Cannonball Read 15

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Are All Victorian Romances the Same Plot?

Golden Urchin by Madeleine Brent

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Like the Modesty Blaise books I’ve read by Peter O’Donnell, his Victorian romances (writing as Madeleine Brent) also follow a familiar structure. I’ve read three of his thriller/romances and they have much in common. Young women in impoverished circumstances (a fishergirl, a Yak-whisperer in Tibet, and a white aborigine with fiery red hair) encounter a handsome man, save his life, become (or are) orphans, are taken into a household that educates them and teaches them to be “civilized.” They are the secret children of extremely […]

Now That’s More Like It!

Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleyas

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The Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas series has turned into “Sebastian and Evie’s Kids Get Hitched” and I am not complaining, Devil’s Daughter has the trademark Kleypas elements of wit, charm, a compelling hero, and delightful smolder. I’m just going to  assume you are familiar with all of the books and characters that feed into this one. Readers first met Phoebe, Lady Clare, as squalling infant in one of my favourite Sebastian, Lord Saint Vincent moments from any of his appearances: “There, darling,” St. Vincent had been known to coo into […]

Flirting over artifacts and forgeries

Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran

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I’ve had Bound By Your Touch on my reading list for a long time, probably because at some point it was recommended by Malin or Mrs Julien or both. As per usual, a rec from these ladies turned out to be a pretty lovely romance. Heroine is Lydia Boyce, a spinster bluestocking (my favorite!) who works for her father in the trade of collectible Egyptian artifacts. Boyce Sr. is an academic archaeologist actively excavating, and Lydia is essentially his business manager back in Egypt. She […]

A righteous defense of a difficult book

After the Wedding (The Worth Saga #2) by Courtney Milan

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When an author of Courtney Milan’s caliber takes as much time as she (admittedly) does between books in her series, you often cope — as I did — by re-reading a bunch of her back catalog in between. Every re-read reminds you how she is working on another level from most other romance authors right now, between the articulation of the themes she explores and the maturity of the relationships she crafts. When her new book finally drops two years later, you hope, and expect, […]

Tis a Disappointment

Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

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Is romance queen Lisa Kleypas’s current historical romance series old school, out-of-date, or both? She is four books into what looks to be a six book series and there hasn’t been a winner among them. I’m disappointed, but since her catalogue has so many great novels, and more than one classic, I will forge ahead and read the next one, too. Let’s review the Ravenels series so far, shall we? Cold-Hearted Rake – I can’t remember anything about it. Wait! She has dark hair. Marrying Winterbourne – Self-made man […]

Another Whyte Wedding Romance

The Bridal Season by Connie Brockway

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This book is set prior to “Bridal Favors“, which I reviewed recently and even though they are tied by the same wedding planning company there is no mention of the characters in that book.  Here we meet Letty Potts, a music hall performer and sometimes con artist, who has escaped her ex-boyfriend/partner Nick Sparkle after he burnt down the rooming house she was staying at.  Arriving at the train station in her only gown, and clutching her faithful little dog Fagin, she witnesses the elopement […]



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