TBR Challenge: Married to the Viscount by Sabrina Jeffries

The theme: Series catch-up.

Why this one: I’ve owned it forever and got tired of looking at it. And it’s the last of the series, so it feels more like accomplishing something.

(Edited to add: I’ve discovered that I actually still have the previous book of the series in the TBR. How annoying is that!)

If I had to choose one phrase to sum up this book, I’d be torn between “kind of a downer” and “five pounds of plot in a ten pound sack.” The basic premise is that Abby, an American whose father recently died, arrives in London to join the charming Englishman she married by proxy. She’s horrified to realize that not only is he a pompous, controlling jerk at home, but he didn’t agree to their marriage and doesn’t want her at all. (Except for how much he wants her, of course.) But even though he’s obnoxious, he’s got that hot broody thing going on, so Abby sets out to make Spencer realize she should be his wife in truth.

There’s actually a fair bit going on in the book — de rigeur dumb mystery, Abby’s plans for her father’s medicinal business, Spencer’s tragic backstory — and yet it finds time to be dully repetitious. The interactions between Abby and Spencer never seem to get anywhere, except occasionally to making out. Which is fun to read — until Spencer uses it as a weapon. (Admittedly, Abby behaves badly too, in trying to manipulate him.) And the rest of the book is Abby being comforted and advised about Spencer by her women friends. No Bechdel test passing here.

It’s probably not as bad as I’m making it sound, for readers who enjoy wallpaper historicals. (I guess this is Georgian, but only because King George makes an appearance.) But… kind of a downer. Abby tries so hard, and continually feels so bad about herself, because Spencer refuses to tell her the real reason he won’t keep her as his wife. (He thinks he can’t have children, and his father’s refusal to have more drove his stepmother away.) The conflict is resolved rather sweetly, and though of course there’s a baby epilogue, it’s a reasonable one.

I should probably mention that Abby is half Native American. The story doesn’t do much with this, but I don’t think it’s overtly offensive either, except when Spencer makes a comment about the supposed extra sensuality of dark-skinned women.

 

The Probably-Not-So-Big Harlequin Presents Read #22

CW: Rape. In an Anne Hampson book, shocking I know.

 

Harlequin Presents #22: The Hawk and the Dove by Anne Hampson

Image description: The book cover shows the head and shoulders of a young woman with long, straight blonde hair, wearing a childish wide-brimmed hat, against elaborately decorated glass doors.

Deliberate Anne of Green Gables vibe in this cover?

Most memorable line: 

“You’ve shown me by every conceivable means that you consider me far beneath you.” Janis felt she’d grown up since yesterday and a note of experience and maturity entered into her voice. “But however ill-bred I may be,” she went on, “If I despised anyone half as much as you despise me, I would at least have the good manners not to show it.”

Finally, the worm turns! Annoyingly, it turns right back again!

I was finally able to download The Hawk and the Dove from Open Library, and though the scan is utterly dreadful, I got sufficiently emotionally involved in the story to put up with it. Like many old HPs, it shows a strong Rebecca influence, though hero Perry was never married. The resemblance is mainly in their relationship: Janis is adoring, and as soppy as Con Firth’s shirt; Perry veers between scorn and indulgence. He’s deeply nasty at times; that and the huge power differential between them keep TSTL Janis from being utterly unbearable.

Janis, wrongly fired from her job, is downtroddingly trying to find shelter when Perry’s car crashes into her. He sees an opportunity to fulfil the terms of his uncle’s will, which require him to marry within a week. (His fiance had turned out to have been in cahoots with the alternate heir…  so of course he hates all women now. Except his dead mother and his former nurse and his female best friend.)

Perry intends to annul the marriage after Janis is fully healed from her injuries, but manages to make this as clear as mud to Janis, who thinks he’s waiting to consummate the marriage. By the time she realizes the truth, of course she’s fallen in love with him, and she decides not to immediately reveal that the doctor has cleared her for take off. This will later bite her on the ass, rapey hero style. (Not explicit.)

I was surprised by a subplot of the story: Perry’s friend Avril is in love with John, a married man, and they’re constantly together. This isn’t treated with any hint of scandalousness or shock — perhaps because they’re both upper class?

Although I found a lot to critique, I was absorbed. The estate setting, which Janis completely falls in love with, is well done, and the secondary characters are mostly likeable. And classic HP angst. Basically, if you enjoy this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you’ll enjoy.

 

 

Reading, June 2017

Sorry for the lack of info on some books this month. I’m trying to keep track of too many things right now.

CW: racism, sizism.

Recurring themes of the month: Ginormous heroes. Heroes who grew up in isolation. Tattoos (good and bad.) Metaphorical birds. Abusive fathers. 😦 Mothers who betray their abused daughters. 😦 Heroines who change hair color a lot. Canadian athlete heroes. Photographer heroines. Celebrity gossip problems. Heroines in hiding. Scheming grandmothers. Characters trying to be perfect to please a parent. Heroines who white fang their heroes. Men bonding on road trips. Celibate heroes.

We Are All Found Things by Molly O’Keefe. (Contemporary romance. Short story. Virgin hero. HFN.)

Lovely short story. Very interesting hero backstory.

Eden Burning by Elizabeth Lowell. (Contemporary. Hawaii. Scientist. Dancer.)

All the misogyny, plus all the cultural appropriation. Still manages to be fun, but got repetitious and draggy.

His to Own by Theodora Taylor. (Contemporary. Dark romance. Tattoo artist.)

Extremely fucked up book, though I suppose there are worse. There’s basically no ending, which is infuriating. But the “white supremacist literally owning a black woman” plotline was what really got to me.

The Devil’s Bride by Lucy Gordon. (Traditional Regency, but rated R. Convenient marriage. Hero is a rake. Heroine is in love with another man.)

Cons: not enough care for historical accuracy; worldbuilding is mainly down through gowns and food. Evil=fat. There’s a tedious and obvious mystery. Heroine Calvina vows to keep her love for another man true, even after he dumped her for her (evil/fat) cousin, and she married someone else. (Any Mary Balogh heroine would be ashamed of her.) And hero Rupert is rakish to the point of ewww. (In one scene Calvina is romance by the son of his former mistress, possibly the half-brother of one of his own sons!)

Pros: it’s pretty lively and emotional, unlike many a carbon copy traditional Regency. There’s some fun comic secondary characters.

The Loving Spirit by Lucy Gordon. (Historical romance. Regency. Widower. Forced marriage. Governess. Single mother. Deceit.)

The best of the digitized Gordon historicals, IMO.

His For Keeps by Theodora Taylor.

My thoughts here.

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. (Audiobook. Contemporary romance. Heroine pov only. First person. Boss/personal assistant. Convenient marriage.)

I’ve dubbed this sort of first person narration, “Excessive Eyeroll.” Which doesn’t mean that I was rolling my eyes — though there were a few plot holes — but that the narrator sounds like she’s constantly rolling hers.  To make it even more tedious, the book could have used extensive editing and cutting. There’s a lot of repetition, grammatical errors, and silly scenes that go on for far too long.

But I wouldn’t have listened to 16 hours of audiobook if there wasn’t something there. The hero fairly obviously has Asperger Syndrome and it’s an interesting portrayal.

Poacher’s Fall by J.L. Merrow. (Historical. Post WWI. Novella. Class differences.)

The Greek’s Forced Bride by Michelle Reid. (Harlequin Presents)

The Next Competitor by Keira Andrews. (Contemporary. New Adult. M/M. Figure skaters.)

One Starry Night by Olivia Cunning. (Contemporary. Novella. Menage. HFN.)

Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders. (Contemporary. First in series. In hiding.)

Very good. Strong, appealing characters. Looking forward to the next one.

Where We Left Off by Roan Parrish. (Contemporary. New adult/coming of age. M/M. Age difference. Third in series. First person.)

Was a bit of a slog at first, but I wound up appreciating the coming of age aspects, especially considering the narrator is just starting college and the man he’s in love with is older.

Pretty Face by Lucy Parker. (Contemporary. Theatre.)

Very well done.

Little Sister by Mary Burchell.

Sad story, with the romance almost an afterthought.

Keeper’s Pledge by J.L. Merrow. (Historical. Post WWI. Novella. Couple follow up.)

Sequel to Poacher’s Fall.

Folly’s Reward by Jean R. Ewing. My TBR challenge read.

Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge. (Young Adult Fantasy. Short story. Series. Inspired by a fairy tale.

An intensely creepy retelling of “Cinderella,” in which the ghost of her dead mother is basically the little boy who wishes people into the cornfield. Like Cruel Beauty, this looks at the powerful bonds of sisterhood and how love can twist us; though chilling and tragic, it does have a HEA. It’s set in the same universe as Cruel Beauty, but stands alone.

Conditional Surrender by Wendy Prentice

Dating You, Hating You by Christina Lauren. My thoughts here.

Such is Love by Mary Burchell.

Gorgeous oldie. Available at Open Library.

Married to the Viscount by Sabrina Jeffries. (Historical. Georgian? Fake marriage.)

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik. (Contemporary. Young Adult. Inspired by Austen.)

Decent modern humorous version of Pride and Prejudice.

Thick as Thieves (Young Adult Fantasy. Bromance — or more? Road trip.)

Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles. (Historical romance. M/M. Interracial romance. Road trip. Redemption.)

Wonderful characters: a shady conniver who writes Minerve Press romances but secretly wishes he could have his villains get it on, and a former slave grappling with survivor’s guilt and fierce resentment.

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James. (Historical. Victorian. Third in series. Spin-off series. Big Mis.)

DNFs

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig. DNF’d with extreme prejudice. Interesting story, but massive case of “autism voice” and very obviously not #ownvoices.

Burning Up by Sarah Mayberry. Boring insta-lust.

Dating You, Hating You by Christina Lauren

I’m really squeeing about this book — not just because it’s good, though it is, and not just because the characters are very likeable, though they are. What impressed me the most is how much it just gets right. I’m a fan of the enemies-to-lovers story, but even those who aren’t might like this one.

Starting off, the trajectory is different from the usual instant lust-hate. Evie and Carter meet at a costume party where they’re the only singles — and he just happens to be Harry Potter to her Hermione. “Perfect. I ship it,” says Carter, and so do I. They’re two sweet, funny people who seem made for each other, although the fact that they’re both married-to-their-jobs Hollywood talent agents is a little concerning. But before their relationship has gotten further than dinner and making out, Carter’s company is suddenly bought by Evie’s… and the two of them are informed that there might only be one job between them.

What follows is the more typical competition story — defensiveness leading to anger leading to some nasty tricks. But though both somewhat enjoy their sparring, there’s something serious underneath the situation: Evie is being screwed over. And Carter is too good a man not to eventually realize it. So the pranks are a fairly small part of the story and never get truly nasty. And they would both much rather be lovers than fighters. There’s no hate sex, by the way, and though I love me some hate sex, I think that was a good call in this case. It’s also lighter on the steam than previous Lauren books, which I also appreciate. There’s still sex, and it’s plenty hot, but it takes up considerably fewer pages.

I was disappointed in the ending, which I felt took an easy way out rather than having to deal with the genuine difficult issue of sexism in the workplace. Also, it turned into a caper plot, which just rubs the falseness in. But the rest of the book, though often lighthearted, is pretty realistic and takes the subject matter seriously, and there was a part of me that — ever since Practice Makes Perfect —  was just crying out to see that in this kind of romance.

TBR Challenge: Folly’s Reward by Jean R. Ewing (Julia Ross)

The theme: A favorite trope. Say it with me: Amnesia!

Why this one: I wanted to finish the series.

In the fifth of Ewing’s traditional Regencies, a young man is washed up on the Scottish shore where governess Prudence is watching over her young charge Bobby. He has no memory of who he is, other than the sense that he’s named Hal short for Henry, and no idea where he should be. But when Prudence is forced to flee to save Bobby from his evil guardian, he appoints himself their protector. Bobby, who believes Hal to be “a Selkie man,” is only too happy to have him with them, but Prudence fears the impact of his beauty and seductive nature on her peace of mind.

For the first half, this was pretty same old/same old. Despite his amnesia, Hal is a very typical Ewing/Ross hero: goodnaturedly cynical, reckless, and always ready with a suitable (or unsuitable) literary quote or bawdy rhyme. Prudence is decidedly bland, so his instant besottedness seems based only on her being the first face he sees, regaining consciousness. But when he recovers his memory in the second half, the story becomes far more intense and interesting; Hal’s memories are… very bad. There are strange but compelling subplots, and the Selkie metaphor is rather sweetly wrapped up, with Prudence showing some fire and backbone. I wound up enjoying it much more than I expected to.

Note: Most of the series is only loosely linked, but this is a direct sequel to Virtue’s Reward.

Reading Bingo is My Catnip

If you’re on twitter, play along with #rippedbodicebingo . Or the “Smart Bitches, Trashy Books” group on GoodReads.

Hero has a pet that’s not a cat or dog: Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders. Ivan takes in many strays, including a baby skunk.

Queer YA/NA: Where We Left Off by Roan Parrish.

Heroine smells like a food item: Pretty Face by Lucy Parker. Vanilla perfume.

Reading, May 2017

I’ve been saving this, hoping to be able to bingo-fy it… but the further I get from actually having read the books, the less likely it seems to happen, so I’m just going to forget it for this month. Lots of author glomming, because I have a trial Kindle Unlimited subscription that runs out in June. You can tell that I was getting pretty punchy.

Recurring themes of the month: Football players who ignore dangerous concussions. Acquired disabilities. (The two themes are sometimes related.) Really crap treatment of disability. Heroines who inherit farms and marry their foremen. (Not always the hero.) Heroines on the run from abusive partners/gunshy heroines. Churchgoers. Being different is a sign of evil. Dandelions. Alternative versions of ancient Greece. Twins with issues. Overheard conversations. Massive student loans. Fighters. Vegans. Virginias.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah — putting this here because I apparently forgot to note it when I read it around the beginning of the year. Less funny than I expected, but a fascinating history. Noah’s mother is just amazing.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. (Young adult. Fantasy. Beginning of series.)

I reread all the “Queens Thief” series so I could write about it for Heroes and Heartbreakers.

The Broken Wing by Mary Burchell. (Harlequin romance. Second in series. Boss/secretary. Disabled heroine. Singer. Good sister/bad sister.)

Tessa works as a secretary for Quentin, who is organizing a music festival. When she agrees to help her more vivacious twin sister audition for a part, she’s horrified to not only be forced to hide her own superior voice, but to have to watch her sister go after the man she secretly loves.

I have mixed feelings about this, since it was an excruciating read. I love good sister/bad sister romance but when the bad sister seems to be getting everything the heroine wants, while she’s left out in the cold, it really cuts. Luckily this is Mary Burchell, so we barely have to wonder if the hero and sister even kissed.

The disability narrative is also very old-fashioned — the original title was actually “Damaged Angel,” after a broken figurine Tessa identifies with, and oh my God. But I liked where it wound up going:

“For the whole of her life her lameness had been a matter of anguish to herself and slightly irritated embarrassment to the people around her. The idea that one might, so to speak, deal with it and then ignore it was shattering in its revolutionary simplicity.”

Later in the book, Tess has internalized this new idea so much, she “could refer to her lameness without pain — purely as a matter of fact.” Not half bad for 1966.

As with A Song Begins, the focus on artistic dedication is very engrossing, and it’s fun to see Tessa stop being a doormat to her sister, and get over her lovesickness enough to start giving Quentin what for. And there’s quite a bit of delicious, understated sexual tension. Another really good Burchell.

Blackmailed into her Boss’s Bed by Sandra Marton (originally published as Consenting Adults.) (Contemporary romance. Category. Harlequin Presents.)

Woman forced to work for man who wants her. Old skool Marton — ie, needless bickering, dubious consent, and a heroine who rarely finishes a sentence. Good angst, though. I’d think the obvious irony of the original title prompted them to rename it, except HQ never seems to worry about unintentional irony.

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. (Young adult. Fantasy. Second in series.)

All Played Out by Cora Carmack. (Audiobook. New adult. Series. Texas. College students. Football player. He’s just not that into you. Shy/geeky.)

This wasn’t as enjoyable as the previous books, for several reasons.

1. Overdose of cute couples from the previous books.
2. Way too much set-up for the next book, which has yet to actually appear.
3. The hero is initially into the heroine because she looks so much like his ex, he thinks she’ll be a good antidote. Yeech.
4. I suspect the heroine is intended to have undiagnosed Aspergers Syndrome and it’s a pretty stereotypical portrayal, which I find annoying.

The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

When Love is Blind by Mary Burchell. (Category romance. Harlequin Romance. Third in series. Secretary/boss. Musicians. Heroines behaving badly. Deceit. Stalkeriffic heroine. Stay in your own damn book.)

As soon as I saw this title on a 1960s romance, I expected the worst, but after the relative inoffensiveness of The Broken Wing, I hoped for the best. Nope. Every single ablist cliche you’d expect to find in a book with a (temporarily, of course) blind character is here, including someone saying, “In a way it would almost have been better for him if he’d been killed.”

On top of that, the heroine is a spineless worm unworthy of the title. She inadvertently causes the hero’s blindness, refuses to take any kind of responsibility, and lies through her teeth until the very end. When faced with her lies by the Evil Other Woman, she says, “I’m sorry you had to find all this out in circumstances that put me in a very bad light.” I’m failing to think of circumstances that could show her in a good light. And though she does grow a bit as a musician — through her aching pity for the tragic blind man! — she never gets a real redemption. Almost a complete stinker.

Everything I Left Unsaid by M.O’Keefe. (Erotic romance series. No HEA. Cliffhanger. Domestic violence. Abusive husband. Adultery.)

Mostly very good, with wonderful sexual tension: the hero and heroine interact primarily by phone for most of the story. But the cliffhanger is so trite, I felt I’d have been pretty happy if the previous book had just stopped before the last chapter, even without a HEA.

The Truth About Him by M. O’Keefe. (Romance Suspense. Series. Couple HEA. Domestic violence.)

I was disappointed in the suspense direction this book went in, and that a lot of it was Annie being TSTL and Dylan being “I’m not good enough.” Again, I thought I might have been happy if the first book had just ended on a note of hope. But there were issues to wind up for Dylan, so it wound up being effective. Also had some good sequel-baiting.

The Curtain Rises by Mary Burchell. (Harlequin Romance. Series. Beta. Hero falls first.)

Similar to other Burchells — opera setting, broken hearted heroine who thinks she hates the hero — but unusual in that he’s rather sweet and sensitive, a rising star rather than an established power, and very obviously head over heels for her.

The Way Home by Keira Andrews. (Contemporary romance. End of series. m/m.)

Christening by Claire Kent. (Contemporary romance. Couple follow-up. Marriage in jeopardy. Adorable kid overload.)

Short sequel to Nameless, heavy on the parenting. Dullsville.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier. (Gothic historical fiction. Cornwall.)

One of the books discussed in How to Be a Heroine. I’m sorry I went with audiobook, because the narrator made the main characters sound so unappealing, it was hard to feel the romance. But an excellent creepy gothic. Watch out for a really offensive depiction of albinism.

A Baby for Easter by Noelle Adams.

Adams insists these books aren’t inspies, but I’d argue the point.

Incarnate by Claire Kent.

Another sequel to Nameless. I related a bit more to this one, since it’s about getting older and being parents of teens. The male-relative-getting-all aggressive-over-his-female-relative-dating trope is blech, but I liked that it touched on the problems of raising children well when you weren’t loved yourself.

A Family by Christmas by Noelle Adams. (Contemporary romance. Third in series. Convenient marriage. Hero is divorced. Child is a major character.)

This didn’t work as well for me as the previous two books. Everyday realism is Adam’s thing here, which didn’t gibe with two people having a convenient marriage and agreeing on both faithfulness and no sex, without ever thinking about what that means. Or a 27 year old woman still “saving herself” for marriage without apparently ever having had any kind of issue around it. And neither paid much attention to how this marriage might affect the hero’s daughter. (Especially given that he constantly lies to his daughter about the relationship, and that his wife is planning to leave for India soon.) I did enjoy the dark moment, but the conflict is very similar to that in the previous book and resolved in much the same way.

The Elopement by Megan Chance. (Short story. No HEA.)

I have no idea how to classify this short story. It doesn’t seem detailed enough, or to have enough sense of time or place, to count as historical fiction. Two of the main characters don’t even have names. But I feel concerned for the two people on goodreads who tagged it “romance.” It’s dark and very sad.

An interesting aspect of this story I realized after the fact: the unnamed man is basically a Victorian hipster. Nothing new under the sun…

Child of Music by Mary Burchell. (Harlequin Romance. Series. Music teacher. Evil Other woman. Child is a major character. Stay in your own damn book.)

Some nice angst, but it’s too talky and the hero is such a doof over the Evil Other woman. And then the heroine does that finger to the mouth thing when he apologises. I hate that finger to the mouth thing! I’m not usually big on kids in romance, but the matter-of-fact child prodigy Janet was the best part. I wish she’d gotten a story.

The Heart of It by Molly O’Keefe.

Intriguing, but too short for its issues.

Bad Neighbor by M. O’Keefe

This had a lot in common with Everything I Left Unsaid, so I might have enjoyed it more if I’d read it later.

Reconciled by Easter by Noelle Adams. (Contemporary romance. Fourth in series. Marriage in jeopardy.)

This may be the most “inspie” of the series, since the conflict is basically handled by trust in God. It’s also one of the most interesting. Abigail, who was raised in a much stricter and unforgiving religious tradition than other characters in the series, has tried to overcome her training and became her own person. But she believes her husband only wants her as she used to be.

The Only One by Penny Jordan. (Contemporary Romance. Category. Harlequin Presents.)

Meh, with a side of rapey hero.

Home for Christmas by Noelle Adams.

Music of the Heart by Mary Burchell.

Mary Burchell was a true heroine in real life and her experiences no doubt inspired parts of this story which speak about the sorrow and strength of refugees. It’s also a return in the series to a strong emphasis on music, and the conflict has higher stakes than just love, including artistic vision, and the importance of authenticity.

Baby, Come Back by Molly O’Keefe. (Contemporary romance. Sequel. Suspense element. Heroine is the bad sister.)

Has some plotting issues, but the story really grabbed me.

Unbidden Melody by Mary Burchell. (Contemporary romance. Category. Harlequin Romance. Singer.)

(You might not want to read my thoughts if you haven’t read the book.)

I might have had a different reaction to this if I hadn’t recently read a bit of Burchell’s autobiography, which gave me a feeling that this “ordinary office girl/famous opera singer” romance might have been inspired by actual events. (Also if a tenor singer didn’t bring to mind — ugh — Dick Powell.) When I realized the heroine is named “Mary Barstow” I wondered even more. It has a touch of reality in being the first Burchell I’ve read that even approaches the concept of sex: Mary actually ponders whether, should the hero invite her for a “dirty weekend,” she should accept. And then the ending is… ambiguous. In the last line, the heroine is “nearly sure” that the hero is over the trauma of his past and things will be okay for them. Come to think of it, even the title is suggestive.

My (completely uninformed and fictional) take is that Burchell wanted to write a happy ending for a true sad story but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it completely. Or perhaps her publishers insisted on a hopeful ending, like with the end of Charlotte Bronte’s Villette. In any event this is one of those sad cases where the book itself is good, but I couldn’t buy the happy ending.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. (Young Adult Fantasy.  Audiobook. Inspired by another source. Forced marriage.)

A fascinating beauty and the beast retelling (with shades of “Cupid and Psyche” and “Tam Lin”) featuring a bitter, resentful beauty and a truly beastly beast. A much more complex look at the popular “evil hero” than we usually see in either YA or romance, though you could argue that the ending undoes it.

Finished by Claire Kent. (Contemporary. Erotic romance. Polyamory.)

A polyamorous threesome implodes, for rather more complicated reasons than usual. Interesting story, though the writing is rather prosaic.  FYI, I think the author tried very hard to be respectful of polyamory but I’m not sure she always pulled it off.

His Forbidden Bride by Theodora Taylor. (Contemporary romance. Second in series. Interracial romance. Dark romance?Amnesia. Dominant hero. Doctor heroine.)

WOOF! This book was a hell of a ride. I’m not sure how much I can say about it without spoilers, and spoilers would be a terrible shame, but warnings for some violence, depictions of racism, and vast amounts of cray-cray, some of it seriously problematic as romance. Many readers will find it too upsetting, but I loved the appealing characters and the twists. (It’s a bit like the Sookie Stackhouse book in which vampire Eric gets amnesia and becomes vulnerable and lovable instead of simply deadly.) If you have any doubts, see the GoodReads reviews which are full of spoilers and disgust.

Tangentially, I thought it very cool that in her “50 Loving States series”  — Janet Daily, but with interracial romance — Taylor touches on the fact that loving in some states can be pretty difficult. It’s set in West Virginia and the black heroine says frankly, “West Virginia and me have a complicated relationship.”

ETA: I’ve started the follow-up to this, His to Own, and it’s actually making me rethink my fairly positive feelings. The overt racism is seriously disturbing. More next month.

DNFs

Living with Regret by Riann C. Miller. (Contemporary romance. Reunited. Amnesia. Slut shaming/disposable other women.)

I find the prose too OTT, but I skimmed because I’m a sucker for amnesia plots. But it set up a great conflict — dumbass hero has dumped the heroine *twice* — and then pissed it all away. If you’re going to go OTT, at least provide some payoff!

Wildfire by Anne Stuart. (Contemporary. Romance suspense. Heroine is married.)

To quote the Simpsons, “I can think of at least three things wrong with that title.” I got through more than half of this, desperately thinking, surely something will happen now? Instead the heroine plots revenge on her evil husband and thinks about how lean the hero is, the hero wonders whether he’ll kill the heroine or not, and the evil husband is skanky with some evil skanks. Forever. Not to mention, still yet more ableism out the wazoo. Too bad, because the story idea was great.

The Bride by S. Doyle. Just didn’t grab me.

Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman. Might be more interesting in print; really dragged in audio.

His For Keeps by Theodora Taylor

His For Keeps by Theodora Taylor.

This interracial romance is a follow-up to His One and Only, and overlaps with it a bit. It’s also the first of the “Fairgood Boys” trio, but without the controversial aspects of the other two. Country star Colin Fairgood recruits Kyra Goode (I like the parallel naming, because she gives as good as she gets) to help him make his high school crush Josie jealous. Unfortunately, Kyra has an extremely soft spot for Josie’s ex, Beau, and helps him win Josie over instead. But Kyra continues to pursue a friendship with Colin — without telling him that Josie asked her to, and is technically paying her as well. As things get intense between them, the secrets she’s keeping from him, as well as from Josie and Beau, become ever more potentially explosive.

I’d definitely call this romance rather than erotica, but it does get kinky, with domination and bondage. (Nothing really scary or painful.) It’s neither straight-out fantasy nor a realistic safe-sane-and-consensual depiction: Colin throws Kyra right into a power exchange with very little warning or preparation, which I found off-putting. But she does have the power to stop it and chooses not to, so there is consent of a sort. And I did really like their discussions about how to have a D/s relationship while also having a regular everyday life, including having children.

I’ve really been enjoying Taylor’s first person stories, and Kyra has a particularly strong voice. Her interactions with her grandmother add humor and sentiment, and songwriting gives her a life outside her romance.

The Loving Spirit by Penelope Stratton (Lucy Gordon)

Book content warning: depiction of rape

 

The Loving Spirit by Lucy Gordon.

This opens with what would be the epilogue of a typical historical romance: an ordinary woman named Amelia captured the heart of a harsh, withdrawn Earl named Justin, and they are now happily married with several children, and another on the way. But such happy endings were more precarious than most historicals like to acknowledge, and the birth of little Amelia leads to the death of her mother. On her deathbed, Amelia makes her husband and her children’s governess (her beloved school friend Kate, who fell on extremely bad times) promise to marry each other immediately, seeking to protect both of them.

Over time, the grief-stricken, bitter Justin and lonely Kate grow from having “no sympathy between their minds” to respect, liking, attraction, and then passionate love. But of course Kate’s horrible past comes back to attempt to destroy them.

I’m glad my attention was piqued by the plotline, because this is much meatier and more satisfying than Gordon’s frothy traditional Regencies. It’s a bit like a literary ancestor of The Passions of Emma by Penelope Williamson, but in more traditional genre romance form; readers who hate when a previous wife is downgraded and badmouthed to make the heroine look good will appreciate this one. Kate is a bit TSTL at times, but only when under tremendous pressure, and she’s a strong fighter. And there’s an excellent redemption for the narrowminded Justin.

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TBR Challenge: That Midas Man by Valerie Parv

CW: Death of a child

 

The theme: Something different.

Why this one: So, after making sure I had my April TBR post written in advance, I completely spaced on the May TBR challenge. I chose this as a fast read, by an author I haven’t, IIRC, tried before.

It actually was a little different, as Harlequin Presents go. Midas is almost a beta ruthless tycoon: he’s kind, and thoughtful, and has a legitimately tragic backstory. (His wife and child were driven to their deaths by paparazzi.) Journalist Jill is the baddie, invading his privacy in the name of getting custody of her daughter; she also has that irritating heroine habit of recklessly lying about something and then being pissed when he believes her. There’s kind of a weird suspense element at the end, which gives her a chance to redeem herself. It’s not overtly racist, but a POC is the bad guy.

So yeah, not all that different. A decent enough read, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find a copy.