Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Books I've been reading . . .

Just recently I have been raiding my daughter's book shelves and since she was the one in my family that caught the "reading" bug better than anyone else, she has quite a collection. The list of books I have read since the New Year are:Italic

Winterbourne by Susan Carroll
The Reluctant Reformer by Lynsay Sands
Love is Blind by Lynsay Sands

Three books by Suzanne Enoch (in order)
After the Scandal
Before the Kiss
Always a Scoundrel

Silver Nights by Jane Feather
The Angel and the Highlander by Donna Fletcher
Lord of the Highlands by Veronica Wolff
Highland Jewel by Lois Greiman

and finally, An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James

I enjoyed all of these books with my favorites being Silver Nights (set in Russia during the reign of Catherine the Great), the three books by Suzanne Enoch, and the Scottish Highlander books. All the titles above, with the exception of the last one, are in the 3.75-5 rating range.

I liked An Affair Before Christmas the least. In fact, I really didn't like it very much at all. There are two, possibly three stories competing for the reader's attention. Way too much going on to keep it all straight. The main story is quite appealing and James would have been wise to bring in the other characters as supporting characters and not main characters in their own story, unless, of course, she would have written this as an anthology and not as a single novel. That's a choice authors must make, but I think her effort to put all three stories into a single novel detracted from all three. I would have to rate this book 2.

It is obvious I like historical romance and find they are a delightful way to spend time. Since I speed-read, it is not difficult to plow through a substantial stack. But for that same reason it is not always easy to keep my attention. So I recommend these titles as being worth the time and trouble.

Book I will re-read in 2010: Katherine by Anya Seton. Absolutely a great historical and very romantic novel!!

7 comments:

Tracy said...

I gave you a book called Silver Knights? Really? I can't recall that book at all - how sad.

I adored Winterbourne - one of my all time favorites.

I have to agree with you on the James book. It just had too much going on and it detracted from the main romance.

Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Welcome Tracy's Mom - Dr. J.! It is a pleasure to meet you. First as Tracy's Mom, then as a fellow romance reader. I look forward to seeing what new authors and insight you bring my way. welcome to the world of blog. Make sure you keep your debit card handy at all times... for I am sure you will find yourself wanting more books than ever before! =)
Have a great day!

Carolyn Crane said...

Hey, welcome! And wow, I'm jealous! I'd love to raid Tracy's bookshelf!

Good point about too many storylines. As a reader, I like to know who is front and center and who to care about, in a way. Who to get invested in. Too many tales in one dilutes that.

This winter I just read my first Enoch - Flirting with Danger. What a fun read!!

Holly said...

I haven't read Jane Feather before, but I have several of her novels on my TBR shelf.

Enoch is always a go-to author for good stories. You'll have to read her Lessons in Love trilogy next. England's Perfect Hero is the best.

I've found James to be hit or miss in the past. Though I have read and enjoyed several of her novels, there were many I didn't care for. I pick her up at the UBS now, or at the library.

Keira Gillett said...

Hi Tracy's Mom! :D Welcome to the world of romance bloggers!

I loved Love is Blind by Lyndsay Sands. It's on my favorite shelf. It's a little crinkled and sad looking because a friend I loaned it to squished it under a seat of her car of all places. lol

Sayuri said...

Hi Tracy's mom.

I see I am in the minority again, in that I loved the Eloisa James book. The multiple charcaters thing I quite like as they all get books of thier own anyway. SO you feel you know thier charcaters a little better.

However, that said, she did take it to extremes in the Duchess in Love series.

It's less apparent in the other series she has.

nath said...

Was it the first time you read Winterbourne? Also, did you read the other books in the Duchesses series by Eloisa James?

Looks like you had a great reading holidays :D