More books
So far this year, I've mostly been reading romance, with a small side of YA. www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com have given some good recs recently, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed them.
How I Met My Countess, by Elizabeth Boyle has a heroine that is capable of flooring a man with a punch, picking their pocket and cracking any safe to reveal all their secrets. She also helps her father train England's spies against Napoleon. When the Earl of Clifton and his half-brother are sent to be trained by her father, Lucy is initially sceptical that he will be of any use whatsoever, but is convinced otherwise as his training proceeds. Once she realises her true feelings for him, she is determined that he will be the best spy the country has so that he can return and make her his Countess. After once magical night together, Clifton is sent abroad, never to contact Lucy again. The book begins seven years later, with Clifton re-entering Lucy's life. It was refreshing to have a female character that was more than just a pretty face with a willful streak, as is so often the case in regency romances. Lucy is misunderstood by most of the people around her, and is looked down on by society or her low birth even after making a good marriage, but she stays true to her beliefs and never forgets the people she knew growing up. There are some strong secondary female characters too, and there are to be further books featuring them.
Courtney Milan's Proof by Seduction has had a fair amount of hype, which is, for the most part, well-deserved. Again, the heroine is not typical, being 30 and a fortune teller, and the hero is somewhat unlikeable in the beginning, but true to the genre, they muddle through and live happily-ever-after in the end. Wicked Little Game by Christine Wells has more ups and downs than an uppy downy thing - set around an indecent proposal made by Lady Sarah's husband to the Marquis of Vane, who has lusted after her for years. He refuses the offer, but Brinsley, knowing that the attraction is mutual, tells Sarah that he owes Vane money and that they will be destitute if she doesn't sleep with him. She goes to plead with Vane to not call in the debts, but confusion reigns and each think that they are being seduced by the other until they fall into bed. Returning home the next morning, she finds her husband dying from a gunshot wound and is arrested for his murder. Should she say where she was and be ruined forever, or say nothing and stand trial? The book has a sort-of mystery as a secondary story, but really neither romance nor mystery were strong enough, and the misunderstandings between Sarah and Vane made me want to shake the pair of them.
I think I have romance burn-out now, and need to read something else for a while - they are all starting to seem the same.
Charlie Higson's The Enemy is the first in a new YA series set in London after everyone over the age of 14 has been infected by a mysterious disease and the lucky ones are dead. Those that remain are zombie-like and feeding off the kids that they can catch. The surviving kids have banded together in Waitrose on Holloway Road, with a rival gang in Morrison's, and live by scavenging the surrounding area for food, fighting off the roaming bands of grown-ups as they go. With food becoming scarce and the grown-ups starting to show some signs of intelligence and organisation, things look bleak until a sole messenger arrives with word of a large camp of children in Buckingham Palace. The rival gangs decide to join forces and travel through London to see if there really is a safe place for them all. This was a very enjoyable, if at times brutal, read - partly because I used to live just off Holloway Road and could really picture where they were - and I look forward to the next in the series with bated breath.
After marathon reading, I am wibbling about whether or not to sign up for the exchange. I have one good prompt, so will have to see if I can come up with any more this week.
I hope everyone is well and happy, and that the weather has improved for those that have been knee-deep in snow.
How I Met My Countess, by Elizabeth Boyle has a heroine that is capable of flooring a man with a punch, picking their pocket and cracking any safe to reveal all their secrets. She also helps her father train England's spies against Napoleon. When the Earl of Clifton and his half-brother are sent to be trained by her father, Lucy is initially sceptical that he will be of any use whatsoever, but is convinced otherwise as his training proceeds. Once she realises her true feelings for him, she is determined that he will be the best spy the country has so that he can return and make her his Countess. After once magical night together, Clifton is sent abroad, never to contact Lucy again. The book begins seven years later, with Clifton re-entering Lucy's life. It was refreshing to have a female character that was more than just a pretty face with a willful streak, as is so often the case in regency romances. Lucy is misunderstood by most of the people around her, and is looked down on by society or her low birth even after making a good marriage, but she stays true to her beliefs and never forgets the people she knew growing up. There are some strong secondary female characters too, and there are to be further books featuring them.
Courtney Milan's Proof by Seduction has had a fair amount of hype, which is, for the most part, well-deserved. Again, the heroine is not typical, being 30 and a fortune teller, and the hero is somewhat unlikeable in the beginning, but true to the genre, they muddle through and live happily-ever-after in the end. Wicked Little Game by Christine Wells has more ups and downs than an uppy downy thing - set around an indecent proposal made by Lady Sarah's husband to the Marquis of Vane, who has lusted after her for years. He refuses the offer, but Brinsley, knowing that the attraction is mutual, tells Sarah that he owes Vane money and that they will be destitute if she doesn't sleep with him. She goes to plead with Vane to not call in the debts, but confusion reigns and each think that they are being seduced by the other until they fall into bed. Returning home the next morning, she finds her husband dying from a gunshot wound and is arrested for his murder. Should she say where she was and be ruined forever, or say nothing and stand trial? The book has a sort-of mystery as a secondary story, but really neither romance nor mystery were strong enough, and the misunderstandings between Sarah and Vane made me want to shake the pair of them.
I think I have romance burn-out now, and need to read something else for a while - they are all starting to seem the same.
Charlie Higson's The Enemy is the first in a new YA series set in London after everyone over the age of 14 has been infected by a mysterious disease and the lucky ones are dead. Those that remain are zombie-like and feeding off the kids that they can catch. The surviving kids have banded together in Waitrose on Holloway Road, with a rival gang in Morrison's, and live by scavenging the surrounding area for food, fighting off the roaming bands of grown-ups as they go. With food becoming scarce and the grown-ups starting to show some signs of intelligence and organisation, things look bleak until a sole messenger arrives with word of a large camp of children in Buckingham Palace. The rival gangs decide to join forces and travel through London to see if there really is a safe place for them all. This was a very enjoyable, if at times brutal, read - partly because I used to live just off Holloway Road and could really picture where they were - and I look forward to the next in the series with bated breath.
After marathon reading, I am wibbling about whether or not to sign up for the exchange. I have one good prompt, so will have to see if I can come up with any more this week.
I hope everyone is well and happy, and that the weather has improved for those that have been knee-deep in snow.