Jove in 1999, Jewels of the Sun is the first of Ms. Roberts’ trilogy about the Irish Gallagher family. This is only my second foray (after more than an eight year hiatus) into Ms. Roberts’ body of work. What I came away with is an appreciation for Ms. Roberts’ insight into how individual members are meshed into a unit bringing strengths and weaknesses and needs and love. Each novel in the trilogy stands alone and can be read singly, although the strength of the family bond won’t be so apparent.

Jude Murray is one of those women who has drifted through much of her life on the currents of what others wanted for her, what she thought others expected of her. Finally Fate intervenes and Jude travels to Ireland for some breathing room. There, in a stereotypical quaint Irish village, Jude meets the Gallaghers. The three Gallagher siblings run the local pub and are trying to build its reputation as a destination for authentic traditional Irish music. And so the dance begins. Aidan Gallagher and Jude Murray with music provided by a local myth revolving around a fairy prince named Carrick and a local girl named Gwen.

Deftly done, yet while I appreciated the familial relationships and Jude’s character, I didn’t really get hooked into the relationship building. Aidan is indeed yummy, and Jude needs to come out from behind the clouds, but together they just didn’t click.



Tears of the Moon

Second in the Gallagher family trio, this one revolves around childhood pals Shawn Gallagher and Mary Brenna O’Toole. It’s one of my favorite plotlines, TBH, the opening of one’s eyes to the truth that your childhood pal is actually the love of your life. My attention was grabbed from the start because Shawn’s the one who has to do the wooing and strategizing. Complications get thrown in by Mary Brenna’s younger sister’s hormonally driven meddling, and by Carrick and Gwen’s interference. I must say that by the end I wished that I too could meet an Irishman who sings beautifully and is more than happy to cook and sing at the drop of a hat.

Unlike the first book, the relationship in Tears of the Moon caught and held my attention from the first. In the previous book, each person had become real to me, so that in this book I enjoyed looking at them from a new perspective. I must say I found Mary Brenna’s idea that you could make a childhood pal into a “friend with benefits” without repercussions laughter inducing, and yet, coming from her it was somehow believable that she would think she could do this.

For me that’s the magic of this book: each person is unique and authentic and realistically captured and the eventual evolution of their relationship feels natural and satisfying.



Heart of the Sea

Featuring the final Gallagher sibling, Darcy, and an American developer named Trevor Magee, this book turned out to be the most problematical for me. The Gallaghers have decided to ask the American to become business partners and open a performance space conjoined with the pub. Trevor and Darcy spark right from the start. He has money and connections, which Darcy always claimed she wanted in a man. To her credit, once she has a man who actually has these things Darcy reevaluates her position.

My problems are mostly with Trevor, secondarily with Darcy. At first Trevor and Darcy are simply satisfying their mutual lust. Then he discovers she can sing and his attitude changes slightly to lust with a helping of potential business relationship. My biggest hangup with Trevor is that Ms. Roberts never quite convinced me he loved Darcy just for herself. I never felt like I watched him fall in love with her for herself. I felt that it took too long to figure himself out and then it was too neatly done. IMO, Darcy caves in the end. I was mad. I wanted her to make him cringe and crawl a little bit more. I needed Darcy to make Trevor grovel. Oddly, I also felt that Trevor was pressured too much by Carrick who was very desirous of finally achieving his goal after a disastrous temper tantrum centuries ago.

So- overall, the Gallaghers were a success. Like all multi book sets, and indeed most anthologies, each book had individual strengths and weaknesses. The second one worked best for me, but Ms. Roberts is certainly deserving of the legions of fans who consistently place her at the top of the bestseller lists. All of the books were well done, including the one that turned out to be *meh* 'take it or leave it' and the one that I had some problems with. These are the first three books by Nora Roberts I've read in over eight or ten years. I think my library list will be growing.

Stronger Than Magic, H. Cullman

Stronger Than Magic was written by Heather Cullman and published by Topaz in 1997. I found STM on a list of fairy or fantasy related romances. I can't remember exactly which site, most likely All About Romance. A list of Ms. Cullman's work can be found HERE.

Alys Faire has been trapped in the fairy world trying to earn her way back to life within the mortal realm. Back in the day she was the proverbial "fairest of them all"- but she was also shallow, vain and manipulative and contributed to the death of the fairy king's son. As punishment she must learn her lesson and she can return to the mortal world. Alys is one hell of a slow learner, because she's been stuck with the fairies for five hundred years.

Finally she gets a turn on earth playing matchmaker for one Lucian Warre, Marquess of Thistlewood. Echoes of Alys' original misdeed echo down through time as Lucian's suffering is a direct result of Alys' previous behavior. It's payback time for little Alys. Lucian is a decorated soldier just back from the War. As such he's a little of a control freak, a little rigid and very much a difficult case for a matchmaker. At least, I would think so. Alys, however, figures this couldn't be so hard- decorated war hero, wealthy. No prob. right? The matchmaking mamas in London will be all over him.

Naturally anything involving the Faeries is more complicated than it first appears. I was pleased to see that both Lucian and Alys evolve into better people. Alys most especially. I thought Alys' sidekick Hedley Bragg was a riot. Every main character needs a buddy who deliberately messes everything up and yet also one who's there for him/her when the chips are down. This being a romance the requisite HEA is there. Stronger Than Magic will make it onto the temporary keeper shelves and I'll likely read it again before the end of the year to see of I still want to keep it.

A Lick of Frost; L.K. Hamilton

A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton was published this fall by Ballantine Books. This is the sixth book in the Meredith Gentry series and cannot be read as a stand alone. ALOF is short, only 274 pages- although the previous book Mistral's Kiss has only 212 pages. There are lots of readers out there who can't or won't read either of Ms. Hamilton's series or who have given up reading them for many different reasons. I only read this one & while I have misgivings and there are elements that put me off I have continued with Merry and her band of lovers. Read my comments on the previous book HERE.

In this installment, three of Merry's guards have been charged with raping a member of her Uncle Taranis' court. We watch as the platoon of lawyers carefully parse their every word, playing out an intricate chess game of words and hidden motives. Another assassination attempt is made which one of her men barely escapes with his life and that only with the help of a human weapon. The goblin twins arrive in Los Angeles with the Red Caps, each of whom want something different. Odd and unusual events happen to the house and land where Merry and her men are living- but what does it all mean?

Quite a bit happens in this action packed 274 pages. I wonder about Merry's claim of loving Frost and yet being remarkably intolerant with what she perceives as his biggest shortcoming. To me love means accepting all of your partner's flaws and loving them anyway, but Merry constantly whines about Frost all the while claiming to love him. It rings as a dissonance with me, I suppose. There is a big plot event, actually one of several, toward the end that strikes me as odd and unbelievable and too far fetched even for fiction. I'm curious about how Ms. Hamilton will try to pull it off.

If you're new to Ms. Hamilton's Merry series or are a fence sitter you might want to wait for the paperback. I've bought all of these as hardbacks, and despite some doubts and disappointments I plan to continue reading the Merry books. Ms. Hamilton has managed to pique my curiosity and hold my attention over the course of this series. There is plot momentum a plenty in this title, hang on to your seat!

September Synopsis

In my post about reading goals, titled Downward Mobility for anyone interested in such things, I mentioned my hope to finish 100 books this year. After totting up it turns out I've read 61 (including September's books). I've not made much progress toward that goal, but I've not given up yet. Below are links to the two books I posted my opinion on:

Dark Possession, Christine Feehan

Stardust, Neil Gaiman

Below are three others I didn't have time to write out an opinion on.

Shall We Dance? by Judith Lansdowne~ A traditional Regency wherein the reader comes in on a relationship after the courtship is over, but the hero has unfinished family business which stands in the way of the HEA. Comes after Ms. Lansdowne's Quiggley book. Both hero and heroine are in their mid to late 30 's. I'm a fan of Ms. Lansdowne's & this book is very good.

A Season of Virtues by Judith Lansdowne~ Another traditional Regency featuring a young Earl as a sleuth whose sidekick is a school chum, toss in a loving but meddling mother, a circus equstrienne, and a family whose last name is Virtue and you have a light, enjoyable couple of hours read. Oh yes- also stars a swearing parrot.

Folk Medicine by D.C. Jarvis~ Urged on me by my loving husband, who is very interested in natural health, holistic medicine and organic foods, herbs and supplements. D.C. Jarvis was a family practioner (M.D.) in rural Vermont. This was originally published in 1958 & precedes other more recently published books addressing the same or similar issues. Appears to be well researched. Discusses the effects of bad eating habits and how many ailments can be relieved by common pantry items. Interesting, but most likely mainly to persons interested in this subject area or those who are interested in life in rural New England prior to the mid 1950's.

Edited to Add~ Total of 6 DNFs so far this year.
Only 39 more to go! LOL 0_0

Stardust; Neil Gaiman

I finished this a while ago, but due to scheduling issues I've not had time to type up my thoughts. I enjoyed it very much. It was quite a change from the tone and substance of others of Mr. Gaiman's work. I am surprised and delighted. The copy I have is the movie tie in edition. Stardust was originally published in 1999, the edition I have is published by HarperCollins and copyrighted 2007.

Somewhere in the UK is a little town called Wall which physically marks the boundary between Faerie and humankind. Mr. Gaiman remarks in his book that every land that disappears from human's maps reappears in Faerie thus making that world ever growing and unknown in size. That really captured my imagination- the thought that no people, no country has been wiped off the face of history. Somewhere those people, that place, is alive and well and thriving well apart from human predation.

Anyway, once every nine years in Wall there is a fair in the meadow where Faeries and humans meet and trade. One year a young man and an enchanted Faery enjoy one night of blissful happiness resulting in a basket on the newly married (after the fair) man's doorstep. Thus Tristran Thorne is a halfling raised as an human. Tristran has an uneventful childhood and youth, although he falls in love with the wealthiest young lady in Wall. One evening they are together when they see a falling star and Tristran promises the young lady he'll bring her the star to win her undying love. Sounds very cliched I know, but trust me when I tell you the treatment is unique and worth reading.

So Tristram sets off beyond the wall into Faery, looking for the fallen star. He has a series of adventures, gets involved in nefarious political plots, discovers the truth of his parentage and gets turned into a mouse. As I read this the legend of, link follows: Tristran and Isolde constantly ran through my head, although I am pleased to report this book has a happier ending than the legend.

2 Young Adult Reads

Hannah's Garden by Midori Snyder

Cassieopeia Brittman has parented her mother Anne for most of her childhood, which was spent wandering the U.S. barely one step above homelessness. Finally Cassie and Anne have settled into a small university city south of Anne's (and Cassie's) birthplace, a small farm. After promising Cassie she'd spend her student years single and unattached, Anne brings Gunnar the Swedish Viking filmmaker home one morning. Poppie Brittman (Anne's father), a reclusive and eccentric (Aren't they always?) but extrememly talented painter is in ICU in the local communtiy hopsital. Anne and Cassie must drop everything to return to the small rural community Anne fled when Cassie was very small. All is not what it seems, though. Who is Melvin Steiger, really? Why does everyone in town like him when it is immediately obvious he's not helped Poppie around the property as he ought to have? Who is the mysterious fiddler who rescues Cassie more than once and how could he possibly be in a photo of Cassie's grandparents when Poppie was a babe?

This novel reminds me strongly of Solstice Wood by Patricia McKillip (my thoughts on Ms. McKillip's book in the title link). Less intense & less layered perhaps, but they both resonate. Excellent book. Plan to hunt up Ms. Snyder's other works at the library. Published by Viking in 2002.



Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins

A detailed, finely nuanced coming of age tale set in India and California. The Gardner family, most often of Berkeley CA has arranged to spend the summer in India doing various charity projects in the orphanage that raised Sarah Gardner to age 4. Sarah's daughter Jasmine is unhappy about the change of summer scenery, primarily because she's fallen in love with her best friend and business partner Steve Morales- who is being preyed upon by practically every girl that matters at their local school. Jazz would prefer to spend the summer at home & keep Steve safe. Of course, being 15, actually getting up the courage to tell him how she feels is impossible. India is wonderful and scary and interesting and overwhelming all at once. Each member of Jazz's family is compelled to change and grow before the end of summer and the long long flight to CA.

MS really kindled a desire to learn how to make yummy authentic Indian curries, made me reflect on the beautiful Indian women in our area- their saris and gold jewellry & how very feminine they look. Jazz suffers from many of the typical female pychological issues: low self esteem, poor body image, emotional honesty, etc, but what really touched me is Ms. Perkins' portrayal of a girl trying to wall herself into a protective cocoon and the country that helps her gain inner strength and courage.

Definitely planning to look up other works by Ms. Perkins. This title like others she's written are aimed at young adult readers.

2 April Books

The Dark Mirror, Juliet Marillier~

Would you send your four year old son far away to be raised by adults whose sole purpose is to mold him into a future monarch? Would you do it of you knew he would be raised ignorant of who his parents are until he became a young adult? Raised without the benefit of laughter or playtime and with only one other child- and a girl six years younger at that? Such a one would be Bridei, whose sole purpose is to be molded into a future monarch whose intention is to ensure the future of the old religion & beliefs and way of life in his kingdom. His childhood companion is Tuala, a child of faery, given directly to Bridei by the Goddess herself on the longest & holiest night of the year. Bridei must fight tooth and nail for the one thing he can claim as his own- Tuala. Tuala must overcome inbred, superstitious fears of her 'otherness' as well as Bridei's foster father's open distrust and dislike of her. Will Tuala and Bridei survive their childhood and achieve their dreams? Can they fulfill their destiny despite the meddling of humans and faeries (much like the meddling in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream)?

Published in 2004 by Tom Doherty Publishing. Link to Ms. Marillier's website in book title above.



Waifs and Strays, Charles de Lint~


Published in 2002 by Viking Books. Link to Mr. de Lint's website in book title above. A collection of short stories by Mr. de Lint themed around young adults. Some set in his fictional city of Newford. All are excellent. Guaranteed to make you want to hunt down Mr. de Lint's backlist- and it's a deep one.

The Summer King; O.R. Melling

Unlike the first book in this series (Hunter's Moon), The Summer King is bittersweet & heartfelt. There are themes galore: grief and mourning, denial and acceptance, life and death, sacrifice for the greater good. All of which are universal, none of which have pat answers. TSK is aimed at young adult audiences and stars a young woman on the brink of adulthood.

Laurel is returning to Ireland on the first anniversary of her twin sister's death. Her twin, Honor, died in what appeared to be a freak accident the previous summer. Laurel is mostly in denial about Honor being gone, an attitude which is not helped when Laurel reads Honor's diary and becomes suspicious about what really happened. There is a push-pull relationship with the male lead (Ian) & a time deadline. Faerie and the fate of humanity is integral, but what stood out most for me was Laurel's struggle to come to terms with Honor's death.

Like Hunter's Moon, The Summer King is a quest storyline. To achieve her goal, though, Laurel is forced to confront her inner demons and external forces working both for her and against her. For me, it was hard to balance Laurel's emotional struggles against the adventures she and Ian have together (and boy are they prickly!). Without giving anything away, I found the denoument simulatneously deflating and a relief & the epilogue sort of confused me yet was hopeful. I'm very muddled about it all, to be honest.

Then again, my own expectations of a stereotypical happily ever after, all problems neatly wrapped into a neat bow color my thoughts. Just as Laurel was stuck in denial, so am I stuck with hoping for a hint at a happy future. The Summer King is a thought inspiring work not easily set aside.

Hunter's Moon; OR Melling

This is the first in the Chronicles of Faerie series, originally pubbed years ago & is now being reworked & repubbed. Orla Melling is the pseudonym of an Irish Canadian author- or could be a Canadian Irish author, depending on how you look at things. Favorite little tidbits: the author supplies a glossary with pronounciation & translations & the book is filled with Gaelic poetry & lyrics & there have been at least two or three new words I had to look up. New vocabulary words for Scrabble games! Yay! Yes, I am a nerd.

Anyhow, Hunter's Moon is aimed at young adults. Ms. Melling's work reminds me of Tamora Pierce in that the heroines of this tale are young women on the cusp of full adulthood. HM is set in the present though & full of references to current musicians & technology. Gwen & Findabhair, which is pronounced fin-a-veer the book says (God I hope I spell that properly, I don't have the book to check), are cousins on a road trip/adventure in Findabhair's native country of Ireland. Gwen is actually American but the girls nurtured a close relationship despite the distance.

Gwen is a follower, thus when Findabhair changes the agenda Gwen goes along despite misgivings & disiking deceiving her aunt & uncle. Unfortunately, Findabhair has been bespelled by a hunky goth-type fairy guy & she ditches Gwen while they're illicitly camping inside a mound at Tara, the ancient seat of Irish kings (& fairies too). So Gwen wakes up alone in the mound. Where did Findabhair go & how can Gwen get her back? Will she prevail against the ancient magics conspiring to steal her cousin away for good? Also- hunky fairy guy #2 in command vs. young Irish guy who claims to be the hereditary king of his little island?? Decisions, decisions.

After that follows a wonderful road adventure, quest type storyline. Leprechauns and ancient magics older than faerie take their turn onstage. As I said- this book could be a tour guide for those of us in love with ancient places where the veil of the world is thin. Full of lore & poetry. Plus? An ending that made me cry. What more could a girl wish for?!

This is a library book, but I want one of my own. Enjoy!

2 Books

The Perfect Husband~

A traditional regency written by Jeanne Savery in 2001 and published by Zebra. This book worked for me primarily due to the matchmaking tiger. Let me back up. A young woman, terrified the gossips will discover her family's financial insolvency, traps a man in marriage. Not the man she hoped for either. He 'does his duty' and marries her and rescues her brother by buying him a commission in the military. However, he is naturally very angry and resentful of the flibbertigibbet he's been forced to marry. The young lady, eyes opened to helpful resources too late, resolves to be a proper wife and not complain and not push. The couple ends up falling in love with the helpful manipulations of a 'pet' tiger owned by friends.

A Sprinkle of Fairy Dust

An anthology with stories by: Elizabeth Bevarly, Elaine Crawford, Maggie Benson Shayne and Marylyle Rogers, published in 1996 by St. Martin's. Not a success, I'm afraid. Only Maggie Benson Shayne's and Marylyle Rogers' stories worked for me- and then only with reservations. The Marylyle Rogers short story because I've read all of her other novels in this series & like them because of the fairytale qualities (as oppposed to the realism). The M.B. Shayne story because- well, we all want love to win in the end, don't we??

Romance 2006 Stats

Romance Statistics:

Contemporary Romantic Suspense- 1
Fantasy romances- 4
Historical Romances (Incl. long format Regencies)- 14
Mythology based romances- 1
Love & Laughter/Paranormal- 1
Paranormal Romances- 18
Science fiction Romance-3
Traditional Regencies- 28

DNF- 7 novels & 1 short story:
1.Lady Scandal- Shannon Donnelly
2.Fire Song- Catherine Coulter
3.Warrior's Song- Catherine Coulter
4.The Dark Lord- Patricia Simpson
5.A Patriot's Heart- Stobie Piel
6.Rebellious Desire- Julie Garwood
7. Glynnis Campbell's short story in Knight's Vow.

Best New to Me Romance Author Alicia Fields

Best paranormal- Dark Demon by Christine Feehan

Best long historical- Duchess in Love by Eloisa James

Best Traditional Regency-
1.A Bird in Hand by Alison Lane
2.One Good Turn by Carla Kelly

Best Tearjerker- None this year

Best Adventure/Road- Road to the Isle by Megan Davidson

Favorite hero-
a) Tortured hero-
1. Valerius, Seize the Night by Sherilyn Kenyon
2.Rath Roiben, Tithe by Holly Black

Favorite heroine-
1.Liria, One Good Turn by Carla Kelly
2.Fleur Avondale, The Mystery Kiss by Judith Lansdowne.

Favorite couple-
1. Grey MacKeage & Grace Sutton, Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman
2. Adrian Tomas & Nell Harris, Sex, Lies & Vampires by Katie MacAlister
3. Vikirnoff von Schreider & Natalya Shonsky, Dark Demon by Christine Feehan

Honorable Mentions

Touched by Time by Leane Shawler for a unique combo of two of my favorite genres- traditional regency and paranormal.

Valentine's Change of Heart by E. Fairchild for one of the more true to life depictions of alcoholism's effects on family.

Dark Demon by Christine Feehan, for me, was everything I'd hoped the Dark series could become- strong, positive characterization, advancement of the overarcing subplot. The Dark series very nearly got dropped off of my TBB lists & Dark Demon renewed my hope that maybe Ms. Feehan has turned a corner.

What books coming out in 2007 am I most looking forward to? Last of the Red Hot Vampires by Katie MacAlister in March, Dark Possession by Christine Feehan, Desperate Duchesses by Eloisa James in June and Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas in March.

Reviews

I’ve managed to read four books over the last week or so. Three traditional Regencies and one paranormal erotica (aka the new Laurell K Hamilton).

Just Say Yes~

Written by Myretta Robens and published by Zebra in 2005,.this one has a cartoon cover which initially made me skip over it. Miss Caspar Hartwell, the vicar’s eighth daughter who was named after their only titled male relative, comes across one Geoffrey Dorton being licked to death by a large dog in a fallow field near her home. Being the eighth daughter means no dowry and Cassie isn’t afraid of hard work, so she likes Mr. Dorton and it’s ok since they’re sort of social equals. Except Mr. Dorton is actually Geoffrey Dorrington, Earl of Cheriton. Will she still love him when he reveals his true identity? Why is he playing at being a steward anyway? Will Cassie escape from the evil, slimy suitor her mother has chosen for her? Will Dorrington’s father permit his son to court a vicar’s daughter?

The Magnificent Masquerade~

Written by Elizabeth Mansfield and published twice; once by Jove in 1994 and once by Charter in 1987. This one features several chestnuts often found in this genre: the incorrigable daughter who must be married off in all haste because the parents can’t cope; the identity switch with the maid of all work, who just happens to be an impoverished nobleman’s daughter and the second son who has been busy raising hell at school and in London. However, this one involves quite a few scenes ‘behind the green baize door’ as it were. Scenes belowstairs with the servants. Ms. Mansfield reveals the hierarchy of servants’ social classes- who does what, sits where and has permission to interact with whom. Their daily schedule, etc. Fascinating stuff not often seen in romance novels. I enjoyed this novel, but it has a few too many timeworn plot devices and the time frame it too short (a little over a week).

Miss Haycroft’s Suitors~

Written by Emily Hendrickson and published by Signet in 1999 Miss Haycroft’s Suitors showcases a little legal nicety in England called a suit of seduction. Not an idea I’d seen in a Regency before, but Ms. Hendrickson discusses it briefly in her note at the end of the novel. Miss Haycroft also takes a steamboat picnic, which my daughter and I had to google just to check dates. According to Daughter, steamboats were in use in the colonies back in the mid to late 1780's. I presume they’d made their way to England by the Regency, but we didn’t do any more research into the details of steamboat history.

Anyhow. Miss Haycroft is nearing her 21st birthday and her aunt and uncle, her legal guardians, are attempting to force her into a marriage with an older stalker-type wealthy man. Impulsive and desperate Anne trusts a complete stranger to help her. Ms. Hendrickson does Justin Fairfax justice, by implying he initially helped Anne because she is attractive rather than out of plain chivalry. Anne moves into Fairfax’s aunt’s home. There follows a gothic tinged tale of attempted abduction, legal maneuvers and stolen kisses.



Mistral’s Kiss~

Written by LKH and published by Ballantine. I had to reread the previous novel, A Stroke of Midnight, before I began this one. I know LKH’s readers seem to be very polarized. Love her or hate her. No one in between. I don’t read the Anita series, so all of the baggage attached to that series doesn’t apply to me. Smartbitches wrote a post about LKH recently and the commentary was very interesting. I don’t categorize this series as romance, but rather a unique hybrid of urban fantasy and erotica. Therefore, in my mind, none of the Romanceland cliches, rules or stereotypes apply.

Merry Gentry is the niece of the current Unseelie ruler, Andais. Andais is infertile. Only fertile couples can rule in faerie, so Merry and Andais’ son Cel are supposed to be trying to prove their fertility by either becoming pregnant or impregnating someone depending on which person you’re talking about. Andais is a sadist and Cel is insane. Merry isn’t fully faerie. Therefore few of the inhabitants of faerie are pleased with Andais’ plans.

Merry has been chosen by the Goddess to be her vessel. Merry is descended from fertility goddesses, so anyone or anything the Goddess chooses to be brought back to power via Merry must be brought back through sex. Merry consistently chooses sex magic over violence or blood letting- two other ancient ritual ways of Goddess worship. So between the Goddess’ plans for Merry and Andais’ plans for Merry- she’s a busy busy girl.

Merry has brought several of her guards back to some degree of their former powers. The sithen reawakens and power invested vessels suddenly appear in her care. The Goddess has kept Merry quite busy reawakening various powers and aspects of faerie. As mentioned above, the health and fertility of the ruler directly impacts the health and fertility of all faerie- since both courts are currently ruled by infertile power hungry people, faerie is dying.

I’m hopeful that since Merry restored the fertility of Faerie by bringing the gardens back, by restoring water sources, by renewing the soil, etc. Perhaps now that Mistral’s powers have returned a little the Storm God’s lightning strikes will energize and restore the soil. You know, make it ready for planting?? And therefore help the fey get pregnant faster? In other words, maybe Merry has more of a chance to get pregnant now that the land itself is more fertile?

Ms. Hamilton’s plot arc has been quite slow across this book and the last book. Yet, I’m invested in what happens. This title doesn't stand alone, do not begin this series with this title. I enjoy delving into ancient mythology and symbolism. So I’m reasonably happy following along. However, this book was only 212 pages and $20 was pretty steep for the equivalent length of a traditional Regency. Especially considering the lack of signifigant plot advancement. I’m not irritated enough to wait until the paperbacks- but, well, we’ll see.

3 Books

I'm on a roll! Three in a row- LOL. Pathetic but true I'm afraid. Byzantium, Dark Celebration & Lover Awakened. Despite two of them being vamipre romances, they were all quite different.

Byzantium is a fictionalized account of St. Aiden. Set in the ancient world empires of the late 9th century, this book is an epic saga of a man of faith who is a monk, a slave, a spy, a friend and at the last- a mature & thoughtful man. I did grow weary of his unending rage at God though. You see, God didn't do what Aiden thought God really ought to do & thus Aiden spends quite a lot of the book railing against God. The potential wife turns him down because Aidan's faith turned to rage & I was very impressed when she ended their engagement because of that. I can always admire a woman of principal. Not until the very end does Aiden finally realize the lessons he was set to learn. I felt as though Lawhead (the author) tacked it on at the last moment. Still, Byzantium was well worth my time & I enjoyed it tremendously.

Dark Celebration is a reunion book. All of the couples from Feehan's previous Carpathian novels & short stories are present. Set over the course of one day & in the Carpathian Mts. the couples have gathered together to celebrate Christmas & the impending birth of another infant. Who turns out to be male. I wonder if Feehan realized the symbolism of a male infant born during Christmastide? Anyhow- this book managed to portray all of the characters in a warm light- even the ones I didn't really like the first time around. I recommend it if you've enjoyed most of the series. Newbies may get lost though.

Lover Awakened. What can one say? I love tormented heroes & this one's a doozy. The heroine too has been through her fair share of shit, but she comes out the other end stronger & wiser, unlike other damaged heroines who can't heal themselves without a man. Er. Sorry. I'll rant later. If you like your vamps strong, the sex hot & a fantastic grovel with a helping of true transformation at the end you'll like this one. It's unnecessary to read them all or in order, although you may end up glomming the other three as soon as you're finished with this one. L.A. reminded me of a Regency I read a while ago where the hero manages to dry himself up to earn the love of his heroine. Can't remember the title or author of this one unfortunately. It was good. Had Rake in the title. Cover was red & the writing was gold & curlicued. I'm a bookseller's nightmare, I swear. :)

Have a wonderful weekend all- much reading & sunshine & good thoughts to all!

Perking up~ or, better days ahead

Went book hunting today & bought four titles: Dreams of Stardust by Lynn Kurland, The Subtle Serpent by Peter Tremayne, Weeping on Wednesday by Ann Purser & A Stroke of Midnight by Laurell K Hamilton. As of tonight, all books are on hold until I finish the LKH. I've anxiously waited for this one & she rarely disappoints. Any opinions on any of these?

I finished Suffer Little Children. I got lost toward the end, but it wrapped up neatly. I really like the main character, so I've kept on with them although they can be a bit dry. I read a short story collection featuring this character (all by this author) whose stories had been published over a longer span of time. His writing becomes more animated & evolves in the newer works. Discovering this has helped me continue. I very much want to catch up & I'm woefully behind. Plus there's a beta hero in the works & I want to know *blushes* to they do the dirty in the end? Silly & juvenile of me I know, but there it is.