3.5 stars Lady Mariah Dunmore is the daughter of a highly regarded diplomat, and has lived most of her life abroad with her very understanding mother and father. They would like her to find a nice man to marry, but seem perfectly fine with her taking her time and as they have such a good marriage themselves, no problem with her wanting to marry for love. Sadly, Mariah finds all the gentlemen of the London season rather tedious and uninspiring, until she meets a mysterious […]
Four romances for the price of one
Ian MacGregor isn’t even officially the Earl of Balfour yet, that title technically belongs to his older brother, who went off to the Colonies and is presumed dead. It’s been nearly seven years and everyone certainly believes Ian to be the head of the MacGregor clan. While they’re not penniless, they don’t have a whole lot of money to keep the estates going, so Ian is looking for a rich bride to support himself, his two younger brothers, his widowed sister and his niece, not […]
A Hero as well as a servant
I swear at least half of the books I’ve read this year have come from NPR’s Best Books of 2016 list, and Listen to the Moon by Rose Lerner is no different. I was browsing the “love story” section of the list when I came across Lerner’s novel. The blurb stated in part: “Fans of historical romance know that if there’s one thing fictional England has in spades, it’s dukes. But they might not be as accustomed to encountering valets. You might see one briefly, making certain a coat […]
Slavery and “freedom” in the new world
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding The Underground Railroad (2016) by Colson Whitehead. It was, of course, on my most-used book list this year: NPR’s Best Books of 2016. But just in case that’s not enough, it also won the Pulitzer Price and the National Book Award. I’d heard a little bit about it before reading it, and I have to say I wasn’t sold on it. A real underground railroad during slavery? I couldn’t understand why Whitehead would feel the need to add that fantastical […]
Clever retelling of Sherlock Holmes
I think I’d seen A Study in Scarlet Women (2016) by Sherry Thomas both in Cannonball reviews and on NPR’s List of Best Books of 2016. This book is something of a retelling of Sherlock Holmes, except that the famous detective is actually Charlotte Holmes. She helps to solve crimes using an old friend, Lord Ashburton, as an intermediary to bring information to and from Inspector Treadles. Full disclosure: I have never read the original Sherlock Holmes. It is on my Kindle because I found it for free […]
Romance and Mystery in Egypt and England
I can’t remember where or how I found Bound by Your Touch (2009) by Meredith Duran, but it’s another historical romance that didn’t quite do it for me. On paper, it looks like I might like it. There’s a strong, smart, independent heroine, a tortured hero, and some mystery thrown in to spice things up. But I couldn’t get attached to the characters and the mystery didn’t make any sense to me. In the end I was disappointed. The book started out very promising. Lydia Boyce, expecting […]
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