Yankee Stranger by Elswyth Thane

Tibby Day might be ninety-five, but she’s still the matriarch of the Day/Sprague families and a real treat for those who read her story in Dawn’s Early Light, the first book in Thane’s Williamsburg series. Tensions between the North and the South are heating up, and Yankee Cabot Murray finds himself a not so welcome guest in some households, but Tibby welcomes him into her home and marks him as the one man suitable for her favorite granddaughter Eden. Sparks are flying between the two, but is their love strong enough to surmount the obstacles ahead of them as the war between the states begins?

“It was lonely to be in love and not be able to mention his name, or hear from him, or even to answer his letter.”

That’s about all I’m going to tell you – read it for yourself. The novel covers the Civil War from start to finish, and a big thumbs up to Thane for imparting the important battle details to the reader without the endless exposition one finds in so many other Civil War novels (John Jakes, anyone?). I loved watching Eden and Cabot’s relationship grow and change as war changed all of them (Cabot is a seriously dreamy hunk BTW). I adored Tibby who had the gumption to stand up to any damned Yankee soldier with the nerve to search her home for you-know-who that was hidden under her bed. And then there was the doomed relationship between too closely related Sedgwick and Sue. **sniff**

The large extended Day/Sprague families are a bit confusing at the start, so keep your focus on Eden/Cabot, Tibby and Sue/Sedgwick and the rest of them will fit into place as you continue reading. I have noticed some comments from other readers being somewhat shocked at the casual attitudes towards the slaves, but remember this was written many, many years before we became so terribly Politically Correct. Probably my only real complaint is that the ending is a bit too abrupt and I would have enjoyed some more payola or an epilogue to finish things off.

Highly recommended and I will definitely be continuing on with this series.

Palaces of Desire by Karen Alexander

After the death of her father, Nicole de Clervaux becomes the ward of the ever-so-handsome, filthy rich, powerful Duke of Falkland. William brings her to Versailles, where the decadent lifestyle of the rich and famous are a bit of a shock for a sheltered girl from the country, and it doesn’t help much to have a guardian right in the thick of it all. Nicole runs afoul of one of William’s mistresses and after being caught in a compromising position not of her making, and is packed off to the family estate in Bordeaux. With a revolution in full swing, things get a bit tense in France and William slips her out of the country and packs her off to his family castle in the north of England – but can our intrepid heroine stay put for her own good like she’s told to?

No, she can’t. Despite the night of passion they shared in Bordeaux, William and Nicole just aren’t able to talk to each other, although to be fair William’s on bunches of super-secret missions for King George. Nicole feels unwanted and finds a ship to take her back to Bordeaux and safety (fool, there’s a revolution on). Anyhoo, Nicole gets herself landed in prison and any day could be her last before she’s sent off to the guillotine with the other aristocrats.

Oh heck, there’s a whole lot more, but it’s getting tedious trying to recap it so I’m going to stop. There’s a surprise appearance at the prison, a secret wedding, an escape gone awry, a quick trip to Egypt with Napoleon, lots of misunderstandings and many, many episodes of *reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated*. During it all, Nicole analyzes ever big misunderstanding to the nth degree with her perpetual could-have/should-have/would-haves. Argh.

Ooops, one more thing – sexual content. Fairly tame compared to other books from this period, but there are a few seriously cheesy moments that will have you chuckling a bit.

You are like a frightened young doe in the forest, afraid to let the stag mount her and plunge his virile member into her warm depths.” Roger spoke the words deliberately to stimulate and humiliate her, to allow her to recognize herself as a dumb female beast that had no other hope than submission to the dominant male.”

😀

Not great, but not bad either. Library only.

Open Country by Kaki Warner

Tags

New Mexico

Open Country is book two in Kaki Warner’s Blood Roses trilogy (review for book one here) and begins in 1871 as nurse Molly McFarlane finds herself between a rock and a hard place. Her father is dead after supposedly committing suicide, her niece and nephew are at the mercy of their dastardly step-father (an evil baddie with nefarious plots), and it appears there’s some book he thinks Molly has and he’s hot to get it at any cost. Molly flees west with the children where they end up in a horrible train accident. Molly hears that widows will receive $300 for the loss of their husbands, and since Hank Wilkens is as good as dead anyway, she ups and gets herself married to an unconscious groom.

Long story short, Hank survives due to Molly’s excellent nursing skills (her father was a doctor), but his memory’s still a bit off so he believes he married her for love (older brother Brady is in on the deception since he wants a nurse for his pregnant wife Jessica). Molly, Penny and Charlie are brought back to the ranch to join the ever-increasing Wilkens clan at the RosaRoja ranch in New Mexico, where Hank determines to court his *bride* again, and it’s beginning to look like everything might just work out…

And if he had to court a wife for the second time he didn’t remember from the first time, well . . . he’d do it . . . and hope they got to that taking-off-the-clothes part before he was so old he started losing his memory all over again.

That is until Hank’s memory comes back (no spoilers, that’s in the book description), and let’s say he’s not exactly amused. But don’t forget there’s still that evil baddie chasing her (he’s a mean one) and if Molly doesn’t have the mysterious book he wants so badly, just who does have it? And why are his employers so desperate to get it back?

I have to say I am loving this series to bits – especially the kids and the humor. Penny and Charlie are a perfect addition to older brother Brady’s expanding household, most especially Penny. Lord love a sticky six-year-old with a constantly dripping nose asking questions that no adult wants to answer 😀

Because Aunt Molly’s hurt and you said you would keep us safe and now we aren’t.” She let her hands fall to the bed and glared at him. “But I’m not leaving until I get my kitty. You promised.”

Like a dog with a bone, Penny never lets go…

The kid must be part Apache the way she snuck up on a person. “Say what?” he asked groggily. “That I puked.” He squinted up at her, trying to make sense of her words. Conversations with Penny were always a challenge. “Why not?” “Ladies aren’t allowed to say ‘puked.’

I enjoyed watching the relationship between Hank and Molly, and while I understood his anger at her original deception, I think Hank’s anger went a bit too far and it almost evolved into a Big Misunderstanding of the worst kind. The biggest plus for me though was getting to see more of Brady and Jessica from book one. Typically in series like these you’re lucky to get a brief cameo appearance here and there, but Warner puts Brady and Jessica front and center – thumbs up for that. My only real quibble is the final twists with the baddie chasing her, and Molly’s incredibly dumb stunt to save them all. I wanted to wring her foolish neck. Still, you don’t want to miss these and I’m already on the last book, Chasing the Sun.

FTC, Kindle edition via library loan.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

From the rugged mudflats of the Northwestern frontier to a rusting strip mall, West of Here is a conversation between two epochs. In his eagerly awaited second novel, Jonathan Evison tells the stories of the people who first inhabited the mythical town of Port Bonita in Washington State from 1887-1891. Moving ahead more than a century to 2005-06, he introduces those who live there now and must deal with the damage done by their predecessors.

The characters are drawn with compassion and truth, the themes are grand and sweeping: regeneration, the trappings of history, the elusive nature of perception, who makes footprints and who follows them. Evison writes with heart and verve, capturing evocative details and unforgettable scenes.

I know Point Bonita is a fictional setting, but I am curious to figure out where in Washington State it is located in. I’m going to guess the northern Olympic Peninsula and see how close my guess is 🙂

I’ve seen mixed reviews about The Darling Strumpet and I hear the sex is rather OTT at times, but I am curious enough to give it a go.

From London’s slums to its bawdy playhouses, The Darling Strumpet transports the reader to the tumultuous world of seventeenth-century England, charting the meteoric rise of the dazzling Nell Gwynn, who captivates the heart of King Charles II-and becomes one of the century’s most famous courtesans.

Witty and beautiful, Nell was born into poverty but is drawn into the enthralling world of the theater, where her saucy humor and sensuous charm earn her a place in the King’s Company. As one of the first actresses in the newly-opened playhouses, she catapults to fame, winning the affection of legions of fans-and the heart of the most powerful man in all of England, the King himself. Surrendering herself to Charles, Nell will be forced to maneuver the ruthless and shifting allegiances of the royal court-and discover a world of decadence and passion she never imagined possible.

So, what’s landing on your hold shelf this week?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.I haven’t been looting too much from the library as I’m tring to whittle away at my actual pile of owned books for The Biggest Book Loser contest at Paperbackswap so there’s just a couple this week.

One of my friends at Goodreads discovered this long-lost gem via a Bookmooch swap and we’re going to buddy it – although she got a head start on me with this one. The blurb:

“She was a beautiful young innocent, driven into the sins of that womanhood by the dark desires that ruled men’s hearts. You will never forget Lily — as a child watching her mother die in want…as an orphan struggling to protect her reckless brother…as a teen-aged innocent discovering the power of desire…as a fear-filled young girl learning to sell her body in the most elegant brothel in the wickedest city on earth…as a captivating beauty whom men would pay any price to possess…as a mother desperately trying to keep the truth from her daughter…as a woman forced by love to return to the city of her shame and seek to conquer it..

And you will never forget Lily’s story — as it moves from the Hell’s Kitchen squalor and Fifth Avenue splendour of old New York..to the rolling decks of a great clipper ship…to the brawling streets, the fantastic pleasure palaces, the magnificent Nob Hill mansions of San Francisco, through storm and earthquake and fire in a breathless saga of love, intrigue and illicit passion….”

My kinda book. I’ve also been looking for a South American setting for the Around the Wold in 80 days reading challenge at PBS (the only other one I had my eye on was huge) so I was thrilled when Tara at Book Babe reviewed this one and yay (!) the library had it in the catalog.

From critically acclaimed author Jaime Manrique, comes a breathtaking, sweeping novel based on the life of one of the most controversial women in the history of the Americas.

Before there was an Eva Peron, Collette, or Mata Hari, there was Manuela Saenz. Arguably one of the most fascinatingly sexy women in all history, she single–handedly helped to secure independence for much of South America from Spain.

Based on actual events, Our Lives Are The Rivers tells the life story of a woman who was willing to risk it all for her country –and her lover–and in whose legacy lies the history of an entire continent.

I also picked up a few interesting OOP’s at the FOL sale shelf, plus DVD #10 of the old Dark Shadows TV series. I am loving watching this series all over again (yes, I know it’s campy as all get out). except for the current storyline. I can’t wait for the Adam/Frankenstein story to end and Quentin’s to begin and another trip to the past.

That’s my loot for a while, anything good coming your way?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. I’ve been whittling away at my TBR pile and haven’t been looting too much, but I did put in two purchase requests that have just landed.

Anne Neville, daughter of the powerful Earl of Warwick, grows up during the War of the Roses, a time when kings and queens are made and destroyed in an on-going battle for the ultimate prize: the throne of England. As a child Anne falls in love with the ambitious, proud Richard of Gloucester, third son of the House of York. But when her father is branded a traitor, her family must flee to exile in France. As Anne matures into a beautiful, poised woman, skillfully navigating the treacherous royal court of Margaret of Anjou, she secretly longs for Richard, who has become a great man under his brother’s rule. But as their families scheme for power, Anne must protect her heart from betrayals on both sides-and from the man she has always loved, and cannot bring herself to trust.

I’ve heard mixed opinions on this one (as I understand it O’Brien previous books are historical romances), but I just had to see for myself.

A powerful literary debut inspired by a true story.  In 1898, Alaska is an untamed wilderness with an unforgiving climate. At the tail end of a world-wide depression, thousands of destitute people are drawn north by rumors of easy wealth coming out of the remote claims of the Gold Rush. Many of the pilgrims are unprepared for the hardships that await them and find nothing but a desolate landscape already pillaged of its riches by those who came before.

Hannah Nelson, a beautiful young Englishwoman, is one of the late arrivals. After following her husband to a glacier-wracked fjord in the company of three equally desperate men, she discovers that gold is only one of the desires that can consume a person’s soul…

Thanks to Tara at Book Babe for pointing this one out to me, I might have missed it otherwise.

Last bit of loot and not a bookish thing (don’t forget there are more than books  to be found at the library), I picked up DVD #2 of the old Dark Shadows series.  I’m afraid the discovery of this old series is going to seriously cut into my reading time until I’ve watched them all…

Yes, I was one of those young girls who had to rush home from school everyday to watch the latest installment of Barnabas the vampire.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. There was a mention of author Emma Drummond over at Historical Fiction Online and as I love stories of the British Raj and the East I went perusing the library’s catalog. As usual, King County is near perfect and there were several to choose from. I’m starting with these two:

Because of a scandal back in England, Captain Rowan DeMayne, son of an earl, was forced to join the 43rd Light Dragoons, whose seven years in India were mainly spent parading in splendid uniforms on matched chestnut horses. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Mary, widowed twice, is determined to improve her lot, and will eventually become lady’s maid to Rowan’s “beautiful shell” of a wife. Then at last–the 43rd is going to war! Rowan joyfully announces this on horseback to a stunned ballroom. While the over 600 men and 750 fine horses journey through exotic and dangerous terrain to relieve the decimated troops in the Crimea, there’ll be a cholera epidemic and sandstorms, deaths and one pathetic desertion, and Rowan will battle storms within: marital disillusion; nightmare guilt about his (honorable) refusal to prevent the torture death of a bandit’s girl; doubts about the glory of war; and his inexplicable attraction to the lowly Mary.

Set in India at the time of the Raj, Beyond All Frontiers is a mesmerizing historical novel that seems to sum up an entire era through the lives of its characters. The story of a resourceful, courageous woman, Charlotte Scott, it is also the story of Britain’s first war with Afghanistan, which ended with a brutal massacre in the Khyber Pass. And it is a novel about the Empire: how the British gained it – and why they would lose it at last.

A love story of extraordinary depth and power, Beyond All Frontiers is a masterful combination of history, courage, surprise, and passion – a novel that makes us hope desperately to see the hero and heroine learn to care for each other as much as we care for them.

That last one sounds rather similar to The Far Pavilions although I suspect there’s not going to be an Ash and Juli in this one.  What are you checking out this week?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. My loot for this week:

‘The blood in his veins, the blood of the Gyrfalcon…Gilles Goelo watched the soldiers who took ship at Brest bound for the Americas with longing and excitement. To follow them over the oceans was his only chance of escape from the gloomy seminary and priestly future. America at the close of the eighteenth century was a land filled with adventure, and adventure was what young Gilles longed for. Setting out from France to cross to the new world, Gilles was destined to serve General Washington in the soldier’s trade, to face danger and torture and death, to meet the lovely Indian girl whose beauty might tempt him to forget the faithful Juliette who waited for him in France.”

Just you wait until you see the other cover for this one. This is the first in a trilogy by Benzoni, although only the first two were translated into English 😦

And for a group read starting November 1st at the Sweeping Sagas group at Goodreads,

“Patrick Garrity started life as the bastard son of a female convict. Unwanted and unloved, he was born in shame and raised in the poverty of a Sydney orphanage. Barely out of his teens, he left the brawling city to makea new life for himself in the limitless back country of New South Wales. Alone and hungry, he met the woman who would change his destiny and that of an entire continent.

Innocent in the ways of Europeans, Mayrah was the native girl Garrity bought to satisfy his passions. Divided by competing cultures, they were nevertheless united by their fierce love of the land — and eventually, each other. Together they carved out an enormous empire in the great outback, and founded a new generation of Australians who would forever bear the imprint of the pride and passion.”

So what’s sitting waiting for you on your hold shelf?

Marianne and the Lords of the East

Tags

Aimée du Buc de Rivéry, constantinople, Lady Hester Stanhope, Odessa, ottoman empire

There comes a point in a series, especially one about which little is known, that putting too much of the plot into the review is bordering on spoiling the earlier books in the series. Because of that, this review is going to be a bit short (although I found some awesome covers to make up for it ;)).

Now safely landed in Constantinople, Marianne prepares to meet with Aimée du Buc de Rivéry, cousin of Josephine Bonaparte and Queen mother of the Ottoman Empire, to deliver a personal message from the Emperor Napoleon. Mission accomplished, high on her list of things to do are getting rid of something she very much doesn’t want to have, finding Jason Beaufort and sailing off into the sunset, but another surprise return from the dead puts a definite kibosh on that plan. And what a doozie that is – I suspected that person was a-coming back from the dead, but the big reveal sure surprised the heck out of me (loved it though).

Marianne and gang eventually high tail it to Odessa, where she picks up on some choice information that could have dire consequences on Napoleon’s Russian campaign and they’re on the road to Moscow. Like the other books, the action picks up at the start and never lets up. Benzoni really does a great job putting her story and characters in with real life ones – along with Aimée we get brief glimpses of Hester Stanhope, the Duc de Richelieu, The Black Pope along with a hint of a new mystery surrounding the main diamond from that diamond necklace (can’t wait to see what that’s all about). Only one more book until the grand ride is over.

The series in order,

1. Marianne (also found in two volumes as Bride of Selton Hall and The Eagle and the Nightingale) 
2. The Masked Prince 
3. The Privateer
4. The Rebels
5. The Lords of the East
6. The Crown of Fire

Library Loot

I do believe my library holds are now officially out of control. Library loot is a weekly event hosted by Marg and new co-host Claire, and encourages bloggers to share books checked out from the library. My loot for this week,

    

Marianne and the Masked Prince by Juliette Benzoni

This is the second book in Benzoni’s Marianne series and I can’t wait to dig into it. I found a jacket description but it spoils the surprise ending of the first book so I am not posting it here but I will give you this much of it;

So Marianne must once more venture into the unknown: to Italy and the magnificent villa of the Tuscan prince whose face no one has ever seen; a villa haunted by some strange,nameless evil…

The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes

The private lives of the Plantagenets, that ‘passionate brood’ who were the children of Henry the Second and Eleanor of Acquitaine, Richard and Johanna, Henry and John.

Flint by Margaret Redfern

Will and his brother Ned are commandeered into the army of ditch-diggers whose task it is to build the foundations for Edward I new castle at Flint. But the lads are nervous – and not just because they’re far from home. Ned is a mute whose affinity with horses and skills as a herbalist make him suspicious in the eyes of their English overseers. In addition, Ned has been tutored by the exiled Welsh bard Ieuan ap y Gof. An atmospheric and unusually affecting first novel rich in historical and cultural detail.

What books did you ‘loot’ this week?