Quilts and Books

Yes, yes, I know. It's November. I don't want to admit how long I've had a draft of this post waiting to be published. 5. Her Best Worst Mistake / Sarah Mayberry . (2012) This book received a lot of attention when it was first released, so I was pretty eager to read it. Plus, I've liked most of Mayberry's books that I've read. This is an enemies to lovers story, and really interesting in the way Mayberry's characters, Violet and Martin, shed the assumptions each has had about the other. This book runs concurrent to Hot Island Nights (which I haven't read). Elizabeth and Martin had been engaged for years, when suddenly Elizabeth flies off to Australia in search of her biological father. She leaves her best friend, Violet, to break the news to Martin. Martin and Violet have never gotten along. Violet thinks Martin is all wrong for Elizabeth, and Martin objects to Violet's flamboyant ways. On the surface they seem so different for one another, yet w...

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...

Castle of the Wolf is an unusual book, because it can’t be easily pigeon-holed into a specific type of story. It’s not a paranormal, but does have just a hint of the paranormal in it. I wouldn’t call it a gothic novel, yet it certainly has moments with a distinct gothic feel. It’s not a comedy, but there were many humorous moments, particularly in the beginning when Cissy arrives at the castle. The hero and heroine are common archetypes in historical romance-land—he’s disfigured from the Napoleanic wars (lost a leg), and she’s the spinster sister who refuses to settle for living under the thumb of her bitchy sister-in-law. The year of its setting is fairly common for a European historical (1827), but the place most definitely is not common (Germany’s Black Forest). All of these elements are deftly woven together by the author. In addition there are all sorts of literary references. Some I recognized, but many I didn’t. And it doesn’t come across as pretentious. The heroine is well re...