SisterGoldenBlog

Libertine’s Kiss

by Judith James

Historical

Harlequin, 2010

Abandoned by his cavalier father at a young age, William de Veres grew up knowing precious little happiness. But William has put the past firmly behind him and as a military hero and noted rake, he rises fast in the ranks of the hedonistic Restoration court. Though not before he is forced to seek shelter from a charming young Puritan woman…

The civil wars have cost the once-high-spirited Elizabeth Walters her best friend and her father, leaving her unprotected and alone. She flees an unwanted marriage, seeking safe haven, but what she finds is something she never expected. When her kindness and her beauty bring her to the attention of William, and then the king, she will have a choice to make. After all, can a notorious libertine really be capable of love?

This is the story of William de Veres, a Cavalier and Libertine. He has attached himself to the Royalist cause during the English Civil War, a time when Parliamentarians wrenched control of England by executing King Charles I and establishing a Protectorate overseeing a new Commonwealth of England. During Charles II’s exile from England, William is attached to his party, slipping into England as a spy and a highwayman to raise funds and facilitate communications with Charles’ supporters.

Elizabeth Walters is the a daughter of a prominent Parliamentarian and Puritan. As a child, she had a close relationship with the neighbor boy, William de Veres. A crush developed, that was cut short when William was sent away to school and Civil War broke out.

The crux of this story takes place after the fall of Cromwell’s England and the re-establishment of Charles II and his court in London. William is now Lord Rivers and is Charles’ favored poet and companion, a regular Cavalier, or Libertine, living a hedonistic life. Elizabeth has been displaced during the intervening years, living in extreme poverty, and is forced to appeal to Charles to reclaim her lost estates.

When she approaches the court, she is also re-introduced to William, who pledges to aid her in her cause. He helps to coach and prepare her so that she can be successful in her appeal, the entire time growing more and more infatuated with her.

One of the first things that appealed to me about this book was the setting –there are very few published romances set in Oliver Cromwell’s England, after all. What an intriguing and refreshing historical era, and one that admittedly I knew very little about before beginning this novel.

Sadly, I found myself dragging through the first number of chapters, slogging through backstory. At one point, I seriously considered setting the book aside but I had heard such good things about this author and the era was so intriguing, that I stuck with it and I’m glad that I did. In retrospect, while the information obtained in these first chapters is important to the story overall, I’m left feeling that the novel began too early –that it really should have begun when Elizabeth decided to appeal to the King. If the story had begun there and the other information been woven in, I would have been engaged immediately and delightedly.

Once Elizabeth did go to court, a number of things happened. The story picked up in pace and the characters began to sparkle, revealing facets of depth and conflict and hope and despair. William himself was an unusual character –an unrepentant womanizer and alcoholic, a true hedonist in every sense. Elizabeth is a pragmatic woman, who is caught between wanting to build a stable life for herself and her household, and her attraction to William –the boy she once knew and loved. She is willing to understand and forgive the man that he is today in order to regain the boy that she once knew.

I’m so glad that I stuck with this story because the author has a real knack for developing characters with sincere and realistic motivations and foibles. There are no TSTL hokey actions and misunderstandings or 2 dimensional characters that behave in uncharacteristic ways. Oh, no. William is a Libertine of the true sense –he thoughts and actions prove this out. Even when Elizabeth tells him that he must change in order to keep her, he struggles with whether or not he actually can –or even wants to.

I’m sure some readers will find this appalling and off-putting, that a romance hero would treat his heroine in this way. However, I found this to be not only true to the characters but also true to the era. People lived and thought differently, and I prefer a historical romance to take that one and own it, rather than to drop in modern sensibilities and pretend like it didn’t exist.

This is a complex and rich tale of loss and redemption, and one that has found a spot on my keeper shelf. Not only do I plan to reread it again in the future, the era has inspired me to learn more (and perhaps write) about it.

Assessment: Recommended

Notice: To comply FTC Guidelines, please be aware that this book was provided by the publisher as an ARC (advance reader’s copy) via NetGalley.

Back from RWA in Orlando and just got all of my boxes (yes, plural!) of books. What pretties they are, too. MisterGolden snatched the Jaci Burton erotic romance from my pile and hied off to read it. But the rest of them are now safely on the TBR shelves.

So many new authors to try –and at least 2 ARCs in the bunch! This is one of my favorite things about receiving books and meeting new folks at conferences –I always discover new authors that I wouldn’t likely have stumbled upon any time this decade independently (I tend to live a sheltered life, LOL).

Ahoy, new reviews! Can’t wait to read ‘em and tell you about ‘em, so you might discover some new authors, too!

The Darkest Lie

by Gena Showalter

Paranormal

Harlequin, 2010

Forced to his knees in agony whenever he speaks the truth, Gideon can recognize any lie–until he captures Scarlet, a demon-possessed immortal who claims to be his long-lost wife. He doesn’t remember the beautiful female, much less wedding–or bedding–her. But he wants to…almost as much as he wants her.

But Scarlet is keeper of Nightmares, too dangerous to roam free. A future with her might mean ultimate ruin. Especially as Gideon’s enemies draw closer–and the truth threatens to destroy all he’s come to love….

The latest installment of Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series is about Gideon Lord, the immortal who was paired with the demon Lies. Gideon cannot speak the truth without experiencing excruciating pain, and he can sense when others are telling truth or lies. Until he meets Scarlet and she tells him that she’s his wife. Not only does he not remember her, his demon cannot even tell if she’s lying or not.

Scarlet is another immortal, paired with the demon Nightmares. She has been following her husband, Gideon, watching in despair as he lives a life separate from her. Until she is captured by one of the Lords and is forced to face Gideon for the first time in thousands of years. When it’s clear that he doesn’t even remember her, Scarlet decides she’ll give him a taste of her torment by telling him just enough of their history to twist him up inside.

This is an excellent addition to the Lords series, rife with plot twists and angst, as these two people figure out what they once meant to each other and what they can mean together in the future. Not only is a re-discovery of two virtual strangers, it’s also a thorough exploration of the nature of lies, and what they can do to people and lives.

It’s also a bit of a challenging read (and I imagine quite a challenge to write!) because poor Gideon can only speak untruth, so everything he says has to be translated to the opposite. This, Gena Showalter handles like an absolute pro, and at no point did I feel lost because of this character flaw. She even managed to have fun with this characteristic, which kept the story a light-hearted and fun ride, even when it dealt with some heavier issues.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Darkest Lie and I look forward to the next in the series –perhaps Strider? But no! I’ve just peeked at Gena’s website and she shows Amun’s story is next! Cannot wait till March 2011!!

Assessment: Highly Recommended

Notice: To comply FTC Guidelines, please be aware that this book was provided by the publisher as an ARC (advance reader’s copy) via NetGalley.

Now that I’m home and unpacked from my weekend away at RomCon 2010, I have updated my Media list and added all of the wonderful new books to my TBR shelves.

*happy sigh*

Let me tell you, the authors and publishers were so generous with their time and book giveaways that I feel like a glutinous bookworm. *grin*

I have also discovered that, despite my best efforts to identify duplicates so I could put out books I already have for other conference attendees to enjoy, 4 books made it home that I already own.

But… my oversight could be your gain

CONTEST TIME!

Respond to this post and tell me if you were able to go to RomCon 2010. If you attended, what did you like best? Are you planning to attend RomCon 2011? Then, list the book you’d like most to win, in order of preference if you like several.

Contest closes at Midnight Central Time, Thursday, July 15th. *Sorry, US residents only, please.

1. Demon Night by Meljean Brook –paperback, signed!
2. Demon Bound by Meljean Brook –paperback, signed!
3. Highland Honorby Hannah Howell –paperback, signed!
4. Destined For An Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost –paperback

(my apologies in advance for typos and lack of photos –i’m posting from my iPad which means these types of things are possible but more than a little time consuming and I have more conference to get to, so…)

A new day at RomCon and what a different vibe! Many new folks arrived on Saturday for the conference, filling up the seminars and building the overall excitement. On Day 2 this became a reader’s conference.

Today I attended Meet Harlequin, Reader Rountable, Bookfair, Were Squares Bingo, Historical Author’s Tea, Blog Oh Blogger, and the Midnight Sexcapades.

Meet Harlequin was originally not on my list of sessions to attend, but due to a mix-up with the Readers Roundtable, I wandered into this session as a filler. Sadly, I was a few minutes late and didn’t catch the name of the two folks from Harlequin. This session was attended by both readers and authors who wanted to find out what Harlequin was up to. The gentleman speaking for category romance said that they are currently re-reading some of the old lines with the thought to bring some back, and he cited a line called Flip Side (i’m not familiar with but several audience members nodded enthusiastically). A reader asked about the dwindling length of some lines and he said that they are definitely reconsidering the length if SuperRomance, which was dropped from 85k to 65k is the past few years. He also said that they feel the word count for the other lines are probably about right. He also discussed the changing dynamic with young adult women, and how they have been monitoring a site called Wattpad (which I haven’t yet had the chance to check out) and the fiction women are posting there is extremely short (less than 20k) and follows the formula of Presents. When asked about the size of the ebook market for them, the conversation wandered into why people buy ebooks (the other editor cited only value because she personally prefers a paper book) and that the market was just very small. When asked about DRM in their ebooks, they said that very little of their content has DRM, and they cited Carina Press for being all-DRM free. I don’t know if they’ve purchased any books from eHarlequin, ever, but there’s not a thing that I have ever purchased that *didn’t* have DRM, so either they’re mistaken or I’m not looking in the right place.

Readers Rountable was led by Jane Litte with Dear Author and Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches. It was full of readers and publishers. The readers talked about what they liked (not the undead) and what they wanted more of (exotic and unusual locations and characters). There were also slides of various covers and discussion about what worked and didn’t. When the readers in this panel pointed out that cover quotes were often uselessly vague (“award winning author” means nothing because we’re left to wonder what award?), I heard the St Martin’s rep make the oddest sound –a sort of stangled grunt of surprise. I’m hoping these guys are paying close attention to what the readers are saying!

The Bookfair was fun and well attended. Many readers squeeing in excitement. I ended up shopping in the bazaar and chatting with the vendors who really seemed to want to know more about us and the convention.

Were Squares Bingo had a great group of authors and readers. Authors answered questions that readers matched to a bingo-like card to win prizes. The instructions were a little convoluted, but in the end it didn’t matter because everyone had fun and won books. At the end, Samhain gave away a Kindle. Jane Litte was the original winner, but she declined, so I ended up being runner up and the proud owner of a new Kindle (thanks again, Jane!)

Historical Author’s Tea was a session I wasn’t originally planning to attend. They did a lot of these sessions by lottery, which I didn’t figure out until it was too late, but some kind soul didn’t use a ticket they win, so I got to go in their place. It was a fun, trivia type of session with Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Hoyt, Melissa Mayhue, Hannah Howell, Anna Campbell, and Jo Beverly. They gave out fun prizes and one lucky person won $50 for the grand prize.

Blog, oh, Blogger was another session hosted by Jane Litte and Sarah Wendell. We got to pass around a Kobo Reader, which many remarked they really liked the look and feel of. Sarah talked avout why she started blogging and why she loves it so much (it’s about the joyful conversation between two romance lovers, the excitement we all feel talking about books we love) and Jane discussed how one can get started for no out of pocket expenses. She did point out the biggest expense would be time, and remarked that there’s plenty of room for new voices in romance and to be fearless about blogging.

Midnight Sexcapades was a last minute decision, so at 9pm –after our IDs, of all things, were checked at the door –the games began. It started with party favors (little phallic candies) and sexy Mad Libs, but quckly moved to reading steamy excerpts while having audience members act out the scene. Personally, I wasn’t interested, so I left in favor of cocktails at the bar with others who didn’t find the games appealing. Met some great new folks and had a blast.

All in all, Day 2 was great fun and Had much more reader participation than Day 1.