Medieval Bookworm

This might be romance novel review week.  As I mentioned a week or so ago, I have been intellectually occupied lately by a large amount of work for grad school.  So, when my brain wants to take a holiday, I either don’t read or I borrow historical romance novels from the library for pure entertainment value.  Julia Quinn is my current favorite and I actually have about four of her books requested right now.  The Bridgertons are so, so amusing and they make me feel far better after a day of work, work, work.

Daphne Bridgerton is not quite on the shelf, but she doesn’t have any good husband prospects on the horizon.  She knows that she wants to marry and have a family, but she just hasn’t found the right one yet.  Simon, the Duke of Hastings, wants the exact opposite.  He’s never going to marry and the rabid matchmaking mamas of the ton irritate him.  So, after meeting, Daphne and Simon strike a deal.  They’ll pretend they’re betrothed.  Daphne will get attention because she’s now spoken for by a duke and must be desirable, while Simon will be left alone until Daphne meets someone and cries off.  The only problem with their brilliant plan is that they’re mostly attracted to each other and can’t stay away.

I found this to be an excellent example of the romance genre.  I know people who won’t read them, but honestly they’re just very enjoyable fluff and very easy to get addicted to.   Julia Quinn writes my favorite kind; I actually like the couples and feel that I know them, they’ve got little flaws and quirks, and their love stories are typically more believable than in the average romance novel.  It’s not all about hopping in bed for these two.  They have fun together, they flirt and laugh, and their relationship grows. There’s some added tension here with Daphne’s brother Anthony, who also happens to be Simon’s best friend.  Overall, these two are extremely amusing, especially with the rest of the Bridgerton family in tow.

If you’ve never read a romance novel before and you’re interested to give one a try, I would definitely recommend this one. Buy this book on Amazon.

(I’ll be honest, though, in that the cover of this book made me cringe!  Not to my taste at all.)

For a while, Gaelen Foley was my number one favorite romance novelist.  The first book of hers that I read was Prince Charming and I immediately fell in love with it.  I believe I’ve read it about 8 times now, which might just be my record.  It’s a comfort read at this point, but when I read it the first time it was new and exciting and I felt for the characters in a way I hadn’t experienced before.  Lady Daniela Chiaramonte was a heroine unlike most of the ones I had read about and the plot and the romance were both very exciting.  I can still see some of the scenes from the book in my head.  I’m not sure if I’d feel this way if I read it again – it’s been several years now – but Gaelen Foley has never matched that level for me again.  She doesn’t do it with Her Only Desire, either, but it’s easily as good as many of the historical romances out there.

Miss Georgiana Knight, raised in India, is wary of men.  She has spent too much time reading her aunt’s little book on men and marriage.  Her aunt, however, was the Hawkscliffe Harlot, the most infamous member of the Hawkscliffe family, giving birth to a number of illegitimate children; so it’s difficult to imagine that her views on matrimony should be trusted.  Georgiana thinks they are, until she meets Ian Prescott, the marquess of Griffith, who despite being anti-marriage himself, convinces her to give romance a try.

I enjoyed this book, but I would say it’s about average for a romance.  The characters are spunky, but at least Georgiana is anachronistic and has very modern viewpoints.  It’s very hard to imagine that a girl raised in India, surrounded by Islamic best friends, does not understand how these Muslim girls feel about their religion.  Perhaps she does not approve of their decisions, but the way she behaves is unrealistic.  She is an engaging girl, but I don’t see her as fitting in with the period.  Nor does the language fit in, though, as she constantly calls Ian a “bad boy” and every so often the prose would slip and I’d be jolted out of the story.  I liked Ian a bit better, as he at least fits in with his time period and is properly ashamed of unorthodox behavior.

I didn’t really believe in the love story, but as so often in these books, it happens too fast for me to believe it’s anything but lust.  The couple goes through a lot together, but I didn’t see a compelling reason that I should root for them to remain together.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book, because I did.  I found the plot moderately interesting and I liked the appearance of characters I recognized from the rest of the Knight Miscellany books.  I never wanted to put the book down.  I do feel, however, that there is a reason people say the Spice Trilogy (of which this is the first book) is not as good as Foley’s previous efforts, because this is not.  If you’re looking for a good place to start, go with the Ascension Trilogy or The Duke, both of which I really enjoyed.

Check it out on Amazon.