For the last Cannonball, I reviewed books 1 and 3 in the Wallflowers series and enjoyed them; I was asked if I was going to read the Bowman sisters’ books? I am very glad I did, because Lillian’s book, It Happened One Autumn, is possibly my favorite of the four. To recap: the Wallflowers series is about four women who, for various reasons, are having trouble finding suitable husbands in their circles. The eldest, Annabelle, is from a respected family but has no dowry; she finds love in […]
A loveable grab-bag of historical danger and drama
Goodreads summary: “Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her… and her body still cries out for him in her dreams. Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning […]
Religious fear & murder mystery in 12th century Cambridge
Mistress and the Art of Death is first book of in this series from Ariana Franklin. I didn’t quite know what to expect – a pure historical fiction or a paranormal mystery? It’s actually more akin to a modern murder mystery simply set in 12th century Cambridge. Four children have been murdered and the English community, rife with religious prejudice, blames the ghetto-ized Jewish community. Henry II is forced to step in and quarantine the Jewish people in a nearby castle. Lest they be lynched by the Catholic […]
A historical romance with kissing and scheming guardians
Sixteen year old Helena de Stansion, Comtesse D’Lisle, is spending Christmas Eve wandering around the gardens of the convent where her sister is recuperating from illness when a man suddenly drops down into the convent garden pretty much on top of her. Assuming the man is fleeing from something clandestine, she lies to the nuns and the guards when the approach her to ask if she’s seen someone on the grounds. As a thank you for protecting him, the handsome stranger gives her a kiss. […]
Four Regency Christmas Romances – How Timely!
Confession: I blasted through all four books in the Season Series some weeks ago and while they left an impression, they did not leave a great deal of detail. No disrespect to Theresa Romain intended, I would recommend them as pleasant escapism, but everyday life has been quite busy of late and reading these books was taking a hit of reality evasion followed by a black out. Season for Temptation (James/Julia) James has come to spend Christmas with his fiancee’s family. Neither he, nor Louisa, are […]
Sexy Spies + Overwrought Plot = Not-so Sexy Spies
I’m a bit of a self-loathing historical romance reader. Some (Flowers From the Storm, The Grand Sophy, Outlander, Lord of Scoundrels) are really great but the vast majority can best be described as disappointing. In fact if you use Mrs. Julien’s infamous tally (and really, why wouldn’t you) as a guidepost, a meager 10 out of 75 historical romance novels read in 2014 warrant her coveted recommendation. Many of the characters and plotlines are relatively homogeneous because there are only so many variants of “wealthy […]
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