Romance books and a bit of drama
My computer is still in the repair shop so my drama watching is pretty much curtailed. By now, I am so behind on School, I Miss You and Cheonamdong Alice, I am probably just going to give up and wait until they are done and I can marathon. BUT! I definitely plan to check out both Flower Boy Next Door and Yawang. What I am really craving is a fusion sageuk (one that is not the ridiculous and unappealing Jeon Woo Chi) but alas, there isn't one on the horizon.
Anyhow, I've been getting my romance cravings from romance novels, and here are some of the notable ones:
Elizabeth Hoyt, To Seduce a Sinner - clearly, whatever Hoyt puts into her books works for me, because I have yet to come across one of her books that I didn't adore. This book, set in the 1760s, is part of her 'four soldiers' quartet and concerns Jasper, our hero, an affable, charming nobleman who, after two failed engagements (the brides cried off), impulsively accepts a surprising offer of marriage from Melisande, a rather plain and pragmatic noblewoman, thinking to have the usual marriage of convenience. But Melisande has secretly loved him for years, and underneath his laid-back exterior, Jasper has quite a number of issues and a hefty dose of darkness, as a result of the French and Indian War (I cannot believe a romance novel referenced that, I love it!) and, more specifically, an event where his troop was captured by Indians acting on French orders, and then his men and he were tortured and his best friend burned to death in front of his eyes. And Jasper is beginning to think that this was the work of a traitor...This is really really good, both funny and angsty, and I totally adored both Jasper and Melisande, who were surprisingly well-adjusted together.
Elizabeth Hoyt, To Desire a Devil - this one is a reread, so I clearly love it. It was my first Hoyt book, ages ago, and it's just as good on reread. Actually, even better, since I now read the other books in the series this is the last part of. Remember the dead best friend of the hero in the book I just mentioned? Well, Reynaud St. Aubin is the not-really-dead friend in question, and is the beyond fucked up hero of this one. If you like fucked up and tortured heroes and oodles of h/c, this is the book for you. Reynaud has been a captive of an Indian tribe for seven years, but he's finally made his way home only to find out that his father is dead and a distant relative is occupying both Reynaud's title and his house. It is when he crashes a political tea in that house, barely sane, babbling in French, and almost dead with fever, that he meets the awesome and pragmatic (I am noticing a pragmatic trend in heroines, good job, Ms. Hoyt!) heroine, Beatrice, not-blood niece of the person currently holding the title. And by 'meets,' I mean 'collapses on her.' As far as meet-cutes go, this one is pretty good. Ever since they moved in, Beatrice has had a quixotic fancy for the handsome, smiling but dead young man in the portrait that hangs in the house, but this fucked up, grim, violent stranger is nothing like that. But she is still attracted and Reynaud, while hardly able to process his emotions in any functional way, can't help but think of her as home/England/things he lost. There is still the issue of the traitor and other good things, but let's face it, we are reading for the romance. Basically, this one is pure awesome. One bit of warning - if descriptions of gruesome torture freak you out, stay away. Tbh, while I was quite happy with the fact that the love of a good woman, plus friends and being home, seem to have returned the hero to joy and function (though he is always going to be a bit grim), realistically, I am not sure how the poor guy would ever mentally heal - I mean, 7 years?! I can buy he can be happy, but I am sure he is going to have PTSD forever.
Meljean Brook, Demon Night - third in her Guardian series. I didn't like this as much as the other two (and unlike the first two, it's not a fantasy book with a strong romance, but pretty much a romance novel) but it's not bad. Involves a formerly self-destructive human woman wanted by vampires (long story) and a former Wild West cowboy Guardian. I was indifferent to both of them (gimme her researcher sister and the evil to everyone but genuinely loves her demon boyfriend instead, any day) but the mythology was fun and I aim to read more.
Liz Carlyle, My False Heart - I am growing quite attached to Carlyle's stuff. This one involves the Earl of Rannoch, a bitter and disillusioned man with an awful reputation who accidentally stumbles over the rambling, warm, loving house of Evangeline, a portrait painter (and her eccentric family), is mistaken for a client, and cannot help but want to be drawn into all that warmth. It's just so darling and lovely and I love the hero and heroine and want them to be happy so desperately. It's really good!
Anyhow, I've been getting my romance cravings from romance novels, and here are some of the notable ones:
Elizabeth Hoyt, To Seduce a Sinner - clearly, whatever Hoyt puts into her books works for me, because I have yet to come across one of her books that I didn't adore. This book, set in the 1760s, is part of her 'four soldiers' quartet and concerns Jasper, our hero, an affable, charming nobleman who, after two failed engagements (the brides cried off), impulsively accepts a surprising offer of marriage from Melisande, a rather plain and pragmatic noblewoman, thinking to have the usual marriage of convenience. But Melisande has secretly loved him for years, and underneath his laid-back exterior, Jasper has quite a number of issues and a hefty dose of darkness, as a result of the French and Indian War (I cannot believe a romance novel referenced that, I love it!) and, more specifically, an event where his troop was captured by Indians acting on French orders, and then his men and he were tortured and his best friend burned to death in front of his eyes. And Jasper is beginning to think that this was the work of a traitor...This is really really good, both funny and angsty, and I totally adored both Jasper and Melisande, who were surprisingly well-adjusted together.
Elizabeth Hoyt, To Desire a Devil - this one is a reread, so I clearly love it. It was my first Hoyt book, ages ago, and it's just as good on reread. Actually, even better, since I now read the other books in the series this is the last part of. Remember the dead best friend of the hero in the book I just mentioned? Well, Reynaud St. Aubin is the not-really-dead friend in question, and is the beyond fucked up hero of this one. If you like fucked up and tortured heroes and oodles of h/c, this is the book for you. Reynaud has been a captive of an Indian tribe for seven years, but he's finally made his way home only to find out that his father is dead and a distant relative is occupying both Reynaud's title and his house. It is when he crashes a political tea in that house, barely sane, babbling in French, and almost dead with fever, that he meets the awesome and pragmatic (I am noticing a pragmatic trend in heroines, good job, Ms. Hoyt!) heroine, Beatrice, not-blood niece of the person currently holding the title. And by 'meets,' I mean 'collapses on her.' As far as meet-cutes go, this one is pretty good. Ever since they moved in, Beatrice has had a quixotic fancy for the handsome, smiling but dead young man in the portrait that hangs in the house, but this fucked up, grim, violent stranger is nothing like that. But she is still attracted and Reynaud, while hardly able to process his emotions in any functional way, can't help but think of her as home/England/things he lost. There is still the issue of the traitor and other good things, but let's face it, we are reading for the romance. Basically, this one is pure awesome. One bit of warning - if descriptions of gruesome torture freak you out, stay away. Tbh, while I was quite happy with the fact that the love of a good woman, plus friends and being home, seem to have returned the hero to joy and function (though he is always going to be a bit grim), realistically, I am not sure how the poor guy would ever mentally heal - I mean, 7 years?! I can buy he can be happy, but I am sure he is going to have PTSD forever.
Meljean Brook, Demon Night - third in her Guardian series. I didn't like this as much as the other two (and unlike the first two, it's not a fantasy book with a strong romance, but pretty much a romance novel) but it's not bad. Involves a formerly self-destructive human woman wanted by vampires (long story) and a former Wild West cowboy Guardian. I was indifferent to both of them (gimme her researcher sister and the evil to everyone but genuinely loves her demon boyfriend instead, any day) but the mythology was fun and I aim to read more.
Liz Carlyle, My False Heart - I am growing quite attached to Carlyle's stuff. This one involves the Earl of Rannoch, a bitter and disillusioned man with an awful reputation who accidentally stumbles over the rambling, warm, loving house of Evangeline, a portrait painter (and her eccentric family), is mistaken for a client, and cannot help but want to be drawn into all that warmth. It's just so darling and lovely and I love the hero and heroine and want them to be happy so desperately. It's really good!