Quilts and Books

5. Someone to Cherish / Kate Rothwell. Here's an entertaining historical set in 19th c. New York City. Callie Scott is an incredibly naive young woman who had been very restricted by her now-dead grandmother. Left on her own, Callie takes a job with her late father's friend only to find herself caught up in a scandal surrounding a murder, and the scandal in turn leaves her homeless. The detective on the case, Cutter, ends up hiring Callie to take care of his dying landlady. Cutter himself grew up on the streets and he feels entirely unworthy of a true lady like Callie. Callie's a funny, engaging character who is a great foil for the stubborn, taciturn Cutter. In enjoyed them both. Plus, it's always great to read a historical set outside of Europe.

4. A Place Called Home / Jo Goodman. This is a contemporary romance by one of my favorite authors. Goodman normally writes historicals and it was very enjoyable to read something so different from what I'm used to from he…

November was a great reading month. I read quite a bit, helped in part by Thanksgiving travel that saw me trapped in the car for hours on end (I'm a good in-car reader as I let my DH do all the driving). I really liked almost everything I read and it was not easy to pick my top 5 for the month. The "winners" include not one, but TWO "chicks in pants" historicals. Loved them both.

5. SEAL of My Dreams by various authors. This anthology was released on Veterans Day and I was happy to purchase it as the proceeds go to a worthy cause. The stories in the book are quite short and some are better than others. Overall, I really enjoyed this. They are a wonderful tribute to the sacrifices that military service members make on behalf of our country.

4. Sea Change by Darlene Marshall. Besides being a very nicely done romance, this book was a fascinating look at life at sea during the early 19th century. This was the first of the two books I mentioned above featuring a her…

Silver Linings by Jayne Ann Krentz. I saw a reference to this a while back (on Smart Bitches?) and was able to read it because my local library has a fine collection of older Krentz titles in large print. Hugh was once engaged to Mattie's sister, Ariel. When Hugh and Ariel broke up, Mattie threw herself at Hugh, but Hugh turned her down. Shortly after that, Hugh realized his mistake, but Mattie won't have anything to do with him. Finally they reunite--over a dead body. Hugh rescues Mattie and manages to insinuate himself back into her life. This is a campy, fun story. Originally published in 1991, it's quite dated to those of us now accustomed to daily use of the internet and cell phones. Still, Mattie makes a great foil for Hugh who is typically alpha and sometimes quite clueless. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Heart Search by Robin D. Owens. Owens' "Heart" series is for people who are fond of fated mates and cats. As I've said before, I love the world of Celta…

I'm trying to remember what the heck I was doing in September that kept me so busy. Because apparently I only read 8 books and a small collection of 4 very short stories. Weird. Because all it did was rain. It's not as if I went outside and did something active or useful. I didn't finish a quilt either. Oh well. But that leaves me with only 4 books that I want to talk about this month. And they are:


4. The Unmentionables by Karen Ranney. Here is the product description from Amazon: The Unmentionables is a collection of short stories told by Victorian undergarments, from the under appreciated pair of drawers belonging to a countess, to the corset owned by a young miss, to a pair of enthusiastic stockings, and finally to a maid's shift.This collection of very short stories barely took me 30 minutes to read--about 5-10 minutes per story. It's a fine piece of whimsy that was both romantic and interesting as I considered how different the Victorian clothing was from wha…

I'm catching up!!

5. Swept Away by Karen Templeton. Someone must have mentioned this book in their blog back at the beginning of the summer (probably for TBR day). I wish I could remember who so I could say thank you. Anyhow, I'm glad they did as this was a nice inexpensive download for my Kindle that I really enjoyed. Carly Stewart is a retired ballerina who is traveling through little Haven, OK with her recently bereaved father when their RV breaks down. What starts out as a brief stay grows into something more when Carly finds herself attracted to rancher Sam Frazier--widower and father of 6 kids, including a 15yo teenage girl with an attitude. Carly is an atypical heroine. She's not the mothering type and she is truly struggling over the loss of her career. Sam had married his high school sweetheart and never figured he'd fall for someone like Carly who is independent, tough, and a little prickly. This short category romance is an example of the genre done right. G…

5. Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath. When I finished this book, my immediate reaction was to admit that I was simply impressed by the risks Heath took in writing about a couple who deliberately commit adultery. I'm writing this several months after having read it, and I'm still ambivalent as to whether I consider it a "phave" or not. In case you missed it, Jayne is married and her husband (Wolfort) is paralyzed from a carriage accident several years previously. His health is (conveniently) declining as well. Wolfort wants Jayne to be able to have a baby and he suggests that Jayne and his cousin (and best friend, Ainsley, the Duke) have an affair in hopes that she would become pregnant. Since this is set in a time when divorce was this close to impossible, you know going in that Jayne's husband will have to die in order for there to be a happy ending between she and Ainsley. And how happy a future can you envision when a relationship begins in such a way?…

5. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn. Even though I usually prefer a little more meat to my historicals, Quinn is still one of my favorite authors. Her humor and likable characters make her books fun, and sometimes, very emotional reads. Set in her Bridgerton world, this is the first in a new series featuring the unfortunate young women made infamous by the Smythe-Smith Musicales referred to in the earlier books. Marcus and Honoria have known one another since they were young as Marcus is her brother's best friend and Marcus spent much time with Honoria's family. While it's not quite a "friends to lovers" story, it is a story of two people who begin to see one another in a new light. Thoroughly enjoyable for fans of Quinn's work, although not my favorite.

4. A Marriage of Inconvenience by Susanna Fraser. This is the second book by Fraser that I have read and I liked it as well as her first one. While published second, it takes place before the events in The Ser…