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 Three years ago, Frances Allard left her past behind to become a teacher at Miss Martin’s school for girls in Bath. One Christmas after visiting her elderly great-aunts, Frances’s carriage gets stuck in a snowstorm. Behind her is Lucius Marshall, Viscount Sinclair, a man who has just been admonished to settle down and take a wife. When his carriage knocks hers off the road, he is obliged to escort her to a mostly abandoned country inn. Two days is all it takes for them to cast a spell over each other, but Frances will not be his mistress and Lucius knows his grandfather has his ailing heart set on Lucius’s marriage with Portia Hunt. Three months later, Frances and Lucius meet again by chance, but he knows this time that he can’t let her slip away from him again.
This is the second book I’ve read by Mary Balogh and I found it just as enchanting as the first (Simply Perfect). We know from almost the beginning that Frances has “a past” which is preventing her from saying yes to marrying Lucius or even allowing him to court her, but that doesn’t stop his journey to win her over from making us fall in love with him. He’s a little too arrogant in his knowledge of what’s good for her, but the thing is, she does want to do everything he tries to get her to do, including marry him. She just has to break down the boundaries of her past first, and only by forcing her into society again will that happen, although Lucius doesn’t know it at the time. I did think Frances’s issues with her past a little exaggerated once we learn what they are, but this is not a romance which is heavy of external plot, nor does it matter.
Besides the characters, I also liked how this book portrays the struggle of contentment versus happiness. Contentment is generally relatively easy to attain. I’m content when I’m reading or thinking about history. I’m happy when I’m with Keith, and believe me, it was difficult and risky to get where we are today, and it’s going to be still more difficult to get where we want to be. It’s absolutely worth it. In this book, Frances is content as a schoolteacher and might even be content with her other beau. Lucius could be content with Portia and children. Together, they would be happy but it’s hard and risky to get there. I like that. It rings true to life and reminds us why taking risks to go after what we really want is so worth it. Doesn’t have to be a person of course, it’s true in all aspects of life.
Overall, I found this to be a moving and enjoyable novel. Definitely a worthy read for anyone who would like a little more romance in their lives. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
This book is available from Amazon and Amazon UK .
 Tally can’t wait to be a pretty. Her best friend has already turned 16 and had the operation. Against all the rules, Tally sneaks into New Pretty Town and visits him, promising to do nothing to risk remaining an ugly forever. In that short summer, Tally meets Shay, another ugly who shares Tally’s birthday. The two become fast friends, but Shay, disturbingly, does not want to be a pretty. When Shay sneaks away just before their birthday, Tally is forced to go find her or never become a pretty; but after all that she discovers, does she really want to be one?
Uglies was such a fascinating book. I’m very into YA dystopian novels. Actually, I like most of them, but adult versions can get very depressing. This one reminded me in some ways of The Giver, a fantastic book that I’ve read countless times over the years. Both kids learn that their perfect, happy society is not at all what it seems in the end and that maybe they don’t want to conform to their society’s expectations of them.
Since I knew something was “wrong” with pretties, or at least something wasn’t good about them, I do have to confess I found myself frustrated with Tally for being so excited about the transition. I didn’t know what it was, though, and as I was impatient to find out, I found myself racing through the book. It’s a fairly quick read, I got through it in an evening, but the desire to know did not outweigh the pleasure that I found in these pages. Tally becomes a wonderful character, growing and changing and becoming more interesting. I love when this happens and when it’s believable. She makes mistakes and she learns from them. I’m not sure any of the secondary characters enjoyed a similar level of personability or character development, but there isn’t enough space with the dynamic, fast-moving plot.
I loved the little details about Tally’s world and how it has changed and I hope that in the following books, we get to learn more. It’s great when she finds old magazines and finds people who aren’t pretties being defined as beautiful, when she travels through the old rusted city and rides the roller coaster, or the orchid that eradicates all other plant life. Her own world is interesting too, with walls that can produce any movie she’d like, the endless parties in New Pretty Town, and the suburbs where all of the older pretties live. Again, I hope it in the next few, we can explore a little more outside this particular settlement.
Uglies was an interesting, thoughtful, but exciting and at times intense read. I think it can be appreciated by adults and young adults alike. There is enough here to ponder over while still providing a compelling story. I recommend it and I really look forward to the rest of the series, since this one ends in a cliffhanger!
 Cornelia was working in the cafe one day when Martin Grace walked in, suave and sexy and the image of a modern day Cary Grant. Amazingly, he asks Cornelia to go to London with him, that day. She refuses, but he still calls. And sends her flowers. Martin Grace, however, is not the love that comes into Cornelia’s life. That comes later, in the shape of a little girl named Claire Hobbes, whose mother is not herself and whose father is not very interested in her. With the help of her brother-in-law, Teo, and her friends and family, Cornelia learns what love is.
This book promised me a modern day fairy tale, and in a way, it delivered just that, but in a very contemporary setting and tone of voice. I loved both Claire and Cornelia. I love their separate voices and the love that developed between them. I adored Claire’s stubborness and Cornelia’s dreams and the way that they meshed. From the minute Cornelia played with a baby in the first few pages, I knew what was going to happen for her in this book, but I loved the way it unfolded.
Actually, I didn’t predict all of it; some things I did not foresee immediately. In that sense, this isn’t a typical romance; Martin isn’t really the love that’s walking in, although the book makes it sound that way at first. Rather, he is the change that allows Cornelia to embrace love in her life. I liked that. Cornelia says this at the beginning, so I’m not giving anything away.
I also really liked the writing in this book. Unfortunately I have already had to return it to the library, so I don’t have any quotes, but you can certainly see the result of the author’s degrees! The prose is simultaneously beautiful and personable; it’s as if the characters are talking to you, but they’ve put a great deal of thought into their words. I loved that she threw in so many movie references while citing Cornelia’s addiction to classic movies. I haven’t watched a ton of old movies, but I have seen enough of the classics to get who she was talking about and it really enhanced my ability to visualize the characters, something that I generally struggle with.
Overall, this was a charming, enchanting read. This is another one of my finds through book blogging and I’m so grateful to have discovered so many fantastic titles lately! I have Belong to Me, the sequel, waiting for me at home, and I can’t wait to read it. Love Walked In has my enthusiastic recommendation.
Available via IndieBound, Powell’s, Amazon, and Amazon UK.
 In 1861, the silkworms begin to die. Herve Joncour and the rest of the citizens living in his small town in France have made their living from silkworms and aren’t sure what to do next. Trips just to Syria and Egypt will not bring back the healthy, thriving silkworms to fuel their economy. Businessman Baldabiou then tells Herve that the silkworms in Japan are still thriving, legendary for the quality of their silk. Bidding his lovely wife Helene good-bye, Herve sets off for Japan a total of four times, finding not only silkworms but also a quiet, passionate love in exotic, closed-off Japan.
This book is very short, less than 200 pages long, but the amount it packs into those 200 pages is truly breathtaking. In the space of page-long chapters, Baricco successfully conveys such strong emotion that as a reader, I was deeply moved. Without speaking, Herve falls in love with a mistress of Hara Kei, his silkworm contact in Japan. The mistress stands out because of her distinctly non-Japanese eyes which linger on Herve throughout the interview. With both elaborate and quiet gestures, the couple make their love known to each other, but they will never be able to express it. Through it all, what part does Herve’s wife Helene have to play? They love each other but how will Herve reconcile his two passions?
I was particularly surprised by how erotic this book became towards the end. There is a letter exchange which had me blushing, especially as I was reading the book while making dinner in my communal kitchen! Despite that, however, what this novel does convey is that beauty of simplicity while implying a great deal of depth. Except for a few times, Baricco doesn’t have to spell out what his characters are feeling. The beauty of his words, his descriptions of their actions, and the build-up of the characters themselves show us how they are feeling. I love when an author can do this. Showing consistently and never telling is, to me, one of the marks of a great writer.
Something else I liked was the way this book taught me about cultures in the latter half of the 19th century. Through these characters and their interactions, we learn about the culture of wealthy French people, about the east-west divide through all that Herve has to surmount not just to get to Japan but to even talk with the people who live there, and about the silkworm business and trade. I knew little about any of these topics and I found the little bits included to be very interesting. The deliberate foreignness of Japan, which had closed itself off to westerners, added something to the quality of the forbidden romance between Herve and the girl with the round eyes.
For such a short book, this one packs in a lot. It can be read and carefully considered in the space of an afternoon. I’d recommend it for those looking for a thoughtful but emotionally impacting read.
Silk is available from Amazon and Amazon UK.
 I love the quote on the back of this book, it’s why I picked it up, so I’m just going to stick it here:
Sophie came to Temptation, Ohio,
to help her sister make a movie.
Now she’s making trouble for the town council,
love with the mayor,
and lemonade for a murderer …
Welcome to Temptation.
Population 2,158.
And falling.
I don’t know why that appeals to me, but it’s catchy somehow! Sophie is a straight-laced thirtysomething who is happy with the success of her wedding filming business and less than excited to head to Temptation to make a movie with Clea, a former porn star who has connections with her brother. Amy, Sophie’s sister, is thrilled, and try as she might, Sophie can’t really deny her little brother and sister much of anything because she wants to protect them and help them be successful. The mayor, Phineas Tucker, is in for it when Sophie and Amy arrive in town. He’s young, attractive, and rich, which to Sophie sends warning signs every time. He can’t help his attraction, though, and in the end, neither can she.
What I really liked about this book is that there is so much more to it than the romance. The romance becomes comfortable because the other issues are a little stressful, like Phin’s difficult mother, adorable child, and struggle to remain mayor and somehow keep his town happy, as well as Sophie’s trust issues and family hang-ups. There is a lot of sex, but unusually it actually furthers the plot, reveals a whole lot of Sophie’s problems, and once the first couple of scenes are past we don’t get much more description; they think about it, though. I guess that’s normal, but this is one of the racier romances I’ve read lately.
Once Sophie and Phin have a thing going on, the book sort of switches over to a murder mystery and all the small-town rivalries and obsessions are revealed in the search to figure out who did it. Sophie is victim of a few attacks and that only complicates matters more. Like I mentioned earlier, I was actually quite into the plot of this one and not just because I wanted to see how the couple got together in the end. We knew that was going to happen, but we didn’t know who was a murderer. I even enjoyed the little side story with Rachel and her struggle for her own independence.
Best of all, this book is funny! I’ve found that my favorite romance authors are those who can pull off banter between the two main characters and leave me smiling, too.
“I love this,” Sophie said, beaming at him. “I look like hell and you’re chasing me around the kitchen. This is great.”
“I am not chasing,” Phin said.
Sophie undid the top button on her blouse.
“I’m chasing,” Phin said. – p. 190
It’s just cute! I did have trouble picking an excerpt, though, because there are a lot of expletives in this book. Not used in a derogatory way, but they’re there. It’s very playful, like the rest of the book, but it’s definitely there.
I’d recommend this absolutely. I’ll also recommend this even if you’re not looking for a romance. I think there is enough here to make it a great, fun summer read beyond that. It’s flirtatious, witty, endearing fun.
This book is available from Amazon and Amazon UK.
 As a poor orphan, Eleanor Courteney figured that she was safe from marriage and would be spending the rest of her life with her friend Belle in the home of the earl of Somerset. Lord Edmund has bigger plans for her, though, and sends her off to be wed to Robert Morland, the son of a wealthy Yorkshire sheep farmer. At first deeply unhappy with her father-in-law and new husband, Eleanor soon starts to appreciate her husband and assert her own independence and influence over her household. When her father-in-law dies, Eleanor virtually takes his place as head of the family. This family witnesses the events of the close of the Hundred Years’ War, the Wars of the Roses, and Bosworth Field, always on the side of the Yorkists.
The Morland Dynasty is a huge, huge series of books that is still not finished. Each volume covers a bunch of years in the family’s life and I’m pretty sure they each have a separate story and don’t leave us with cliffhangers. Or so I hope! Anyway, as you all know, I’m a fifteenth century England nerd. I have pretty strong opinions on the history here. This book, for anyone who is interested, is really a romantic image of Yorkist England. I was particularly amused by the constant emphasis on Richard, duke of York as a soldier. Every noble was supposed to be a soldier. Obviously not everyone was inclined to enjoy martial pursuits but they were supposed to and made an effort to appear soldierly, except maybe Henry VI. This doesn’t make Richard special. Also, some outdated history; there’s no chance that the princes in the tower actually made it to Yorkshire, much less were killed by Henry VII. It’s tremendously unlikely that no one anywhere would have reported their existence in those two years. The author provided an author’s note in the front of the book with her bibliography list, so I do know just how outdated that history is – I have read every single one of the books in question! I give her a ton of credit for doing that research, though, and I don’t want to take that away. It’s just that a lot has changed in the past 30 years.
Okay, on to the book itself. The prose reminds me of books I used to read when I was a kid, which might make sense because it was written in the 80s. It has that idealized feel which makes me realize why everyone wants to live in the past. It’s just lovely in this book. Even though there are battles and people die in horrific ways, everyone moves on fairly quickly and continues with their happy, usually long lives. It’s a nice story, a saga through years of turmoil that still manages to make it all sound rosy. I don’t know how Harrod-Eagles manages that, but she certainly does. To be honest, I like it. It didn’t really bug me that the history was old because this doesn’t really feel like the Middle Ages I know; it’s an idealized period that never actually existed.
I liked the characters, too. Eleanor is a strong, independent woman. It’s also interesting to see how she goes from young, impressionable girl to strong, old-fashioned grandmother and head of the family. I like how the affection between her and her husband grows very slowly over time. I think it’s a nice example of what might actually happen in arranged marriages. There are, of course, bad examples of that in this book too, but the initial Morland marriage is the foundation of the entire dynasty.
I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series. Maybe this isn’t great, thoughtful reading, but I found it to be very enjoyable. I would recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction in particular.
This book is available from Amazon and Amazon UK.
 Elizabeth Hotchkiss and her orphaned, poor, but noble family are in desperate need of a savior. Elizabeth acts as a companion to Lady Danbury, but that doesn’t pay enough for her to send her little brother, a viscount, to Eton like generations of his forebears have gone, nor even for their sustenance. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so Elizabeth decides to somehow marry a rich man. Unknowingly, she is already falling in love with one, as Lady Danbury’s new estate manager, Elizabeth’s tutor in the ways of flirtation, is actually a marquis.
This is one of Quinn’s earlier books and it shows in the more stereotypical set-up, but it’s still a lot of fun. Elizabeth’s struggle, determination, and frustration all feel genuine. As for James, the marquis, he probably should have revealed his true identity to Elizabeth long before, but his secrecy is almost part of the fun. I liked both characters and I didn’t even mind Elizabeth’s younger brothers and sisters. Moreover, I just found out that a couple of these characters are in another of Quinn’s novels so I’m looking forward to seeking that out.
Overall, not much to say! Fun, enjoyable, light read. Not a lot of substance but delightful anyway. This may be my shortest review ever.
Available from Amazon and Amazon UK.
 When the alien soul Wanderer is implanted into Melanie Stryker’s brain, Melanie refuses to fade away. Earth has been taken over by these small souls who are seemingly peaceful and desire to placate the human race like they have with so many other races. Some humans, though, fight back, and using her memories, Melanie persuades Wanderer to seek out her lover and her brother, leaving behind this so-called peaceful society and entering the world of renegade humans.
Just a few general comments since this has been reviewed over and over:
I was a little impressed with the relationships in this book in comparison to Twilight. I didn’t like Jared in the book, but I did like the Jared in Melanie’s memories. I found Wanderer’s love story to be very believable, though, and I was surprised by that considering how I felt about Edward and Bella. I thought Wanderer a little too submissive, unfortunately, but Meyer creates a society in which her submissive characters belong. Even Melanie goes quiet after a while despite her determined personality; it seems none of her females have much of a backbone. Mostly, I just appreciated the better relationships, most particularly the one between Melanie and Wanderer.
That said, I liked the story. It dragged in the middle when everyone was getting used to Wanderer’s presence, but otherwise I thought it was a quite interesting take on the “bodysnatchers” idea. For science fiction, it didn’t put me off, and I managed to read the entire book over 2 days. I worried about the characters on their raids, I wanted them to succeed, and overall I thought the book asked a few interesting questions about the ideals of humanity. Honestly, I liked it, and I would recommend it.
The one thing I don’t really understand is how this is more of an adult book than Twilight. Sure, the characters aren’t teenagers, but not much else changed with regards to prose style, language, or offensive content. Thoughts?
This book is available from Amazon and Amazon UK.
 Miss Claudia Martin, aged thirty-something and well on the shelf, has made a life for herself by running a girls’ school in Bath, work that is fulfilling and thoroughly enjoyable. When the Marquess of Attingsborough appears at her school and offers to escort her and her two charges to London for their employment interviews, the stern Claudia is astonished and disapproving. She can handle herself very well, after all, and does not need his help. What she needs, however, is far different from what she’d like, a lesson Claudia very much enjoys learning.
This one started out slow, but very soon I could see why people love Mary Balogh. This book is heartbreakingly sweet. I could feel these characters fall in love with each other and I completely fell in love with them, too. Claudia is determined, stubborn, and ridiculously smart; falling in love doesn’t change her but augments her personality in wonderful ways. She’s stern for a reason and when we learn that reason, it’s much easier to feel for her and cheer for her to go after what she really wants.
As for the marquess, Joseph, he’s endearing all on his own. His love for his blind daughter and his discovery that he doesn’t have to hide who he loves or why is a touching part of the story on its own. He is so used to the rigid expectations of society that he never, ever thinks about questioning them until Claudia begins to question him. After all, she has shrugged off all expectations to become a remarkably successful woman; surely Joseph can do the same when it comes to a love for his daughter and moreover, a love for this woman.
Overall, if you’re looking for an emotional, heartening romance that makes you feel emotions and not just read about them happening, I recommend this. There isn’t much plot involved, but it’s hard to care. Worth noting, however, that this is the last in the “Simply” series about teachers at Miss Martin’s school. I have not read the first three, but I’m sure they would have only enhanced my enjoyment of this one.
Buy Simply Perfect on Amazon.
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