Quilts and Books

I am preparing to vote for my favorite 2007 books in the annual AAR poll . I'm looking right now at everything I read in 2007. Naturally there's quite a bit published prior to 2007 that isn't eligible for the poll. But I can include them in MY list. Here they are in alphabetical order by author's last name: 1. A Man in a Million / Jessica Bird. 2007 Stylistically you can recognize JR Ward, but it's a category and well done with that economy of words required in this type of book. 2. Claiming the Courtesan / Anna Campbell. 2007 Controversial. But it worked for me. It was not an easy book to read. But every word was significant and it was worth it. 3. Lord of Scoundrels / Loretta Chase. 1994 A re-read. And still as wonderful as it was the first time around. 4. If His Kiss is Wicked / Jo Goodman. 2007 Ms. Goodman is one of the most overlooked authors in romance today. 5. The Outlaw and the Lady / Lorraine Heath. 2001 Everyone is right--Ms. Heath needs to...

Anna Campbell's first book, Claiming the Courtesan was an unusual, dark, and controversial book. I read it and blogged about it last spring. I found that one to be a compelling, well-written book and I was anxious to read this one. Untouched is a very different book, although dark in its own way. The hero, Matthew (a Marquess) has been held in captivity for 9 years while his uncle/guardian convinced the world that Matthew is insane. Thus the uncle has control over Matthew's considerable fortune and property. Matthew lives in a "cottage" that is on what must be a rather large piece of land, surrounded by an unscalable wall. He lives in relative comfort and is able to maintain a scientific correspondence with the outside world. For reasons that aren't entirely clear (or else I missed the reasons), the uncle decides to procure a prostitute for Matthew. Two stereotypically evil henchmen are sent to Bristol to bring back the prostitute. Instead, they accidentall...