Belinda Kroll

This book started out great by giving me a clear idea of the h/h, their histories and goals. I enjoyed watching them grow fond of each other, or rather, of watching the hero thinking he was married to the heroine and the heroine giving in even though she was a single woman past her prime. I didn't like how she took advantage of him, given his lost memory, but he seemed to get over it quickly enough as he regained pieces of his previous life.

The story went downhill when the h/h return to London and it's revealed that they both have the same backstory. Both were taken from their parent and raised to think the parent had died. Both are reunited with families they didn't know they had, and luckily enough, their families are all kinds of awesome.

Adam, the hero, even mentions this in the book, as if the author knew some picky readers were going to scratch their heads. When it's brought up that the mirroring of their lives is very coincidental, he says that had they not met, it wouldn't have been a coincidence, because they wouldn't have known of each other as they went through the same experiences. Eh. A little weak for my liking. Didn't ruin the overall enjoyment of the book, though.

Part mystery, part literary fiction about a man back from the gassed trenches of the Great World War (WWI to Americans), this book was excellent. I understand it is one in a series about Ian Rutledge, and this book drew me into his world and mind so well that I want to read the entire series. Will he get over his past with Hamish, his dead friend?

Read this book for an example of how to intersperse research and setting between self-reflection, dialogue, and plot. We know where we are and what we're doing, dropped into a mystery and unsure Rutledge will be able to prove who the killer is, and whether we're right about our own suspicions. But like I said, this isn't just a straight mystery. We learn so much about Rutledge in the way he reacts to people, and how he holds conversations with Hamish when alone to appease his guilt. I truly enjoyed this book, and learned a great deal from the writing style.

Originally posted at http://worderella.com/2008/08/book-a-pale-horse/

This book was better than the first in the trilogy, in that the heroine was less Mary Sue and more independent stubborn girl. The inspirational aspect was light; it appeared when natural for the characters to need to turn to God, which I appreciate. I felt the hero/heroine relationship was one of the more typical bickering a la Beatrice and Benedick... That the heroine latches onto the mystery child so quickly was a little difficult to believe, for me.

But, it was an entertaining read with a better mystery than the first book, and I'm in the middle of reading the third. That's a big deal for me because I tend to shy away from series.

Excellent writing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite Jane's character, which makes me respect Hickey even more. Once I realized the plot, I almost put the book away, except Hickey's writing and depiction of the characters stayed my hand. This book is one of the best fiction depictions of a real Victorian marriage that I have read yet; the main characters are real people, and while the story may not be entirely factual, the plot seems to follow the real time-line faithfully. The writing style is simple yet lush, the scenery vivid, the characters organic and sympathetic. Anyone working on making their characters flawed, especially the main character, should read this book as an example of how to maintain your reader's interest.

Originally posted at http://worderella.com/2007/08/book-the-wayward-muse/

I picked up this book because of its cover, and was surprised to find it was inspired by a real-life family who helped slaves in the Underground Railroad in an existing suburb of my hometown! This was a well-written book that had me exclaiming out loud during chase scenes; characters get hurt, there is real danger involved, people are conflicted with moral ambiguities and emotional decisions.

This is one of the better historical fiction books I've read in a while. It was my first inspirational read in years, and I was happy to find this is part of a trend where the religion included in the book is natural, i.e. only when necessary from the character viewpoint. Not preachy at all. This book has great historical details, well-rounded characters, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I devoured this book. The chemistry between Emma and Nicholas was charming, scintillating, and sexy. Emma has the predicament of having to teach her students about their wifely duties. As a young widow, one might assume she knows a thing or two about this. And no doubt she would, if she were the widow she claimed to be. Enter the hero, Lord Nicholas “Bedchambers” Chambers, the lord next door with a penchant for artistry. Emma turns to him for instruction and guidance, getting that and more.

This was a great debut book. I feel as if Jane Eyre had been written today, it would have been this book. We have a spunky heroine who is determined to do right by her students, and a brooding lord who, while not having a crazy wife locked in the attic, has a few secrets of his own.

I think what I loved most about this book was that even though Nicholas could have completely taken advantage of Emma, he always gave her a choice. Now, he could have been a true gentleman and not required Emma to pose for him, but then the story wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. Talk about foreplay... the slow undressing of the heroine for months built up the tension between them like crazy.

I can always count on Mary Jo Putney for an entertaining read. In this book, Jocelyn has a deadline to marry by the time she turns 25, or she won't get her inheritance. Her father made the stipulation upon his death because he knew Jocelyn would never turn to marriage willingly. Something in her past just made the whole idea an inconvenience at best, repulsive at worst.

Well, now that the wars with Napoleon are over, Jocelyn comes up with a brilliant, if ethically amoral, idea. Marry a dying major so she will be a widow by the time the deadline is up. Everything goes to plan, until the dying major's irate and protective younger sister show up. Oh, and then there's the fact that the captain doesn't die.

I think it's Putney's heroes that make me love her writing. Here we have David, who is very good at what he does, killing people efficiently to save his own skin. But the hardships of war didn't dull his sensitivities toward a Jocelyn, beautiful woman who shies away from marriage the way a horse shies from a snake. He might have been a major, but David is a wonderful beta hero who kept me smiling and wishing he were real so I could take him home to meet my mother.

The first pages drew me in with the imagery of a woman crying out, struggling to get away from some dark force. It is a prophetic dream that drew me into this delicious gothic romance, so much so that I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning. While reading in those early hours, I got a text from a friend. I was so wrapped up in this book that my phone vibrating made me scream, literally. I dropped the book, my pulse was racing, and I looked about wildly, trying to find what had scared me so much.

I hadn't expected to be so engaged with this book, so thrilled and scared. I loved every minute of it.

Holy cow talk about suspenseful! I loved this book. I read it late into the night even though I should have been grading student papers. I began reading it digitally, but after the first two chapters wanted the feel of the book in my hands.

Because it's Neil Gaiman, and everyone should read one Gaiman book at some point. This book begged to be read aloud, and I almost wish (now this is a shocker) that I had the audio version. The narration is simple yet intriguing and complex; I want to read it again just to figure out how he was able to convey so much with so little. Which is exactly why you should read this book. Long sentences and over-the-top vocabulary are gimicks easily pointed out...they hide bad plots and expose worse execution. Gaiman's simple narration is a quick read, yet, there are important themes discussed.

Originally posted at http://worderella.com/2007/07/book-stardust/

As always, an entertaining read from Mary Jo Putney. This book was so informative! I learned so much about Chinese culture from the 1830s that corresponded with what I knew already. I've never read a book that explained the core of tai chi so well, and I loved that the heroine, because of her dual upbringing in both Chinese tradition and Scottish, had no problem with pre-marital sex so I didn't have to slog through the usual “Oh no, I shouldn't be doing this, but it feels so good!” that we usually get in romance novels.

I felt the hero/heroine were a great match. I loved that they got to know each other via traveling together. Rather than falling for the typical hero and heroine hating each other and then growing to love each other, they were two people brought together by circumstance and finding a connection.

Read this book if you're looking for a story that is entertaining, informative, exciting, and yes, even a little thrilling in bed.

While I managed to finish this book, I just didn't enjoy it as much as [b:The Bargain 115817 The Bargain (Regency #1) Mary Jo Putney http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171714874s/115817.jpg 111539]. The hero and heroine are trying to hurt each other even as they fight their feelings for each other and struggle with the memories of their past romance. The way they hurt one another in the past was a series of traumatic events for the heroine that I just couldn't believe anyone would be able to get past it. I wanted to like this book more, but as it stands, it just gets an “OK” from me.Favorite passage: Maggie glanced away, not wanting to deal with what lay beneath [Robin's] teasing tone. “Before I return to England, I'm going to acquire an entire wardrobe of gowns that come up to my throat. It's tedious to have men always talking to one's chest rather than one's face.”

This is the kind of Cinderella story I like to read... the sort where the main character takes action for herself and is determined to win. A more recent Cinderella story, An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn, reads far too much like this book and just doesn't past muster.

If you liked An Offer from a Gentleman, I think you'll really enjoy this book. More intrigue, less steam, but a very entertaining read.

I loved the history of reading about the Chicago World's Fair; it's not a period of American history often taught, thought, or written about, which I appreciated. The author's attention to detail, while not information dumping, is a great example for any historical fiction writer attempting to educate and entertain.

The inspirational aspect wasn't heavy-handed at all. In fact, it felt very natural, especially for the time period. God was brought up when the characters felt they needed Him, or were puzzling things through while asking for guidance.

My only critique was that neither the hero nor heroine were ever truly in danger themselves. The financial worries of the hero were a guilt-trip at most, and I never felt true pressure for the heroine.

All in all, a good read, and I'll be looking for more Deanne Gist soon.

This was an entertaining read, but I felt like the modern sensibilities of the author went a little too far in the main characters, who were very much not of their era.

On the one hand, this book made me laugh, there were some touching moments from the heroine's perspective, the hero suffers bad injuries in the line of duty, the action scenes were well-paced, the love scenes were scintillating... all of this was compelling enough to keep me reading to find out what happened.

On the other hand, the note from the author at the beginning of the book had me looking forward to the heroine using her powers, which she does almost never. When using her powers, reactions from the hero and his friend are so nonchalant that I was shocked. They just accepted it, with very little questioning! I felt there would have been something from men who spied on behalf of the queen. Fear, worry, wondering what all she could do, wondering how much influence she had over them, over their families, over the investigation...

This was before the Salem Witch Trials, yet after the witch trials of the continent. I mean, even people today will raise an eyebrow if they hear someone say, “I'm Wiccan.” So unfortunately, I have to give this book three stars rather than four. Love conquers a lot, but in this case, it was just a little too easy.

This book was a good ensemble cast sort of read. We follow the lives of the heroine, her children, her lodgers, and the vicar who moves from Oxford into town, and I felt as if I was reading-watching a BBC period mini-series.

A good read, not too heavy-handed with the inspirational aspect, but also nothing that super inspired me to write myself, which I was hoping for.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The story began slowly, and the description sometimes got in the way of the plot, I felt. At its heart, this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. We have the beast, Jason Cameron, a elemental wizard who got too big for his britches and tried a spell he didn't know how to uncast. We have the beauty, an heiress who was working on her PhD when her father died and left her penniless.

Though the story moved slowly, I kept reading it because I loved Rosalind, the heroine. She doesn't know her own beauty, relies on her glasses to see anything, and is much smarter than she already looks. She is intrepid, clever, insightful, and sensitive. She's also bossy, which I love.

A decent retelling of a familiar and well-loved fairy tale, I wish there had been a little less world-building and a little more relationship-building.

I read this book because I adore the movie. Now, usually, I tell people to read the book before watching the movie because the movie never delivers quite the same impact.

I'd say the same thing with this book, except that it's not just the impact, this book felt like an entirely different story from the movie! I was so accustomed to the pacing of the movie, the theme and what was important, that I often found myself bewildered and wondering what the point was with a particular passage.

I didn't dislike this book, I was just surprised by how different it was from the movie. It wasn't the sort of explicit magic the movie portrays. It's a quiet read, for sure.

I really enjoyed this book because I saw it as a dig to Wuthering Heights. The premise is similar: a rich young woman falls in love with one of the family servants, and is ready to run away with him. Before they are able to, her family finds out and splits them apart. This is their story, fifteen years later.

I might be shot for this, but I can't stand Wuthering Heights. Everything that went wrong in that book is because the two main characters refused to, oh, I don't know, be adult and speak to one another about how they really felt. Camp's version, where the characters are forced together after years of a bitter separation, is realistic to true emotion. It is a satisfying read because the characters realize when they have their blinders on and fight the good fight to take them off. Of course, having a goal to work toward, such as trying to prevent death, is certain to make friends out of enemies. Angela's time apart from Cameron adds surprisingly dark depth to the story, one which gave me nightmares.

As always, I love Candace Camp's stories because she allows the hero/heroine to get to know one another, to feel confident that they have found a healthy match/complement in each other, before hopping into bed. It's just refreshing.

This book is a romance, no doubt about it. The intimate scenes are hot, and most importantly, imperative to the relationship between Gigi and Camden. As a married couple that hasn't seen one another for ten years, there are past disputes that have to be resolved, old wounds re-opened, and ten years of desire to be satiated. Which they do, but always with a purpose.

For those of you writing romance, read Thomas's book for an example of well-written intimate scenes that not only further the plot, they shove the plot forward with gusto, making you feel everything the characters feel and more. This is the first romance in a long time where I felt like the author really knew what they were doing. I'm definitely adding Thomas's backlist to my TBR.

Originally posted at http://worderella.com/2008/09/book-private-arrangements/

This was a really interesting concept and fairly easy read. I finished the book because of those things, not because I felt very connected with the protagonists, which would have been my preference. There was just a little bit if world and character building lacking for me. I didn't realize we were turn of the century alternate-magical England until a quarter of the way through the book. I feel authors shouldn't be afraid to be more up front about that sort old thing. That said, the idea was so compelling, it did make up for it a little.

This was a charming, light read that kept me smiling. It was nice to read about a heroine I could relate to: spunky, defending others, independent, and curious. It's a rather short book, so the romance moves quickly, and the murder mystery adds to the fun.

I really enjoyed this book! I received a free copy ages ago with the promise to review it, and I had the chance on a cross-country flight. I finished this novella in the time it took to fly from Ohio to California, and I was hooked from the first page where the main character doesn't know who he is. Nolan impressed me with her characterization; this book didn't read like a novella and I felt I understood who the characters were, their relationships and history very well.

Next time I'm in the mood for a paranormal, Nolan is at the top of the list.

This book is well-written: all the characters have backstories and motivations, and the setting is fully realized. Despite this, I felt no connection with the characters. I read the entire book, but I never felt drawn to the story, wondering what would happen next. And I should have, because this was an interesting idea. As a musician, I loved the history of the glass harmonica; as a historian, I thought Marley's depiction of Benjamin Franklin was great; as a scientist, I loved the idea of applying music to neuro-therapy. As a writer, I thought something was lacking, which may be because the back cover copy made the story seem more action-oriented, a time-travel similar to The Lake House (which defies so many laws of physics and time-travel, even).

A pleasant read, the one thing that really annoyed me was Marley's use of “'twas” and “'tis,” beyond the 1761 dialogue. For example: Eilish pushed the basket again, trying to make her two seed coins clink together. Talk brought no food. ‘Twas money she needed. In my opinion, Marley should have stuck with a first-person narrative for the 1761 story, and third-person for the 2018, if she wanted to write like that. But then, another reader will find it charming, and think I'm crazy for not liking it. Such a subjective profession this is...

Originally posted at http://worderella.com/2007/07/book-the-glass-harmonica/