Quilts and Books

Wow. This book is nearly 40 years old. And no, it hasn't been in my TBR pile 36 years. I bought it used a number of years ago, so I have had it a while. The romance I read these days is written much differently than it was back in the 80's. It was kind of refreshing to read a book so noticeably different in style and tone from those published today. A Kind of Honor  is Joan Wolf's second published book. (And it's a vast improvement over her first book, which I reviewed for TBR Day 6-1/2 years ago.) This one takes place during the winter/spring of 1812-13. England is preparing for what it hopes will be a final and decisive blow against Napoleon's army in Spain. But there's a traitor leaking vital information to the French. Our hero, Adam, who is home after being wounded in Spain, is tasked with finding and stopping the leak. It's made obvious right away that the traitor is a French émigré, the Duc de Gacé. Gacé is married to an Englishwoman, who is d...

This month's TBR theme is "Recommended Read." I couldn't find anything specific that really fit with the theme. What I do have is a pretty nice pile of old Signet Regencies that I bought thanks to years of participating in the Regency Yahoo email loop . I must admit that these days I just skim the messages, but there was a point when I was a regular participant in the group and I jotted down all kinds of recommendations and then went off to the UBS or eBay to see what I could find. Joan Wolf  wrote a couple of Regency trads that to this day remain favorite re-reads: The American Duchess and His Lordship's Mistress . Fortunately much of her back list is now available in e-format. Today she writes for the Christian market. This particular book is one of her earliest books. Here's the blurb: Only a girl as captivating as Catriona Maclan could have overcome the scandal of her birth to shine as the most sought-after young lady of the London season. Only...

A few years back I spent a grand total of $6.00 and bought a small stack of old traditional Regencies by Joan Wolf, all published in the '80s. Joan Wolf (link provided, but her site is currently offline) wrote a couple of my favorite trads, including The American Duchess and His Lordship's Mistress . The ones I bought were her earliest books. This particular book, The Counterfeit Marriage , was her very first. I'm sorry to say that I could not bring myself to finish it. TCM was published February 1980. Perhaps the date explains why the book begins with a rape of the heroine by the hero. When Catherine seems to get over her anger with James by p. 26, I knew I wouldn't go much further. I did skim through the rest of the book. There's some interesting period stuff there. The book takes place after Waterloo. James had been instrumental in some of the diplomatic stuff after the war, but he leaves Vienna dissatisfied with the political situation and what he sees as a be...